Had an in-game whisper the other night asking if I still keep up my blog. It was sad to admit that no, I haven't been writing or posting here.
Thinking about the whys and whatevers, it isn't a lack of motivation. Just a feeling that I'd started repeating myself. Looking at why, I realized that a big part of the repeating came from the very nature of the server Azune lives on...Zuluhed has a bad habit of repeating itself.
A smaller server tends to attract and keep the same types of people. Stubborn people. Although there are other types who end up here by accident, the stubborn factor plays a big part in whether or not they leave the moment their toon can travel again. Some people are stubborn when they arrive, others develop that aspect of their personality slogging through the hostile trade chat posts, the eternally disenchanted forum posts, and the endless rounds of attempting to put together a pug.
And stubborn people, by their very nature, tend to repeat behaviors. And it got a little tiring writing about the same bad behavior over and over again. After all, I'm not the server mom...which means I'm not here to beat on a behavior until it changes. I'm a participant as well as an observer, but definitely not a psychiatrist trying to fix the server population. And my posts were starting to feel like psychiatric sessions dealing with the same bad behaviors over and over again.
But a strange thing happened not too long ago...we lost a little bit of that wall we had to pound our heads on thanks to the new LFG (Looking for Group) interface. Just like in AV, we're suddenly running around with people from other servers. People who are used to shorter waits for getting groups and fuller auction houses...we suddenly got a taste of how it felt to be hanging on those servers. Low and behold, the main cities became crowded again on Zulu as we weren't forced to entertain ourselves by ganking lowbies or doing esoteric achievements.
Standing in Dal yesterday I noticed dancing. And chatting. And some actually polite conversations in /trade. Sure, it's the Love is in the Air holiday season, so there are picnics, candies, and other city-type achievements to do, but a simple holiday can't change an entire server's base attitude simply by adding cologne and fru-fru hearts. Nope, we've changed. (Not enough to make Trade Chat safe for normal people -- that would take a miracle.)
I'm not going to be an optimist and suggest that Zulu is a happy and non-stubborn place to play, one that doesn't repeat itself...but I do think that maybe we've reached a population point and game point where we don't have to be quite so grumpy and cynical about life on Zuluhed. And you know what? That's a very very good thing.
So who knows, maybe I'll start writing here again regularly now that there's a possibility for interactions that are new and different. Or maybe Zulu will repeat itself and go back to being the same dang grumpfest of burnt out players too stubborn to transfer or quit. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Thursday, July 9, 2009
No time to flirt
I swear I have no time to log in...much less time to flirt when I do log in. There's potions to make, herbs to gather, and guild gossip to sift through on Azune, plus things to sell on my bank alt and leveling to do on my other alts.
Doesn't help that real life has sucked up most of my free time lately. Been building the photography side of our business, and that means getting more photos in our portfolio. Since our neighbors and friends have all come up with excuses why they can't sit still even for FREE portraits (vacations, work, needing to lose weight, want to shop for new clothes first, you name it), we've had to find other folks who'll sit still for us. Namely, models.
Thank god for the internet -- and for Model Mayhem, one of the many sites out there where you can network with models and other photographers and find people where you can either pay them or trade images for their time. We just had our 3rd paid model shoot, have another scheduled in two weeks, and have enough shots in our MM portfolio that we're starting to get interest from the folks who will sit for free in trade for a few images for their portfolio. At this rate we may just have enough of the nice PG-rated images we need for a couple of marketing pieces we're working on, plus we'll have some really rockin' non-PG images that we feel are art-worthy enough to hang on our walls.
You can see my shots of models (both clothed and nude) on MM at http://www.modelmayhem.com/1269594, and my husband's much larger portfolio is at http://www.modelmayhem.com/1221997 . (If you're not a member you won't see any of the ones rated M for mature, sorry.) I think we do good work -- and boy are we having fun. Sure, it means Azune has no time to flirt in Dalaran, but that's OK. Sometimes real life can be just as much fun as a video game.
