In retort to GamingSucks.com

Mrs. ShellyQ,

My name is Kirk and I represent Gametrash.com, a quickly growing gaming site. Recently, one of our members stumbled across a website- your own- attacking gamers and claiming we all are, to paraphrase, a bunch of useless ingrates who ruin lives with our obsessive habits.

Of course, we feel sorry for you. We in no way intend to stipulate your situation is a fair one, or that your husband is doing something right. However, we cannot stand to let you flaunt your flawed logic or base assumptions any longer without a proper retort from our community. The way in which you make conclusions based on your deadbeat husband is absolutely unwarranted and harms the reputation of many gamers who are very much unlike what you contend us to be. We are absolutely nothing like you have stated- you may have perfect examples of what you say so far as your husband is concerned, but it seems like you are grossly misinformed about real gamers.

Real gamers do not hide in their basements playing on their computers all day. We do not abandon families or relationships just to play a shoddy MMORPG. We are normal human beings, a cross section of the world that enjoys electronic entertainment, much as people did years ago in arcades, and even years before sitting in front of the Television. Being a gamer is not a disease, a crime, nor a tell-tale sign of infidelity.

You are simply putting the blame on the wrong people. Blizzard did not intend to make your life problematic. Blizzard made World of Warcraft to make money by doing what they enjoyed and thought would be entertaining- making a Massively Mutliplayer Online Game. They did not sneak up on your husband and make him an addict to the game with some arcane spell or ritual- rather, your husband willingly and voluntarily shelled out the cash to purchase the game and the account and play for himself. He willingly found friends on the game, talks to them on Ventrilo and plays the game, and does everything you mentioned- all of his own free will.

Obviously that means that the issue lies not with the game, it lies with your husband. The image of your husband you have portrayed (though we know it may be slightly biased and/or skewed), is synonymous with that of a deadbeat father addicted to alcohol- and I have not seen any examples of a ?beersucks.com? written by an angry wife. The answer, therefore, is that it lies with the person you married and had three children with- not some repetitive game featuring elves and dwarves.

If you wish to actually learn about gamers, then do so from a real perspective. Gamers are everywhere- as students, as hard workers, good parents, and good members of society. The reason you possibly do not realize what kind of people gamers are is the fact that you may know gamers who do not make it blatantly obvious from your ?100 reasons why gaming sucks...?. Why not try looking for gamers with credentials other than being your husband, before you make such grand statements regarding them?

The message of your website is quite sad, and by no means do I intend to lift up your husband. The issue in this case lies with your husband, and it is sad when we see situations like this arise. As you probably already know, MMORPGs are infamous for these kinds of problems because people become addicted for very stupid reasons, and end up harming themselves or others over it. However, much like the tragic example of Columbine High School, you are blaming the wrong thing- in that case, it was Doom and violent video games, and in this case, it is addictive World of Warcraft.

Before you continue your vicious attack on gaming, I think it may be time for you to look at gaming as a whole. Your situation is bad, a situation none of us would ever want to be in- but you seem to be placing your anger and your frustrations upon an innocent group who is, for the most part, banded together only by an interest, much like that of Snowboarders and Sports Fans.

To close, let me give you some advice: Delete his account. Stop putting all these energies into a website and begin placing them where they belong- your husband. Log onto his account at worldofwarcraft.com and delete it. E-mail Blizzard and tell them your situation. Begin ignoring your husband back. Look into getting him counseling- but do not blame his poor judgment and actions on someone else. We have feelings too, though being a gamer may lead us to ?social isolation? and we may be ?untrustworthy?.

Thanks,
Kirk
Kirk(AT)Gametrash.com
www.gametrash.com

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