Massively^™

We all love massively multiplayer games. Otherwise we wouldn't be here reading this right now. But when does your love for a certain game become an unhealthy obsession? We're not talking about addiction, but we're talking about defending your favorite game regardless of the problems the game may have or what the game's developers might do to completely change the difficulty level.

There can be a fanboi (an interestingly unisex term) for every context, but for the sake of this article, we're going to focus on the fanboi as it pertains to MMO gaming. It's safe to say that most of us can consider ourselves fanbois in one form or another. The question is, do you realize the severity of your fanboi-itis? Are you in fanboi denial? How many times can I say fanboi in one paragraph?

The fanboi is an interesting creature. Their optimism knows no bounds, and they are completely oblivious to bugs and glitches. Some of their favorite phrases include "just jealous","give the devs time" and "go back to WoW". They almost always use the wrong form of "you're/your" and "there/their/they're".

On the contrasting side of fanboi-ism is the anti-fanboi. This is the person who spreads doom and gloom across the land (and every forum), making sure that every single new game that comes out gets nit-picked to death. The anti-fanboi can be equally as annoying as the fanboi, mainly because they actually do their research and spend every ounce of their time making sure a game will fail through word-of-mouth. Their sole existence revolves around proving the fanbois wrong. Some of the favorite phrases of the anti-fanboi include "nerfbat", "epic fail" or "I'm going back to WoW".

Right about now you might be wondering which one you are. You may be saying to yourself, "Heh, I'm certainly not a fanboi. But I'm also not a doombringer, so I'm neither! I win!". Well, luckily for you and your severe denial, we've concocted a simple true/false quiz to help you out. Simply give yourself 1 point for each question answered with a True, tally your points at the end and refer to the key at the bottom of the page for your results. Good luck!

1. You own more than one real-world item (t-shirt, figurine, poster) for one particular MMO. T or F?
2. You insist on calling Tabula Rasa: "Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa". T or F?
3. You pre-ordered the Age of Conan or Warhammer Online Collector's Edition before playing the beta. T or F?
4. You have icanhascheezburger.com bookmarked for quick reference in forum-posting retorts against anti-fanbois. T or F?
5. You get physically upset and develop an ulcer when someone in general chat uses the words "this", "game" and "donkey balls" in the same sentence. T or F?
6. You have multiple accounts on your favorite game's forums to make sure that someone will always have your back in a forum argument. T or F?
7. You've ever created, co-hosted or appeared on a podcast about a single MMO. T or F?
8. You subscribe to all 3,273 podcasts about WoW. T or F?
9. You know who Jeff Strain is. T or F?
10. You still play Star Wars Galaxies. T or F?

Ok, we tricked you. There is no scoring system. If you answered "true" to any of these questions, you're a fanboi. So just fess up! The first step is admitting your problem. But the good news is, you're in good company.

If you'd like to add your own fanboi indicator questions, let us know in the comments!