Pretty Screenshot...

This has got to be one of my favorite screenshots I've taken so far.  Double sun flare ray! What does it mean!?

Get up, Stand up.

I also hate the Westboro Baptist Church people.
But anyway.

I hate battlegrounds.  Actually, scratch that. I hate the people IN battlegrounds. You know, the "OMG YOU GUYS FAIL," the "U GUYZ R RETARDED," and the "WTF U IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!" etc... people.  They're everywhere. Horde or Alliance, these jerks will be screaming in /bg about how stupid we are for not doing something "right".

Recently, I was in an EotS,  and one of the major battleground chat griefers complained that the Alliance was raping us because we were not doing so-and-so (can't remember the words exactly).  Without thinking, I replied that there are people who play this game that have been raped before, and that saying that sort of thing was insensitive.  Yeah, go me.  He obviously continued, replying with "Rape rape rape. Rape rape rape rape."

So... I saw it coming.  But I did it anyway.  The only thing I could do after that was report him, and pray to the gods that others would report him as well, and that he would hopefully realize that what he was saying could actually be really harming someone.

But that's only one experience, and I'm sure you've had many yourselves.

The fact that people can purposefully spit out such vile and offensive things just disgusts me.  And don't get me wrong, I've played this game for about four years now, and have heard things like this before.  I'll probably hear them again.  But I ask you, dear reader, where does it stop?  How does it stop? What would it take?

We all know that Blizzard can only do so much to stop players from saying offensive things like that.  And even then, they'd probably just recommend you to "turn on your language filter" to avoid having to read things like that again. But I gotta tell you, I would never switch that filter on.  I'm an adult, I talk to other adults in my guild, and occasionally we swear.   Ideally, I'd like to be able to pick which words we essentially "bleep out," but I don't think it'll cross Blizz's minds anytime soon.

So what do we do? It's a community problem, I think it will take the community to fix it. We, as the non-asshat people of the WoW community, need to stand up against those in the game who are being jerks. Don't just take it laying down.  Don't let them dump all their rage and insecurities on you and your other party/raid members.  Don't let people walk all over your guildmates just because they're good at tanking or healing or dealing damage.  As the great Bob Marley once said, "Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights".

Now, putting it in the context of a MMORPG, here's the idea:  Don't let people ruin your fun intentionally by acting out on their own insecurities or jerk-ish nature.  You pay the exact same subscription as they do, why should you have to suffer through their immature name-calling and insult-throwing?

Communities are built by people.  By allowing people to walk all over each other, we're not doing our community any good.  If we want our experience to be less trollish and less offensive, we need to stand up against those who are mistreating others. Even if we're standing alone, maybe, just maybe, one of the bystanders will take notice.  And maybe they'll stand up against someone else, too.  Then another person may join in, and another, and another, until eventually, maybe people will realize that allowing people to treat each other like garbage is something we can change.  We just need someone to show us that we can change it.

On the Community...

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry...

Happy New Year!

Friends, the community of WoW has grown considerably in the past few years, and I know it's a tired subject, but my complaint today is about jerks.

Jerk: Slang . a contemptibly naive, fatuous, foolish, or inconsequential person.



The other day, a friend of a guild mate was invited into the guild's vent server.  One of the first things he said was a very sexist remark, some shot at making a joke (something to do with women and kitchens, I believe you can put the rest of it together).  As I was without a microphone, I could say nothing, however one of (two or three other) women in the channel spoke up and proceeded to rip him a new one.  His defense?

"I don't care what people think of me, in game or in real life."

Allow me to go back into my time machine for a moment here.

Sir, that is not a defense--that is an excuse.  An excuse to act like an idiot, and to make stupid, sexist remarks, to people you do not know.  You. Are. Pathetic.

It's things like this these days, little comments like this, that drag the community of this MMO down further and further into the gutter every day.  And their excuses, the "I'm like this in real life," "This is how I always act," and "It's just the internet," that we hear every time, are ridiculous, failing attempts at justifying behavior that I very highly doubt they often indulge in outside of the video game.  I mean seriously, would you walk up to a group of women you did not know and say, "Lol get back in the kitchen," ?  No? I didn't think so.

My point is, despite what you may think, there are real people on the other end of these avatars.  Your hurtful remarks meant "as a joke" usually do end up hurting other people, REAL people. Think before you speak.  Don't make a jerk of yourself.  Don't intentionally hurt others just because it makes you feel a little less inadequate.

"Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves." - Ulysses S. Grant.

And those words ring true to today.  It doesn't matter where you're from, where you work, or what class you play. As a person, you still deserve respect.  And so do the people you choose to insult.  Think about it.