Patch Notes for "The Burning Crusade"?

[Concillian]

Actually, I would expect nothing but the exact opposite.
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Let me explain how I see it fitting in with the Lurker mentality of old. I've been here for nearly as long as you, though probably with a longer haitus, as I didn't realize Bolty re-started the LL until whatever my current re-register date is. But I'm well aware of the roots of the Lounge.

I guess I see the mixing of the aesthetics of toons as expressing the exact same sort of attitude you describe in experimental builds for Diablo.

'alternate playstyles' in character builds for WoW are difficult to justify because you either have to solo them all the time (cutting out large portions of the game), or expose other people to your weaknesses. This was not the case in Diablo, as nobody else suffered when I played my bow-weilding Diablo II paladin in a passworded game by myself, and I could experience all the game content in doing so. In WoW you are limited in such alternate builds and sub-par equipment, as you potentially risk your entire group, and there are potential social ramifications to these ways of extracting additional enjoyment from the game. Party mates can get disgruntled with your performance because of your odd talent build, for instance. This is something that could potentially be fun for you at the expense of others kind of thing, something that I think most Lurkers are not really into. I mean you aren't going to have much success as rogue that only weilds bows in a group, even though it may be a viable way to play solo (once you get gouge).

So what's left in the 'alternate playstyle' characters? Aesthetics. I would have thought that Lurkers would be into alternate character models because of the exact same reasons you described that they might not be.

I apologize for not being able to see it from yours and Tal's (and apparently others) perspective. In my mind I equated pigeonholing your play into 'pretty' races was akin to the powergaming that you described, but on a role-playing level rather than a character build level. Clearly there are those who feel my view was the powergaming perspective.

Two interpretations of the same history. Lurker variety is alive.

We are both guilty of not realizing that there is more than one perspective on the issue.

I really do thank you for explaining your perspective more fully, as it helped me see things from a perspective I was not considering. I hope my explanation allows others to see things from a perspective they were not considering.