“Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” — Plato

I’ve been trying to decide today which of those categories I fit in. I generally feel that I have a certain amount of wisdom to impart. That being said, I sometimes post here or chat with someone just to say something, not that I have something to impart. However, I like to think I’m usually saying something because i have something to say.  A timely story on this topic has me irked:

In my guild (in World of Warcraft) I am generally a bit quiet, I don’t get to play as often as many people, I don’t know everyone, and I don’t know the guild master (GM) very well at all. He has just returned to that position after a hiatus of some length at which time a really great couple of guys took over, but recent circumstances led them to stop. One quit the game altogether because of real life and another game capturing his attention. The other stepped down because of the pressure plus real life stuff.

The guild has been going through some turmoil as of late due to a change in the way the game is set up to play for people at the top level. An expansion came out that really changed everything. Some people love it, some don’t. A bunch of bitching and moaning commenced about people feeling left out or ignored and unimportant, and some people left the guild (including my daughter) amidst some harsh feelings toward the guild as an entity. Okay, fine, that is going to happen when changes come along. Nobody is going to be happy all of the time, and some people aren’t going to be happy most of the time, and some people will have no problem most of the time. It’s the nature of people in response to change to feel uneasy, to feel protective of what they have, to want to feel important.

Anyway, our new-again GM has made some changes recently to the set-up of the guild in order to delegate some of the responsibility to the lower levels and not have to make all decisions personally or as a council of officers. More changes to a group of already unsettled people. My M.O. is to kind of sit back, let it all settle out a bit, and then see where things are going. I will step in to make observations as I see a need, but otherwise, I just don’t get involved in all the drama. My play time is short enough without all that crap.

All this to say that last night a decision was made by a lower level person that didn’t hold up at all with the rules as they have been told to us time and time again about something. It was a decision that I felt was perhaps hasty and not well thought out. I knew it would ruffle feathers. So, I sent a private message to the new GM asking if the rules had changed and pointing out that it was bound to cause problems for some people who have been on the effected side of those rules to see them suddenly circumvented by one member who was recently given some power. I pointed out that those same rules had been very frustrating for me, not to complain, but to give an example of why some people would be mad. After all, he’s been out of the game and the group for a few months. 

Today he posted on our guild forums a post about belly-achers and complainers being about 5% of any group, and that when changes are made they inevitably float to the top of the pool. That he wasn’t going to put up with those types. That it was HIS party and he would see fit to uninvite anyone who wanted to carry on that way, in order to keep the party fun and going.

Was I one of the 5%? I don’t know. I sent him a message via email today asking, with the message that I don’t complain, I observe, and if he didn’t want my observations that was fine, i’d keep them to myself, and if he didn’t want me “at the party” to let me know. We’ll see. I’m not so sure I want to be at his party in any case… the host is kind of a jerk if you ask me.

There are other parties going on besides his, and I can find my fun elsewhere.