Why am I being shunned?

[Vampyr]

For what it is worth, my observation is that the more conventions someone lists on their profile the weaker player they are.

 

I suspect that this is true. I know that when I play with a real-life pickup partner I prefer to play rubber-bridge methods if they agree. Few conventions can be played with no discussion at all. And with a pickup partner, real or online, there is little time for discussion.

 

But barring that, it must surely be best to play one of BBO's preloaded convention cards, since hopefully these are reasonably well thought out systems rather than a hodgepodge of favourite toys.

 

Failing that too, I would, if I played with online pickups, put nothing on my profile and just play what they have in theirs.

 

OP, I wonder if you are being a little inflexible? You might find an otherwise compatible partner who prefers a different discard system than you do. And as mentioned above, you can always ask to play a different system. No two profiles are likely to be identical, so there has to be some degree of compromise.

[Vampyr]

My suggestion would be have a regular p or three and arrange to play with em, set up your own table and if you want enter a competition with one of your p's

 

And if none of your regular partners plays online?

[1eyedjack]

Listing a lot of conventions in your profile does not imply that you would be playing them all by default in a pick-up. It is just a menu. Unclear to me why that would be a disincentive to sit.

 

On the contrary there are a lot of players who will not sit opposite an empty profile (an equally absurd stance to take)

[Kaitlyn S]

Or, if you prefer, follow me and message me when you see me online. I'll play with you for a bit.

Cool! We can be Caitlynne & Kaitlyn! :D

For what it is worth, my observation is that the more conventions someone lists on their profile the weaker player they are.

How interesting! I listed quite a few things simply because most 2/1 players play them and rather than wonder if partner plays something, if he says my profile is good, I know we play it. I would have assumed that others would have listed a lot for the same reason.

 

I know that when a partner fills a seat that has nothing listed and won't talk (or may not speak English), and the opponents open 1C and he bids 2C, I am clueless whether he thinks it's a monster, or showing clubs, or showing the majors. If someone says my profile is OK except support doubles, I know exactly what it means when he bids 2C, and he knows that I know what it means because I put it in my profile. (Incidentally, someone said she couldn't see more than 3 lines of my profile. Is that true or was she missing the scroll bar?)

Longer-serving members of BBO can access the playing site via a downloaded windows program which is gradually being sidelined in favour of the web browser based access route powered by Flash.

 

The reason that I mention it, for the benefit of the OP, who likely cannot use the windows client, is that changes in the seat availability (such as when vacant seats get filled) are updated instantly in the windows client. By contrast, the Flash interface only gets updated on the earlier of the user clicking refresh, and a fixed but significant delay. If there is a significant delay between the screen refreshing, whether automatically or forced by clicking on refresh, and an attempt to join an apparently available seat, then there is a risk that the seat has by then been filled or table closed. Experience of using the windows client, and benefitting from the automated instant screen refresh, tells us that in the main club the life span of vacant seats is usually very short, and considerably shorter than the Flash auto-refresh rate . So the presented list of vacant seats is unreliable unless you habitually click refresh immediately prior to joining a seat

 

Unfortunately the message sent to you on unsuccessfully trying to sit is uninformative on this point.

A friend told me of that old client. They said they would set up chats in it and I don't think we can join them.

OP, I wonder if you are being a little inflexible? You might find an otherwise compatible partner who prefers a different discard system than you do. And as mentioned above, you can always ask to play a different system. No two profiles are likely to be identical, so there has to be some degree of compromise.

That's something to think about.

 

Again, thank you all for your well thought out responses. When I first posted some friends said this was a great site but I just wasn't seeing it. Now I am seeing just what an awesome community you have here. I'll probably be replying a lot less in this thread but to anybody that wants to comment, thank you in advance.

[fourdad]

a lot of people just hesitate to play with new members....simple as that.

[StevenG]

(Incidentally, someone said she couldn't see more than 3 lines of my profile. Is that true or was she missing the scroll bar?)

