The View From the Top (Interesting Blog Aritcle I read)

Jamoe · October 18, 2006, 05:09:53 PM

http://soulkerfuffle.blogspot.com/2006/10/view-from-top.html

QuoteI just left WoW permanently. I was a leader in one of the largest and most respected guilds in the world, a well-equipped and well-versed mage, and considered myself to have many close friends in my guild. Why did I leave? Simple: Blizzard has created an alternate universe where we don't have to be ourselves when we don't want to be. From my vantage point as a guild decision maker, I've seen it destroy more families and friendships and take a huge toll on individuals than any drug on the market today, and that means a lot coming from an ex-club DJ.

Crickey :blink:

food for thought.

Bob · October 18, 2006, 07:11:26 PM

Not a bad article Jamoe, and as you said - quite some food for thought.
And even though one can't deny that there's a lot of truth in that blog, I believe the key element is how you manage to balance and combine (as the Blog author actually mentioned in a later comment as well) WoW with other more "important" stuff - and that is something I'd say goes for everything you do. But than again, it might also be easier to "over-do" WoW than other RL activities :g:

Blunt · October 19, 2006, 12:04:49 AM

Scarey stuff...

I'm so glad I never touched it...

wish I could say the same about tobacco:sad:

Knabbel · October 19, 2006, 05:57:09 AM

It's with every other addiction....... it also depends on the person self....you can allow it to happen.

You are just fouling yourself and nobody else. Skipping a birthday is one of those things.......

Like BoB said, do other important stuff as well.....and games are still not socialy accepted by the older part of mankind. They think I'm crazy spending so much time in a game....but I bet they wouldn't say that if I spend so much time behind a tv or a bar........ I stick rather with WoW then....

Greetings from Eastern Kingdoms..... :smile:

Nefertem · October 19, 2006, 08:18:44 AM

Quote(imagine if Alexander the Great had to push across the Middle East every damn week).

Tho meant quite serious I suppose, it made me lol :lol:

QuoteFinally, when you're a leader there is a call (or more appropriately a demand) for success. Usually those you represent want to keep progressing. They want to keep improving. They want more access to the best things. It is on you to provide it. In my experience, when you fail to progress fast enough, waves ripple throughout the guild and people become dissatisfied. It's your fault, no matter what. Everything you've done to keep things fair and provide for everyone does not mean a damn thing. A few will stand up for you, but when you have 150 people who all want 150 different things, you end up listening to 150 voices complaining about the job you're doing. This volunteer job usually takes at least 10 extra hours a week (on top of regular playing). Towards the end of my year of service, I apparently couldn't do anything right with my class. I had to rotate people to make sure everyone was getting a fair shot. I wrote actual mathematical proofs the allowed for fair and effective (yes, both) raid distribution according to efficiency, speed, and guild class population. I even rotated myself more than any other class member. People still took it upon themselves to tell me what I was doing wrong (constantly) and how their way was more fair (usually for them).

A little thing to those who's nagging on the officers :learn:

A quite good blog.. Luckily it never went that bad with me.
Altho I must say I miss the game, and getting more and more attracted to TBC.
Thought about coming back (massively influenced by Umbra

), but only as casual (as I won't have time for raiding), but lets wait and see if that happens :huh:

DuVeL · October 19, 2006, 08:59:51 AM

Very good read. Cheers for posting.
During the LAN we've discussed WoW also several times and a few WoW'ers were like: Why don't you try it aswell? My reply: No thanks. I've heard what the game does and that it's heavily addictive. For me it's better to not get to addicitive in gaming anymore.
Anymore you say? Yep. There was a period I was very addicted to CounterStrike. BF2 caught me aswell but now I know when I'm getting to much addicted to a game. I still enjoy gaming but starting up WoW would have been to much.

Also with DarkAngel I've been talking about WoW.
He told me that when I deleted his characters from WoW, he'd be very p*ssed off first but eventually would be gratefull in the end.

I also miss the "old" dMw-community a bit so expect me more on our servers (I got to a point in BF2 that I allready have done alot for medals and badges and stuff and I think I'm the only dMw'er who got that far in ranking).

Greetings Pete, a.k.a. -=[dMw]=-DuVeL.

Neff · October 20, 2006, 11:25:53 AM

Good read. Wow's an drug, its true. Luckily i could juggle it all before.
MOndays was soccer practice + I jogged(typo?

) Tuesdays, raiding+PE in school, Wednesday - Soccer, Thursday- Jogging + Raiding, Friday - Pe,jogging and raids (before you took it away

)

But then it crashed down

It will happen sooner or later. Sucks to "loose" all your friends because you cant keep up with raiding. Wow is much more than a game, because its an MMORPG, you meet alot of folks, and the ppl i met in sog,RG,Anything,sing. Well i never regretted it

DogMeat · October 20, 2006, 12:28:34 PM

Quote from: Blunt;157411Scarey stuff...

I'm so glad I never touched it...

wish I could say the same about tobacco:sad:

:withstupid:

Armitage · October 20, 2006, 02:21:15 PM

reading that blog makes you think.:sad:

When is wow a problem. 10 hours a week, 20, 30......

I recon I play 25-28 hours a week and I don't play in any large raids. UBRS is as big as ACL goes.

I love playing WOW, But I see the problem with all MMORG. It's not that you can't win the game. because you win battles, it may be a "instance boss" or a "solo quest" but there is success or failure. It's that the real reward comes from not how good you are, but how much time you put in.

So come on all. Sit down and add up your weekly games hours! and be honest:g:

sheepy · October 20, 2006, 02:44:31 PM

bugger, im "wasting" about a day a week playing wow!

Carr0t · October 20, 2006, 02:48:37 PM

Quote from: Armitage;157681So come on all. Sit down and add up your weekly games hours! and be honest:g:

Hmm... I just added it all up in my head. I never thought it came to that much, but if my mental calculations are right it's about 28 hours a week! That is with doing some raiding though. Luckily for me i'm in a guild where pretty much everyone is a casual raider, which works fine for me. I.e. there are lots of ZG/AQ runs organised for midweek, but we don't have set groups to do them, it's just a case of sign up and turn up. If not enough people have signed up a few days in advance it gets cancelled. We do MC on Saturday and Sunday, so that as many people as possible who work during the week can attend, but that's the same setup - you sign up in advance, and if we have a full or almost full raid group we go for it, if not then it gets called off and people go and do other things like an extra ZG/AQ run or Scholo for rep or whatever, with other people who were going to be in the raid.

To be honest we have a full raid group most of the time (at least for MC), and it's the best system for me, as I can't guarantee to be able or inclined to attend for several days every week. But it only works if everyone in the guild is of the same mindset, i.e. casual raiding.

Actually i'm still not convinced it's a much as 28 hours a week, given that almost exclusively for the last few months i've been playing WoW (except since Company of Heores came out, when I initially played that a lot and then got readdicted to Warcraft 3 and Frozen Throne, when I finally threw away my dodgy cracked versions and bought legal copies), and i'm sure my /played has been going up at less that 1 gametime day every realtime week.