because in real life they get snot kicked out them or something. behind game million miles away they can be nerd and a bully.
Righty-o. Makes ya wanna pull a Jay and Silent Bob on them.
Anonymity in general brings out the jerk in some people. Back in the day, before caller ID on phones, people would call random numbers and talk smack all the time.
Hence the 'outrage' when Blizz threatened to show real names....
Um, no. There were a great many people, myself among them, who objected to Blizzard's plans to force users of their forums to post using their real names. We were able to demonstrate that there were legitimate privacy concerns. It had little, if anything, to do with wanting to be able to smack-talk anonymously over the internet.
OT: People talk smack on the net because they can. Nothing can be done about it, other than trying to educate people about netiquette and how they should treat others the way that they, themselves, want to be treated. I don't become too upset about it because I just consider the source.
Few people my age indulge in smack-talk. For the most part, we were raised in an era where, if you looked at somebody the wrong way or spoke out of turn, you risked getting a backhand. These days, kids are raised to believe that the world is their oyster, and all they have to do is hammer the fucking thing against a rock to get at the shiney inside.
This thread made me think about the only griefer crew on the internet HOGG. I've been to their website and listen to their radio show and still don't understand why they grief in games. I used to think that it was like the majority of us wanting gear and making our characters stronger but it's really something more for them. They don't seem to play the games we play at all but spend their time finding ways to grief. After playing on servers and being griefed by them I still don't understand their thought process. I thought games were designed for us to have fun while not at work but for these types of players/visitors there is some unknown factors that I can't understand.
It's the age old question, no not the chicken and the egg, why do people insit on being jerks in MMOs ? We all have encountered those who just want to be rude. To me I don't get offended or upset, I just blocked them and move on. But why do you think people want to be rude to you in a game? Because they can, most likely, but are there any other reasons that you can think of? Community is the biggest factor in determining the MMO I will play unless I really really enjoy the MMO I will put up with it. I am really liking my time in Darkfall but the community is bad (but if you join a clan it is the other way around...very nice and helpful). Do 'mean' players piss you off or do you not care?
After many years of playing MMOs and pondering this same question (but not for years), I think the answer really lies in our own perceptions. I think the jerks you find in the MMOs are largely jerks in RL as well. However, just like driving your car, the overwhelming majority of people drive their cars just fine and most players in the game environment behave reasonably as well. But when you see the idiot in the car cutting off people, you tend to remember that driving event for the rest of the day (or week, etc) while completely forgetting that all the other cars (well over a hundred each day for my commute) were driven in a responsible matter. Similarly, you remember the jerk in the MMO game more so than the people that just didn't speak up or behaved just fine.
I tend to run PUGs pretty frequently on an alt when my wife is not playing. I certainly remember the jerk tank that dropped out of group on an early boss because it didn't drop what he wanted. But, realistically, there have been a couple of dozen runs before and after involving 4 other players each time that were just fine. So really only 1% of the players I encountered for this time period were jerks. Some weeks or months are worse...but still no more than 5% or so...just like real life...
It's like asking why people are jerks on the internet itself.
It's because people are natrually assholes in most cases, and giving them a mask to hide themselves (aka cowardice) just reinforces the likelihood someone's going to take advantage of it.
Some people do it because they, for some sick reason, get satisfaction from knowing that they caused distress to another person.
The best I can figure, is that the people who do it for fun or pleasure have some serious issues. What's even more baffeling is that some of them try to play off what they're doing by saying "it's just a game" in an attempt to somehow rationalize and justify their behavior. Of course it's a game, but there are still players behind the characters, and much of what these full time griefers do goes well above and beyond what is intended to happen in the game.
It's scary really, to think that some of these people could be some of the same people who you interact with face to face on a daily bases. To know that some of these people would say and do the most despicable things possible if there were no consequences to doing so.
