to those people who disable chat... get stuff, play the computer.

I like to play where it's quiet. That's why I shut off chat if my opponent gets chatty.

"If im not at ease with the person im playing because theyre acting out i just resign and never play them again. Its worth the loss of points."

Can't disagree with you there peterwaffles, but at the same time, I have to say: it does give me more motivation to beat them!  Perhaps receiving cheap insults and racial slurs boosts my rating!  Haha.

But then again, sometimes (like last time, and I think now the only guy who's done this to me who is still online), it doesn't start until they're already into that downward spiral.  Talk about your sore losers!

If i needed to close the chat i would tell you something like "look man, no dissrespectn but i find the chat distracting"...

And the people that are rude and offensive with the chat... well i guess their punishment is to remain that way, rude and offensive. And no one wants to be like that right?

If im not at ease with the person im playing because theyre acting out i just resign and never play them again. Its worth the loss of points.

Some opponents I've played have tried to gain a psychological advantage by being offensive, vulgar, and even racist in chat.

Professional, yes (much more mature than returning insult for insult); social, no (obviously, but that's the point - your opponent was hardly being social, after all); even, yes (not like only one person has the ability to close the chat).

Chatting is a social privilege that it is assumed both players want at the beginning of the game, but that's no reason that it should be forced upon everybody for the duration, especially if one player starts becoming vulgar and offensive.

On a side note, most such people I've played against seem to have a pattern of eventually having their accounts closed for them.  Not all, but just a thought: if you run into such a person, there's a good possibility he won't be a problem on this site forever.

I have had to disable the chat with a few people because they were getting on my nerves and being offencive.