Have you ever seen this screen before?
What brought you to this point?
Was it:
- A general lack of enjoyment with WoW?
- A self-motivated need to do something else?
- An “encouraged” need to do something else?
- Another game caught your attention?
When you did it, was it:
- A permanent decision?
- A temporary decision with a defined account reactivation date?
- A temporary decision with an unknown account reactivation date?
How did you feel:
- Before you clicked the cancellation button?
- While you filled in the survey?
- Immediately after you canceled your subscription?
- An hour after you canceled your subscription?
- A week after?
- A month after?
If you did leave/ have left WoW, did you/are your still reading WoW Blogs and why?
Assuming you returned to WoW:
- Why?
- How long after?
I am just interested in how many people make the decision to leave WoW, for how long, for what reasons, and if they ever return.
Gnomer and Out!
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I will commonly take breaks from WoW, but as I pay in 6-month increments and usually don’t know in advance when I will get bored of the game, I don’t ever actually cancel. I might log on once a week or so to check my auctions (as the minigame that is the auction house remains fun, most of the time), but I am completely uninterested in raiding or leveling my alts or doing my dailies.
It usually only takes a few weeks of playing old console games and newer PC games that I have been meaning to try but never had time to. Then I start feeling nostalgic about WoW, and start logging in for real again, and I’ll do crazy things like go running on my mount through the Hinterlands killing random wolves just for the hell of it.
Don’t stray to close to the light
THE PICTURE IS SCARY, MAKE IT GO AWAY!
You’re making me nervous… stop it!
- Self-motivated need to do something else (LENT)
- Temporary decision with unknown reactivation date (didn’t know reactivation was an option)
Before you clicked the cancellation button – I’m doing the right thing
While you filled in the survey – unnecessary questionnaire + guilt trip
Immediately after you canceled your subscription? – 39 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds…39 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 58 seconds…39 da…
An hour after you canceled your subscription – Oh man, I gotta write a blog post about this.
A week after – I feel good. A whole new world of opportunities at my door.
A month after? – I feel even better! Having lots of fun, and excited to come back afterwards!
I always cancel immediately after subscribing, because I want to be able to at least ask myself at the end of the sub ‘how’s this going? Do I want to play for another X months right now?’ rather than just have it automatically resub forever.
But there isn’t an option that says, “Because I don’t like the automatic resub.”
I’ve never seen it and I actually don’t think about it much, even though I know perfectly well that I’ll arrive there at some point. But when it’s time I guess I’ll just know.
I guess there will be a mixture of feelings… relief and loss at the same time…
Ok, I’m wide awake now. Thanks Gnomer. And don’t scare me like that! I saw the title and clicked through immediately thinking you had cancelled YOUR account and had left us like BRK and Megs did.
I’m always finding new things to do and new people to play with. They’d have to shut down the servers on Blizz’s end to get me to quit.
Jeebus! Nothing like a scare to get your blood pumping in the morning.
I’ve quit the game many times for many reasons. I’ve quit because I couldn’t afford-couldn’t justify the expense of- the subscription. I’ve quit for social reasons. I’ve quit on dares. I’ve quit for a few weeks just to get a break. I’ve quit because I didn’t have internet.
Sometimes I take breaks for a set amount of time, just to get the game out of my system and sometimes I take breaks for indeterminate periods.
Yup I nearly poopoo’d myself when I saw the title as well. I just can’t imagine the day when I cancel my account. There are times when I take a few days off but to cancel sounds too final and a little/alot sad to me. Like the end to a great adventure.
Gnomer, you ask too many questions for me to feel comfortable critting your comments with a wall o’ text. I think… I shall answer this in a blog post this weekend. *nodnod*
@Kiryn: Interesting that you know you will go AWOL, yet you pay up front… but then I guess no different to the fact that I am paying for 7 days, and playing 1.
@dave “the tree hugger”: You having a Ghost Whisper moment?
You know… I would love to be an Undead Gnome Mage… maybe the next hero classes can follow the DeathKnight model, but with a choice of classes…
@Prelimar: Scary… yeah, it is isn’t it
@Arioch: There is more to be nervous about….
@krizzlybear: Just for the record, Kriz you are an amazing person… someone find this guy a girl…
Thanks for the run down of emotions… I could almost say I understand…
@Spinks: That is an awesome idea… my wife recently asked me to subscribe for 6 months… I would hate to play for 6 months and 1 day and get sick of it after the automatic drawings…
@Larísa: Yeah I haven’t thought about it either… but I had to get the screenshot somehow… Was an interesting experience.
@repgrind: Gnomeaggedon… better than coffee
If you want to see a blog post title that causes you to instantly click… try Cathy’s:
Wet TShirt Contest!
@Sprink: OK, your primed now… go PvP!
@Nim: I’ve quit on dares…. now here’s a guy that will do anything for a dare… Do the other folk at ForTheHorde know this?
@Cathy: Grats on finding a post title that inspired me to click through immediately as well!
@Syrana: You are welcome to fill my comment space, but then you are also more than welcome to use me as your muse for your own blog. Anyway… Locks don’t crit… they dot….
ALL: FYI, I have canceled my account… it expires on the 24th of May…
Will I resubscribe… most likely, don’t panic… yet… more than anything it was to see if I had the fiery balls to do it…
Nah, that wet t-shirt stuff only works on guys. =P
Unless the t-shirts are being worn by guys (or trolls ) …. hmmm … *scampers off to take a look just in case*
“ALL: FYI, I have canceled my account… it expires on the 24th of May… Will I resubscribe… most likely, don’t panic… yet… more than anything it was to see if I had the fiery balls to do it…”
O.O
ZOMG whaaaaaaa??
Gnomer – we ‘locks do crit now! And no. No cancelling. Nono bad. Ok, I’m off to write out my long ass response. (I can say ass, right?) >.>
[...] Today, that memory still makes me chuckle under my breath and shake my head, but I don’t want my fellow bloggers getting cancelled. We’ve lost a few already (and you know who they are) and now I’m worried about my favorite Gnome. [...]
While I could say more.. that would:
a) Deprive Syrana of a reader or two…
b) Waste a perfect excuse for another post by me…
So THAT’S what that screen looks like.
Huh.
[...] I would just put it out there… it was quite cathartic writing this post, as was the earlier Account Canceled post, where I asked for your reasons (if any) for canceling (if ever) and how you felt about [...]