If you use the old Windows client, you can't see always someone's full profile. The web version allows for longer profiles.

[1eyedjack]

If you use the old Windows client, you can't see always someone's full profile. The web version allows for longer profiles.

I confirm Kaitlyn S's experience. If I try to view his/her profile using IE11 on a Windows 8.1 machine, using the Flash interface, I can see only 3 lines of the profile, plus the top edge of some text indicating at least one further (hidden) row of text, but no scroll bar to access it.

 

This is not unique - I have observed this on many occasions.

 

With the Android mobile skin we get to see the full profile (again with no scroll bar - the whole profile is in this case presented in the initial view).

[shyams]

@Kaitlyn S

 

Don't worry. There are 100s who are happy to play with you.

[Vampyr]

Listing a lot of conventions in your profile does not imply that you would be playing them all by default in a pick-up. It is just a menu. Unclear to me why that would be a disincentive to sit.

 

So what does the list mean? I will play any of these conventions that you want, but no others? Is there usually a lot of choosing from the "menu" before a pair begin to play? I get the impression that there is not.

On the contrary there are a lot of players who will not sit opposite an empty profile (an equally absurd stance to take)

 

Is it absurd? It seems to me that it would show a willingness to play what partner wants. Though I suppose some basic systems should be mentioned. For example there are so many Precision variants that I would hesitate to try it with an nine pickup.

[Vampyr]

Again, thank you all for your well thought out responses. When I first posted some friends said this was a great site but I just wasn't seeing it. Now I am seeing just what an awesome community you have here. I'll probably be replying a lot less in this thread but to anybody that wants to comment, thank you in advance.

 

Can you not arrange to play with those friends and forget about randoms?

[gfroeli]

Holy Cow! It seems you think a lot of your skills and knowledge. Just play and have fun! I've played with various partners with a wide level of skills and I just play my own game...it's not up to me to know every flippin' convention dreamed up out there. Almost all the time it depends on the cards you're dealt anyway. Find a friend, invite a friend for every know it all jerk out here there's at least 10 good people.

[Vampyr]

I remember a poster once saying that she would not play with a person whose profil said "No Transfers", as that indicated a poor player. I think it indicates a sensible player. Are the transfers on after a double or a 2♣ overcall? What sort of super-accepts do we play? Do we bid at the three-level with four trumps and a minimum? Do these questions get answered before playing?

[Kaitlyn S]

I remember a poster once saying that she would not play with a person whose profil said "No Transfers", as that indicated a poor player. I think it indicates a sensible player. Are the transfers on after a double or a 2♣ overcall? What sort of super-accepts do we play? Do we bid at the three-level with four trumps and a minimum? Do these questions get answered before playing?

If ever I needed a thumbs up emoticon, this would be the time.

[steve2005]

If ever I needed a thumbs up emoticon, this would be the time.

You could give a plus 1 to the reply. Near bottom right in green.

[Kaitlyn S]

You could give a plus 1 to the reply. Near bottom right in green.

Guess not - I tried and it said I exceeded my quota of pluses for the day. The maximum for me is apparently zero.

[661_Pete]

Maybe Acol club is different, but my experience in the MBC is that "intermediate" almost always indicates a weak player. There are a few good ones but the success rate is very low.

:rolleyes: Ha ha! I've self-rated myself as 'intermediate'. I think I'm being honest, here. But then, I'm not a MBC player. As to whether I'm a weak player or not, I'll let others judge that, if you please - but only after they've played with me or kibitzed me!

 

Of course I make silly mistakes. Don't we all? And I have - ahem - not been entirely factual* on the chatline. Yesterday I apologised to partner for a "misclick". In fact it was a lapse of attention: I thought I was cashing the thirteenth of a suit in notrumps. It wasn't..... :unsure:

 

*i.e. told a porkie..... :huh:

[Thiros]

Guess not - I tried and it said I exceeded my quota of pluses for the day. The maximum for me is apparently zero.