The good thing about online jerks is that you can ignore them but real life jerks are not that easily gotten rid of. Your boyfriend's terrible mates for instance you are stuck with them unless you want to ditch your bf. Or the office witch who has decided you are her pet project and not in a good way .
People who insist on being jerks online are a minor problem.
because in real life they get snot kicked out them or something. behind game million miles away they can be nerd and a bully.
I didn't read the entire thread but this sums it up. I personally find it VERY difficult to be an a$$ in real life or a videogame because its just not me. To me someone who can be horrible in a game is capable of doing it in real life and probably is a ^%&$*(#. Or he's too scared to be due to the obvious retribution he's not capable of defending against.
It's the age old question, no not the chicken and the egg, why do people insit on being jerks in MMOs ? We all have encountered those who just want to be rude. To me I don't get offended or upset, I just blocked them and move on. But why do you think people want to be rude to you in a game? Because they can, most likely, but are there any other reasons that you can think of? Community is the biggest factor in determining the MMO I will play unless I really really enjoy the MMO I will put up with it. I am really liking my time in Darkfall but the community is bad (but if you join a clan it is the other way around...very nice and helpful). Do 'mean' players piss you off or do you not care?
In an environment free of appreciable societal sanctions, coupled with general anonymity, people will act the way in which they really want to (or do regularly) act in real life. Period.
Roleplaying is, obviously, not considered in with this because someone is playing the role of another person. That said, if someone is being charitable and friendly it's because that is either who they really want to be in real life (i.e. they want to be charitable but don't have the means to do so) or that is just how they really are. Similarly, if someone is acting like a complete asshole and grossly immature it's because that is either who they really want to be in real life (i.e. the person with poor self-image who can be a badass in a virtual world) or that is just how they really are. It is that simple and the more you play with people in multi-player games the more you will see that this is the case unless there is strict moderation or the game is niche enough to somehow cater to a very mature group of players.
Community is a lost word in this Post-Modern age, it has nothing to do with content in mmorpgs becoming more solo-friendly. Again, if people want to be kind or be an asshole they will and because there are no appreciable societal sanctions, no real-world ramifications to their actions, they will do so with impunity. This means you should be appreciative of the kind gamers out there and help them out when you're able. After all, they're not being kind to you because they are plotting against you or are bored to tears...well, they may just be bored to tears after all but at that point they're still kind enough to help.
The only way to find good community is to build it yourself, to always be open to forming community and try to the best of your ability to build it. You're not obligated to do it all yourself though, just obligated to do your part. If you do your part you'll still find plenty of assholes and people who just seem to want to ruin anyone's day, but the occasional good people you meet are going to be there with you to stay.
(1)TL:DR must be your way of saying that thinking hurts. Then again, this may explain why it looks like you responded to the post without using your brain. (2) It's not about community, is it? You just have nothing better to do.
because in real life they get snot kicked out them or something. behind game million miles away they can be nerd and a bully.
Righty-o. Makes ya wanna pull a Jay and Silent Bob on them.
Anonymity in general brings out the jerk in some people. Back in the day, before caller ID on phones, people would call random numbers and talk smack all the time.
Hence the 'outrage' when Blizz threatened to show real names....
What Blizzard attempted to do and still wants to do is an overt violation of privacy, period. Just because people abuse anonymity on the internet does not mean that it should be stripped from everyone utilising it, the same thing goes for any of Blizzard's services. That was almost the price to play and Blizzard say the potentially crippling fall out and reversed course. You would do well to think about why Blizzard would want to tie the real names of their players to forums and you would do better to realise that it is for no other purpose than marketing and finding a clear, undisputable way to sell personal information to their corporate affiliates. Take a look at what Blizzard will use your information for, it's all you really need to do.
No, the talk about RealID going on the forums because of the forums was simply an excuse. After all, that had been going on since there was a forum but they'd only thought to tie Battle.Net to Facebook now and to attempt to tie RealID to it now as well. If it were purely because of the forums it would have been done long ago.
