We Americans SUCK, I am ashamed!

[PSO_Krunk]

Something really shameful happened tonite while I was playing, and I wanted to let you all know about it.

I started a game with some JP players, and a guy I already knew. (yo, Eugridor!) We were getting along fine, working as a team and patting each other on the back for opening switches and basically saving each others skins. Eug had to split, and then it went downhill from there.

I suppose I feel responsible for this in some way, because I should have locked the game, but I didn't.

"DARK MESSIAH J" jumped into the game, and we all said our hellos. He immediately began begging for a double sabre. We all told him that we didn't have any. (I'm a giant robot ranger, DOES IT LOOK LIKE I WOULD CARRY A DOUBLE SABER!!??) And I got a bad feeling about this kid right away.

When we hit the surface, and got into some heat, one of the JP players got surrounded and killed. No sooner did his warm body hit the ground, that jerk was on him and ganked all his shit. It was un-f*%cking believeable. The kid was just hovering like a rat weasel. He turned right around and split for the teleporter.

The 2 JP players just sat there, amazed.

I was FURIOUS!

I was so ashamed. there was nothing I could do to stop him. I would have given anything to be able to reach out and f*%king choke the life right out fo that kid. I know it's just a game, but damn! Didn't this kid's parents teach him ANYTHING?

Well, mine taught me a thing or two, so I did the only thing I could. I gave the guy my VISK 235W +16, right there on the spot. The gun that's been welded to my robots hand since the day I found it. The gun I've ground up from a plus nothing.

I dropped it at his feet and looked for the "I'm so very sorry, I am ashamed for my country, and words cannot express my feelings, please accept this gift" phrase in the translator window. (But the closest I could come was, "I'm sorry")

I think he was more stunned.

I proceeded to give him the other 3 ?SPECIAL WEAPON's that I found, and all the monogrinders I came accross. By the end of the game, the 3 of us were bonded like glue. If there's anything better than having someone tell you, "Krunk< You are cool." thru a translator, I don't know what it is.

My only true hope was to be 10 times as cool as that prick, and try to erase the notion of how amazingly horrible we can be as a country.

Ambassador Krunk, at your service.

[Jihatsu]

HEAR F!%KING HEAR.

I've given up on random games. I've made enough friends to have at least one on at any given time and RARELY will I venture into random games (like tonight, Seqret. Hey, any game titled PSO World can't be so bad).

What I've found is that the American Dream has sort of become "greed, wealth, power" instead of the "comfortable living" it used to be. And it's leaked to PSO. Don't get me wrong, not all PSO players are bad. You know this.

But it comes down to a fact of representation. I'm sort of two sided on this, because that guy, no matter how hard he puts up a fight, is still just one citizen of Japan. It's not like he's the anthropomorphic representation of the country Japan. "Yeesh.. sorry Japan, here, lemme see what I can do for you to replace the uh.. loss."

This kind of happens to all of us, you realize. I've had my crap yanked from me so many times by my own to be wary of anyone anywhere anytime.

I say find who's worthy to play with you, stick to them like glue, and um.. password your games.


[addsig]

<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Jihatsu on 2001-02-25 05:12 ]</font>

[Dr_Shnee]

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS collect guild cards of you can. This way you can track particular assholes online and have your bittersweet revenge with them (both times I got my items back by following thieves and bitching at them).

[LastUtopia]

Agreed. I think the easiest way to tell if there's going to be a problem with anybody is to give them your card once you start playing. If they don't give you theirs, it could mean either:

A) They don't know how, this has happened to me a few times, but once your past level 20 oniline it's not as believable anymore.

B) They don't want you to track them because they are planning on stealing something if you or a teammate dies.

[faceless]

actually, i never give out my guild card to anyone before we play.
don't want someone always harassing me later on...

trading is a different story... guild cards first.

[EnriqueHavoc]

man i really hate that.. just completely ruins the game and makes you feel like crap.

if youve ever been to japan, you know that its really a magical place people have such different views of the world and their fellow man.. its so different from america and its sad that the japanese have to come in contact with us.. even me who i feel am very aware and try to be considerate, i have felt myself stepping on the delicate and polite customs of the japanese.

but at the same time, what ive heard from my japanese friends is that they have come to expect that type of behaviour from foreigners.

i think in a sense.. behaviour like that of the item thief actually reinforces the japanese way of thinking.. it provides a clear contrast to the way they look at life.. and where an american might get corpse jacked, get very cynical and start doing it themselves to "get even" in some abstract way, i dont think the japanese would neccesarily have the same reaction.

