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Q u o t e:
As these forums abash in horrible misconceptions, I have written a quick test to check your knowledge regarding your relationship with Blizzard as a WoW subscriber and forum-goer. It's a pretty tough quiz, but from what I witness on a daily basis, I think most readers here can get at least a couple of these correct.

If I complain to Blizzard about a game feature or lack thereof, they should:
a) Listen and fix it ASAP.
b) Ignore me, because they can do whatever they want.
c) Analyze the situation and determine a best course of action based on a number of complex factors. Blizzard has an honest desire to produce the best game they can and maximize their number of happy customers, but they are a subdivision of a larger corporation, and as such are beholden to both real-world constraints (time, money, equipment, personnel) as well as stockholders who require them to meet their bottom line. Therefore, my suggestion may not be practical or viable for a larger percentage of customers, or may be lower priority than other pressing concerns in the game.

If I raise an issue with Blizzard (perhaps right here on the forums) and they decide my complaint or suggestion is worth acting upon, how long does it take them to implement a fix/change?
a) A week.
b) A month.
c) A year.
d) The time can vary dramatically based on a number of factors, including the technical requirements for the fix/change, the priority of the fix/change with regard to other pressing issues, and the potential ramifications the change may have on other players. Each change goes through a rigorous development cycle during which designers first plan out the details of the change and determine what effects a change might have (including negative ones), then developers implement the change, then QA does their best to verify that the implementation is clean and no unintended consequences of the change have occurred. Only then will the change will make it into a patch. This occurs even for what might seem to be a small or easy change (and someone without in-depth knowledge of the WoW technical system is unfit to make that determination in the first place). This also has the unfortunate consequence that new content and fixes/changes often address what are considered old issues, so just because Blizzard is not addressing my issue within the next few patches does not mean they are ignoring me.

Which of the following ways is the best way to determine how what percentage of WoW players raid regularly?
a) Guess, using my own personal experience and some gut instinct.
b) Read the forums and count, because the forums are a good sampling of actual WoW players.
c) Log actual detailed game information across hundreds of servers and various countries, then conduct extensive analysis of said data to extract conclusive usage patterns.

If Blizzard makes a change to WoW that I really don't like, I should:
a) Start a thread attacking their intelligence or competence for making such an obvious mistake.
b) Start a thread demanding an explanation; after all, they owe me one.
c) Find an ongoing thread eloquently expressing discontent with the change, add my opinion, and go back to enjoying the game (or start such a thread if I find after searching that none exists). Understand that my perspective is limited and that I may not understand all the potential reasons for change. The change may be intended or unintended. It may have been implemented for technical reasons that I cannot perceive, since I have no knowledge of the detailed technical workings of WoW. It may have been implemented to fix another problem. Regardless, I know that a fix or a reversion may take time to discuss and implement, and that the best thing I can do is make my opinion known, then live with the change until such time as Blizzard decides on a course of action.

Blizzard does not give me more information about upcoming changes or content than they currently do because:
a) They're sadistic and they love to watch us squirm.
b) They don't want to deal with our opinions and potential backlash against stupid changes or content we didn't ask for.
c) The design and implementation of such changes or content is fluid and subject to change based on a extremely large number of complex factors. If they imply that a feature is coming soon and then it needs to be removed (it is found to cause bugs or break game balance, not enough time is left to sufficiently finish it or test it, legal issues arise, people working on the project leave the company, etc) more people will be upset than if they had never mentioned it at all. On occasion, there may be even legal reasons for confidentiality, to which I am not privy.

I really could keep going with these all day, but what I'm trying to show here is that these types of issues are not black and white; they are extremely complex. People need to stop and think before they post, or these forums are going to continue to drop in usefulness until they are completely unbearable and frequented by no one but trolls.

Remember, please: be patient, be thoughtful, be courteous, and above all,

Be reasonable!

