Not really. I get paid to edit and translate. I would never write "I'm retiring from playing a video/board/internet game." Seeing how gamers write has always made me laugh. Imagine some greasy, unemployed man living at home tapping on his computer "I'm retiring from gaming." What he really means is "I've wasted too much time on this bad habit and I have nothing to show for it. I've come to the conclusion that I need to take my life more seriously." Or maybe he means "I've become bored with this game and/or chatroom/forum, so I will instead play a different online game. So I won't actually retire from all internet games, just this one because I am bored." (Nike got turned down by multiple clans a couple weeks ago and now has decided to 'retire'? Coincidence? Nice euphemism.)

More about Nike, to highlight the humor in the word choice: Nike studies at an international high school in Hong Kong. I've taught history at two international schools and tutored students from a third. It's safe to say Nike's parents are well off (most likely business owners or doctors) and Nike has never had a job. So a 16-18 year-old Chinese boy who has probably never worked or learned a profession is 'retiring' from playing an internet game? Are the gamers out there sure this is the right verb for this situation? Quitting or stopping wouldn't work better?

Gui is no Grammar Sheriff, he is just trolling.

I'm no Grammar Sherriff either, I'm a warlight psychologist. Here is my pro(fessional) opinion:

Gui is attacking the phrase, used most recently by Nike, because he feels it is ostentatious. Why Gui is so vociferous and loquacious in his hounding of nike is quite obvious: our prolix friend has, perhaps recently, reflected on his own life, and found himself guilty of pretentiousness. To equilibrise this moment of self-perception with his otherwise lofty self-image, he has taken a line against Nike et al that is conspicuously extreme, in order to assuage his fears and assure himself that yes, he was always this fastidious when it came to vigilance against pretension, in himself and others.

Luckily for him, he is intelligent enough that he can mask this grandiloquent attempt at reconciling who he thinks he is with who he really is. So to the eye untrained in ways of warlight psychology, he appears to be simply a ginormous pedant (and he can even manage to justify himself in this regard). To me, however, his overcompensation reveals all too much.

im prescribing a chill pill, take it easy bro

I ought to have mentioned his recurring denigrations of his own hobby -

"Let's not kid ourselves. Warlight is a game. People play more for fun, leisure or out of habit",

he says, as if that is a revelation. This links in with my observations of his superiority complex. Sure, he is playing warlight just like all the other teenagers, but he never forgets the chance to remind himself that he is better than the rest of us, in this case, because he knows it's just a game, unlike the unenlightened trilobites he deigns to engage with.

This sudden excess of self-deprecation, if by proxy, also affirms my observations that he is unconsciously over-correcting for incipient self-criticism.

As the individual is high-functioning, and demonstrates no abnormality by my definitions, I elect to make no diagnosis.

holy crap dude why do you keep adding the word 'Chinese' in front of' 16-18 year old boy'?

anyway, looking at your comments, it seems that you completely ignored this

Definition of Retire
'2 withdraw to or from a particular place : she retired into the bathroom with her toothbrush. '

In this case, I have played warlight for a period of time. Now i have decided to withdraw from using this service. Does that make sense?'

There are a few 'Gaming gorgons' that you probably use too, gui! Such as saying'gg' even when its not a very good game at all.
As to why I quit Warlight, the main reason is school term just resumed and i think its getting tough, so i think i need more time to study. It has nothing to do with players and clans. :)

Nike, please retire quicker

I agree with Gui about these self-titled "retiring" gamers. Further more, they are rather otiose and melodramatic. I think posting on the forum that one intends to "retire" is just a form of attention seeking in an effort to gain one of the following:

1.
Enough people state that they will miss the "retiring" player and that they really want he or she to stay. So then one feels enough love and decides not to "retire" after all.

2.
Enough people state that they will miss the "retiring" player and that they really want he or she to stay. So then one feels that one can "retire" with the knowledge that oneself will be remembered as a great member of the warlight community and that bards will sing of one's great deeds. One will pass into legend!

3.
The "retiring" player" is just trolling in the hope of getting some reaction and he or she had no intention of leaving.

:P

'withdraw to or from a particular place : she retired into the bathroom with her toothbrush. '

English speakers do not use the word retire in this context. Even the example given by the dictionary comes off as someone using the word retire sarcastically, because retiring is an extremely grand way to describe anything, let alone something as mundane as brushing your teeth. I hope that wasn't lost on you Nike(retiring) because it comes across the same way when you put it in your name.

