Tom, Dick and Harry

I've been thinking, it's quite ironic that the vast majority of my posts here at /2 actually come from me answering advertisements for dps, healers and even the occasional tank in Trade chat, hell sometimes I'm even doing the advertising.

I've come to find, that leading a pug is a skill, whereas being in one really isn't. As you can see from the vast majority of peoples blogs, that any Tom, Dick and Harry can end up in them.

Take Tom for example, Tom is (usually, but not always) a member of a guild on your server that you know has downed the Lich King. He doesn't have the Kingslayer title, so you can tell he either isn't in the progress team or is an alt of someone that just mightwell be. He's a good, safe bet for a prospective pug leader, knows what he's doing and can bring a decent dps/healer/tank to your group, he's also a nice, mature and considerate bloke. He knows he's pugging, he knows that the group might not very well be world beaters, he knows it's hit and miss.

Then you've got Dick. There's a fine line between Tom and Dick, Dick may be from the same guild that Tom's are from, he'll also be a good player, but he'll something else - a dick. Dick is the guy that thinks that a pug should be able to down the Lich King in about 20 minutes, and if you're not then it's someone in the groups fault. He'll be picking apart peoples dps - "omfg, your dps is so low." Critisicing healers - "omfg, why no heals?" and blaming the tanks for anything he wants - "omfg, why lose aggro?!" Toms can turn into Dicks, but not the other way round. It's kinda like toast.

Hanging at the back of Tom and Dick is Harry. He means well, can often be a cheerful little soul, will be the one going "guys, we can do this!" but there's one thing about Harry - he's not ready for the place. He might have passed the gear check, he might have the achievement but he'll be the one doing the least damage. Harry means well, but in the end, he's just no Tom. However, Harry can be like Dick, but instead, blaming people to hide the fact that Harry shouldn't really be there.

I've been pugging a lot recently and at the moment, I've mainly be surrounded by Toms. Pure Toms, not the DickToms that can often be mistaken for Tom's until the shit really hits the fan, then Dick comes out to play, it's like Jekyll and Hyde but in finger pointing and recount linking terms.