(1)TL:DR must be your way of saying that thinking hurts. Then again, this may explain why it looks like you responded to the post without using your brain. (2) It's not about community, is it? You just have nothing better to do.
It's the age old question, no not the chicken and the egg, why do people insit on being jerks in MMOs ? We all have encountered those who just want to be rude. To me I don't get offended or upset, I just blocked them and move on. But why do you think people want to be rude to you in a game? Because they can, most likely, but are there any other reasons that you can think of? Community is the biggest factor in determining the MMO I will play unless I really really enjoy the MMO I will put up with it. I am really liking my time in Darkfall but the community is bad (but if you join a clan it is the other way around...very nice and helpful). Do 'mean' players piss you off or do you not care?
In real life most ppl are usually bound by law or social pressure. They lack the courage or are not stupid enough to ignore that.
In MMO's you are basically anonymous. So you see how ppl are if there were no consequenses (or at least just minor ones) for their actions. You can roll a new toon, leave a guild, start on a new server, all things for which there are no rl equivalents (except moving).
So its the other way around. Ppl in rl behave better then they would if there was no law/social pressure.
because in real life they get snot kicked out them or something. behind game million miles away they can be nerd and a bully.
Righty-o. Makes ya wanna pull a Jay and Silent Bob on them.
Anonymity in general brings out the jerk in some people. Back in the day, before caller ID on phones, people would call random numbers and talk smack all the time.
Hence the 'outrage' when Blizz threatened to show real names....
What Blizzard attempted to do and still wants to do is an overt violation of privacy, period. Just because people abuse anonymity on the internet does not mean that it should be stripped from everyone utilising it, the same thing goes for any of Blizzard's services. That was almost the price to play and Blizzard say the potentially crippling fall out and reversed course. You would do well to think about why Blizzard would want to tie the real names of their players to forums and you would do better to realise that it is for no other purpose than marketing and finding a clear, undisputable way to sell personal information to their corporate affiliates. Take a look at what Blizzard will use your information for, it's all you really need to do.
No, the talk about RealID going on the forums because of the forums was simply an excuse. After all, that had been going on since there was a forum but they'd only thought to tie Battle.Net to Facebook now and to attempt to tie RealID to it now as well. If it were purely because of the forums it would have been done long ago.
RealID was never going to prevent the real trolls from trolling. They really don't care if their real name is attached to the filth they spew on forums and in-game.
It's the people who were the usual targets of the 'hardcore' trolls that wanted most to stay anonymous specifically to prevent said trolls from finding more fodder or more avenues to harass said persons.
I think it would be better if MMO companies provided better tools for never grouping with someone, or even acknowledging they exist or even being able to sell your stuffs to or buy stuff from them.
It used to be in DAOC on the EU servers because there was only 2 realms to play on you were pretty well known on one of the two servers. There were certain situations where people gained the dislike of the whole server and were forced to basically start again with a new character under a different name and try and not be a total tool the second time through.
ive been playing wow recently and due to the random dungeon grouping tool and its ability to pool players from across all the different servers the number of complete spanners i have played with have been increidbly low but now and again i run into some impatient mage or hunter because im not pulling the entire dungeon in one or waiting for the healer to regain mana they start pulling.
Which as a tank really does get up my nose, and i normally just vote to kick them from the group, BUT i would like it that i never have to interact with that person in the entire game, even if i went to their server.
I think if more mmo companies allowed you to black list other players accounts (or even guilds) it would make the "being a jerk" mentality that you see around less of a good thing. if suddnely you find yourself unable to activly participate in the realm, you cant buy anything or you cant sell anything then maybe it might be a turn off for the rampant jerks.
Online is where peoples true nature come alive. The person they WANT To be in real life but can't.
Or, what if they are a regular person IRL and just wanted to Role Play a pirate, or villain in game as part of their immersion or fantasy role for fun? These are games, not real life, hobbies per say.
Online is where peoples true nature come alive. The person they WANT To be in real life but can't.
