Wikia has just introduced a new feature to replace user talk pages called Message Wall. It functions very similarly to the comment system used by blogs like this one. It supports wikicode (albeit, probably with a few bugs initially), but does not require it and allows for simple automatic thread organization.

• 1 Pros and cons
  • 1.1 Pros
  • 1.2 Cons
• 2 My thoughts

• Optional. It can be turned on/off in the Wikia Labs control panel (usable by admins only).
• Clean user interface and easy to use.
• Still supports wikicode for images and sigs.
• Supports sorting by Newest threads, Oldest threads, Newest replies, or Most active. (Not sure how many at a time or what other specific criteria might be.)
• Allows simple thread organization based on replies to an initial post.
• Us…

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Just thought I'd share the nice holiday card Wikia staff sent me.

You can see the clean original on Blizzard's site from 2009.

They also gave me a big pack of holiday cards.

US

WoW is now dirt cheap at the US Blizzard Store!

• $5 WoW Battle Chest (Classic World of Warcraft + Burning Crusade expansion)
• $10 Wrath of the Lich King expansion
• $20 Cataclysm expansion

That's basically $35 for everything through Cataclysm!

EU

...and now also on sale (but sadly not as good a deal) at the EU Blizzard store!

• €9.99 WoW Battle Chest (Classic World of Warcraft + Burning Crusade expansion)
• €24.99 Wrath of the Lich King expansion
• €24.99 Cataclysm expansion

Basically €60 for the lot.

I will try to keep this blog post up to date and modify it based on commentary.

Commentary on casuals...

As much press as hardcore players get around World of Warcraft, the difference in making money or not for Blizzard Entertainment is not the hardcore players. Hardcore players don't represent the majority of players, but use up a vast majority of the resources in the game. This is because it is obvious that Blizzard spends a majority of its time catering to hardcore players. They spend inordinate amounts of time creating, refining and tweaking top-level raids, creating and tinkering with itemization for top-level raids and heroic instances, and responding to complaints and support requests from raiders. Blizzard is falling into the squeaky…

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I'm just going to excerpt this crazy advice article.

I’m paying my tween son to farm gold for me in World of Warcraft. My wife is horrified; I equate it with paying him to mow the lawn. Am I a terrible dad?

Excerpt:

...While your kid will be better served by pulling weeds, that doesn’t mean you have to give up your dream of becoming a level-85 Night Elf. There are plenty of Chinese firms willing to fatten any WOW character’s coffers for a fee. Or perhaps you’d like to purchase Mr. Know-It-All’s account: Any interest in an orc shaman named after a Family Ties character? I’m looking to quit the game so I can spend more time with my son.

Oh great, so now Wired.com is recommending going to a Gold farmer service over paying one of your kids to farm go…

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