jen

SYTYCB: Matt & Wyn’s Critique – Week 2

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First of all, I have to make a confession. I don’t watch So You Think You Can Dance. I’ve only ever watched one episode. So I’m going to compare myself to Paula Abdul. From that other talent show. No, not because I’ve quite possibly addled my brains past the point of coherence, but because of all the judges on these kinds of things, Paula is always the one who struggles to find something critical to say. And that’s how I feel right about now. I have been overwhelmingly impressed with the quality of writing, sense of fun, and attention to detail (like links and graphics!!) of each person submitting entries. Here are my thoughts, followed by Matt’s, on the submissions this week. Thanks again, to everyone who wrote, and all the commenters who’ve participated this week!

With Tulani bowing out, we’ll have a bottom 2 this week instead of a bottom 3. Furthermore, only one blogger will be eliminated instead of two.

The Critique

Joveta: 10 Reasons Horde Is Better
Status: Safe

Oh, Jove. This post was hilarious, and so, so, so true. (For anyone of EITHER faction who hasn’t seriously played on the other – you’re missing out. You’ll either find that your main faction is really best for you, or you’ll realize you have a much better home on the other side of the fence. They really do have very different feels to them. It’s surprising.) You picked good graphics, and made great points. The only negative thing I have to say is that your competition really brought it this week. Keep pushing to polish up your style – I’m looking forward to seeing what else you can do!

Matt’s Thoughts: A good post overall and it sparked some discussion. Of course, anything that boosts one faction and puts down another is always going to generate controversy (which is good!). Love the image choice and selection. My only complaint is in image uniformity. I’m not worried about the height of images as much. I do think in a list post, any images used should maintain some degree of uniformity in terms of dimensions. A fun post to read, for sure. 

Sydera: How to Recruit a New Healer in 10 Easy Steps
Status: Safe

In my opinion, yours was (again!) the best entry of the week. Your writing style is informative and approachable, and your topic was not only timely – so many guilds stuck in xpac doldrums looking to recruit – but useful. The progression from step to step is dead-on, and I love that you include the necessity of following up with and nurturing your new recruit. The sample ads also illustrated your point very well. And I loved your Uncle Syd mash up. Great Job!

Matt’s Thoughts: I’ll write about the good parts first and the bad parts after. The good things I liked was the custom image for one. I know the amount of time it takes to manhandle and photoshop and image. I recognize and commend your effort. As a skimmer, I can read your post in 30 seconds, catch all the emphasized sentences and still make out with what the message you’re trying to convey. One of my deeply cherished principles is the fact it’s not all about the information. It’s how you present it. The points here were listed thoughtfully and there can be no mistake on the reader’s part.

And now the bad.

*pause*

…I can’t find any! Well done!

Jen: 10 Silly Timewasters
Status: Safe

Your graphics were far-and-away the absolute best this week, and I know how time-consuming those shots and the formatting involved can be. You did a great job with a hilarious post. (I keep picturing what will happen when that Smite lands on Illybeanz!) These are all things I find myself doing on the weekends or on non-raiding nights to keep myself entertained – I heartily endorse each one. Great job!

Matt’s Thoughts: Like Wyn said, the images you chose were excellent. In fact, they might have been way too excellent. I was worried the overall sizes of the images might’ve distilled your individual points. Images and graphics are there to help accent and function as as backdrop unless it’s in specific cases (like a screenshot highlight).  

Crutch: 12 or More Songs for a Musical Karazhan
Status: Bottom 2

Another fine example of the sense of humor that has impressed me with all of the entries this week. And a completely unexpected list – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a compilation like this. You also get bonus points for digging up the YouTube links for each and every selection. I do think your writing needs a little bit more polish, but your creativity carries the day for you!

Matt’s Thoughts: First, I want to say that I loved the idea of this post. It was creative. I can’t think of any blogger (right now) that’s written a like this out there that is even remotely similar. Now, while the idea unique, I feel that in the execution it could’ve been better. Big props to you for digging through Youtube and picking out the vids. Good effort and any blogger can tell you that hard work will always trump everything. Don’t be discouraged that you’re in the bottom 2 this week. You’re not a bad writer by any means but it doesn’t mean you can’t improve. Keep reading, keep writing, no matter what.

Veleda: The Humble Checklist
Status: Bottom 2

This post, like last week’s, is a good entry, but still has a very overwhelming feel to it. You make excellent points – the need to prepare adequately for raids, and a very appropriate list with which to do so, and why it’s so important. The list, though, almost gets lost under the weight of the rationale. It almost feels like this could have been split into two posts – the rhetoric, then the list. Your writing mechanics are excellent, and you are very well-informed. I’d love to see a little more of your personality in your writing.

