May 23, 2010
Was It Something I Said?
Welcome to the communal circle-jerk. What’s a circle-jerk? Well it’s not what you think, at least not in the sense you may be thinking of it. No the circle-jerk I’m talking about is the kind who loves to hear their own voice, repeatedly affirming one’s consent with another persons already expressed opinion. This is, unfortunately, a bit of a problem.
Whenever someone says something that is not part of the norm, or, outside of the viewpoint of the the rest of the community. They get downvoted (as in the case of some sites) or chewed out because they’re not with the circle-jerk, but against it. So, they make their points, and the hivemind of the circle-jerkers proudly walks off content with their victory. Congratulations, you’ve just scared off someone who has an open mind, not a closed one.
This is something I’ve noticed quite a lot lately on social networking. Any disagreements are crossed off, flamed, or essentially told where they can go with their ideas and where to shove it. Admittedly, I’m guilty of some of this. I, too, was part of the circle jerk, but now I’m stepping back and looking at things. It’s taken a couple of individuals, people that some would call “trolls” to really open my mind and eyes to what’s really going on.
I’m not saying everyone has to disagree with everything, what I’m trying to say is that maybe some folks should start thinking outside the box, and actually look at what others are saying before telling them where to get off. I mean agreeing to disagree is something else. There’s quite a few things I agree on, and quite a few things I disagree on. Those that disagree tend to be like myself, and because we don’t want conflict, we tend to be silent, because others will flame us for not being part of the collective. Do we all have to be part of the hivemind? Do we all have to be essentially brainwashed into agreeing with everything that’s said?
That said, I’ve got a confession to make. I don’t play WoW. There, I said it. If you’re following me on twitter because of the WoW pic and what not, I’m sorry, but I haven’t touched WoW in quite a while. Something like 8-9 months ago. “But you follow WoW people, and you’ve got a list of them.” Yes, I do. I like reading some people’s blogs and especially the RPers posts. Since I roleplay often, I enjoy reading other’s adventures. I also like to see what’s going on, where classes are headed. I try to keep an open mind though, especially when it comes down to the whole talent trees and which talents are useful and useless. I like to keep informed about some things. Just because I don’t play, doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention, or that I don’t RT some blogs when they make a post because I feel it needs to be shared. Sharing is caring, right?
I’m not sure I’m liking the direction of Cataclysm. While I understand that almost every MMO out there has copied something from another, to the point where very few are unique, I still have high hopes for a game that’s played by 11 million people. Maybe I just have high expectations. Sorry folks, I’m stepping outside of the circlejerk. I’m not fond of Cataclysm. I think I’ll quote someone I’ve been following, “how can you possibly follow up the Story of Arthas Menethil, one of the most tragic characters in gaming history with Deathwing, one of the most cliche concepts in ALL realms of fantasy? Evil black dragon bent on destruction? Been there, done that. I’m worried for Cataclysm.” He is right, I mean, since the announcement I’ve been thinking it’s more like it’s straight out of Dragonlance.
Maybe it’s just that I’ve read far too many science fiction and fantasy novels for my own good, but honestly I half expected Blizzard to expand more on Arthas. I suppose there’s only so much. Some of the other details I’ve heard about it, at least lore wise, have not impressed me. There are skills and talents, as far as classes go, that I’m interested in. I’m not so crazy about the races either. I’d rather the goblins stay neutral. That’s just me.
At any rate, I believe I will step out of the circlejerk and take a look at what’s going on. I will still follow the cataclysm updates, because I want to know what’s up with the lore and the like, but I’m not up for looking at the landscapes yet. I don’t know if I will return to WoW once things in my life are straightened out, but for now, I’d like to keep my wait and see attitude, and post up some funny and interesting things I find over the internet for the amusement of others.
Aside from that, there’s one more thing I’d like to address. The controlling. Yeah sure, everyone has some part of their personality that has some sort of controlling issue with it. They’re the ones whom, I feel, are the start of the circlejerk. They’re the ones who can’t take criticism, can’t deal with the differences in opinion, and the ones armed with the flamethrowers, insults and name calling. they’re quick to judge, but they don’t like to be called out. They usually end up setting themselves up to be trolled, or usually, they can also be the trolls.
In short, while this may seem like it’s one huge rant, I’m just trying to essentially say that it might be better to think outside the box, think outside the hivemind. You don’t need to go around attacking people for their opinions and such, you can be more of an adult about things, but maybe, I just don’t see people the way others do. I prefer to stay out of the circlejerk, thanks. There’s things I agree on, but there’s things I disagree with. However, its the circlejerkers and the collective hivemind that prevent some of us from saying things.
Jeg said,
May 23, 2010 at 3:26 PM
I applaud this post 110%. All true and really the shame of the WoW community. Fanboys are running rampant in Blizzard land.
People like myself sometimes cut to the chase and say some messed up stuff that gets a reaction. I admit, I am guilty of passing judgement on pet, mount, and now premium AH buyers as morons. Sometimes its just sensationalism and sometimes it’s frustration of being in the minority. The more of this stuff that gets bought, the more Blizzard puts that stuff up instead of real content. Again, that’s just an opinion.
My main problem is when someone states their opinion and try damn hard NOT to start a riot. The people you talk about are so ultra-closed minded that they just bash and defend Blizzard without thinking about what the person is being said. More times than not, the person will get frustrated and shut up. Yet the badgering still continues. As you said, it’s one person disrupting the circle-jerk and then everyone going overboard to double stroke their own opinions. This makes them feel they have some extra assurance that they aren’t wrong. Yet through it all, the OP is labeled the troll, simply because their opinion is out of the norm.
It’s BS. It’s pathetic. It’s why I feel so good to be out of the community. Like yourself, I still follow and am followed by WoW people. We met through WoW, but we rarely talk WoW. Therefore I see no reason to unfollow, but simply stating that I’m not playing WoW has resulted in a large number of people unfollowing me. I just lol and unfollow back and move on. Those people aren’t worth the time anyway.
In the end, the circle-jerk will continue and these people will still mindlessly tell each other they are the correct ones. The sad thing is, these people see everything in black and white and can’t see the shades of grey. I feel bad for them.
/highfive for this great post!