A quick but important note today, one that is long overdue. If you have never read WTFman.com, do yourself a favor and head on over. While I don’t agree with the site on all points, I still find it a worthwhile read and a piece of MMO history.

This is a ‘blog’ before blogging had a name, dating back to the early days of UO. The guys over at WTFman did some really great things with UO, both with the flash videos (remember how cool flash was?) and their overall commentary. Yes ‘Joy of Villainy’ is a PK guild, yes they acted in ways that UO is most famous for (ganking and such), and yes in today’s WoW world, most will consider them asshats. But if nothing else, they are asshats with style, and not the 13 year old future inmate that most people perceive all PKs to be.

Back when UO launched, WTFman was a site I visited daily. Always full of humor and rants, the site added a new aspect to UO for me, and I’m sure many others. While I never played with the JoV crew in either UO (different server) or AC (different time), I’ve always respected the guys for sticking to their style of play, even as most resisted it strongly. It is also a great site to get into the mind frame of a PK, a well written (usually) glimpse into a game style most won’t experience. Whether you agree or not with how they play, at least reading the site will give you a view of MMOs from that perspective.

Sadly the site was largely dormant after JoV moved on from AC, although a few posts have been going up randomly. To get a full grasp of the site in its prime, check out the archives.

Update: I just realized the archive only goes back to late 1999, which sadly means most of the good UO posts are gone. Still, with a little effort I’m sure enough decent AC and UO posts remain, although they might be a bit more difficult to track down.