by Shandra Lorne

Created on: January 09, 2007   Last Updated: February 28, 2010

Anyone who has played MMORPGs will recognize that there is a lot of flaming, harassment, and downright disrespect among players. Most players will put up with being player-killed occasionally, being called a "noob" or a "camper" at times, but when it gets to be excessive is when new players leave the game with no intention of coming back. Games such as World of Warcraft and Last Chaos suffer when snide, smug, and bigoted senior members bully the new players who may be trying out the games for the first time.

The main thing that would make everyone's MMORPG experience better and obliterate much of the snide comments and harassment from senior players is if everyone kept this in mind: Behind every avatar, every player-character, every rogue, knight, hunter, and elf, there is a living, breathing person-a person who is trying to enjoy himself, just like you are.

Because someone is in the learning stages of the game, or has a different strategy than you, does not mean that he or she is trying to tick you off or ruin your game experience. Maybe if each newbie received a little bit of help rather than pointless and demeaning criticism from other players, they would not stay "noobs" for long.

Think about it. We all know game servers in which the same players all seem to come, in which no new faces ever appear. I avoid such stagnant servers because the game play there becomes stale after a while. Well, there is a reason why no one new ever comes. It is because senior members are likely grandstanding there, showing off their superior stats, and running off new people. Whether they intend to or not, that is what they are doing.

Please, fellow players. Remember that the fun part of MMORPGs is that they attract vast amounts of players. If you are harassing newbies and making them go away, you are making everyone's gaming experience less enjoyable.

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