Originally Posted by
Ridesdel
I will settle this being as impartial as I can
LFR AS RAIDING
First let's define a "raid", and "Raiding" as they are to World Of Warcraft
A "raid" is 1)a form of an instance that requires 10, or more, persons to complete. 2)a group of 10 or more people
"Raiding" has been classically defined as taking a raid group into a raid instance, for the common goal of defeating the raid bosses.
Ok, so "Raiding" has a bit of a wide definition, so lets narrow it down to how it was defined PRE-MoP.
"Raiding" PRE-MoP: A Guild, or Union of Guilds, forming a raid group to enter, and complete a raid on a set schedule.
Now that's a little bit too narrow, so lets get a good middle ground.
"Raiding" Middle Ground: A Guild(s), or a Pick Up Group(PUG) forming a raid group to enter into a raid instance, for the common goal of defeating the raid bosses.
I think we can all agree on the third definition of raiding, can we not? Seems to be the most current definition that fits.
What this means
* By definition, in LFR you are in a "raid". That's settled, LFR DOES take place in a "raid". So drop it.
* By the "classical" definition of "Raiding" LFR is "Raiding"
* By the PRE-MoP definition of "Raiding" LFR is NOT "Raiding"
* By the Middle Ground/Current definition of "Raiding" LFR is "Raiding"
OK, so I have laid out the definition of what I, and I'm sure most people would agree with them, think is "Raiding", but what about the Developers of WoW? What, you mean that they have a solid stance on this? Blizzard says LFR IS "Raiding"?
Sarcasm aside, "Raiding" has a new definition, even if the older "elite/hardcore/vanilla raiders" don't want it to be. Drop it. LFR is raiding.
HOWEVER, that does not mean that everyone who does LFR is a Raider. Raiders have been, and always will be people who work together to gear up, learn fights, and tackle boss fights as they are meant to be. Nearly everyone I know who has raided in the past(pre lfr) will agree that just by doing LFR they do not feel like they are Raiding anymore. That they are merely just seeing the content, not experiencing how it was designed.
Disagree if you want, but please, don't just say I'm wrong. If you don't like how I've defined things, let me know, I'll work with you on adding definitions, and possibly updating this post.
My personal feelings are that LFR does not deserve to be called Raiding