Doesn't help that real life has sucked up most of my free time lately. Been building the photography side of our business, and that means getting more photos in our portfolio. Since our neighbors and friends have all come up with excuses why they can't sit still even for FREE portraits (vacations, work, needing to lose weight, want to shop for new clothes first, you name it), we've had to find other folks who'll sit still for us. Namely, models.
Thank god for the internet -- and for Model Mayhem, one of the many sites out there where you can network with models and other photographers and find people where you can either pay them or trade images for their time. We just had our 3rd paid model shoot, have another scheduled in two weeks, and have enough shots in our MM portfolio that we're starting to get interest from the folks who will sit for free in trade for a few images for their portfolio. At this rate we may just have enough of the nice PG-rated images we need for a couple of marketing pieces we're working on, plus we'll have some really rockin' non-PG images that we feel are art-worthy enough to hang on our walls.
You can see my shots of models (both clothed and nude) on MM at http://www.modelmayhem.com/1269594, and my husband's much larger portfolio is at http://www.modelmayhem.com/1221997 . (If you're not a member you won't see any of the ones rated M for mature, sorry.) I think we do good work -- and boy are we having fun. Sure, it means Azune has no time to flirt in Dalaran, but that's OK. Sometimes real life can be just as much fun as a video game.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Serve it warm
Flirting is a dish best served warm. By that I mean that the flirting person should be warm -- happy, content, perhaps even a little giddy.
But far too often we try to flirt when our "real" life isn't conducive to being lighthearted. Instead of the flirting coming from a good place and making us feel even better, we attempt to use flirting as a way to feel good.
And that's bad. Because flirting as a cold dish is, well, icky.
If you're not warm, then don't flirt -- go fish or kill something. Get your mood up with some chocolate. Or just plain log out and deal with whatever you need to deal with IRL. But don't make the mistake of trying to act giddy and sweet when your mood is anything but.
But far too often we try to flirt when our "real" life isn't conducive to being lighthearted. Instead of the flirting coming from a good place and making us feel even better, we attempt to use flirting as a way to feel good.
And that's bad. Because flirting as a cold dish is, well, icky.
If you're not warm, then don't flirt -- go fish or kill something. Get your mood up with some chocolate. Or just plain log out and deal with whatever you need to deal with IRL. But don't make the mistake of trying to act giddy and sweet when your mood is anything but.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Happy Birthday!
The object of my most dedicated and passionate flirting is my darling husband. And today is his birthday.
Needless to say, I haven't limited the celebrating to today...fun has been happening since Monday, and will continue through the rest of the week and weekend.
Most people make the mistake of only celebrating for about half an hour once they pass a certain age (usually somewhere in their mid-20s). A glass of wine, a slice of cake, and some hearty greetings from your pals is usually about all a busy adult has time for. But what's the fun in that? After all, the older you get the more obvious it becomes that on your birthday you aren't actually celebrating your birth...but rather your continued life.
So, in honor of Bruce, here's a toast to everyone who has a March birthday. Congrats on life. Now go live it.
Needless to say, I haven't limited the celebrating to today...fun has been happening since Monday, and will continue through the rest of the week and weekend.
Most people make the mistake of only celebrating for about half an hour once they pass a certain age (usually somewhere in their mid-20s). A glass of wine, a slice of cake, and some hearty greetings from your pals is usually about all a busy adult has time for. But what's the fun in that? After all, the older you get the more obvious it becomes that on your birthday you aren't actually celebrating your birth...but rather your continued life.
So, in honor of Bruce, here's a toast to everyone who has a March birthday. Congrats on life. Now go live it.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Flirting in Dalaran
Well, Wrath is finally far enough along that people are starting to hang out instead of questing 24/7. Now that some folks are waiting to get groups for heroics or waiting for guildies to log on to help with profession leveling, the standing-around population in Dalaran has increased. And that means that flirting season can start.
But Dalaran isn't Shatt -- instead of hanging out at mixed-faction banks, we're hanging out near our faction areas (or by the closest bank/inn to those areas). That's OK, it just means you have to wander around a bit to socialize and not just stand 5 steps from the mailbox.
