gg is arrogance

 When I first came to this site, I often times said hello to people.  But after playing hundreds of games, it became easier to just say nothing.  It's not personal; infact I only respond when someone says "gg" to me, and usually that is only when they have lost and told me good game.  So, therefore, in my opinion, "gg" is courteous and respectfull. 

It sounds to me you are very bitter when you lose.

One guy gave me "ggg" after I lost a game and I was devastated. 

There's no middle ground on this one.  People who like to go around looking for things to interpret as insults will always be successful. If it wasn't "gg", they'd bitch about something else the person typed.  Or didn't type.  Or should have typed.  Or might have thought.

When playing chess in real life (OTB), one tends to shake hands before and after the game.  It is a mark of respect to your opponant.  There is no clear way to do this online - but GG is often used in this kind of way.  Its a way of 'handshaking', showing respect to your opponant. 

 Exactly. GG to me is just that.... a cyber hand shake... ment to denote goodwill.... no matter what. Ive blundered away winning positions during OTB tournament games and have shook hands... Ive won games that my opponent blundered away a winning position... and have shook hands.... and Ive drawn 5 hour tensly fought OTB tournament games....... and have shook hands.

GG..... is like shaking hands after the game

GG is courtesy. I know that courtesy is a dead concept, but look it up, it used to exist.

:D...guys lets just have some fun...don't make it serious...:X

i used to say gg ,but after tracking this zombie thread for months and months Ive started to get paranoid

does the other guy think Im rubbing it in when I say "gg" after he has had his a$$ handed to him in a game?

So ive now changed to "thanks for the game" if they lose and "well played,gg" or "the game is yours , well played" for a win.

I hope hearing these at the end of the game will not upset anyone in the future

It definitely seems more like courtesy than typing some random letters.

QFT

So many sensitive flowers.... how do they manage the rigours of daily life?

Oh I've learned to ignore much worse things than an uppity gg (after several thousand games in Live Chess), just the idea that it represents courtesy annoys me.

 Okay KN, well let's reverse the roles. What if you had won and your opponent (without any prior communication) still says, "gg"?  If this is happening in live games, it could be that things are moving so fast that your opponents just want to focus on their game strategy and shoot you a quick "gg" afterwards so that they can move on to another game. I can understand this because it's a much faster paced environment than turn-based games. Even in turn-based games, I wouldn't see it as arrogance.

 I really don't think it's arrogance. In live games every second you have is precious and cannot really be spent chatting. The other thing is that some people just don't say much to people they don't know...and "gg" is just one of many universal ways of expressing good sportsmanship. After the game, regardless of the outcome, I will try to shoot a "gg". You will see this a lot everywhere at pogo.com, for example...just out of good sportsmanship. I could care less whether thay say anything to me because they don't know me and I don't know them.

 I see arrogance as while you are contemplating your next move, your opponent enters, "zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" because (in his mind) it may be taking you too long to make your move...or hurling other insults at you. It's true that some chess players boast some huge egos; but I believe they can think of better ways to insult their opponents than by saying "gg".

~The Doctor

I think it's a good idea; we could write "hs" for "handshake" instead of "gg".

I don't know where the perception af arrogance comes from, maybe it goes back to some childhood experience.

(This is arrogance)

Let's put it this way, when you win 5 in a row, opponent says nothing, then you drop a rook in a winning ending to lose game 6

And the opponent says "gg" after that.

That's not good sportsmanship.

Ah.  I didn't realize all these people crying about gg had beaten their opponent 5 times previously.  Now it makes so much sense.  

I think the idea that gg implies arrogance is completely off. However, it reeks of laziness and routine. When I lose a game because of a stupid blunder and my opponent writes "gg" - that's just strange (or perhaps has the meaning "pwnd"). In those cases I reply "Not really, I messed up" or something of the sort.

The really arrogant players write "Haha, I beat you" or "LOL you suck!" or something. THAT is arrogance. These boys should be whooped by their momma!

Personally I prefer a more conversational style of communicating, i.e. "Well played", "Thanks for the game(s)" or perhaps "Too bad you made a mistake, the game was yours".

I often write "Thanks for the game" regardless of whether I win or lose, but there have already been complaints previously in the forums about that phrase from people choosing to interpret it as sarcastic, as in "thanks for handing me the game".  Like I said earlier, the gg wackos are bound and determined to analyze any phrase until they conclude they've been insulted, no matter what.  Can you imagine what it must be like being around them in real life?