Wizards Speak Out! (But Not Obnoxiously, Please)

Hello Wizards of the universe (spiral to be more specific).  As many of you know, I have my hand in quite a few community related locations throughout the spiral (and beyond).  Well, I did up until college...and over Thanksgiving Break I kinda started to get a bit more involved again.  Piggle Rallying, completing CL for the first time, etc.  Yes, yes, I'm all legendary and stuff now. [INSERT EVIL GRIN HERE]  Really though, I'm seeing some issues in the community I was once so active in.

The issue I'm talking about is one of language.  Yes, language.  No, I do not mean the language barrier between English speaking players and Foreign language speaking players.  The language in-game (in the spiral [ITS]) and also outside of the game (in the greater Wizard City area where the vast majority of wizards' islands spend their time floating around so that we all have places to stay when we're not off combating evil and where we can continue to keep in touch with friends from the game [AKA Twitter, Wizard101 ConnectX, Facebook *though I don't have one for wizards...*, blogs, Wizard101 Central, etc.] has been rapidly declining.  ITS at least, KingsIsle has language filters in place (that some naughty wizards circumvent for their own purposes...) but Twitter has nothing of this nature to protect its younger users from the foul mouths of some older players.  This needs to stop; and it will stop if wizards will just start using their heads.  It is well understood that the Wizard101 Twitter Feeds are meant to be safe for players of all ages to view.

Would you ever run into battle without a deck equipped?  What about a wand?  These are vital pieces of a wizard's battle kit and completely necessary for survival.  All of that is nothing without thinking about which cards to play.  Yes, I said THINKING.  I am aware that many of you enter the spiral to decompress after a long day (I know I do quite often) but the thinking is still there.  It might be semi-automatic now, but you still carefully consider which cards to play when and in what order.  Trap stacking specifically requires much thought.  Why isn't this much thought being put into things that small children read? 

Basically, we need to think before we tweet (yes mom, I know it's supposed to be think before you speak but I'm modifying here...)  Older twizards (wizards that use twitter) should not have to be consciously monitoring what is being said to ding people on saying inappropriate things.  Even phonetic spellings of words not meant for young ears should ever be sent out. 

So, I'm being a bit rambly today but it's something that just really irks me.  We should be protecting the the minds of the future generations so that they don't end up as twisted as they might if we keep up the language.  Please everyone, let's put on our filters before we speak, or there will be people there to call you on it. 

Your [Overly Protective] Friend Always,
John Lifeglen

Etiquette 101

Hello, fellow wizards of the spiral! I wanted to take this time to tell you all that I arrived at school, managed to move in, and I am doing great.  Classes start tomorrow and I write this post for a couple of reasons.  The first is to tell you that I'm here still, and no official hiatus is in order yet.  That is yet to be determined, though many fine bloggers out there are taking some minor breaks. :( 

The second thing I'd like to talk about it what the /\ Title /\ suggests.  I wanted to approach this in a fun and fresh manner, and after your responses to my fanfic rant, I have decided that fanfic will be my new medium for communicating points.  Here we go!

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After cancelling my subscription to the Wizard101 Press, I headed to the library to get my fill of information from Harold Argleston.  Upon arriving at the library, I dismounted Mufasa, tied him to the large, stone column, and headed inside.  The warm glow of magical lighting and the smell of musty old books filled the air, and I felt at home.  Embarking on the journey down the seemingly-endless hallway, I stumbled upon a book that caught my eye.  This particular volume was titled "Etiquette for Student Wizards".  Thumbing through the volume, I stopped on a page about writing for any publication, especially one for the Spiral Wide Web.  It said:

On Personal Details, and Inter-student Communications

Young wizards should not post any personal details for their own protection, nor should they share contact information about any other wizards.  This is how students get into sticky situations and find themselves trapped.  Also, students should not publicize any issues with other students, especially not on Spiral Networking Sites such as Wandbook, MyDorm, or Owler.  Student issues should remain anonymous so as not to spoil anyone else's opinion based on one negative experience, and posting names of questionable students in the Spell-tags of a post is a most grievous offense.  All students reading Spiral Wide Web publications are reminded that it is solely the opinion of one student, and not that of everyone.  When in doubt, contact the student you have problems with directly, and through private channels.  When sharing information, remember to get permission to share personal contact information from the party in question.  Again, when in doubt, post a direct Wandlink rather than an Owling address. It is the opinion of...

 

And the text continued on.  Now armed with the information I was seeking about creating and maintaining a Wandsite to be respected, and how to deal with and resolve problems in a private manner, I checked out the volume with Harold Argleston and headed back out to my Lion.  Mufasa greeted me happily, using his coarse tongue on my cheek to let me know I was missed, more like a dog than a large cat.  I jumped lithely onto the back of my friend and cast my spell to go home.

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Thanks for stopping by! More fun posts planned for the near future...unless class work gets too hectic :/

Your Friend Always,

John Lifeglen