gg is arrogance

handshake

Just remember. More than two handshakes and you're playing with it.

none of my games are any good so I never say it.

I write "gg" when I lose and  "gg?" on those rare occasions when I win. I am afraid that if I try to type "handshake", I might mistype "hindshake."

If you are concerned about being offended by gg, why don't you just turn off chat?

If it was a good game, then gg is appropriate.

If the game was a blowout, gg is sarcastic.

Some people have a difficult time distinguishing sarcasm from honest chat, especially on line where there are no facial expressions or vocal intonations. Also people with psychological or developmental problems often can't distinguish intent and meaning.

I can't believe this thread is still kicking.

If anything's arrogant it's presuming to know what tone I intended when I typed "gg".

Totally agree with all the people who say that it's just part of good sportsmanship. Everybody else seems to be hung up on the fact that people sometimes say it when it's not true. But who cares? You sometimes say "How's it going?" when you do not want to be told a story about somebody's day. You sometimes say "sorry" when you are not apologizing.

Try and stop being so literal minded. The point of 'gg' is as a gesture of good feelings towards one's opponent, not in its literal meaning..

It's that exactly it's literal meaning?  I don't think assuming that it's sarcasm is an example of being too "literal minded".

The literal meaning is "good game"... Nobody's being sarcastic. 

I wonder if you ever sit and puzzle whether somebody is sarcastic when they say "hello"? Not alot of point in that, because hello has a commonly accepted token as a catch-all greeting. So is 'gg': its what you say when you finish a game to show there are no hard feelings. It can't be sarcastic

Yes, I agree, which is why people should be more literal minded, not less as you've suggested. 

Maybe they should also only say "what's up?" when they are wondering what is above your head.

In this specific case, taking things less literally is not a good suggestion.  Taking everything literally is also not a good suggestion, but that's not what we were discussing.

I see.. so your idea is that all online chess players should use 'gg' only literally? The use-'gg'-only-if-you're-being-serious rule. Maybe you should be the one to enforce this rule?

Or, maybe you should pay closer attention to the way people actually interact with one another, rather than legislating how they should interact.

It`s not arrogance, it`s politely letting you know, that your opponent enjoyed playing with you. That`s the way i see it. I just fail to see any arrogance behind it, sorry..

OK, I've just re-read your original post -- I think I see where I misunderstood it.  You're saying that "good game" is not a literal comment on the quality of the game, but rather a gesture of good will towards your opponent.

Yes, I think I'd prefer that it be used more literally, and the gesture of good will be replaced with something more representative like "Thanks for the game" -- this is certainly the practice I've adopted, but I'm certainly not in favour of enforcing it -- just encouraging it.

If "good game" means something other than "good game", what do you say when the game actually was good?

I knew exactly what I meant. People are worried about saying "good game" when it wasn't a good game. But they shouldn't be worried about what it literally means, but instead realize that its a gesture of no hard feelings, like waving or saying hello. It doesn't literally mean "No hard feelings.." Hence: Less literal minded.

Probably best not to correct what other people are saying, without reading very carefully

[THREADJACK ATTEMPT ABANDONED]

Thanx for the game is nice neutral  phrase that shouldn`t offend anyone..i think..