I think we all know this is less about you though Nike and more about Gui and Swenny's on going pissing contest. Long may it continue. =D

@HeyHeuHei: yes, i will soon, so that i no longer have to tolerate rats like you ;)
@Wordsworth: Not true. I never announced my retirment in the forum, if Huckleberry didn't come along with this thread, i doubt a lot of people would realize i'm retiring.
@Huckleberry: I think Schizo is right. I recall that you made a thread not long ago announcing very loudly you're leaving and also giving a variety of reasons. What happened? Can't break the addiction? I would have thought someone like you could do so with no trouble at all. I'm not 16-18 btw, i'm only 15. It does occasionally make me happy when i realize i beat people who are much older than me :D

@Nike: I never named you, although now I look at your chosen name I notice that it contains in parenthesis Retiring. I was refering to those who have posted threads declaring retirement or similar which there have been. For example Incaman declared a few weeks back that he was retiring due to obnoxious players or something like that.

I hope that clarifies my stand-point to you.

Sze is one of at least 12 players to use or write 'retiring' or 'retired' as their name.

Nike, in a few years after you have learned a little English grammar, you should revisit your above arguments (example sentence and reasons). I think you'll find there are a number of problems.

English speakers do not use the word retire in this context.

This is a bizarre argument - unless a word is commonly used, it cannot be?

[quoute]Even the example given by the dictionary comes off as someone using the word retire sarcastically[/quote]

The idea that the composers of dictionaries use ironic examples is beyond rational.

With regards to both these quotes, I am fully aware of the word 'retire' in that context, and 'retiring' is an adjective which is directly related to that sense of the verb.

Just because you have a limited vocabulary, doesn't mean everyone - including the writers of dictionaries - should. And if Gui criticises Nike's grammar, I wonder what he must think of you, when you are significantly older and a native speaker, yet seem to have a narrower grasp of the language.

I think we all know this is less about you though Nike and more about Gui and Swenny's on going pissing contest. Long may it continue. =D

He dedicated an entire post to defaming Nike in a highly personal way. Stop sucking Gui's dick, piggy, your knees will start to ache soon.

Sze is one of at least 12 players to use or write 'retiring' or 'retired' as their name.

I vaguely remember your own, to steal wordsworth's phrase, otiose and melodramatic words of parting. "Gui is dead, boot me, kick my carcass"? Next to that, "Gui - retiring" is positively understated. But then, your motive to make this thread makes hypocrisy necessarily endemic.

Wordsworth - one reason to announce your retirement is to let people you regularly play with that you do not want to be invited to tournaments or games, and you are likely to decline if you are. Then, people will know your reason for declining isn't particular to the game or the other players.

X, how's it going? I'd like to respond to each of the things you said individually, but I don't want to tease off each line and put it in quote marks with my response underneath, because thats ugly, so I have this instead:

Retired in the sense of leave isn't used uncommonly, it is not used. Reading the dictionary doesn't give you the whole picture. Quoting the dictionary isn't enough to convince me that you picked the right word.

Dictionary composers using sarcastic (not ironic) examples is funny. So is someone saying "I am retiring to the bathroom". Imagine your SO saying that in a posh English accent and bowing out of the room, wouldn't it make you smile? This was the point of my post.

you have a limited vocabulary

This is a bad sentence, every vocabulary is limited. Why don't you worry less about how many sophisticated words you can use and more about trying to communicate? Noone will think you "have a narrower grasp on the language" because you use a short word instead of a long one.

Gui dedicated a whole thread to criticising people using (retiring) next to their name. There is one person who comes to mind as using (retiring) next to their name and it isnt Nike. I pointed out the subtext because I thought it would make Nike feel less got at, I was being nice.

Are you posting because you feel like I'm picking on Nike? I pointed out that something he said sounded funny, because English isn't his first language. I wasn't rude or mean. I said something because the dictionary was entertainingly misleading.

misleading or not, sarcastic or not, the dictionary did say that retiring does not only refer to a career. Seems folly to argue against a dictionary, no?

And shouldn't mighty Gui, as an editor and translator, be aware of such a definition when he was acting like a smartass and going on his original rant? You are quite bad at your job, Gui. And I'm so sorry that you think my grammer isn't as great as yours, As X pointed out, not only are you older than me, english is your native language, so my grammer naturally should be inferior, right? Still, thats your opinion.