 

You acquire upvote power once you have made at least 50 posts.

[42xxbfxx42]

You are not being shunned, that would imply that players actively shut you out. You are nothing to them, I am nothing to them, nor will you or I ever be. We are not invited to their tables. Find your own friends, and your own table.

[Kaitlyn S]

You are not being shunned, that would imply that players actively shut you out. You are nothing to them, I am nothing to them, nor will you or I ever be. We are not invited to their tables. Find your own friends, and your own table.

LOL I never thought that I was being singled out. :lol: I just wanted to know why I had such bad luck when attempting to enter a locked seat, and that has been answered nicely.

[onoway]

Fwiw I tend to avoid playing with pick up partners who have nothing on their profile because I've no way of knowing if we will communicate at all. It also seems a bit one-upsmanship ish to me, as I can't think of any valid reason not to put at least what system and carding they are basing their bidding and play on.When a pickup partner opens 1♣ it's handy to know if they are playing 2/1 or Precision.( or something else for that matter). There's little point in trying to partner someone who plays something about which you've no idea. Problems come up as it is when people claim to play things they don't, and that does happen sometimes.

 

A lot of extremely weak players, some of them even beginners, put expert on their profile so that people will play with them, and ignore the fact it becomes very clear very fast they are not, and that nobody plays with them twice. Expert is a very iffy label to claim here. Honesty is appreciated by most of us.

 

The other thing is that Main tends to be a revolving door so a lot of people play only with friends. If you played in tourneys you would get a chance to meet some people and possibly invite one or two to play outside of the tourney and so begin to build up a group of friends that way.

[661_Pete]

You are nothing to them, I am nothing to them, nor will you or I ever be. We are not invited to their tables. Find your own friends, and your own table.

Is it just me, or do others find these remarks singularly unhelpful?

 

Yes every online community has its 'cliques', I've been only too aware of this in areas other than the bridge-playing set. Sometimes the only way to cope with cliquism is to walk away. But the last thing I want to do is encourage anyone - certainly not the OP - to do that. To walk away from this site is to deny yourself a wonderful bridge-playing opportunity!

 

Please be patient. Not everyone on BBO is so insular. Speaking for myself, I'm happy to play with all comers - unless I've had a really bad experience with them in the past. Even then, I'll often give them another chance!

[sfi]

Is it just me, or do others find these remarks singularly unhelpful?

 

Yes every online community has its 'cliques', I've been only too aware of this in areas other than the bridge-playing set. Sometimes the only way to cope with cliquism is to walk away. But the last thing I want to do is encourage anyone - certainly not the OP - to do that.

 

It's not about cliques - some people simply use BBO in a different way to you. For instance, I play at tables almost exclusively in set games practicing for tournaments. If I reject you (or anyone else) it is because I'm either waiting for someone who has been disconnected or we have finished and someone has left the table while we are still talking. In either case it is not a reflection on the person's profile or skill level - merely a reflection of how we are using the site.

[Vampyr]

It's not about cliques - some people simply use BBO in a different way to you. For instance, I play at tables almost exclusively in set games practicing for tournaments. If I reject you (or anyone else) it is because I'm either waiting for someone who has been disconnected or we have finished and someone has left the table while we are still talking. In either case it is not a reflection on the person's profile or skill level - merely a reflection of how we are using the site.

 

Can tables be made invisible to all but the people who have planned to play on them?

[sfi]

Can tables be made invisible to all but the people who have planned to play on them?

 

Probably, but sometimes one of the people doesn't receive the invitation and has to find the table. I may try setting that at some point and see how it behaves.

[barmar]

Can tables be made invisible to all but the people who have planned to play on them?

A table is either visible or invisible.

 

However, if you know any of the players at the table, you can simply look them up and use the "Join Table" button, even if the table is invisible.