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Elsethread, 'Boops made an observation that is not unusual nor unique to him*:
Casual_Boops, on Jan 24 2023 - 19:35, said:
So many people get their knickers knotted because others are playing low or mid tiers, or on the SA server. The question, then, is given the hysterics they present that there MUST be some perceived harm being done to them - otherwise their attitude would be the same "meh" that they exhibit when finding out, for instance, that I ride a Honda Forza.**
Therefore ... what's the injury? Well, one possibility is that lower-tier SA players are depriving them of HP to farm at higher tiers. I can sort of manage Tier VIII, and have a few IXes and Xes that I don't completely crap myself in, but for the most part I'm just a crop at those levels. But that sort of complaint is never really voiced*** so if it IS one of the reasons, it's a well-hidden one.
It may be that it's a truly honest and heartfelt .... heartfelt ... honest ... Apologies. I'm laughing too hard to type "honest and heartfelt concern for the new player seals, driving them off in droves." I expect that seal clubbing has been going on since Month Two or thereabouts, as soon as there was a discernible advantage from higher tier players dropping back down. It did not seem to discourage them from climbing up the ranks and, more importantly, if somebody new to a game gets discouraged by having their butt whupped, then they're probably too much of a snowflake anyway and Candy Crush is on sale this week.
No, it has to be something personal and painful to create such an amount of hate and bitterness. The answer is, no surprise, "statistics." For some, stats are irrelevant. For others, they're a great way of keeping track of their progress in the game. But for a large and vocal percentage, statistics are an essential part of their own self-worth. Game stats have zero value in the Real World - in fact, they arguably have negative value since acquiring them represents time NOT spent in furthering education or engaging in productive work. For statstitutes, though, that's possibly the highest accomplishment they have in life, and thus anything that devalues that accomplishment results in something akin to a nervous breakdown and a foaming-at-the-mouth frothing rage.
"HOW DARE BIG GREEN SEAL CLUB ON SA AND GET A PURPLE COLOR????" Ya know what? No skin off my nose. Heck, he could bump up into the ultraviolet by playing Whack-A-LOLtraktor and it doesn't take one dime out of my paycheck, one brick out of my house, or one tire off my Forza. But that Big Green's main account is a purple is apparently a serious affront to some, because, I guess, it means that their dark green is worth less. E-peen envy. It's ugly. Sadly, it's also incurable.
"HOW DARE SOME MEDIOCHRE SAY SOMETHING ABOUT MY GREEN 'THOUGHTS?'" That's just an ad hominem logical fallacy and, as quite a few here point out, logical fallacies are signs of a losing argument that cannot win on the merits. Why should it matter that a player is such a tomato that XVM had to invent a new Infra-red setting for him? The idea either has merit or not, and stats only add or remove weight from the value of the idea. Skill level can have value when discussing mechanics or tactics. But in other areas in life? Not so much.
"P2W! RIGGING! CHEATING!" So? I'm a selfish SOB. If I'm enjoying the game then it matters squat to me IRT what others may be doing. Let's take a rigger's worst nightmare and presume that 50% of all players are cheating. That means that my 29 person co-play unit is likely equally balanced for cheating potential and the game remains reasonably balanced. I will go forth with my pew-pew machine and have fun. But ohhhh, if those riggers are affecting MY STATS, then the statstitute issue becomes more painfully obvious.
In short ... stats are a useful part of the game in that they let me know I'm getting gooder and gooder. Slowly. But they're also responsible for one of the most toxic parts of the game as well. Maybe one solution is to figure out a way to keep them private - but until then ... well, stay away from those dark game corners where the statstitutes hang out is all I can say.
*while 'Boops is LIKELY male, I'm making no a$$umptions here. But I AM a traditionalist, stickler, and utter pedant when it comes to English and the male pronoun is also the pronoun used when the gender of the person is unknown.
**today. When it's 30 degrees and beautifully sunny outside.
***other than in regard to players suiciding, but that's a different matter.
