Is it a crime to enjoy single player in a multi-player world? UPDATE

I came across some interesting links in my meanderings on the 'net recently...
One of which talks about the endless treadmill one seems to be on in MMOs - the good and bad of it, I suppose.
Here's the link:
http://www.raphkoster.com/2007/04/23/the-game-without-treadmills/

Personally, I find that in WoW if you want powerful items/armour/enchants to said items/armour you need to "farm" or engage in a gathering behaviour repeatedly in a tightly-defined geographic location and repeat doing so until you have the raw materials you need.
Um. Yeah. Great way to keep someone in-game and busy, I suppose but I don't ever recall hearing amazing tales of how the Brave Knight stayed in the Forest of Evil, killing hundreds upon hundreds of evil critters just to collect their spleens or what-have-you (which have a drop rate in the low 1-6% region) and then take his prizes to the local enchanter to have his Sword of Cleaving blessed with a bonus.

Nor do the epic fantasy stories I remember have such a plot device that boils down to "And so, our band of adventurers spent the next 10 days in the Valley of Being Uncomfortably Warm, fighting Fire Elementals until they gathered enough of the life essences from these evil creatures to craft their Enchanted Armour Of Not Dying As Quickly As The Others."

Gathering components for a potion, enchant or armour can be so insanely annoying (not to mention time-consuming) that people end up going to the in-game Auction House (or AH) to just out and out buy what they need. This creates an-in game economy of supply and demand that many have put to good use, gathering the items and selling them on the AH to those who want then and don't have the time/inclination/ability to suspend boredom to do so.

Of course, that requires the in-game coin of the realm. And in WoW, it's gold. Gold that you earn killing things and/or selling things. Of course, where there's money, there's always a way to get more. Which leads to this next link I found. Now I know if you've played an MMORPG you've been spammed at one point or another by companies selling gold. And many people have strong opinions about that. Here's the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6592335.stm

S and I talked a bit more and even managed to play together last night for hours. We had a great time and I really enjoyed gaming. It was one of those things that happens infrequently and I am hopeful that it happens a lot more often.

I found a link that talked about the gaming habits of MMO players and the comments left by readers were illuminating. Here's the link: http://www.dailytech.com/Nick+Yee+Uncovering+the+Truth+Behind+Video+Gamer+Habits/article6278.htm

I never did put that much thought into the seemingly impossible act of getting everyone in a guild to do exactly what they're supposed to do when you tell them to and be able to work together to complete a common objective, like going through a raid or instance. In fact, playing with her last night I asked for her help in finishing a quest - it took us a few tries but I could see how you'd have to have lots of hours of gaming experience in a group to make things go smoothly. As some of you might have noticed me point out in an earlier post, I've spend a majority of my time playing solo.

Oddly enough with a Level 70 character, that means I've put at least (in my case) a month of real-time into leveling - that's total hours logged in and playing. That's a lot of hours for me.
If you're in WoW and really want to know how much of your life went into your character, type "/played" and be prepare to feel surprised/guilty/relieved, depending on what the result is.

I know, there are people who fly through what I did in a matter of days, or perhaps a week or two at most, but I took my time.

The comments on that last link make me think more and more about the vast difference in experiences people have online - and what that means to people in relationships.
I'll have to reflect on this a bit more. Puts the part S's life that is tied into her guild and the dizzying amount of daily effort she pours into it in a slightly different light.