Words with Friends and Creeps

I played Scrabble as a kid. Loved it. Once I got married it fell by the wayside. To his credit, my first husband tried but he really wasn't a good speller and almost every play he made had to be challenged. Second husband didn't like games and he couldn't spell either. And Mark would be lost without spell check. So I'm happy to play Words with Friends.

It's like a Scrabble game, but it's not actually in real time. You don't have to challenge anyone's word because the game won't let anyone play an "unacceptable" word. (Although I know there's a glitch in there that sometimes allows non-words to sneak through.) I've been playing online for eight or more years. When I first started playing, it actually was Words with Friends. You had to be Facebook friends with your opponent. That gradually changed to allow you (indeed, strongly encourage you) to play with people you didn't know.

I'm okay with that. I don't mind playing with people I don't know. Can't say I've met any life long friends playing, but there are several people I play with regularly whom I don't actually know.

But within the last six months I've noticed a really disturbing trend. Creeps. And it's all men being creeps. I've yet to encounter a creepy woman. They challenge you to a game and after the first move, they engage the chat feature.

"Hi"

I typically respond with "hi" because it would be rude not to return a greeting.

"Where are you playing from?"

My response "Dallas (or now Orlando) - and you?" - again because I don't want to be rude. Truth is, I don't care where they're playing from.

"Are you married or single?"

"I'm very happily married." This is where I start to lose some of the politeness. I don't reciprocate the inquiry into their marital status. Because I don't care. I just want to play the game.

"What do you like to do?"

"I like to play Words with Friends. I don't like to chat. I'm not a very chatty person."

Then they suggest that if they had my email address, we wouldn't need to use chat. What kind of creepy idiot am I dealing with? Do they realize how much junk email I get in a day? What makes them think I want an email from them? Some have asked for my phone number so they could text me or phone me. Seriously, I'm not making this up. Some of them believe that if we are playing Words with Friends, that makes us friends. Sorry, that's not how I see it.

Some of them have claimed to be soldiers in Afghanistan. (Dude, I see your picture - you are too old to be a private in the army! And you seem to be playing in the same time zone I'm in.) I'm sure one of them was some type of foreign national - his average word score was 4. You get more than four points playing the word "the".

And call me old-fashioned, but I don't like to be addressed as "Beautiful" by someone I don't know. I suppose there are women who don't mind and others who thrive on it. I am not those women.

One told me his name was Harry and asked me my name. You can see people's names on their profile all through the game. I didn't bother to answer that one at all.

One asked if I liked walking in the park. (How was I supposed to answer that? I lived in Dallas and now I live in Orlando. We don't walk in the park this time of year. And what difference does it make to this guy?

One asked what turned me on. I felt like I'd been thrown back in time to a 70s singles bar. I didn't answer. In addition to it being none of his business, it's an inappropriate topic of conversation for mixed gender strangers. So when I didn't respond he came back to ask if the question had "hurt" me. No, it didn't hurt me. It annoyed me. So again, I didn't answer.

A few of them have become incredibly insistent that I give them a telephone number or an email address. And when I refuse, they quit the game. And some of these are people I've gone "silent" on, not answering their nosy and irrelevant questions. Seriously, dude, I'm not responding to you on chat. Do you seriously think I'm going to open the door for you to call me, send text messages, or email?

I suspect they're all up to some kind of scam - I just don't know what kind of mischief you can get up to with someone's first name, last initial, and email address. But I assure you I do not intend to find out.

Nowdays, I'm saving myself the trouble. If I get a game request from a man I don't know, he has to meet certain criteria for me to accept the game. His picture has to include a female partner and he has to have an average word score over 15. Or, he has to play regularly with someone I know. If not, I decline the game. I've declined three so far this week. It's easier that way.

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