[EnriqueHavoc]

in other words.. this isnt the first time foreign devils have insulted or otherwise treated the japanese badly.. its been ingrained in their cultural consciousness, though they may not come in contact with it everyday.

but most japanese(unlike most americans) are also considerably smart enough to be able to separate the individual from the country.

i think its good that you offered your items to make up for the loss though.. that was a very considerate thing to do

[Dr_Shnee]

TO FACELESS:

Why would anyone want to go through the trouble of harrassing you at all? (unless you were a jerk to them or stole something from them...)

[Ryoji]

Ugh, I've come across this many a time on PSO. And I have also come across those from Japan who do not wish to associate with me because I'm American. One of my Japanese friends on PSO cannot socialize with her other Japanese friends when I'm around, because they complain often and make a big deal about it. They've all had items stolen from a bunch of rude American a-holes and they come to distrust ALL of them. I asked my friend if she could tell her friends that I'm very sorry for what happened to them and to show that I'm not a bad person, I'd give them any item they wished. Yes, even my hero/ability unit... these items mean little to me when it comes to my own reputation and how others feel about me and others who are in this situation in the US. Bah. The guy wouldn't listen to my friend though..he still hates Americans. But I'm glad she knows better. She totally agrees with me that it's stupid to hate Americans as a whole, as easy as it is to do so. I mean, think about it. There are also bad people from Japan. You may not hear about it much, or at all, but there ARE item thieves from Japan. There obviously aren't many of them but my friends from Japan have told me about them. Anyways..don't you think this is kind of unnexpected that a video game is becoming a diplomatic tool? It's becoming less and less about hack & slash to me, and more and more about the people. Gah, I'd hate to see this with PK'ing turned on...it may start a war! x_X;

Anyways, I can sympathyse with you, Krunk, for being a Martyr. I'm also quite proud of you. I try to do the same thing where I can... Me and another person in the middle of a trade and some guy comes by and swipes the item I'm giving to them.*sigh* After the jerk leaves I give the person a replacement item. I don't mind giving away items really.

It helps me make more friends http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_smile.gif It's smart to make good close friends on PSO and stick with them. Then you can meet their friends...and their friends's friends, and so forth. Eventually, you won't need to go into random games, because you have so many cool people on your guild card list already! http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_smile.gif

Anyways, for a humorous thought...think about 4 thieves in the game all attempting to cheat and steal from one another. LOL Funnier thing is...the Thieves would be pissed that someone stole from them..hmm...how ironic http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_razz.gif

[MilkManX]

Some of these players just make me sick. Props to you Krunk I wouldve done the same thing.

[SeQrEt_1]

Well I try to be an honest player Jihatsu. I hate people who are consistantly being the ones who wine and then when your dead go and take your items.

Even if it's an ultra rare item I always revive people. I've done it to players with Twin Brands, Double Sabers, and a real agito. (pats self on back). I don't know why people feel like stealing. Just be nice to people you meet and maybe one day they will give you stuff just for the hell of it.

I'm Pinkal.. I always feel like stealing cause I don't get anything.. but i don't and it pays out in the end.

But on to the subject some foreign players are item hogs. I know cause i've experianced it. Hell I am an item hog as long as the guy i'm playing with doesn't grab anything. Or if it's mutual like a game last night.

[Manny]

I feel ya...
all of those american theives....
ruining the game for everyone.....
Ever since losing alot of good weapons to them i have grown a 6th sense and i have become paranoid in the trading business....

[Eugirdor]

Damn Krunk, sorry to hear that happend after I left the game. Ironic, I had just joined that game after getting my DRAGON SLAYER +9 stolen in an American game. Why would I use such a weapon online? Well I just got the BSOD and lost all my other stuff. All in all, not a good day for PSO.

