Massively Multiplaying MeFites?

June 23, 2006 12:21 PM

MeFites in MMOs? Based on some of the comments in this thread (and others, others and still others), it is an easy guess that Metafilter has substantial representation in many a server-based world. So confess. Where do you spend your virtual time? Is it WoW? Is it CoH or CoV? Is it KoL? Is it EVE? Who knows ... there might be some untapped potential here.
posted by grabbingsand to MetaFilter-Related at 12:21 PM (149 comments total)

For example, Joey Michaels and I have been attempting (for months it seems) to establish a MeFi supergroup on the Victory server in City of Heroes. If anyone is interested, just send a tell to the mighty Mojito and we'll make you a card-carrying member of The MeFites.
posted by grabbingsand at 12:21 PM on June 23, 2006

I'm a casual WoW dork.
posted by cortex at 12:35 PM on June 23, 2006

I play World of Warcraft on Eitrigg, a PvE server in North America.
posted by chunking express at 12:36 PM on June 23, 2006

I waste my Monday-Thursday nights playing WoW on Zul'Jin with a raiding guild (Undaunted). Used to play a lot of BGs, but I joined them after getting one-shotted by über-l33t UD rogues who GY camp and alliance generally sucking in BGs. Feel free to drop my toon a tell:
Zealeuswa
posted by jmd82 at 12:39 PM on June 23, 2006

62 Enchanter on EQ (Maelin Starpyre) (currently retired)
35ish Pally on EQII (Butcherblock)
57 Mage on WoW (Spinebreaker)

Various alts of all three and on a few different servers. I'm not currently playing all games, I tend to switch back and forth. I had something on SWG, but they screwed it up and I won't play. I tried Lineage, DAoC, and I still have a character on Guild Wars, but WoW and EQII are the ones I'm messing with most right now. Oh, along with the significant other, of course.
posted by jennaratrix at 12:39 PM on June 23, 2006

I'm planning on buying this game called "Law Firm," where you have to complete billable work to earn career points. It comes out in September, but I'm already planning on outsourcing the virtual document review to a click-worker in Bangalore. Hmm, I wonder if I can buy a book of business on ebay?
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:42 PM on June 23, 2006 [1 favorite]

Will have my third 60 in WoW on Windrunner in a couple weeks.
posted by Binkeeboo at 12:44 PM on June 23, 2006

used to KoL, but these days it's EVE, thanks mostly to that article posted on mefi a month or so back.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 12:45 PM on June 23, 2006

Oh, and occasional Hold 'Em sessions on Puzzle Pirates.
posted by cortex at 12:46 PM on June 23, 2006

I am playing Travian a lot Monday-Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm EST on servers 5 and 6. Does that count?
posted by ND¢ at 12:48 PM on June 23, 2006

Har har, monju_bosatsu. Don't hate on gamers because you chose to go into a workaholic career field :P

I play somewhere between casual and "omg my life has been completely taken over" on WoW (Kirin Tor server). I suffer from occasional altitis, but lately have been good at focusing on my 57 Fury warrior and my "main alt", an 18 paladin. My (casual, light RP) guild has occasional Horde nights (we're mostly Alliance) so I have a 25 troll shaman as well.

The problem with WoW is there are so many damn servers, the chance of anyone else you know being on your server is extremely low, and rerolling is a pain.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 12:49 PM on June 23, 2006

Is the excessive use of TLAs¹ meant to filter out those who aren't part of your WLW²?

1 Three-letter abbreviations
2 Weird Little World
posted by timeistight at 12:55 PM on June 23, 2006

Personal Disclosure:
WoW:
Tithe - level 27 human priest on Zul'jin
Filet - level 7 Tauren druid on Eitrigg
CoH:
Suspicion - level 50 blaster on Victory, as well as Mojito, Burn Unit, The Cheddar Master and several other alts on the same server.
posted by grabbingsand at 12:56 PM on June 23, 2006

timeistight: I think the OP was trying to be silly with that. Plus, if you don't know what they mean, chances are you play none of them, and thus the post isn't directed at you...;)
posted by cyrusdogstar at 12:57 PM on June 23, 2006

It's a good thing Blizzard designed the game so your characters are split up and locked down across various servers, otherwise this might be trivial to accomplish.
posted by prostyle at 1:02 PM on June 23, 2006

Also, Mefites in MuMus?
posted by ND¢ at 1:02 PM on June 23, 2006

What, no enthusiasm for a massive reroll on a specified server? We could all be gnomes, and we'd stand around chattering like ninnies and getting nothing done. On purpose.

And we'd have a No Clothes rule. Hats, gloves, boots? Okay. But cloaks and pants and chestpieces are RIGHT OUT.

