◊ Boethius

You may have noticed we have added 10 new subforums to Class Mechanics that correspond to each playable class in World of Warcraft. The intent of this reorganization is two-fold:

• Firstly, we desire to foster more granular conversation amongst individual classes. Gone are the days of the class megathreads. Each class now has a whole subforum to themselves and the ability to create threads of class-interest should be utilized wisely. We really do want to see threads broken up a bit more, but not at the expense of readability or as a substitute for searching first. That having been said...
• Secondly, we also want to see an increase in chatter about the scope of class implementation in World of Warcraft on a more expansive level. All of this discussion should take place in the Class Mechanics root forum. Additionally, any attempt to have discussion about cross-class roles (DPS, healing, tanking, etc.) should go in Class Mechanics as well.
• We currently have no plans to move threads from Class Mechanics to their appropriate subforums manually. Please feel free to recreate ongoing discussions in their appropriate new homes. Also, because classes are now separated, please refrain from using bracketed tags as thread prefixes (e.g. [Warriors]) from here on out.

We have also taken quite a bit of time (thanks Aldriana!), to update our forum ruleset. We have clarified numerous items and hopefully made the etiquette around here much easier to understand. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the new rules announcement.

As always, thanks for joining the discussion!

Update: We have gone ahead and moved all threads active in the last month into their respective class subforums and locked them from further use. Please create new threads appropriate in scope for all post-WotLK discussion and refrain from bumping any old threads in Class Mechanics. Keep in mind however, that we'd like to avoid any of the following subjects:

• What should I spec while leveling to 80?
• What questlines should I grab to gear up while leveling to 80?
• Is X better than Y for leveling?

This forum is more about endgame discussion and analysis and therefore please stay away from the leveling questions. We'll have plenty to talk about as everyone reaches 80 and returns to endgame content. If you have pointed and intelligent questions that touch on the above, make sure to ask them in the Simple Answers/Simple Questions thread after careful reflection.

Thanks!

 

◊ Boethius

As some of you may have noticed, the Theorycrafting Think Tank is now available on the main page of the forums. In case you missed my blog entry, the Think Tank is a new wiki project aimed at condensing the rather large amount of information available on Elitist Jerks--specifically, this forum--into an organized repository that is easier to search, update and access than a traditional forum format. Essentially we aim to create a space where questions about theorycraft and mechanics can be quickly answered; a first-stop launchpad for further discussion back here in the forums proper.

So what do you need us for?

We need authors! Many of you have created great class threads that are perfect for the kind of articles we want to see in the Think Tank. Eventually we would like to see most of the class threads here converted into wiki format, leaving these forums open for more focused discussions and debates about the mechanics of the game. The Think Tank is the place where we will put what we know, the forums will be where we debate what we don't yet.

Those of you who already have class threads or who are actively involved in theorycraft for your class are strongly encouraged to apply for Authorship for the TT. To do so, you will need to write a short abstract detailing the article you want to create and PM it to one or both of two screening editors: masanbol and/or Wraithlin. You will also need to apply to the Authors usergroup. More information on this process can be found in the Think Tank itself, along with other important information. Go check it out!

Those of you who do not wish to become authors for the TT are still encouraged to participate in discussion and refining of the articles already in place there. Please use this tool, the mods and editors here have worked hard to get it off the ground!

 

◊ Boethius

Welcome to the Elitist Jerks forums, a WoW discussion forum targeted towards topics regarding high-end raiding and analysis of game mechanics. We ask you to take a few minutes to read the following before making use of these forums.

First, a point of clarification. The name of these forums is not intended ironically; we have high standards for the discussion that occurs herein, and we're quite unapologetic about it. If you feel our rules are stupid or arbitrary, we don't really care. If you don't wish to follow them, you're welcome to return to the official Blizzard forums.

