I think GC said it once, he was worried that the players are too obsessed with efficiency:
"But I do wish there was some way to turn around this virtual phobia of inefficiency -- this terror of being WRONG -- that we have managed to instill in our player base. I honestly think it's one of the greatest challenges facing the game." - Ghostcrawler
I am making a plea to everyone out there who has fallen victim to the efficiency virus, GET OFF YOUR FREAKIN' MOUNT. The walkways around Stormwind used to be quite narrow. Since Deathwing's appearance they have been widened somewhat, but still are far narrower than the sands of Tanaris. Limited space requires some thoughtfulness, I believe, by the playerbase. For example, let's assume you are a Jewelcrafter and desire to complete the JC Daily. You are on the other side of the canal, can see the new JC store, and you think to yourself, "Wow, I've got to get this done asap, lemme mount up and head on over."
So off you jump onto your Undead, Hardened, Ultimate Awesome I'm-A-Hard-Core-Raider Mount" in order to fly about 40 yards accross a tiny little canal of water. Upon reaching your destination you proceed to land directly on top of the JC Daily quest giver, who also happens to sell JC gem cut recipies. Oh, there are already 4 other people there, and for some reason you can't target the questgiver, not even the little ! on top of their head because these other 4 players have not yet dismounted.
"Aaaaarrrrrggggghhh"!!!!!!! You yell at your monitor, as you, mounted yourself, begin ranting at those idiots who won't dismount and stand right on top of the quest givers. Oh, this isn't the first time it's happened, no. Remember that time in Hyjal? Or all those moments in Deepholm? Or what about that one jerk in the Twilight Highlands, who not only wouldn't get off his mount, but jumped on his mammoth, stood over the quest giver, then let out a long, annoying laugh. No, this has happened before, and you're fed up with it. And yet you won't get off your mount, no, because to do so would mean that you would have to get back on in order to go to the place that dropped those things that let you finish your quest.
Therapy
I'm no doctor, but I saw one on TV, and many say that denial is often the first step to recovery. Denial? Wait, maybe that was about grief. Whatever, in any case the first step I take when frustrated about something is ask myself if I'm in denial? Am I doing committing those same offences that I complain of or do I, when I p/u or turn in a quest dismounting out of courtesy sake?
I get it, people want to be efficient, and if you can get or drop or turn in a quest from your mount then more power to you. You'll save, what, 3 seconds? That 3 seconds could really change your life, make or break your attendance at the next raid. Yeah, I totally get how 3 seconds and a little bit of courtesy is a real pitfall to efficiency.
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I need therapy, big time.
Doctor: Gronthe, you seem to struggle with your emotions regarding people not dismounting and standing on top of quest givers, don't you?
Me: What gave it away?
Doctor: You know, you can't control what others do, only yourself and what you think and feel. Would you like some coping mechanisms to help deal with your frustrations?
Me: Gee wiz, doc, you sure are smart.
Doctor: Next time you encounter this problem, I want you to spit on the person. If they send you a tell asking what your problem is, I want you to curse at them and tell them off for being a giant @$%@#$%. You simply need to release these feelings of yours; bottling them up will only make it worse.
Me: No, doc, you're wrong. What makes it worse is people not getting off their mounts. They did it before, remember? In Dalaran. There was always that one loser Tauren on his super-big mount that stood on the flight master. Remember? But somehow it's all worse now, I just can't take it anymore.
Doctor: Perhaps we need another method, then. Let's just kill them all.
Me: You may be on to something, yes. But not yet, no, we need to plan this...together.
Therapy Session Over
I've made progress since that therapy session, and have my plans already set in motion. Honestly, I have no idea whether people will ever stop being so obsessed with convenience and efficiency that they'll decide to think about other people when they stand on the questgiver and get off their mounts. But a little hope, some planning, and a lot of therapy just may bring the answers we all are looking for.
Have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget: "Make your dismount count!" "Join in the fun and remember to run!" and lastly, "If I catch you mounted, duck or get pounded!"
Showing posts with label Communication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Communication. Show all posts
Friday, January 14, 2011
Monday, November 15, 2010
In or Out of "The Loop"?
I used to live in Florida, that lasted about 6 months. I moved back to Las Vegas in about 2005. I got a job. Shortly after getting the job we hired a new Controller, who became my new boss. Then something interesting happened, there was a new water cooler in the office. No, not a literal water cooler (although we did have one in the kitchen), but a metaphorical water cooler, a place where people congregated to talk. Business or pleasure, my boss' office became the new place for people to hang out and bash each other's fantasy football teams. It became the place to be if you wanted to be "In the loop" of the business or department's goings on.
Being the shy type of person, I didn't find my way into his office often, but I watched people go in and out all day long. Sometimes I knew it was business and sometimes it was obvious that it was another rundown of last night's The Office episode. I was a bit jealous at first. I guess I had hoped that I had the guts to stop working for 30 minutes and chat with my boss, like other people seemed comfortable doing, but somehow it always felt...weird.
As time passed and I moved my way up the corporate ladder I felt more at home in a manager's office because I became one myself. No longer a complete subordinate but more of an equal I felt comfortable and pleased to be in the loop, it's a place many people naturally enjoy being being. There's a sense of power that comes with greater knowledge, and whether that power is real or perceived is unimportant. One begins to feel important, special, and sometimes believes him/herself to be a better person for being so knowledgeable. I can't explain it all, remember I'm not a trained professional, but that's how it feels to me.
In the WoW Loop
It's hard to stay in the loop when it comes to gaming. I wonder at how people who play many, many games stay in the loop of all the new things for every game they play? I can barely keep on top of the information about one game.
Now there are quite a few people who purposely remove themselves from all the Cataclysm news, and that choice is theirs and I will not begin to throw any criticism their way. There are the other side who tracks changes daily, even intra-day changes and blue posts. Some take it on themselves as a sort of job to keep the masses informed, and others are still part of the masses informing themselves on a regular basis. I know, I was one of those people for a long time.
Recently I've backed off, although I admit that I probably wouldn't if I hadn't lost my job, I would have been able to maintain a routine that I had to inform myself. I must admit that it's weird now feel like I'm not invited into the office anymore. Or rather, I know I'm invited, but my schedule changes in life are so different that one thing has led to another which has led to me falling out of the loop.
Only last night I was watching an intelligent conversation in trade chat about the new battleground changes. I had no idea what they were talking about. It was strange, I felt like, well, a noob again. Blind, stumbling from zone to zone only to find out that I just got walloped by a level 40 dinosaur...oops! I read other blogs still here and there, but that routine is changed for the time being as well. It's maddening, mainly because I enjoyed feeling special, important, knowledgeable. Now I feel like the guy who's not told anything at the office because I'm the one that is going to be laid off. Weird how that's how it always feels when you're about to be laid off or fired. People stop talking to you, you are kept out of the loop.
The difference here, of course, is that my removal from the loop is partially self-imposed. But it feels odd, and leaves me feeling strangely naked as well. Vulnerable. So many things happening to this or that class, to BG's, LDF tool, balance, achievements, strategy, whatever, I just don't know as much and now don't feel like I have any power or influence. True, that power and influence was only perceived and wasn't real to begin with, but the higher people get in the loop the more powerful or influential they feel, whether it's real or not.
The future is hazy, unsure. To what level of being in the loop will I ever reach again I do not yet know. But like a Blood Elf's thirst for magic, I still thirst for information and am beginning to feel the withdrawl symptoms. The question I need to ask myself is 'is it worth it? to be in the loop again?' Does it make me better at what I do? A better player? Perhaps. Knowledge usually doesn't hurt, unless it's the kind of knowledge that shatters your reality, but that sort of thing doesn't happen as much as the opposite. Most of the time knowledge does you good and not harm.
Well whatever happens, it sure can be fun to be in the loop, so if you're there right now I say ENJOY IT WHILE YOU GOT IT! Because circumstances may change and you may find thinking yourself a noob as well.
Being the shy type of person, I didn't find my way into his office often, but I watched people go in and out all day long. Sometimes I knew it was business and sometimes it was obvious that it was another rundown of last night's The Office episode. I was a bit jealous at first. I guess I had hoped that I had the guts to stop working for 30 minutes and chat with my boss, like other people seemed comfortable doing, but somehow it always felt...weird.
As time passed and I moved my way up the corporate ladder I felt more at home in a manager's office because I became one myself. No longer a complete subordinate but more of an equal I felt comfortable and pleased to be in the loop, it's a place many people naturally enjoy being being. There's a sense of power that comes with greater knowledge, and whether that power is real or perceived is unimportant. One begins to feel important, special, and sometimes believes him/herself to be a better person for being so knowledgeable. I can't explain it all, remember I'm not a trained professional, but that's how it feels to me.
In the WoW Loop
It's hard to stay in the loop when it comes to gaming. I wonder at how people who play many, many games stay in the loop of all the new things for every game they play? I can barely keep on top of the information about one game.
Now there are quite a few people who purposely remove themselves from all the Cataclysm news, and that choice is theirs and I will not begin to throw any criticism their way. There are the other side who tracks changes daily, even intra-day changes and blue posts. Some take it on themselves as a sort of job to keep the masses informed, and others are still part of the masses informing themselves on a regular basis. I know, I was one of those people for a long time.
Recently I've backed off, although I admit that I probably wouldn't if I hadn't lost my job, I would have been able to maintain a routine that I had to inform myself. I must admit that it's weird now feel like I'm not invited into the office anymore. Or rather, I know I'm invited, but my schedule changes in life are so different that one thing has led to another which has led to me falling out of the loop.
Only last night I was watching an intelligent conversation in trade chat about the new battleground changes. I had no idea what they were talking about. It was strange, I felt like, well, a noob again. Blind, stumbling from zone to zone only to find out that I just got walloped by a level 40 dinosaur...oops! I read other blogs still here and there, but that routine is changed for the time being as well. It's maddening, mainly because I enjoyed feeling special, important, knowledgeable. Now I feel like the guy who's not told anything at the office because I'm the one that is going to be laid off. Weird how that's how it always feels when you're about to be laid off or fired. People stop talking to you, you are kept out of the loop.
