Nothingness: So, you're one move away from checkmate, and you double the stakes. Your opponent resigns instead of accepting the double. Didn't really change the outcome, did it?

AbigailII: It saved a bit of clicks.
Be aware of your doubles though, because you can score gammon or backgammon. If an opponent is about to be gammoned, it's bad to force double, he rejects and you only recieve 1 point instead of 2.

Nothingness: The entire purpose of the doubling cube is to force the opponent to up the stakes or lose. In a face-to-face game, players will not usually play a game to an end when the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Online, someone has to double or resign to make that happen. Given the pace of play here, some folks like to move things along as quickly as possible.