Wargaming ASKEW: A Common Sense Solution
I seem to come here for all my problems. I have a problem with Cosplay I told you about. I have a problem with GW employees I just couldn’t help myself. Well I have another problem. Now my problem involves the Internet and listening to common sense.
The Internet just begs me to play with it. It is like here Tasty don’t you want to see some more Chad Vader I hear it is good again? Or the Internet is like hey did you know that Iceland is on the Mid Atlantic Ridge divergent boundary? It also tells me stuff like what Lady Gaga is wearing and how many times Heidi Montag has been under the knife… if I looked at that sort of thing.
You know what it also does? It gives everyone a voice and in the world of Wargaming that is both powerful and sometimes dangerous. Getting caught in the siren’s call as you jump between forums and blogs looking for advice to better your game playing experience is alluring. Things though can go horribly wrong.
The majority of people drinking the bandwidth of this sweet Internet you would never know were even looking. They are lurking about– plugged in, but not engaged. So when you read this or any other place where us cyber jocks congregate you have to understand that maybe 10% if you are lucky dare to comment.
For most of you this isn’t news, but for someone like me I often forget that very important fact. Really think about it. When you go to a forum and see some dude with 28,000 posts you have to wonder just how big the community really is or how long he’s been using Adderall. All it really tells you is that we have some really devoted folks.
What about the nameless 1000s that are never heard? It might be really scary for those guys, seeing names like Slavetosasquatch or Sweetzombiejesus. You begin to wonder is our view of Wargaming skewed by that 10% that have an itch to share their opinion? An ego can come big or small; from a forum troll that commands authority by his post count to the blogger that is a master of his own domain.
This is not to say Sweetzombiejesus doesn’t have anything to say. Far from it Sweetzombiejesus I am sure gets out reads his rule books, plays his games, and comes back to share his enlighten theories. Sometimes, but not often a few Sweetzombiejesuses drown out other voices or create a voice so strong it sucks in everyone into their sweet siren song. Often, I even get caught up in the siren song lulling me to my doom.
It is when I pause and think of the nameless guy just reading along, looking for that little nugget of advice to take home and try on his buddies. Maybe not understanding the context from which it came nor the its proper application. He can find himself sorely disappointed. Sweetzombiejesus might have the best of intentions, but what he is singing can often hurt more than help. So what can the nameless possibly do?
Stop listening and start playing. Whatever the Internet tells you stay outside that accretion disc otherwise you will be pulled in. Wargaming has too many variables. No matter how good the advice is or how true it can be; there is no better substitute than actually playing the games you love. The best advice comes from those that beat your little plastic men to a bloody pulp, not a faceless screen name telling you something is epic fail. Find out for yourself otherwise you are giving in to the Internet’s naughtier half.
What are the best websites for Wargaming? What Internet advice have you gotten that totally backfired on you? What is the best way to become a better player? As always you are welcome to journey to the naughtier side of the 40k at Blood of Kittens.
