Disclaimer

Warning, this post is likely to ruffle a number of feathers and, most likely, place a target squarely on my back for all sorts of people. While I’m perfectly fine with being flamed, chastised, yelled at, or any other descriptor you would like to use, I will not tolerate comments that are not constructive or are excessively antagonistic. This is fair warning that such comments will be removed (something I never do aside from spambots or other such garbage, so I felt a disclaimer necessary before and after this post).

Social Responsibility and Blogging

It appears there has been a ruckus revolving around an incident, of which I will not identify, in the “Azerothian Blogger Community.” The specifics are not something I am interested in exploring, but those familiar with the matter should understand that this is written as an outsider with no affiliation, vested interest, or even remote attachment to any person, party, server, item, place, thing, or any other object, real or imagined, to the aforementioned incident. However, there are things that have arisen that cause me to feel compelled to comment on some general topics as they relate to the matter.

First and foremost, regardless of agreement or disagreement with any stance, action, or thought on the matter, it is important to note that this is not the only situation that has arisen, nor will it probably be the last. This is why there are some things that I feel are necessary to place online for everyone to read and understand (and note that this is generally aimed at public venues):

1. Every person, by interacting with others, should realize that their actions, inactions, words, thoughts, and even their simple appearance, may be perceived completely differently by any and all of those individuals they interact with.
2. Every person should realize that in the course of those interactions things could be perceived as opposites (such as anger for happiness / happiness for anger, fun for griefing / griefing for fun, etc.).
3. Every person should be willing to accept that their stance is just as open to interpretation as the next person’s.
4. Every person should consider whether or not their public discourse is rooted in personal opinion and belief or in the objective viewing of that which their discourse is about, and therefore ensure they maintain that distinction in ensuing conversation about said discourse via respectable and appropriate means (confusing, I know… don’t worry I’ll explain further).

Now, those sound like a detailed explanation of things like “treat others as you want to be treated” and “always strive for the high road,” but the fact of the matter is that these are not the same ideas. This is where I want to use the aforementioned incident to illustrate a point:

• Unintentional “griefing” of a player is still considered “griefing” by the recipient. However, “griefing” is not a definitive term. In short, what every person considers “griefing” is not a standardized, easily defined definition as most would have others believe. Further, “griefing” is not solely an issue in a virtual game environment, but also in any public interaction, whether physical or virtual. For the purpose of simplicity, “griefiing” will be defined here as “any unwanted experience that is not positive in nature to the recipient, regardless of the intentions of the instigator.” In summary, causing a person stress not induced of their own accord would be “griefing.”
• Using the above definition, every single person has, at some point, been on both sides of that scenario, even if unknowingly or unintentionally.

This is where the second aspect of what I want to specifically talk about comes into play: the “Azerothian Blogging Community”

We have defined ourselves as a community. As a group of people with a common interest whose goal is to benefit both the residents of our community and our visitors. To be completely honest, I am appalled to think my name could, in any way, be associated with the “community” after seeing the interaction surrounding the incident that prompted this post.

Let me repeat that, emphasized, so I make sure this part is noticed: I am appalled to think my name could, in any way, be associated with the “community” of Azerothian Bloggers after seeing the way said community treated one of its members.

There is a reason we call ourselves a community. There is a reason places like Blog Azeroth exist. When we choose to become a part of that community, a community that prides itself on fostering interactions and nurturing its members, we have expectations for both ourselves and the others involved. These expectations cultivate our social responsibility to the community:

• We expect to be treated decently (otherwise termed respectfully).
• We expect to learn from others and to be corrected when we are wrong in a manner that does not generate hostility or negativity for our community. (And we do expect to make mistakes.)
• We expect those people who are looked to as role models, pillars of the community, “heroes,” etc., to be able to handle issues tactfully, positively, and respectfully, probably even unfairly compared to newer members, because of their experience and understanding.
• We expect to grow more mature as a result of our mistakes, and to have the guidance of others in our community to ensure we know what are mistakes are in the first place.

Summary

Imagine starting a blog about World of Warcraft and not knowing anything about druids. Now imagine writing a statement about druids based on in-game chatter, or something perceived in-game. Imagine that statement turned out to cause anger or general negativity about what you wrote outside of the game by a member of the Azerothian Blogosphere. Wouldn’t you prefer that your community, in this case the Azerothian Blogosphere, who has touted itself as a group of people who do genuinely want to help each other and foster friendship and cooperation, work with you to educate you first in a friendly and respectable manner, and subsequently the rest of the community and visitors?

Note, I do not care about the incident in question, I do not want a discussion of the details, I do not want an examination of all the bits and pieces… I want to know when this community decided not to educate others when there was an obvious error in judgement and, instead, to make things seem more like personal attacks.

Disclaimer

Warning, this post is likely to ruffle a number of feathers and, most likely, place a target squarely on my back for all sorts of people. While I’m perfectly fine with being flamed, chastised, yelled at, or any other descriptor you would like to use, I will not tolerate comments that are not constructive or are excessively antagonistic. This is fair warning that such comments will be removed (something I never do aside from spambots or other such garbage, so I felt a disclaimer necessary before and after this post).