And seriously, stop evading the question, Gui. Are you just pissed off/jealous that some of us can actually leave the game. but you[b/] just cant break the addiction? You even announced your departure from Warlight very loudly on the forum a while ago.

Yeah, I am disagreeing with the dictionary. People who write dictionaries aren't infallible. If people didn't ever disagree with the dictionary definition they would never be updated and there wouldnt be more than 1 company making writing them. The entry was pretty bad, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that.

hey guys, cya around, i'm retiring



















for the night

Retired in the sense of leave isn't used uncommonly, it is not used.

Then it would be designated in the dictionary as 'archaic', or it wouldn't appear at all, depending on the dictionary and the edition.

I suppose it is possible for the word to be incongruously high-flown, but if somebody, at a party of some kind, announced that they were going to retire for the evening, I assure you that my monocle would not shatter. It's not the best example, but from whence she is retiring may justify the use of the word.

sarcastic (not ironic)

Sarcasm is a form of irony. You cannot have unironic sarcasm.

This is a bad sentence, every vocabulary is limited. Why don't you worry less about how many sophisticated words you can use and more about trying to communicate? Noone will think you "have a narrower grasp on the language" because you use a short word instead of a long one.

3.
characterized by an inability to think imaginatively or independently; lacking originality or scope; narrow: a rather limited intelligence.

- dictionary.com

There are many reasons why a large vocabulary is beneficial. Firstly, if you can vary your language, it makes your writing more interesting. I cannot fathom why the sort of hideous Newspeak you dream of would be remotely desirable. Secondly, more difficult works are accessible to you. Thirdly, synonyms are of great assistance in language that is not so prosaic. Please note that none of these reasons involve making yourself appear more intelligent.

I said something because the dictionary was entertainingly misleading.

When your English is inferior to that of a 15-year-old Chinese kid, I suggest you refrain from criticising the dictionary.

I posted because of (a) your insouciance towards the dictionary, which in my opinion is a better standard-bearer for the English language than the opinions of some australian guy, (b) your blind defense of Gui, which was blatantly wrong. Gui lambasted Nike (who is half his age), in a highly personal, and presumptuous, way.

Since you raise the case yourself, I will also add that your heroic defense of Nike is based on the notion that he is so unimportant, that even when Gui makes an entire post about him, it's actually about szeweningen.

tl;dr: THE DICTIONARY KNOWS MORE ABOUT DEFINITIONS OF WORDS THAN YOU DO

Yeah, I am disagreeing with the dictionary. People who write dictionaries aren't infallible. If people didn't ever disagree with the dictionary definition they would never be updated and there wouldnt be more than 1 company making writing them. The entry was pretty bad, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that.

I agree! Definitions are meaningless! argle bargle ugg ugg ugg ugg egestion prolapse frankincense irritant, spanglish wherefore. If you don't think that made sense, please consult my own self-published dictionary.

Nike, retiring in the bathroom context is a temporary withdrawal, and it is fully understood as such. Retiring in your context is a permanent state of quitting (you do not intend to return) and is also fully understood as such. To conflate temporary and permanent as well as withdrawal and quitting as if they are the same shows the poor word choice. To go a bit further, retire in the bathroom case is literary; in the gaming context it is intended to have a practical use. Putting your flimsy rationale aside, the big picture is that gamers (who think they can be professionals) misuse a word meant for actual professionals. Retire comes from French in the modern age, so its French meaning is still at the essence of its English meaning. Before retirer became English there were other common ways to express your meaning: quitting, stopping.

To say Gui is dead was meant to be "Lion humor." If the anti-Gui monkey chooses to take stupid words at face value, that is fine.

But the truth is I don't want to be known and would rather just play games. So I wanted (and still want) to stop using this account (let it die) and use a quiet and unknown account.

Unfortunately, two things happened: Fizzer didn't want me to use other accounts on the forum and my new main account wasn't a member and I didn't enjoy not being able to play the games I was accustomed to making. So here I am still. I want to transfer this membership, but I don't know if it is possible.

Break the addiction? I can quit any time I want. But my life is still a bit dull and I enjoy playing games. After teaching and reading all day, or between classes, it is fun to play a quick game to relax. I enjoy making maps and tournaments too, to give something I think others would enjoy. It is just a good bad habit for me. Once I'm back in Paris I won't have time to play. Right now I play and listen to French radio.