The difference here, of course, is that my removal from the loop is partially self-imposed. But it feels odd, and leaves me feeling strangely naked as well. Vulnerable. So many things happening to this or that class, to BG's, LDF tool, balance, achievements, strategy, whatever, I just don't know as much and now don't feel like I have any power or influence. True, that power and influence was only perceived and wasn't real to begin with, but the higher people get in the loop the more powerful or influential they feel, whether it's real or not.
The future is hazy, unsure. To what level of being in the loop will I ever reach again I do not yet know. But like a Blood Elf's thirst for magic, I still thirst for information and am beginning to feel the withdrawl symptoms. The question I need to ask myself is 'is it worth it? to be in the loop again?' Does it make me better at what I do? A better player? Perhaps. Knowledge usually doesn't hurt, unless it's the kind of knowledge that shatters your reality, but that sort of thing doesn't happen as much as the opposite. Most of the time knowledge does you good and not harm.
Well whatever happens, it sure can be fun to be in the loop, so if you're there right now I say ENJOY IT WHILE YOU GOT IT! Because circumstances may change and you may find thinking yourself a noob as well.
Monday, October 11, 2010
The Ultimate Troll Debate Guide
(Disclaimer: The following post is...oh, forget it. I've got nothing to apologize for. Enjoy!)
Teacher: What is a Troll?
Student #1: (Raising hand) A Troll is a mythological creature, believed to live in mountains, caves, or rocks. They are big, ugly, and stupid, and believed to turn to stone from contact with direct sunlight. Trolls can be man eaters, but they will usually go for any sort of meat, including Dwarf & Hobbit meat (the best way to cook them, however, is still up for debate).
Student #2: Pfft, student #1 is a real kiss-butt lol!
Student #3: As student #2 nicely describes, a Troll, sometimes known as an Internet Troll, is somebody who makes inflammatory comments on internet discussion forums, chat rooms or blogs. The primary goal of the Internet Troll is to provoke an emotional response from other readers.
Student #2: LOL noob #1, you just got pwnd!
Teacher: Thank you class, very well put #3. #1, you are correct also, but that is not the kind of troll we will be discussing today. I would like to take the opportunity to teach you, class, how to best formulate the most effective and logical responses to a Troll in an attempt to once and for all win the debate against them.
Student #2: This is so gay!
Teacher: On that note, shall we begin?
I. IDENTIFICATION & NOTIFICATION
a. The first step in the process is to identify a Troll. Currently, WoW allows users to /Ignore people for whatever reason they choose. Another player could be an ex-girlfriend, a bookie always asking you when you are going to pay him back, your 6th grade teacher (eew!), or in some cases Trolls, whose posts in trade chat are abhorrent to the point that you refuse to read the refuse the Troll is spewing. What we’re going to implement is another list, in addition to Friends and Ignore, it will be a Troll list.
b. A Troll List will help you separate people into categories, you know, just like segregation used to do. The point that 20% of the accounts on any given realm have placed any toon of another, singular account on their Troll list, that account, including all his/her toons, will be branded with a huge Scarlet T – for Troll. When they post in any in-game chat (trade, party, raid, etc) their name and post will appear in bright Scarlet. In this manner, any consistent trolls can be easily identified, no matter which toon they play on because it will be able to distinguish the originating account.
II. INFORMATION OVERLOAD
a. Branding a Troll is the first and most important step into effectively debating them. The second step is to gather information on the Troll. Starting with Enhanced RealID. Anyone branded with a Scarlet T will be required to purchase the Enhanced RealID tool in order to continue playing on an active account.
i. NOTE: Here we must note that Trolls are infamous for getting around silly things like “paid accounts”, so Blizzard has created the best authentication tool to date to cope with this issue. The Cyborg Genesis project was launched in the year 2007, unknown to the public. It’s goal, to infiltrate a person’s home with nanobots capable of infecting any human in the world who plays a Blizzard game with an electronic tracer. This tracer activates when the person speaks into a microphone or types on a computer. Any where in the world a Troll can attempt to login, under any free trial account, and he will be recognized. The nanobots will only be activated when a player is branded as a Troll. Thus solving the issue of Trolls using other people’s accounts or switching accounts or using free trial accounts to harass the playing public. This project, now unveiled, will allow us to further our discussion on the Enhanced RealID.
b. Enhanced RealID gathers all personal information on the Troll. Name, age, home and cell phone, address, height, weight, hair color, eye color, personality traits, family members and all their personal info, credit card information, social security # info, education, etc, etc, etc. All this information will be viewable to those who have placed this Troll on their Troll list. Knowledge is Power. And handed the keys to the knowledge of the personal information of the Troll, you are now in a far more powerful position to debate with Trolls than ever before.
III. THE SECRET POLICE
a. One of the great inventions of our age was the implementation by many governments of secret police, perfected by the Soviet Union in the 1970’s and 80’s. Now out of a job, former members of the secret police are available to you, the WoW player, at no cost except your soul. These secret police men and women (because women can be evil too) will be sent to the home of the Troll and can engage in a myriad of activities per your orders. See the following list:
i. Kidnapping
ii. Blackmail
iii. Torture
iv. Impersonating your favorite federal agency (IRS, SEC, Homeland Security, etc)
v. Brainwashing
vi. Singing show tunes on the front lawn of the Troll night and day
vii. Repossessing of home or vehicle
viii. Infiltrating the Trolls place of work, becoming their boss, firing them then black-balling the Troll in his/her community to deny them further employment opportunities
ix. Blogging (which falls under torture and brainwashing)
b. These secret police will do what Blizzard has never done, punish those guilty of Trolling. Just don’t ask them about their specific tactics, it’s a legal thing.
IV. ENTER THE DEBATE
a. By following the above steps, you have now placed yourself in a powerful position to debate the trolls in your chosen chat channel. You will see guaranteed results in the form of…no more Trolling, Trolling with apologies attached, Trolling with unfinished sentences (See Secret Police), and Trolling with beautiful, poetic language that fills your heart with such joy that you take that branded Troll off your Troll list.
b. You have now guaranteed yourself a victory over all Trolls. If you find that your success is accompanied by a never-ending guilt for having ruined the personal lives of one or dozens of otherwise innocent people, just remember that you are having more fun than you ever were before, and all that water-boarding was TOTALLY WORTH IT!
Teacher: What is a Troll?
Student #1: (Raising hand) A Troll is a mythological creature, believed to live in mountains, caves, or rocks. They are big, ugly, and stupid, and believed to turn to stone from contact with direct sunlight. Trolls can be man eaters, but they will usually go for any sort of meat, including Dwarf & Hobbit meat (the best way to cook them, however, is still up for debate).
Student #2: Pfft, student #1 is a real kiss-butt lol!
Student #3: As student #2 nicely describes, a Troll, sometimes known as an Internet Troll, is somebody who makes inflammatory comments on internet discussion forums, chat rooms or blogs. The primary goal of the Internet Troll is to provoke an emotional response from other readers.
Student #2: LOL noob #1, you just got pwnd!
Teacher: Thank you class, very well put #3. #1, you are correct also, but that is not the kind of troll we will be discussing today. I would like to take the opportunity to teach you, class, how to best formulate the most effective and logical responses to a Troll in an attempt to once and for all win the debate against them.
Student #2: This is so gay!
Teacher: On that note, shall we begin?
I. IDENTIFICATION & NOTIFICATION
a. The first step in the process is to identify a Troll. Currently, WoW allows users to /Ignore people for whatever reason they choose. Another player could be an ex-girlfriend, a bookie always asking you when you are going to pay him back, your 6th grade teacher (eew!), or in some cases Trolls, whose posts in trade chat are abhorrent to the point that you refuse to read the refuse the Troll is spewing. What we’re going to implement is another list, in addition to Friends and Ignore, it will be a Troll list.
b. A Troll List will help you separate people into categories, you know, just like segregation used to do. The point that 20% of the accounts on any given realm have placed any toon of another, singular account on their Troll list, that account, including all his/her toons, will be branded with a huge Scarlet T – for Troll. When they post in any in-game chat (trade, party, raid, etc) their name and post will appear in bright Scarlet. In this manner, any consistent trolls can be easily identified, no matter which toon they play on because it will be able to distinguish the originating account.
II. INFORMATION OVERLOAD
a. Branding a Troll is the first and most important step into effectively debating them. The second step is to gather information on the Troll. Starting with Enhanced RealID. Anyone branded with a Scarlet T will be required to purchase the Enhanced RealID tool in order to continue playing on an active account.
i. NOTE: Here we must note that Trolls are infamous for getting around silly things like “paid accounts”, so Blizzard has created the best authentication tool to date to cope with this issue. The Cyborg Genesis project was launched in the year 2007, unknown to the public. It’s goal, to infiltrate a person’s home with nanobots capable of infecting any human in the world who plays a Blizzard game with an electronic tracer. This tracer activates when the person speaks into a microphone or types on a computer. Any where in the world a Troll can attempt to login, under any free trial account, and he will be recognized. The nanobots will only be activated when a player is branded as a Troll. Thus solving the issue of Trolls using other people’s accounts or switching accounts or using free trial accounts to harass the playing public. This project, now unveiled, will allow us to further our discussion on the Enhanced RealID.
b. Enhanced RealID gathers all personal information on the Troll. Name, age, home and cell phone, address, height, weight, hair color, eye color, personality traits, family members and all their personal info, credit card information, social security # info, education, etc, etc, etc. All this information will be viewable to those who have placed this Troll on their Troll list. Knowledge is Power. And handed the keys to the knowledge of the personal information of the Troll, you are now in a far more powerful position to debate with Trolls than ever before.
III. THE SECRET POLICE
a. One of the great inventions of our age was the implementation by many governments of secret police, perfected by the Soviet Union in the 1970’s and 80’s. Now out of a job, former members of the secret police are available to you, the WoW player, at no cost except your soul. These secret police men and women (because women can be evil too) will be sent to the home of the Troll and can engage in a myriad of activities per your orders. See the following list:
i. Kidnapping
ii. Blackmail
iii. Torture
iv. Impersonating your favorite federal agency (IRS, SEC, Homeland Security, etc)
v. Brainwashing
vi. Singing show tunes on the front lawn of the Troll night and day
vii. Repossessing of home or vehicle
viii. Infiltrating the Trolls place of work, becoming their boss, firing them then black-balling the Troll in his/her community to deny them further employment opportunities
ix. Blogging (which falls under torture and brainwashing)
b. These secret police will do what Blizzard has never done, punish those guilty of Trolling. Just don’t ask them about their specific tactics, it’s a legal thing.
