Respecting Your Elders
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You've probably noticed that I've been on a bit of a social kick lately, analyzing everything from FarmVille to guild history and how the topics could play out in World of Warcraft. Yesterday's post only furthered that thinking, leading me to remember the the age old adage of respecting your elders. In our digital land of Azeroth it just doesn't apply. Few people have any idea who the server first 60 was, which guilds were the premiere guilds back in vanilla, or who contributed the most to the Ahn'Qiraj resource grind. Those who do remember where likely part of the accomplishment, or close to those that where.
To me, the people responsible for these feats should wear them as a badge of honor. They are prideful accomplishments, a show of dedication. Impacting our playground far more than yesterday's "fun facts" that players may glance at while bored.
You know where I stand, I believe that these feats are something to be looked up to. Something that deserved respect and admiration. However, notice the use of the past tense. The raiders of vanilla WoW are definitely the current raiders elders. They participated in the ancient, some would say more difficult and hardcore, games. But everyone would agree that raiding back then was a different beast. It's like football before the forward pass was introduced, an entirely new game.
Do they deserve our respect now? Should we look up to these old school raiders like a big brother blazing a trail through our parent's rules and regulations? Do they deserve that scent of arrogance, or are they relics who's knowledge in the arts of 40-mans has become truly useless? And what of those players who've continued to raid, making the leap from hardcore Naxxramas to dropping the hard mode bosses of ToC? Do they deserve extra respect for their adaptability? Will they be remembered come Cataclysm? Should they be?
As I look in to it more, it pains me to realize how socially unaware players and guilds are of their surroundings, aka their server community, past, present, and future.
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You've probably noticed that I've been on a bit of a social kick lately, analyzing everything from FarmVille to guild history and how the topics could play out in World of Warcraft. Yesterday's post only furthered that thinking, leading me to remember the the age old adage of respecting your elders. In our digital land of Azeroth it just doesn't apply. Few people have any idea who the server first 60 was, which guilds were the premiere guilds back in vanilla, or who contributed the most to the Ahn'Qiraj resource grind. Those who do remember where likely part of the accomplishment, or close to those that where.
To me, the people responsible for these feats should wear them as a badge of honor. They are prideful accomplishments, a show of dedication. Impacting our playground far more than yesterday's "fun facts" that players may glance at while bored.
You know where I stand, I believe that these feats are something to be looked up to. Something that deserved respect and admiration. However, notice the use of the past tense. The raiders of vanilla WoW are definitely the current raiders elders. They participated in the ancient, some would say more difficult and hardcore, games. But everyone would agree that raiding back then was a different beast. It's like football before the forward pass was introduced, an entirely new game.
Do they deserve our respect now? Should we look up to these old school raiders like a big brother blazing a trail through our parent's rules and regulations? Do they deserve that scent of arrogance, or are they relics who's knowledge in the arts of 40-mans has become truly useless? And what of those players who've continued to raid, making the leap from hardcore Naxxramas to dropping the hard mode bosses of ToC? Do they deserve extra respect for their adaptability? Will they be remembered come Cataclysm? Should they be?
As I look in to it more, it pains me to realize how socially unaware players and guilds are of their surroundings, aka their server community, past, present, and future.
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