What I am not.

This one might seem a bit odd. I'm not ranting, but expressing my opinion this time. Silly as it may seem, this really is relevant to this game. I'm not sure why I'm talking about it now, but I feel like getting it off my chest. Anyway, let's begin.

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I am probably too sensitive for my own good at times. There are some things that just really irritate me. Usually, I just say "this is a game" and keep moving but that doesn't always work for me. Sometimes, I tell myself to grow up and do my best not to care. Other times, I wonder if I'm really the one who needs to grow up.

Yeah, I know. What am I QQ'ng about this time, right? Let me stand on my soap box so you can all hear this one loud and clear:

I am not your whore.


You might be wondering: Huh? Well, it's simple. Maybe it's a part of internet speak that I'm just late to realize, but I find that term being used more and more in FFXI than any other online venue I come across. When a person is asked to focus on a single task for an extended duration, and only that task, they become the [insert task] "whore."

Refresh Whore, Ballad Whore, Key Whore, Cure Whore, Provoke Whore, Weaponskill Whore, Fishing Whore, or whatever type of whore you can think of...it's just maddening. I realize we live in a time where people are not as sensitive or concerned with the original meaning of a word, but when did it become cool or acceptable to be considered a whore, regardless of how innocent your intention may be?

I'm sure some of you are rolling your eyes and thinking, "Is she fucking serious?" Yeah, I am actually. I find it extremely pathetic that anyone considers this type of...classification as minor. I just don't see how it's acceptable to anyone. Guys, girls, kids, anyone. I wouldn't even consider this to be permissible in a setting full of adults. FFXI most certainly is not full of adults, so I damn sure don't think this is ok here. When you have teens running around saying they'll be such-and-such whore for whatever, it's a problem.

Sure, we're on the this game to have fun. To not care about what's happening beyond the keyboard and the room we're in. Losing ourselves in a fantasy that stays with us long after we've logged out. At the same time, we are interacting with people and affecting them in ways that we may not even know.

I'd be unrealistic to believe that we will all be kind and respectful to one another. We won't do it in reality, so it would be just a foolish notion to think that we can do it in a game made of anonymous people. I can't speak for how other people react to this. Something tells me that I might be part of only a handful of people to actually give a damn. However, that doesn't matter. I don't like it, and I don't want to be called that.

I will be your refresher, your healer, your key person, or any number of other things you need me to be in this game. What I most certainly will NOT be, under any circumstance, is your whore.

I'm thinking it's time for a screenshot post soon. I need something funny to talk about.