IV. ENTER THE DEBATE
a. By following the above steps, you have now placed yourself in a powerful position to debate the trolls in your chosen chat channel. You will see guaranteed results in the form of…no more Trolling, Trolling with apologies attached, Trolling with unfinished sentences (See Secret Police), and Trolling with beautiful, poetic language that fills your heart with such joy that you take that branded Troll off your Troll list.
b. You have now guaranteed yourself a victory over all Trolls. If you find that your success is accompanied by a never-ending guilt for having ruined the personal lives of one or dozens of otherwise innocent people, just remember that you are having more fun than you ever were before, and all that water-boarding was TOTALLY WORTH IT!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Why Acronyms Will Destroy Civilization!
Let me begin with my conclusion. Acronyms will destroy civilization because it is a rapid deformation of language, which if continued at its present pace, will destroy our ability to communicate true thought. WoW is the breeding ground of the earth’s demise!
The Beginning
I am fortunate to have English (or American English) as my first language. Much of the world is compelled to learn English in school, and does so quite proficiently. In the US we have the elective to learn other languages, but nothing is mandatory and most fake their way through foreign language courses just to get the grade then forget everything they “learned” when the semester is done.
I have taken it upon myself to learn another language proficiently, however, and try to learn others. I read, write and speak near perfect Spanish. Actually, the particular version I speak is sometimes called Castellano (Castilian)! It’s still Spanish, but as we know the same base language can be spoken differently by different peoples around the world. English is spoken in the US, Australia and England, but we all know that they sounds very different from one another. My teaching came from Argentina, heavily influenced by Spain, from whence Castilian originated, thereby the language considered to be spoken in Argentina is Castellano (or Castilian) – though they have their own flare that they’ve added, which I love.
Over time languages change, words are added, taken away, spellings change, meanings change, etc. But very recently in our civilization there is a new language being spoken by the youth and even the older of the world, Acronym! I’m going to here and now call Acronym a new language, even though I know it technically isn’t, but it’s fun and helps me to focus my theme for this post so freakin’ roll with it, will ya!
Acronym has existed as a rogue, silently stealthing its way into languages across the world. With the advent of the personal computer, email, cell phones, and finally texting, Acronym has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon. Unstoppable, Acronym is now, after thousands of years, poised to take over the world and destroy human civilization as we know it. Acronym first planted its roots in video games more than two decades ago. Slowly unspooling itself from arcade to console to computer to cell phone based games, it’s now so deeply rooted in our civilizations psyche it may already be too late to quell.
Already the chosen language for cell phone texting, Acronym has invaded all MMO’s ever invented…ever. It’s emergence in WoW is not a coincidence, however, and has been planned for nearly 3,000 years.
OK, That Wasn’t the Beginning…This is… really!
3,000 years ago an ancient philosopher once said:
“The day efficiency is more important than constancy, shall be the day the earth takes her last breath. SISBD” -Philosopher Dude
So for 3,000 years, the great debate in the real scientific community isn’t whether man evolved from apes (not today’s subject, you’ll get banned for commenting about it), it’s been a raging debate over the meaning of those five letters, S.I.S.B.D. It does not translate into any known language of the day, but there are some theories floating around, some making more sense than others. Here is the list of the most famous probable translations.
SISBD = Sugar In Succulent Blueberry Dumplings!
SISBD = So, I suck Bob Dylan?
SISBD = Somewhere In Syria are Blue Dragons! (mostly discarded, not because Dragons don’t exist, but because of the use of the word “are” – scientists are strange)
SISBD = Shorter Installation Sessions Bring Drachmas! (Possible irony in use here)
SISBD = So It Shall Be Done! (Pff, that’s just stupid)
SISBD = Shadow Bolt > Incinerate > Shadow Bolt > Bane of Agony > Doomguard
In a conference this past June in Jerilisha (I forgot the country), it was decided by a panel of judges that SISBD’s true meaning as an acronym, which translated was a spell rotation for an Affliction Warlock. The philosopher, by using this acronym was saying that not only was the end of the world beginning 3,000 years ago, but also that the MMORPG World of Warcraft would be the vehicle that would drive our civilization into oblivion.
Stunned at such a powerful revelation, Activision Blizzard has maintained a tight lid on the news from the scientific community. But now we know that WoW is destroying Civilization by not only utilizing Acronym but demanding its usage by all players, old and young.
Don’t ever text? Too bad, learn Acronym or die! Not a tweeting kind of person, suck it! You must learn Acronym or you won’t be that 1M DPS for 25M ICC that can PST GS/ACHIEVE. That’s final and there’s nothing we can do about it.
Path of Enlightenment
I began my rebellion against Acronym nearly two years ago. I met someone else who also despised the power that Acronym had over WoW players. We met secretly in a room above a shop in Dalaran, talking of a world of complete sentences and verbs and adverbs. It was intoxicating. We were enlisted as official rebels by a guild leader who we felt truly understood our hate of Acronym. Day after day we would post recruitment ads in trade chat using nouns, verbs, adjectives and even a gerund once in a while (gerunds were always highly stimulating).
One day I was asked to join a group into Ice Crown Citadel 10 Man Raid Instance. I offered my services and was led by the raid leader into a room set aside for teaching new raiders. In this room I was faced with my deepest fears, from trash mobs to bosses to other damage dealers standing in fire (oh the horror). But it all had a purpose, to enlighten me and teach me the errors of my ways.
I am ever grateful to that raid leader for teaching me that Acronym love me, and I love Acronym. I don’t know how I could ever live without Acronym. You must understand that the philosopher had it wrong all those years ago, efficiency is not the death of mother earth, adverbs are.
I now sing the praises of Acronym to any and all who will listen to the truth. Whoever said, “Acronyms will destroy civilization because it is a rapid deformation of language, which if continued at its present pace, will destroy our ability to communicate true thought. WoW is the breeding ground of the earth’s demise!” is a poor soul in need of a hug, a nice guild, and some NAXX 25M as DPS, just pst GS/ACHIEVE for invite.
The Beginning
I am fortunate to have English (or American English) as my first language. Much of the world is compelled to learn English in school, and does so quite proficiently. In the US we have the elective to learn other languages, but nothing is mandatory and most fake their way through foreign language courses just to get the grade then forget everything they “learned” when the semester is done.
I have taken it upon myself to learn another language proficiently, however, and try to learn others. I read, write and speak near perfect Spanish. Actually, the particular version I speak is sometimes called Castellano (Castilian)! It’s still Spanish, but as we know the same base language can be spoken differently by different peoples around the world. English is spoken in the US, Australia and England, but we all know that they sounds very different from one another. My teaching came from Argentina, heavily influenced by Spain, from whence Castilian originated, thereby the language considered to be spoken in Argentina is Castellano (or Castilian) – though they have their own flare that they’ve added, which I love.
Over time languages change, words are added, taken away, spellings change, meanings change, etc. But very recently in our civilization there is a new language being spoken by the youth and even the older of the world, Acronym! I’m going to here and now call Acronym a new language, even though I know it technically isn’t, but it’s fun and helps me to focus my theme for this post so freakin’ roll with it, will ya!
Acronym has existed as a rogue, silently stealthing its way into languages across the world. With the advent of the personal computer, email, cell phones, and finally texting, Acronym has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon. Unstoppable, Acronym is now, after thousands of years, poised to take over the world and destroy human civilization as we know it. Acronym first planted its roots in video games more than two decades ago. Slowly unspooling itself from arcade to console to computer to cell phone based games, it’s now so deeply rooted in our civilizations psyche it may already be too late to quell.
Already the chosen language for cell phone texting, Acronym has invaded all MMO’s ever invented…ever. It’s emergence in WoW is not a coincidence, however, and has been planned for nearly 3,000 years.
OK, That Wasn’t the Beginning…This is… really!
3,000 years ago an ancient philosopher once said:
“The day efficiency is more important than constancy, shall be the day the earth takes her last breath. SISBD” -Philosopher Dude
So for 3,000 years, the great debate in the real scientific community isn’t whether man evolved from apes (not today’s subject, you’ll get banned for commenting about it), it’s been a raging debate over the meaning of those five letters, S.I.S.B.D. It does not translate into any known language of the day, but there are some theories floating around, some making more sense than others. Here is the list of the most famous probable translations.
SISBD = Sugar In Succulent Blueberry Dumplings!
SISBD = So, I suck Bob Dylan?
SISBD = Somewhere In Syria are Blue Dragons! (mostly discarded, not because Dragons don’t exist, but because of the use of the word “are” – scientists are strange)
SISBD = Shorter Installation Sessions Bring Drachmas! (Possible irony in use here)
SISBD = So It Shall Be Done! (Pff, that’s just stupid)
SISBD = Shadow Bolt > Incinerate > Shadow Bolt > Bane of Agony > Doomguard
In a conference this past June in Jerilisha (I forgot the country), it was decided by a panel of judges that SISBD’s true meaning as an acronym, which translated was a spell rotation for an Affliction Warlock. The philosopher, by using this acronym was saying that not only was the end of the world beginning 3,000 years ago, but also that the MMORPG World of Warcraft would be the vehicle that would drive our civilization into oblivion.
Stunned at such a powerful revelation, Activision Blizzard has maintained a tight lid on the news from the scientific community. But now we know that WoW is destroying Civilization by not only utilizing Acronym but demanding its usage by all players, old and young.
Don’t ever text? Too bad, learn Acronym or die! Not a tweeting kind of person, suck it! You must learn Acronym or you won’t be that 1M DPS for 25M ICC that can PST GS/ACHIEVE. That’s final and there’s nothing we can do about it.
Path of Enlightenment
I began my rebellion against Acronym nearly two years ago. I met someone else who also despised the power that Acronym had over WoW players. We met secretly in a room above a shop in Dalaran, talking of a world of complete sentences and verbs and adverbs. It was intoxicating. We were enlisted as official rebels by a guild leader who we felt truly understood our hate of Acronym. Day after day we would post recruitment ads in trade chat using nouns, verbs, adjectives and even a gerund once in a while (gerunds were always highly stimulating).