[Arianna]

<HR color="#0000ff">

<FONT COLOR="violet"> I personally enjoy playing on the japanese ships because the people are just pleasant to be around and most importantly, they focus more on spiritual being than material wealth. Because of their philosophy, I am able to loot almost everything in the game and collect tons of special items. They even wait by my telepipe for me to get back and loot some more! Yes, their weapons are unscathed from the waste of energy it takes to break open a box or two. Now, I don't loot other people..that's pretty low but even when I get looted of a stag and close to 600,000 meseta BY a Japanese youngin' who is exploiting the "hit other players" bug to knock me down, I keep a good attitude. For some reason, he said how he was getting revenge for Hiroshima and said that we would all die for eating hamburgers and constantly referred to us as "Niggahs!", "Hunkass," or "Babes." I, along with a few under-adolescent humars, began shouting obscenities at him as a result. The humars told him to go eat his dog for breakfast and I said something like "I thought Japanese people were intelligent." Anyway both cultures have their assholes and they pretty much even out..Japs are just more subtle assholes. </FONT>

<HR color="#0000ff">

Mod: Removed midi signature.

<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Arianna on 2001-02-25 15:05 ]</font>

<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Ambrai on 2001-02-25 20:28 ]</font>

[Heero_Yuy]

The one thing i hate more than cheaters on PSO are thieves maybe i hate them more because what they do is worse. Last night while playin with some people, Sapota, dies and i accidentally pick up the weapon before noticing she is dead. I immediately drop it and say "I am very sorry" and use reverser. Then before i know it someone comes right to the weapon and picks it up. Then the other two there say "kill him he stole it" and this crap keep going on for a while. They try and give her crap weaps to make it up for what I have not done. IT was a shadow breaker +9 and offered my second best weap to her(gladius) i then went to the bank after the "fun" in the mines and said" i have too much stuff i will drop it and take if you like" i meant for them to be for sapota cuz she lost her main weap but those two were all over the stuff no matter how little of value it was. I didn't say anything but they certainly showed who took it. I hate people who steal and i hate more, ppl who steal and blame on others. they should not have made it possible to take others weapons if they do not drop them voulentarily. it just creates many dishonest ppl. Now this has nothing to do with any japanese players but i just felt that should be said. Thieves suck @$$!!

[SeQrEt_1]

CUT THAT CRAPPY MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Valsu]

TEST TEST TEST i wonder what happens with two midi's playing? TEST TEST TEST


<EMBED src="http://members.xoom.com/matkeri/midi/Enter_Sandman_2.mid" controls="smallconsole" loop="true" autostart="true" HEIGHT=15 WIDTH=144 MASTERSOUND>

[Ambrai]

Just an FYI, Midi's AND java are not allowed on the boards as signatures.

[Catch22]

Megaman Meets Metallica in a Battle Royale!.. Man, if that was the Sigma boss music I woulda trounced him in a sec..

Be wary,

Not only does Ambrai have sights on midis..

But Metallica has its sights on you!!

..Bah.

.22
PRO-NAPSTER
ANTI-METALLICA

[SuperSubZero]

I had a similar experience recently but the guy stole a stupid Varista. I mean come on.. There are people who can't STOP getting these things. The JPN player was pretty p.o'd.. I donated a Dragon Slayer AND another Varista and it calmed them down. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_cool.gif

My Japanese is limited but I've joined games where they discuss with each other whether they want to play with a non-Japanese. Usually they don't care but I know US players have a 'rep' now and I sometimes have to work a little harder to get the team to acknowldge me.

-SSZ

[Ambel]

Well another reason (knowing since I'm part Japanese) is that we are taught to be more respecting of other people's wants, needs, oppinions, etc. I live in Texas, USA and I MUST say that there are FAR too many American thieves, bad-mouthers, and cheaters. I think that we have to work on this fact here in America.

As a whole, Japanese society highly values honor and community, whereas America values independence. It also occurred to me recently that since 'good will gifts' are so prominent in Japanese culture, these 'nicer' Japanese players might be expecting something in return. As for the yanks, when you take PSO, a game designed to be entirely co-op, 'independence' translates into either playing offline or being a thief.

[Rei]

As I read from some Asian PSO forum, some players are from Taiwan. Since there's no chinese language in PSO, they play Japanese version instead.

From what they(taiwanese) said about

American players: Greedy, no team-work.
Japanese Players: American-wannabe.

[Jihatsu]

So uh.. what are we supposed to think about them? O_o

[Marlboro]

First of all if the guy is out there. I'm not responsible for the creation of nuclear weapons. Einstein came from Germany so blame someone else.

