Community: it's what YOU make it.

I took the weekend off from Guild Wars...I'm maxxed out on elite skills, PVE game done, GvG happens on weeknights; and yes I do get tired of all the idiots that are so prevalent in this game.
No insult intended to you good readers here.
So embracing the evil, I got bored and went out and bought WoW. A little cartoony looking after 9 months of EQ2 hell, but I didn't mind.

So I played the first hour until the "golly gee wow!" feeling wore off and... lo and behold; the people in WoW are complete idiots too!
A steady dim glow began to emanate from the 40 watt bulb above my head...

"Maybe the populations across all games are similar regardless of what any game professes to be!"

Those of you who have played multiple titles (such as myself) know this to be true.
That stated, it really comes down to YOU making the best playing environment in whatever game you choose to stay with.
WTH does that mean? Here's a few ideas:

Involvement:

Take initiative and host events; whether for your guild, random pickup groups, whatever. Demonstrate your solid playing skills to the unbelievers - set an example. Make it fun; offer a reward to the "most valuable player" at the end - have the group vote for it.

Play in character; no, I don't mean "Verily let us hasten to dispatch yon foul demons descryed."
I mean, PLAY your character as if it is YOU. Are you cranky? say cranky things when asked. Are you lonely? /sigh and /pout can be humorous. Of course, many of our younger (and not so young) players are complete horndogs...you need to play consistently: never pass up the opportunity for a quickie - even during a mission. Beautiful cleric just die? A simple typed
"Horndoggie begins to have his way with Alesia's corpse..." lets everyone know how amorous you are - and stay at least 50 yards away from you...

Likewise, those of you who must brag about your gear - constantly - fit it into the game: After dispatching a foe, yell "MY godly golden sword of golden showers gives me the POWER!" We'll all be much more impressed than when you jump up and down in the town square stating it.
Actions - then words.

Instruction:

Instruct, instruct, instruct: Any moron can say "U NOOB" and most do.
It takes an extra moment (and an IQ above 40) to state, "Don't charge the whole mass of monsters - we will pick off a few at a time."
If they don't listen....well, this is why Guild Wars really needs a "kick" command. Allowing an entire party to suffer one moron's masochsim needs to end NOW.

Be fair but firm; if someone screws up, (including you) own up to it; Nothing is worse than the player who keeps screwing up but remains in total denial of it. ( I know, I know, I just addressed half the server...) State calmly, "we wiped because the healer, that was you Janee, was over looting corpses during battle." You need to focus on the task at hand.

Reflection:

Keep your criticism CONSTRUCTIVE. Yes, yes, we all know when someone states, "U SUXXOR" this is code for "your current pulling strategy lacks finesse." Be a good player - state the long version. I use the "ask once, tell once method:" Example: Udo the enraged "pulls" creatures to the group by running out, finding as many as possible, and then dumping them on everyone.
First time: Udo, just grab us 2-3; no more than that please.
Second time: Udo, only grab 2 or you are done here.
(again, the kick function needs to happen ASAP.)

Be receptive of criticism; When players state something like, "avoid the trap on the right side - its always there." And you then insist on running through it, you're just being a dickwad. You need to be receptive to the concept of learning as well - there are certainly players much more skilled than you or I.

Conclusion:

So you see, the game is what YOU make of it.
No input yields no output.
No doubt I have planted a seed in your fertile imaginations. What other ideas do you see for improving and involving the community to raise up the standards?

Talesin

WoW?!! I am ashamed to know you, out of the many mmorpg's, you went to WoW to find idiots... tsk tsk

I think that you have posted a great and well-thought out theory about how to make GW (or any other MMOG) a better place to be. If it were up to me, I would have this stickied and placed on the site somewhere. As in real life, the quality of our existence is created and maintained by us.

Well written and hurrah, Talesin. Thank you.

I do everything except play in character. I should though, make things more interesting and get kicks out of the team :>

I totally agree. Actually I'm playing WoW along with GW, but I've never really come across the horribly immature players that everyone says. I've also played EQ, EQ2, FFXI, AO, Jumpgate, and CoH and the games are as fun as you make them.