Or, what if they are a regular person IRL and just wanted to Role Play a pirate, or villain in game as part of their immersion or fantasy role for fun? These are games, not real life, hobbies per say.
There's a difference between actually roleplaying a villain, and using roleplaying as an excuse to act like a dick. It's extremely obvious when people are doing the latter of the two.
I think their confrontational behaviour is a sign they are understimulated and bored. Basically a communitys behaviour is a telltale sign if this is a good game or a bad game. And all MMO's are essentially bad games.
A combination of 2 things in my opinion.. 1) Anonimity of the internet, and 2) the growing change of society.. The generation of today's gamers is not the same mindset of yesteryears.. I can see the changes in my daughters generation.. They have become less social, more competitive.. Back in the day, the old saying we used for the "minority" of jerks where they were the ones that were always worried about "keeping up with the Jones".. What was a small minority of jerks has now grown into an almost majority of not keeping up with the Jones, but "to be better then the Jones".. We're becoming a dog eat dog world, and not just in gaming..
A prime example of this push, the end game mechanics such as what WoW has.. The ID system, along with requiring raids only be of 10 or 25 person limit, forces the community to compete with itself.. Is this healthy for a social climate? NO.. It promotes cliques and drama that in turn produces the "jerks" we are addressing.. The end game is anything but social, as It does not promote possitive game play.. Imagine recess in school where the teachers tell the kids they can ONLY play in 4 man groups.. Do you think that would be wise or stupid?..
I'm still hoping that GW2 will be a step in the right direction.. As their mechanics look to be what I desire and wish for..
It's like asking, " Why are people people? ". Why do people steal or do drugs? Everything boils down to " They just can ". Its a pixel driven lifestyle and you have no clue who they really are. So, use the ignore function and move along.
Also you will find elitists everywhere. Like here..Those who can be superior because thats all they have going for them. Gaming elitists are those that surround themselves with, well, themselves and thats it. Take them off their computer and put them outside in a stadium of people watching baseball and they fold. Cause by golly people can see them!! And running your mouth visably will get your face pounded.
But internet games have literally given these electronic thugs some form of meaning. Which , for that, I hold up my cup of coffee.
Online is where peoples true nature come alive. The person they WANT To be in real life but can't.
Or, what if they are a regular person IRL and just wanted to Role Play a pirate, or villain in game as part of their immersion or fantasy role for fun? These are games, not real life, hobbies per say.
What you want to roleplay as, has nothing to do with what we are talking about. We are talking about personalities online and how you treat other people.
I've been a part of the MMO community since '98...
Yes we had our share of jerks, but for the most part, and I mean this truthfully, the communities in MMOs were heavily leaned exactly on that word...'community'. Even the devs were kinder for the most part. We had players from all over the world then as we do now, just more of both nowadays, so I will not blame nor allow blame for any influx of any groups into MMOs, we all been playing them for a long time together.
Was this because MMOs were new and people were putting on their best faces (kinda like a first date vs 10 years of wedded bliss)? Today, it's frustrating.....back when UO, EQ, DAoC, SWG were young games, you could log on and get a group and possibly a guild whether you were new or old to the game...if anything you would indeed meet someone new to have fun with online and adventure.
I have spent the last 4 years? or so trying to find that community again, been haunting my old games, playing the new F2Ps, taking chances on just about every MMO out there, and...
Nowadays everyone is well....rude. They either outright ignore you, beg, want a p-lev, throw out insults, tantrums, etc....there's just no incentive to be nice. Should the MMO companies help?
Hard to say, but since there are many more games than 3-4 nowadays, I think if someone was to come up with solutions to make communites in MMOs stronger and not so alienating to new players, they obviously would benefit.
WoW almost had something going in respects to community and accountability, but sadly, the BattleNetID thing is being sold to creditors (or they hacked into it), so anyone with a WoW account better have their bills paid up, and/or not be wanted by any government body, lol.
