Bear in mind that a large portion of the influx of players just before TBC was due to people who got sick of the game early on and came back to see if it was to their liking again. I, personally, have friends who did so.

The game hasn't altered drastically in the past year or so in the way it's played (which is fine by me, as I enjoy the design and I feel that Blizzard DOES try to balance things and think of the game in a long-term perspective), and so those same people who came back get sick of it for the same reasons as before.

I also agree with those above concerning the holiday season rush. All those little kids (and big ones) who got the game for the holidays just because their friends play, or because it was one of the hot items on the rack, are at about the mark where you really decide whether an MMO is worth your time: 6 months.

I'm also not that worried about people leaving. The more gripers and whiners that quit the game, the more enjoyable my experience will be. I recently saw someone on my server with the name of "Wowsucks" start up a troll discussion in the Trade Channel that lasted for nearly 2 hours (I left and did quests, came back, and it was still going on). Good riddance to such belligerence.

I strongly urge people who stay up at night stressed about a game to quit playing it. You'll save yourself an ulcer and allow those who DO enjoy it to continue to enjoy it.

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