More importantly, Dalaran has some unusual areas to explore -- for example, the sewers will be much more popular once the Arena season begins, but they're already a great place to hang out and fish and flirt. There's also smaller spots like the center fountain, the Beer Garden behind one of the Inns, and the street of profession trainers.
It'll take a while to get comfy hanging out in Dalaran, and a while to figure out where to stand to find the folks who'll flirt back. But the season is here, and it's time to get started.
But Dalaran isn't Shatt -- instead of hanging out at mixed-faction banks, we're hanging out near our faction areas (or by the closest bank/inn to those areas). That's OK, it just means you have to wander around a bit to socialize and not just stand 5 steps from the mailbox.
More importantly, Dalaran has some unusual areas to explore -- for example, the sewers will be much more popular once the Arena season begins, but they're already a great place to hang out and fish and flirt. There's also smaller spots like the center fountain, the Beer Garden behind one of the Inns, and the street of profession trainers.
It'll take a while to get comfy hanging out in Dalaran, and a while to figure out where to stand to find the folks who'll flirt back. But the season is here, and it's time to get started.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Across the Barrier
Factions are an arbitrary line drawn by Blizzard...but you don't have to "stay" on your side. And you definitely don't have to pretend that you don't have friends in the other faction.
I've only really spent much time in WoW on Zuluhed, so my Warcraft experience is on a small server. I get the feeling that on larger servers there's more of a divide between horde and alliance. But it can't really be that way on Zulu...when you log in and 90% of folks you see every day are all "enemy" instead of your faction, you stop seeing that dividing line as clearly.
And on small servers, like it or not, the gossip crosses faction lines. Whether it's via Vent, through instant messages or texting, through postings on forums, or via a second account where someone has a character of the other faction, info crosses that arbitrary barrier created by Blizzard. Because we want to know about the people we wave to and /dance with every day; it's human nature.
Should I pretend that I don't have friends on the other side? It'd make my guild leader happy if I didn't. Would make certain other folks both Horde-side and Alliance-side very happy, since they see that dividing line as though it's a brick wall and I'm shaking up their world view by crossing it. But I do have friends, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
Thanks to my having friends on the other side -- and being open about it -- I've found myself dancing with Blood Elves in Tristfal Glades, blowing kisses to Tauren in Darkshore, and flirting my heart out with Orcs and Trolls in Hellfire and Nagrand. All those folks who say "red is dead" will never have those experiences, and that's sad.
I've only really spent much time in WoW on Zuluhed, so my Warcraft experience is on a small server. I get the feeling that on larger servers there's more of a divide between horde and alliance. But it can't really be that way on Zulu...when you log in and 90% of folks you see every day are all "enemy" instead of your faction, you stop seeing that dividing line as clearly.
And on small servers, like it or not, the gossip crosses faction lines. Whether it's via Vent, through instant messages or texting, through postings on forums, or via a second account where someone has a character of the other faction, info crosses that arbitrary barrier created by Blizzard. Because we want to know about the people we wave to and /dance with every day; it's human nature.
Should I pretend that I don't have friends on the other side? It'd make my guild leader happy if I didn't. Would make certain other folks both Horde-side and Alliance-side very happy, since they see that dividing line as though it's a brick wall and I'm shaking up their world view by crossing it. But I do have friends, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
Thanks to my having friends on the other side -- and being open about it -- I've found myself dancing with Blood Elves in Tristfal Glades, blowing kisses to Tauren in Darkshore, and flirting my heart out with Orcs and Trolls in Hellfire and Nagrand. All those folks who say "red is dead" will never have those experiences, and that's sad.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Try a little Politeness
There's an interesting dynamic in a smaller server, where politeness seems to be a lost art. For example, for most people on Zuluhed the ultimate in being polite consists of "r u X spec?" questions whispered to random folks you don't actually know.