On the the issue at hand.

Well you know maybe it's because I'm tired but why didn't or why doesn't Sega fix it so you can't steal dead peoples stuff? And maybe a trading post or something?

Ah well maybe it makes to much sense.

[RedVento]

I have a similiar experience, I played on a japanese server for the first time this morning. Joined a game with 2 other people. So there I am, watching them talk back and forth in Japanese, so I try to say hello using the translator.. nothin.. for like 5 minutes.. Then a 4th joins, a force, and the three of them start talking(about me I'm sure). So I go to the bank, pull out the crapload of force items my pinkall id yields, with some mind materials and some power materials and drop em all in the middle of the three of em. I use the translator to tell em to take the items, I can't use em. After that they were very happy to talk to me... They tried to give me items also.. I had them already so I left em, no need to sell em. Let me tell you, we had the SLOWEST conversation, but the game was definetly better..
One funny thing did happen though, one of the japanese players left and was replaced by another american. The first thing outa his mouth was "anyone have a dbl sabre" followed "by please speak english"
I couldn resist commenting... "Dude, if you want english go to a us server and stop asking for dbl sabres. its really annoying."
he left 30 secs later..

that's it.. but I think I'll be playing there now..

[Android]

99% of the americans who say they want a double saber actualy mean i will steal you items... i got my frying pan stolen once by a guy named Reaper (an american), I stalked the guy so much he gave it back and we became friends... he hasnt stolen since!

But the only thing that can realy change a thief is for him or her to be stolen from.

[MunKEE]

I wish people would stop generalizing the countries so broadly. From the reactions of this board, there seems to be a fairly LARGE amount of americans that wouldnt steal, and also hate with a passion those who do. It does upset me when a person accuses me of stealing items. If someone dies next to you when you are fighting, it is a mistake that could happen. Problem is people get so hysterical and start crying about it. I cant exactly drop the guys weapon for him to get when I am in the middle of combat. Sigh. I really hope that sega does fix this problem in PSO2.

Oh and I just want to say that there ARE bad japanese players as well. We arent the only ones. But I will agree that there seems to be more of the bad 'guys' on our side of the pond.

[Ratsmack]

Wow. I'm going to be patriotic. Me. Isn't that one of the signs of the apocalypse? Get over yourself, foreigners, you're not that high and mighty. Sure, there's tons of American cheaters. But how is it possible that you people can be so blind as to not see that cheating didn't originate in America. I've played with some foreigners who ran around snatching items and demanding to be revived when they get themselves killed. I've played with some Americans who would drop a load of their best items if one of their comrades lost anything. It's really, really, really, really dumb to make generalizations. Anyone remember that Odd Couple quote? "You know what you do when you assume? You make an ass out of 'u' and me." Don't assume all Americans suck. Krunk, you're American, true? You gave up tons of good shit to the guy who was stolen from. So...that therefore means all Americans...don't suck. Some suck, many suck, but there's tons of other countries chock full of cheaters and theives. America, as bad a reputation as it has (and rightfully so), isn't and SHOULD NOT be the scapegoat of all the problems in an online community. Really, people, stop bashing Americans.

[Jihatsu]

I played on jp/lo last night and these guys were trying their hardest. Some guy asked if I had an extra mag cell. I thought about it, then realized I didn't need it since Soniti is my main mag. So I went up, got 213 out of the bank, and went back down, dropped it in front of him. The other guy that was playing ran back and looked at it, I guess. I was hoping he didn't pick it up.. turns out the one who asked did pick it up (see, they're even courteous to each other, what the hell is wrong with us? http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_biggrin.gif), and could NOT stop thanking me during the game. It was kinda nice.

Ever wonder why some of the jpn players space their english? l i k e t h i s? I've never understood it.

[SuperSubZero]

On 2001-02-26 18:51, Jihatsu wrote:
Ever wonder why some of the jpn players space their english? l i k e t h i s? I've never understood it.


It's the way the font looks. For some reason this is the same for them on PC's also. The Japanese character table for PC's has english letter and numbers and they are all spaced oddly.

BTW- if a JPN player ever says "39" it means 'thank you'. Took me a minute to figure out why.

-SSZ

[Socrates]

"Sigh. I really hope that sega does fix this problem in PSO2."

