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What does "The Best" mean to you.
Ungood
Member LegendaryPosts: 7,534
Someone asked what was the best MMO you ever played, and it's a good question, in that discussion, I made a point about what being the Best should mean.
Now, That seemed to have snowballed and as opposed to derailing that thread further, I wanted to talk about what makes something, anything, the BEST.
Because someone accused me of not knowing what "The Best" means, lets talk about what is THE BEST, and what it means.
Alright, so, BEST is defined as:
Now, seems simple enough. If anyone was to say something is the Best, they would want it.
Now I saw a lot of people tossing out very lukewarm feelings towards somethings they claimed to be the best, or even going so far as to say, they no longer want it.
Alright, well.. legit, if you want something else instead, that removes, whatever it is, from being The Best, because, it no longer had the most desirable qualities to you.
Imagine if Someone told you "You were the best Sex I ever had, I might consider sex with you again, but, for now, nahhh, I think I am going to have sex with someone else instead"
Would you really believe their claim that you were the best they ever had, if they didn't seem excited about doing it again with you?
And this could apply to anything.
"Oh she was the best SO I ever had, but they cheated on me, killed my dog, and set my house on fire, I would never go near them again"
Alright, well, outside feeling really bad for you that, that kind of person, might have passed as being the best you had up till that point, the fact they do not have the most desirable qualities you would be looking for in an SO, really, removes them from the best you ever had.
In fact, can you imagine asking a friend who dated someone you were into, and they said "Oh they were the best date I ever had, but you know, they screwed roommate, shat on the floor of my apartment, and beat me with a bottle of jack.. But, my claim that they are best, still stands, and I highly recommend them"
I am sure everyone would be like WTF to that.
But yet, some people think this is appropriate.
So, no doubt, this is where some confusion starts when we talk about BEST, because while they may have had some qualities that were in fact better or even ideal, going so far as to say they were the best at something, like they may have been an amazing cook, or were great in the sack, or the graphics were the best you ever laid eyes on, whatever, but overall, it would stand to reason they were a few leagues away from being The BEST overall, or even remotely the most desirable person you would want to be with, when ideally, you would have chosen being alone then being with them again.
The thing is, and this can apply to anything and everything in life.
If someone said a brand of boot was the best boot, and they didn't wear them, or refused to buy anymore. That raises a lot of questions about those boots, and person, as to why they would claim they were best, and also why they would not use them anymore. But the biggest question being, why they would claim something they refuse to use, as being the Best.
Now, we could get into regret, like having that Project Bike, and foolishly selling it, and thinking "Wow, I was stupid for selling that bike" and while you may not have it anymore, you would still take it back in a heartbeat, why.. because it was , in your mind, the BEST project bike.
And of course things no longer existing, like a SO dying, or a company closing down.
I think what boggles my mind is this mentality of "Meh, I might" or "Maybe" or just these lukewarm feelings towards something that should be the best to them.
To use an example. I have a favorite small town family diner in the town I am currently working in, it's a cute little family owned breakfast nook kind of place, like, really just a breakfast/luncheon kind of deal, they close at 2, kind of place, if you get the drift, and I got there, once a week. Now, I would not pass up going there a second time during the week, in fact, I would go there everyday if I could afford it, but I can't. I need to budget, so, I plan once a week, and I look forward to going there for breakfast on my day off, every, single, week. That is what makes it the best little breakfast diner to me.. I desire going there.
Seems simple enough: Best means I want it, above other options. I place them on the top of what I want in that category.
That is what something being the best means.
It does not mean "Meh, I might go back and try them again someday"
It does not mean "I will never go back there again since they stopped serving buttered garlic potato's!"
Best Means: If given the Choice, I am going to Pick them.
Now again, using that diner. They are a breakfast nook, if I was in the mood for dinner at 6pm, I would need to go somewhere else, but since my favorite little nook does not serve dinner, it's not a competition for best in this case.