I keep saying it—within ten years, the MMO model will be successfully and ubiquitously merged with the chatroom to a degree only hinted at today. People will pay nominal monthly fees for the right to stand around chatting in a 3-space—the concept of "game" will be tertiary at best.
posted by cortex at 1:06 PM on June 23, 2006

I have a 56 rogue and a couple alts on the alliance side of WoW's Bloodhoof server. I also rolled on Dentarg (a newish server) to try out horde side on a pvp server, but I doubt i'll do much with that.
posted by greasy_skillet at 1:07 PM on June 23, 2006

Cortex, they've had that idea for years now! Seriously. But I think you're right that in another few years it will be both feasible (well, it pretty much is now...) and something the average IM user today could wrap their head around and would want.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 1:11 PM on June 23, 2006

I have a level 58 troll.
posted by dios at 1:12 PM on June 23, 2006

KoL players, come join the Sock Monkey Mafia clan! We need new blood.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:13 PM on June 23, 2006

The future is here.
posted by ND¢ at 1:15 PM on June 23, 2006

EVE and in the very near future, WoW. My EVE main is named AsSalaam, and if you are in BoB then you will die a slow and painful death at the hands of the dark lord.

I keep saying it—within ten years, the MMO model will be successfully and ubiquitously merged with the chatroom to a degree only hinted at today. People will pay nominal monthly fees for the right to stand around chatting in a 3-space—the concept of "game" will be tertiary at best.

How is this not Second Life?

posted by public at 1:16 PM on June 23, 2006

Mmm... travian. I'm currently ranked #846 on server 3.

And I used to play KoL.

The theme is that I like cheap online games.
posted by GuyZero at 1:17 PM on June 23, 2006

I play an unholy amount of WoW these days. 60 dwarf hunter on Dark Iron.

Seems like there are quite a few WoW players here. What if we all rolled some alts on a new server, and started up a guild?
posted by Drunken_munky at 1:23 PM on June 23, 2006

It's Clan Lord for me. And I'm not ashamed.
posted by thinman at 1:24 PM on June 23, 2006

How is this not Second Life?

Second Life isn't ubiquitous. Your mom doesn't use Second Life. Second Life doesn't come preinstalled on Dells. Most people haven't heard of Second Life. Second Life isn't tied transparently to legacy IM software. Etc. I'm talking ubiquity. I'm talking boutique IM experiences for the masses. Metaverse, yo.
posted by cortex at 1:25 PM on June 23, 2006

I'm just getting into WoW, thanks to my boyfriend, very shiny! I have my two characters on Elune (a 15 Tauren shaman and an 18 Night Elf hunter), but I would consider starting another character/realm if there was some interest in a MeFite guild.
posted by nelleish at 1:25 PM on June 23, 2006

Totally on-board with an all-MeFi WoW guild - pick a server and a side, and I'm there.
posted by jennaratrix at 1:28 PM on June 23, 2006

I've never rolled on a PvP server (lol carebear, I know) so if there was interest in a MeFi guild on one of those, I might sign up. I love my current guild to death, though, so I can't promise tons of time, but certainly some.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 1:28 PM on June 23, 2006

if you don't know what they mean, chances are you play none of them, and thus the post isn't directed at you...;)

That's what I figured.
posted by timeistight at 1:30 PM on June 23, 2006

OMG I just noticed dios - a level 58 troll. Ahahahahahaha!
posted by jennaratrix at 1:30 PM on June 23, 2006

Someday, grabbingsand and I will even be online at the same time and I'll be able to join the group.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:33 PM on June 23, 2006

I love my current guild to death

Me too. I was thinking about something super casual. What do you guys reckon, Alliance or Horde?
posted by Drunken_munky at 1:33 PM on June 23, 2006

Cortex: They (the royal they) have tried that several times (as on preview everyone else seems to have pointed out). I remember several 3d chat rooms circa 1996 that were just awful. Having watched other people play WoW... the graphics have improved, kind of...

I play none of these games, I came for my daily dose of undecipherable TLAs and dragon slayer mocking. Our resident WoW/EQII player recently left the company so I felt the need to relive the nostalgia, virtually, of course.
posted by togdon at 1:35 PM on June 23, 2006

I swear to god I know it's been tried. It continues to be tried. It will be tried in the future. I'm saying eventually it'll stick. I am PREDICTIFYING over here, dammit!
posted by cortex at 1:38 PM on June 23, 2006

Me too. I was thinking about something super casual. What do you guys reckon, Alliance or Horde?

Don't care overmuch, I prefer Alliance for some reason, but then feel guilty about not playing Horde, so the more Horde I play, the more well-rounded a WoW player I'll be.

If anyone who spends an inordinate amount of time in a virtual world can be called "well-rounded", that is.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 1:43 PM on June 23, 2006

Alliance seems to be an overabundance of teenagers and idiots (in the interests of full disclosure, all my characters right now are Alliance, so make of that what you will). Horde always wins BGs, I'd like to play a(n ugly) characater on the winning team for a change.

Just my .02, I'll go with the majority.
posted by jennaratrix at 1:44 PM on June 23, 2006

Or even a character. Stupid fumblefingers.
posted by jennaratrix at 1:44 PM on June 23, 2006

No preference with regards to Alliance or Horde, although it would be funny if we were all gnomes. With pink hair.
posted by nelleish at 1:47 PM on June 23, 2006

*attacks dios' troll with level 62 securities litigator*
posted by monju_bosatsu at 1:51 PM on June 23, 2006

I vote Horde.
posted by public at 1:56 PM on June 23, 2006

Since it appears some of the possible MeFi-guildies are already in guilds and wouldn't be able to dedicate much time (myself included), how about a MeFi BG farm team? Get up to level 19 or 29 where we can play as a team and win!
I'd be up for a Horde alt as I've always played alliance.
posted by jmd82 at 2:04 PM on June 23, 2006

i use to have a level 60 tauren hunter on stormrage (and various alts of different levels) but i gave up on WoW because raiding for purple 2% drops for weeks and weeks wasn't my idea of a good time.

