Joke as we might about rude, trollish behavior in game, that sort of thing doesn't really represent WoW's gaming culture. Our community of MMO players is kinder and gentler than the seething horror of console FPS titles. The truth is that when WoW players are rude, it's most often completely inadvertent and based on their newness to WoW and the MMO subculture. Especially if this is their first MMO, they might only be dimly aware of the concerns of the other players around them and of how and when it's appropriate (or inappropriate) to open the channels of interpersonal communication.

Ever have that uncomfortable feeling your groupmates consider your matter-of-fact approach too abrupt? Or perhaps you've wondered if other players view your friendly chatter as nammering instead. What are all these people expecting from you, anyway?

Your mother was right -– manners are grease in the wheels of the social machine. Let's get this thing off to a smooth start, shall we?
Being polite in game Want the TL;DR version of WoW etiquette right up front? Mike Gray covers the four basics every player should know in this primer for our WoW Rookie feature.

WoW tipping etiquette Why should you tip another player to perform a service or create a product for you? How do you know how much to offer? What if you're the tradesperson in question -– is it okay to advertise how much of a tip you expect?

Resurrection etiquette Everyone knows it's not okay to just lie there afterwards, right? Here's a great explanation of what to do after you kick the bucket during a group encounter -- and why. Gathering etiquette Whose herb is it when the two of you swoop down at the same time –- and the next time, and the time after that too?

How and why to keep your banker/auctioneer anonymous Yes, this question arises even in Azeroth: Why should you worry about your privacy if you don't have anything to hide? We'll show you why maintaining an unknown banker is not only a savvy business decision but a potential drama squasher, too. The unspoken etiquette of world boss encounters There are rules for engaging world bosses? Oh yes, my friend ... Break them at your peril.

The etiquette of rolling on gear Need or greed? Many groups have their own methods; understanding the usual expectations is an absolute necessity.

15 ways to keep your groupmates happy

• 5 ways to keep your 5-man DPSers happy
• 5 ways to keep your 5-man healer happy
• 5 ways to keep your 5-man tank happy

Headset etiquette You've been invited into the voice communications channel, and you've never used Vent (or TeamSpeak or Mumble or what have you) before. How do you keep from sounding like a complete noob?

The Drama Mamas guide to going AFK Like That Guy who's always texting and checking his Twitter feed instead of looking you in the eye during a conversation, That Guy in game is likely to wander AFK just when you need him the most. Tuning out the people you're with, online or off, simply is not socially acceptable behavior.

Got to go? Really?! "Oops GTG TTYL bye" – heard that one before, in the middle of an instance? You don't want to be that guy.

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Dodge the drama and become the player everyone wants in their group with advice from the Drama Mamas No-Drama Guide. Got a question? Email the mamas at robin@wowinsider.com.

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Tags: advice, drama, etiquette, featured, guild-advice, guild-drama, manners, playing-wow, warcraft-advice, wow-advice, wow-drama, wow-drama-guide, wow-player-guide, wow-q-and-a

Filed under: Drama Mamas