BIG WHOL EN GOURND WIF WADDER = SCARWEE. BUT FRENDS MAK NOT SEEM SO BAAD!

Every now and then, a little druid speak is good for the soul.

RealID

I like the RealID concept and would be happy to use it except for one glaring omission on Blizzard’s part: it uses real names.

I love the idea of being able to access the massively multiplayer aspect of WoW via the RealID system. I have friends on other servers. I will be spending some quality time with the minions of hell when Diablo 3 comes out. I know many people who will be crafting among the stars when StarCraft 2 is released. I would love to chat in-game with people I’ve met through blogs, twitter, forums, and other WoW-related sites. RealID would allow me to connect with all these people. Awesome.

Except I like to keep my personal and gaming lives separate.

I discuss portions of my personal life here, but only what I want to mention. I don’t discuss my job, serious real life matters (entertainment and fun stuff is fair game), politics or religion, personal quirks. Only three people who (currently) play WoW know my real name: one is my wife, the other two are friends we’ve played with for years (more on that later). I have a unique real name. If I was, say, John Smith, I wouldn’t care that RealID used my real name because there are a million John Smiths in the world. Even though there are 6.8 billion people in the world, nobody has the combination of my first and last name except me: googling myself comes up with me, me, a bunch of spam/trash websites, and me. Because my name is unique, you can find information on me much more easily. Thus, I prefer not to use my real name in online dealings.

I understand people will not be able to see my real name unless I approve them. But I want to approve lots of people so I can connect with lots of people. But I also want a veil between my actual person and my online persona in case someone decides to cross the line between acquaintance and stalker. Yes, someone could figure out my real name even if I hide behind a username. But that’s an extra step most won’t bother to take.

Blizzard dropped the ball on this, but they can redeem themselves. The system seems great otherwise, and, if they ever allow handles/character names/whatever, I will use it. As it stands, I value my privacy and will not use it.

Blizzard Story Contest

Tis here. I’m pumped. I have a couple ideas floating around the noggin. I’ll post whatever I submit.

Breakfast Topic Project

30 posts
Over 5200 words
Lots of fun!

Twas fun, but nothing something I plan on continuing. Some topics were great, others were bad, most were meh. I’ll add more posts when a good topic is announced.

Part of the problem was my fault. I don’t log in everyday, I don’t write everyday, so I got backed up. I also didn’t tweet every time I added a new post. In short, I got lazy. But I did respond to all the breakfast topics, so in that regard, it was a success.

Rub Sac, Fire Festival, 24-Hour Maintenance

Although the downtime was beneficial to me personally, the 24-hour server maintenance during the Fire Festival and on the day Ruby Sanctum was released irked me. Tis the principle of the matter: those on the 40+ servers that were down for the day lost a chance at Ahune as well as possible world-first Halion kills. Blizzard should not have performed the 24-hour maintenance during a world event. Losing 10% of the holiday hurts especially with the low drop rate on the one item everyone wants. As for Rub Sac, even if it was a mistake, Blizzard should have closed the instance as soon as they realized it was open. Instead, they left it open, throwing everyone’s schedules into disarray and screwing a lot of people. Doesn’t affect me—we don’t raid on Tuesdays anyway and I won’t be raiding this week at all (see below)—but that’s my personal circumstances. The principle matters (sometimes)! Badly played, Blizzard. Badly played.

And yes, Rub Sac is my preferred shorthand for Ruby Sanctum. Clever yet sophomoric. Remember, folks, raiding can be srs bzns, but have fun with it every now and then, too!

HUD Map

For those of you pining for a triumphant return of AVR, forget about it try HUD Map. I really like it as it provides the information I miss from AVR without the “OMG CHEATING!” feel. Take a look at the screenshot below.

I'm close to the Vile Gas, but not in it = Safe!

This is why I used AVR. We didn’t use the draw feature (except for tagging half of ICC with “BOOBS!”), we used it for the AoE depictions. HUD Map shows them, too. A bit disorienting initially—HUD Map shows the X-Y plane abilities in the Y-Z plane—but you’ll get accustomed to it quickly. Keep your icon out of the badness on HUD Map and you’ll be okay.

TIP! Because moving objects grab the mind’s attention, set your icon to flashing. It will help you find yourself in the midst of chaos.

Fourth o’ July Weekend

The three people who know my real name and I will be meeting for the first time (well, obviously, my wife and I have met). Whee! Exciting! Niagara Falls + friends = fun time! We leave tonight and won’t be back until late Monday; don’t expect any posts until late next week.