In the past decade, online gaming went from a rare gem to universally known.

Online gaming can be fun, exhilarating and even scary. Sometimes, gaming can be a little stressful, angering, and annoying.

The worst part of these conflicting emotions is when the cause of your anger is by other players—you have no control over them. Many gamers can be disrespectful, or they can become a nuisance while trying to concentrate on the game. That’s why there should be gaming etiquette, which is an unwritten set of laws for gamers.

If I had to guess, I’d say about 60 percent of online gamers actually follow gaming etiquette. The people that follow it are respectful, helpful, and calm in all situations. The other 40 percent do exactly the opposite by being rude, condescending, overreacting and irritating. It can be a dark world for nice gamers, which is why I’m going to make a basic list of gaming etiquette that others should follow.

Don’t be a Jerk

The first and most important rule of gaming should be to be respectful. No one cares for the jerk who complains about everything to everyone.

GameFaceNation.com published an article about gaming etiquette, which said, “’If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all’ is a common saying we hear all the time and this also applies to table top games. Giving suggestions or commenting on other players’ strategies is appreciated but say it in a nice way.”

And that’s true. For example, when I play “League of Legends,” newbies, or noobs, will not know what to do, so I push them in the right direction instead of criticizing everything they do.

Stay chill, No Need to Lose your Cool

Brad O’Farrell from ModernPrimate.com said, “This should go without saying, but don’t get angry when you lose. And don’t gloat when you win.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. As gamers, we can’t stand those people who get overly mad about losing. If you come across a player like that, you may want to remind them that it is just a game and they should chill out.

Everyone starts out as a Noob, Spammer no Spamming

Dave Spohn from About.com wrote an article about online gaming etiquette and included two very important rules: don’t spam messages and remember that you were once a “noob.”

On spamming, he said, “If people aren’t interested, repeating a message in chat every 3 seconds isn’t likely to change that.”

Many players can be really annoying, especially the ones that haven’t learned what spamming is.

As for being a “noob”, Spohn says, “Someone once explained to you what was going on, now you can do the same, rather than simply telling them they’re “noobs” and leaving it at that.”

If you want to win with a “noob” on your team, the only way is to assist them. It is a common desire to want a peaceful gaming world. More people need to follow the correct gaming etiquette in order to win more often. Hopefully someday, jerks online will be a thing of the past and “noobs” won’t be so bothersome.