One day I was asked to join a group into Ice Crown Citadel 10 Man Raid Instance. I offered my services and was led by the raid leader into a room set aside for teaching new raiders. In this room I was faced with my deepest fears, from trash mobs to bosses to other damage dealers standing in fire (oh the horror). But it all had a purpose, to enlighten me and teach me the errors of my ways.
I am ever grateful to that raid leader for teaching me that Acronym love me, and I love Acronym. I don’t know how I could ever live without Acronym. You must understand that the philosopher had it wrong all those years ago, efficiency is not the death of mother earth, adverbs are.
I now sing the praises of Acronym to any and all who will listen to the truth. Whoever said, “Acronyms will destroy civilization because it is a rapid deformation of language, which if continued at its present pace, will destroy our ability to communicate true thought. WoW is the breeding ground of the earth’s demise!” is a poor soul in need of a hug, a nice guild, and some NAXX 25M as DPS, just pst GS/ACHIEVE for invite.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Idea Ownership - Doth it Matterith?
A while back, I don’t exactly remember when, Tesh (From Tish Tosh Tesh) asked me a profound question:
“Does idea ownership matter? Is it not wise to consider ideas on their own merit rather than dismiss or validate them based on their source?
Just a thought…”
I finally have a good answer for him, not my incoherent ramblings from my first attempt. This is something I have thought about constantly for a few months now. So I hope in this attempt I can make my answer perfectly clear. To the question “Does idea ownership matter?”, I say:
YES
“Does idea ownership matter? Is it not wise to consider ideas on their own merit rather than dismiss or validate them based on their source?
Just a thought…”
I finally have a good answer for him, not my incoherent ramblings from my first attempt. This is something I have thought about constantly for a few months now. So I hope in this attempt I can make my answer perfectly clear. To the question “Does idea ownership matter?”, I say:
YES
AND
NO
(If you’ve come here for WoW stuff, hang in there, for me it all comes back to another question about Blizzard that I don’t have the answer to. Moving on…)
Idea Defined
My answer is 100% contingent on the definition of “Idea” that we’re talking about. If we were to discuss a theme or subject of unknown authorship, of general public knowledge and/or interest such as Taxes, Immigration, Slavery, Communism, Capitalism, then NO, idea ownership does not, or at least should not matter. Who came up with the idea of slavery anyway? I don’t know. But over time it’s evolved into a subject of debate and consideration (SDC). That’s right, I just made up my own acronym!!! Who had the bright idea that governments should tax its people? I sure as heck-fire don’t know. These are ideas of a special kind, SDC’s that have no known authorship and are debated in public forums or even privately among friends and acquantences.
There are difficulties, however, in debating these general subjects. One problem I see is that no or very few subject(s) is presented by an impartial spokesman, so any information shared will be tainted by biases too difficult to mask completely, if any attempt to mask them at all has been made. Other difficulties are the variables that become part of the equation: An individual's communication skills (listening, speaking, phraseology, use of common fallacies), personal experiences, personality, temperament, education, and the list goes on and on. The ideal is that these subjects should be considered on their own merits and idea ownership does NOT matter. Too bad the world isn’t ideal.
A Bright Idea
The other definition involves an idea that has a known author, which idea is an actual entity (a thought, conept, sensation, or image) that is actually or potentially present to consciousness. Combined with that are ideas which can be considered “plans of action”.
For example: I have an idea for a new TV show. A little alien, only about 2 ½ feet tall (who, by the way, likes to be called a small, but just as smart, person) with magical powers travels from world to world saving the galaxy in which he lives from evil glowing balls of gas and fire. It will be called “Sun Killer, The Irony of Misunderstood Heroism”.
Would you watch a show about a Gnome who accidentally destroyed all the suns in a Galaxy, believed himself to be a hero but everyone hated him, but due to his utter ignorance kept on doing what he thought was heroic? Maybe, maybe not. Are your opinions changed knowing who the author of the idea was? If, for example, the show was put into production, should I (the author) receive credit for the idea? Does idea ownership, in the above example, matter?
Let’s say you’re on Safari in Africa and fall into a pit with 10 cobra snakes and your grandmother and uncle Vinny. Someone needs to come up with an idea, a unique and specific plan of action fit for the situation or you're all gonna die. "Quick, take granny's shawl and toss it onto that tree root, we'll use it to pull ourselves up!" Or let’s assume that you are a blog writer, a novelist, or a poet? Did anyone else come up with the idea of Harry Potter or was it JK Rowling who had that idea? Maybe you had something similar, but you suck at writing, so you scrapped it. Oh well, no billionaire ball for you!
This definition of idea is clearly different than the first I presented. It implies that the idea is a creative thought or concept designed to answer a question or serve a purpose or make someone's life better, etc, etc, etc. Given this definition of Idea, to answer the question, “Does idea ownership matter?” I say without hesitation…YES.
To prove this I point to some popular social and legal norms. Plagiarism is illegal and unethical in just about every civilized nation I know of (excepting communist or dictatorship states). In science, education, the workplace, if you copy someone’s work and pass it off as your own, that’s bad. Why? Because idea ownership matters!
Many nations, including the US of A has enacted copyright laws to protect original authors of their ideas, or intellectual property.
“Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of ‘original works of authorship,’ including literacy, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works…[The laws] generally gives the owner of the copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf
(See link for more details)
A scientist who bases some part of their new and groundbreaking theories on somebody else’s work MUST reference all his/her work or that scientist will be unemployed and will have to find a job teaching Junior High School somewhere…if they are lucky. Why? Because idea ownership matters. It matters so much, in fact, that breaking copyright law can land you a hefty fine or even up to time in jail. Ouch!
Ideas in the Business World
In business…oh, business. Here is where I begin my decent into Blizzard and World of Warcraft. I’m a businessman, oh yeah. I got to business meeting and have business luncheons, and dress up in business attire, and have a business office. I’ve also had a business idea of mine stolen by a co-worker, which ended up in their promotion and my ultimately having to leave the company. If ever I were to resort to violence to solve problems, that would have been one instance where violence was justified. But that was a long time ago, when I was ignorant and foolish and trusting of, you know, other humans. I’m more guarded now and make sure that I protect my business ideas very, very carefully.
Idea ownership is king in business. It can bring you into the position of CEO or land you in the unemployment line. I imagine if you’re a game developer and come up with a really crappy idea for a game, it may be hard to keep your job or find work in the future. But if you develop a really, really, really great idea and that idea takes off, you could benefit from it in major ways.
Which brings me to my final question, one that I do not have an answer to.
WoW Dev Team – Group Rewards or Individual Recognition?
Does anyone know how much the devs who create all aspects of WoW actually work together vs how often they work alone? Who initially thought up the concept of talents? Did they get a raise? How about 31 point talents? Did that person get a promotion? Or are the ideas that flow within the development team considered “shared” ideas?
Legally, I know ATVI owns all the ideas, it’s how all good businesses protect themselves and their intellectual property and investments. Technically there are things I created at my previous jobs that are legally “owned” by those companies, but I know that I created those programs or processes, etc. And they know it too. But the work I did while there legally belonged to them, as do the ideas belong to ATVI.
But the practices of reality do not always reflect the legality of things. In practice, I wonder if individual devs get credit internally for their work or for any great ideas or concepts that they design? If 10 people are in a room and at the end they decide to go with 31 point talent trees, who gets credit for it? Does anyone? Does everyone? Does idea ownership matter within Blizzard’s development team?
Maybe that question can only be answered by Blizzard, or maybe someone out there has insight that can ease my troubled mind. If I were working on WoW, in some developer capacity (which will never happen, I’m an accountant, remember?) I think that I would enjoy personal and individual recognition of some things, and also be happy for the success of others and as a whole team. But to be void of any individual recognition, to be told that ownership of ideas didn’t matter when I was the one who created the LFD tool (just an example) I think would hurt, ya know, emotionally. How motivated would I be if I never received recognition for the ideas that helped build a really great game? I, Gronthe, would definitely lose some motivation, if I were being honest with myself.
How many used to watch Saturday Night Live in the 1990’s? There was a skit, I can’t remember who did it, I think it was Al Franken, who would have celebrities look into a mirror and say: “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggonnit people like me.” It was especially funny when Michael Jordan did it at the height of his popularity. But I’m afraid that in business, in the workplace, self-affirmations isn’t enough. I know I’m smart, but I need my boss to know it too. I depend on his opinion for my living. Without it, I lose job satisfaction.
I’m hoping that Blizzard does both, recognize people and teams, and they probably do. But I don’t know for sure. I hope they do because Idea Ownership, when discussing thoughts and concepts of original authorship, DOES MATTER in society, as evidences by our norms and our laws.
All other general subject ideas, SDC’s so to speak, idea ownership DOES NOT MATTER. I should not validate or invalidate an idea, or a subject matter, because a biased source delivers the topic in a way that is leading and not 100% objective. It may be difficult, but the ideal still stands, it does not, or at the very least should not matter. In reality, however, I'm afraid that it does, that people get tainted by a biased opinion that is difficult to uproot. But alas, a discussion for another time...
So to Tesh, who’s questions have tortured me the past few months, I hate you!!! No, I really don’t, I thank you for making me think about this more. For making me delve into my own opinions, for making me look around me in the world and consider the applications of these questions.
I know this wasn’t your typical World of Warcraft post, it was an attempted expression of thoughts that I tied into WoW, somehow. Anyway, I’m tired, I think I want to take a nap. Until next time…
(If you’ve come here for WoW stuff, hang in there, for me it all comes back to another question about Blizzard that I don’t have the answer to. Moving on…)
Idea Defined
My answer is 100% contingent on the definition of “Idea” that we’re talking about. If we were to discuss a theme or subject of unknown authorship, of general public knowledge and/or interest such as Taxes, Immigration, Slavery, Communism, Capitalism, then NO, idea ownership does not, or at least should not matter. Who came up with the idea of slavery anyway? I don’t know. But over time it’s evolved into a subject of debate and consideration (SDC). That’s right, I just made up my own acronym!!! Who had the bright idea that governments should tax its people? I sure as heck-fire don’t know. These are ideas of a special kind, SDC’s that have no known authorship and are debated in public forums or even privately among friends and acquantences.
