The IDGAF Pandemic

Reddit has Reddiquette. WoT needs WoTiquette.

I'm wondering what makes humans cease being kind and loving towards each other, and turns them into cancerous fuckwits like we experience in this game every day, nearly every match…

I know these same people play all sorts of games, and that this behavior exists in all sorts of games, and all over life, so it definitely has a culture connection. Now more than ever, we live in an IDGAF world. But moreover, I feel like WoT injects a special kind of cancer into the mix.

Is it because of stats? Is it the emotional response to the gamification industry, in this case, pay to win products on a tank-game distribution platform?

Does it matter why? Is there anything we as a community can do about it, besides disabling chat? Do WG employees really enjoy playing judge, jury and executioner for unsportsmanlike conduct and physics abuse tickets?

Today on a map, I was in my STB-1 and guy in his Leopard 1 was in front of me. We were engaging targets in front of us. We were in an echelon formation, so that we could retreat as needed. Then I lagged out, and he backed into me, and turned his hull 90 degrees, presumably to GTFO, but that's when he ate the most damage. While I was lagging out, I wrote – "I'm lagging out Leo! Sorry!!" A few moments later, while not lagging out, the situation was reversed. I was shooting things, and the drove his Leo up my ass and helped me eat a bunch of damage.

This got me thinking: If you're an asshole, you probably think everyone else is also an asshole. If a teammate does something toward you, you're probably thinking it's personal and you need to annihilate them immediately. What kind of a game makes us think this way? Behave this way? This Leo had his chat on. He threw in an LOL here and there. Clearly he could communicate, but chose not to.

As I was putting in a physics abuse ticket for this event, I pondered: Do WG employees enjoy spending their time this way? Perhaps if WG designed a platform to promote sportsmanlike conduct, they could save years off their life from dealing with unsportsmanlike activities. Could they gamify sportsmanship? Maybe they don’t know their stats and progression system rewards shitty play. Or maybe they do and they’re hoping the offended player just buys another premium tank with premium shells and premium time.

Promoting good behavior activities is obviously not their job or their product, but policing the player base can’t be cheap.

I started down this line of reflection all because an EBR decided not to scout Redshire after we lost a flank. A bunch of us were in position to shoot and all we needed was an active scout. He decided to die alone, last, instead of risk almost nothing as he went trololololol through bushes and give us a fighting chance to win… Obviously, he could be one of those “I’m playing for myself” fuckheads, but we were way beyond that threshold. I’m a scout player. When I see deliberate behavior like this, it makes me want to strangle them. Not cause of them, but this IDGAF thing… It also makes me appreciate players who give a fuck. I know they’re out there. Some are on my friends list. But god damn, why are there so many IGAFers and what can be done to limit the spread?