Stick a fork in me...

I'm done.... with the blog at least.

For any of you that still have this showing up in an RSS reader, it's time to clean up on the dusty feeds. This one, while it was really fun, has simply proven to be out of my reach to consistently contribute towards.  The WoW blogging community adds an entire dimension to the game -- without bloggers I doubt my WoW experience would have been any where as fulfilling or enjoyable as it has been.

I'm not necessarily done with the game - I still pop in now and again, but I would say that I'm no longer a progression raider and I am firmly entrenched into the casual camp.

My thanks to the readers that supported me with feedback, especially the community at Blog Azeroth.

It's been real, and it's been fun. It's been real fun.

Real ID vs the Avatar

Image by Katayun

When Blizzard announced their Real ID system last July, the WoW community kinda went ballistic. Most of that uproar was based upon Blizz's stated intent that player's real identities would be posted on the forums instead of a character profile. Blizzard relented, and implemented Real ID as an option, but backed off on the forum requirement of showing honest-to-goodness real names.

My local paper had an article on a similar effort where online forums for newspapers are struggling with whether to allow anonymous posting or not.

That article got me thinking about my web activity in general, including WoW, and I have to say that I'm firmly in the anonymous camp on this issue.

My Online ID
When I play the game, I'm my character. I'm referred to both in game chat and in Ventrillo chat as "Peashooter" or even a nickname of "Pea". Yes, my avatar even has a nickname.  See how developed his personality has become! I've shared on this site how I actually become the character in how I interact with players and approach the game.

That approach spans both my in-game and blogging experience. This blog is really Pea's blog. The posts are heavily influenced by his experiences (or the experiences I have had while playing him). I'm kind of like the puppet master: I'm seeing the stuff that happens, yet it's not actually happening to me. I'm even toying with the idea of following Ratshag's approach and having guest posts from Alts (Galertruby's intro is still the best guest post ever!).

Safety in Anonymity
Blogging, as other bloggers may or may not attest, feels risky. You're offering up an opinion or a thought or an observation to the Internet. I feel safer knowing that despite the fact that I'm writing the content and publishing, it's got Pea's name on it. I can hide behind Pea from any backlash. I imagine this is why some authors publish under a pseudonym; if your work sucks, you can blame some other guy for being a fail writer.

Anonymous protection extends to comments or forums, as well. See, when folks disagree, that same level of anonymous protection exists for the trolls to rip you to shreds in the comments for all to see. There is no repercussion and the anonymity protects the poster from real consequence.  And sometimes, trolls can be vicious. I encourage disagreements. Much of the allure in blogging is actual dialogue between the blogger and the readers.  But, personal attacks are pointless and messy. The lack of consequence may embolden the troll. When someone does decide to personally attack me, they are opening up on my avatar, not me personally. I'm in turn shielded by my avatar. Pretty convoluted, eh?

Taking the Step to Real ID
I'll continue to decline to share my real ID with my gaming friends. Part of it is the separation I've imposed on keeping WoW distinct from my family / friends and work. Part of it is security where I just don't want my personal details online. But mostly, it's the element of escapism. I enjoy WoW because I can slip out of my real life for a while and become a virile Hunter. I'm leery of mixing that fantasy with the reality and then somehow polluting one with the other.

How about you guys? Have you tried out RealID? Have you shared actual identifying information about yourself with your WoW pals?

Linked!

The Pink Pigtail Inn had a very timely post on Monday where Larisa discussed both the ego-lifting and ego-shredding aspects of getting attention on a blog due to a link on WoW Insider. I really like it where she says -

Getting link love from WoW Insider is a double-edged sword. Many new bloggers crave for it; they think it would be the best thing ever to happen to their blog, to finally get the chance to reach a bigger audience.

That same afternoon I got linked by the Daily Quest.

Positive impacts? ZOMG, check out the Google Analytics! This little baby blog has existed for less than two weeks, and up to then I was thrilled to see three to eight people actually stop by to read what I was posting. That's a very cool feeling -- other people actually reading what it is that you have to say.

And then, Wham! 2,6000 visitors in two days. Holy. Crap.

Negatives? So far, I've been blessed by a lack of trolls. The folks that have commented have been amazing! They may agree with some points or disagree with others, but it's been a discussion rather than a rant. My favorite part of any blog is reading the responses. Many times, reader comments help me to reconsider or refine the point of the original post. It's the beauty of social networking that it fosters discussion. Of course, I'm still at the micro scale here with the Dummies; we're not talking "hundreds" or even "tens" of comments. Perhaps being smaller helps with the politeness scale? Or maybe it's just that readers are other bloggers? Hmmm....

Anyways, I certainly don't expect to have this level of traffic continue. My analytics in the future are going to show a huge spike followed by a leveling off. I'm not sure I'd even want that kind of traffic to continue.

It's a bit like being a casual player in WoW.  Right now, I can do whatever I want on my blog because there is no expectation of me.  I'm purely in this to divulge my own opinions and observations. Sure, I love it when others want to read that and even discuss it.

However, I'm nowhere near as visible as a blogger with thousands of readers. I have no experience in having an actual audience of readers, but I can only imagine that having an audience does require a semi-regular posting schedule. I suspect that audience desires and expectations would impact both posting schedules but also content (for example, raid strategies or min/maxing DPS strategies). An audience is now counting on the blogger to deliver, and by that same logic you could be compared to a progression raider in the game.

Like how I tied that back in?

In-game, I feel confident that I know how to play Peashooter well enough to try my hand at progression raiding. But, blogging? I'm a total newbie and I need to be hanging out in Dun Morogh learning the mechanics for a bit. Having that many hits seems premature. Great stuff, no doubt, but I don't think I have the actual content for many of those referrals to actually "stick".

But, guess what?  I'm cool with that. I'm still leveling my blog. If I can stick with it, it may go someplace. Who knows?

Hello World!

Introducing.... Me!  I'm Peashooter, a dwarf hunter on the Borean Tundra server. Yeah, yeah, I can hear the groans. "Another hunter blog? Really?"

Yep! Don't make me switch to PVP and slap a Hunter's Mark on you!

Anyway, I've been playing World of Warcraft since just after the Burning Crusade expansion was released. My in-game interests include questing, running instances (at level or older content), raiding, farming reputations, and completing random achievements within the game.

I am guilty of sinking time into the Auction House to a minor extent (just to see what I can do).  My stable of alternate characters helps feed this particular aspect of the game, but they also allow me to lose myself in a different character from time to time.

Outside WoW, I have a family and a career. Working 10-12 hours and spending time with my family, gaming is my third priority. I just don't have endless hours to devote to hard-core gaming, so I proudly wear the often maligned "Casual" title. 

So that's a bit about me. From that, you can get a sense of what this blog will be about. I plan to share about my game experiences, but be forewarned:  I'm mainly doing this to express myself, not write for an actual audience. If any actual people join in on the ride, then that's just gravy!