WoW friends on Facebook

Despite the fact that I have a million other things I should be doing at the moment, I logged onto Facebook a few minutes ago. I realized, not for the first time, that most of the people I interact with on there frequently are people I know through WoW or a WoW-related website.

I wondered if other people had the same situation so I figured a poll was called for! Feel free to include people you met on WoW-related forums or events like Blizzcon. Only include people you initially met this way, not real life friends you later played with.

When I actually took the time to count only 30% of my friends were WoW-related, but I still think that they make up the bulk of people who I actually interact with on a regular basis.

Percentages were arbitrarily pulled out of my head and shouldn't be mistaken for anything scientific! Descriptions were meant to be tongue in cheek and not to cause offence. Obligatory CBH included.

Agh, I voted Zero before seeing the CBH option.

I said ten percent because I've got something stupid like 350 "friends" which are mostly people I played soccer with over the summers from the time I was in middle/high school till now. (Twenty people on a team per year... it adds up.) That and how everyone from high school adds you when they discover FB.

I'd say I predominantly converse with WoW players on Facebook rather than IRL friends.

I am a closet nerd and don't like to admit to playing wow. 0%!

My FB friends list is made up of about 80% IRL friends and 20% parents of IRL friends. Half the people from High School who tried to add me were outright rejected. I don't have to put up with these heathens anymore. I don't have anyone from any games on any friends list. I play with people I know, and people my friends know to ensure quality. Of the people I regularly converse with about gaming, 3 of the 4 I haven't met personally live in England.

Amshel wrote:I am a closet nerd and don't like to admit to playing wow. 0%!

Hah, I am a bit like that too. Despite the fact that I do have so many WoW friends on Facebook, I never make references to the game on my page or link to anything WoW-related.

My FB identity is based upon my WoW main, I made it to join our Guild FB site. I do not use my real name or add many IRL people because I do not want my bosses and coworkers to track my life in FB. So of my ~35 FB Friends, probably 30 are Guildies or RL friends who play WoW. The others were able to figure out my ID through those connections but they understand that I don't want my real name being associated with FB.

katraya wrote:

Amshel wrote:I am a closet nerd and don't like to admit to playing wow. 0%!

Hah, I am a bit like that too. Despite the fact that I do have so many WoW friends on Facebook, I never make references to the game on my page or link to anything WoW-related.

I have a friend that knows and conversation always gets awkward when they bring it up

"So you're still playing WoW?"

Silence

"Yeah..." /hang head in shame

"Oh lord."

Amshel wrote:

katraya wrote:

Amshel wrote:I am a closet nerd and don't like to admit to playing wow. 0%!

Hah, I am a bit like that too. Despite the fact that I do have so many WoW friends on Facebook, I never make references to the game on my page or link to anything WoW-related.

I have a friend that knows and conversation always gets awkward when they bring it up

"So you're still playing WoW?"

Silence

"Yeah..." /hang head in shame

"Oh lord."

I never understood this why have shame for something you enjoy that does not hurt anyone?

I love gaming and if people can love sports, music, or partying every night I can love gaming.

Also many of my friends on FB are both WoW players and people I know including my mom.

Vanifae wrote:I never understood this why have shame for something you enjoy that does not hurt anyone?

I love gaming and if people can love sports, music, or partying every night I can love gaming.

Also many of my friends on FB are both WoW players and people I know including my mom.

I think it's because she used to be somewhat of a gamer so she acts a little high and mighty that she's quit her games and I haven't. I have no interest in talking about WoW to people who don't play it.

Does it count if the people I know IRL who play WoW are all family members? I have 2 brothers, 4 cousins, 2 uncles and an aunt who all play WoW.

Amshel wrote:I think it's because she used to be somewhat of a gamer so she acts a little high and mighty that she's quit her games and I haven't. I have no interest in talking about WoW to people who don't play it.

If she quit gaming she wasn't much of a gamer.

That's like saying I loved sports but I stopped watching games, praise me for kicking the habit.

Amshel wrote:I think it's because she used to be somewhat of a gamer so she acts a little high and mighty that she's quit her games and I haven't.

Self-righteousness is so attractive.

Although I predictably voted CBH, I don't have any WoW friends on Facebook. I like to keep it separated. Though I did give my guild leader my email for RealID, which I guess is sort of the opposite of the polled question, huh.

Vanifae wrote:

Amshel wrote:

katraya wrote:
Hah, I am a bit like that too. Despite the fact that I do have so many WoW friends on Facebook, I never make references to the game on my page or link to anything WoW-related.

