• There would be an option to switch back and forth between a D3/WOW stylized graphics option, and a Classic Diablo look.
• Players would create Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 conversion packs, also with randomly generated maps.
• Players could sell these self developed maps on the D3 MapMarketplace.
• If Blizzard created a Diablo 1 mod, it would be called "D1 Phoenix". :)
• A player would create a "World of Diablo" mod, but they would be forced by Blizzard to change its name to "Diablo Universe".
• Players could swap fonts or select new color schemes for their resource bars. For example, Monk's Spirit could be green slime instead of white spooge.
• Even faster quest pickups. The player would just need to run within 20 yards of a NPC, the quest is auto accepted, and the menu closed.
• Yards are converted into meters for the confused in other countries.
• Diablo 3 Auctioneer for much easier management of sales, and tons of undercuts. Meaning more profit for Blizzard and the powerhouses of profit would be making undercuts and reposts constantly.
• Enchantrix like mods. Mousing over on items would bring up tooltips showing disenchant results as well as converting gold value into current market value cash conversion.
• More skill keys and the ability to swap in and out of pre-programmed builds quickly.
• New unit frames, and customizable party frames for easier management.
• Floating combat text that shows XP, Gold, or Cash wins upon finishing off an opponent.
• Larger combat text with customizable fonts ("explosive fonts" like out of an arcade fighting game).
• Recount mods. For threat meters and tracking all statistics that Diablo 3 doesn't. For example, mob kills, highest swing damage, largest heal, pots drank, cash spent, etc.
• Lore book UI integration with "D3 Recount" showing interesting statistics about each monster. Total kills per act, average level, most amount of damage done, most damage received, value of loot drops, cash value of loot drops, etc.
• PVP Support mods, for monitoring DPS meters, cool downs, quick build selections, debuffs, onscreen timers and countdowns, etc.
• Automated in-game gambling systems like trivia bots, card games, or roulette tables for real money.
• Better stash management and better Auction House UIs
• Financial management mod for showing gold/cash per hour, or will lock you out from buying items (only selling.)

Of course, some of these mods would be considered unauthorized (eg. swapping media content) but I'm just lumping everything together because it's all just fun wishful thinking.

It's a very silly argument, but it seems to be very popular for some reason:

"There's nothing wrong with the RMAH because this is exactly what EBay does and they haven't gotten into any legal trouble."

Unsurprisingly, I haven't seen any intelligent arguments or debates that prove there is no gambling in Diablo 3. It's all just angry fanboys frothing at the mouths, and spitting out EBay as their only example since it's the first thing that comes to mind when they hear "auction". It's quite sad.

So, I've updated the "Diablo 3 and Illegal Online Gambling" post with several examples as to why EBay is not anything like the RMAH and why it's not considered gambling.

Yesterday, the Path of Exile Reddit held a competition where users would post the most funny, witty, or insightful comment. It was not a random give-a-way, but rather a competition.

Everyone competed with each other, and downvoted everyone else. It was like watching 300 vultures fighting and tearing at each other for a morsel of food that was, in fact, just a piece of plastic.

Seeing as how Reddit is pretty much an angry atheist comedy site, I knew that everyone was going to post a "funny" comment because those are the only comments that get upvoted.

So, I decided to put in the one and only "insightful" comment. I figured, there were 3 keys for 3 topics, and everyone would be doing funny/witty.

Apparently, though, posting a deeply insightful post on Reddit will only reward you with very angry downvotes.

Every moment your brain chemistry changes, new synaptic connections are formed, old ones are lost, your cellular structure decays, and your DNA mutates due to the persistent exposure of sunlight, carcinogens, electromagnetics, and radiation. You are in a constant state of change and evolution. So much so, in fact, that the person you were moments ago is literally not the same person you are now. You can't call this "your life" since every moment you essentially die and then you are reborn.

What you perceive as memories were merely experienced by another individual and your mind tricks you into believing that you are that same person. Memories of deep regret, emotion, foolishness, or long lost loves were all something that, in fact, happened to a completely different person. That person no longer exists, and you are not them. You just happen to the unfortunate individual to have inherited their memories, but it's just another deception of the mind.

Remember this always: none of that happened to you. It happened to that other person. You are not them. Keep telling yourself that so that your future inheritors can release their burdens and finally move forwards in life. Your "life" will be ending soon, but you can leave it knowing that you rescued someone who is very important to you.

If my contribution was not 'insightful' enough, please let me know and I can go deeper.

In the end, here were the chosen winners:

1. "Hopefully I will be playing PoE at 21:01 GMT!! [gives bot $5]"
2. "Crossin' my fingers!"
3. "Beta keys = Women Sexed. True Story!"

The very first post automatically won apparently, but the other two were absolutely hilarious and they deserved to win.

Guess I'll just wait for a random invite, I give up with these competitions.

Here's something interesting. In the 4.3 patch, Blizzard is restricting the naming policy again and changing it back to pre-2008 days in North America.

North American realms (excluding Brazilian, Latin American, and Oceanic realms) no longer permit letters with accents in character or guild names. Existing character and guild names with special characters will be unaffected by this change.

If you were around in the "Golden Days", World of Warcraft used to have very strict naming policies on all realms. No special characters, no famous names, no real world references, no partial or complete sentences, no "leet" or "dudespeak", no immersion breaking titles, etc. Everything had to be a true "fantasy name" (yes, even on normal realms) otherwise you would get a warning and a forced name change. Spam or Chuck, or example, would get reported.

Most users have totally forgotten that, during the early days of Vanilla in 2004-2005, Blizzard was very strict about character names and players were actually banned for creating "non-fantasy" related character names. Character names like "Bob", "Bruce", "Dave" or "Chad" for example, would quickly get you a flagged account, a warning, or a ban if you continued to create names that wouldn't exist in the fantasy world. This happened to me and many friends. We were all forced to create new "fantasy" names" and this was on normal PVE and PVP servers. Complaining to GMs only resulted in threats. Part of the problem was that many of the support staff were green and recently hired, new to MMORPG's and trying to make an impression to their bosses. So they were very strict and tried to comply with all company policies. They're much more laid back now than they were before.

As the subscriber base grew, though, players started running out of names. So, in May 2005, it was relaxed allowing new naming conventions.

In April 2008, it was relaxed even further and they allowed special characters to accomodate the further growth of subscribers.

Officially though, Blizzard just said that the reason for the changes were because players wanted it. Just like the Real Money Auction House.. they "only did it because players asked for it". Character restrictions? Players wanted it. Removal of restrictions? Players wanted it. Reimplementation of those restrictions again? Players wanted it. D3 Online Only Requirement? Players wanted it. You know how it goes..

I just find it very interesting that they're putting these restrictions back in place. Having too many Character Names must not be a problem anymore if you see where I'm going. :)

Can't wait for the next Shareholders Meeting.. I wonder, too, if they'll be adjusting their definition of "Subscribers" again to accomodate the WOW Starter Edition.