Many of you probably know of Ferraro, author of blog Paladin Schmaladin. There was a lot of drama surrounding that site as it became known that Ferraro had been posting pics of another person without permission and passing it off as themselves. Then when confronted about it, Ferraro admitted to the farce and then further revealed that she/he was the 7th in a long line of Ferraro's ala the Dread Pirate Roberts in the Princess Bride (book/movie), which is also debated if that is true. This is a rough summary and I'm sure I missed many details of the whole debacle.
The Ferraro facade, TechDarling
So basically, all this drama caused so much controversy but Ferraro continues to blog (after coming back from quitting blogging when the drama broke out) as well as adding more bloggers on board his/her site. I'm sure many paladins have been helped out by his/her website, much as I have been too. Ferraro is a prolific blogger and is intensely interested in the paladin class as proven by the many varied posts on the blog.
As an anonymous blogger myself, I wouldn't want to out any one that chooses to blog anonymously. However, Ferraro has chosen to out him/her self.
I have no clue how long this has been up but I guess since WoW Armory was revamped as there is now an armory link for a holy paladin on the side, which I assume is Ferraro #7 =P
I am not sure why Ferraro has decided to do this now and apparently, without much fanfare or comment from his/her readers. It just makes me curious.
I only noticed this because Ferraro posted a simple video of him/her healing a 5 man dungeon heroic for the daily 2 Frost Emblems and revealed his/her character in the process.
This really piqued my curiosity and I must confess that I spent some time trying to search for the armory link. I failed at that but then I belatedly noticed the actual armory link on the website - double fail.
This raises a few thoughts in my head. As an anonymous blogger myself for very specific reasons, I wouldn't appreciate it if someone tried to reveal me. Why did I seek to find out his/her character?
After I was done with all this though, some questions were raised in my head.
In the end, I don't think I would want to out myself just yet. I have already made a few slip ups and I know 1 reader for sure that knows my real life character's name (even though I have transferred since then but my name is the same and on a short list in the armory).
I really don't mind helping other paladins but though I have stated my reasons for my preference for anonymity before, here they are again.
The Ferraro facade, TechDarling
So basically, all this drama caused so much controversy but Ferraro continues to blog (after coming back from quitting blogging when the drama broke out) as well as adding more bloggers on board his/her site. I'm sure many paladins have been helped out by his/her website, much as I have been too. Ferraro is a prolific blogger and is intensely interested in the paladin class as proven by the many varied posts on the blog.
As an anonymous blogger myself, I wouldn't want to out any one that chooses to blog anonymously. However, Ferraro has chosen to out him/her self.
I have no clue how long this has been up but I guess since WoW Armory was revamped as there is now an armory link for a holy paladin on the side, which I assume is Ferraro #7 =P
I am not sure why Ferraro has decided to do this now and apparently, without much fanfare or comment from his/her readers. It just makes me curious.
I only noticed this because Ferraro posted a simple video of him/her healing a 5 man dungeon heroic for the daily 2 Frost Emblems and revealed his/her character in the process.
This really piqued my curiosity and I must confess that I spent some time trying to search for the armory link. I failed at that but then I belatedly noticed the actual armory link on the website - double fail.
This raises a few thoughts in my head. As an anonymous blogger myself for very specific reasons, I wouldn't appreciate it if someone tried to reveal me. Why did I seek to find out his/her character?
- Curiosity - Blogging anonymously for so long, I wanted to see the actual character even if it was for my own private knowledge.
- Competitiveness - I want to see exactly how I measure up against Ferraro because let's face it, people play WoW to get gear. I wanted to see how close I am to someone that has been writing as a holy paladin mentor and hinted at being in a top guild.
- Titillation - Every one loves to talk about it but no one admits they love to do it. People like to gossip or find out shit they're not supposed to or weren't allowed to know. Human nature, people!
After I was done with all this though, some questions were raised in my head.
- Why did Ferraro name him/herself Evercleâr? (alt +131 for the weird a)
- Why now?
- Does it make his/her posts on holy paladin healing more authoritative?
- Would knowing my in game character let my readers feel that I know what I am talking about?
- Does it matter that he/she outed him/herself?
Should I out myself too?
In the end, I don't think I would want to out myself just yet. I have already made a few slip ups and I know 1 reader for sure that knows my real life character's name (even though I have transferred since then but my name is the same and on a short list in the armory).
I really don't mind helping other paladins but though I have stated my reasons for my preference for anonymity before, here they are again.
- Availability - I want to be antisocial sometimes and that is hard to do if random people (if any) pm me to ask questions. I know I'm no Ferraro but I feel like people would treat me as ultra accessible because I have a blog.
- Reputation - Everyone has their good and bad days but I know I can have a volatile temper. Certain things just piss me off and there are people out there that get off on making you upset or ruining your day. I don't want to be mean and bitchy (because every girl can be) or make mistakes, God forbid, only to have it come back to troll me on my blog.
- Personality - Sorry but I'm boring and I'm no entertainer.
- Expertise - I think I have a good handle on being a holy paladin but by no means am I perfect. I would feel intimidated at the idea of anyone treating me like an expert. I definitely have my own weak areas that I need to improve on still.
- Drama - If I get outed, this means no way can I talk shit on my blog or talk about people being shitty even if they are really being shitty because for whatever reason, it's easier to think about it if it's about someone you don't know. Everyone will have a bystander's objective point of view unless it mirrors their own situation.
But if you don't out yourself, how can you have your own fanclub following you around to shower you with gifts?
ReplyDeleteYeah... I don't think my guildies even know that I have a blog. I would probably be much more careful about relating stories of what is going on in-game if they knew. Even though I don't name names, they'd know who I meant and might be offended that I posted about so-and-so standing in the fire.
