The Importance of Fun

I've been reading a lot about the reactions to the new LFG system. Most seem to feel it is a definite improvement but that it also makes pugs less civilized. I remember my partner's first reaction was "Awesome! But damn , ninja-ing is going to become a plague." The reasoning there being that because you didn't have realm-related consequences to being a Bad (social consequences), or because people were only civilized due to it being time-consuming to replace players (time-related consequences), bad attitudes would be fostered with the new system.

I don't agree. I think the new LFG system makes WoW more fun, not less, and that there are just as many reasons for being civilized. In my experience, people are generally nicer. And my common sense theory is that the elements that made bad behavior "unprofitable" in the past are still at work, albeit in a different manner. The ease with which a player can be replaced is matched with the ease of finding a new group. This means that being an ass may not cost you a lot of time in finding a replacement for someone you upset, but it also means that if someone's upset, they can easily leave and find a group with more amiable players. And because time-to-emblem ratios have become so low, replacing people is almost always a loss (time-related consequences).

The social consequences may not seem as obvious, and I'm sure they vary between battlegroups. I happen to be on a very competitive one (Cyclone EU) and I suspect that is a big influence. No longer are you merely representing yourself and your guild, but your realm as well, and you've got the chance to show off to players from other realms. With server transfers being such a simple transactions these days, we're becoming more aware of other realms and the top guilds around us, and realms are no longer the isolated worlds they once were. While individually the chances of grouping with a certain person again are very slight, there is still reason to maintain a good reputation, both for the chance of possibly furthering your personal reputation for some good ol' epeen pride, and to enhance the reputation of your guild/realm. Performing well and treating a group with a little civility also increases the chances they'll be happy to re-queue for another instance, saving wait time and uncertainty for further runs.

The basic principle behind it all, in my opinion, is that WoW is a game, and we play because we want to have fun. Bads are not fun at all. You may be running a heroic for frost emblems as a "necessary evil" for something more fun, but the underlying presumption remains that you are trying to achieve something you think is fun, and there's only a certain limit of not-fun anyone is willing to put up with. If your tongue-lashing makes the atmosphere more not-fun than someone's mistake or poor gear, you might not find yourself a part of the group for very long. If your behavior/playing makes the experience not-fun for the others, you'll find yourself teleported home. Some people's tolerance is higher (or their motivation is greater), others' is lower, but ultimately, if the people you play with are not having fun, they'll leave and then you can't have fun either. Very basic playground rules, but ultimately that's what we play by.

So be nice. Because it's fun!