If you're a denizen of one of the more popular MMOs out there like World of Warcraft or Tabula Rasa, chances are you've visited their respective wikis for information. Useful tomes aren't they? This subject was actually a point of interest at this year's SXSW Interactive, where notable members of the gaming community talked about the symbiotic relationship between gamers and wikis. Read about it in the full article.

If you thought you knew everything about Blizzard, think again. Methinks someone will have to update the company's Wikipedia page soon, for while Blizzard Entertainment's top dogs took to the stage at DICE 08, they revealed the company's history in a segment called "From Developer to Worldwide Publisher." And with the reminiscing came a little eye-opener: a list of games they've cancelled over the 17 years of their existence.

PC World, a global computer magazine, has recently named some of the most influential people on the internet. Net heads, here's the top five of a list of those persons who move and shake the internet; we've arranged them from the fifth to the first for emphasis.

5. Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia - Admit it:  whatever piece of information that you get/cite, trivial or otherwise, often  comes from Wikipedia. It's even been cited in more than 100 US court decisions since
2004.

 4. Mike Morhaime, President of Blizzard Entertainment - Some say that there are only two MMO's: WoW, and everything else. Eight million people (and still counting) plus a chance to obtain the Blade of Eternal Justice put this guy at number 4.

3. Bram Cohen, Co founder of BitTorrent - This math and programming whiz kid put up BitTorrent, a way to download large files (like movies) by sharing the burden across hardware and bandwidth.

2. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple -  DRM-free music and internet browsing through iPhone puts him on top - again.

1. Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin, Executives of Google - The most trafficked site on the internet is bound to influence internet users the most.

PC World, naming the Top 50 Most Important People on the Web, has placed Blizzard Entertainment's President Mike Morhaime at the top four spot in the list, sandwiched between Wikipedia and BitTorrent. Largely attributed to their blockbuster MMORPG moneymaker World of Warcraft, Morhaime has become an icon to players and critics alike. This is a big improvement since CNN rated him at the lowest four of the "Top 50 People Who Mattered July 2006".

Because of WoW, eight million online gamers look forward to grinds of several hours online, through different modes of play aside from the ordinary RPG levelling chore. Blizzard has shipped out WoW and The Burning Crusade with services provided in America, Europe and Asia. It grosses US$ 1.5 billion every year, taking it a notch higher than before.

Since he's the fourth most influential dude on the Web, perhaps you frustrated WoW folk can get him to patch up your worries. Or did he just use that influence to serve a nerf sandwich to almost every class out there?

If you're eagerly awaiting for the WoW Lunar Festival but you're a bit confused as to when it's supposed to happen - like WoW forum poster Flamezor - be sure to check out the Official WoW Events Calendar. Anyhoo, according to the said calendar, the upcoming major WoW events are as follows:

• Lunar Festival February 16 - March 8
• Love is in the Air February 11 - February 16
• Darkmoon Faire (Elwynn) February 5 - February 11

The reason of course for the confusion is because the WoW Lunar Festival is based on a real world event that has no set date. We suggest you check out the Wikipedia entry on the Lunar New Year to be enlightened.

That or you can politely ask your Asian (assuming he's Chinese) friend about it; if he doesn't know, then his parents might be able to inform you.

We now wonder what Chinese gold farmers are planning to do for the event?

There are a couple of reasons why I'm calling this article "Levelling Up", and we'll get to each of them as this article passes. There's just one question I want each reader to think about while reading this story, or even while playing whatever game you happen to be into now: what does it mean to like something or someone?

Recently, WoW Insider put up a video by Shutterbox Productions about MMOs called "Level Up", which discussed some of the current perceptions surrounding such games, including the ability of those games to alter lives, relationships, and start addictions. When the narrator tells viewers, "What are we to make of these strange online communities? Dear viewer, that is up to you to decide," I can't help but refrain from stating similar opinions of disbelief that people still think that way.

Mostly because, as someone who spends a good portion of his time online, reading and writing about the gamers' lifeblood, my perspective has to differ; otherwise, the fun that comes from gaming gets lost in the work that needs to be done.

The full article awaits after the jump!

Before the advent of internet or computer for that matter, have you ever imagined how it is for our grandparents? We reckon research and studying were a lot harder. With no Google, Yahoo or Wikipedia to rely on, our grandparents had to made friends with good old Collier and Britannica. We're not saying it was sad or anything. We are just saying it was a lot harder.

Fate sometimes has a weird way of circling back on us. Take for example the superstar MMO World of Warcraft. It started out as a game. Then it was followed by three more full titles and three expansions. Today more than anything, it is more of a lore or universe in itself. It accepts new realities, follows different rules. Developer Blizzard is wise to compile and put down everything before it slips out of their hand or something is forgotten.

Warcraft Encyclopedia. An online collection that contains information about Factions, Immortals, Mortal Races, Languages, Vocations and the whole of Warcraft universe in general. It will be updated as needed probably quite a number of times in a year. Also, there would be a featured article every now and then. This development is indeed good news for fans of this massive, massive game. Veteran players may get sentimental reading about things they'd grown to love while newcomers will be briefed accordingly.