Work vs. Game

Derived from an essay by Zubon

In-game

We do not have five-hour meetings.

When we gather a large group of people for five hours, we plan to slaughter monsters by the thousand, thereby amassing great wealth to be divided equally.

In-game

We do not spend the first half hour of our gathering engaging in a clever ice-breaker designed to get those creative juices flowing and put everyone in the right mental place for a free-wheeling discussion.

We spend the first half-hour alt-tabbed, doing something useful, while waiting for everyone to get to the right zone.

In-game

The raid leader does not pretend free-wheeling discussions matter.

We do not pretend that this is a participatory democracy in which you are encouraged to contribute your views, only to have them ignored in favor of a previously decided message of “We are doing it in the following way!” We go straight to the top-down message. If you have a workable alternative, it will be considered; otherwise, shut up.

In-game

The guild leader does not show up late, deliver vague and uninspiring remarks, and then disappear until the end, when they return and dictate the conclusion.

Anyone trying that crap gets no drops and is banned from future raids, healer or no. Being further up the guild chain of command obligates you to participate in the entire event.

In-game

We learn from our mistakes.

If we do the same thing every time, it means that it worked last time. Unless there were disruptions by morons or bad lag, a strategy that failed last time will not do any better this time. Complete wipes, while valuable teaching moments, are not common in the workplace.

In-game

We may break out for small group work, but not for brainstorming.

Each small group will be accomplishing some separate goal needed for collective success, rather than separately covering the same ground as other group. We are more likely to be scouring an area for survivors and finishing them off. Group membership will be chosen to enhance success, rather than on the basis of who is sitting where.

In-game

When our small groups are reporting out their activity, there are two acceptable answers:

1. we're all set

2. we're all dead

You may also gloat briefly if something very shiny dropped.