ReplyDeleteSo does this mean you'll stop lying about being on a team that tests future encounters for Blizz? Or perhaps that was Ferraro 6 or 7 that threw out that hilarious claim.
ReplyDeleteI have been very careful never to mention my blogging in WoW, because I am not sure what the reaction would be if they knew I wrote about them. But I've never been secretive on my blog about who my characters are and on what server.
ReplyDeleteIn the year+ I've been blogging, nobody has ever approached me in game or associated me in any way with the blog. I guess the number of our feed subscribers is really a pretty tiny amount when you look at all the subscribers of WoW, and my chances of running into one of them in game are pretty tiny as well.
So if you've got reason to keep your anonymity, by all means keep it, but I just wanted to tell you, I've never had any problems with people pestering me in game because of my blog.
Actually, to answer your questions, the last "Ferarro" stopped writing for the blog back in June when the whole thing erupted. I agreed to take over a month later and lay kind of low for a bit - not because I was interested in maintaining the "hot girl works for Blizzard" things, but because the blog was, as you said, a great and useful place for Paladins to read and learn. I wanted to keep that going because it was a shame to waste what was already built, Warcraft-wise. As far as me working for Blizzard, I've mentioned several times over and over again (and even on the Ferarro Twitter) that I don't work for Blizzard (my paychecks would be much bigger if I did). I think that impression gets passed on from the last author of Paladin Schmaladin. I also have no idea if I'm one of seven, nine, forty or two writers. I didn't ask when I agreed to take over and I didn't care. The furthest I'm aware of is that she took over for someone else last year, so to my knowledge I guess I'm at the very least the third...?
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm probably handing over the site to someone *else* very soon anyway, which is what the writer's application deal was for. But instead of handing it off behind the scenes like it's been done in the past (seems shady), I'll likely to do it publicly this time. Maybe to a few people. I dunno. I realize it was my "job" to take over for "damage control" for the site and I think I did a pretty okay job. It's exhausting trying to clean up a mess that isn't yours, but even worse when people are stalking you and emailing you hate mail. And I received a couple of death threats a few weeks ago, so that's when I decided it's time for someone else. Hopefully they can keep it going and moving up.
I think my goal was to start over with what was given to me, not try to win old people back (that would be impossible). There's definitely a small anti-Paladin Schmaladin faction out there, and that's fine. The blog - for me - isn't about popularity. It's about gathering information, breaking it down, and teaching and helping other Paladins in a clear and easy way. Love it or hate it, that's the best I could do.
Best regards,
-F.
P.S. That's not my Armory Paladin. That Paladin is simply the person who's allowing me to use their raid videos as content for my video guide (hence the title, "Live-Server Video Feed Representative"). My Paladin is slightly better geared than Everclear (and by slightly I mean Algalon 10 trinket and 4/5 264 T10; so about 1k more mana). Everclear was chosen because he let us record him and his guild doing Yogg earlier last year, so we were lucky to have him back this time around.
Hope this answers some of your questions. Keep up the blog! =)
I don't get too many pokes from people. This actually makes me sad!
ReplyDeleteAlso, being outed in no way stops me from talking shit. >.> It only backfires...sometimes...
HP: Ｉ ｃｏｕｌｄ ｇｉｖｅ ａ ｆｕｃｋ ａｂｏｕｔ ｆｅｒｒａｒｉ， ｂｕｔ ｊｕｓｔ ｋｎｏｗ ｙｏｕ ａｒｅ ｌｏｖｅｄ， Ｋ？
ReplyDeleteseriously, i posted, then watched that video, and can you say RUB ONE OUT TO YOURSELF?
ReplyDeletejesus, what's with the fucking ALT-Z-ZOOM-IN-YOUR-FACE shit? ugh, gross...
buy a mirror and get a room...
@Anon: I'm rich, bitch! I shower myself with gifts! =P
ReplyDelete@crankyhealer: Yeah, perhaps I shouldn't write about it but it's sort of therapeutic for me.
@Anon: I think you are confused, I never claimed I was Ferraro >.< I didn't closely follow everything Ferraro wrote, as I started reading his/her blog relatively late in the game so I don't know if he/she ever claimed that
@Rhii: Your site tends to have very classy posts and you never go off and rant like I do so I think very few people would have reason to troll you =X
@Ferraro: Yes, your site has been useful due to the paladin point of view you have been writing from and sharing. NOT because you were posing as a "hot girl" from Blizzard
Everclear isn't Ferraro but it hasn't been explicitly said? Evercleâr is just a showcase paladin and people just know? The "current" Ferraro is a new one to do PR after the drama broke out? It's all a little confusing. As for what is the truth or not about the whole debacle, I really don't know and I honestly don't know if I can believe you.
Thanks though for posting your point of view on my little post.
P.S. You must have been really lucky with the tokens to get 4 piece 264 T10 (and probably your other priests, locks, paladins don't have complete 264 4 piece). That's sort of why I think you might be exaggerating. It's ok, I know that my gear isn't the best but it's still good enough. If you really want to look at my gear, I've posted a censored screenshot in my Character tab.
@forthebubbles: /poke =)
But you make me laugh when you talk shit! I think you would be so hard to troll because you would just annihilate them! Just more fodder for the blog =)
@Ixobelle: I <3 you too! I hope things are going great in game developer land!
I personally don't feel the need for too much anonymity as I try not to do or say anything that would piss people off anyway. I like people to know who I am to give a bit more personality to my blog, without sharing too much, and I think I've found a good balance :) Though I entirely understand why people would prefer to remain anonymous.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't stand Ferraro, I didn't care if she was a cute girl or not. Her post were obnoxious and fake whenever she talked about her real life.
ReplyDelete