I went snowboarding yesterday. It was great because we spent most of our time off piste. The snow was good powder and we were able to find a few good virgin runs a little back in the woods and do them over and over. On piste itself was not so great. I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of people ski like they drive – in a bubble-world all of their own. They are the only ones who exist as they are the only ones who are important. This is all well and good if your hobbies are knitting or vomiting, but not so much when they effect other people. So you have people being dangerous on piste, not by going too fast, but by not taking anyone else into consideration. Which, in pusuits such as skiing or driving a car can have some nasty consequences. And if you attempt to say anything? Good luck with that – you’re a dickhead and a trouble maker. So I’ll board off piste thank you very much. I’m still working on an alternative for the driving.

There are two posts this week on blogs that reflect this in different ways. Sam has a post on Slice & Dice about how being late for a raid can throw everything out to the extent that the raid doesn’t function properly. People lose their focus as a result of having to wait around for 30 minutes behind the screen twiddling their thumbs. This was a big problem for me when I was a raid leader and organising raids. You would have the good raiders who were on time, (which meant 15 minutes before the start time), week after week. I set myself a goal of always going into the raid on time. We managed to do it for three weeks, after that it was lost.

Jakkru has a post up on Slash two about finally reaching the breaking point with regards to smokers taking constant breaks during a raid to satisfy their habit. I will admit that I enjoy the occasional cigarette, it is a pleasure for me, not a vice. And sometimes I also enjoy it during a raid. That is while we are raiding. I am sitting at the computer, playing my toon, and having a quiet smoke at the same time. I don’t expect others to stop and wait for me though. And if you’re not able to smoke inside, well that’s your problem. Why should it be mine?

In all of these examples the common problem is of people not considering others. If a few of us make the effort to be on time and ready to go, why can you not also award us the same courtesy? Our time is precious, for all of us. If we all agree to take time to do a raid then that is what we are doing. Smoking, if it takes time away from what I committed to do, is not a part of that. I committed to raid, so I will be on time, ready to go and with drinks and other things already arranged so as to not inconvenience others. Then we can all start and focus on what we are doing. You don’t turn up to work 30 seconds before you start. You come in a little earlier, have a chat to others, grab a coffee, find out what is going on, so by the time that you’re supposed to start you’re ready to go.

Of course things happen, real life can intrude sometimes, as it did to Sam. But to expect people to always wait for you, whether it be because you couldn’t be bothered to turn up on time or that you want to go outside and have a smoke, means that you need to retake that beginners course in human relationships 101.