Be the change you want to see

[Babylonius]

So this forum post was brought to my attention recently and it brought some things back to my mind:

Meanwhile in South Korea

Obviously this is quite the post and I don't believe this is limited to the Asian mindset. There are dozens of posts about how terrible the majority of players are and I think that post goes to show that many just need and want guidance. Much of the time when they ask for advice they get the same "wowhead knows", "google it", etc responses that get nothing done. Many don't know where to go, or how to read the information there and they might just need someone to explain it in simple terms or differently than reading it. The discussion with someone who can answer the questions is almost always better than just reading.

I've been playing for years and I've never vote kicked or removed someone from a group simply due to DPS, nor have I turned away anyone asking questions to better their play. I read many forums and discussions about w/e class I'm playing and I consider it the highest recognition of skills for people to come ask me questions. I think many people are in a position to put themselves out there, who are willing to give advice and help those who are looking to better themselves on their characters, alts, whatever. There are those who spend the time to learn their class and can help others rather than directing them to where they got their info.

I know Blizzard tried to do this with the special guild thingy that I guess didn't really pan out, but I think it can be more of a grassroots movement rather than top down. There are likely people doing this exact thing on other servers and by setting this example we could help to raise the level of player on each server to make PuGs, LFR, etc, not as painful. All it takes is to let new players or those looking to get better know that there is a person on their own server who is willing to help instead of directing them to the websites.

Think of it as Character customer service, we'd all rather talk to a human being than read a forum or website.

What I'm asking is, is there anyone who is doing this on your server, and how? Is there anyone else who considers themselves experts in their class/spec who is interested in putting themselves out there for others to ask questions, open a discussion, and help others be better at their characters for whatever reason?

[Daedelus]

That Korean post is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I do despair at some of the people playing the game these days and am probably guilty of flaming from time to time (in LFR). On the other hand I do try to help people if they ask for help. I will certainly remember that post next time I am about to say something negative in the game.

[goblingirl]

Unfortunately on both of the servers I play on, anyone putting themselves forth as an expert in any public channel would instantly be attacked by the chat trolls and harassed endlessly.

The only players who tend to not have that happen are the ones in the very very top guilds (i.e. world heroic records).

What I do is respond via whisper when I see someone ask for help in chat. I do this both out in the world and in raids. And I'm very careful how I phrase any advice/suggestions I make. People are usually happy to have someone to talk to.

[Deleted]

I found that story hilarious. Is this guys main problem really WoW?

I know you don't even want to see my face, but I just like being in a community. I know you do not want to see me around, so I just hide myself around mountains or corners of big cities...

[Sj]

I found that story hilarious. Is this guys main problem really WoW?

Regardless, it's a good illustration of how people just aren't very nice to each other anymore, regardless of the platform. You never know when what you say or do to somebody can make or ruin their day; it's best to err on the side of kindness and hope people will pay it forward.

[Babylonius]

Unfortunately on both of the servers I play on, anyone putting themselves forth as an expert in any public channel would instantly be attacked by the chat trolls and harassed endlessly.

The only players who tend to not have that happen are the ones in the very very top guilds (i.e. world heroic records).

What I do is respond via whisper when I see someone ask for help in chat. I do this both out in the world and in raids. And I'm very careful how I phrase any advice/suggestions I make. People are usually happy to have someone to talk to.

I strongly agree with all your points. Obviously it would take a certain level of credibility (top guild, WoL ranks) to put oneself forward. I've always responded to someone in whispers so that there is limited arguing. I always make sure to tell them to tell anyone else they know who is curious to message me as well.

[CandyCotton Marshmallows]

I've been saying this for years now in whatever game I'm in. I tease at times, but I always follow up if no one properly answers. If you don't do anything to help, there is no sense in complaining. People complain about so many wanted 'solo' play; but they don't think ... why is it so many want solo play? Because they don't want to deal with the toxicity. They may have just watched chat and are afraid to interact; or had asked a question and got berated. They may have been in a group but didn't know how to be efficient and people blasted them instead of helping (without being a prick about it). Others might have silently let it happen, encouraging the behavior or at least not showing any hope to the newbie.

Want MMO ... work towards being the good side of the 'MM' part. Turnover of new players because they run into a field of dicks is doing nothing but hurting the game, and the genre as a whole.

Be the change you want to see ... yes; and treat people the way you'd want to be treated if you were new and had no idea of how to play, where to look, or might not understand the resources even if you found them. Take the time to help them; instead of taking the time to destroy their spirits.

[PrairieChicken]

Unfortunately that guy in the story turned out to be a clever liar, and was leeching raid kills pretending to be noob since Wrath.

[Babylonius]

I've been saying this for years now in whatever game I'm in. I tease at times, but I always follow up if no one properly answers. If you don't do anything to help, there is no sense in complaining. People complain about so many wanted 'solo' play; but they don't think ... why is it so many want solo play? Because they don't want to deal with the toxicity. They may have just watched chat and are afraid to interact; or had asked a question and got berated. They may have been in a group but didn't know how to be efficient and people blasted them instead of helping (without being a prick about it). Others might have silently let it happen, encouraging the behavior or at least not showing any hope to the newbie.

Want MMO ... work towards being the good side of the 'MM' part. Turnover of new players because they run into a field of dicks is doing nothing but hurting the game, and the genre as a whole.

Be the change you want to see ... yes; and treat people the way you'd want to be treated if you were new and had no idea of how to play, where to look, or might not understand the resources even if you found them. Take the time to help them; instead of taking the time to destroy their spirits.

I agree. People want leveling to be easier so that you don't have to spend as much time doing it, but then complain about the side effect that less time leveling means less time learning the class and abilities. This leads to the classic "noob" who is missing a huge part of their class after they are at max level because they never had to learn because things like LFD take away the pressure of killing a mob before it kills you, or avoiding mechanics to minimize damage taken.

People forget that they didnt know what to do when they started the game. Many treat others like they started this game playing at an elite level from day 1. I've worked my way up to the top raiding guilds and performance but can still remember leveling my mage in BC not knowing how to use Frost Nova till well into level 50, where I HAD to learn how to use it or die mobs.

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Unfortunately that guy in the story turned out to be a clever liar, and was leeching raid kills pretending to be noob since Wrath.

Source? Random deflating comment means nothing without evidence.
Besides that even if it is a ruse that doesn't change the fact that the "moral" of this story is still evident that few people want to help others yet love to complain when others don't know 100% what to do.

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That Korean post is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I do despair at some of the people playing the game these days and am probably guilty of flaming from time to time (in LFR). On the other hand I do try to help people if they ask for help. I will certainly remember that post next time I am about to say something negative in the game.

I think a great example of the problem this speaks to is the endless cycling of "This game sucks", "LFR sucks", "People suck" posts on the front page of this forum with hundreds of posts and thousands of views, while a thread like this, and other positive ones trying to help, falls to the backpages of forgotten threads.