A ‘do-gooder’ is a term used to describe someone who spends an inordinate amount of time attempting to change things for the ‘better’. The problem with this is that the definition of ‘better’ is left entirely up to them. And because they generally have no life, they are able to dedicate a great deal of time and energy to their causes. Which means that you cannot ignore a do-gooder and just hope they’ll piss off and shut up, because the next thing you know they have managed to push through a whole bunch of unnecessary and unworkable reforms that you have to live with. So I am an active exterminater of do-gooder causes. I don’t wear a cape though.

There is a hilarious thread on the Blizzard forums that Larisa brought to my attention. It is calling for the removal of the spit emote from WoW due to it being offensive and aggressive. The very first person to respond enquires how spitting is going too far if mindlessly killing people and animals in game is fine, and obviously the thread continues in a similar manner. Now the person who started this thread is free to have their opinion, but I am sure that most of you would not take very well to it if their opinion eventually resulted in the spit emote being removed from the game. So you have two options here; you can either ignore the person and hope that nothing ever comes from it, or you can actively move to counter their stand. I am of the active type, as I stated in the opening paragraph in this post.

The drawback to actively countering stands like this is that it is taken for granted that you are thus personally for the subject in discussion. In this example it would be immediately assumed that I was pro spitting in real life, if we were to take the example at face value. The standard tactic of do-gooders at this point would be to attack me personally, pointing out how horrible spitting is, what a bad person I am, how this must thus assume that I am also for other nasty things, etc. Which would be purposely missing the entire point. My stand is not that I am a pro spitter in real life. My point is that …

There is no place for bringing personal causes and issues in-game and attempting to shove them down our throats by effecting our own game experience.

Because as soon as one concession to a do-gooder is made in game, then a precedent will have been set, and the floodgates will have been opened. The more popular WoW becomes, (and we know that Blizzard wants to greatly expand WoW to the greater population), then the more the game that you and I play will be at risk to these types of special interest groups. Are you the type of person to just sit back and hope that nothing comes of it? That’s fine, I have no problem with that. But don’t complain when changes to in-game features are then made due to a vocal minority getting their way. It is much easier to block a change before it is made than to undo it afterwards.

I feel exactly the same way in regards to this spitting example as I feel towards the past discussions on feminism. Your own personal agenda has no place in this game or any other, whatever it may be. I find it extremely selfish and egotistical of people to attempt to impose their views in this manner, with no thought for anybody else but themselves and their group of special interest. It is not ‘my game’ and you must all get out of it. It is our game and we should all enjoy it for what it is.