Attention WoWers!!!

ex · 12/28/06, 4:15 AM

I came across this paper about MMORPGs (written by a WoWer) through a friend and I felt the need to spread the word. As a former officer from a high-end raiding guild I greatly recommend it to all players. It changed my perspective on MMORPGs. You are guaranteed to learn something valuable about your favorite video game genre if you just take the time to read it. Enjoy!

Click here to see for yourself.

DeeNogger · 12/28/06, 4:17 AM

I am sceptical of that link.

Lamaros · 12/28/06, 4:47 AM

Originally Posted by ex

I came across this paper about MMORPGs (written by a WoWer) through a friend and I felt the need to spread the word. As a former officer from a high-end raiding guild I greatly recommend it to all players. It changed my perspective on MMORPGs. You are guaranteed to learn something valuable about your favorite video game genre if you just take the time to read it. Enjoy!

Click here to see for yourself.

$50 says it is pointless and mind numbingly boring!

And/or some kind of keylogger/goldselling site.

Derketo · 12/28/06, 4:49 AM

ya screw that. recently have been getting alot of posts like that on our guild forums as well.

Maimgara · 12/28/06, 5:27 AM

Skimmed the link and associated pdf shortly, it is someones thesis on WoW addiction, and seems slightly alarmist. Furthermore, the sources for the 'paper' is mostly links to blogs, known and unknown.
Yes, some people get addicted to WoW, but my guess is that without WoW, they would stumble over something else which would hook them.
WoW is no worse or better then most other online games, which we all know already.

Northerner · 12/28/06, 5:28 AM

Good on you Maingara. I got as far as mousing over the link and the URL just screamed "no thanks" to me.

Maels · 12/28/06, 5:31 AM

My attention has a weak heart and a grumpy disposition, so I hint a lot rather than outright WoW.

DeeNogger · 12/28/06, 5:32 AM

I think the most effective way to get people to unknowingly view something they wont like (weather it be a virus, tubgirl, or in this case WoW addiction papers) is to make a hyperlink with 2 words:

Dont Click.

Whiteknight · 12/28/06, 5:34 AM

I can think of only two motivations for posting this: bait and switch - semi-legit content with a hidden payload (aka keylogger, etc). Or trolling; considering the intro post has zero content to allow you to discriminate the value of the post, the intent would have to be to trick readers into reading something they might not really want to waste time on or might offend them.
MMO addiction is a fine subject and might be an interesting topic if it's presented in an upfront manner. This is not - if the thread is still here tomorrow, I might just take time to find out how the Report button works.

Maimgara · 12/28/06, 5:44 AM

Originally Posted by Whiteknight

This is not - if the thread is still here tomorrow, I might just take time to find out how the Report button works.

I took the time and clicked it.

But regarding papers on WoW, there's several I read and found interesting, such as
http://gac.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/4/281 - About the broad appeal of WoW
The same journal published several other interesting articles re WoW.

alienangel · 12/28/06, 5:45 AM

Interesting, the exact same post appeared on my guild's public forum. Someone seems to be working hard to get this message out...

vorda · 12/28/06, 5:54 AM

Not to mention he actually took the time to fil out a completely worthless profile :O

Ragaman · 12/28/06, 6:32 AM

Originally Posted by ex

blah blah blah

This thread sucks.

mylek · 12/28/06, 6:35 AM

I am skeptical of anyone that would choose to use pdf over html to share text information on the internet, especially when posting it in such a suspicious manner.

Viewing pdfs can be unsafe even with the most up to date software. I recommend that people only view pdf files from trusted sources.

Umph · 12/28/06, 6:58 AM

This

Originally Posted by Whiteknight

I can think of only two motivations for posting this: bait and switch

and

Originally Posted by mylek

Viewing pdfs can be unsafe even with the most up to date software.

were what sprang to mind upon reading the OP, followed shortly by "I wonder which servers are going to have new random level 1 alts advertising gold soon".

vorda · 12/28/06, 7:05 AM

Since this topic is doomed anyway, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6213501.stm .

Today was the first day in a few months that a certain hunter wasent online.

Warleona · 12/28/06, 7:08 AM

I actually overcame the general paranoia and used a computer where I don't have a copy of wow anyway ;) and read the article. It's a 10 page thesis on the reasons why WoW may be so "addictive" (the essay uses the word addiction quite a lot). To me, having read the thesis I think the essay is more of a personal crusade to free the souls of the WoW chains than a site with a keylogger or what not. I doubt anyone would write such a work (it is not great but not horrible writing either) just to bait EJ forum readers into clicking the link.

