Yet-another-rant from Blu = "The best" and all it entails

Bluspacecow · 11-03-09, 08:28 AM

Official forums are down so I'm bored

I've been noticing a trend that's really a little annoying at times. Don't get me wrong. I'm not losing sleep over this or super angry about this.

I just find all a little silly that's all.

What is it ?

It's people's obsession with "The best [fill in the blank] addon".

They demand to know what is the currently fashionable addon for one particular thing on their UI. Like there is only one true addon to use and death to anyone from the opposing camp for "daring" to suggest their addon is "better" to use.

Why does having "the best addon" matter ?

Are they afraid that someones going to come along and give them demerit points for "using the wrong addons and irresponsibly configuring UI" ?

That someone's going to notice them using the wrong buffs addon and call them out on it when they post their PVP video to you tube ?

That by choosing the wrong questing addon their computer's going to explode in fairy bits and they are going to break out in boils ?

That somewhere , somehow there's going to be masses of kittens dying because they picked the wrong unit frames addon ?

IMHO They seem to ignore one simple fact :

At the end of the day the only person it all matters to is the person who's sitting at the computer playing with that addon.

You could argue long after the cows come home about how heavenly this addon is written using celestial dust by gods , carressed & optimized by hand by beautiful boxen goddess and how that other addon is the scum of the earth etc etc.

It's not going to matter at all if it doesn't fulfill a users requirements. If they can't fit it into their play style they're not going to use it. They'll try it out for a bit then reject it.

So I'm sorry but I don't believe there is one single best addon in any one category. All addons in a particular category has something to offer a player. Something unique that only means something to the player that installs it.

The "best" doesn't really mean anything at all. A player needs to be comfortable using it for them to install it. They're not going to go through the effort of updating if they didn't feel it was worth their while / liked the author's work.

This is why there is so many addons out there that effectively do the same thing but with different boxes laid out on the screen - theres an addon out there for everyone and no there is no "best [fill in the blank] addon" that trumps other addons in that catergory.

Even the "Donalds"(1) of the world

(1) Donald of Wears new boots on his head Dark Legacy fame.

TY For listening

Dawn · 11-03-09, 09:09 AM

You really wonder why people that play a game about improving a fictional character with better and better gear are concerned about getting the "best in slot" addon? The same people that judge others by gearscore, achievements or other things. People that are watching their dps meter like it's the only thing that matters, while dieing in the fire ... Look I did over ninethousaaaaaand DEEePPEssss! (and 90k damage during the whole fight, because he died 20secs after it started)

People always try getting "the best" out of everything, even more if they know crap about what the **** things are about in detail. You know, being on the mainstream side of life can't be wrong until the whole thing fails, but than again you will just be one of all those that failed, too! Which is fine, because the failure is not only on your side! Resulting in a little cry and QQ and everyone jumps on the "the next best thing" train again ... woot.

Starinnia · 11-03-09, 09:14 AM

Of course people want "the best" addon. It is human nature to categorize everything, even things that should not be categorized. However, usually when somebody wants the best threat meter, they have criteria in mind, they just choose not to share them with the rest of us.

After all, it is less typing to say "the best threat meter" instead of "a threat meter that uses low memory, low cpu time, presents the information clearly, but with enough customization that it will match the rest of my UI".

Remember, we're all lazy.

Bluspacecow · 11-03-09, 09:51 AM

Originally Posted by Starinnia

After all, it is less typing to say "the best threat meter" instead of "a threat meter that uses low memory, low cpu time, presents the information clearly, but with enough customization that it will match the rest of my UI".

Yes but that's not to imply that the better addons to use are the ones that "uses low memory, low cpu time, presents the information clearly, but with enough customization that it will match the rest of my UI"

Someone could have a good enough computer to make memory and cpu time a fairly trival concern. They might be a fighter pilot to whom have tons of stats all over the screen fits their play style.

They may not even care about customising it to fit into the rest of their UI. It could be the only highly visible part of their UI. They may even prefer how the configuration method of the addon.

They could be a grand mother who cares not a whit about "fps" or "memory foot print" and just wants something they know how to operate.

Dawn · 11-03-09, 10:04 AM

Yeah but it is going way to far, when laziness goes so far that no one on earth knows what the **** that person is talking about, right? I mean just read through some addon comments, where people are "requesting" things or "reporting" errors like: "I want to get IT changed!" (Right, what again?) "It's not working, hAlpplZ!" (Not working? Not at all? Or just something? Error message? Oh, come on ... just give me at least something to work with.)

