Project Lore

There are few things I hate more than underqualified people leading our nation. They tend to either make woefully uninformed statements and/or decisions, backing their actions with questionable “evidence.” Enter recently re-appointed FCC Commissioner, Deborah Taylor Tate. Mrs. Tate started a shit storm on the Internet because of a recent statement. Tate stated "one of the top reasons for college drop-outs in the U.S. is online gaming addiction - such as World of Warcraft".

I am not here to bash her though, that has already been done around the the blogosphere, most directly and deservedly so by Mike Schramm of WoWInsider. Her decisions, quotes, actions and qualifications have all come into question lately, by people who are more in the know than myself. Unfortunately, I cannot help but think that the latest statement has been blown out of proportion because of the mention of my favorite MMORPG by name.

Bear with me here. If she had simply left off that last hyphenated statement, do you believe so many people would be freaking out? She would still set off places like GamePolitics.com, but by neglecting to state a specific title, I think her point would have been more stomachable. Hell, I, an avid video gamer, even agree with her statement (for once).

From personal experience, many of my college friends and myself, played one game or another a little too much, neglecting sleep, work, a sexually deprived person, school or some incredibly complex combination of the group. If you step back and think about it, entertainment (games, movies, tv) is likely to be one facet of life that students go nuts on given their new found freedom. Is it more dangerous than other university-oriented activities? Hardly. Parents expect higher-learning facilities to do a little parenting, and part of that job is warning incoming students, and their families, of all the possible pitfalls. Like any United States entity, they are really just covering their own asses from possible litigation.

While Tate may have a point this time, her wording doomed her to the scorn of the Internet masses. If you want to burn her, then don't become a statistic, like Blizzard says “Remember to take all things in moderation (even World of Warcraft!).”

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