The World of Warcraft online forum chronicles the outpouring of generosity and goodwill by a gaming guild who came to the aid of one of its members. The group raised money for a fellow gamer who’d been attacked not by a minion of the legion, but by a tumor the size of a softball.
When the state, charities, governor, news agencies, senators and even the president of the united states did not respond to my familys pleas for help to keep a roof over our head, and the power company from shutting us off and food on the table for my kids, my (video gaming) Guild stepped up…
‘Sedren 60 human priest‘ formed a fund via paypal and was able to get donations from guild members to aid my fight to live. ‘Redlit 60 human warlock’ and his lovely wife, ‘Brindange 60 human paladin’ donated a large sum of money to help pay our bills. ‘Mystify and his lovely lady, Luvforlorn (60 warlock and 56 priestess)’ donated a large sum of money to help our fight as well…
The original post at World of Warcraft elicited 27 pages of comments reflecting gratitude and amazement for the story, plus updates from the recovering gamer in Dayton, Ohio. This not only illustrates the power of an online community but also the fallacy of stereotypes that portray gamers as addicted loners with no life, no friends and no sense of the importance of human life. (story, and link to original forum, at Kotaku)
Should I live the next 5 years being cancer free, I will have truly beaten it. If not, I will die knowing those who cared and those who loved me more than any epic or loot item, and those who cared about the human spirit when all they know of me is what they hear about over Ventrilo.