---

---

Q u o t e:
What about me? No love? </3

---

---

Q u o t e:
As these forums abash in horrible misconceptions, I have written a quick test to check your knowledge regarding your relationship with Blizzard as a WoW subscriber and forum-goer. It's a pretty tough quiz, but from what I witness on a daily basis, I think most readers here can get at least a couple of these correct.

If I complain to Blizzard about a game feature or lack thereof, they should:
a) Listen and fix it ASAP.
b) Ignore me, because they can do whatever they want.
c) Analyze the situation and determine a best course of action based on a number of complex factors. Blizzard has an honest desire to produce the best game they can and maximize their number of happy customers, but they are a subdivision of a larger corporation, and as such are beholden to both real-world constraints (time, money, equipment, personnel) as well as stockholders who require them to meet their bottom line. Therefore, my suggestion may not be practical or viable for a larger percentage of customers, or may be lower priority than other pressing concerns in the game.

If I raise an issue with Blizzard (perhaps right here on the forums) and they decide my complaint or suggestion is worth acting upon, how long does it take them to implement a fix/change?
a) A week.
b) A month.
c) A year.
d) The time can vary dramatically based on a number of factors, including the technical requirements for the fix/change, the priority of the fix/change with regard to other pressing issues, and the potential ramifications the change may have on other players. Each change goes through a rigorous development cycle during which designers first plan out the details of the change and determine what effects a change might have (including negative ones), then developers implement the change, then QA does their best to verify that the implementation is clean and no unintended consequences of the change have occurred. Only then will the change will make it into a patch. This occurs even for what might seem to be a small or easy change (and someone without in-depth knowledge of the WoW technical system is unfit to make that determination in the first place). This also has the unfortunate consequence that new content and fixes/changes often address what are considered old issues, so just because Blizzard is not addressing my issue within the next few patches does not mean they are ignoring me.

Which of the following ways is the best way to determine how what percentage of WoW players raid regularly?
a) Guess, using my own personal experience and some gut instinct.
b) Read the forums and count, because the forums are a good sampling of actual WoW players.
c) Log actual detailed game information across hundreds of servers and various countries, then conduct extensive analysis of said data to extract conclusive usage patterns.

If Blizzard makes a change to WoW that I really don't like, I should:
a) Start a thread attacking their intelligence or competence for making such an obvious mistake.
b) Start a thread demanding an explanation; after all, they owe me one.
c) Find an ongoing thread eloquently expressing discontent with the change, add my opinion, and go back to enjoying the game (or start such a thread if I find after searching that none exists). Understand that my perspective is limited and that I may not understand all the potential reasons for change. The change may be intended or unintended. It may have been implemented for technical reasons that I cannot perceive, since I have no knowledge of the detailed technical workings of WoW. It may have been implemented to fix another problem. Regardless, I know that a fix or a reversion may take time to discuss and implement, and that the best thing I can do is make my opinion known, then live with the change until such time as Blizzard decides on a course of action.

Blizzard does not give me more information about upcoming changes or content than they currently do because:
a) They're sadistic and they love to watch us squirm.
b) They don't want to deal with our opinions and potential backlash against stupid changes or content we didn't ask for.
c) The design and implementation of such changes or content is fluid and subject to change based on a extremely large number of complex factors. If they imply that a feature is coming soon and then it needs to be removed (it is found to cause bugs or break game balance, not enough time is left to sufficiently finish it or test it, legal issues arise, people working on the project leave the company, etc) more people will be upset than if they had never mentioned it at all. On occasion, there may be even legal reasons for confidentiality, to which I am not privy.

I really could keep going with these all day, but what I'm trying to show here is that these types of issues are not black and white; they are extremely complex. People need to stop and think before they post, or these forums are going to continue to drop in usefulness until they are completely unbearable and frequented by no one but trolls.

Remember, please: be patient, be thoughtful, be courteous, and above all,

Be reasonable!

---

---

Q u o t e:
What about me? No love? </3

---