(horde >>>> alliance though the alliance has a more indepth story, etc)
posted by Stynxno at 2:11 PM on June 23, 2006

If anyone is interested, just send a tell to the mighty Mojito and we'll make you a card-carrying member of The MeFites.

The MeFites. Now THERE'S a good name for a garage band...
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:14 PM on June 23, 2006

I've been thinking about getting back into WoW, and possibly my wife as well. We'd reroll on a new server with no isses.

Currently retired on Whisperwind are:

Uglach - L53 Orc Warlock
Zuwammi - L32 Troll Mage
posted by WinnipegDragon at 2:14 PM on June 23, 2006

I play Wow on Thunderhorn and Mug'thol servers, primarily. Mug'thol's PVP, so I play Horde side, but on PVE and RPing servers I tend to play both sides.
posted by Deoridhe at 2:15 PM on June 23, 2006

Oh, and monju, the Vote Commander series totally beats the pants off of Law Firm.
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:21 PM on June 23, 2006

Any of you WoW folks roll Alliance on Muradin and I'll guild ya. Just drop me an email.
posted by majick at 2:30 PM on June 23, 2006

I just started playing WoW.

Nieriel - Level 15 - NightElf Hunter
Rhowyn - Level 6 - Human Warrior
Pynk - Level 3 - Gnome Mage
(Earthen Ring server)

I'm game to do a Mefi character. I like Gnomes with "pynk" hair, heh. If we do Horde - maybe the Undead? Appropriate, eh?
posted by deborah at 2:35 PM on June 23, 2006

"Since it appears some of the possible MeFi-guildies are already in guilds and wouldn't be able to dedicate much time (myself included), how about a MeFi BG farm team?"

This is a good idea. I do lots of end-game raiding, so I don't have much interest in switching servers to play a main. But taking a day here and there to play some BG toons wouldn't be hard at all.
posted by Binkeeboo at 2:42 PM on June 23, 2006

I agree with the farm team concept :) So I guess we just need to settle on faction and server. Not too hard, only ~2^120 possibilities there ;)

I would wager that one of the newer RP-PVP servers might be best; RP servers, while by no means immune to it, tend to have at least slightly less asshattery. Then again if we're just there for BGs it doesn't really matter.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 2:49 PM on June 23, 2006

I'm on WoW, Frostmane server, Horde side. I have a 60 Troll Warrior (Pombe) and a bunch of alts. My guild is sort of disintegrating, and so I'd be up for rerolling on a new server. I've always wanted to try RP-PVE as it's supposed to have fewer asshats but I don't know if that's true.

The comments about horde always winning in BGs are funny as on my server alliance totally owns in the 60 BGs.
posted by pombe at 2:49 PM on June 23, 2006

The only problem I'd have with an RP server is that I....... Role play? Ick.

But I'm up for anything I guess.

Lately I've been spending time playing a Horde alt on Lightbringer since it seems to be up when others are down. That's PST PVE medium population. No idea how the PvP or BG action is there.
posted by Binkeeboo at 3:02 PM on June 23, 2006

CoH! Actually, it's on a friend's account and I'm about to move, but I'll look for you guys on Victory. (I've got a level 39 def on Virtue.) I'll start a toon and beg you for inf and enhancements this weekend!
posted by bardic at 3:04 PM on June 23, 2006

Hahaha. No. You don't have to roleplay on RP servers, and most people do not, in fact. The main point of RP servers is that if you've cheesed off an anal-retentive RPer, and if the GM they get ahold of is also an anal-retentive RPer (or if you're actually doing something incredibly lame, like spamming anachronisms mixed with curse words in /say)...you can get reprimanded/banned/whatever. On a normal, non-RP server, that can't happen--you can only get in trouble for cheating, really.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 3:14 PM on June 23, 2006

o_O What the hell just happened there? The comment I copied and italicized is gone, and instead my entire reply is italicized. The live preview looked fine too. *cries*

I was replying to Binkeeboo, if it wasn't obvious.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 3:15 PM on June 23, 2006

*attacks dios' troll with level 62 securities litigator*

*uses attorney client privilege, first and fifth amendments as both sword and a shield*
posted by kosem at 3:21 PM on June 23, 2006

I'm a level 3 pansy on Guild Wars: Factions.

Get with this before I PK your sorry elf ass.
posted by rks404 at 3:32 PM on June 23, 2006

I play Puzzle Pirates, that's about it, really.

But if you want to rumble, looking me up on Midnight. My pirate name and my mefi name are the same.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:33 PM on June 23, 2006

I play a lot of CoH. I have a 50 defender and a 42 brute on infinity, and various other alts. When server transfers are finally added, I'd be happy to jump over to Victory.

I played a hunter in WoW up to level 40, but then I got bored. I loved exploring, but the actual gameplay and combat wasn't so hot.

