First off, i know this has been aired in the past, however i cant find the old thread to bring it back!

I was told today by a mod that you can be punished for chatting to your opponent using the PM system during a game, as it is considered cheating!

This is, if its true, nothing short of crazy!

If there is anything that can be considered cheating, it is people who type in the game window during play.

Its simple - PM windows are clear of the game so entirely unobtrusive, letting the user read and reply, or ignore, at thier convenience. However typing in the game window is in-your-face and extremely distracting.

Ok - rant over!

If someone is talking in a PM, they can say what they like as moderators can't see it.

If you talk in main chat they can, plus if your opponent is on the black or something and you PM him/her, it could easily put them off.

Edited at 14:05 Mon 3/04/06 (BST)

I have the game window full screen, so the PMs are annoying and obtrusive when they come up. However, I find the main window text bar at the bottom unobtrusive and not a distraction. Everyone's different.

Mods can see you chatting to ur opponent when using the main chat box when ur playing a game??
I thought only when you was in one of the Rooms where everyone else can see it???

Edited at 15:36 Mon 3/04/06 (BST)

And some players definitely DO use the PM window to cheat - suddenly spamming u on crucial shots and blocking ur view - so the rule is a good one

best way???? enable 'block pms wen playing' cant do it if there not on ur freinds list.
and ignore guests too i have no probs ne more

I thought mods could only see you chat in main rooms too, not a game room! news to methat one!
Better keep the chat clean then ppl!!......

oh no!

Oh no what??...........

I don't think moderators can see what happens in chat window in your game room, unless they go and look...but then Anyone can do that...surely if they could see what was happening in every single game room, they'd have a constant stream of text going past too fast to see!

Big Brother is watching you........

EDIT: I heard that!!!

Edited at 17:24 Mon 3/04/06 (BST)

genius

I think some are missing the point!

I WANT people to chat to me using the PM window so it DOESNT distract from the game. Especially if i am on the black/9 ball!!!

I dont want to ignore people as i enjoy chatting, indeed the social aspect is one of the big attractions of the site.

I simply cant understand how anything typed in a PM window can be distracting since it is completely seperate to the game window!

How about an option to "Ignore chat in the game window" similar to the ignore PM one?

Rant over again!

the problem is that the first time you send a message via pm it pops up on the other person's screen. this can be annoying when you are on the black. Doesnt bother me in the slightest but for the more competitive ones..........

agreed beannie, when you send a pm, that window automatically goes to the front. Can really put you off if you are lining up the black at the time.

It is a general concensus that chat (esp GG) should be kept to the room. There are already game results ect being constantly posted there so will not put you off. However each to their own, if you are playing somebody who pm's on the black best to use the ignore button.

I think Spinner has a good point here, if we have an ignore PM's whilst competing then an ignore main chat window whilst competing would be useful

correct me if im wrong but I believe when you choose to ignore somebody, it does so in main chat as well as PM

yeah ur right it does ignore in main chat too

what she means is ignore them just while in the game, so ignore chat while competing.

Not ignore user

You wouldn't be punished for talking to your opponent in a pm window during a game.

However, if you are on the black, and your opponent spams your pm window so it pops up as you are about to take your shot, I would say this is cheating. Almost impossible to prove of course

Imagine when you are at the snooker club on the black to win the game, and your opponent starts dancing like a baby giraffe on ice and making loud monkey noises, I think its a fair comparisson.