I do believe as a whole the MMO community is better than what is going on today, because I was there when we started, and well...we were a great community then, as we can be again. Just have to figure out to recapture that 'magic in the bottle'.
I remember a fateful day when i played daoc mythic released Trials of Atlantis and thought it would be a good idea to put in super rare spawning mobs that dropped super duper weapons and equipment. The game changed over night instead of working towards the goal of taking the relics and keeping the albs / mids out of hibernia (i was a hib) you were instead forced to fight against your fellow hibs for uber loot to compete against the mids and albs (who were also doing the same) the mechanic of the entire game changed over night.
and this is one of the aspect problems with mmo's, they didnt provide reward for helping other people instead they penalised you for grouping (nerfing exp) they somtimes require you to have 2 or more accounts to compete the whole daoc buffbot situation which changed the end game.
I dont think we will ever see those early comunitys against because most mmo companies want money and conflict sells money, so thats what we get mmos that rely on us being arseholes to each other.
It's much easier to misunderstand someone over the internet, thus thinking he/she is attacking or being rude.
2.Not many/no consequences
It's easier being a jerk when no one knows your face and you will probably never meet that person you are insulting. Games nowadays pretty much let you solo and communities are bigger than before, so you don't really have to be on a good standing with everyone to party and advance in the game.
3.Vending off frustration from real life
Many have to deal with shit in their lives. So when they had a bad day, it's easy to turn on the PC and let off that frustration on someone else.
4.Changing mentalities
Newer generations simply have a more aggressive, "I" attitude (generalising here, not everyone), they have learnt that they must compete with others to get anywhere in their lives, so they play games with the same attitude.
Comments
Um, no. There were a great many people, myself among them, who objected to Blizzard's plans to force users of their forums to post using their real names. We were able to demonstrate that there were legitimate privacy concerns. It had little, if anything, to do with wanting to be able to smack-talk anonymously over the internet.
OT: People talk smack on the net because they can. Nothing can be done about it, other than trying to educate people about netiquette and how they should treat others the way that they, themselves, want to be treated. I don't become too upset about it because I just consider the source.
Few people my age indulge in smack-talk. For the most part, we were raised in an era where, if you looked at somebody the wrong way or spoke out of turn, you risked getting a backhand. These days, kids are raised to believe that the world is their oyster, and all they have to do is hammer the fucking thing against a rock to get at the shiney inside.
This thread made me think about the only griefer crew on the internet HOGG. I've been to their website and listen to their radio show and still don't understand why they grief in games. I used to think that it was like the majority of us wanting gear and making our characters stronger but it's really something more for them. They don't seem to play the games we play at all but spend their time finding ways to grief. After playing on servers and being griefed by them I still don't understand their thought process. I thought games were designed for us to have fun while not at work but for these types of players/visitors there is some unknown factors that I can't understand.
After many years of playing MMOs and pondering this same question (but not for years), I think the answer really lies in our own perceptions. I think the jerks you find in the MMOs are largely jerks in RL as well. However, just like driving your car, the overwhelming majority of people drive their cars just fine and most players in the game environment behave reasonably as well. But when you see the idiot in the car cutting off people, you tend to remember that driving event for the rest of the day (or week, etc) while completely forgetting that all the other cars (well over a hundred each day for my commute) were driven in a responsible matter. Similarly, you remember the jerk in the MMO game more so than the people that just didn't speak up or behaved just fine.
I tend to run PUGs pretty frequently on an alt when my wife is not playing. I certainly remember the jerk tank that dropped out of group on an early boss because it didn't drop what he wanted. But, realistically, there have been a couple of dozen runs before and after involving 4 other players each time that were just fine. So really only 1% of the players I encountered for this time period were jerks. Some weeks or months are worse...but still no more than 5% or so...just like real life...
Anonymity can do that to the best of us.
It's like asking why people are jerks on the internet itself.
It's because people are natrually assholes in most cases, and giving them a mask to hide themselves (aka cowardice) just reinforces the likelihood someone's going to take advantage of it.
