Learn 2 Avoid

I’ve spent some time today cruising around gaming forums. Originally, I was looking for some information on a few upcoming games and had a few questions about … now I can’t even remember the questions because without a functional search tool, it is impossible to find any answers. (Warcraft, I’m glaring in your direction.)

1. I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in gaming message forum topics: the use of the <3 in the post title. I can barely tolerate its use in net speak — I <3 loot! I <3 OtherPlayer! I <3 priests! — and now its appearing ALL OVER message boards. This is particularly irritating because <3 had such great potential to be used for evil: insincere <3, sarcastic <3, hateful <3, et al. Such a waste.

2. Another disturbing trend, professional farmers who name their characters or fake-farmer-guilds with Love-Something: Loveusa, Loveyou, Lovekiss, Lovefree (which doesn’t really mean what I think they intend), Lovehappy, blah blah. Honestly, is this fooling anyone into thinking they’re NOT professionals or that they’re Americans? Frankly, we Americans see someone named Loveyou, we want to beat them for suggesting that we’re gay and looking.

3. Please let the “O Rly?” owl die a quick and immediate death. This is one of those things that was amusing the first few times because it had a high rude factor, but that time is past. However, if you’re responding to a Community Manager who had previously threatened to ban your ass for overuse of the O Rly owl and you O Rly again, now that would be hilarious. Otherwise, someone shoot that damn owl in the head. Two times.

4. Two message board /rudes that I’m still enjoying, even after many months, is “cry more, noob” (CMN) and “learn 2 play” (L2P). CMN has almost run its course unless it starts morphing into alternative insults like “beg more, noob” or “die more, noob”, etc. L2P, on the other hand, has legs. The permutations are endless: Learn 2 Buy Gold (© Foton), Learn 2 Farm, Learn 2 STFU, Learn 2 Heal, ad infinitum. L2P = instaclassic.

The comments are now open for abuse, but remember this: it has to be very, very clever to be funny.

If it’s that clever, I’ll probably use it in game and claim that I made it up myself.

A Rich and Full Life

Inevitably, every MMOG reaches a sufficient maturity when the battlelines are drawn between the “hardcore” gamers and the … not-hardcore gamers. (softcore gamers? sounds cooler.) The powergamers and the casual gamers. Fraggers and the fragged.

From my observations, usually this begins around the time when the first max levels pop out of the woodwork (or the first few Jedi unlocks, for you Star Wars hags) and is accompanied by much namecalling from both sides, and various accusations about lifestyles, or lack thereof.

Probably the truth lies somewhere in between for most people: at times, we powergame, other times, we don’t. And truly, nothing is accomplished by labeling people based on their levels (or lack thereof) or based on their time spent in game (or out).

Still, I get a great deal of enjoyment when the hardcores rationalize their game time by describing how rich and full their real lives are.

People are allowed to make their own choices on how to spend their time and that’s cool. But, let’s cut the shit. The math is just not working out here on the “rich and full real lives.”

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There Is No Honor Among Thieves

I get a great deal of amusement out of shit like this: Noob asks for a rogue to unlock his locked box, however, instead of putting the box in the “Not to be traded” section of the trade window, he puts the box in the full trade area and ZIP! sends it to the rogue.

Rogue unlocks the box to find a rare item with a nice sales price inside. (Let me point out to WoW noobs, this hardly ever ever ever ever ever happens … as you’d probably expect if you’ve played any MMOG before.)

Hey, let’s hear it from the accused rogue himself, Unitcry of the Sargeras server (which is his alt, I believe):

To what i think is a pretty sorry suspension, i got suspsended for steeling lockboxes 🙂 anyways some guy was spamming general to open a lock box, he opens up trade i look down at the Do not trade slot, and dont see anything, then i see it in Trade slot… Then my Grinch starts to come im thinking “Hey i could just take these since this guy is so ignorant to do this”, then i think nah ima tell him to put in do not trade slot, But im to greedy and i hit trade and i open them, find a blue item worth 3 gold and /ignore… now i dont understand why i was suspended for this considering it was THERE fault for puting it in the trade slot, either way i got a good item, and some gold and now i can stop grinding and watch Irobot 🙂

(Obviously, not edited for errors or clarity) The discussion was continued here with many others discussing the merits of Blizzard’s smoting of the rogue account.

I wish I could say this type of thievery was rare, but you can read for yourself. Many, many players think there’s nothing wrong with stealing from stupid (or naive) people.

Now that is alarming.

I’m as annoyed by the stupid as the next guy. I just don’t see this as a moral dilemma. Dilemma, by definition, indicates there could be an alternate choice. Like stealing. It’s an option, apparently.

Just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Why is that so hard for some people to understand?