A conversation, last night, in the computer den, while playing WoW.

Me: You’re ugly.
Fiancee: What?
Me: Really, you’re like the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen.
Fiancee: …..
Me: Um, I meant in the game! Really!

Apparently, a bug last night made it so the player portraits you were seeing didn’t accurately reflect your groupmates, so it turned her spunky red-headed dwarf into a blonde, hag-faced dwarf-like beast with two black eyes. On her machine, my gnome had a different mustache.

This has always been one of the more interesting parts of the MMO experience. You only have the slightest control over your avatars. But someone willing to hack apart their client and art can potentially make you appear in ways you’re not expecting. You may be nude on your groupmates machine. He could even be making you stroke your own naughty bits on command. You’d never know, unless he’s dumb enough to emote *snicker* for no apparent reason.

Other WoW links: Here’s a UI mod for those who need more cute in their lives. For some reason, that didn’t capture as much attention around the gallows-humor-starved offices of the makers of Shadowbane nearly as much as the recent funeral raid. Really, this should go on Raph’s List somewhere.