[ndgoblue1]

I was playing in a relaxed game with three players I did not know. I had to answer the phone and talk long enough to explain to the caller that I couldn't talk now and then I hung up. 30 seconds at most, probably less. Suddenly there appeared on my screen that the host had requested I leave the table (or words to that effect). What did I do wrong? After I came back to the keyboard, I bid and then played swiftly. This message appeared at the end of the hand.

[Bbradley62]

It's very hard to analyze "or words to that effect". Did the request specifically mention taking too long to make one bid/play? Was the table host your partner or an opponent? If partner, maybe he wanted a partner whose playing style was more compatible to his own. Maybe he wanted a partner who had some useful information in his profile, so he might understand some of partner's bids without having to ask. You say you were playing a relaxed game: were you in the Relaxed Bridge Club or the Main Bridge Club?

[diana_eva]

He probably means the automated message "The host has removed you from the table".

ndgoblue1, when you need to leave the computer for a bit type BRB (short for "be right back") to the table, so that they know you are not stuck or gone.

[Zelandakh]

Even if you do type brb there are some players who think that taking more than 3 seconds to make any call or play any card is unreasonable under any circumstances. That is irrespective of how often they take 20 seconds or more on their own plays of course.

[barmar]

But they don't usually boot you immediately in that case, they say things like "play pls" or "faster", and you can respond "thinking".

Unfortunately, many people seem to be unreasonably impatient in online bridge. I think there's a psychological aspect to it -- in f2f bridge you can almost always tell whether a person is actively thinking versus staring off into space (not realizing it's his turn), but this feedback is unavailable online, so they assume worst.

[Antrax]

Also, you're more used to things being fast when you're using a computer - at least that's the way it works for me. I'm not used to concentrating when staring at a screen.

[Quantumcat]

Related question - is it acceptable to boot somebody because you were trying to reserve a table for your friends, but they sat down before you could tick "permission required to play" then "apply and close", and you ask them politely could they please leave so your friend can sit down, and they speak very little english and after a few minutes of nobody making a bid or play they are still stubbornly refusing to move? It seems rude to boot somebody but also annoying to have to wait them out for five or ten or more minutes till they get bored and move of their own accord?

[Thiros]

Quantumcat, on 2012-September-20, 16:22, said:

Related question - is it acceptable to boot somebody because you were trying to reserve a table for your friends, but they sat down before you could tick "permission required to play" then "apply and close", and you ask them politely could they please leave so your friend can sit down, and they speak very little english and after a few minutes of nobody making a bid or play they are still stubbornly refusing to move? It seems rude to boot somebody but also annoying to have to wait them out for five or ten or more minutes till they get bored and move of their own accord?

Under these circumstances, I would just leave the table and start another one.

[barmar]

Quantumcat, on 2012-September-20, 16:22, said:

Related question - is it acceptable to boot somebody because you were trying to reserve a table for your friends, but they sat down before you could tick "permission required to play" then "apply and close",

Why didn't you select these options when you were creating the table in the first place?

But if you tell them the reason, I don't see a problem with booting in this situation. But unless you act quickly, someone else may slip in while you try again to change the table settings, and you'll go through it again.

[Quantumcat]

barmar, on 2012-September-21, 08:51, said:

Why didn't you select these options when you were creating the table in the first place?

Because I reserved 4 seats when first creating the table and didn't think about it till someone had to go and a kib wanted to take their place.

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But if you tell them the reason, I don't see a problem with booting in this situation. But unless you act quickly, someone else may slip in while you try again to change the table settings, and you'll go through it again.

OK, so if we ask really politely in English a couple of times, it's still OK even though they might not understand us? That's good. Someone told me once I could get in trouble for booting people who weren't making trouble/being rude/etc.

Maybe a software suggestion could be an extra option available - "Always lock seats at tables you create" (just as a default, if you wanted to unlock the seats you could). I don't usually play against randoms, only people I know, so this would be really handy for me and others who also don't play against randoms.

[barmar]

Quantumcat, on 2012-September-21, 23:42, said:

Because I reserved 4 seats when first creating the table and didn't think about it till someone had to go and a kib wanted to take their place.
OK, so if we ask really politely in English a couple of times, it's still OK even though they might not understand us?

What's the alternative? Do you think we hold you hostage because you don't happen to speak someone else's language?

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That's good. Someone told me once I could get in trouble for booting people who weren't making trouble/being rude/etc.

The only trouble you can get in for booting people is if you do it frequently. The software can't tell why you're doing it, but it assumes excessive booting is unreasable.

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Maybe a software suggestion could be an extra option available - "Always lock seats at tables you create" (just as a default, if you wanted to unlock the seats you could). I don't usually play against randoms, only people I know, so this would be really handy for me and others who also don't play against randoms.

Wouldn't the "Require permission to sit" option have also solved your problem? You can change this option while the table is going, so when the player says he's going to leave you could have set the option.