Such flattery!

by Josh Owens Dec 12th 2005 at 7:00AM

Yes, I know, I claim to be a fan of constructive feedback... I ran across this post when digging around for links to our site in technorati. It seems one Mr. Jonas Luster is not a fan of our new blog! Although it sucks to read negative comments about my posts, I think it is a good opportunity for me to clarify who I am, and why I am writing for this blog.

I am a professional altoholic with 3 characters between level 30 and 35, plus my 3 other characters ranging from level 13 up to level 25. I am a casual player who spends most of his time in the game soloing and chatting to friends. I try to make time to group and/or run an instance at least once a week. I am also addicted to battlegrounds now, so you can find me in the queue quite a bit.

One thing I am NOT - an uber level 60 hardcore raid/guild fanatic. I am here to provide you my perspective of the game, as I play it. While I do appreciate what Jonas had to say, I have one question for him: You mention our site not being an "insider" view - can you clarify that? What do you guys want to see on this site?

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, WoW Insider Business, Virtual selves

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

John Meche Dec 12th 2005 9:39AM

I acctually like this site a lot. It's a fresh perspective on WoW for player who haven't been playing since the beta and don't necessarily know everything about everything in the game. My only um, i guess...irritation... with the site is that it does seem a bit slanted toward the *coughallicancecough* as there aren't as many horde screen shots and such. Other than that, keep up the great work!

Stimps Dec 12th 2005 9:59AM

No problems with the site here, either, apart from sometimes it feels like you're trying too hard to make it look busy.

Personally, I'd like to see more news / content, and less "group or solo?" or "worst death" type entries - these aren't exactly news, but seem to be ways of making the site look busy, and hoping the comments left will generate the content... (if I wanted to read/discuss such topics, I'd head to the WoW forums)

Chris Gardner Dec 12th 2005 10:16AM

I think the issue here, as I pointed out earlier, is that your calling others "noobs" so frequently, when you're relatively new to the game, seems kind of stupid . If you started the blog with "I'm relatively new to World of Warcraft. I have a few alts but haven't really gotten towards the endgame yet. Let's learn about the game and share stories together." it would've come off better.

Instead, you DO tend to come off like you know more about the game than most people, even after entering a battleground for the first time or just going to the Darkmoon Faire. Doing 1 thing 1 time does not qualify anyone as an expert. I wouldn't tell a trucker how to drive just after getting my license.

Wow, as most other MMORPGs, have notoriously devoted fanbases. There are people who literally live in the game and will point out every little perceived flaw they see in a new player's POV. I play 2-3 hour spurts, but infrequently, so even I'm considered casual. We're talking about guys who play 8-10 hours a day.

If you came into things saying "I'm new here, but I'm willing to learn" rather than, for example, "If you can't win a battleground in 10 minutes you're a noob" (knowing nothing about the mechanics of battlegrounds late game, gear, etc), it would be much better.

By the way, good story on the reindeer. THAT is what I would consider an "insider" site to have.

Josh Owens Dec 12th 2005 10:18AM

This is all good stuff guys! Keep it rolling in.

ryan grove Dec 12th 2005 12:00PM

I love the "blog" feel to this site, i.e., the random perspectives related to the more "human" aspects of playing the game (families that play together, Thrall statue, etc). I'd hate to see this site become another "argue about stats" site just to appease the hardcore (who can never actually be appeased).

Josh Owens Dec 12th 2005 12:49PM

Jade,

I would ask that you go and read my post a little more. The fact of the post wasn't that people weren't winning in 10 minutes, it was that n00bs couldn't defend their post for AT LEAST 10 minutes. I would highly recommend reading the thread and the comments, good stuff.

Jonas M Luster Dec 12th 2005 2:22PM

From dictionary.com:

in�sid�er
1. An accepted member of a group.
2. One who has special knowledge or access to confidential information.

I contest that notion. Your usage of the word "noob", which is - at least within the game-world of WoW - an insult geared towards those who maliciously or through an inability to see their lack of skill/knowledge or improve their abilities ruin the game for others is a good example.

The "Hunter" post is, to say the least, misleading, and can make for a diminished game experience for some. New hunters who believe the "insider", roll on +Intellect leather, and get booted from parties, blacklisted, and denounced as Ninjas in Orgrimmar, and more experienced players who might have run the instance ten times to get that one leather drop for their Druid.

I am by no means a hardcore gamer. I have a love- and family life, I have friends, I have a job, and I've spent more time working on non-geenk projects than geek ones. It is for that, that I'd like to enjoy my time in Azeroth. Misinformation labeled as "Insider" contributes to the overall dis-enjoyment.

But I also like to understand game mechanics, and spend more time tinkering with ideas to explore Blizzard's game code than the actual game. This comes in handy when facing Ragnaros, Thunderaan, or other high-level content. I also spend more time in World PvP than I should (ask my guild), which helps me understand other classes and races. At that point, a statement such as "Paladin's can't be killed" makes me laugh hard and question the "insider" notion even more. Stay at Crossroads for a bit and wait for the always present Alliance. Find a Paladin. Dispell, Drain Mana, Two-Shot. They're killable. More so than any other class. The changes in 1.9 don't fix that.

As for BG, WSG is one of 3 Battlegrounds. Alterac Valley can (and has) taken 28 hours straight to win, Arathi Basin in the 60s can be done in twenty minutes, but rarely is. WSG, I can win in 5.

