The WoW Community - Black & White

I think I set the timer on the current poll too long. >> Oops. I'll wait for it to run out before posting the results.

So, through the course of the day today, as I was doing my usual forum trolling, I noticed that things have been a little more... hostile as of late. Maybe it's just me, but does it seem like people are constantly up in arms a little more frequently than usual? Note, I did make this observation before the unofficial class changes popped up and got people all stir-crazy, but it seems like little things have been irritating people a lot more than they would normally.

Now, before you point it out to me, I know the WoW community isn't the happiest sunshine-y place in the world. A lot of people have compared it to the /b/ forum on 4Chan, with /b/ being only slightly lower. As someone who steers completely clear of 4Chan in a desperate attempt to preserve what little sanity I have left, I can't make the comparison myself. But, the longer I stay active on the forums, the more I see it changing.

It's a funny place. On any given day, it's either full of hilarious or helpful posters, or completely rude and inconsiderate posters. Sure, there's a little overlap here and there, but it seems like there's an hour in the early morning that decides what kind of day it's going to be: angry or funny or helpful or whatever.

Why are the forums so black and white when it comes to topics?

As I have said before in many threads, the reason I post is to try to be a part of the community, and the way I try to be a part is by being that weird person who tries to bring something funny to the table. Yeah, it doesn't always work - I have my off days too, ya know - but for the days it does, for the times I get people quoting me, or sigging me, or general acknowledgement that tells me I've effectively done what I'm there to do - well, it's worth it. I like the idea that I made someone smile behind their computer screen. I like the idea that they come to the forums, filter through the drek, and find something to laugh about.

Maybe I'm unique in that stance, I don't really know. You can rest assured I won't be changing anytime soon. I guess I just wish I didn't feel so alone - there's definitely a group of people I goof off with, many of which were mentioned in my Forum Trolling 101 post. And I thank those for playing along with my shenanigans - and even more so, I thank the Blues for not banning me yet. =P

I'm hoping today was just an off day and the forums will get back to their regular way soon - whatever that is. I guess I just got spoiled with the streak of good feelings that went on last week...

But is it so wrong of me to want a good thing to stay?