Lore

I am annoyed by people who are annoyed by artists who they feel are doing the "wrong" thing with their creations. Let me elaborate. Probably the best example of this is when the original Star Wars movies (IV-VI) were released on DVD, and subtle changes were made, such as inserting Hayden Christensen's image briefly into a scene to make it fit better with the prequels. I totally support George Lucas doing what he feels like with the Star Wars movies, and I can't side with those who feel that just because they're really attached to the Star Wars universe, somehow he doesn't have the right to make changes to things. Now, once he dies and his kids start tinkering around with things to milk more money out of the franchise, I'd be more inclined to side with the raving fanbase. But Lucas is alive and kicking, and I think that gives him the right to creatively control his own story.

Same sort of deal with JK Rowling revealing after the last Harry Potter book was published that one of the characters was gay, despite this not being stated in one of the books. A bunch of people went nuts, saying things to the effect of "well, you published, so it's out of your hands now." I think that's absurd.

The area where I see the worst instance of this is (you guessed it) in World of Warcraft. The Warcraft storyline is constantly evolving, as there's a new product in the franchise every couple years. But the bitching... oh, the bitching. People complain about everything that they do with the story. I don't even get what these people want. People complain every time one of the villians of the Warcraft universe is killed off. Back in the base game, people were angry that players were able to kill Kel'Thuzad. In The Burning Crusade, people are angry that players are able to kill Illidan and Kael'thas and Zul'jin. And people have been bitching for a year now that when Wrath of the Lich King is released, they'll be able to defeat the new Lich King Arthas. When new characters are introduced, people complain that they weren't already introduced earlier, so clearly they shouldn't be playing a vital role in the story. It's as if these people don't want the story to advance at all. But then the same people complain that the story never advances.

I don't get it. Sure, I'm attached to the Warcraft universe. The games have always been fun. I didn't even think that I'd have any interest in World of Warcraft, but I bought it years ago because I liked the universe and the story that the authors had created. But that universe is not mine. It's theirs. They're in control of it. I think that they utterly, completely have the right to move it forward. If that means killing off characters that people like and introducing new ones, good for them. The producers of creative works deserve control over their own creations, and people who insist otherwise annoy me.