I did consider changing my mind...but ultimately, I don't have enough to say to warrant a blog any longer. That, and I'm still more than a bit freaked about being tracked, even by well meaning folks.

I tend to be a very solitary person, and I never really got into the whole "internet celebrity" thing that seems to be a big deal to some bloggers. I wrote to present my own opinion, even if no one else cared about it but me. Too many others write for attention, to be worshiped like some sort of false god...and it goes to their head. But this isn't really about them...it's about me and my need for privacy.

Ultimately, I decided that keeping my gaming sanctuary "safe" overrides presenting my opinions in a public forum.

I hope I don't have to leave WoW, but I share you concerns.

We live in a society where victims are often blamed for the crimes committed against them. I suspect (fear?) that leaving this blog up would simply serve to antagonize someone (perhaps someone I've never even interacted with) to torment me, justifying it by saying that I'm a "public persona" and that I "deserved it".

I've been a public persona before, had myself slandered by people who I once considered friends, been mocked for having a profile on yahoo personals (back in the day) ... yeah. I like being (relatively) anonymous. It's safer that way.

It's mentioned in my 'about', but its not something I went out of my way to advertise.

Between the mess a few months back, and now the threat that Real ID could pose...it's just bringing up too many bad memories of the last time I was stalked, and all that I lost as a result.

My life may not be perfect now, but I don't want to lose my comfort zone. And I'm very afraid that could happen now. And that sucks.

I've been playing a 7-57-7 (Marks) spec on my hunter since 3.3.3 came out. Prior to that, I'd run as Beast Mastery (and now have 4 spirit beasts just sitting in my stables as a result), but I grew tired of the snarky comments from other dungeon-goers about my "low" dps. That isn't an issue anymore!

I presume you meant DPS gear? Regardless...one piece of gear might raises my eyebrows, but I'll deal with it. If we're talking 4, 5, or more pieces of DPS gear in a tank set, then EG is warning me and I'm correctly concerned.

There are always going to be elitist basterds who expect everyone they run with to be 100% perfectly geared - though they seem to be more prone to using gearscore then EG. You've already mentioned the tank in question had some DPS gear on..I'm going to guess that his enchants and/or gems weren't up to snuff, either. Personally, if I see someone in a tank or healer role with 40% or lower for gear (meaning they're wearing only 40% items appropriate for their role), I'm not saying a word, I'm just jetting out of there. I'd rather a deserter debuff then paying tons of gold to repair bills.

But yes, EG is a very good addon. But - it doesn't tell you how good the player is - just what you might be able to expect. Case in point - on Grim this morning I ran H: UP for my frost badges. The bulk of the group has ilvl 235 or better gear on - except the tank. The tank is showing at ilvl 190ish. But...they're gemmed, and enchanted. I adjusted my DPSing accordingly, laying back a little bit longer then I normally would have - and it all went fine. The tank, despite the lack of gear, was phenomenal, and we sailed through the dungeon with zero deaths.

Unless the tank had a number of bad enchants/gems/gears, Elitist Group wouldn't have been the reason for a group quit. That sounds more to me like someone who was expecting a quick run and was pissed off to find out it was going to be slow because the tank needed to get his groove back.

I'd encourage you to check out EG and see what it actually does before haphazardly blaming it for an LFG issue you encountered.

It seems that DKs and Hunters have the hardest time grasping how to play their characters - perhaps because these are the two presumably "easiest" characters to play? It boggles my mind how many level 80 DKs I see that are running around with one or more of their starter trinkets and/or their starter sigil still equipped. For the sigil especially, there's an easily acquired alternative in Grizzly Hills - regardless of their spec.

But yeah - I hope that when I talk to these players, and offer advice, that they see the good intentions and that it positively impacts their game play. I guess we'll never know though, unless one randomly stumbles across this blog and puts two and two together...

It's a slippery slope, no doubt. But I've found if they're vastly underperforming (and in heroics, I consider anyone under 1k dps as an automatic underperformer), that it's usually a case of them not knowing quite what to do with their character. These tend to be the 71 talent points in one tree, grabbing any piece of gear that the game tells them they can wear type. That's a generalization, yes, but these seem to be the folks who just don't know where to start.

In that case, a little bit of advice - particularly well worded and not condescending - can go a long way on improving not just their performance, but undoubtedly, their game experience.

Remember though that the list doesn't reflect gear that you could get in Ulduar, ToC, etc....and there are items in those raids that would place very high on the list.