There are difficulties, however, in debating these general subjects. One problem I see is that no or very few subject(s) is presented by an impartial spokesman, so any information shared will be tainted by biases too difficult to mask completely, if any attempt to mask them at all has been made. Other difficulties are the variables that become part of the equation: An individual's communication skills (listening, speaking, phraseology, use of common fallacies), personal experiences, personality, temperament, education, and the list goes on and on. The ideal is that these subjects should be considered on their own merits and idea ownership does NOT matter. Too bad the world isn’t ideal.
A Bright Idea
The other definition involves an idea that has a known author, which idea is an actual entity (a thought, conept, sensation, or image) that is actually or potentially present to consciousness. Combined with that are ideas which can be considered “plans of action”.
For example: I have an idea for a new TV show. A little alien, only about 2 ½ feet tall (who, by the way, likes to be called a small, but just as smart, person) with magical powers travels from world to world saving the galaxy in which he lives from evil glowing balls of gas and fire. It will be called “Sun Killer, The Irony of Misunderstood Heroism”.
Would you watch a show about a Gnome who accidentally destroyed all the suns in a Galaxy, believed himself to be a hero but everyone hated him, but due to his utter ignorance kept on doing what he thought was heroic? Maybe, maybe not. Are your opinions changed knowing who the author of the idea was? If, for example, the show was put into production, should I (the author) receive credit for the idea? Does idea ownership, in the above example, matter?
Let’s say you’re on Safari in Africa and fall into a pit with 10 cobra snakes and your grandmother and uncle Vinny. Someone needs to come up with an idea, a unique and specific plan of action fit for the situation or you're all gonna die. "Quick, take granny's shawl and toss it onto that tree root, we'll use it to pull ourselves up!" Or let’s assume that you are a blog writer, a novelist, or a poet? Did anyone else come up with the idea of Harry Potter or was it JK Rowling who had that idea? Maybe you had something similar, but you suck at writing, so you scrapped it. Oh well, no billionaire ball for you!
This definition of idea is clearly different than the first I presented. It implies that the idea is a creative thought or concept designed to answer a question or serve a purpose or make someone's life better, etc, etc, etc. Given this definition of Idea, to answer the question, “Does idea ownership matter?” I say without hesitation…YES.
To prove this I point to some popular social and legal norms. Plagiarism is illegal and unethical in just about every civilized nation I know of (excepting communist or dictatorship states). In science, education, the workplace, if you copy someone’s work and pass it off as your own, that’s bad. Why? Because idea ownership matters!
Many nations, including the US of A has enacted copyright laws to protect original authors of their ideas, or intellectual property.
“Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of ‘original works of authorship,’ including literacy, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works…[The laws] generally gives the owner of the copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf
(See link for more details)
A scientist who bases some part of their new and groundbreaking theories on somebody else’s work MUST reference all his/her work or that scientist will be unemployed and will have to find a job teaching Junior High School somewhere…if they are lucky. Why? Because idea ownership matters. It matters so much, in fact, that breaking copyright law can land you a hefty fine or even up to time in jail. Ouch!
Ideas in the Business World
In business…oh, business. Here is where I begin my decent into Blizzard and World of Warcraft. I’m a businessman, oh yeah. I got to business meeting and have business luncheons, and dress up in business attire, and have a business office. I’ve also had a business idea of mine stolen by a co-worker, which ended up in their promotion and my ultimately having to leave the company. If ever I were to resort to violence to solve problems, that would have been one instance where violence was justified. But that was a long time ago, when I was ignorant and foolish and trusting of, you know, other humans. I’m more guarded now and make sure that I protect my business ideas very, very carefully.
Idea ownership is king in business. It can bring you into the position of CEO or land you in the unemployment line. I imagine if you’re a game developer and come up with a really crappy idea for a game, it may be hard to keep your job or find work in the future. But if you develop a really, really, really great idea and that idea takes off, you could benefit from it in major ways.
Which brings me to my final question, one that I do not have an answer to.
WoW Dev Team – Group Rewards or Individual Recognition?
Does anyone know how much the devs who create all aspects of WoW actually work together vs how often they work alone? Who initially thought up the concept of talents? Did they get a raise? How about 31 point talents? Did that person get a promotion? Or are the ideas that flow within the development team considered “shared” ideas?
Legally, I know ATVI owns all the ideas, it’s how all good businesses protect themselves and their intellectual property and investments. Technically there are things I created at my previous jobs that are legally “owned” by those companies, but I know that I created those programs or processes, etc. And they know it too. But the work I did while there legally belonged to them, as do the ideas belong to ATVI.
But the practices of reality do not always reflect the legality of things. In practice, I wonder if individual devs get credit internally for their work or for any great ideas or concepts that they design? If 10 people are in a room and at the end they decide to go with 31 point talent trees, who gets credit for it? Does anyone? Does everyone? Does idea ownership matter within Blizzard’s development team?
Maybe that question can only be answered by Blizzard, or maybe someone out there has insight that can ease my troubled mind. If I were working on WoW, in some developer capacity (which will never happen, I’m an accountant, remember?) I think that I would enjoy personal and individual recognition of some things, and also be happy for the success of others and as a whole team. But to be void of any individual recognition, to be told that ownership of ideas didn’t matter when I was the one who created the LFD tool (just an example) I think would hurt, ya know, emotionally. How motivated would I be if I never received recognition for the ideas that helped build a really great game? I, Gronthe, would definitely lose some motivation, if I were being honest with myself.
How many used to watch Saturday Night Live in the 1990’s? There was a skit, I can’t remember who did it, I think it was Al Franken, who would have celebrities look into a mirror and say: “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggonnit people like me.” It was especially funny when Michael Jordan did it at the height of his popularity. But I’m afraid that in business, in the workplace, self-affirmations isn’t enough. I know I’m smart, but I need my boss to know it too. I depend on his opinion for my living. Without it, I lose job satisfaction.
I’m hoping that Blizzard does both, recognize people and teams, and they probably do. But I don’t know for sure. I hope they do because Idea Ownership, when discussing thoughts and concepts of original authorship, DOES MATTER in society, as evidences by our norms and our laws.
All other general subject ideas, SDC’s so to speak, idea ownership DOES NOT MATTER. I should not validate or invalidate an idea, or a subject matter, because a biased source delivers the topic in a way that is leading and not 100% objective. It may be difficult, but the ideal still stands, it does not, or at the very least should not matter. In reality, however, I'm afraid that it does, that people get tainted by a biased opinion that is difficult to uproot. But alas, a discussion for another time...
So to Tesh, who’s questions have tortured me the past few months, I hate you!!! No, I really don’t, I thank you for making me think about this more. For making me delve into my own opinions, for making me look around me in the world and consider the applications of these questions.
I know this wasn’t your typical World of Warcraft post, it was an attempted expression of thoughts that I tied into WoW, somehow. Anyway, I’m tired, I think I want to take a nap. Until next time…
Friday, September 10, 2010
Communication Evaluation
Personal Debates
I have been evaluating a debate this week between myself and a couple of my friends that I play fantasy sport games with. The subject isn't important, what I've been trying to discover is whether I am doing a sufficient job at looking at the matter from their point of view, and at the same time requesting from them that they do the same.
In these back and forth message board posts, I believe that I have tried to take as honest a look as I can at their point of view. You know how sometimes when people debate something, they actually are not even debating the same subject, their retort is nothing more than a spin of the original argument that takes the discussion in a completely different direction? It's a turn of the debate to a topic similar but not exactly on point. I'm no communication master, so I don't know what this is called. Maybe a Red Herring or some cousin to that fallacy, I'm not exactly sure. No, a red herring fallacy is more deliberate, I guess the term should be Ignoratio Elenchi.
Anyway, I think I've made an honest attempt at seeing things from their perspective, but the debate points never seem to stay on topic. I've searched in their arguments for signs of an attempt to view the matter from a point of view not their own, but that has proven pointless. No, I'm not saying I'm a better man for making the attempt, I'm saying that their stubborness is increasingly frustrating. I think this is what some polititians go through, or at least zealouts in a political debate, or two lovers in a quarrel - they often get into arguments but not over the same subject, they just release their frustrations by making conclusions of things that may or may not be right but don't have anything to do with the suject at hand.
Guild and Raid Communication
There are far fewer methods of communication that are available to wow players than to you in your personal life. Not being in front of someone, seeing their facial expressions as they react to what you say, that's a big one. We communicate through text and voice, there is no body language (to the degree and significance of RL). But I think one of the mistakes that occur in debates with fellow guildmates or raid team members, is we fail not only to see things from the other's perspective, but we don't make the attempt.
Why is it important to make an honest attempt to see things from another person's point of view?
People often define the same experience in different ways, and yet can define different experiences in the same way. 10 People witness the same crime, each one had a different point of view, saw different things, felt differently. One may have been a mother with a baby and her instinct was to protect the child, and from that point of view she didn't take the time to study the features of the criminal. While another person, single, strong male, had nobody else to worry about except himself, and then makes a concerted effort to study the criminal's features in detail to relate to the police after. In order for the man to understand why the woman, who was standing right next to him, couldn't see in detail who had committed the crime, he would have to place himself in her shoes (not literally, of course) and try to understand what it means to have a child that you love, and want to protect even over your own life. It may be hard, and that man could probably never truly knows what that feels like until he has a child of his own, but he can still make that attempt to understand, and in that attempt he has acquitted himself.
Let's say you have someone in your guild who takes some time off from raiding to get a surgery, but your guild has a strict rule about attendance, that if somebody misses 2 raid nights in a row they are kicked from the guild. This example may be real or not, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Let's move forward.
So in this example the person who gets a surgery and is out for a month or so will come back online to find himself kicked from the guild. Or so he/she may expect due to the rules. But more than likely, this individual spoke with their guild leader and obtained an exception to the rule. Why did they grant the exception, in effect breaking an important guild rule? Because that guild leader, and hopefully all the guild members, were able to consider the situation from the perspective of that person needing the surgery. They could have subconsciously (or even consciously) asked themselves how they would feel in the same situation, needing time off for surgery but with the intention of returning to help the guild. They did what many people would consider fair (a word I hate, it's too ambiguous and relative, but you know what I mean).
