I didn’t know who BRK was when I started this blog. I didn’t know who any WoW bloggers were when this started. I also didn’t know what a thriving community it had.
Needless to say it didn’t take long for the name Big Red Kitty to start popping up after I did start blogging. Apparently when I decided to make a blog about Hunters I happened to join the same ring as the heavy weight champ of WoW blogging.
Well BRK has decided to move on leaving quite the hole the in the blogging community. Sure, I didn’t always agree with all he said but there is no denying he played an integral in making countless numbers of aspiring Hunters better at what they were trying to do. And with that, the remaining Hunter bloggers have some big red shoes to fill to make sure we do our best to pick up the slack.
So with that being said, so long BRK! Good luck in life.
Drotara (or BehemothDan) considers himself a geek on many levels. A web developer and programmer by trade, he has no shortage of geeky hobbies. Whether it's trying to stay current in World of Warcraft raiding, playing competitively in the WoW TCG, Magic: The Gathering with friends, or a night at the local shop playing DnD, it's all good to him!
His podcasts are littered with misinformation, and evidently he does not have the deepest knowledge of the hunter class, so I can’t really commend on the quality of resource he offers to the community. However, one should respect him for the time, effort, and enthusiasm he has devoted to the community. He will be missed.
@Lupius
I believe he was reaching for a more casual audience or those that just started a hunter. He made it nice and simple for those new hunters starting out. He is a great hunter and has contributed a lot to the community. Sure, some stuff he may have said may have been wrong (we all make mistakes), but he always corrects himself. No one is perfect.
@Lupius
And it is “comment”…not “commend”. You couldn’t even make it through a 3 sentence response without tripping up. Yet, you deride someone for making a few mistakes in the reams of material they’ve put out over the years?? As Gordy pointed out, BRK was always quick to correct himself if he did “stray off of the path”. No one has ever said he was the end-all to hunters. Even BRK has said so himself in the past. I think he had a better grasp on the hunter class than most so-called “bloggers”. I saw him as the working man’s hunter so-to-speak. He kept the fun in the class while trying to put out his practical knowledge on how to play it.
Let me say this….if the EJ site were to be shut off today I doubt few would miss it after a few days. As for BRK, he will be missed for a very long time. That’s the difference I see between the fun sapping “experts” and someone who tried to make it both fun and educational.
commend |kəˈmend|
verb [ trans. ]
1 (often be commended) praise formally or officially : he was commended by the judge for his courageous actions. See notes at approve, praise .
• present as suitable for approval or acceptance; recommend : I commend her to you without reservation.
• cause to be acceptable or pleasing : this recording has a lot to commend it.
2 ( commend someone/something to) entrust someone or something to : I commend them to your care.
PHRASES
commend me to archaic remember me kindly to (someone) : commend me to my son, and bid him rule better than I.
ORIGIN Middle English : from Latin commendare, from com- (expressing intensive force) + mandare ‘commit, entrust.’ Compare with command .
I personally won’t miss him. Aside from laughing during a few of his podcasts, there isn’t anything he has really shown me that I haven’t already known, or learned elsewhere.
That being said he was certainly a beacon of the hunter community. While he may not have been the Tiger Woods of Warcrafting hunters, he at least guided many people out of huntardom and into a presentable form. Certainly a respectable thing.
It should be noted, most of the laughter that came from me was me noticing slip ups in the information he provided.
@ The discussion in the comments -
The thing that I think a lot of people forget is that a lot of people found BRK when they weren’t anywhere near endgame raiding hunters. I found him when I was level 24. Who do ya think would’ve been more helpful to me, BRK, or Elitist Jerks/endgame hunter bloggers? If you guessed BRK you were right =P Hundreds of hunters found him when they were lil’ lowbie noobs and BRK is to be commended, in my lowly opinion, for helping to guide those young’uns to a point where they could then go off and find the information they needed for themselves.
I am the first to admit that, like most of those like me, there is a point where you “graduate” from BRK as a resource. But by that time you realize that he is a very human person. At least he always has been with his interactions with me. That is why he is a big deal, and why he will be missed :)
Pike’s last blog post..The Negotiator
@ Pike
I’m right with ya on this one. I found him when I was a brand spanking new 70. To be honest though, there was still something new to learn from him every time I went.
I always thought of him as the reason I am where I’m at in terms of WoW. He was always so optimistic. Where I would rant, BRK would calmly look at it and point out that at least it’s progress.
The man is a good guy, and I’m sad I won’t be able to read his writing anymore.
Klinderas’s last blog post..A Giant Leaves The Room
BRK meant well and he is to be respected for doing the right thing: putting his family first like a real man.
didnt really check out his blog for in like….a real long time as it never has anything that interests me and i think brk blogs were mostly for the very casual players and people interested in sidestorys and stuff. regardless of that he did something for the community and for that we should applaud.
It should also be alarming to anyone who read his news to check up on himself if wow isnt too time consuming that it destroys your very own personal life. i for one should stop making that long comments and go more outside :-D
I would also like to add that he broke down patch updates into easy to read posts. He helped me and showed me how to become a raiding hunter. So I wouldn’t say he was just helping new hunters. He was helping some break into the raiding scene and made it fun. I think it’s great he’s going to spend more time with his family. More people should follow his example. However, if he so chooses to return, I shall look forward to that day. =)
BRK was a big inspiration for me, and I learned a lot from his site. Along with Pike, Drotara, Brigwyn, and the other giants.
My meager little blog is simply a collection of scribblings. These folks are golden.
Fitz’s last blog post..Priorities
BRK never failed to bring a smile. Sure, I usually had the info before his blog did. But that wasn’t why I read it EVERY DAY.
Kheldul’s last blog post..Tranq Shot Macro
There is a reason I choose his website forums to post on over other forums such as The Hunting Lodge. I am going to agree with some of the previous statements that he is a stepping stone of sorts for new hunters. I have been contributing to the BRK forums because of this, they will join the site read/listen to what he says and then come to the forums. This has given me the chance to expand on what he says and in a lot of cases fix or solidify certain concepts.
I can’t say some of the people that post there or start posting there don’t make me want to delete my hunter sometimes but the community there is grade A and the info on the forums is pretty deep.
I was telling you that we were planning on getting the “Encore Hunters Blog” going soon and I was sort of waiting for him to bow out so that we could help fill some shoes.
http://www.encoreraiding.com/wordpress/?p=26 a little preview. I am excited to join the qqpewpew blogging circle of bored hunters!
@Zenge Make sure you give me the perma-link you want me to link to for your guys Hunter stuff. :)
Drotara’s last blog post..Synergy
http://www.encoreraiding.com/wordpress/?cat=6
Linking to you as we speak =)
I don’t remember last time I visit the BRK blog but he help me a lot and he’s the reason why I begin a hunter.
paulo brito’s last blog post..brk adeus!