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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: Why did WoW Insider switch domains, again?
by Adam Holisky 
Sep 16th 2010 at 1:00PM
Many people asked:
Why did WoW Insider switch domains?
As we've said a few times, we're now called WoW Insider, living at wow.joystiq.com. A lot of people have questions about this change, and I hope to answer some of them.
First and foremost, WoW.com and Joystiq.com are both very strong websites that have a long history. Neither are going away any time soon, and both have a ton of great people working for them. WoW.com has always been part of the "Joystiq gaming network," which in turn has always been part of the Weblogs subdivision at Aol (until the subdivision was merged with the greater Aol brands -- no idea why, it's a corporate thing).
People are screaming that we've done a corporate merger with Joystiq. We haven't; we've always been a part of them. People think Aol has taken over. They haven't; they've always been the ones with the domain. People think that Blizzard sued us and got the domain. They haven't. Aol will be doing something else with the wow.com domain; I just have no idea what it is.
The simple fact of the matter is that WoW Insider and Joystiq are consolidating under one large brand and site to make an even larger site. If WoW.com got 1 billion hits a day and Joystiq.com got 1 billion hits a day, the two combined would stand to get 2 billion hits a day -- and well, kids, that's some real potential money to be made right there. Money that puts food on my table at night and let's me see a doctor for this rash, so I'm all for it.
No one on staff has gotten laid off over this, no one has seen their milk money taken away, etc. ...
Everything is OK -- don't panic. We're not.
Bui asked:
So with the Cataclysm release really only months away now, what old zone do you think is worth seeing first ? What really sums up the "Deathwing just tore the world a new one" feel that we're supposed to be getting when we come back from Northrend?
Badlands first, then Desolace.
Jprich asked:
Do you think Blizzard will ever lock down event starters (Jaina in Mount Hyjal, for example ) so that only the raid leader or those with assist can start events?
That's too good of an idea for Blizzard to do. Shhhh ... don't tell them.
Arkonn asked:
Is it possible to complete both Zalazane's Fall and Operation: Gnomeregan if one were to partake in a faction transfer?
Yes, but you only get one achievement.
TLDR Guy asked:
Did Blizzard buy out the wow.com name and force you guys to move?
For the last time ... no.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!Filed under: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 9 of 14)
briker Sep 16th 2010 2:02PM
"Aol will be doing something else with the wow.com domain; I just have no idea what it is."
This is the crux of the issue. What will the be doing? What could they possibly be doing that is moar betta than the top World of Warcraft blog on teh interwebz? Hmm? We know that AOL is failing miserably at not sucking IRL at this point. So they are taking this valuable domain and.......4) profit??? Selling to someone else, Blizz or Gold-sellers, or what?
I'm not feeling the full disclosure love here, and you cannot tell me that the wowinsider.com staff is at all happy with this. You all are putting on happy faces, but are crying and nerd-raging on the inside, just like us.
So, again, what gives? What are they using it for that is worth all the hassle? And why not just go back to wowinsider.com? You are linked to joystiq anyway, why not make it simple for your users to get to you on your own domain name? Somebody, somewhere, is making poor decisions that benefit them, not the user and readers of this site.
Josin Sep 16th 2010 2:12PM
They are under no moral imperative to have "full disclosure" with us. And I suspect AOL is likewise under no imperative to tell them, either. Would it be nice? Sure. But don't get indignant and tinfoil hat-ish because you don't have every piece of info out there.
Sometimes it's just none of your damn business.
(And if you REALLY must know... keep a wow.com bookmark, and see what happens!)
briker Sep 16th 2010 2:35PM
TFH aside, it does not all seem on the up and up. They announce they are doing this. From a web search and traffic standpoint, it doesn't make business sense. From a usability and user-convenience, it doesn't make business sense. And there is a distinct lack to the answer to the question of "Why?" This ain't rocket science. So we can deduce that there are other motivations to this move. AOL, being in the financial state that they are, has a reason for this. Yet, if we are to believe Adam Holisky, he doesn't know. Why the sneaky sneak and hush-hush? Something smells, and it ain't old spice.
I appreciate the need for secrecy sometimes, but this just seems silly.
dawnseven Sep 16th 2010 2:39PM
This reads as if you think (and I could be wrong) that AOL said "Hey WoW blog people move along now, we want to do something else with this domain. You can use, um..., actually just dingleberry off of Joystiq ok? Kthxbye."
With what Adam said though (1M + 1M = 2M) it sounds more like Joystiq pulled them closer.
It doesn't matter either way, but there is a difference. I'm not singing AOL's praises by any stretch but there's no reason blame/vilify them.
Boz Sep 16th 2010 2:06PM
The tooltip for "Crawling Hand / Mummified Monkey Paw reads, "A legend among the tol'vir tells of a wicked djinn who the Ramkahen sought to destroy."
Source: http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/92137/mummified-monkey-paw/
Wait a sec, Djinn? The Tol'Vir have a great origin story, but when did Djinn pop into Azeroth? Is there any current lore available that supports their introduction? Or are they just a fancy-pants elemental?
Robert Sep 16th 2010 2:10PM
WHO STARTED IT?!?! WHO #$%!ING STARTED IT?!?!
(cutaia) Sep 16th 2010 2:16PM
lol
I can't count the number of time's I've heard this.
I suppose you could look at the event starters as being your first test in the raid...kind of a different form of getting out of the fire. I wish they'd at least give you an easy way to know who did it, though. Like at least in Ulduar, the NPCs say your name.
Tegrom Sep 16th 2010 8:41PM
Or more Recently:
'Which idiot turned off Strength of Wrynn?'
Jamie Sep 16th 2010 2:28PM
So, It is wow.joystick.com
Can we use joystick to play wow
I heard AOL is opening a WoW store. Still don't have any idea what the url of the store would be
Scunosi Sep 16th 2010 2:20PM
Any sign of the Kvaldir in Cataclysm, or at least Vahj'ir? It seemed like they were poised to attack a lot of the coastal regions in Wrath yet nothing much came of them.
Itanius Sep 16th 2010 2:22PM
Is Massively.com going to make a similar change?
When is WoW Insider's comment system getting an upgrade, a la Engadget?
Josin Sep 16th 2010 3:56PM
Soon.™
Al Sep 16th 2010 2:25PM
TL:DR, AOL wanted more money.
woshiernog Sep 16th 2010 2:26PM
What else could AOL possibly use wow.com for?
Grovinofdarkhour Sep 16th 2010 3:25PM
Either porn, or they're selling it. Maybe to Blizzard. Oops! I didn't say that.
Terayus Sep 16th 2010 2:33PM
I'm going to be well over the honor soft cap when 4.0.1 goes live. Is there anything new and exciting to spend those on before the hard cap converts them to gold a few weeks later?
Josin Sep 16th 2010 3:57PM
epic gems. Lots of them.
icepyro Sep 16th 2010 2:32PM
One thing that hasn't been addressed with the domain change:
everyone's email is @wow.com
you are not merely changing the tld as joystiq.com probably already has a ton of mailboxes set up.
Are you really going to force @wow.joystiq.com, keep @wow.com, or go back to @wowinsider.com or other?
Not that I send much email, but it might be handy to start updating...
Darkdust Sep 16th 2010 2:33PM
Will you actually change your RSS feeds page to use the new domain?
Does anyone in Marketing for Joystiq/WoW Insider really understand this whole newfangled Internet thing?
Al Sep 16th 2010 2:35PM
Worgen Death Knights - will they have to "drown in a sewer", or do they have the racials without the quest?