The E-Ho game

Today, on WoW Insider, we stalk the ubiquitous "E-Ho."

We've all see the night elf female with white hair dancing in her Black Mageweave armor for "donations," or laughed at the forum threads involving girls (who are usually guys) that cyber in unfortunately public areas. Everyone pretty much takes these as part of WoW. But what about that girl who's always in private chat with the raid leader and tends to get more raid invites than the other hunters? Or the priest who's last on the healing meters, but first to have half the guild pass on items for her? Or the drama-prone tank who's gquit five times over "people being mean"?

These are all varieties of one of the loudest and most colorful species of the WoW player kingdom, the E-Ho. While one may consider an E-Ho to be someone who sleeps with another WoW player, that is not always the case. Many lovely relationships (and hilarious one-night stands) have been borne from shared late-night Scholo runs or a chance meeting at the BRD bar in a pick-up group. When you crowd a large amount of young, hormonal people into a place – even a place as big as Azeroth – certain things tend to happen.

No, an E-Ho is an entirely different creature. Simply put, an E-Ho is a girl who thinks that being female entitles her to receive more loot, prestige, or raid invites than other guild members. Examples of E-Hos include:

E-Hos may seem harmless, except when their drama breaks apart a guild, but they can make playing WoW a living hell for non-Ho female players. Guy players who become accustomed to E-Hos may expect every female player to "show pix" on a guild application or flirt on AIM. And on the other hand, smart guys who have known and hated E-Hos in the past may be hesitant to let female players in their guild, and they may constantly be on watch for flirty behavior.

All of this leaves friendly female players with a dilemma: Do you be yourself and risk being seen as an E-Ho, or do you be aloof and get a reputation as an ice queen? If I give this druid advice about his job search, will he think I'm flirting? If I go to another channel to talk about specs with this rogue, will everyone else in the guild think we're cybering?

Because of situations like this, E-Hos must be flushed out of guilds as soon as possible. Since E-Hos thrive on attention, ignoring them will make them go away – but be careful they don't take some of your best players with them. Another strategy for dealing with E-Hos is to "up the ante." If they post pictures of themselves nude, post pictures of yourself nude, preferably in an unattractive position, and invite your guild to compare. If they give out their phone numbers in Vent and ask you to call, call and begin a long discussion about quantum physics or what color the sky is. The E-Ho will become frustrated at your "lack of appreciation" for her, and should leave in a huff after making a fool of herself.

Have you encountered any members of this wild and wooly species?