Etiquette is the customary code of polite behavior in society among members of a particular group.

I have an upcoming vacation that will take me away for a week or so. This is a family vacation. I may not have regular access to my account and I certainly will not be paying it as much attention.

I have scheduled the time period as vacation on my account so that my turns are not skipped or booted in my current games

As I was browsing open games to join, it occurred to me that it may be rude or a breach of etiquette to join or create new games knowing that I have a planned vacation around the corner. The game would start and immediately my name is listed as (On Vacation). Then again, games can take a long time to fill. It could be days, weeks, or even months before the games would start. Not to mention that the time for a turn is often more than a day. So I could be home and ready long before it is even my turn. Of course, I could just wait until I get back to see if there is still an opening then join.

All of this got me wondering what is proper etiquette for joining or creating games as one approaches a vacation?

The more players there are in a game the less I think this matters. In a two-player game, yes, that feels rude.

Otherwise, I would not really care very much. I may be an outlier here so other folks weigh in, but in some 16-player games a two-week vacation could fit between turns without delaying anything.

Blocking out vacation days is already good etiquette. What’s rude is to leave a team in a tourney hanging by getting skipped, booted or 2v1 in a bunch of games!

Also gotta point out that if you are worried about this, it’s totally possible to play on a smartphone.

depends on how long i'm going to be gone. if it's less than a week and a 3day timer; sure i'll join rather than let one of the few games i want to join disappear. if it's a shorted timer, low # of players or a longer vacation then i may hesitate. I also usually post in each of my live games to alert players to my unusual absence.

What BT at top said.

Also feel free to create games. Takes awhile for them to fill anyways.

>I also usually post in each of my live games to alert players to my unusual absence.

Apparently I should start doing this.

I got yelled at once in a team game because I went on vacation for 3 weeks, and when we got back one of my opponents accidentally attacked their own team. They blamed me for having such a long break in the game that it caused them to forget it was a team game....

I just assumed players would see the [vacation] indicator. Then they can go click on my profile to see when I'm coming back.

Ozyman wrote:>I also usually post in each of my live games to alert players to my unusual absence.

Apparently I should start doing this.

I got yelled at once in a team game because I went on vacation for 3 weeks, and when we got back one of my opponents accidentally attacked their own team. They blamed me for having such a long break in the game that it caused them to forget it was a team game....

I just assumed players would see the [vacation] indicator. Then they can go click on my profile to see when I'm coming back.

What about the alert that prompts someone before attacking a teammate? Did they blame you for ignoring that?

BTdubs wrote:The more players there are in a game the less I think this matters. In a two-player game, yes, that feels rude.

Otherwise, I would not really care very much. I may be an outlier here so other folks weigh in, but in some 16-player games a two-week vacation could fit between turns without delaying anything.

Blocking out vacation days is already good etiquette. What’s rude is to leave a team in a tourney hanging by getting skipped, booted or 2v1 in a bunch of games!

Also gotta point out that if you are worried about this, it’s totally possible to play on a smartphone.

Thanks. I do take turns from my phone. My concern is with reception and spending time on my phone versus being present with the family. Then I got to thinking about the community sentiment.

My take (as a Standard member) ...

• People sign up for an account, they're told the benefits of a Premium account and, heck, get a free trial as well.
• A benefit is the ability to go 'on vacation'.
• If you can't or won't go for a Premium account, you *don't* get to go 'on vacation', AND ... you don't get the right to whine about others who *do* get that ability and exercise that ability.
• Do I enjoy waiting for a vacationer to return? Not really. But ... that's life. If somebody can't deal with that, that is *their* problem.

The only case it's egregious is, as you and others have menmtioned, is when someone joins a short-turn 2-player game and immediately trots off. *That's* inconsiderate. Everything else? No worries.

Twobeard wrote:

What about the alert that prompts someone before attacking a teammate? Did they blame you for ignoring that?

That's part of why my sympathy was limited. I think they were just feeling very frustrated. Which is understandable. It was a critical tournament game and they had a lot of luck in the beginning and their mistake basically reset the game and gave us a chance to win. But at the same time - I've made lots of mistakes when I play - probably at least once a week I make some move and think - why did I do that? So I figure it sucks for them, but just chalk it up to a mistake they made and move on.

I do try to limit my games. If I'm going on vacation for more than a week, I'll stop joining games a couple of weeks before my vacation.

I can only speak for myself, for me vacation is not an issue. I have enough other games, or I make more. I'll reviset the game with a vacationing player when everyone is back.