Why does everyone seem to be calling this a problem to be solved by SEGA? It's not a problem with the game, it's a problem with the players. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_smile.gif

Dropping weapons when you die is a Good Thing, game -wise. In 1-player mode, it provides that impetus to not go charging around blindly, and to think before you act, because if you overextend yourself, you may lose a valued piece of equipment.

In multi-player, it's also a good thing, because it allows your teammates to recover your items if you fall. While not especially critical in most places, it can be handy in a Boss battle and everyone has fallen and the last person is out of Moons and no hope of beating the Boss by himself. If they can last long enough, they can scoop up everyone's equipment, and then return it when everyone has preished and returned to the Med Center.

The failing is not with the game, but with certain people who play it, and abuse how the system was supposed to operate.

Socrates

[Marlboro]

Bull this is Sega's problem. Especially with the lack of no safe way to trade items and they let any and everyone jack your stuff.

All they needed to do was to have some kind of 3rd party that gave you your stuff after both parties agreed and to have a option to let you choose if you wanted other people to take your stuff.

It maybe a people problem but why didn't they take care of it? They knew tis would happen and they will not stop it now.

[Butter-Knife]

I had just got a Spread Needle +15 and then i joined a game (puck - block 2) and went down the telepipe to ruins 3, after i caught up to the other players we started killing stuff. After awhile i died to a damn Chaos Bringer, suddenly a guy ran over to my body picked up my spread needle and quit.. i guess i can never use any good weapons on US servers... cheaters and thiefs are everywhere there...

-----------------
http://members.nbci.com/butter_knife/butter.gif

[Dymlos]

"They knew tis would happen and they will not stop it now."

How could the Japanese game designers have known this would happen? Its not like Japan has as much theft rates as America...in fact, Japan has one of the lowest crime rates and America has one of the highest out of all the 3rd world countries. Japan doesn't exactly cater games specifically for US intentions.

[RedVento]

uhh.. last I checked, both the US and Japan are far from 3rd World countries.... We are both industrialized countries. Places like ethiopia are 3rd world, implying poverty, lack of running water, and poor dental coverage.

[Dymlos]

Whoops...I meant to say that Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and that America has one of the highest crime rates, even compared to 3rd world countries.

[Catch22]

Socrates,

You are just plain ole awesome!!

[TwiNCannoN]

They should've done something like, when giving someone your guild card, there could be stages. Stages of trust, if you will. First stage - just mail and stuff, like we have now. Second stage, they are allowed to loot your items when you die.

A secure trade window really would be keen though.

But, like someone mentioned, Jp just don't have this problem, and I don't blame them for not really caring about us. I'm just glad we get ahold of these cool games.. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_biggrin.gif


-TwiNCannoN AKA Syora

[Bman]

Why does everyone seem to be calling this a problem to be solved by SEGA? It's not a problem with the game, it's a problem with the players.

And it's the citizens' fault that crimes are committed. But that doesn't stop governments from enacting laws to discourage them anyway. The players can't be changed. The game can.

[Bman]

How could the Japanese game designers have known this would happen?

Oh I don't know, maybe trying one of the three existing online RPGs on the PC and taking note of the fact that people are, generally speaking, assholes?

[Aberu]

i do agree that what he did was wrong but i have been killed by one of the japanese players because they found out how to PK, i was really low on HP like around 15 and asked for him to heal for i had barely anything left ( i was on vhard for the first time in the ruins if youve ever been in that situation at levl 40 you should know what its like) anyways he said yes through the word select of course. Then all of a sudden he starts beatin the crap outta me!!! and he killed me and took my Wals +9 and my 300000 meseta (i had 1 mil in the bank so had nowhere else to put it and no i did not cheat!) anyways this ticked me off. As you may or may not know the japanese version of PSO has a bug in which you could hit players but it couldnt take down damage, and now i guess they found out how to take down damage even if it was only 3 at a time, he had daggers so i was dead right away. My point is is dont judge a whole nation on one person, those japanese people you played with could have robbed others you never know, and that little kid was one of very few who still steal, the japanese are very ruthless also most of the time i have seen it happen in front of my eyes. Anyways sorry for the incredibly long reply.

