Robo is the best VGAP site on the internet. It is also amazingly open to all. What has amazed me the most since joining Robo as a member is the quality of people here. I have formed some neat friendships and met some interesting people via my games. Still, as with all systems, there are some bad apples. Don't be one of them. Here are some tips how to avoid it.

1. The most obvious thing you can do is join Robo as a paying member. Robo entertains about a thousand of us VGAP warriors in about 100 different games at once. That's incredible, but I shudder to think of the agonizing withdrawal all of us would go thru if Robo weren't here. Let's make this site enjoyable for Don as well. SUPPORT this site.
2. Be dependable. If you join a game, play it! Get your turns in, preferably before the last second. You may not care if you live or die in a game but remember there are other players counting on YOU to play. If you are too flaky to do it.....get out of the game so someone else can. If you have an ally, this is especially important. Someone has given you their trust and is depending on you to help with things. Don't let them down.
3. Be fair. I'm not saying you can't be ruthless and slaughter everyone in the game......but be fair how you go about it! Don't cheat...by whatever devious means you can dream up. This includes what I call "stacking the deck." Don't get four or five other players together and join the same game as allies. Allies should probably be limited to three. Two is the most challenging and most fun normally. A good policy for all to adhere to is to notify other players whenever an alliance exceeds two. If you want to add a third partner in your grand alliance, at least WARN the other players something very serious is happening in the cluster so they have a chance to consider some alliances themselves. Don't slaughter them and let them find out the hard way. Three on one isn't very sporting in any game. Give every player an even chance throughout the game. Your victory will be far sweeter than if a gang of you just massacred a few unsuspecting guys who thought they were joining a fair game.
4. Honor your word. Don't stab other players in the back. Don't betray allies. There is a difference between an alliance and a non-aggression pact or border agreement. Don't form an alliance with a player you don't want to be allied to! Make a border agreement....even if you mean to break it later. (He probably intends to attack you later as well!) I view non-aggression pacts and border agreements as breakable things...a temporary agreement both sides have the right to break at their whim without hard feelings. Courtesy would dictate you inform someone such an agreement will no longer be valid after a certain time...even if that "expiration date" is next turn. Whatever you do after that will go down lots easier if you tell them the former agreement is void. ALWAYS notify an ally you no longer wish the alliance should your playing styles be incompatible. And I think it bad form to notify an ally of such termination one turn and swarm all over him the next. This is little more than betrayal. If you want to break an alliance, do so and go your separate ways. You both know that sooner or later you will meet and battle in the cluster but let it be later in the game when both have had time to adjust to the changed situation and you can meet fairly as the fortunes of war dictate.
5. Pity the Newbies! There are wide differences in skills among Robo players. Have mercy on players obviously starting out. Gently warn or advise them if you see them making horrible mistakes. At least once. Maybe even go so far as to take a Newby under your protective wing as an ally! Help them learn the game. The better everyone on Robo plays, the better we ALL will have to become. Thus, helping a Newby actually helps you...and is a rewarding experience to both!
6. Earn your rank. It's fun to watch players rise in Robo rank...but I said EARN IT. Don't gain points by cheating, stacking the deck, hunting for games full of innocent Newbies for you to kick around and don't try to be an opportunist! Don't watch for a winning player to drop out late in a game so you can slip in and grab some rank points without earning them. Players that do any or all of the above soon get a reputation amongst other Robo players. They become pariahs. They may have rank...mostly stolen or earned some devious way...but they are viewed as cowards....not VGAP warriors. Earn your rank points the hard way and other players will fear and respect you, not look down on you.
7. Take the bad with the good. If a game starts to go against you, play it out. Do your best. Get creative. Plead for help or allies! But don't drop out everytime things don't go perfectly for you. When you join a game, be committed to play it out and do your best. If you join a game and suddenly see nothing in it is to your liking and you want to drop out, do so as quickly as possible so someone else can pick up the race and run with it. If you must drop, don't drag it out. The sooner you get out of a game the better the chance of someone picking up your race. If you must lose a game, lose gracefully. Robo awards medals even for dying and surviving! There is no shame in earning a few of these as well. The players who should be ashamed are the ones who DON'T have a few Killed In Action or Survivor badges. You can't play this game long and not earn a few of these. Don't bug out when the going gets tough. Pull it out of the fire or die trying. There is satisfaction and enjoyment in even this!

In short, BE the type of player you want to play against. Be your best and it will improve the games for yourself and all the rest of us as well. Being your best is the only SURE way to win something in EVERY game. Vootah