acronyms
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Ask Massively: Something approaching a tribute to Safety Dance edition
Safety Dance was a song released by Men Without Hats in 1982. It is astonishing for me to realize this, but there is now a substantial portion of our audience that post-dates not only this song but the entire decade. So allow me to say right now that yes, the 1980s were a real time, they did in fact happen, and if that video doesn't tell you a good portion of what you need to know about that time period, any further elaboration won't make it clearer. OK, maybe one further piece. This week's questions have absolutely nothing to do with dancing, safety, or looking at one's hands. Instead, it's about pricing models for games and the never-ending discussion about where one draws the line between an MMO and something that is not an MMO. As always, you can leave questions in the comment field for next week, or you can mail them along to ask@massively.com.
Breakfast Topic: Using "IRL," IRL
I used to work at a sandwich shop. Yes, I've heard the "make me a sandwich" jokes already. I worked the lunch shift and I had this regular customer who came in a few times a week to get a hummus pita. If you don't know what hummus is, it is a delicious and flavorful spread made of mashed chickpeas and spices. It's often served with pita bread as an appetizer, or as a side or dip for various Middle Eastern or Greek dishes. Anyway, after a few weeks of making the same pita for this woman, she told me "you know, you make the best hummus pita here." I smiled at the compliment and responded, "Well, I just make yours the way I would make my own. I really like hummus IRL." As the last letter of the acronym escaped my mouth, it twisted into an awkward tone as I realized the error in my sentence. Immediately flustered, I stuttered, "Err-- I mean... I like hummus... Uh..." She laughed at me with a smile and replied, "Don't worry, I know what you meant." But my nerdiness was already exposed; I was prone. I sensed an incoming AoO. It never came. At the time I was probably overreacting, granted. The usage of net speak is pretty acceptable and easily understood to the average person these days. "BRB" doesn't bewilder most people, for example. On the other hand, I find myself telling my friends once a month, "I don't feel like going out: girl debuff," always getting mixed responses. Recently, a friend of mine going off to college soon came to me for some advice on dorm living. I told him, "if you want more privacy, just bunk the beds." Before I could continue, he followed up with "oh yeah, that'd block LoS." I stared at him, dumbfounded. Had someone just out-nerded me? So what WoW terminology do you use in your everyday life? How do your friends who don't play WoW react?
WoW Rookie: Gaming terminology 101
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.Probably one of the top requests WoW Rookie gets from new players is a plea for an explanation of WoW and gaming terminology. Even a casual skim of WoW Insider's front page can prove challenging to new gamers. Example: what to experienced players is a routine update on new PTR schedules can be an exercise in frustration for readers who are still sorting out WTT from WTF. ("PTR? WTF?!?") It's not just WoW-specific abbreviations and acronyms that puzzle new players. Add in gaming lingo and internet chat terms, and you have the recipe for a truly intimidating mix.