Following is a brief listing of our forum rules; note that it is by no means exhaustive, as in our experience people are quite innovative in finding new ways to be stupid. These are simply a set of guidelines to get you started in the right direction. If you follow them, you will generally do fine here; however, if you concoct some creative new form of stupidity, our moderators feel no need to restrain themselves in letting you know.

1. All posters are to make an effort to communicate clearly. In particular, all posts should be made in a reasonable approximation of proper English. We realize that a significant number of you are not native speakers, and we do not expect perfection: merely effort. Please obey basic rules of capitalization and punctuation, avoid chatroom abbreviations ("lol", "imo", "u", and the like), and pay at least minimal attention to sentence and paragraph structure.
2. All opinions should be stated as succinctly as possible. Do not make multiple consecutive posts; rather, multi-quote and include all your ideas in a single post. Do not quote huge blocks of text to add a short reply; instead, quote only what you need to to make your point. Do not break a single quoted reply into multiple blocks; doing so needlessly lengthens your post without aiding its readability. And don't provide unnecessary backstory: if it isn't relevant to the question you're asking or the point you're making, we don't need to know about it.
3. All discussion should be both polite and civil. Trolling or flaming in any form is forbidden. Just because someone disagrees with you does not mean they are stupid or on drugs and their personal hygiene isn't really relevant to the discussion. Regardless of the merit (or lack thereof) of your argument, it should be made in a way that is neither insulting nor condescending.
4. Whining in any form is forbidden. Blizzard is not incompetent or stupid and they are not intentionally screwing you over and neither is anyone else. If all you're going to do is complain, don't bother posting.
5. Threads should be started if and only if there is some reasonable topic to discuss. If the issue you wish to discuss is covered in an existing thread, use it rather than creating a new one. If you are asking a simple question that you expect to have a simple answer, ask it in one of the "Simple Questions/Simple Answers" threads. But if you feel there is a topic of discussion not well-covered by existing threads, feel free to start a new thread to discuss it.
6. Do not post unless you have something new and worthwhile to say. Do not bump, quote for truth, cross-post, or post only to say thanks. We don't want to hear your funny story about something that happened in your raid last night, your baseless speculation is unproductive, and your idea for a new ability really isn't that interesting. If you have an idea you'd like to share with the community, support it with analysis, testing, or both that indicates you've put some thought into it.
7. Do not beg for hand-holding. These are forums for discussion and analysis, not for answering any question that you might happen to dream up. Search and read before posting--do not post a question unless you are fairly confident that the answer isn't widely known or easily attainable. In particular, we do not want to take a look at your armory or WWS to tell you what you're doing wrong and we're not interested in making your tough gear or spec decisions for you.
8. All accounts must have a valid WoW profile. If you no longer play and have deleted all characters you used to have, you may select the "No WoW Account" option; otherwise, this information must be filled out for your main character.
9. Do not sign your posts. People can see who you are from the profile printed to the left of each post, so signing your posts is redundant and simply takes up space. Similarly, you do not need to link your armory in your post, as if people wish to see it they can get it from your profile.
10. Do not back-seat moderate. If you feel that a post is in violation of these rules, please report it and the moderators will deal with it as we feel is appropriate. Do not further crap up the thread by attempting to provide moderation of your own.

If you violate a forum rule, you will receive an infraction. Most infractions are worth one point, although we reserve the right to give you more at any time if we feel you deserve them. If you accumulate too many infraction points, you will receive an automatic (usually temporary) ban, as follows:

• 5 Points - 1 Week
• 8 Points - 1 Month
• 10 Points - Permanent

All new accounts are muted for a period of one day following registration. After this, these accounts are on reply-only probation until 10 successful posts are made, so you can't make a new thread until you've proved your posting capability while conforming to the aforementioned rules by contributing to established discussions. In addition, familiarize yourself with The Banhammer, an archive of all infractions given by the moderators here; it will give you some examples of what not to do. Also feel free to take a gander over The Dung Heap, which will give you a good idea of what these forums would look like if we weren’t such jerks.

Thank you for joining the discussion!