Now, let's turn the situation around, and assume that the guild leader told this individual that the rules would be upheld, no exceptions for any reason. The person needing this surgery would probably be upset, leave the guild in anticipation of being kicked, and decide that either people are jerks or they will just take their medicine and search out a guild willing to work with them. I believe this would be a case where a guild leader not only failed but refused to look at the situation from a different point of view. What if he was the guild creator and was in the same situation, would he want himself stripped of the guild that he worked hard to create, like many owners of business are the moment they go public and leave the decision making to a board of directors? I don't think the guild leader would have liked that very much, he would want others to see the situation through his eyes, it would only seem "fair" to him.
This ability to see something or someone from their point of view is not as easy as I may make it seem. Often long-standing biases, traditions, moral values, ethic norms, or whatever influence us to approach the debate of a particular subject with massive barriers. We are unable to communicate effectively because of these biases, and it takes a great deal of effort to overcome them. But the principle is sound, trying to see things from a different perspective enhances communication and understanding between people. It does not mean that you, in making this attempt, must be swayed by their logic or reasons, but it does mean that you just may come to understand the pathway of logic that they used in forming their opinions.
Guild "Misunderstandings"
How well do you know the people in your guild? Do you know how they feel about wiping? Does the raid leader HATE wiping (I mean really hate it, as if they = complete failure)? If so, after a wipe do you make a funny comment about being cleaved in your pretty dress, only to be yelled at for not taking the raid seriously? The truth is you do take it seriously, but you don't view wipes and complete failure, and both your insensitivity and your raid leaders unwillingness to view wipes from a different point of view, which causes contention where understanding could be had both people known each other better.
Debates rage on many fronts. On the blogosphere, in guilds, in raid, in your work or your home. How many of these debates could be softened and concluded if we sought more actively to understand the other person's point of view before attacking them? Can men truly understand feminism? No. We're not women, we will never be and therefore lack that quality which would give us perfect understanding. But we sure as heck can TRY to understand, through education, listening skills, and taking the time to see them from their point of view.
Can Hardcore vs Casual ever be resolved? Well, that's a bad example, too many definitions for both, let's just move on.
Talent Complaints
Over on WoW.com I read an article about the new T11 Set Bonuses. The comments opened up with some Warlock complaints. By the end of the first page of comments, there were people complaining about "the Warlocks complaining", and I couldn't help but think 'Do you play a Warlock? If you did you might just understand their point of view.' I'm not saying whether the Warlock's complaints were valid, and frankly it doesn't matter, but to argue with somebody without knowing why they are upset reeks of not making an attempt to see their opinions from their perspective.
This sort of thing I find quite often on forums and in the game itself. It's ok if you don't like it when people whine and complain about the new Cataclysm talents or tier set bonuses, but I think it would be better for everyone if they took the time to try and understand 'why' class X, Y or Z doesn't like talent/ability i, ii, or iii. If you take the time to ask them to clarify their complaints, you might just come to sympathise with them. Even if you don't, you have bridged a social gap and created a tie and a bond that is healthy between two people. When you show someone that you at least are trying to understand them, you have earned yourself loyalty and respect. When you don't try, when you just sit back and argue about things not directly related to the true issue, you only prove yourself to be selfish and closed-minded.
Resolution
I don't know how my debate with my friends will end, I don't really have hope of them opening their minds, I think they have too many biased traditions that they hold on to. But I can try, I can still do my part. The same goes for all your communication, I would suggest that before you criticize somebody else that you take the time to step into their shoes and see things from their perspective. You don't have to end up agreeing with them, but you'll be the means of creating atmosphere's of mutual respect and understanding, something we all could use a little more of in this game that we love.
I have been evaluating a debate this week between myself and a couple of my friends that I play fantasy sport games with. The subject isn't important, what I've been trying to discover is whether I am doing a sufficient job at looking at the matter from their point of view, and at the same time requesting from them that they do the same.
In these back and forth message board posts, I believe that I have tried to take as honest a look as I can at their point of view. You know how sometimes when people debate something, they actually are not even debating the same subject, their retort is nothing more than a spin of the original argument that takes the discussion in a completely different direction? It's a turn of the debate to a topic similar but not exactly on point. I'm no communication master, so I don't know what this is called. Maybe a Red Herring or some cousin to that fallacy, I'm not exactly sure. No, a red herring fallacy is more deliberate, I guess the term should be Ignoratio Elenchi.
Anyway, I think I've made an honest attempt at seeing things from their perspective, but the debate points never seem to stay on topic. I've searched in their arguments for signs of an attempt to view the matter from a point of view not their own, but that has proven pointless. No, I'm not saying I'm a better man for making the attempt, I'm saying that their stubborness is increasingly frustrating. I think this is what some polititians go through, or at least zealouts in a political debate, or two lovers in a quarrel - they often get into arguments but not over the same subject, they just release their frustrations by making conclusions of things that may or may not be right but don't have anything to do with the suject at hand.
Guild and Raid Communication
There are far fewer methods of communication that are available to wow players than to you in your personal life. Not being in front of someone, seeing their facial expressions as they react to what you say, that's a big one. We communicate through text and voice, there is no body language (to the degree and significance of RL). But I think one of the mistakes that occur in debates with fellow guildmates or raid team members, is we fail not only to see things from the other's perspective, but we don't make the attempt.
Why is it important to make an honest attempt to see things from another person's point of view?
People often define the same experience in different ways, and yet can define different experiences in the same way. 10 People witness the same crime, each one had a different point of view, saw different things, felt differently. One may have been a mother with a baby and her instinct was to protect the child, and from that point of view she didn't take the time to study the features of the criminal. While another person, single, strong male, had nobody else to worry about except himself, and then makes a concerted effort to study the criminal's features in detail to relate to the police after. In order for the man to understand why the woman, who was standing right next to him, couldn't see in detail who had committed the crime, he would have to place himself in her shoes (not literally, of course) and try to understand what it means to have a child that you love, and want to protect even over your own life. It may be hard, and that man could probably never truly knows what that feels like until he has a child of his own, but he can still make that attempt to understand, and in that attempt he has acquitted himself.
Let's say you have someone in your guild who takes some time off from raiding to get a surgery, but your guild has a strict rule about attendance, that if somebody misses 2 raid nights in a row they are kicked from the guild. This example may be real or not, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Let's move forward.
So in this example the person who gets a surgery and is out for a month or so will come back online to find himself kicked from the guild. Or so he/she may expect due to the rules. But more than likely, this individual spoke with their guild leader and obtained an exception to the rule. Why did they grant the exception, in effect breaking an important guild rule? Because that guild leader, and hopefully all the guild members, were able to consider the situation from the perspective of that person needing the surgery. They could have subconsciously (or even consciously) asked themselves how they would feel in the same situation, needing time off for surgery but with the intention of returning to help the guild. They did what many people would consider fair (a word I hate, it's too ambiguous and relative, but you know what I mean).
Now, let's turn the situation around, and assume that the guild leader told this individual that the rules would be upheld, no exceptions for any reason. The person needing this surgery would probably be upset, leave the guild in anticipation of being kicked, and decide that either people are jerks or they will just take their medicine and search out a guild willing to work with them. I believe this would be a case where a guild leader not only failed but refused to look at the situation from a different point of view. What if he was the guild creator and was in the same situation, would he want himself stripped of the guild that he worked hard to create, like many owners of business are the moment they go public and leave the decision making to a board of directors? I don't think the guild leader would have liked that very much, he would want others to see the situation through his eyes, it would only seem "fair" to him.
This ability to see something or someone from their point of view is not as easy as I may make it seem. Often long-standing biases, traditions, moral values, ethic norms, or whatever influence us to approach the debate of a particular subject with massive barriers. We are unable to communicate effectively because of these biases, and it takes a great deal of effort to overcome them. But the principle is sound, trying to see things from a different perspective enhances communication and understanding between people. It does not mean that you, in making this attempt, must be swayed by their logic or reasons, but it does mean that you just may come to understand the pathway of logic that they used in forming their opinions.
Guild "Misunderstandings"
How well do you know the people in your guild? Do you know how they feel about wiping? Does the raid leader HATE wiping (I mean really hate it, as if they = complete failure)? If so, after a wipe do you make a funny comment about being cleaved in your pretty dress, only to be yelled at for not taking the raid seriously? The truth is you do take it seriously, but you don't view wipes and complete failure, and both your insensitivity and your raid leaders unwillingness to view wipes from a different point of view, which causes contention where understanding could be had both people known each other better.
Debates rage on many fronts. On the blogosphere, in guilds, in raid, in your work or your home. How many of these debates could be softened and concluded if we sought more actively to understand the other person's point of view before attacking them? Can men truly understand feminism? No. We're not women, we will never be and therefore lack that quality which would give us perfect understanding. But we sure as heck can TRY to understand, through education, listening skills, and taking the time to see them from their point of view.
Can Hardcore vs Casual ever be resolved? Well, that's a bad example, too many definitions for both, let's just move on.
Talent Complaints
Over on WoW.com I read an article about the new T11 Set Bonuses. The comments opened up with some Warlock complaints. By the end of the first page of comments, there were people complaining about "the Warlocks complaining", and I couldn't help but think 'Do you play a Warlock? If you did you might just understand their point of view.' I'm not saying whether the Warlock's complaints were valid, and frankly it doesn't matter, but to argue with somebody without knowing why they are upset reeks of not making an attempt to see their opinions from their perspective.
This sort of thing I find quite often on forums and in the game itself. It's ok if you don't like it when people whine and complain about the new Cataclysm talents or tier set bonuses, but I think it would be better for everyone if they took the time to try and understand 'why' class X, Y or Z doesn't like talent/ability i, ii, or iii. If you take the time to ask them to clarify their complaints, you might just come to sympathise with them. Even if you don't, you have bridged a social gap and created a tie and a bond that is healthy between two people. When you show someone that you at least are trying to understand them, you have earned yourself loyalty and respect. When you don't try, when you just sit back and argue about things not directly related to the true issue, you only prove yourself to be selfish and closed-minded.
