Resignation!

WHY do people quit when thet are about to lose!?!?!  If you just played for 10 minutes and you are left with your king and 1 pawn, don't quit!  It's too late!!!  Just b/c we both know you have lost, it doesn't mean you can just go and quit!  Now your rating doesn't reflect you losing and mine doesn't show me winning!!!  It's not fair for people to quit when they have clearly been defeated.  Why run!?!  I don't believe a lot of scores are accurate b/c of people abusing the resign button.  It's just not right. 

I really, really don't want to start a big thing with this, but since you are semi-new:

1.  When someone resigns it does not change the points you receive.  A resignation is treated as a loss just like a checkmate.  The ratings don't differentiate.

2.  Resignation in a hopeless position is a sign of respect.  Your opponent is admitting they are lost and agreeing you have the ability to checkmate them and avoid a stalemate.

3.  As many here will point out, everyone has the option to play however they want with their time and nobody has to resign if they don't want to, but resigning in lost positions is considered good etiquette by most players.

Um, when you resign you get a loss and your opponent gets a win. 

You also lose and gain points accordingly.

If these things aren't happening for you on this site you should contact an admin or whatever.

In my opinion one of the best things about chess is that you can resign when you feel you have no winning or drawing chances left.

That way you don't have to waste time going through the motions and can move on to other games, or even other things entirely.

Resignation is good way not to waste time. Playing a hopeless game is a waste of time to both you and your opponent.

 Thanks guys.  I AM very very new.  To the site and to chess itself.  This particular incident was just irritating because I was so close to a checkmate.  I do understand what you all are saying though, and I will remember that in future games. 

Look through games played in major tournaments and you'll see the vast majority of wins are by resignation, not checkmate.  If you have someone clearly beaten and he resigns, he isn't just quitting, he is acknowledging he has lost and you won.