Warning: strangely enough the following is my opinion. I haven't thought particularly hard about it. Neither should you. It may not even be entirely true.

Etiquette is a funny thing. It might seem obvious to you but then you meet some uncivilised barbarian who not only doesn't know what the hell you're talking about but wouldn't give a damn even if you explained it to him.

Etiquette is defined thusly: the customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group.

This naturally presupposes three things, firstly that your oppo actually cares a damn about politeness, secondly that what he believes to be polite is the same as you and thirdly that he belongs to the same group.

What is polite? To decide on this lets look at what we're doing here. We are playing a game. Lives are not at stake. Not even money. Pride perhaps, though lets face it not a lot of it. It is only a game, my favourite game but still a game and something I play (see that word there, play) for fun.

It follows then that my opponent whomever they may be must also be playing for fun. Yes, yes I know some of them are absolutely avatars of Nuffle sent to test us and see if we can still come back after being skinned and served up for lunch but most are indeed human.

So surely politeness and polite play is were you do your best to ensure that your opponent also has fun? This doesn't mean you have to go easy on them or spare the rod (hurhur) but you should ensure that what you are doing is sporting and not making them more upset than you have to.

I recently played a game with one of my teams that I've been trying to skill up for participation in 1 of the majors. I came up against another pretty bash heavy bunch and, well, things didn't go to plan. Nuffle didn't just desert me he went and played for the other guy.

I swear, its not that I was playing badly but my armour was tissue and his was admantium. Come the 2nd half and players down already, I lost 3 in the 1st turn. Ok then.

I apologised and told him I couldn't continue being competitive and would retreat to lick my wounds leaving the field to him. This however really wasn't enough for him. No he wouldn't be happy until my entire team was smashed and fouled into oblivion. The charming man mentioned something about trying to retire them. What a gent.

Well I guess he's aloud to play the game any way he likes I suppose.

I always do my best to win. That doesn't mean that I always play tier 1 teams or stick to the meta but I'll always try my best whatever I'm coaching.

I don't think its controversial to say that's kind of the whole point.

But I do believe it is the responsibility of a player to insure within reason that he remember it is a human being on the other side of him and his team might mean nothing to you but to him it might be the product of many long hours of effort.

Wrecking it without any real need is not just vandalism but can be a cruelty as well.

I'll hear all this guff about spps for casualties and so on but there are no points for fouling and is the possibility of 2 spps really worth it? You are dicing your opponent. Victory and a big one too is assured. Your opponent has stopped playing and is just trying to save his team. Have some humility. Show some class. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

And even if you don't care if your 50 game team you were prepping for a tournament is smashed to pieces, maybe your opponent does.

People will say if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen, this is the box only the strong survive blah blah blah

My friend this is a game. A game. You can be highly competitive whilst still being a good sport. You can smash someone's team, I've done it myself, on the way to a win but why would you try and retire someone just for the sake of it?

It's not cricket and it's not polite.

I would argue politeness is different from things like timing people out. I don't do it but some people, with some justification think its part of the game and do it regularly.

This is different from a spiteful t16 foul. Or the sadistic pleasure derived from murdering a helpless opponent. "Well that's just the way I roll mu-ha-ha aren't I a crazy guy" Not really. Just someone with no etiquette.

I said it at the start and I'll say it again, this is my opinion. That's a lie. This is my opinion right at this present moment. Tomorrow maybe it'll be different. I don't condemn anyone for having different ideas on etiquette than I do, but they say every cripple has his own way of walking and this is mine.