While I’m sure there are plenty of other people out there who have brought this up, I’ve decided to add my voice to the mix after a recent experience.

To those of you out there who feel compelled to pester fellow WoW players with unannounced (and unwelcome) group invites, I blow a giant, slobbery raspberry.

Here is (in my not-so-humble opinion) the correct way to invite someone to group:

Player 1: Hi, would you like to group?

Player 2: It looks like we’re working on the same thing, so sure! I’ll group with you.

*Invite sent and accepted, group forms, everyone skips off happily with butterflies and rainbows surrounding them*

Or…

Player 1: Hi, would you like to group?

Player 2: Thank you for the request, but I’m not looking to group at this time.

Player 1: Ok, good luck!

*No invite sent, players go their separate ways with butterflies and rainbows surrounding them*

Here then, is how not to invite someone to a group:

Player 1: *hits Invite to Group*

Player 2: *Sees invite window pop up and thinks to self, “(*&#$”* Thank you, but I’m not looking to group right now. *hits Decline*

Player 1: *follows Player 2 and hits Invite to Group*

Player 2: *hits Decline and continues on route to next objective/target*

Player 1: *follows Player 2, hits Invite to Group and starts attacking Player 2’s target*

Player 2: I’m not looking to group, please stop.

Player 1: I have a level ** alt, I can log it on right now to help.

Player 2: *silence* *moves in a direction away from Player 1*

Player 1: *follows Player 2*

Player 2: *Looks for Eat Face key and promptly curses Blizzard for /ignore not banishing a player from existence*

Player 1: *continues to follow Player 2*

Player 2: /logout

Throwing a group invite at another player without so much as even a “Hi!” is impolite. Personally, I feel you should always verbalize your request or interest before hitting the “Invite Player to Group” button. To not do so is to greatly decrease the likelihood of a group being formed, thereby defeating the purpose of your actions entirely.

Then, when the player you’ve sent the request to declines, it is impolite to invite them again, particularly while still failing to verbalize your intent.

Continuing to send group invites to another player who has declined is not going to make them change their mind. They’re not suddenly going to go, “Ok, ok you win! I’d be stupid to pass up an opportunity to group with a quality player such as yourself!”

More often than not, you’ll quickly find yourself on their /ignore list.

Opting to then start attacking the targets of the player you’re attempting to group with also will not cause the player to change their mind. While you may think you’re showing them your amazing skills as a [insert class here], I assure you, all you’re showing them are your amazing skills as an ass.

What I dislike most about behavior such as this isn’t that it is an interruption, inconvenience or annoyance. No, what I dislike most is that situations like this make me not want to be a nice person.

I’m a solo player by nature. It’s what I prefer, at least at this point in time. If there were some means of pre-emptively announcing this to potential group suitors outside of either naming all my characters some version of “Soloer”, or housing them all within a guild named “I Play Solo”, believe me, I would do it in a heartbeat (even at the expense of the snickering I’m sure would follow that guild around). I doubt very much though even those measures would reduce these types of group invites.

Until then, I try very hard to be nice to people who send unannounced group invites. You get a few chances with me, and then it’s straight to the /ignore list, I go elsewhere, or I log, all the while wishing for an Eat Face button.

If this makes me a mean person, so be it. I pay my monthly fee to play the game as I so desire.