Matt’s Thoughts: This is a great post and I dare say a worthy sticky in any Guild forum that intends to go into raiding. While it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, I was still pleasantly surprised when I saw that I received 2 posts in one. Most lists usually have a number in the heading as an indicator of not what points that readers will read but the amount as well. Guy Kawasaki, when he gave one of his keynote presentations, explained why he presents lists the way he does.

“The audience want to know when [it’s] going to end!”

From a technical stand point, I can’t find any fault with the post whatsoever except it lacked emphasis. Headers, check. Kickass iPhone graphic, check. List tags, check. But you missed out on emphasizing the different points you made.

Tulani

Tulani pulled out this week, due to mounting commitments in real life. You are more than welcome to come back any time and write a guest-post. We will miss you!!!

This week has been great – getting to know each blogger a little better, and to see the direction that they want to take their writing. Both Matt and I have enjoyed each and every one of your articles, and can’t wait to see more from you, both next week, and in the future – whether as the official 3rd blogger, as a guest-poster, or on the forums at Plus Heal. (was that plug subtle enough?)

Thanks again to all of you, and to everyone who reads and comments! We’ll be back this weekend with the official week 2 decision!

SYTYCB: 10 Silly Timewasters

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crutch-post

This is Jen’s SYTYCB week 2 entry.

There is lots of expansion talk right now and with Arthas looming in the not-so-distant future you might be thinking where should I be spending my WoW time?

Do I need to get all my alts to 70 so I have an army to fight the Lich King?

Should I be preparing and gathering to level professions immediately so I can have the first flying carpet on my server?

Are there achievements I would like to have in place before Wrath hits (collecting mini-pets or grinding reputations to exalted)?

While all of these things are fun to do and can help complete some of your WoW-related goals, sometimes we need to be a little silly.  Here is my list of random things to do in WoW that will not progress your character or accomplish anything productive goal-wise. These are purely time-wasters.


Play With NPCs


If you see a pair of NPCs having a conversation, join in! They really don’t mind and it is entertaining for you and everyone around you. You can also slow walk or “RP walk” if you see a group of them going somewhere. I have found they never go anywhere exciting though, and normally end up vanishing into thin air.


Easter Egg Hunt


Have you visited Ophera Windfury or Haris Pilton lately? Blizzard has a great sense of humor and they have hidden pop culture references throughout Azeroth and Outlands. Just spend one hour in Un’Goro Crater and you will see plenty of references and spoofs of old console games.


One-man Bosses


Tanks get to be in the bosses’ face all the time where casters and healers have to take a backseat view to the action. So if you want to see what the boss looks like when angry and what kinds of goofy facial expressions he makes then pose as a tank. I am not saying one-man bosses you KNOW you can kill. This is to one-man bosses for fun and screenshots, not achievement. Be prepared for repairs.


Show Off


Ride around Shattrath on your armored netherdrake or stand in Stormwind with your new shiny epic. If you are the type that thrives on attention and the accolades from others, then this is the time-waster for you. Make sure you answer all whispers with “oh sorry, I was tabbed out” even though you were sitting there just basking in the adoration.

Toon Watch

Do you ever go to the mall and just watch the people shopping? This is similar; watching what goes on in your capital city can be a riot. Seeing how many people try to jump to the very top of the Stormwind fountain can keep you entertained for at least 10 minutes. I don’t think they realize how silly they look. Thanks for the laughs, fountain jumpers.

You Shook Me All Night Long

There are plenty of fun things in the game that can shape-shift you. This can be a noggenfogger party, a furbolg party or a ninja party. Be creative. Make sure everyone brings their favorite mini-pet and vanity items. Hellloooo brewfest pony keg!

Become a Regular

Stay at the same inn every night, or even find an empty building in Ironforge and call it your home. I chose to become a regular at a tavern where everyone knows my name. Who knows, they might start giving you a discount.

Suicide Jumps

This could be considered practice for the new achievements, but I’ve been doing this for a long time just for fun. It certainly helps if you have a way of surviving the fall, for example Priest’s levitate.

Give Me My Greypics

I do not consider myself a role-player, but I do enjoy collecting costumes or sets of grey gear. Instead of chasing epics that will be replaced eventually, why not chase grey sets? It can be fun and your guild can get involved in trying to find certain set pieces you are missing. Caylee is modeling the lovely crochet set.

/join trade

This might be torturous for some, but if you want hear more about Chuck Norris, murlocs or anal [insert spell here] this is the best way to get all of that in one sitting.

Enjoy the game you play. If you do not enjoy dailies don’t do them or find a way to make them more interesting. If stockpiling mats makes you yawn then stop it. If you are not enjoying the game, why are you here? What time-wasters or fun things do you do in game?

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted. John Lennon

SYTYCB: WTB 2m leetsauce DPS 4 MrT, lf uber CC, kkthx!

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This is a SYTYCB entry from Jen who made it to the top 7.

jen-post WoW language… where do I begin? So being a fairly new “gamer” (zomg it’s been a freakin year!) I was lost when I first read trade chat in Darnassus. So many acronyms and so many words I had never heard of in my life. I majored in Literary Studies, so it was incredibly frustrating to me to not understand wth anyone was saying.