Human nature.
Some people do it because they, for some sick reason, get satisfaction from knowing that they caused distress to another person.
The best I can figure, is that the people who do it for fun or pleasure have some serious issues. What's even more baffeling is that some of them try to play off what they're doing by saying "it's just a game" in an attempt to somehow rationalize and justify their behavior. Of course it's a game, but there are still players behind the characters, and much of what these full time griefers do goes well above and beyond what is intended to happen in the game.
It's scary really, to think that some of these people could be some of the same people who you interact with face to face on a daily bases. To know that some of these people would say and do the most despicable things possible if there were no consequences to doing so.
I do it because i'm an ass in real life.
Why should I be any different online?
The good thing about online jerks is that you can ignore them but real life jerks are not that easily gotten rid of. Your boyfriend's terrible mates for instance you are stuck with them unless you want to ditch your bf. Or the office witch who has decided you are her pet project and not in a good way .
People who insist on being jerks online are a minor problem.
I didn't read the entire thread but this sums it up. I personally find it VERY difficult to be an a$$ in real life or a videogame because its just not me. To me someone who can be horrible in a game is capable of doing it in real life and probably is a ^%&$*(#. Or he's too scared to be due to the obvious retribution he's not capable of defending against.
In an environment free of appreciable societal sanctions, coupled with general anonymity, people will act the way in which they really want to (or do regularly) act in real life. Period.
Roleplaying is, obviously, not considered in with this because someone is playing the role of another person. That said, if someone is being charitable and friendly it's because that is either who they really want to be in real life (i.e. they want to be charitable but don't have the means to do so) or that is just how they really are. Similarly, if someone is acting like a complete asshole and grossly immature it's because that is either who they really want to be in real life (i.e. the person with poor self-image who can be a badass in a virtual world) or that is just how they really are. It is that simple and the more you play with people in multi-player games the more you will see that this is the case unless there is strict moderation or the game is niche enough to somehow cater to a very mature group of players.
Community is a lost word in this Post-Modern age, it has nothing to do with content in mmorpgs becoming more solo-friendly. Again, if people want to be kind or be an asshole they will and because there are no appreciable societal sanctions, no real-world ramifications to their actions, they will do so with impunity. This means you should be appreciative of the kind gamers out there and help them out when you're able. After all, they're not being kind to you because they are plotting against you or are bored to tears...well, they may just be bored to tears after all but at that point they're still kind enough to help.
The only way to find good community is to build it yourself, to always be open to forming community and try to the best of your ability to build it. You're not obligated to do it all yourself though, just obligated to do your part. If you do your part you'll still find plenty of assholes and people who just seem to want to ruin anyone's day, but the occasional good people you meet are going to be there with you to stay.
(1)TL:DR must be your way of saying that thinking hurts. Then again, this may explain why it looks like you responded to the post without using your brain.
(2) It's not about community, is it? You just have nothing better to do.
What Blizzard attempted to do and still wants to do is an overt violation of privacy, period. Just because people abuse anonymity on the internet does not mean that it should be stripped from everyone utilising it, the same thing goes for any of Blizzard's services. That was almost the price to play and Blizzard say the potentially crippling fall out and reversed course. You would do well to think about why Blizzard would want to tie the real names of their players to forums and you would do better to realise that it is for no other purpose than marketing and finding a clear, undisputable way to sell personal information to their corporate affiliates. Take a look at what Blizzard will use your information for, it's all you really need to do.
No, the talk about RealID going on the forums because of the forums was simply an excuse. After all, that had been going on since there was a forum but they'd only thought to tie Battle.Net to Facebook now and to attempt to tie RealID to it now as well. If it were purely because of the forums it would have been done long ago.
(1)TL:DR must be your way of saying that thinking hurts. Then again, this may explain why it looks like you responded to the post without using your brain.
(2) It's not about community, is it? You just have nothing better to do.