To draw an analogy and conclusion -- if this weblog were named "San Francisco Insider", and the posts were about ways to get from the Airport to the City, but mentioned the wrong mayor, didn't talk about the Haight, Mission, or ongoing city council battles, one would question your publication as well.

Damien Barrett Dec 12th 2005 3:10PM

Darkspear, this is how the entire WIN network verifies that comments are legitimate and not spam. Comment spam has become the bane of virtually all blogs and this is the system WIN has developed to combat it. FWIW, I think it works quite well. Few others have complained and we have many thousands of commentors across the WIN network.

Windshadow Dec 12th 2005 4:12PM

I am very much a NOOB as though I got the game in june my job (I am an engineering officer on a container ship) means that I only can play for a week or so every few months and I have huge numbers other real life duties needing my attention when I am ashore... as a result my main is only lev 16 dwarf hunter with about 5 o 6 alts in the 5 to 7 range that I played while I decided what would be my main... as my Job requires such disjointed play I will never be able to join a guild or do the high end stuff... each time I can play the folks that I struck up a chat with have advanced many levels by the time I can play again.
one of the reasons I like this blog is that it is not uber guild in focus... my play as been focused on things like engineering (over 220) and mining... and running the quests as a solo player learning fishing cooking and first aid... that this blog does not exclude a player loke om is a + in my book

Jade Dec 12th 2005 6:43PM

I agree with chris. I've seen a BG game go on for an hour or more. Not because these people were new. These were all around lvl 47-49. High ranking with many kills and hours put into the game. This was mainly because they were equally paired in skill on both horde and alliance sides. I mean, calling someone a noob for not winning a BG game in 10 minutes or less is immature and untrue.

Law of Darkspear Dec 12th 2005 6:44PM

I don't mind the inexperienced post about ingame issues that most people who are higher levels already know about.. my main issue with this site is when responding to a post I have to go check my e-mail and approve it..

More news and actual "insider" stuff that the average player doesn't already know would be great though!

Law of Darkspear Dec 12th 2005 6:44PM

Damien, not complaining, was just giving my 2 cents. Overall I like the site(and it's not blocked from my work filter /grin) so I have no complaints =)

Jade Dec 12th 2005 6:52PM

I was only replying with what I had read from a previous comment. No time to really read the threads.

L'Emmerdeur Dec 13th 2005 10:10AM

Make the site any way you want to. But if you are going to document your experience as you transition from noob to experienced player, perhaps the term "WoW Insider" is a misnomer.

I think you'll find that the majority of WoW players are neophytes, and have little time to read about the vast content included in the game. This site is perfect for them. For those who really know their stuff, the official WoW forums are probably a more appropriate read.

A couple of blogs I like are www.paladinsucks.com and www.frostbolt.com. Both are interesting reads.

And retire your paladin, please. We must all stop playing them until Blizzard decides to really fix them. Most people are disappointed with the 1.9 fixes, and will boycott the class until they give it the same treatment they gave to druids and hunters.

Dan Miles Dec 13th 2005 3:38PM

hey man, i just wanted to say i read you blog everyday and i love it, its in my ibook "websites to read many times everyday" folder. keep on doing what you are doing, i already told my brother and his buddies about this site and they are hooked, the funny thing is i hardly play the game. regardless. great job!

Andreas Dec 14th 2005 10:54AM

I really like this blog BECAUSE of the fact that it's not written by a hardcore player. All the other wow-sites out there try to give you the latest patch info and a lot of other info I'll find out sooner or later anyway. At least this blog is different, more personal, more friendly. Of course this might all change as soon as you guys get to level 60. I gave up WoW at level 49 but I'm still hooked even though I'm not playing anymore :)

Ugkul Dec 14th 2005 8:54PM

One thing I really hate about this site are the pop up ads, which evade my pop up blocker on firefox. PLEASE; remove those stupid smiley and spyware that claims to protect you from spyware ads.

PodMonkeys Dec 15th 2005 9:45AM

I see nothing wrong with the "Insider" portion of the title. Just as definition #1 states: "1. An accepted member of a group." the authors of the articles play the game, and are a member of the WoW community.

I think to get too nit picky about a blog site about a game, means that someone has their priorities in the wrong place.
#1, It's a game.
#2, It's a blog.
#3, It's a blog about a game.

No one is competing for a pulitzer.
No one is going to get bombed by Bush for a mistaken statement.

We're supposed to be having fun. Remember fun?

As for San Francisco Insider. I would rather read it if it were written by the everyday common people walking the streets, then by the suits in their towers worried about which route to the airport would require the least amount of physical exertion, while keeping as much distance between their Armani and the pan-handlers.

mind on fire. Dec 15th 2005 12:33PM

Hi. My name is John, and I'm a WoW-aholic.
Not really. I'm a casual user. And I can quit at any time.
Anyhow, mine is a solo-alt playstyle. I enjoy the variety, and I enjoy the process. I'm not in a big hurry to get to 60. I tend to avoid instances, PvP, group play and I played for months before I finally joined a Guild (because I'm a guy and afraid of commitment?).

Though I'm with Jonas that "insider" typically connotes priveleged access to information, I can relate to approach here--it fits my non-expert status. I like the "newsy" format. I come to WoW Insider
to share in the sense of wonder and discovery and to get my "fix" when I can't be in Azeroth proper. When I do want detailed information on how best to train and utilize my pet, or advice on what mage build to focus on, then I start looking closely at forums and doing Google searches.