[PatsyKB]

I'm fairly new to Bridge Base, but am an intermediate player. I've been surprised by the impatience of some players. Was astonished tonight when I was declarer, had to take a moment to consider my play, and was -without warning - removed from the table.

Is this normal? It can be nerve-wracking when your opponents or partners are so impatient.

[Antrax]

It's not "normal" but it's common. A good way to enjoy BBO is to gradually accumulate like-minded partners and opponents, and only play with them. When you've had a good session, you can ask the other players to add them as friends (you can also do it without asking, but that seems to be common etiquette). Then, when you see them online, you can invite them to play together. After some frog-kissing sessions, you're likely to be rid of such experiences.

Do note that unless the table host specified otherwise (+slow+ in the table description), BBO itself will prompt you to play and might eject you from the table after a while - but the time limits there are generous and you can mark yourself as "present but thinking" to avoid it, at the prompt. From your description, it was not the automatic ejection you've experienced.

[Bbradley62]

Patsy: Did you have your screen set up such that you could see incoming chat messages and respond to them? It is very odd for players to get booted without someone having said something like "play faster please" at least once.

[billw55]

Some players are in a huge hurry. I have been booted for taking time on a difficult hand, after playing ten previous boards quickly. Of course, these same people will ridicule any mistakes made a blitz speed. I just make a note not to play at table they are hosting.

[barmar]

Bbradley62, on 2014-January-06, 23:34, said:

Patsy: Did you have your screen set up such that you could see incoming chat messages and respond to them? It is very odd for players to get booted without someone having said something like "play faster please" at least once.

I was wondering the same thing. Usually when you're taking a while, someone will say "pls play", and you can reply "thinking". If they boot you after that, they're an a-hole and you should avoid them in the future.

Unfortunately, the online world (not just BBO) is full of a-holes. For various psychological reasons, people tend to be more rude online than in person.

[nige1]

barmar, on 2014-January-07, 11:59, said:

I was wondering the same thing. Usually when you're taking a while, someone will say "pls play", and you can reply "thinking". If they boot you after that, they're an a-hole and you should avoid them in the future. Unfortunately, the online world (not just BBO) is full of a-holes. For various psychological reasons, people tend to be more rude online than in person.

Barmar is right. The host will often boot you for actions that he considers to be "slow" or "stupid". Non-host partners will often leave in the middle of a hand with similar excuses. Gradually, you learn to avoid them, as you find better-behaved players. Mark players as friends and enemies to reduce the memory-load

[diana_eva]

Actually it's better to keep player notes instead of marking them enemy. IMO the enemy function has a clear role which is to block unwanted chat. The list has a limit (a high limit, but it is limited nevertheless), so it's better to only block undesirable people and use categories and player notes for things like "quick to boot", "fake expert", etc.

[Bbradley62]

Of course, players who frequently enter the Main Bridge Club, play two hands, and then leave will also get flagged as enemies by a lot of other players.

[PatsyKB]

Thanks, all of you. I have a lot to learn about BBO protocol, but your posts will help.

[barmar]

diana_eva, on 2014-January-07, 14:10, said:

The list has a limit (a high limit, but it is limited nevertheless),

There's effectively no limit in the new version. The old version has a limit on the size of the combined friends/enemies list.