Just like what I think is the best Steak House is not in Competition with who I think is the best Pizza Joint.
There are also issues of cost and availability, I might want $1,000 boots, I can afford around $200-300 on good boots. Which is, something else, I mean, since I have never worn $1,000 boots, I have no idea if I would like them more than my 200-ish dollar boots. I also don't have a boot company that I think is Best.
Lets get to that one. I often buy Redwings, they are good, solid, well made, pair of boots. I recently saw an ad for Caterpillar Boots, so, $250 later, I gave them a try. It's a bit of a tossup between Redwing and Cat. They are both good quality boots, and neither sticks out as OMFG these ate the Best Boots EVER!. Both are good, when it comes time to replace my boots, it will be a toss up, or I might even try something else.
But when it comes to something that is Available to them, something that they have access to, like a MMO.
When someone says "This is the Best MMO", and outside it being unavailable to them, they do not play it.. We gotta admit that something is really sus about someone saying it is the "Most Desirable MMO" to them, or that they feel that this is The First Place Winner of MMO's, and they won't play it.
Something just wrong with that picture IMHO.
Now, That seemed to have snowballed and as opposed to derailing that thread further, I wanted to talk about what makes something, anything, the BEST.
Because someone accused me of not knowing what "The Best" means, lets talk about what is THE BEST, and what it means.
Alright, so, BEST is defined as:
- of the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality.
- to the highest degree; most.
Now, seems simple enough. If anyone was to say something is the Best, they would want it.
Now I saw a lot of people tossing out very lukewarm feelings towards somethings they claimed to be the best, or even going so far as to say, they no longer want it.
Alright, well.. legit, if you want something else instead, that removes, whatever it is, from being The Best, because, it no longer had the most desirable qualities to you.
Imagine if Someone told you "You were the best Sex I ever had, I might consider sex with you again, but, for now, nahhh, I think I am going to have sex with someone else instead"
Would you really believe their claim that you were the best they ever had, if they didn't seem excited about doing it again with you?
And this could apply to anything.
"Oh she was the best SO I ever had, but they cheated on me, killed my dog, and set my house on fire, I would never go near them again"
Alright, well, outside feeling really bad for you that, that kind of person, might have passed as being the best you had up till that point, the fact they do not have the most desirable qualities you would be looking for in an SO, really, removes them from the best you ever had.
In fact, can you imagine asking a friend who dated someone you were into, and they said "Oh they were the best date I ever had, but you know, they screwed roommate, shat on the floor of my apartment, and beat me with a bottle of jack.. But, my claim that they are best, still stands, and I highly recommend them"
I am sure everyone would be like WTF to that.
But yet, some people think this is appropriate.
So, no doubt, this is where some confusion starts when we talk about BEST, because while they may have had some qualities that were in fact better or even ideal, going so far as to say they were the best at something, like they may have been an amazing cook, or were great in the sack, or the graphics were the best you ever laid eyes on, whatever, but overall, it would stand to reason they were a few leagues away from being The BEST overall, or even remotely the most desirable person you would want to be with, when ideally, you would have chosen being alone then being with them again.
The thing is, and this can apply to anything and everything in life.
If someone said a brand of boot was the best boot, and they didn't wear them, or refused to buy anymore. That raises a lot of questions about those boots, and person, as to why they would claim they were best, and also why they would not use them anymore. But the biggest question being, why they would claim something they refuse to use, as being the Best.
Now, we could get into regret, like having that Project Bike, and foolishly selling it, and thinking "Wow, I was stupid for selling that bike" and while you may not have it anymore, you would still take it back in a heartbeat, why.. because it was , in your mind, the BEST project bike.
And of course things no longer existing, like a SO dying, or a company closing down.
I think what boggles my mind is this mentality of "Meh, I might" or "Maybe" or just these lukewarm feelings towards something that should be the best to them.
