[babela]

Have you ever considered using the word "declined" instead of "rejected" as
in so-and-so has declined your offer to partner or permission to join

[pilowsky]

That's a great idea: how about a series of options?
deny
refuse
shun
repudiate
spurn
decline
pass up
put down
cast aside
or a thumbs down emoticon?

[Vampyr]

pilowsky, on 2020-September-14, 16:59, said:

That's a great idea: how about a series of options?
deny
refuse
shun
repudiate
spurn
decline
pass up
put down
cast aside
or a thumbs down emoticon?

I like “spurn”, and if there is a change to just one word it should definitely be to that.

[gbb483]

pilowsky, on 2020-September-14, 16:59, said:

That's a great idea: how about a series of options?
deny
refuse
shun
repudiate
spurn
decline
pass up
put down
cast aside
or a thumbs down emoticon?

I see you have access to a Thesaurus. Which of those options do you think is the most polite?

[pilowsky]

gbb483, on 2020-September-18, 14:44, said:

I see you have access to a Thesaurus. Which of those options do you think is the most polite?

I have a good memory. There are lots of possible words in many different languages with all kinds of nuances.
People are slighted by the slightest things. Not being accepted for a Bridge game is not the same thing as having your offer of marriage rejected.
An abundance of politeness is not required.
Any word is fine a simple no would suffice IMO.
But then it would have to be a question of Nein, nyet, non, etc
I'm not being nasty I just think that at a time when there so many things to be concerned about, this one isn't one of them.
On a suffering scale of 1-100, how much suffering is being caused by the problem is the metric that I apply. If it's less than 10% I have absolutely no interest.
Other people may, out of an excess of empathy view matters differently. I reject that viewpoint.

There's an idea, offer a variety of alternative words - how about a short essay, or a pictogram, or a lagniappe?

[thepossum]

A very entertaining thread.

Thankyou

Starting to get a bit Monty Python really

I think with the state of analytics and personalised messages the insults could be more direct and highly personal

You aren't good enough for our table
You talk too much
Your conversation is not up to scratch
You are too slow
You have to be joking, we saw how you squandered that grand yesterday
Or to really freak people out. Sorry, not in that jacket
Etc

I must admit that when combined with the order to Sit! it can be rather hurtful when the order is actually meant for someone else

[gbb483]

pilowsky, on 2020-September-18, 15:36, said:

...
An abundance of politeness is not required.
...

On the contrary - bridge is a social game, you can get kicked out of a club for not being nice.

My ignore list is full of posters who have need for politeness.

[pilowsky]

gbb483, on 2020-September-21, 14:18, said:

On the contrary - bridge is a social game, you can bet kicked out of a club for not being nice.

My ignore list is full of posters who have need for politeness.

How about pomposity? I live in the real world where real things happen to real people. I don't tolerate rudeness in a social setting either.
OTOH there is no need to force everyone to wear a top hat black tie and tails just to have a game of cards.
Nobodies dying. This is not the operating theatre. Relax.