The fact that I know server transfers are planned is not because I happen to be a programmer at Cryptic Studios. Certainly not.
posted by JZig at 3:36 PM on June 23, 2006

*uses attorney client privilege, first and fifth amendments as both sword and a shield*

*invokes Thompson memo, requires that parent company waive privileges and refuse to reimburse legal expense*
posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:45 PM on June 23, 2006

I love KoL. Feast of Boris!
posted by nuala at 3:49 PM on June 23, 2006

You lawyers aren't exactly erasing sterotypes re: capacities for humor here.
posted by bardic at 3:51 PM on June 23, 2006

Humor? Please define.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:59 PM on June 23, 2006

*PKs bardic*

*drafts memorandum re same*
posted by kosem at 4:02 PM on June 23, 2006

You people don't get it!!! They're going to bill you for all the hours they play "Law Firm" If you don't pay them enough ISK they will take out a lein against your "Twig of the World Tree" and garnish the profit from your loon ninjaing cooperative.
posted by Megafly at 4:23 PM on June 23, 2006

Not that it makes a difference either way, but there is a WoW server called "Laughing Skull." Might be a suitable home for a Horde of MeFites.
posted by grabbingsand at 5:23 PM on June 23, 2006

I played WoW on the Whisperwind server for a good long while.

Undead Mage named Arundel, a founding member of the Ixtlan guild. I was like the 5th or 6th mage to 60 on the server. Good times.

We blasted our way through MC, BWL and Onyxia.

Most of that guild migrated from our old EQ server (Veeshan). I retired EQ around the time the second expansion came out. It just got too... um... too much. We all kept in touch via private message boards and started WoW together.

Eventually, life just got too hectic and I couldn't keep up a raiding schedule. Being that raids are what make the game fun to me, I decided to retire rather than run through the same old 5 man instances or raise a passle of alts.

WoW was a lot more my speed than EQ was (though I don't think any MMO will ever capture that same feeling of "bigness" as when EQ was brand new), and I may still go back and eventually come out of retirement. I still keep in touch with the guildies. Or I may just wait until the next game comes around and catch back up with everybody then.

Until then, Arundel and Erzsebeta lie peacefully retired on Whisperwind.
posted by kaseijin at 5:40 PM on June 23, 2006

OMG, grabbingsand! That's awesome. I had a level 5 undead priest I used as a mule named "Mojito"... and a tauren mule named "Pabst"....
posted by kaseijin at 5:48 PM on June 23, 2006

The thought of a bunch of mefites playing EVE together (actually, against each other) is scary. Scary in a good way. (Never played it myself, but it sounds cool in light of this FPP.)

The grey is already a PvP zone as far as I'm concerned.
posted by bardic at 5:57 PM on June 23, 2006

Happy Feast of Boris! Tofurkey legs and can-shaped gelatinous cranberry sauce all around!
posted by UKnowForKids at 6:21 PM on June 23, 2006

Well, I'd be totally in for rerolling on a new server to guild up with mefites, horde or alliance so let me know.
posted by greasy_skillet at 7:11 PM on June 23, 2006

This comes up periodically. And, as far as I know, no mefi guilds have really taken off because people are spread across too many servers. The only way it will happen is if we could get a core of, say, at least 30 people that will immediately re-roll on a new server. Otherwise, there's little incentive for anyone to play on the mefi guild server. I don't see this happening. As prostyle says, if we could move characters to a mefi server, that'd be different.

Now, Eve, on the other hand—with only one game universe, by necessity all mefites on Eve could group together (for a company or however that works). But then, Eve is a niche MMORPG.

It's frustrating because of course there's a bazillion mefites playing WoW and most of us like the idea of a mefi guild.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 9:30 PM on June 23, 2006

Paid character transfers may be coming soon.

Also, 51 Tauren Warrior on Whisperwind named Ratherbrute.
posted by erebora at 12:20 AM on June 24, 2006

I've been playing on Twisting Nether, but count me in for re-rolling as well!

/thank
posted by Hlewagast at 4:16 AM on June 24, 2006

I play Wow semi-casually, and I'd totally be up for a mass reroll for a new guild. I think I may be kind of in the minority as far as MMORPG players are concerned, but I actually like the bootstrapping process.
posted by EarBucket at 4:28 AM on June 24, 2006

I play CoH/CoV and can be reached @Marit. If/when server transfers become a reality, I'd be happy to pop someone level-appropriate over to Victory. Currently I play on Virtue and Protector.
posted by Marit at 5:42 AM on June 24, 2006

I say with some amount of shame that I am active on the Argonessen and Sarlona servers on Dungeons and Dragons Online. I mean, come on! No item creation, extremely low level cap, and no dynamic marketplace - what's not to love!
posted by absalom at 10:08 AM on June 24, 2006

I started playing WoW very casually, like 1 or 2 hours every other day. I think it is hard meeting people on there because there are so many and I always seem to run into the hardcore power gamer ones. A good guild would help with that I assume.
posted by Hypharse at 12:56 PM on June 24, 2006

I played EQ from RoK to PoP, most heavily during SoV. I played a Monk on Torvo first in Soul Cadre then Blades of Wrath.