For the most part, I’ve overcome these frustrations (thanks to my sponsor and 12-step program,) but there are still things that irk me about WoW-lingo. I honestly don’t know if these terms are exclusive to WoW or part of all MMORPGs, anywhozzle here I go!

Misspelling

I’m kind of a spelling snob; I have a habit of pointing out spelling errors in trade chat on my server, especially if it’s a guild recruitment spam! I have noticed a lot of these WoW terms are just misspelled words that caught on and became accepted gamers’ lingo.

Pwned, Pwn, Pwnt

Is this pawned or owned or a combination? I think either way it’s over-played and over-used, it’s like “Burn” from that Friends episode. If you tell me you pwned me in-game, be prepared for a /glare /slap combo, cause that’s how I roll!

Leet, Leetsauce, 1337

I can only assume this came from elite, but where do we get the sauce? It sounds messy and somewhat disgusting; I get all kinds of visuals that I’m not going to explain here.

And are we really in 5th grade where we are playing with our calculator and trying to spell words with numbers? Remember 55378008…if you don’t, type it in your handy dandy calculator (not the one on your computer you n00b!) and turn it upside down.

Hai

Is this to be cute? Like the “I can haz” crap? Sorry I just don’t get it, first time I saw it I thought the guy was from Hawaii and maybe it was some cultural thing =/

Oh noes!

Admittedly I use this often, especially when I’m trying to get away from CAPSmonster (he’s the rare elite mob that strikes in trade chat and burns everyone’s eyeballs out of their sockets, he’s also the namesake of my 2v2). But where the hell does it come from? Instead of shortening the phrase to make the typing faster we actually add two letters for silliness?

Acronyms

These are probably carried over from other games, but for those who didn’t play these so-called “other games” it’s incredibly annoying and frustrating! The very first day I started playing WoW I saw the acronym LFG and I was too nervous and n00bish to ask what it meant for the longest time.

Common txt lingo (wth, wtf, omg, lol)

I don’t really have any problems with these, I txt probably more than I talk so I’m used to it. Moving on…

WoW specific (dps, cc, wtb, dungeon names)

I know these are necessary, especially in a game where you want to spend more time pew-pewing than typing. Btw dungeon names are normally a no-brainer but for all that don’t know Magister’s Terrace is MrT – nothing else (nightelf mohawk ftw.)

I almost quit the game a couple of times as a low-level since I felt like I entered a world where I didn’t speak the language and I was not given a translation guide.

Hey WoM, make a guide! 😉

Asshats who think they are cool they can acronym anything

These are the people that were put on earth to make me want to go punch a kitten in Elwynn Forest. Stop trying to act like you are cool by making everyone else in the world figure out what the hell you are saying, you suck! Noone is going to pick up on your acronym and start using it; you are not a trend-setter. NP2SW is not the new cool way of saying “need portal to Stormwind”. I’m determined these are the gamers who are 42 years old living at home with their parents trying to get their band off the ground. I hate them, and I put them on ignore!

Emotes

/start rant

If you put a / in front of something it means this is what you or your character is doing or feeling right now. In a game where you can’t convey your true feelings with absolute strangers and you don’t want to type it out just put a / in front of a word and everyone will know what it means. You can also say “slash (insert word here)” in vent and it makes sense!

/rollseyes

/facepalm (spoiler! Coming in wrath!)

/end rant

Vent

There is really only one thing people say on vent that makes me want to QQ and that is “lawls”. Lawls is a misspelling of an acronym that means to laugh-out-loud. If you are laughing out loud and you press your vent key wouldn’t everyone hear you laughing? Apparently not. Instead you press your vent key and say “lawls” which just makes you a freakin liar! You are not laughing out loud at all so don’t say that you are. It doesn’t make any sense. This bugs me cause I love to hear people laugh, it makes me laugh more, and I LOVE to laugh! I laugh a lot and often and I press my vent key when I’m doing it. I NEVER say “lawls”. I also press my vent key when I sneeze…that’s a whole other topic I suppose.

Uber and n00b

I separated these out because I despise them especially. For one, they just sound gross, they both remind me of the word booger and it makes me want to vomit in my mouth. I understand what both terms mean, but I have no clue where they came from so I made some assumptions. Uber comes from some idiot trying to spell super and failing in epic proportions. He was obviously not uber and now he’s doomed to endlessly sift through the trash in the Ironforge Deeprun tram station (dirty, dirty Haggle!). N00b/nub comes from “new player” or “new person” being shortened to save typing time. Nub (rhymes with rub) I think I hate more because again it’s a visual thing and it’s not even pronounced like newb but it means the same thing.

What WoW terms do you love/hate or love to hate? Am I absolutely nuts for the assumptions I made?