Insomniac Librarians Why sleep when there's field literature?

Just as in real life, some players will judge another based on how they're dressed. This is a horrible idea. Truly advanced players have been known to enter battle naked to avoid equipment damage from non player characters. Others ARE in good gear that is rarely seen about the realm.

Let's not write off minds based on fashion. Imposing draconian dress codes on employees stifles intellectual freedom. It also hinders public service. A lumberjack in flannels might not feel comfortable talking to a Librarian that's dressed to kill.

Have you ever had dial a story at your Library? Perhaps you've needed to discuss pension plans at a distance? Deep interactions at a distance can be a little awkward if one's not had a lot of practice. Never fear! An add on called Ventrilo allows players to discusss strategies using a microphone in real time. This allows players to not only pvp, but also succeed in complex instances such as Karazhan and Gruul's Lair.

The image is courtesy of ventrilo.com.

You might not think that gaming involves budgeting and stewardship, but think again, pal.

I can safely say that the Guild Vault records are infinitely more complex than the financials were for my tiny rural Public Library. Hundreds of Guild Members and thousands of items will do that.

Public Relations work is the in game Guild Recruitment.

I get this phone call, as I was on WOW tonight. I was in a good mood, so I answer it in English.

"Hello?"

"Yes, ma'm, we're conducting a survey. We aren't asking for money, and it'll be brief..."

My curiousity was piqued.

"Where do you turn for reliable information?"

This took me very little time, maybe a quarter of a second casting about, before I emphatically responded.

"Librarians!"

Yer man thanked me and hung up.

So I wake up of a weekend to find a piece of trash in me inbox from James Rettig via Keith Fiels about what they consider political speech.

*************

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: Keith Michael Fiels
Sent: Sep 5, 2008 3:49 PM
To: ALACOUN
Subject: [alacoun] Message from ALA President Jim Rettig

Dear Colleagues:

Haven't you always wanted to be * on World of Warcraft?

Come to the dark side!

Kirin Tor server, we just got started.

Awards, particularly the lifetime achievement flavour, seem to be loaded, risky business. This seems a particularly stinky year for those particularly sticky awards. The people that have the dubious honour of sitting these committees have my sympathy as well as my scorn. In a very inclusive field, why do we feel the need to have exclusive awards?

Like pornography, we tend to know who deserves one of those jobbies when we see them. Something resonates in us, and we think "Yeah, they deserve it."

I'd love to see the feelings set aside for substance.

This is a How Not To on website design:

http://prattsilssitesucks.wordpress.com/

It serves to spotlight how awful a lot of our stuff is, but more importantly, how one might improve things in future. I must say (and I really, really, hoped against hope I'd never have to) that I think the Pratt site trumps ALA's in terms of confusion.