I'm still playing EQ2 (still a monk), though not very much. Usually solo or I mentor my girlfriend's templar. I'm on the Guk server.
posted by chndrcks at 2:22 PM on June 24, 2006

I'm thinking a WoW guild won't happen unless somebody just makes a decision, so unless anyone has an objection, I'm going to throw this out there:

Maelstrom server, Alliance side. First meeting Monday night at 9:00 EST. Make a character, get them up to level six, and we'll meet up in the inn in Kharanos. If there's sufficient interest, we'll go from there.
posted by EarBucket at 3:10 PM on June 24, 2006

hah. That sounds good Earbucket. Hopefully I can get one up to 6 by then. Count me in.
posted by Hypharse at 6:11 PM on June 24, 2006

WinnipegDragon: I've been thinking about getting back into WoW, and possibly my wife as well.

It's going to have to be one or the other, WD, you can't get back into both. That's kind of why I quit WoW and went back to CoH which can be played casually. Also I run a variant law firm server ("litigation boutique v. 2.0") with just a dozen or so other players -- that's really the only way to play that game, amass plenty of gold and still have a life.
posted by The Bellman at 8:04 PM on June 24, 2006

Earbucket, when I wrote that this has come up before, I meant that the actual establishment of a mefi guild on some server has happened before. There's one I started that has(had) about 14 members. That's not even close to enough, considering that almost all of those 14 mefites had primary characters they were playing on other servers. Having 14 or so active mefite guildmembers on a server meant that you'd usually see maybe 5 people online at one time at the most, and of those 5, at most 3 were willing to party together to accomplish some goal. Worse, of those 14, about 5 or so would play a lot more than the others, eventually creating a situation where it wasn't fun to group.

I really think that unless you can get total guild membership above 30, and probably closer to 40, then you're not going to have enough people to have the guild atually being useful. And without it useful, then people will go back to playing their primary characters.

I suppose that you could get people to pledge to abandon their primary character and to play only their new mefi character. And maybe if you got a minority to do that, and got, say, seven or more people to agree to be online at certain hours when others can find them, then maybe it the guild would take off.

Another possibility would be to make a guild mefi-related, but not mefi-exclusive, using regular WoW players to keep the membership up and active. You could maybe encourage those regular WoW players to join up with mefi and be active. (Or you could require they join mefi.)

The real answer, as I said, would be this idea of paid character transfers. We could instantly have a large number of mefite characters on one server. Let's hope that FAQ is legit.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:23 PM on June 24, 2006

I don't think anyone is doubting you, EB, I think the attitude is mostly "let's try it again" or something along those lines. I'm not at all sure it will take off, BUT, there's no real harm in trying, and at least for me it will let me try out world PvP for once.

I was thinking, if we do want to go with the "Battlegrounds Farm Team" concept, we should settle on who rolls what classes, so we have a fairly well rounded team and don't end up with half warlocks and half hunters (or whatever). Sort of like a real baseball team where you have to choose a pitcher and a first baseman and etc.

You guys think that's a good idea, or should we all just roll whatever, and just ask some people to volunteer to reroll if we do end up with poor balance?
posted by cyrusdogstar at 8:49 PM on June 24, 2006

Anyway, in as Draikos, human warlock. Hope to see some of you on later!
posted by cyrusdogstar at 9:00 PM on June 24, 2006

Cyrusdogstar, I was thinking the same thing. I predict a buttload of night elf hunters and rogues.

Looks like this is already falling apart; no one responded to the server set up idea; most of us had expressed an interest in Horde side anyway; and 9:00 EST on a Monday night is going to be pretty unworkable for anyone on the east coast who has to get up for work on Tuesday. Or who has kids (ahem).

I think the only way this would actually work is for it to be very organized; Earbucket had the right idea with arbitrarily picking a time and place, and Cyrus did also when mentioning class balance. I think someone would have to sit down and determine the make-up of the group (how many of each class, etc.); everyone would have to agree to abide by that; and we'd have to commit to meeting weekly on these characters and everyone would have to actually show up the majority of the time. I already see problems with all of that; we MeFites are nothing if not non-conforming individualists. Hey - there's our guild name!

I joke. But not really. In theory it sounds great and I was all excited; in practice it would take a firm commitment from at least 30 people, and I don't know about you all, but my life changes from minute to minute these days.

Having said all that; if someone wants to take a shot at setting this up all the way, I'd be willing to give it a try. Or, we could wait until they allow server transfers and I'll bring over one of my alts then.
posted by jennaratrix at 6:13 AM on June 25, 2006

I think the server transfer mechanism is going to be pretty interesting either way...it'll either mean that we do succeed in setting up at least a marginally successful MeFite guild, due to the ability to port over some previously-built-up-somewhat characters...and if it doesn't succeed, the time spent on the new/ported characters isn't totally wasted because they can "jump ship" to our regular servers ;)

Again, I think you're right, jennaratrix, but like I said before, I'm willing to make at least a paltry effort, and by rolling on the suggested RP-PVP server I'll still be able to personally sample the PvP play-style if all else fails.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 6:46 AM on June 25, 2006

I think the trick here would be to have a regular night where everybody meets up to play. You could solo or meet up with other players on the side (maybe with a level cap so nobody gets too ridiculously beyond the rest of the group). It wouldn't have to be Monday at 9:00, but that seemed like as good a time as any to start from. If anybody else has other ideas, I'm certainly open to them.

