Ding!
by David Nelson 
Nov 8th 2006 at 6:30PM
I will admit it. I hate it when people say ding upon leveling. I used to like it, and send the typical congrats well-wishing, but now...I just wish people would stop.It is especially annoying when someone is starting a new alt in my current guild, and they are dinging 4 or 5 times a night, and the guild chat gets flooded with macros of congratulations. Some are funny, most are old and tired. In fact, there is always talk of banning the macros (most especially the big "You're trucking now" macro with the ASCII art, which annoys to no end), but everytime the subject is mentioned, 4 or 5 guildies chime in with how serious and unfun we all are, which could possibly be true. As of a few months ago I started a new policy: the only time I ever acknowledge a ding with a congrats message is post 40.
Am I a big jerk? Maybe. But at least I am not alone! The WoW.com forums has a rather long thread regarding this very subject. Some folks are vehemently pro-ding, while others find it as annoying as I do.
What do you guys think? Do you ding level 2? Or do you never, ever ding? Or just ding on special occasions?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
rich Nov 8th 2006 6:38PM
that picture is awesome... you can see he's losing 50DKP instantaneously!
Roseroyce04 Nov 8th 2006 7:01PM
I used to say ding on my first character whenever I could remember to. Which was usually every 2 or 3 levels. But since then I've only ever dinged 60. And even then sometimes I forget.
James Nov 8th 2006 7:06PM
When I hit a new level, especially post 50, I'll admit, I consider it a minor event. I don't believe that other people in my guild, many of them strangers, would, or should, get all excited. I don't care enough to tell anyone, and I certainly don't give a rat's ass when somebody's 3rd alt in our guild hits it either.
I say congrats only at level 40 (they get their mount), and level 60. Why people feel like they should announce something as trivial as this, and why others encourage them to do so by saying congrats over and over, is a mystery. Go tell your friends, parents, spouse, pets or imaginary friend that you dinged. Your cat, I promise, cares more than I do.
Stuart Nov 8th 2006 7:25PM
60 is the only ding'able achievement in my book. Looking forward to the opportunity shortly. :)
Ryan D. Nov 8th 2006 7:17PM
I reviled seeing "ding" constantly within guild chat, simply because it was often the most historically immature guildmates who would do that - I guess I started to associate their behavior with that act and developed my disdain for it - and the inevitable chorus of forced "gratz".
I suppose one aspect of it that I don't care for is that.. well.. I mean.. it's onomatopoeia for a bell ringing.. can't get more "HEY LOOK AT ME!" than that...
Perhaps I'm too curmudgeonly, but I just don't see any place for it.. level 40, or 60.. maybe. If you do it twice in your character's history I doubt that can be grudged, however.. does anyone really care that you hit level 23? "Uh.. gratz on.. not having to spend money on spells for another level?"
rogue Nov 8th 2006 7:25PM
There are 2 levels I'll say "ding" for: 40 and 60.
Freehugz Nov 8th 2006 7:39PM
I think the "gratz" bothers me more than the "ding"
I've never say "ding" but I still get the "gratz". Especially bothersome when I lvl midbattle and have a mob on me while i'm trying to heal.
"Don't type!!!! Get this thing off me!!"
UncleVinny Nov 8th 2006 9:08PM
I think it's hilarious when the Bloodlord yells "DING!" after killing me, and Jin'doo yells "GRATS!"
Freehugz Nov 8th 2006 7:44PM
btw #4, your big words make my head hurt.
Ariss Nov 8th 2006 7:47PM
One time in my guild I got in trouble for not saying "Ding" when I hit 30-something.
/wrists
John Nov 8th 2006 7:47PM
I only ding lvls ending in 0. Post 50, most every lvl as I have never had a charater reach 60 yet it is a big deal to me. I don't really care if it is acknowledged by the guild as a whole but my friends in the guild that are waiting for me to hit 60 are usually very excited.
Sylythn Nov 8th 2006 7:49PM
I never minded this, but maybe it's because I'm surrounded by casual gamers and am one myself. Lately, I've been playing a ton and I ding about once every day or two...but on average, I used to only ding once a week - so it was an accomplishment when it happened. I tend to only get really excited about even levels...the odd ones are just reminders that I have to start saving up money for training.
Even with all my guildies, I usually only see Ding crop up 1-2 times a week, and there's never any large macros in response, just variations on "congratulations".
I'll admit, the other bragging thing I do is loot - even though I'm at levels where I only get greens/blues...getting an awesome new drop is exciting for me, and I'll post it in /gchat - usually a few "sweet" or "congrats" follow, but never anything spammy. I usually save it for the end of the whole run, and put up all the upgrades I got - rather than each one right as it happens.
I do think it's just plain silly to Ding when you're doing it several times in a single session, or even once per day...when you're leveling that fast, it's not that big of a deal.
Magick Nov 8th 2006 8:17PM
I do math when I here some say "ding" and they are relatively low level (45 and below). I subtract their current level (let's go with that 23 offered a few posts up) from 60 and say, "Gratz. Only 37 more to go." It's great fun when someone dings a single digit level. I get the feeling that they're attention wheurs and so I pass on the deflating message that reminds them of what a long journey they have towards 60.
If you ding 60, you deserve the kudos.
Beth Nov 8th 2006 7:53PM
whine, whine, whine. seriously.
Mar Nov 8th 2006 7:53PM
Has it really come to chatting about whether or not we like "ding" ?
bk0 Nov 8th 2006 8:20PM
I'm with the last two posts... who cares. It isn't a really big strain to avert your eyes from guild chat for 5 secs...
As for ascii macros I think used very sparingly who cares as well... if it is a real issue but a ban on it in guild chat.
EllieG Nov 8th 2006 8:47PM
I have a friend I made through WoW who was the very first person to ever help me out in the game. As I've progressed in the game, I 'ding' him when I level and he 'dings' me when he levels but I never 'ding' anyone else, let alone my guild. A lot of people in my guild love to 'ding' though, which I find really annoying – maybe it's just that I haven't been a member of my guild long enough to bond with them or maybe it's that the people who say 'ding' are the guildies I find to be particularly insipid. I used to say 'congrats!' but now I just mutter 'feh' and wait for them to say or do something more interesting.
Thingy Nov 8th 2006 9:04PM
I don't mind the odd ding in levelling. Mind you my guild is purely end-game so it's just the occasional alt. My first guild we were all levelling, someone actually made a mod to announce it. It started getting annoying, then they updated the mod to include deaths and other such things. Now THAT is annoying. Sitting there grinding away to see 5+ people all announcing their deaths in a row. A minute later same thing. 30 seconds later again etc etc.
dd Nov 8th 2006 8:56PM
wah wah i dont like celebrating other peoples achievements wah
dont like tha ding, turn off guildchat.
Luxicon Nov 8th 2006 9:11PM
I have always hated "dings" and thought they were, well dumb, even when I was making my first character, and to this day refrain from doing so. It's especially annoying when alts in guild do it. "Congrats! But I already know you're capable of leveling."