You make a fair point ; however weaker players do not often see how bad a position they are in . My bugbear has just occured to me over the last week : playing a 3 day move based game we were rattling along at around 5 to 10 moves per evening and a decent , interesting game it was too .
Then as soon as I gain an advantage we are down to 30 seconds a move from me and 2 days a move from him .
Very annoying and very unsporting !
"No one ever won a game by resigning," is the famous adage. After, all, there is a thing called 'a stalemate.' Intermediate players, actually all players, need to learn how to play when at a great disadvantage. It's not about dignity and glory or any of that nonsense. It's about getting better; sometimes this means in chess, sometimes it means on a deeper level. The skills acquired in chess can be applied to solve our problems in the real world, where oftentimes resigning is not an option. That should be respected too.
Even though my ratings are quite low, i generally recognise when it i'm in a lost position or not, Even if i am losing by a lot of material, i generally don't resign. Let me tell you why. When you and you're opponent have equal material, you generally take it for granted, and never really make the most of your pieces. One thing I've noticed at the lower levels is people always play defensively, waiting for their opponent to blunder. Blunders occur commonly in a lower rating, and though the winner of a game may get a few points, they probably haven't won through their own skill, but rather through their opponents mistakes. When they are lower on material, any player knows that they really don't have anything more to lose, apart from a slight decrease in their rating. This is the part where a player realises that they have endless opportunities to try out crazy sacrifices and experiment with what they have. When a player is losing, they realise that they have to find the 'best moves' and create threats of their own. The part where they are losing is where i find i learn the most, as i really take my time to find great moves. I know this is useful, as i one checkmated someone with a knight and rook vs a queen and bishop (with equal pawns on either side). I found a mating pattern which required me to sac the knight, which, had we been at par with material, i never would have taken the time to spot.
Players refuse to resign because they are not playing face to face. If they were playing at a chess club they would have to resign or they wouldn't have any opponents who would want to play them. Some player disconnect instead of resigning online or try to fight on in a hopeless position because they have a small time advantage. Maybe they're even hoping you lose your internet connection so they can win on time.
I hate waiting around for the clock to wind down,when I'm in a total winning position(not often enough for me)...but...I "always" like to compliment my opponent either during play or when I lose.Not hard to be a nice person.
life is too short to waste your time playing "hope chess." Being down 15 points of material and playing on is under the "hope chess" category. (unless it's bullet) Most high level games end in resignation well before checkmate. This is because to get to a high level in chess, one has to be very smart with their time. Playing on in hopelessly lost positions may not only just waste your time, but it may actually make you worse at chess! There is a resign button for a reason 
On a "Blitz" game, would you resign if your opponent have only have 30 seconds against your 5 minutes even if you are a Queen and two rooks down? Remember, "Beginners" are as exactly what they are...beginners! A learning stage. However, an intermediate player should know when to resign.
If I were playing someone with the OP's rating I woudn't resign either. I might miss out on the chance to play one of the greatest games of my life, a la this one:
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/just-won-the-most-epic-game-ever
"I've allowed my opponents upwards of 8 minutes (10 minute match) to graciously resign and accept a rematch."
You ALLOWED them? Since when did you get the power to control their clocks? They can extend the game as much as they want - the rules say so. Personally I'd resign a Q + R down, unless I thought I could complicate the board and draw or win, but I have never been upset when someone draws out a game, hoping I'll screw up - even in daily games. It's their right.
If somebody draws out a live 10 minute game with no hope of winning: time allowing......I just think of what moves I need to make and go and get a drink or make a sandwich, etc....and come back before time expires, instead of waiting there. There's an art to it because you still need to give yourself time to win in case they move.
I will wait however long it takes to get my 6 points
I think WeedMari0 is saying that he's got mate in 1, and it's his move, but he's allowing the "low level scrub" time to resign with dignity. If I'm wrong, please correct me.
In any case, I don't see why you can't just mate them. Save everyone some time. And other commenters here are making good points about why someone wouldn't resign. I've come a little ways up through the ranks (I'm around 1000 in Blitz and around 1150 in Rapid, definitely a low level scrub in some ways, but I'm better than I used to be...), and I had a phase, about a year long, where I refused to resign in live games. I figured that if I'm going to lose anyways, I'll get to see the mate pattern they use and how they set it up — pure learning. Maintaining an ego is a waste of time and energy. And then about 1/10 they did actually make a mistake and either stalemated or blundered the queen or other heavies... and a few of those I actually won. Then my rating gradually increased and when I was dead in the water, refusing to resign, I had about a six-month period where they never made mistakes (just a slightly higher level where the margin for error is much smaller), so I started resigning, but only when I could see the loss coming — if I myself could win in their position.
I've had many instances of being on the verge of a win, it's their move, and they let the clock run out so they don't get mated. I think that's less respectful than not resigning. Happens all the time.
In any case, what I want to know is, as such a sage, esteemed, dignified, venerable player, deserving of the highest reverence and praise in all game positions, who can't be bothered with a task as base as soiling your pieces by actually mating your opponents (Dear me! I'm simply aghast!), WeedMari0, why are you playing low level scrubs?
It seems a lot of intermediate and beginner level players on this site forget to lose with dignity. Here's what I mean:
I'm playing a low-level scrub... I'm up a Queen, a Rook and some pawns. The board is cleared of most big players and I'm close to mate. But my opponent refuses to resign.
This is all too common on this site. One player is dominating yet the other player extends play unnecessarily. For example, while just one move from checkmate, I've allowed my opponents upwards of 8 minutes (10 minute match) to graciously resign and accept a rematch. My efforts are often to no avail and I was disrespected. Behavior like this is insulting. Can you imagine if this happened across the board from you face to face? After waiting so long, I finally oblige my opponents with the inevitable checkmate with less than 5 seconds to spare.
In short, players must learn to be respectful to their stronger foes, lose with dignity and take a loss (ie resign) with humility.