In real society, it's considered polite to say "excuse me" to indicate that you're interrupting -- but that part definitely goes out the window in smaller WoW communities. (I did have one stranger whisper "excuse me, I hate to interrupt" but they were a potential transferee from another server who wanted some questions answered about Zuluhed, not a zulu regular.) I'm sure it's partly from the frustration of trying to get groups together, trying to survive the twisty economy, and so on. But it's also from feeling like you're in a small town where everyone knows each other's secrets. So there's no feeling of putting on your "good" face when introducing yourself to one of the three people on the server who you don't know. Thankfully, life on a small server can continue quite well even without the "excuse me" level of politeness.
But unfortunately, one of the biggest politeness problems can happen within guilds on a small server. In these cases it's not just the "excuse me" part that gets lost -- the whole question gets left out. Instead of asking "are you interested in X instance and are you available on X date" the folks in your guild (or in your regular group of in-game friends) assume that you will (of course) be available, just because you were on the other night and are often on when they are.
The assumption method works fine a lot of the time -- after all, in these small groups you pretty much know each other's schedules. But it falls apart if the person has life commitments or obligations outside of WoW....in other words, if the person has a spouse/relationship, kids, a job, pets, or even friends that aren't in the game. Because in Real Life things happen...friends drop by, relatives get sick, chores need done, and so on, and those Real Life things don't happen on WoW's schedule or schedule themselves only in non-WoW hours. There are only a few folks who fit the stereotype of living in basements and playing WoW 24/7 on their mom's dollar...which means that everyone else has commitments or may get hit with an Act of God that will cause the folks who made the assumption to get angry and frustrated.
There's only one way to prevent that frustration -- and the bad feelings on both sides. Ask. Don't assume that everyone is available just because you are, or that they're available on your schedule. Say "hey, do you want to run X instance tomorrow night?" rather than just putting it on the calendar without saying anything or (even worse) just assuming that they'll be on and interested. This means you should ask (in advance, not when you're standing at the summoning stone) if there's a time that's good for them.
It's amazing how much smoother your relationships on a small server will be if you overwhelm everyone with politeness, instead of relying on assumptions.
In real society, it's considered polite to say "excuse me" to indicate that you're interrupting -- but that part definitely goes out the window in smaller WoW communities. (I did have one stranger whisper "excuse me, I hate to interrupt" but they were a potential transferee from another server who wanted some questions answered about Zuluhed, not a zulu regular.) I'm sure it's partly from the frustration of trying to get groups together, trying to survive the twisty economy, and so on. But it's also from feeling like you're in a small town where everyone knows each other's secrets. So there's no feeling of putting on your "good" face when introducing yourself to one of the three people on the server who you don't know. Thankfully, life on a small server can continue quite well even without the "excuse me" level of politeness.
But unfortunately, one of the biggest politeness problems can happen within guilds on a small server. In these cases it's not just the "excuse me" part that gets lost -- the whole question gets left out. Instead of asking "are you interested in X instance and are you available on X date" the folks in your guild (or in your regular group of in-game friends) assume that you will (of course) be available, just because you were on the other night and are often on when they are.
The assumption method works fine a lot of the time -- after all, in these small groups you pretty much know each other's schedules. But it falls apart if the person has life commitments or obligations outside of WoW....in other words, if the person has a spouse/relationship, kids, a job, pets, or even friends that aren't in the game. Because in Real Life things happen...friends drop by, relatives get sick, chores need done, and so on, and those Real Life things don't happen on WoW's schedule or schedule themselves only in non-WoW hours. There are only a few folks who fit the stereotype of living in basements and playing WoW 24/7 on their mom's dollar...which means that everyone else has commitments or may get hit with an Act of God that will cause the folks who made the assumption to get angry and frustrated.
There's only one way to prevent that frustration -- and the bad feelings on both sides. Ask. Don't assume that everyone is available just because you are, or that they're available on your schedule. Say "hey, do you want to run X instance tomorrow night?" rather than just putting it on the calendar without saying anything or (even worse) just assuming that they'll be on and interested. This means you should ask (in advance, not when you're standing at the summoning stone) if there's a time that's good for them.
It's amazing how much smoother your relationships on a small server will be if you overwhelm everyone with politeness, instead of relying on assumptions.
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