Any Greeters out there?

Hi, if you are a Greeter you'll probably experienced the frustration when the new player thinks you are an automated program. For me, I had to type in 'TALK TO ME AND ASK ME QUESTIONS I AM NOT A AUTOMATED PROGRAM'  for nearly all my games. This fear is confirmed when a guy typed 'i thought you are an automated program'. The games with the new players lasts short too because they don't know where to go to make their move. The games that I had lasts only about 3-4 moves and its games abandoned or something. This is why I quit the Greeter job. Any similar feelings? Please comment.

yes.....this is very annoying

It feels like the wolves are after me in a dark and cold night =)

I find the easiest way to negate I AM A ROBOT syndrome is to greet each new user before playing a move.

Timeouts are the most frustrating thing I find as a greeter ,I had 1 new user urging me to move faster on a 3 day per move game who then timed out after 4 moves .

It can be really frustrating to see a long list of games sitting idle.

I  have now set my limit of max greeter games to 3 , its less annoying to see 3 games ticking slowly by.

I use this site for free, so this is an easy way for me to give something back (although I am sure they would rather have the subscription fee)

Unlucky. What I tried to do to make them aware that it's their move is by telling them 'look out for the ''hand and pawn'' icon'. lol

Holy carp!  I just signed up for this and now my wish for more games has been granted.  So far no robot stuff.  I'm tried to talk as unrobotically as possible.

This might get overwhelming though...

-DaveK

(ah, ok, discovered max games button. whew!)

lol davek ,we all make the mistake of leaving max greeter on its default (10),when we first start greeting ,although i had played 50 or so games and had started using other parts of this brilliant site before thinking I should help out by playing newguys.I quite like Tactics Trainer ,you should check it out ,its much better for your game than starting another game when your waiting around for people to play =)

I've noticed that there are a number of Forum topics devoted to the subject of Greeter Games, and in particular to the frustration felt by us Greeters when our "greetees" time out before (or immediately after) the first move.  I have a humble suggestion to solve this problem. 

My understanding is that currently, new users are automatically given a Greeter Game as soon as they join.  IMy suggestion is to give new users some basic information about the site, about turn-based chess, etc., _before_ assigning them to a Greeter.  For example, give the new user a link to a short (2-minute-max) introductory video, and assign the Greeter Game _only_ after they have completed viewing the video.  Maybe give them the option to click "I'm already familiar with turn-based chess" as an alternative to viewing the video. 

Putting this simple barrier in front of the Greeter Game will probably lower the total number of Greeter Games assigned, but it should dramatically improve the quality of the Greeter Games that actually play, and enhance the quality of the experience for both newbie and Greeter. 

For the record, I've been a member here for about 6 months, and I'm a big fan of the site.  I've been a Greeter for the last four months or so, and I'm delighted to say that I've made a number of lasting chess friendships this way.  I've also had many, many early-timeout disapointments.  I'd love to see chess.com find a way to minimize this problem, both for me and also for all my fellow Good Citizen Greeters.  Thanks for listening, all!

nice suggestion

 I've given this issue some more thought, and I strongly believe that this is a problem that can and should be fixed.  IMHO, chess.com is squandering a wonderful resource -- its "team" of volunteer Greeters.  It seems to me that Greeters are (by definition) among chess.com's most loyal members, and this loyalty should be rewarded, not taken for granted. 

I find that at least 80% of my Greeter games abort due to lack of interest or understanding by the new user.  To minimize this problem, I suggest asking every new user:  "Are you familiar with 'turn-based' chess?  If not, here's a short (2-minute) video that gives you a good introduction.  If you are familiar with turn-based chess, would you like to start a game right now with one of our volunteer Greeters?  If so, click here -- you will be matched with a Greeter, and your game will start automatically." 

I firmly believe that adding this simple step (and the short introductory video) would vastly improve the experience of Greeter games, both for the Greeters and for the new members.  Win-win!!

I assume that this Forum is monitored by the chess.com staff; I would greatly appreciate a message confirming that a staff member has seen it.  Of course, I would especially like to receive staff feedback, but even an acknowledgment is a step in the right direction (grin).  Thanks for listening!

Nice idea! To get chess.com take such measure, we need more people take part in this movement. Staff need to understand that being a greeter comes from being loyal to the site. I joined the greeter team after the site has me as a member for 2 years. I felt I should give back at least sth, I'm also planning to upgrade my account soon. Being a greeter is not the best job in the world but it shows my dedication to this fantastic site. It would be great if chess.com staff at least post in many such forums to show us their thoughts and letting us know whether any progress has being made. I believe all greeters are loyal members, a new user of this site wouldn't be a greeter, even if they did, they are most likely to quit after understanding what it means to be a greeter. New users at the beginning has little affection to this site. Also, greeters are a part of what makes this site unique. It truly shows how dedicated some members of this site are and it's true chess.com do have a wonderful community without boundaries such as nationality or religion. Greeters just tops the list.

Quite a few of the new members only join Chess.com for the 'Live Chess', they are not interested in 'Turn Based Chess' no matter how you greet them.

very annoying. i was a greeter for about 2 weeks and then all i saw was about 90% of my games just waste away 

I am currently playing my game against my greeter, and am thoroughly enjoying it. We haven't chatted a great deal, beyond opening pleasantries, but that is mainly because I have taken the time to find my way around the forums for the information I need, and am happy to use the game as a way to assess my standard.

As far as knowing when it is my move is concerned, and also knowing how to move, the site seems perfectly clear to me.

Looking around one of the first things that I noticed on the site is that lots of games get timed out, not just greeter games, and I wonder why this is happening. I shall certainly check players for losing on time before I play them. I want to win on merit, and lose by checkmate or resignation.

Greeters, you are thoroughly appreciated by us newcomers!

Thanks you Grum, haven't had a thank you for ages!!! You are more than welcome to join the greeter crew at a time you see reasonable!