Perhaps in an attempt to educate those who aren't entrenched in gaming culture, "The Albuquerque Tribune" columnist Sue Vorenberg takes time to educate the unwashed masses about the various social dynamics and age-group defying interactions that are to be found within Blizzard's World of Warcraft.

To most of us gamers, this isn't news. We are already aware that MMOs are very, very social in nature and and that sometimes, this odd level of connectivity is what's truly addictive about the experience. Still, some of the things Vorenberg points out are quite nice to read about.

For instance, she notes that despite the varied age groups (teens to late forties) of people within their guild, the age barriers are eventually broken because of the culture that Warcraft has. In WoW, the oldies learn much of the slang, and the kids even pick up some of the older gamers' humor. (Oldies and scary teenage punks agreeing?! Oh noes...)

Vorenberg also highlights the many social roles that players adopt within the guild. Often, she says, real-life status doesn't matter. Their best guild leader is an elementary school janitor, their best strategist is a 19 year-old kid. Then there are the jokers (Vorenberg's one of them), whose job it is to make sure that everyone has a good time and make sure that no one takes the game too seriously.

For the rest of Vorenberg's musings, feel free to access it via our "Read" link below.