Saturday 2 July 2011

Of following the rules, even when there are no rules.

Any one else feel like this week has been a little...dramatic?



Between temp spamming proliferation and everyone (even us Canucks) finally getting out of school for the summer, the spiral has been an interesting place to be this week. I won't address temp spamming because I don't team PvP (yet - give my team a week or two to finish our gear farming!), and because I think Cassandra DragonHeart and Kevin BattleBlood have covered it with more eloquence than I ever could. Obviously, temp spamming is a permissible strategy in PvP. That doesn't mean it is a good or legitimate one, but it is allowable.

I had my own 'interesting' (in a dramatic chipmunk kind of way) turn of events this week. A player was presenting himself as two different people - as one persona to one group of people, and another persona to another group of people. There are no sanctions against this in game. You can be whoever you want to be, say you are anything and everything. Nowhere in KI's terms of use does it say, "You may not lie about your gender, age, or occupation." However, this player's lies caught up with them, at least from one end - and the two differing stories were so diametrically opposed that he found himself in more trouble than he imagined. Although there were no rules against his actions, there were indeed consequences.

It's beginning to look like the idea of 'doing the right thing' has gone out of fashion. More and more I see people reaching for some all-consuming goal without thought or care as to the consequences their actions may have on others, or even to themselves in the long run. They simply want what they want NOW, and anything that stands in their way should be taken out in any way possible. As long as they act within the rules, their actions MUST be okay. It's as though we've turned off our own personal moral compasses and have turned to whatever governing body we're acting under at the time (school officials, bosses, government, KingsIsle) to tell us what is and isn't okay.

It is my belief that there is right,  there is wrong, and those things do not cease to be right or wrong simply because a person REALLY wants something, or because there are no rules against it. I would love to see people both in life and in this game take pride in not only achieving something, but in HOW they achieved it. This weekend, in both my country and (most of) yours, we're celebrating our freedom. Our freedom to make our own choices, to be who we want to be, to make something of ourselves. Use that freedom wisely! There are a whole lot of issues I could apply this to in general, but as this is a Wizard101 blog and temp spamming is the buzz topic of the week... for myself, I'm choosing not to stun in the first round of a PvP match, regardless of what the other team may choose to do. I simply wouldn't feel good about myself if I did not give the other team at least one turn to do SOMETHING to set up a basic framework for the match.


So on that note... to celebrate freedom, making choices, because I wanna, and because I was gifted some lovely crowns that are burning a hole in my pocket, I'm having a rule-less giveaway! I'll be giving 2 people 2500 worth of crowns items from the crowns shop. Which item or items you get is entirely up to you. Patriotic leprechaun for the 4th of July? Sure! Mega Snack Pack? Why not! And because there are no rules, I might just change things up a little myself. ;) No contests or conditions (those sound an awful lot like rules to me....), just leave a comment and tell me what you'd like. If you can't reach me on twitter, Wizard101Central, or Diary of a Wizard, leave me a way to get in touch with you please. The giveaway ends on July 4th at whatever time I manage to drag myself out of bed - or more accurately, whatever time the kids manage to drag me out. Good luck, and happy wizarding!

Edited to add: For those of you telling me to keep some for myself -  I may be in a sharing mood, but I'm also in a spending mood! Don't you worry about me, unless you're facing me in PvP next week.

14 comments:

  1. 5 Dragon Hoard Packs and 2 Energy Elixirs! ;)
    @arlendawneyes on Twitter, as I believe you know. Thanks for the contest!

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  2. Good Luck Everyone :) Katherine I retweeted so more people knew about your contest. Also, thanks for doing this.

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  3. Princess Kat after the week a lot of us have experienced I would like to thank you for your blog post AND for everything you do to help around the Spiral. This lady WELL deserves US gifting HER not the other way around! but couch potatoes come in handy in PvP -- get some yourself!

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  4. 6 Dragon Hoard Packs :) I was nearly gonna say the same thing as Arlen, but my grandmother plays wizard blocks for fun and gets me all kinds of snacks and packs and elixirs, I have 4 elixirs annoying me in there, so no elixirs :P Btw, Thanks a ton for a contest like this. This is one of the best "planned on the spot so I can show my friends how much I care about them" contest :) @elitewizard

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  5. Great post! Katherine, I would like to have mega snacks pack. But I like to have yourself gift as what you really need. Thanks for wonderful post. =)

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  6. What I would like...hmmm....maybe a bruinen ram and moon horse. Either of them are good lol.

    Thanks in advance! And thanks for holding this contest! The post was wonderful!

    -Quinn

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  7. Life is like a dramatic chipmunk sometimes, isn't it?

    I think your point is so important. As they say "The ends do not justify the means." They never have, and they never will. Enjoying the process of whatever you are doing, and presenting yourself with a modicum of dignity and generosity is what I refer to as being "classy". We need more classy people like you in the spiral Ms. Light!

    Since asking for a gift feels totally contrary right now, I'm going to have to say take those crowns and give them (in the form of something small, just a snack pack or something) to people who do the right thing. Positive reinforcement never hurts.

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  8. LOL Heather! I am reading your comment while I'm sprawled on a comfy old couch wearing yoga pants, a tank top with paint stains on it (painting our hallway), and with my hair secured with a pen in a knot on the back of my head. "Classy" may not be the proper adjective here. ;)

    And you're not asking for a gift, I'm offering. Since you're trying pretty hard to do the right thing right now, I'd say you qualify by your own standards anyway. You're entered whether you like it or not! :P

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  9. Awesome post!
    Now if I got some crowns, as a crowns player, they would be spent on Big Ben and the beginning area of Mooshu (And the extra 100 would buy me a little treat!).

    @themythmagus (twitter)
    Happy Patriotic Time!

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  10. I'm sure I said it before, but I'm with you 100% on this. It will all catch up with them in the end.. :P

    Now, as far as what I want (ooh, greedy time. Me likes)... This pretty much sums that up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0tHWJ6PDKA

    But seeing as I doubt Crowns can get me all of that, how about a Patriotic Leprechaun? :P

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  11. Mega Snack pack please, I have so many pets which still need to be leveled up. Thanks for the contest and you can reach on Twitter @Destiny_w101.

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  12. I would like dragon horde packs as you know me i so want that blasted new mount!

    compguru1

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  13. Great Post
    I would like the Patriotic Leprechaun please. :)
    Thanks for being generous and holding this contest.

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  14. Oh hi there! I loved this blog entry, and I'm very grateful to Cassandra DragonHeart for retweeting it or I never would have read it! And, for realz, I like the post just for the post. Not only for the contest. That I'm entering. :D And if I win, I'd dearly love MegaSnacks. Because I'm going to get my level 58 school pet any day now, and he's going to be hungry. And when he gets to be adult, I'm going to hatch him with my starfish. And the pet resulting from that hatch is going to be hungry too. And it's going to be the BEST PET EVER when I get it all the way to epic. It's going to have may cast ice blade, may cast ice trap, spritely, and 8% spell proof. So, if I win, you can reach me via Twitter (@IcyWiz) or Diary of a Wizard ConnectX. Thanks for the contest and truly for the post. And if anyone who is reading this would like to give me the benefit of the doubt and think I'm only so goofy because it's 2am, sorry. Ask Cass or Fallon, I'm always this random.

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