The timing of this thread couldn't be better. I have been WoW free since Monday and I feel great.
WoW is a great game, better than EQ, but just as 'addictive'. Don't beat me up over the word 'addictive' take it in the spirit its offered: Something, when you leave it, constantly calls you back, consumes your non-playing thoughts, invades your dreams, and makes you forget all the other things going on in your life.
I have been playing every day 4 times a day and for an average of 10-12 hours a day 7 days a week. I've been playing since the game was released (first official release date) and have enjoyed it immensely. I played Halo before that (FPS) and EQ and Age of Empires previous to that. I have the luxury of not having to work, have 2 kids and a wife and thought that I could have my cake and eat it as well...
One thing I haven't noticed in any of these posts. Most hardcore WoW players, truly hardcore won't be weighing in with their opinion, because it would take time away from playing the game! This is the first time I've read Slashdot in many months, let alone posting. One computer is always playing WoW and the other is reading and responding to e-mails and web surfing, but very, very little of either.
My 8 year old son isn't allowed to play during the week (ok a little sometimes during the week), but plays non-stop from Friday afternoon till Sunday. We have fun talking about it, getting into the tradeskill differences and talking about it. I've noticed it's all he talks about anymore - just as that's all I've been thinking about.
When you play a game like EQ or WoW, you don't have time for anything else. You don't go outside, don't play catch, don't hang out with your family, resent having to do anything outside of the game, and you lie to yourself about 'I am balancing the game with the rest of my life'. You don't - you can't. You can't serve two masters. It just doesn't work. Its hard enough to balance work, family, and your own personal time without something which takes up enough time for a full time job.
There are some nice social parts of WoW, I enjoy just hanging out with my guild members, but I've noticed some of the following things:
- I no longer call my friends.
- I am incredibly distracted when anyone calls.
- I am bored whenever I am not playing the game.
- I 'run away' at any possible moment to go play the game.
- I've been working on starting a new company - (last year) and instead of moving forward with it, have stopped completely.
- I spend time with my wife until she starts falling asleep and then run into the office to play for another few hours.
- I feel that I am missing out on life.
- I'm tired of telling people that I play a game all day - and that there is nothing wrong with it.
Believe it or not, I don't feel I have an 'addictive' personality. I have never had a problem giving up anything which was causing me harm, drugs, gambling, etc. I quit smoking 15 years ago (cold turkey) and haven't had more than a pack or 2 a year since. I have a great family, little or no stress in my life, and other than not excersizing much, am healthy.
Another observation: Most of the people that I play with, play all the time. Most of them don't have much of a life outside of the game. All of them complain about the constraints they are under which stop them from playing (school, work, parents). Many of them have lousy low-paying jobs and play the game for 8 hours a day after work. The world of WoW gives a great deal of satisfaction and control over your environment. You have the support of friends, you group with others, you have a wide variety of tactics and most importantly you get constant random ever-increasing rewards.
Anyway - I had a very bad couple of days till Wednesday... Yesterday rocked, and today was better. I've stopped thinking about the game (mostly) and feel free and untrapped. I've started getting done things which have b
I was a Tivo user from almost the beginning. Here are a couple of major issues with Tivo - and why I will NOT recommend them.
1st - Customer support is non-existant. Try calling Tivo - To avoid customer contact they have installed the absolutly worst IVR customer support system. Their attitude over the years has gotten progressively worse - they make Intuit look customer centric customer freindly!
2nd - When new hardware comes out they do not allow the transfer of their service. They have done this during very short periods but they never mention the cost of their 'lifetime' programming in their advertisements... It's pure bait and switch. When the unit wears out or is just not pulling it's weight, fork over money for a new box and a new lifetime contract ($250)
3rd - My biggest problem with Tivo is the automatic downloading of 'enhanced content' (PURE ADVERTISING CRAP). I live in CA and my Tivo would try to change channels on me at 1:17am (4:17 am on the east coast so NY people don't have this problem.) I like to channel surf so hitting the record this show button would lock me into a specific show. I know this does not sound like a big deal, but for years Tivo would make a phone call to download the schedules.... Tivo changed it so that they would piggyback the schedules along with programs that you are forced to download (by it changing the channel without permission).... It trys 3 times after 1am and I am a late night person... Made the system useless for me after all those years.
Bottom line - best software as a PVR, but the good company of yesteryear is absolutly a nightmare to deal with and are lying to their original fans who made them what they are (by recommendations).
