gg is arrogance

It's neutral. If I lose and someone types gg, I'll type gg back. 

IMO You're right. For example when I'm playing against a 2500 computer and it humiliates me horribly I'm pisted off I'm not in the gg mode.

If someone tells you gg it means 99% that you weren't that menacing :maybe you defended well against his attacks and he condescendingly acknowledged it

Where i come from, gg just means laugh.

 lol anyone irish cn relate with " 'g gaire" right :D lol gg

When I lose I say something like, "Well done" and if I win I just wait for them to say something and respond appropriately.  I don't want them to feel as if I'm rubbing their face in things.

Yea.

For me I consider gg as arrogance and a rubbing-it-in comment addressed to me when I lose badly in a game. Why can't a winner in a game be magnanimous and kept silent in victory rather than trumpet a simple achievement by uttering acronyms which may engender negaive connotations?

 only in your mind does it mean that.

Love your innocence

I wonder what a good substitute would be for "gg." "Bad game" or "your awful?" Just say nothing? Idk, gg seems fine from both the winning and losing side of the board. 

After reading all these replies and changing my view regarding saying "gg", I now believe, "Handshake", is probably the best thing to say, even over saying nothing at all.   Silence could also be taken as prideful IMO.   A handshake however is equal ground from both sides of a game (win or loss).  It shows warm respect for my opponent if I win, and it shows good Sportsmanship if I lose.  If someone were to find my offering a handshake offensive, then I have to suspect they would find anything but winning offensive.

So there you have it.   "Handshake"  

This can be interpreted as saying 'you pleasure yourself' in some countries, so be careful!

So that probably rules out, "Handshake pleasure to meet you" as well.   

The most annoying thing is when people won't stop offering rematches after you beat them until after ten games, when they get lucky, and wont play another game

Do you find "Haha your an idiot loser... It was a pleasure to beat you!" an offensive thing to say after a game?

 Yes but do you like "Smother in 3 moves gg"  lol

Hopefully that will never happen...

Looking at the data of the puzzles it happens even to GM ... "gg" from the winner is always suspect  ...

Personally, i don't think gg is remotely disrespectful...  Even if they do destroy you and they do mean it sarcastically, just take it in stride and say good game back... There's no need to get upset about something so small

If you politely say "gg" (I prefer "Well played." to "gg") when you resign, than you don't have to worry about it.  In most cases I don't think it means anything, just a form of social grooming and acknowledgement of your presence.  My usual response to "gg" is "U2".   I have a bigger problem with what to say at the beginning of the game.  "Good Luck" just doesn't seem right in a game of skill.  I sometimes say "Looking forward to an interesting game"

gg