The nice thing about having a regular time, though, is you don't need thirty people. Heck, even if it's only four or five, you can have a good time playing together. I'd be flexible as to the evening, too. Pretty much anything but Sunday would work for me.
posted by EarBucket at 7:13 AM on June 25, 2006

I think the point about class balance is a good idea, too. Probably profession balance, as well. So here's the easiest way to do it:

I'll be playing a gnome rogue, mining/engineering. Next!
posted by EarBucket at 7:15 AM on June 25, 2006

Okay, I'm in; night elf druid, herbalism/alchemy, and I'm getting SOBF to come, too - he'll be a night elf hunter, skinning/leather.

Look for Iamilye and Cildian, that'll be us unless the names are taken. See you tomorrow at 9 est!
posted by jennaratrix at 7:27 AM on June 25, 2006

Cool. I'll be Deguerre, if the name's available.
posted by EarBucket at 7:33 AM on June 25, 2006

To keep everyone happy and holy ... and to eventually melt faces ... I'll make a new priest on Maelstrom.

Name? I'll see if Sermon is available. If not, then I'll have to punt.
posted by grabbingsand at 8:43 AM on June 25, 2006

Oh, and regarding COH ... my @Global name is Suspicion, so if you are on and want an invite, send a tell there.
posted by grabbingsand at 8:45 AM on June 25, 2006

Sermon Benediction.
posted by grabbingsand at 10:00 AM on June 25, 2006

I'd also suggest that we have a designated cook, rather than having everyone grind the skill up separately. Much more efficient that way.
posted by EarBucket at 10:35 AM on June 25, 2006

I started a dwarf warrior named Torgrimm on Maelstrom. See you guys in the game!
posted by greasy_skillet at 11:05 AM on June 25, 2006

Slight change of plans, Cildian made a warrior instead, so hunter is still up. Iamilye is a druid. See you guys in game!
posted by jennaratrix at 11:09 AM on June 25, 2006

Draikos is a selfish, money-grubbing herbalist/skinner :) No secondary profession yet, not sure what I want to do.

Met up with greasy_skillet just a short while ago, we're both approaching level 10. I'll stop when I get there.

In the interests of keeping things organized, I'll keep a list of people on my site for the time being, if that helps any.

MeFi WoW Guild List
posted by cyrusdogstar at 11:36 AM on June 25, 2006

I just added all of y'all to my friends list, too. I see jennaratrix, her BF, and grabbingsand on. Didn't say hello yet because I'm running out to do some errands, but perhaps I'll see you on when I get back!
posted by cyrusdogstar at 11:45 AM on June 25, 2006

I just started a human paladin, name of Melomel. I'll see you monday eve. No idea what skills yet, may just do herb/mining and supply others.
posted by pombe at 12:34 PM on June 25, 2006

I'll be making a character, too. Not sure of what/which yet but I'll be back here to let y'all know.
posted by deborah at 12:47 PM on June 25, 2006

Okay, level 10 sounds like a good place for us all to shoot for. Let's keep it at that, though, so we're roughly comparable. We could use a tailor/enchanter, deborah, as it looks like no one's spoken up for that yet.
posted by EarBucket at 12:53 PM on June 25, 2006

Do I hafta? I've never done either one and prefer the gathering professions (herbalism and skinning).
posted by deborah at 1:32 PM on June 25, 2006

I can do tailoring/enchanting - I really need bags :)
posted by pombe at 2:06 PM on June 25, 2006

Yay, pombe!

Me: Rohwyn - Dwarf Hunter. Adding y'all as friends.
posted by deborah at 2:11 PM on June 25, 2006

I'm Azurite Golem in Second Life.

Second Life? Cortex, Public, you guys on?

Anybody?

*crickets*
posted by ®@ at 2:11 PM on June 25, 2006

I'll be on Maelstrom just as soon as I finish re-installing, patching, and re-configuring all my mods.

Look for a gnome mage named either Arundel or Pajo....and maybe a rogue. We'll see. Mage will be tink/mining probably -- or maybe skinning/herbalism
posted by kaseijin at 2:39 PM on June 25, 2006

I'm setting up a channel called Metafilter. Give me a yell if you're on.
posted by EarBucket at 2:41 PM on June 25, 2006

I just rolled a gnome warlock named Tracert on Maelstrom.

See you guys monday!
posted by Drunken_munky at 6:02 PM on June 25, 2006

Yep. Gnome mage named Arundel, on Maelstrom.

I hate you guys for making me roll alliance! =P
posted by kaseijin at 7:18 PM on June 25, 2006

I am doing herbalism (herbology!) and skinning.
posted by deborah at 8:00 PM on June 25, 2006

With kaseijin, we now have ten people, enough to charter a guild even without throwing in alts! ;) Let's hope we get at least a few more on Monday.