I have a friend that knows and conversation always gets awkward when they bring it up

"So you're still playing WoW?"

Silence

"Yeah..." /hang head in shame

"Oh lord."

I never understood this why have shame for something you enjoy that does not hurt anyone?

Same here. And in fact, I love proving to people that I AM a nerdy gamer. As if to say "hah, not every gamer is a basement dwelling sociopath with no social skills."

Nikachelle wrote:I never understood this why have shame for something you enjoy that does not hurt anyone?

Same here. And in fact, I love proving to people that I AM a nerdy gamer. As if to say "hah, not every gamer is a basement dwelling sociopath with no social skills."[/quote]
Yeah I have to agree with you on that one.

Amshel wrote:I am a closet nerd and don't like to admit to playing wow. 0%!

I think I have 3-4 guildies in my FB friends, and they are all people that I have known IRL before, or in one case, someone that I met in game and since have met IRL. We don't discuss wow on FB.

I'm a part time musician, and I like to keep those nerds separate from the wow nerds I know. The girls tend to respond to the music more, so it wins the FB decision.

I'll talk about it to people who are interested, but that's like someone coming up to me and talking about some gore/surgery/bloodandguts movie they saw, because they love that stuff. I have no interest in that and it makes me sick. I'm not going to babble about this scary pack of hyenas that chased me through the desolate wastelands called Desolace!! to someone who doesn't care.

I'm just selective about the people who know I play.

Amshel wrote:I'll talk about it to people who are interested, but that's like someone coming up to me and talking about some gore/surgery/bloodandguts movie they saw, because they love that stuff. I have no interest in that and it makes me sick. I'm not going to babble about this scary pack of hyenas that chased me through the desolate wastelands called Desolace!! to someone who doesn't care.

I'm just selective about the people who know I play.

Totally acceptable it was the sentiment not you personally that I was at fault with.

Vanifae wrote:

Amshel wrote:I'll talk about it to people who are interested, but that's like someone coming up to me and talking about some gore/surgery/bloodandguts movie they saw, because they love that stuff. I have no interest in that and it makes me sick. I'm not going to babble about this scary pack of hyenas that chased me through the desolate wastelands called Desolace!! to someone who doesn't care.

I'm just selective about the people who know I play.

Totally acceptable it was the sentiment not you personally that I was at fault with.

I like to think everything is about me. It's okay.

Nikachelle wrote:Same here. And in fact, I love proving to people that I AM a nerdy gamer. As if to say "hah, not every gamer is a basement dwelling sociopath with no social skills."

You say that like it's a bad thing. It's not my fault that I like pointy things. Pointy... Pointy... Pointy...

I was going to hit zero...but then I realized that there is one single person who I have friended on Facebook after first knowing them on WoW. Definitely the rare exception rather than the rule...I'm perfectly happy with a split between my real life and online gaming social networks.

The only reason I even joined FB was because some of my guildies wanted me to. (See also: myspace.) Over the years, a few of my RL friends have stumbled across my page, but it remains largely just people from WoW.

(This isn't directed at anyone, it was just something I was reminded about when reading the thread)
I have trouble understanding why people like to keep such huge separations between various aspects of their social lives (and most people seem to do this). I understand the importance of separation of work and personal things, and I know I tend to be the weird one for being so open about things with everyone, but I don't see what the big importance is about hiding who you are from one social situation to the next.

I guess the most similar thing I have had is family life versus my nerd social life. I used to keep them separate because it was just easier that way, but then I stopped being so secretive about it and stopped hiding what my real hobbies are. If a relative asked me "How are you? What have you been up to?", instead of staying the usual "I'm good, same old stuff" I would be like "I'm really excited about this new costume I have been working on." Of course there are still some members of my family that I have to keep things secret from, but you know who you can tell things to and who you can't ("What? Why aren't you spending that time studying?!"), and for the most part I feel like family should be the people you can be yourself with.

I understand if people just, for whatever reason, don't want to mix the two social lives. But I guess what I don't understand is why so many people do it.

It's no so much about hiding things, I just don't see any online gaming I do (which is very little these days anyway) and relevant to my other social activities. I am myself around my friends...I simply don't considering my online gaming to be who I am, it's just something I do now and again with free time. If it was a bigger part of my identity, I could see how it'd see strange to keep those realms separate.

On the other hand, on a more pragmatic note, for many careers having a reputation as an avid online gamer can be a liability. I'm not saying that's fair, but it's often true (fortunately, not an issue in my job though).