Its "meta-gaming" when it's in the context of rival guilds that have a declared or understood hostility and they both expect this sort of behavior out of each other.

This guy's just being an ass.

It's not just between guilds.

EVE Online is a good example of this. People target a "corporation," learn it's ins and outs, and use that information to infiltrate them, kill their miners, etc. I recall reading a heist in which 3 guys (NOT a guild, just 3 friends) made up a story, false identities, and infiltrated a guild, all to get back at a single member of that corp. They gained his trust, lured him away from the safety of his group, made him give up his cargo and a lot of ISK, and then destroyed his ship.

I know WoW's not hardcore, but don't assume people aren't going to meta-game, and don't assume it'll just be guild vs. guild. My guild's only a bit over a year old and we've had several run ins with it, and one WAS by a loner.

No, he's just an ass. He's not "winning" anything, he's just buttmad from some irrational reason and doesn't know when to stop. I've played EVE for years, I know full well what metagaming can truly be, this isn't it.

I almost can't believe I'm still in this conversation, so I'll make a final post, and hopefully this will help:

Being a general ass is griefing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griefing

Meta-gaming is when you take things beyond the game:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metagaming

Spamming people and trying to rip them off is griefing at the very least. Taking over a guild site is meta-gaming. I know EVE players can go much further than this, but he's taken things beyond the basic in game mechanics.

@Den

World Of Warcraft is not EVE.

Further, some of the "meta-gaming" you are referring to could be considered harassment or cyber-stalking in most U.S. courts. Would the jerk in this letter see jail time? Probably not but he could face a hefty fine, court costs, and community service.

Will he ever be prosecuted? Doubtful, his actions would have to be brought to the attention of a district attorney and a protection order would have to be filed in his county. This would require Blizzard's intervention to provide evidence and relevant personal information to make the case. The company that provides the guild website in question would also likely need to be involved, so in the end jerk face is protected by relative anonymity and complexity.

However if he escalates his behavior, or has ever used a cell phone to harass guild members I could very easily see him being sent up shit creek, his only paddle will be whatever crappy defense lawyer he can manage to find.

And one last thing, we're not talking about EVE.

Any harassment outside of WoW is 'metagaming'? So if he smashed someone's car windscreen it would only be 'metagaming'? It's only a game if there are previously agreed 'rules' - this is quite clearly not the case.

The difference is that when you are "meta-gaming" your still doing it to advance yourself in game. Your EVE example of infiltration and robbery is still for the purpose of bettering or positioning themselves better in game. While you can argue that sending items C.O.D has in game motives, it is clear that his overall intention is to make all guild member's lives as difficult as possible. He's not trying to break apart a guild as part of some in-game strategy. He's harassing individuals and making their lives a living hell.