Aforementioned page updated through time of this posting.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 8:18 PM on June 25, 2006

Aaah! I'm a bit behind (I have to take work home tonight *pout*) but I will try to be there next week? Let me know if there is a race/class that needs to be balanced and that can be me!
posted by nelleish at 1:18 PM on June 26, 2006

We'll be waiting for you, nelleish! :)

As for classes/races, keep an eye on that page I keep linking--I've tallied the classes already taken (race doesn't really matter, IMHO). Right now your options are pretty open since I think we have at least one of everything, and two each of the W classes (damn you Drunken_munky! *shakes fist*).
posted by cyrusdogstar at 4:26 PM on June 26, 2006

I'll try to add a druid/mage or priest for next week. I won't be able to make it tonight at least not until late. Can someone post what levels you end up with after tonight? Maybe add it to that linked list? I'll try and catch up this week.

I will see what classes everyone ends up with. The name will be Zafulk.
posted by Hypharse at 5:39 PM on June 26, 2006

Argh. Anybody else having trouble logging into Maelstrom all of a sudden?
posted by EarBucket at 5:42 PM on June 26, 2006

No, but apparently there's some bad lag...I've only been walking around a small bit so I haven't noticed any.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 5:45 PM on June 26, 2006

Looks like there's a server reset going on. We've got 9/10 siggies for the guild charter, and a name--"The Blue". Hope grabbingsand can show up soonish and be the tenth signee!
posted by cyrusdogstar at 6:28 PM on June 26, 2006

(In case anyone else is reading...) Just got an email from grabbingsand saying he'll be late. Hopefully he can still show up after the server reboots.

Also, for those who haven't noticed, there's a notice on the WoW login window saying that our realm, among others, are down for "urgent database maintenance" and they will give an update in 30 minutes. Ruh-row.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 6:46 PM on June 26, 2006

Ah, well. Hopefully, we'll be able to get on before too long. Is there any guild business to hammer out here while we wait?
posted by EarBucket at 6:49 PM on June 26, 2006

We're hovering for a bit to see if the server comes back up, but we go to bed early-ish around here (the dog is already in bed, in fact), so if we don't see you tonight, I'll check back in here to find out when y'all are going to be on again.

--Iams and Cil
posted by jennaratrix at 6:58 PM on June 26, 2006

I suppose one thing to think about--does anyone have a preference for a regular guild night and time? I'm fairly flexible. I could do pretty much any weekday or Saturday evening, or Sunday afternoon.
posted by EarBucket at 7:07 PM on June 26, 2006

Good to see you at all, jennaratrix & BF! (Does BF have a name he'd like to be referred to outside WoW, or will it have to be Cil?)

Unless I totally miss my mark, as long as I can meet up with grabbingsand at some point tonight or tomorrow, we'll still have the guild set up for the remainder of the week, even if most of us can't make it back on tonight.

I can't think of much other guild business, really; we should probably set up some sort of out-of-game discussion forum (my guild on Kirin Tor uses guildportal.com, although I as a Web designer/programmer find the interface rather lacking) so we're not constantly spamming MeTa. Given a bit of time I can expand that tiny barebones page I have set up, into a "real" site, even if it means using a third-party web app or two (I prefer to roll my own with a Web development framework).

Of course, on that note, y'all think Matt would be pissed if we put up recruitment threads once in a while to catch anyone who missed this thread?
posted by cyrusdogstar at 7:07 PM on June 26, 2006

I'll be on as soon as the server pops, bedraggled and covered with inevitable crocolisk bites, happy to sign anything.
posted by grabbingsand at 7:08 PM on June 26, 2006

Yeah, a forum of our own would be a good idea. I would think recruitment threads would be okay if they were every once in a long while, but we might want to check with Matt or Jess first just to make sure.
posted by EarBucket at 7:09 PM on June 26, 2006

I'm mostly agnostic with regards to date/time; if pressed for a preference, I'd say that weeknights other than Tuesday are best for me, and times between 8PM-10PM (for a start time) EST.

Basically...my other guild's meetings (of which I play no actual part, being a normal member, albeit high-level) are on Saturdays, but only every few weeks; we have a "Horde Night" on Tuesdays, which has been losing popularity recently. Otherwise, it's all about the Real Life schedule, which varies.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 7:11 PM on June 26, 2006

Servers up!
posted by EarBucket at 7:14 PM on June 26, 2006

Yup, and the guild's made! Yay!

We have two ranks, one for the main characters (Mefites) and one for alts (Sockpuppets). I'm the guildmaster, "#1", although I intend the guild management process to be pretty democratic--I put a lot of stock in being a decent human being, and in my previous stint as an Internet Leader I seemed to do pretty well in terms of fairness and so forth. So, I hope y'all will find me a good Person of Great Import.

I'll work on getting a proper guild website of sorts set up in the near future, including some sort of forum, and an easier-to-manage guild roster, plus stuff like "Please send your X Y Z drops to Persons A and B", which while it should be obvious from the "who is what profession" list, I figure might still be helpful.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 8:19 PM on June 26, 2006

Well yay! I'll check back here for news on a non-MeTa forum, and will probably jump on tonight to see who's around. Thanks to everyone for getting this going, should be fun!