In real life most ppl are usually bound by law or social pressure. They lack the courage or are not stupid enough to ignore that.
In MMO's you are basically anonymous. So you see how ppl are if there were no consequenses (or at least just minor ones) for their actions. You can roll a new toon, leave a guild, start on a new server, all things for which there are no rl equivalents (except moving).
So its the other way around. Ppl in rl behave better then they would if there was no law/social pressure.
RealID was never going to prevent the real trolls from trolling. They really don't care if their real name is attached to the filth they spew on forums and in-game.
It's the people who were the usual targets of the 'hardcore' trolls that wanted most to stay anonymous specifically to prevent said trolls from finding more fodder or more avenues to harass said persons.
I think it would be better if MMO companies provided better tools for never grouping with someone, or even acknowledging they exist or even being able to sell your stuffs to or buy stuff from them.
It used to be in DAOC on the EU servers because there was only 2 realms to play on you were pretty well known on one of the two servers. There were certain situations where people gained the dislike of the whole server and were forced to basically start again with a new character under a different name and try and not be a total tool the second time through.
ive been playing wow recently and due to the random dungeon grouping tool and its ability to pool players from across all the different servers the number of complete spanners i have played with have been increidbly low but now and again i run into some impatient mage or hunter because im not pulling the entire dungeon in one or waiting for the healer to regain mana they start pulling.
Which as a tank really does get up my nose, and i normally just vote to kick them from the group, BUT i would like it that i never have to interact with that person in the entire game, even if i went to their server.
I think if more mmo companies allowed you to black list other players accounts (or even guilds) it would make the "being a jerk" mentality that you see around less of a good thing. if suddnely you find yourself unable to activly participate in the realm, you cant buy anything or you cant sell anything then maybe it might be a turn off for the rampant jerks.
Or, what if they are a regular person IRL and just wanted to Role Play a pirate, or villain in game as part of their immersion or fantasy role for fun? These are games, not real life, hobbies per say.
There's a difference between actually roleplaying a villain, and using roleplaying as an excuse to act like a dick. It's extremely obvious when people are doing the latter of the two.
I think their confrontational behaviour is a sign they are understimulated and bored. Basically a communitys behaviour is a telltale sign if this is a good game or a bad game. And all MMO's are essentially bad games.
Boredom, mostly. Or the power of being anonymous.
Its amazing what you'll catch yourself saying when you have noone there to punch you in the face.
People take video games waaaaay too seriously. The louder I hear people yelling and cursing at me, the harder I laugh.
When I play an MMO, I don't think of it as playing with 'real' people.
To me, every character I see in-game is just an NPC with very advanced AI. (who usually still can't spell worth a shit)
I don't see you. I don't know you. I don't care who you are or where you're from. You're not a real person.
You're just a toon. A character standing there, upset that i've corpse-camped you and slaughtered you and your friends for the 5th time in a row.
Think you hit the nail right on the head there...
Getting old is mandatory...growing up is optional.
A combination of 2 things in my opinion.. 1) Anonimity of the internet, and 2) the growing change of society.. The generation of today's gamers is not the same mindset of yesteryears.. I can see the changes in my daughters generation.. They have become less social, more competitive.. Back in the day, the old saying we used for the "minority" of jerks where they were the ones that were always worried about "keeping up with the Jones".. What was a small minority of jerks has now grown into an almost majority of not keeping up with the Jones, but "to be better then the Jones".. We're becoming a dog eat dog world, and not just in gaming..
A prime example of this push, the end game mechanics such as what WoW has.. The ID system, along with requiring raids only be of 10 or 25 person limit, forces the community to compete with itself.. Is this healthy for a social climate? NO.. It promotes cliques and drama that in turn produces the "jerks" we are addressing.. The end game is anything but social, as It does not promote possitive game play.. Imagine recess in school where the teachers tell the kids they can ONLY play in 4 man groups.. Do you think that would be wise or stupid?..
