double-standard
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The Daily Grind: Are our standards for MMOs getting higher or lower?
Here's an interesting conundrum: Are our standards for MMOs getting higher or lower? In a way, I can see both from the general tone of dedicated MMO fans. On one hand, it certainly seems as though the community demands much more from newer MMOs and has far less patience for mistakes than ever before. It's no longer enough for MMOs to simply be "massive" and "online"; they must contain a wide range of features to satiate all playstyles -- and it all must be highly polished and quickly accessible. But on the other hand, I've seen complaints that MMOs have been dumbed down to meet the expectations of gamers who don't want to struggle with learning intricate games -- they just want to get in and play. Plenty of MMOs have simplified systems in order to appeal to the widest possible audience, which may signify lowering standards overall. So what do you think: higher or lower? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Exodus punished for exploiting Yogg-Saron encounter
As previously reported, there were accusations that US guild Exodus used an exploit to obtain the World First of the last unclaimed Hard Mode in Ulduar -- Alone in the Darkness. As it turns out, these accusations were true and blue poster Daelo posted on the official forums that the Yogg-Saron encounter was hotfixed on all servers to prevent this from happening in the future. Owing to this, Exodus' kill is no longer recognized by some achievement trackers.Contrary to some reports, however, Exodus released a statement on their website that members of their guild were not banned, clarifying that Blizzard meted out a 72-hour suspension for their abuse of game mechanics. They argue that the encounter wasn't beatable to begin with, similar to the C'thun fight in Ahn'Qiraj before it was fixed, prompting the exploit. In the same statement, Exodus also points at Ensidia's arguably hypocritical stance of complaining about the abuse considering Ensidia used similar questionable methods to achieve other World Firsts. Serennia mentions this behavior in his column at wowriot, as well, bringing into question Blizzard's apparent double standard when meting out punishment.