(BF is Chris, btw).
posted by jennaratrix at 6:30 AM on June 27, 2006

The Page updated with more recent info.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 8:55 AM on June 27, 2006

And because nobody is anybody until they have another Flickr group to join ... The Blue @ Flickr.
posted by grabbingsand at 8:59 AM on June 27, 2006

I was gone all weekend and Monday. I'll roll a priest tonight and get up to 15 by next Monday. The wife might roll a toon as well. So just /w anyone in "The Blue" for an invite?
posted by Binkeeboo at 9:21 AM on June 27, 2006

Where did this trend of calling characters "toons" start, and when? And who was responsible? I need to know so I can configure the time machine correctly and kill the right person.
posted by cortex at 9:45 AM on June 27, 2006

Binkeeboo, yea, everyone has invite powers.

Cortex: no idea. Yes, it's silly. No, it's not going away anytime soon =/ I just got used to it.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 9:51 AM on June 27, 2006

Cyrusdogstar - I just started a mage named Batwing! Way too addicted to this game already, another reason to be playing won't hurt!
posted by batgrlHG at 11:59 PM on June 27, 2006

Glad to have you on board :)
posted by cyrusdogstar at 5:35 AM on June 28, 2006

Also started a gnome mage called Glayvin last night, doing herbalism/alchemy. I'll be hanging around Ironforge for a while, so i'll bug somebody for an invite later. See you in Azeroth!

/cheer
posted by Hlewagast at 8:16 AM on June 28, 2006

Page updated yet again. I have part of the messageboard coded already, and hope to have it up in a few days. It will look like crap at first, but at least it will be useable :)
posted by cyrusdogstar at 12:10 PM on June 28, 2006

We are so going to have a monopoly on the server's low level herbs! PRICE FIXING SHENANIGANS ARE GO!
posted by kaseijin at 2:20 PM on June 28, 2006

Oops sorry - meant to add human mage, and will go into mining and skinning at the moment, probably to switch mining for tailoring when I get high enough lvl, and some money in the bank!
posted by batgrlHG at 5:32 PM on June 28, 2006

No problem batgrl :) your info has Been Updated.

And LOL @ kaseijin! :D With so few players on the server as it is, we could probably even accomplish it ;)
posted by cyrusdogstar at 7:00 PM on June 28, 2006

What is our plan? Battlegrounds 20-29? Just having fun?

Are we going to try and get more folks? Maybe post about a MetaFilter guild on the WoW guild forum? Get our website on the etc.mefi or FAQ?

I suspect there a lot of MeFi folk who'd love to join us, but never read MeTa.

When do we get a tabbard?
posted by Binkeeboo at 8:04 AM on June 29, 2006

In order:

Plan: Last I knew, our plan was "just have fun". Assuming that the guild keeps up steam and doesn't peter out like its predecessors, I would imagine we'd do anything we want, including BGs. My guess is that everyone is going to have different goals, which might prove difficult if some of us wanted to form a fairly static-level BG group, but we'll see how it goes.

Advertisements and membership: As some of the pseudo-naysayers in this thread's heyday pointed out, the more people in a guild, the better off it is, in terms of having enough folks of the same level range online at any given time. So I'd definitely want us to get as many people on board as felt they had the time to spare.

Once we get a good forum and site up, and once a couple more weeks have gone by, I would imagine a second followup MeTa post would be a good idea, and yea, so would the other MeFi-centric advertising venues. I'd wait to advertise outside of MeFi until the MeFites and family stop signing up in droves :)

Tabard: Well, they cost 1g per individual just to obtain, and I believe the cost to create one is 10g, so we'll have to wait until we can afford it :) However, with about a third to a half of us being solely gatherers, I'd bet we can afford one in another couple of weeks, give or take.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2006

I'll second the "just have fun doing whatever we want" sentiment. One possible solution to the battlegrounds issue would be to have a group of alts, of course.
posted by EarBucket at 3:09 PM on June 29, 2006

As one of those "pseudo-naysayers", I strongly support any and all attempts to advertise and proselytize this guild. I just don't think it will work without a lot of people; but I'd be thrilled if it did.

I've been thinking about creating a new character and joining, but I've been sick this week (sick in a way that has made being online not possible...headaches) and also I made a big mistake in switching my main PC to Vista and now I have to do a major reinstall, which I've been putting off.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 9:10 PM on June 29, 2006

Sorry to hear you're not well, EB, hope you feel better soon! And why the heck did you install Vista? :P

I did say "pseudo" for a reason--I know where you're coming from and tend to agree with the sentiment. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, ANNOUNCEMENT:

Forums are live!

Please try to move all correspondence there; of course if something seems to break and I haven't fixed it soon, obviously post stuff here too--I will continue to monitor the thread for a while.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 9:28 PM on June 29, 2006

Just in case anyone is still reading:

The server seems to have semi-regular crashes, JUST around the time we try to meet-up on Monday evenings. Because of this, we can't really rely on in-game communication to organize rain dates or whatnot.

So I'm really hoping that the forums can be our de facto meetingplace for stuff like that. Can anyone reading this please take a jaunt over there and sign up/email me/read the thread(s)?

Roll Call thread
posted by cyrusdogstar at 11:13 AM on July 11, 2006