How Not to Influence People

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 4:08 PM

I've been told in my life that I do not deal well with stupidity.  Now stupidity tends to find itself in many different forms and cadences.  Whether it's the guy at the door trying to convert me to a religion that I have no interest in,  or the person at the counter at the local store asking dumb questions.  I tend to not handle stupid very well.

I received an email from a reader discussing a situation that they had run into.  They being a fellow gold goblin had posted up some herbs at a reasonably selling price.   Instead of the player deciding to politely ask if that was their intention,  they decided to berate them.   Including some name calling and crass remarks.  

Having played this game for many years,  it still surprises me from time to time the reality that just because someone is anonymous does not give them the right to act like the north end of a south bound donkey.  Each of the lessons that I try to teach on this journal is meant to be executed with a certain amount of decorum and dare I say honor.   As has been said many times,  there are players behind the keyboard with feelings and emotions.

When I started playing World of Warcraft I was a mess.   While not going into specifics I was a proverbial hermit that didn't go out that often.   I spent more time in my house than is normally to be expected of a grown man.  It was my safety and my kingdom with limited social interaction.   At the time I was recovering form a physical injury so I wasn't into the bar scene,  or the gaming scene or anything other than books and the occasional chat room.  

I had just started a vigorous rehabilitation schedule with a lot of downtime for recovery.  So a friend of mine suggested I look at playing World of Warcraft for recreation and also for the possibility of social interaction. Five years later I still play,  and have become very vehement to my defense of the human nature of players behind the game.

So when I hear of stories such as this is turns my stomach.   In the long run all of these herbs, and ore and epic items and such are just pixels and complicated mathematics on a digitized screen.  They are not real and have no direct effect on how we live life.  But our attitudes and our reactions do have an effect on people.  Whether it is in the positive or the negative of the situation.  

I proceeded to explain my viewpoint to the writer that it was more apt this person was having an ulterior motive for their uncouth behavior.  The odds were that the offender wanted them to pull their auctions and post at a higher rate so that they could undercut her.   Later did I found out my supposition was correct.

So why share this with you?   Because I never want my words and my actions to make it seem that gold goblin behaviors would ever encompass this type of attitude.  To be a real gold goblin does not mean that you just make the most gold you can.  It means that you hold yourself up to a higher standard of the game.   You become a diplomat of sorts to not just the gold,  but to the spirit of the game.   Everyone has every right to play the game as they want.   But i would hope that the first lesson that is learned from reading these writings is that we are all human,  and should be treated as such.  Otherwise,  it's time to take a quick look at your life and your values and decide whether you are truly gold goblin material.

Good Luck and Good Hunting.