To use an example. I have a favorite small town family diner in the town I am currently working in, it's a cute little family owned breakfast nook kind of place, like, really just a breakfast/luncheon kind of deal, they close at 2, kind of place, if you get the drift, and I got there, once a week. Now, I would not pass up going there a second time during the week, in fact, I would go there everyday if I could afford it, but I can't. I need to budget, so, I plan once a week, and I look forward to going there for breakfast on my day off, every, single, week. That is what makes it the best little breakfast diner to me.. I desire going there.
Seems simple enough: Best means I want it, above other options. I place them on the top of what I want in that category.
That is what something being the best means.
It does not mean "Meh, I might go back and try them again someday"
It does not mean "I will never go back there again since they stopped serving buttered garlic potato's!"
Best Means: If given the Choice, I am going to Pick them.
Now again, using that diner. They are a breakfast nook, if I was in the mood for dinner at 6pm, I would need to go somewhere else, but since my favorite little nook does not serve dinner, it's not a competition for best in this case.
Just like what I think is the best Steak House is not in Competition with who I think is the best Pizza Joint.
There are also issues of cost and availability, I might want $1,000 boots, I can afford around $200-300 on good boots. Which is, something else, I mean, since I have never worn $1,000 boots, I have no idea if I would like them more than my 200-ish dollar boots. I also don't have a boot company that I think is Best.
Lets get to that one. I often buy Redwings, they are good, solid, well made, pair of boots. I recently saw an ad for Caterpillar Boots, so, $250 later, I gave them a try. It's a bit of a tossup between Redwing and Cat. They are both good quality boots, and neither sticks out as OMFG these ate the Best Boots EVER!. Both are good, when it comes time to replace my boots, it will be a toss up, or I might even try something else.
But when it comes to something that is Available to them, something that they have access to, like a MMO.
When someone says "This is the Best MMO", and outside it being unavailable to them, they do not play it.. We gotta admit that something is really sus about someone saying it is the "Most Desirable MMO" to them, or that they feel that this is The First Place Winner of MMO's, and they won't play it.
Something just wrong with that picture IMHO.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Comments
Exactly, so, when/if someone says "I think this is the best of the bunch, but I don't want it"
That raises some questions about the validity of their claim, don't you think:.
Like those past threads, posters will find words have no universal truths and you soon disappear down a rabbit hole and find much like Alice that the meaning of words gets “curiouser and curiouser”.
But the ride down the rabbit hole is great fun, I am going to sit back and have some Cheshire cat cookies.
And yes they are simply the best.
Me personally if I asked someone what the best mmo was, and I was sincerely interested for my own purposes to find another game to play I would not only want to know which one they thought was the best, but also why. Based on that alone I would be able to determine if their opinion was of any value to my decision.
It's arguable that World of Warcraft is "the best MMORPG" based on the criteria that it has had the most players for the longest period of time. I hated it. I played for 6 months.
When someone is asked their opinion on what is the best you have no say in the validity of that claim. You are not them.
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2024: 47 years on the Net.
I already addressed this.
Just because something is "the best" doesn't mean it still fits into your life.
Original Lineage 2 was the best mmorpg I've ever played. But at higher levels it required too much time so I stopped playing it.
To me, Souls games are the best games I've played but because of their game play I prefer to dedicate more time than I have to play games. Therefore I play them sparingly.
There are certain parameters that one has for something. the things that contain those parameters, maybe even shine by exhibiting those parameters, can be seen as the best.
Whether a person can or should still take part is another thing entirely.
Life really isn't black and white.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
With that cleared up, when someone says something is The Best, that means they would Want/Use it above all others of it's kind, it's In their Opinion, THE BEST.
So when anyone gives their input on what they think is The Best, but they don't want it, that raises a lot of red flags.
The biggest question being "Why TF Not?"
With me so far?