Resolution
I don't know how my debate with my friends will end, I don't really have hope of them opening their minds, I think they have too many biased traditions that they hold on to. But I can try, I can still do my part. The same goes for all your communication, I would suggest that before you criticize somebody else that you take the time to step into their shoes and see things from their perspective. You don't have to end up agreeing with them, but you'll be the means of creating atmosphere's of mutual respect and understanding, something we all could use a little more of in this game that we love.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Good News...I Still Have a Guild
A few days ago I talked about how the increased raiding efforts of my guild had been difficult on me physically, due to my disability with my back and other physical pains and afflictions I have. I knew I needed to talk to my raid and guild leaders, but wasn't looking forward to telling them that one of their oldest, most reliable, and versitile raiders needed to cut back. Simply put this would mean that I could 1) only run raids with my main two nights a week, 2) no more 25mans, 3) my alts could not participate in additional 10-man groups the guild was forming.
So Wednesday night I logged in and sent a tell to those leaders.
I told them I had to cut back and all the reasons why.
I also explained that it didn't mean I wouldn't be online during raid times, I would, but a casual play night for me is much, much different than a raid night - meaning the way it impacts my physical body.
I asked for their feedback, I wanted to know what their reactions would be.
AND..................
To a man they each said they were "Cool with it" and that they "Understood". It helped that one of them has a back injury himself, so he knows better than most what I was talking about.
I was left to hope that they meant what they said, and given what they have preached before ("Real life comes first") I knew they were truthful in beintg "cool with it".
What a relief. The good news is that the two nights I can stand to raid I'm part of the 10-man group that has progressed the farthest into ICC. No, we're not a super-powerful guild who does hard modes, we're far too casual for that. We stand at 10/12, and if it wasn't for just some piss poor bad luck on Sindragosa we'd be at the Lich King's feet.
So, while my guild was doing their weekly 25-man, what was I doing? During the same three hours I tanked with my lvl17 Pali, I watched TV with my kids, I farmed some Lichbloom, I played some basketball on XBox 360, and I ran a random on my new DK. It was one of the most stress-free nights I've had in a long time.
I was asked in a comment why I had any trepidation in the first place. I believe I answered that it was difficult to explain, but the best thing I can say is that mabye 15-20 years ago I would have had no difficulty, but that's when it was easy to be confident about everything in life. There are times I can't even sit up without help, or put socks on, let alone work enough to provide for my family - not being able to do stupid, simple stuff doesn't exactly instill confidence in people.
But I mustered enough to speak up for myself, and wow what a relief. I do love to play this game, and I enjoy the goodness of the people in my guild. I no longer have to stress about a raiding night disabling me (literally) for the next two days, I can go back to a well rounded approach to the game, which is how I've always loved to play it and it's how I can continue to approach it from here on out.
Have a great weekend, may you achieve your goals and burn up the baddies!
So Wednesday night I logged in and sent a tell to those leaders.
I told them I had to cut back and all the reasons why.
I also explained that it didn't mean I wouldn't be online during raid times, I would, but a casual play night for me is much, much different than a raid night - meaning the way it impacts my physical body.
I asked for their feedback, I wanted to know what their reactions would be.
AND..................
To a man they each said they were "Cool with it" and that they "Understood". It helped that one of them has a back injury himself, so he knows better than most what I was talking about.
I was left to hope that they meant what they said, and given what they have preached before ("Real life comes first") I knew they were truthful in beintg "cool with it".
What a relief. The good news is that the two nights I can stand to raid I'm part of the 10-man group that has progressed the farthest into ICC. No, we're not a super-powerful guild who does hard modes, we're far too casual for that. We stand at 10/12, and if it wasn't for just some piss poor bad luck on Sindragosa we'd be at the Lich King's feet.
So, while my guild was doing their weekly 25-man, what was I doing? During the same three hours I tanked with my lvl17 Pali, I watched TV with my kids, I farmed some Lichbloom, I played some basketball on XBox 360, and I ran a random on my new DK. It was one of the most stress-free nights I've had in a long time.
I was asked in a comment why I had any trepidation in the first place. I believe I answered that it was difficult to explain, but the best thing I can say is that mabye 15-20 years ago I would have had no difficulty, but that's when it was easy to be confident about everything in life. There are times I can't even sit up without help, or put socks on, let alone work enough to provide for my family - not being able to do stupid, simple stuff doesn't exactly instill confidence in people.
But I mustered enough to speak up for myself, and wow what a relief. I do love to play this game, and I enjoy the goodness of the people in my guild. I no longer have to stress about a raiding night disabling me (literally) for the next two days, I can go back to a well rounded approach to the game, which is how I've always loved to play it and it's how I can continue to approach it from here on out.
Have a great weekend, may you achieve your goals and burn up the baddies!
Monday, April 26, 2010
When to speak?
Disclaimer: By nature I am shy.
Well enough of the formalities, let's get down to business, shall we? I was never much for pugging, until I leveled a second toon to 80 and found that people wanted me to bring my well-geared shaman, not my semi-well-geared priest. The resulting consequences found me looking to join pug raid groups just to get experience and upgrades to gear until I could feel comfortable running with my guild full time. This past week was particularly difficult, for on our server the weekly raid was:
Lord Marrowgar
When Blizzard first instituted the weekly raid quest it was also at the same time ICC became available. The second week Lord Marrowgar was the weekly quest and everybody was trying to form a group to do just that...JUST Lord Marrowgar.
Skip to the present, nobody wants to do JUST Marrowgar, they want a full ICC run. My raid time is spent on my Shaman, I am working again, I still have my disability which limits my playtime, and I needed to find a way to get my priest into ICC to fight JUST Lord Marrowgar.
IMPOSSIBLE.
Every day I would be scanning the chat channels and LFR tool just to see if there were like-minded people out there who would be willing to sacrifice an entire week in ICC for just the first boss. "This is going to be difficult," I told myself.
Then at 3:22 pm yesterday, after completing my daily heroic, I see a LFM [Lord Marrowgar Must Die], 1DPS, 1 Tank. I send a tell...really quickly..."dps here", hoping that will be enough, that they won't ask for gear score (even though it was sufficient for ICC), or achievement link (my Shaman has all the achievements).
I get invited.
I get in and monitor the raid chat, I want to see what the problems were that people were having, if any at all. In summary: 3 wipes, bad tank, fail heals, dps die a lot.
Remember, by nature I am shy, but I saw that I needed to speak up.
"May I ask, since I just arrived, what your positioning has been? Are dps standing under his butt inside his hitbox? Have you been prioritizing bone spikes? When bonestorm happens are you running around like chickens with their heads cutoff or are you being patient, making small moves and letting the healers heal you? Are you staying out of the cold flame?"
These were questions that I asked, because it became quickly apparent that there were several first-timers there, and the rest second-timers. Luckily, there was a new tank (replacing the bad one) that also had experience. We were able to calmly and patiently talk the group through the encounter. We wiped the first time, but had nearly taken the big, bad, bone dude out. We ran back in and hit him hard and finally felled hit butt.
I have always let other people do the leading and talking in wow, by choice. Yes, I am shy by nature, but leadership is a talent of mine when I choose to act upon those insticnts. If the situation calls for it, I can rise up to the occaision and help lead a group of strangers to victory. Teaching is about patience and accountability. Some people speak out of turn, or when they do it's unproductive and confrontational, still others speak the right words at the right time but in the wrong way...too judgemental.
When I ask "When to speak?" what I mean is not only when but why and how? When we open our voices to guildies or pugs what are we saying, when are we saying it, what tone of voice do we use and why? I realize everyone is different, has their own philosophies and most likely don't agree with me, but in my opinion I would appreciate it if when raiding people would think before they speak. If something needs to be said, it's ok to say, but watch how you say it and consider your motives before allowing the words to flow from your tongue or flow through your fingers.
When to speak? For me it was when the situation required it, not to satisfy my ego or any other selfish reason. For you, what is the answer? When do you speak? Is it determined by guild rules, norms, or personal choice?
Well enough of the formalities, let's get down to business, shall we? I was never much for pugging, until I leveled a second toon to 80 and found that people wanted me to bring my well-geared shaman, not my semi-well-geared priest. The resulting consequences found me looking to join pug raid groups just to get experience and upgrades to gear until I could feel comfortable running with my guild full time. This past week was particularly difficult, for on our server the weekly raid was:
Lord Marrowgar
When Blizzard first instituted the weekly raid quest it was also at the same time ICC became available. The second week Lord Marrowgar was the weekly quest and everybody was trying to form a group to do just that...JUST Lord Marrowgar.
Skip to the present, nobody wants to do JUST Marrowgar, they want a full ICC run. My raid time is spent on my Shaman, I am working again, I still have my disability which limits my playtime, and I needed to find a way to get my priest into ICC to fight JUST Lord Marrowgar.
IMPOSSIBLE.
Every day I would be scanning the chat channels and LFR tool just to see if there were like-minded people out there who would be willing to sacrifice an entire week in ICC for just the first boss. "This is going to be difficult," I told myself.
Then at 3:22 pm yesterday, after completing my daily heroic, I see a LFM [Lord Marrowgar Must Die], 1DPS, 1 Tank. I send a tell...really quickly..."dps here", hoping that will be enough, that they won't ask for gear score (even though it was sufficient for ICC), or achievement link (my Shaman has all the achievements).
I get invited.
I get in and monitor the raid chat, I want to see what the problems were that people were having, if any at all. In summary: 3 wipes, bad tank, fail heals, dps die a lot.
Remember, by nature I am shy, but I saw that I needed to speak up.
"May I ask, since I just arrived, what your positioning has been? Are dps standing under his butt inside his hitbox? Have you been prioritizing bone spikes? When bonestorm happens are you running around like chickens with their heads cutoff or are you being patient, making small moves and letting the healers heal you? Are you staying out of the cold flame?"
These were questions that I asked, because it became quickly apparent that there were several first-timers there, and the rest second-timers. Luckily, there was a new tank (replacing the bad one) that also had experience. We were able to calmly and patiently talk the group through the encounter. We wiped the first time, but had nearly taken the big, bad, bone dude out. We ran back in and hit him hard and finally felled hit butt.
