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Breakfast Topic: The cult of Warcraft


In some ways, WoW is like a cult. We still need an agreed-upon secret handshake or sign, but we already have our own language. I distinctly remember playing a tabletop RPG with friends before my WoW days; we were sitting around chatting, and I realized that I had no idea what anyone was saying. The conversation was filled with DPS, HoTs, BRD, UBRS, tank and spank, kiting, honor kills. It was a different language; I couldn't follow it at all.

I suddenly realized, "Dear god, this must be what it feels like to be a non-gamer."

Of course, now I can slip into the cult-like language of WoW with the best of them, and it's a slippery slope. It sneaks into your brain in insidious ways and slips out at the oddest times. I once emailed a client about a project they wanted me on and accidentally signed it "Frostheim." That one took some explaining.

I have a friend who started dating a woman with two girls. One day she said, "I'm taking the girls up for their bath." He responded, "Honey, what level do the girls have to be before they can take a bath on their own?"

Have you ever accidentally slipped up and used WoW-speak in your everyday conversation? Did it identify you at once as a member of the cult of WoW or just confuse people?