<-- yet another long time reader finally bothered to register :P

Decius · 12/28/06, 7:15 AM

I read it, it is very thin for a serious paper, the language is what I would expect from a forum/blog, rather than something that wants to be scientific. The sources are mostly online links, which won't exist in a couple of months, meaning they are worthless. I miss explanations and in-depth. Things like "raiders", "casuals", "guild", "chat" etc. are used without explanation or definition. Overall it is more a long-winded rant against MMORPGs than anything serious. The colour coding is meant for stupid people without enough attention span to read a whole text I assume. I'm disappointed. Overall an early High-School-level text at best.

As example for those who don't want to click I cite the last part:

And who knows? Maybe right now you’re not dependent yet. But MMORPGs are designed so
that you eventually will be by end-game because by that point it’s hard to find healthy reasons to keep
playing the game. And sure, another powerful draw of MMORPGs is that they give you something to do
if you’re bored. Yet, there are many healthier and significantly less time-consuming activities for people
to do for entertainment and relaxation. Not to mention activities that don’t involve commitment and that
you can freely pause or abandon. Hopefully players will become aware of their dependence and make an
attempt to quit the game (or to quit again, as may be the case with some of you).
However, quitting end-game is a very gradual process, and we don’t expect anyone to just stop
playing after reading this paper. For those who currently believe WoW is mostly positive aspect in their
lives, if you try quitting try not to create self-fulfilling prophecies to the effect that your lives really are
worse off without the game. Quitting instancing, raiding, and MMORPGs altogether will only improve a
player’s life if they find ways to replace time formerly allocated to WoW with other socially and
psychologically satisfying activities. Beginning an effort to quit probably isn’t going to instantly improve
a player’s life. However, it will put them on the right path give them a much better chance of achieving
more true personal growth. We only ask that you think about this paper while you’re playing. Surely, if
you’re an end-game player you must be noticing that the game is negatively affecting your life. It doesn’t
help that you’ve already committed days and days of playing time to your character. Yet armed with the
knowledge in this paper, you’ll find that quitting the game isn’t so difficult after all.
Now, MMORPGs have some positive aspects as well, but they are significantly outweighed by
the negatives. For example, some players who are rare exceptions truly play simply for enjoyment and
escapism, and enjoy the game healthily. Usually they are families who play together in real life and who
don’t raid much if at all; however, these kind people don’t represent the majority of players. There is
another minute subset of players for whom end-game WoW might actually be beneficial to their lives.
For someone confined to home or hospital because of a fatal condition or a terminal illness, like HIV,
WoW may provide a better environment than what is accessible to them in real life.
Most of you are relatively healthy people though. And sure, many of us are geeks and may not
have much of a life. This is another reason the achievement and especially the relationship aspect of
WoW is so compelling for us. But who even knows exactly what having a life means, and how many
people actually have a life anyways7. The point of this paper isn’t so much about having a so-called life;
it’s about living the one you’ve got and not depending on MMORPGs as a social and psychological
crutch.
Despite the fact that WoW may provide you with self-esteem and tons of positive on-line
friendships, you aren’t actually experiencing any real personal growth. Though you may start with 300
Language Skill in WoW, developing RL social skills is a difficult life-long task. Even using Ventrilo
isn’t really going to provide much personal growth, because it’s still just a shadow of real life
conversations. And besides, can you really put, “dependable tank” on your resume or use that clever
“L2” joke with a random group of RL people? The paper isn’t meant to be profound and life-changing,
because in the back of your mind you knew many of these things already. It’s just a reminder that we
only have one life to live, so be sure to focus on the real one.

That's the level of the whole "paper"/rant.

Parappa · 12/28/06, 7:28 AM

Originally Posted by ex-Ragaman

Originally Posted by ex

blah blah blah

This thread sucks.

http://www.wowdetox.com/

contains highlights like http://www.wowdetox.com/view.php?number=10489 or the good old "school > scholo"

sulliwan · 12/28/06, 7:30 AM

This is quite far from the "scientific paper" it claims to be, feels more like someone's highschool essay.
Doesn't seem to be infected with anything but not worth reading either way :P

Umph · 12/28/06, 7:41 AM

Originally Posted by Warleona

just to bait EJ forum readers into clicking the link.

There are a substantial number of people who visit these forums, if I were looking to snare some folks with a keylogger embedded in a pdf file I don't think this would be a bad place to include along with the usual suspects (ui.worldofwar, curse, etc.)

♦ Praetorian · 12/28/06, 9:09 AM

Sorry this took so long, all the mods were asleep.