[Isamu64]

Exchanging guild cards does not mean that you aren't gonna get ripped off. I was trading just last night with a guy named Lordslayer. I asked for his guild card before we did anything and he agreed. I figured that he was probably legitimate, so I dropped my stuff first, he grabbed it and basically ignored me for a while. Some other people came in and started haggling over stuff to trade. I kept bugging the guy and then he just took off. I feal really dumb now, but the next time I trade, they drop first unless I know them, regardless of guild cards.

BTW, I'm gonna hunt down that ass and harass him for a good long time since I do have his card.

[Manifest]

Ive only been playing a week, and havent met enough people I trust yet to have enough guild cards to only play with people I trust. And because of this Ive been ripped off twice. First someone stole my dagger +3, which may not sound like much but when you are level 9 its a big deal, and then my mag. It sucks. Im just tryin to get by at this point.

[Ratsmack]

Nice to see the America-bashing was not even slowed by what I said. First of all, theft rates in some country have NOTHING to do with theft rates in a GAME. Get that part? If not, I'll repeat it. A GAME. GAME. Game is not life. Life is not game. And Socrates is right when he says it's the player's fault...technically. Truly, people would try their best to find ways to steal...but if anyone has ever played Diablo, you need to give your teammate PERMISSION to loot your corpse. That, personally, I think is the best theft-deterrant anywhere. And Bman...please, PLEASE do not EVER say something like that again. The citizen's fault for crimes, duh...genius. ((sarcasm)) What would you suggest people do? Run around in vigilante groups killing off people they think are theives? Duh...

[Manifest]

whats with all this Nation bashing? people are assholes regardless of where they are from, get over it.

[Socrates]

First off, before I respond, I'd like to make a request: will one of the admins please get rid of that MIDI. And I thought overlarge embedded graphics were annoying...

"And it's the citizens' fault that crimes are committed. But that doesn't stop governments from enacting laws to discourage them anyway. The players can't be changed. The game can."

Well, aside from the fact that it's a sad commentary on our culture if we feel the players/people can't be changed, I agree that SEGA can adjust the problem (although perhaps not in PSO1).

But that's what we're all hoping to see in PSO2, correct? Blaming SEGA for having this situation to begin with (which, as I said, I do not feel is a 'bug' or poor design) is what I felt was silly. Personally, I have no problem with the ability for others to loot my dead body. If I died in the first place, it obviously means that I overextended myself, and well, those are the risks you take.

Asking SEGA to add a secure trading option or the non-ability to be looted is a perfectly valid idea, of course. A good company that knows what it's doing will always listen to it's consumers about what they want. They may not always be able to deliver, but the truly successful companies do their best to try and comply.

"First of all, theft rates in some country have NOTHING to do with theft rates in a GAME."

I disagree completely. While certainly not a direct corellary, the two are definately related. Why? Because a person who is brought up to be polite and respectful of other people's property will carry those ideal's with them regardless of whether they are interacting with someone in 'real life' or cyberspace. A person who would never think about stealing something in real life is going to be far less likely to steal something in cyberspace.

[theunsurpassed]

What's up with you people? u think Americans are just a bunch of bitches who steal stuff? man, **** that! I'm not a racist or anything, I like anyone if their nice, I dont give a crap bout their race or color. But I have come across many Japanese gamers on PSO who talk $hit to me because I'm American. My point is, it's not just us Americans folks, it's us as humans that are like that. of course, many people out there are very friendly and socialistic (is that even a word ?).

[Bman]

And Bman...please, PLEASE do not EVER say something like that again. The citizen's fault for crimes, duh...genius. ((sarcasm)) What would you suggest people do? Run around in vigilante groups killing off people they think are theives? Duh...

I'll say whatever the hell I want, thanks. My point - since you're obviously too stupid to understand it - is that because people will not police themselves, someone else has to.

The thieves are obviously to blame for all the stealing, but only Sega is in a position to actually do something about them.

[Shoryu]

Being a japanese-american, I think i'm in pretty good place to comment this. When I enter game, they usually (japanese) discuss whether they leave or not.. if there is another american, of course, my screen name is japanese, so right off the bat they accept me. Biased? Yes, but they sure as hell have a reason to be. Alot of americans (i say alot, not most or all) are either
1- whiners (I want dbl saber bla bla blah)
2- Thieves (stealing)
3- Bad mannered and culturally unaware..
Now, that said, alot of american players (like me) are very well mannered and help out newbies. You never know...

[Ambel]

Agreeds with Shoryu http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_smile.gif

___