The only thing I would add to your list is that most game are meant to be enjoyed played through. One of the chief things that spoil a game in my opinion is when the game gets taken over by people who exploit to get ahead. All they are really doing is cheating themselves and others of the way the game was meant to be played. Unfortunately I think the are so many people who have rationalised the end justifies the means in GW that all the fun has been taken out for them. We probably wouldn't have half the issues if people had more patience and just played the game.

"Maybe the populations across all games are similar regardless of what any game professes to be!"

I call this the Counter Strike effect. I remember(Quake 2 & before) a gaming time where game commnities werent so..so... lame. Not to say there werent butheads in gaming but it wasnt a widespread accepted thing like it is now. Believe or not there was a time in gaming that lamers werent so prevalent as they are now. Sounds impossible, sounds incredible, sounds unbelieveable but it is the truth.


Now as for the true subject of your post...
I would agree that anymore a person has to see the positive in things, that ppl have to make the best of things, because the lamers arent going to go away. It is up to the individual gamer to do thier best to make their gaming enjoyable as possible.

Do your best to not lamers get to you, help those that deserve it, have fun!

I couldn't let them get to me if I tried. They make me laugh my ass off at how pathetic they are.

I'm an asshole in real life....I don't think that's gonna help me get into groups

Wait a minute... arnt you the guy who said by adding fees to games "It immediately removes 99.9% of the complete morons currently polluting the game"?... kinda looks like that one back fired on you..

Moving along though, i agree that people are morons and too many people blame each other.. all i ever hear is "Monk heal!", and the monk responds with "Get better armor" and so on.. people need to learn dying is not anyone else fault... except for the bad guys, which is what i always tell people when they start to fight...

Once again you make a good point with everyone always saying "OMG NOOB" with no way to back it up, for example something i hear a lot "How do you do this mission?" or "What is infusion", more often then not someone yells "Noob!"... with no way to prove it... face it, at one time or another you did not know what it was or how to do a mission, so zip it.. not to mention that is not even the proper way to use the word "Noob"... may as well call him a kangaroo

Voting system is great.. didnt work too well in Zelda four swords, but its funny to hurt your friends in that game... the only problem with the voting system is if someone gets voted as "worst" they always get angry.. but luckly this is an online game and you may never see them again... Voting system sounds great, as long as monks dont always make first place just for doing their job (i say this as a monk myself)

I agree with having to keep criticism constructive.. but only when its needed, i hear enough "your gay" "your mom" and any other combination of the words "mom", "gay" and "your", while i dont agree with people fighting in game, I undersand sometimes a nice smack across the back of the head using words, is needed.. just try to keep it original

A very well written, and thought out commentary sir. I commend you on your efforts. If only there was any chance that a significant number of people will take it to heart. Unfortunately, most will just give you the highly intelligent "stfu" and continue to ruin the game for the rest of us. Some of us are trying though, and we'll keep spreading the word.

I have FFXI and played it for about a year (Got a WHM50, RDM50, BLM32 as Taru), and I must say it is the biggest grind I have ever experienced in my entire gaming experience. I am very sad that I quit it though because it's FF and I love the series to bits, but I just could not take the massive TNL's (exp to next level), very small exp points for monsters that take about 10 minutes to kill and most of all the damned exp penalty which could level you down.

I thought about getting WoW too because most of my friends on IRC play it, but I just believe it would be as bad as FFXI, so I got Guild Wars instead. It is pretty short and easy and there is hardly any grind (there are a few though, e.g. secondary missions [Divinity Coast to name one, which I still have not completed yet ]).

I wish more major aspects of FFXI could be in GW to make me feel more at home, for example, Auction Houses, Bazaar's and Night and Day.

I'm still smoldering from the fires from that one...sometimes you have to be willing to take a little heat in order to present an idea however!
And of course, just because something isn't popular doesn't mean it doesn't have merits.
Actually, too often, people make perfectly legitimate well thought out posts here and are flamed to high hell for it...

Btw..thanks everyone!

Thanks indeed. I know a troll when I see one, and you just reared your head...again...with that post