I now have a Dish 921 - Dual channel HDTV PVR and it is both awesome and very, very flawwed - but at least they arent changing the rules and ignoreing their customers....
I hated school... Mostly because I was used to 'sliding' through the education process. My teachers never called me on not handing in assignments, and because I was great at cramming and testing I got good grades. Anything which bored me I did poorly in, and anything which required steady work or practice (such as languages) I dropped or got crappy grades.
I went to 4 different universities, and ended up dropping out after 121 credits. When I was studying something I liked, I could concentrate.
I don't think formal education is a waste of time, I think that you get out of it what you put into it. That being said, it seems to me that mostly college is a period of personal growth, binge drinking and drugging, and picking out a future career with very little actual research.
Try to find out what you want in life. Don't just go to college because everyone else does. The posts which talk about B.S. degrees starting at level 13 and Ph.D's start at level 17 scare the crap out of me.
Success has very little to do with your education level and the kind of university you attend. It has to do with your drive and ambition and it mostly has to do with your belief in yourself and how you keep your 'eye on the prize'. A motivated individule can achieve great things - but you have to want to reach your goals.
Hey Grandpa... Are you kidding?
My son went to www.ten.com (thought it was about math)... I went to www.flights.com (a couple of years ago) and got www.flightsoffantasy.com and got a pulsating vagina on my screen!
I love Internet pornography.... But could we have SOMETHING to block my 7 year old from inadvertently seeing a midget sodomizing a goat?
It's not about blocking the 15 year olds... It's about letting little kids be kids for a while. The filters I've used so far are an administrative nightmare, the various filters you can apply are even more so. My 9 year old girl likes to look up things on the net, but I cringe everytime she uses on of my many computers.
What about legally requiring the use of META tags... and at the same time make it illegal at the ISP to block based on page content... Or at least having the HOME pages being 'R' rated... At least on a page by page basis... make the browser filter for the META tags!
Just did the same deal! 2 Raid servers in the closet, bought the ceiling fan - super quiet and about to install it... Have the systems on a KVM, but better than that.... My game machine is in there, with a 20' DVI cable to my office and a single USB cable to the powered hub on my desk. An awesome, loud, game system in the closet - an awesome, quiet, user experience in the home office!
Slashdot Mirror
The timing of this thread couldn't be better. I have been WoW free since Monday and I feel great.
WoW is a great game, better than EQ, but just as 'addictive'. Don't beat me up over the word 'addictive' take it in the spirit its offered: Something, when you leave it, constantly calls you back, consumes your non-playing thoughts, invades your dreams, and makes you forget all the other things going on in your life.
I have been playing every day 4 times a day and for an average of 10-12 hours a day 7 days a week. I've been playing since the game was released (first official release date) and have enjoyed it immensely. I played Halo before that (FPS) and EQ and Age of Empires previous to that. I have the luxury of not having to work, have 2 kids and a wife and thought that I could have my cake and eat it as well...
One thing I haven't noticed in any of these posts. Most hardcore WoW players, truly hardcore won't be weighing in with their opinion, because it would take time away from playing the game! This is the first time I've read Slashdot in many months, let alone posting. One computer is always playing WoW and the other is reading and responding to e-mails and web surfing, but very, very little of either.
My 8 year old son isn't allowed to play during the week (ok a little sometimes during the week), but plays non-stop from Friday afternoon till Sunday. We have fun talking about it, getting into the tradeskill differences and talking about it. I've noticed it's all he talks about anymore - just as that's all I've been thinking about.
When you play a game like EQ or WoW, you don't have time for anything else. You don't go outside, don't play catch, don't hang out with your family, resent having to do anything outside of the game, and you lie to yourself about 'I am balancing the game with the rest of my life'. You don't - you can't. You can't serve two masters. It just doesn't work. Its hard enough to balance work, family, and your own personal time without something which takes up enough time for a full time job.
There are some nice social parts of WoW, I enjoy just hanging out with my guild members, but I've noticed some of the following things:
- I no longer call my friends.
- I am incredibly distracted when anyone calls.
- I am bored whenever I am not playing the game.
- I 'run away' at any possible moment to go play the game.
- I've been working on starting a new company - (last year) and instead of moving forward with it, have stopped completely.
- I spend time with my wife until she starts falling asleep and then run into the office to play for another few hours.
- I feel that I am missing out on life.
- I'm tired of telling people that I play a game all day - and that there is nothing wrong with it.