I'm still hoping that GW2 will be a step in the right direction.. As their mechanics look to be what I desire and wish for..
It's like asking, " Why are people people? ". Why do people steal or do drugs? Everything boils down to " They just can ". Its a pixel driven lifestyle and you have no clue who they really are. So, use the ignore function and move along.
Also you will find elitists everywhere. Like here..Those who can be superior because thats all they have going for them. Gaming elitists are those that surround themselves with, well, themselves and thats it. Take them off their computer and put them outside in a stadium of people watching baseball and they fold. Cause by golly people can see them!! And running your mouth visably will get your face pounded.
But internet games have literally given these electronic thugs some form of meaning. Which , for that, I hold up my cup of coffee.
What you want to roleplay as, has nothing to do with what we are talking about. We are talking about personalities online and how you treat other people.
I've been a part of the MMO community since '98...
Yes we had our share of jerks, but for the most part, and I mean this truthfully, the communities in MMOs were heavily leaned exactly on that word...'community'. Even the devs were kinder for the most part. We had players from all over the world then as we do now, just more of both nowadays, so I will not blame nor allow blame for any influx of any groups into MMOs, we all been playing them for a long time together.
Was this because MMOs were new and people were putting on their best faces (kinda like a first date vs 10 years of wedded bliss)? Today, it's frustrating.....back when UO, EQ, DAoC, SWG were young games, you could log on and get a group and possibly a guild whether you were new or old to the game...if anything you would indeed meet someone new to have fun with online and adventure.
I have spent the last 4 years? or so trying to find that community again, been haunting my old games, playing the new F2Ps, taking chances on just about every MMO out there, and...
Nowadays everyone is well....rude. They either outright ignore you, beg, want a p-lev, throw out insults, tantrums, etc....there's just no incentive to be nice. Should the MMO companies help?
Hard to say, but since there are many more games than 3-4 nowadays, I think if someone was to come up with solutions to make communites in MMOs stronger and not so alienating to new players, they obviously would benefit.
WoW almost had something going in respects to community and accountability, but sadly, the BattleNetID thing is being sold to creditors (or they hacked into it), so anyone with a WoW account better have their bills paid up, and/or not be wanted by any government body, lol.
I do believe as a whole the MMO community is better than what is going on today, because I was there when we started, and well...we were a great community then, as we can be again. Just have to figure out to recapture that 'magic in the bottle'.
I remember a fateful day when i played daoc mythic released Trials of Atlantis and thought it would be a good idea to put in super rare spawning mobs that dropped super duper weapons and equipment. The game changed over night instead of working towards the goal of taking the relics and keeping the albs / mids out of hibernia (i was a hib) you were instead forced to fight against your fellow hibs for uber loot to compete against the mids and albs (who were also doing the same) the mechanic of the entire game changed over night.
and this is one of the aspect problems with mmo's, they didnt provide reward for helping other people instead they penalised you for grouping (nerfing exp) they somtimes require you to have 2 or more accounts to compete the whole daoc buffbot situation which changed the end game.
I dont think we will ever see those early comunitys against because most mmo companies want money and conflict sells money, so thats what we get mmos that rely on us being arseholes to each other.
Consider if eve didnt have pvp at all
1.Miscommunication (is that even a word?)
It's much easier to misunderstand someone over the internet, thus thinking he/she is attacking or being rude.
2.Not many/no consequences
It's easier being a jerk when no one knows your face and you will probably never meet that person you are insulting. Games nowadays pretty much let you solo and communities are bigger than before, so you don't really have to be on a good standing with everyone to party and advance in the game.
3.Vending off frustration from real life
Many have to deal with shit in their lives. So when they had a bad day, it's easy to turn on the PC and let off that frustration on someone else.
4.Changing mentalities
Newer generations simply have a more aggressive, "I" attitude (generalising here, not everyone), they have learnt that they must compete with others to get anywhere in their lives, so they play games with the same attitude.
Just my opinion.