NGL, Personally, when someone says "I think this is the best, but I will never use it" outside the product/company ceasing to exist or they quit using that product altogether. IE: a reformed Alcoholic saying that their favorite beer was Budweiser.
Anything else, really comes across as the kind of person that can't understand what Best means.
I think you said it best, there.
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2024: 47 years on the Net.
To use an example. GW2 was at one time, the overall Best MMO I ever played, I dropped all the other games I was playing, and gladly focused on GW2, because they were The Best overall MMO at that time. While their dungeons and character building where not as good as DDO, overall, as an MMO, a world, and a game to play, they were the Best Package Deal.
A few years later, They opted to change things, and in doing so, they ceased to be the best MMO to me. Happens, opinions change, and I no longer claim that GW2 is the Best MMO, I did at one time, but things changed, and they ceased to be the Best to me. Happens.
Who knows, with Linage 2, it may have been the best MMO for a while to you as well, but conditions changed, and now I wager you play something else, or, perhaps have opted to not play MMO's at all, and would rather play something else, then go back to L2.
Now, no dis to you directly, but, that is about as bad a recommendation as anyone can apply to something, where they would rather do without then use that product.
Imagine this, "This was the Best MMO, but I would rather not play MMO's then play this" does that sound like the kind of review that would get you use that product or trust that reviewers opinion?
That would have me scratching my head, like WTF?
Can you imagine reading that for a Diner "This is the best diner I ever ate at, but I would rather not eat out again, then eat here" 5 Stars.
Legit, no joke, that looks like some stoned ramblings of a brain that shifted gears too fast and stripped a few out in the process.
Now, of course the world is not black and white, but when you draw lines black and white, that is your own doing.
I mean, take Souls Games for example, are they the BEST, or are they just an enjoyable challenge, that you need to take in moderation. after all, the world is not black and white as you said, but when you use absolute qualifiers, you, of your own volition, make it such.
Some people might say, There is no such thing as a Best MMO as that creates the an Absolute, which is a fair approach, but when you use something like "The Best" then you should understand that you are making an Absolute Claim, that something is, at least in your Opinion, the First Place MMO, it's better than all others of it's kind and thus at least to you, the Most Desirable.
I mean sure, maybe the Desire is gone for some, and the MMO landscape is chock full of what amounts to a bunch of Vegans arguing over who has the Best Burgers, but I, NGL, I find that somewhat wrong.
But that depends on what parameters one is using. Lord of the Rings online, one of the few games I've spent years in, doesn't suddenly become the best because Lineage 2 required more time.
It was just the more playable.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
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2024: 47 years on the Net.
Regardless, for the blind men, how else would they perceive their reality to come to their subjective truths regarding their experiences?
If you were a blind man, and knew that whatever you touched did not actually represent reality, why would you touch it?
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2024: 47 years on the Net.
So not only is "best" subjective the reasons someone would or would not play "the best" is also subjective.
In your mind it seems that if it's "best" then of course you would play it. Because you want to better understand what "best" means for another you have to learn to accept their reasoning.
Otherwise you're going to just be banging your head against the wall.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
That is what "The best" is, what you find most desirable to play.
This is also why I have been against checkbox games, and why games need to focus on making a game that is fun to play for their demographic, as opposed to trying to hit what would be objective standards.
I'll add, more playable does not mean "best."
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
------------
2024: 47 years on the Net.
There isn't enough context to know. Why does the person not want it? Is the current disinclination ongoing or temporary? How narrowly is the "best" defined?
A person may want to take a break from what they feel is the best. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest.
Their best may now be beyond their means if they have had a change in life circumstance, or can't afford to keep pace with increases in the game's system requirements
A person could have differing bests depending on genre, fantasy versus superhero for example, shifting between as the mood strikes.
There could be indirect factors, such as no longer being able to play with another you shared the game with for many years now tarnishing your enjoyment of what you feel best such that you become inclined to move on.
There are many reasons why a person may not play what they consider the best.