Believe it or not, I don't feel I have an 'addictive' personality. I have never had a problem giving up anything which was causing me harm, drugs, gambling, etc. I quit smoking 15 years ago (cold turkey) and haven't had more than a pack or 2 a year since. I have a great family, little or no stress in my life, and other than not excersizing much, am healthy.
Another observation: Most of the people that I play with, play all the time. Most of them don't have much of a life outside of the game. All of them complain about the constraints they are under which stop them from playing (school, work, parents). Many of them have lousy low-paying jobs and play the game for 8 hours a day after work. The world of WoW gives a great deal of satisfaction and control over your environment. You have the support of friends, you group with others, you have a wide variety of tactics and most importantly you get constant random ever-increasing rewards.
Anyway - I had a very bad couple of days till Wednesday... Yesterday rocked, and today was better. I've stopped thinking about the game (mostly) and feel free and untrapped. I've started getting done things which have b
I was a Tivo user from almost the beginning. Here are a couple of major issues with Tivo - and why I will NOT recommend them. 1st - Customer support is non-existant. Try calling Tivo - To avoid customer contact they have installed the absolutly worst IVR customer support system. Their attitude over the years has gotten progressively worse - they make Intuit look customer centric customer freindly! 2nd - When new hardware comes out they do not allow the transfer of their service. They have done this during very short periods but they never mention the cost of their 'lifetime' programming in their advertisements... It's pure bait and switch. When the unit wears out or is just not pulling it's weight, fork over money for a new box and a new lifetime contract ($250) 3rd - My biggest problem with Tivo is the automatic downloading of 'enhanced content' (PURE ADVERTISING CRAP). I live in CA and my Tivo would try to change channels on me at 1:17am (4:17 am on the east coast so NY people don't have this problem.) I like to channel surf so hitting the record this show button would lock me into a specific show. I know this does not sound like a big deal, but for years Tivo would make a phone call to download the schedules.... Tivo changed it so that they would piggyback the schedules along with programs that you are forced to download (by it changing the channel without permission).... It trys 3 times after 1am and I am a late night person... Made the system useless for me after all those years. Bottom line - best software as a PVR, but the good company of yesteryear is absolutly a nightmare to deal with and are lying to their original fans who made them what they are (by recommendations). I now have a Dish 921 - Dual channel HDTV PVR and it is both awesome and very, very flawwed - but at least they arent changing the rules and ignoreing their customers....
I hated school... Mostly because I was used to 'sliding' through the education process. My teachers never called me on not handing in assignments, and because I was great at cramming and testing I got good grades. Anything which bored me I did poorly in, and anything which required steady work or practice (such as languages) I dropped or got crappy grades. I went to 4 different universities, and ended up dropping out after 121 credits. When I was studying something I liked, I could concentrate. I don't think formal education is a waste of time, I think that you get out of it what you put into it. That being said, it seems to me that mostly college is a period of personal growth, binge drinking and drugging, and picking out a future career with very little actual research. Try to find out what you want in life. Don't just go to college because everyone else does. The posts which talk about B.S. degrees starting at level 13 and Ph.D's start at level 17 scare the crap out of me. Success has very little to do with your education level and the kind of university you attend. It has to do with your drive and ambition and it mostly has to do with your belief in yourself and how you keep your 'eye on the prize'. A motivated individule can achieve great things - but you have to want to reach your goals.
Hey Grandpa... Are you kidding? My son went to www.ten.com (thought it was about math)... I went to www.flights.com (a couple of years ago) and got www.flightsoffantasy.com and got a pulsating vagina on my screen! I love Internet pornography.... But could we have SOMETHING to block my 7 year old from inadvertently seeing a midget sodomizing a goat? It's not about blocking the 15 year olds... It's about letting little kids be kids for a while. The filters I've used so far are an administrative nightmare, the various filters you can apply are even more so. My 9 year old girl likes to look up things on the net, but I cringe everytime she uses on of my many computers. What about legally requiring the use of META tags... and at the same time make it illegal at the ISP to block based on page content... Or at least having the HOME pages being 'R' rated... At least on a page by page basis... make the browser filter for the META tags!
Opps, forgot to mention... We don't have basements in So. Cal... Damn do I miss my basement!
Just did the same deal! 2 Raid servers in the closet, bought the ceiling fan - super quiet and about to install it... Have the systems on a KVM, but better than that.... My game machine is in there, with a 20' DVI cable to my office and a single USB cable to the powered hub on my desk. An awesome, loud, game system in the closet - an awesome, quiet, user experience in the home office!