Drama, guild and otherwise.

If you've been in a guild, or even in a pick up group,
you've come across this phenomenon: Drama. Something goes
wrong, people get angry. It usually ends in over dramatic
shouting matches or /gquits or groups abandoned at the
worst possible moment.

In some cases it'll just be someone having a bad day,
trying to relax with a bit of adventuring, getting upset
at not even that working out the way they had imagined it.
Sometimes it'll be about loot (as discussed in one of my
other blogs). I've played warcraft for a long time now, I
think two factors are really important.

First there's (relative) anonimity. It is afterall the
internet and you might as well imagine that your fellow
players are just NPC's if one behaves in a way you don't
like you can just lash out with no further consequence.
This becomes really clear when you play with someone you
know, it sheds a different light on actions when you know
what a person is really like.

Secondly there's group dynamics. Imagine an actual group
of adventurers. A warlock, a Paladin, a Mage, a Rogue.
these personalities, these modes of thinking would clash
in a real situation. Especially when lives are on the line
and there's money to be made. There would be group
politics, fear, backstabbing - there would be drama. Think
of Warcraft, then, as a simulation of that real group; of
course there is drama.

Earlier, I was reading ferraro's Paladin blog
(http://ferarro.blogspot.com/) someone who's opinion I
respect. In his/her discussion of the recent Paladin Q&A
theres a section where 'Blizzard' says "In Lich king we've
finally embraced all three [paladin] specs."
Ferraro explaind this as if Blizzard (intentionally or
not) had something against Paladins, as if we were getting
less than others.

I think you can be as grumpy as you like about how
Blizzard run the game, fact remains they were maybe
expecting a million, maybe 2 million subscribers, instead
they got 5 million. Warcraft exploded in their faces, and
it's taken them years to deal with it and get everything
on track. The fact that it's still fun and there are still
so many people actively engaged, blogging, posting on
forums says a lot for the quality of their product and
care they lavish on it.

Sure things could be better, but couldn't they always?
Paladins have never been in a better position, I found it
the wrongest time to swipe at something you suppose people
have done.