I really can't prevent myself of thinking about dumbness instead of laziness, sometimes. People should care about communication/language as something being important enough to care about. People shouldn't cripple every single word just because it saves them typing some more letters and blame laziness for it. Personally I really tend to ignore people that can't express something in an understandable way. And I doubt that is what people want when they have issues, requests, whatever ... English is not my native language, but I do care to at least somehow get to a point when I write down something.

So people are lazy? Obviously. Does this justify anything? Not at all.

I could nail it down to something like this:
If you have no idea about some specific things, IT IS FINE! No one expects from you to be a programmer or PRO-XYZ at anything or everything. But don't try to be "cool", don't try to hide you ignorance of something and clearly state that you don't know specifics. Just state your problems in an understandable way and it will be okay.

Bluspacecow · 11-03-09, 07:59 PM

Dawn I had a thought about this last night but never got to post it as I was on an overnight shift and had to come home to sleep

I guess what I find really annoying is when people assume that the requirements they need from an addon is better then someone else's requirements. They assume that what they need or want from an addon will the be the same for everyone else and factors into when they pick an addon to be the "best".

Different strokes for different folks

kronpas · 11-03-09, 10:31 PM

I dont mind wading through the sea of addons to try what is the best for my need, but some ppl cant do that. They dont have time, or aint PC/addon "geek". We only recently discovered that the holy paladin in the guild used nothing but Pallypower. He doesnt use any unitframe or raid frame as they were "too complicated to config". In that case, no wonder why they ask "whats the best addon out there".

Bluspacecow · 11-03-09, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by kronpas

I dont mind wading through the sea of addons to try what is the best for my need, but some ppl cant do that. They dont have time, or aint PC/addon "geek". We only recently discovered that the holy paladin in the guild used nothing but Pallypower. He doesnt use any unitframe or raid frame as they were "too complicated to config". In that case, no wonder why they ask "whats the best addon out there".

That's a good point kronpas.

Some people say "give me the best addon" when they really mean "just tell me the most popular one everyone else is using"

The 2 concepts are not the same

Yhor · 11-03-09, 11:24 PM

While we're ranting

...

It aggravates me when people try too hard to help someone who doesn't want "help", they want you to do everything for them... and then they tell you "you're doing it wrong" (you didn't help me correctly, gtfo).

If someone doesn't want to be helped bad enough to make a reasonable effort with a request, I normally pass them by. I think it's Torhal's sig that says "If you type pls because it's shorter than please, then I type no because it's shorter than yes"; I agree with that on so many levels even though I don't follow it in practice. Leet speak and lazy typing on a discussion forums is counterproductive and rude, imo. I realize this is completely normal in WoW and on Oforums, but when asking for legitimate help... 'nuff said.

As far as the best addons... anything with bacon? I like bacon and I want the best bacon I can find. I want it cooked and on my plate, asap.
*tries bacon from Tekkub's dispenser*
But I wanted smoked cheddar bacon, with jalepeno sauce sprinkled on it... but not too much.
*tries new bacon from Tekkub's dispenser*
But the sauce is too hot, and why does it take so long... I'll tell my friends how bad your bacon is and they wont eat it! That'll show you!

*I used Tekkub and bacon as an example. I think Tekkub makes some really good WoW bacon and I fully endorse Tekkub's Emporium of Awesome Bacon. All examples using Tekkub and bacon are for representational purposes only and not to be read in a literal fashion.

**Torhal's sig quote may or may not be from Torhal's sig, and it may not be 100% accurate in grammar or spelling. I'm not young anymore and going by memory is not recommended by people who know me, but I try anyway.

btw... Thanks for a new rant thread, I feel much better now.

sakurakira · 11-04-09, 07:10 AM

Originally Posted by Yhor

"If you type pls because it's shorter than please, then I type no because it's shorter than yes."

This is awesome! Unfortunately, the cynic in me says that the really thick people this applies to wouldn't get it...

I've seen this kind of a topic pop occasionally concerning healing frames. Specifically the ongoing war between grid, healbot, and (the newcomer) vuhdo, seems very common. I've seen this topic in guild chat in game, heard it on vent, and read it in forums. People always seem convinced that the one they use is the "best."

(I'll admit to being guilty of this a time or two...)