I have always let other people do the leading and talking in wow, by choice. Yes, I am shy by nature, but leadership is a talent of mine when I choose to act upon those insticnts. If the situation calls for it, I can rise up to the occaision and help lead a group of strangers to victory. Teaching is about patience and accountability. Some people speak out of turn, or when they do it's unproductive and confrontational, still others speak the right words at the right time but in the wrong way...too judgemental.
When I ask "When to speak?" what I mean is not only when but why and how? When we open our voices to guildies or pugs what are we saying, when are we saying it, what tone of voice do we use and why? I realize everyone is different, has their own philosophies and most likely don't agree with me, but in my opinion I would appreciate it if when raiding people would think before they speak. If something needs to be said, it's ok to say, but watch how you say it and consider your motives before allowing the words to flow from your tongue or flow through your fingers.
When to speak? For me it was when the situation required it, not to satisfy my ego or any other selfish reason. For you, what is the answer? When do you speak? Is it determined by guild rules, norms, or personal choice?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Pigeondudderdabelly
Wow, I suck. I really need to stop making promises I can't keep. As I said the last time I ever wrote something, I had been laid off of work. Basically I just stopped blogging so that I could focus on getting a job and providing for my family. It's important to me, more important than anything else. I realize I may have alienated my reader(s), disappointing them (or just him or her), and perhaps got off track of something that might have been growing. Well, I think I just need to start over.
Hello, my name is Gronthe, and I'm writing a WoW blog. It's the first of its kind. Bold statement? Not really, since it's the first written by me, it's unique...the first of its kind. Let's smile together at that really awful joke. :)
If you like you may go back and learn more about me, I wrote a 3-part series about why I play the game. It's entertaining at best, enlightening at worst, and not a half-bad read at medium. See them here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
But when I promise to do something, I do it...just not always in the time period I promise. Oh well, I gotta work on some things in life, don't I? I wanted to share a story with you, it's not my first, in fact I rather enjoy story time here at Deuwowlity. In case you don't already know, I have a couple kids. Boys to be exact. When my oldest was very young, still learning to speak, he would contrive the most adorable little words. Obviously he was trying to say real words, but they never came out that way.
In particular he enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But he could never quite say "peanut butter and jelly", instead it came out as "pigeondudderdabelly". Cute right? Simply irresistable! He had the obligatory spaghetti pronounciation, "pasketti", as well as many other variations of simple words we all take for granted. But "pigeondudderdabelly" always touched a very special place in my heart, as well as my wife's.
It seems to me that kids don't unlearn stuff, however, they simply transfer it to older people. I don't know how my kid transferred his inability to speak to strangers around the world who also happen to play WoW, but he did. Every day I am nausiated by the senseless chatter in trade chat, the ignorance of the masses when they start arguing about why everyone else sucks and they are the only leet person on the realm. The immaturity that permiates party chat during a simple, predictable random dungeon.
I think I want to hurl.
Ok, so I realize that I'm probably older than many and there are a significant amount of teenagers playing this game, kids who know what a noun and a verb are but have trouble using them in the same sentence.
When my kid was young, he couldn't speak properly because of the laws of childhood development and human nature. What is the excuse for the thousands of morons out there that feel it's their duty, their obligation, to tell everyone what to you using only symbols and not words (#$*%#*$%*#%$#$* tank! &*#$&#* #$&*#$& pull #*&$*#&$*&# gogogogo #&*$&#*).
It's not my place to understand. Oh wait...one more thing. I wonder about those people who yell in chat, telling some troll to SHUT UP ALREADY. Do they know they have an ignore list? I think they do, I also think they get off somehow by being the sort of person they publicly decry.
As I was saying. It's not my place to understand, I fear. It's my place to /Ignore. I hope Blizzard makes it so I can ignore 10,000 people, because it's going in that direction.
Thanks for stopping by. Good news, I got a job! I wouldn't be writing if I didn't, I had to get my priorities in line first. I take my job as a husband and dad seriously, the way I view it at least. It makes me feel good knowing I can pay rent, have something to eat, and even still have some left over to play a game I enjoy.
Peace out, I'll see ya'lls around the corner, at Deuwowlity.blogspot.com.
Hello, my name is Gronthe, and I'm writing a WoW blog. It's the first of its kind. Bold statement? Not really, since it's the first written by me, it's unique...the first of its kind. Let's smile together at that really awful joke. :)
If you like you may go back and learn more about me, I wrote a 3-part series about why I play the game. It's entertaining at best, enlightening at worst, and not a half-bad read at medium. See them here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
But when I promise to do something, I do it...just not always in the time period I promise. Oh well, I gotta work on some things in life, don't I? I wanted to share a story with you, it's not my first, in fact I rather enjoy story time here at Deuwowlity. In case you don't already know, I have a couple kids. Boys to be exact. When my oldest was very young, still learning to speak, he would contrive the most adorable little words. Obviously he was trying to say real words, but they never came out that way.
In particular he enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But he could never quite say "peanut butter and jelly", instead it came out as "pigeondudderdabelly". Cute right? Simply irresistable! He had the obligatory spaghetti pronounciation, "pasketti", as well as many other variations of simple words we all take for granted. But "pigeondudderdabelly" always touched a very special place in my heart, as well as my wife's.
It seems to me that kids don't unlearn stuff, however, they simply transfer it to older people. I don't know how my kid transferred his inability to speak to strangers around the world who also happen to play WoW, but he did. Every day I am nausiated by the senseless chatter in trade chat, the ignorance of the masses when they start arguing about why everyone else sucks and they are the only leet person on the realm. The immaturity that permiates party chat during a simple, predictable random dungeon.
I think I want to hurl.
Ok, so I realize that I'm probably older than many and there are a significant amount of teenagers playing this game, kids who know what a noun and a verb are but have trouble using them in the same sentence.
When my kid was young, he couldn't speak properly because of the laws of childhood development and human nature. What is the excuse for the thousands of morons out there that feel it's their duty, their obligation, to tell everyone what to you using only symbols and not words (#$*%#*$%*#%$#$* tank! &*#$&#* #$&*#$& pull #*&$*#&$*&# gogogogo #&*$&#*).
It's not my place to understand. Oh wait...one more thing. I wonder about those people who yell in chat, telling some troll to SHUT UP ALREADY. Do they know they have an ignore list? I think they do, I also think they get off somehow by being the sort of person they publicly decry.
As I was saying. It's not my place to understand, I fear. It's my place to /Ignore. I hope Blizzard makes it so I can ignore 10,000 people, because it's going in that direction.
Thanks for stopping by. Good news, I got a job! I wouldn't be writing if I didn't, I had to get my priorities in line first. I take my job as a husband and dad seriously, the way I view it at least. It makes me feel good knowing I can pay rent, have something to eat, and even still have some left over to play a game I enjoy.
Peace out, I'll see ya'lls around the corner, at Deuwowlity.blogspot.com.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Like...Gag me with spoon!
If you don't know what a Valley Girl is, see here. Having been born and raised in New England, the Valley Girl life never really appealed to me. All I did was make fun of the way they talked.
"So Billy, you want to, you know like, you want to go play football?"
"Totally like, duh! That would be like so totally wicked" (The wicked was and is heavily used where I grew up)
"Awesome, why, like I am so excited. Let's so go like, now!"
You have to remember that intonation was like so key to Valspeak. It's pretty much the opposite of Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. If his speach was dull grey, a Valley Girl was hot pink and every color in the rainbow.
I wonder what it would sound like in WoW?
VG1: "Hey Shrentblablabla, like whatever your name is. Check out my new eipc, it's like, so totally purple"
VG2: "I know right?"
VG1: "Yeah, why, I'm now so much more powerfuler than you. I've got like, so many hit points."
VG2: "Like, duh, I know right? But are you like, trying to say that I'm like, just not cool or something?"
VG1: "Duh!"
VG2: "I'm gonna like, get me some better epics than you. You'll be on the floor like, so crying."
VG1: "You wish. Your like, such a noob, you don't have any epics"
VG2: "What EVER! So like, you know, I'm gonna like, so get me some of that."
VG1: "Some of like, what?"
VG2: "You know, like some of that awesomeness stuff, you know. Like, Purples!"
VG1: "Whatever! You're still like, a total noob."
In other words, LFM for ICC, 20K GS, 50K DPS, know fight, no noobs, no fail group (or you're so like, not even coming).
"Ugh! Gag me with a spoon! Like, as if I'm ever gonna have like, that kinda DPS. That guy is like, a total loser. C'mon Shertblablabla whatever your name is. Let's like, get so outta here. Server Transfer!"
Yeah, that's right, I'm talking to you Mr Outrageous expectation sir.
"So Billy, you want to, you know like, you want to go play football?"
"Totally like, duh! That would be like so totally wicked" (The wicked was and is heavily used where I grew up)
"Awesome, why, like I am so excited. Let's so go like, now!"
You have to remember that intonation was like so key to Valspeak. It's pretty much the opposite of Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. If his speach was dull grey, a Valley Girl was hot pink and every color in the rainbow.
I wonder what it would sound like in WoW?
VG1: "Hey Shrentblablabla, like whatever your name is. Check out my new eipc, it's like, so totally purple"
VG2: "I know right?"
VG1: "Yeah, why, I'm now so much more powerfuler than you. I've got like, so many hit points."
VG2: "Like, duh, I know right? But are you like, trying to say that I'm like, just not cool or something?"
VG1: "Duh!"
VG2: "I'm gonna like, get me some better epics than you. You'll be on the floor like, so crying."
VG1: "You wish. Your like, such a noob, you don't have any epics"
VG2: "What EVER! So like, you know, I'm gonna like, so get me some of that."
VG1: "Some of like, what?"
VG2: "You know, like some of that awesomeness stuff, you know. Like, Purples!"
VG1: "Whatever! You're still like, a total noob."
In other words, LFM for ICC, 20K GS, 50K DPS, know fight, no noobs, no fail group (or you're so like, not even coming).
"Ugh! Gag me with a spoon! Like, as if I'm ever gonna have like, that kinda DPS. That guy is like, a total loser. C'mon Shertblablabla whatever your name is. Let's like, get so outta here. Server Transfer!"
Yeah, that's right, I'm talking to you Mr Outrageous expectation sir.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)