Palehoof (World of Warcraft Community MVP)
Palehoof is a frequent poster on the official forums for Blizzard Entertainment's MMORPG "World of Warcraft." Palehoof first began posting to the game forums in early 2005, where he made a quick name for himself. Posters alternately despise or respect Palehoof, depending on how they feel about the company Blizzard as well as Palehoof himself. Palehoof became widely known among the forum community for being an outspoken defender of the game and explainer of the policies governing it and the forums. Using strictly an "outside looking in" approach, Palehoof attempted to answer questions posed by the community to the staff of the game. Often, Blizzard staff are unable or unwilling to answer questions asked, and Palehoof would answer those questions in the format "I have seen them say..." or "The answer to that has always been..."
Being little more than a glorified forum troll anyway, Palehoof would (and still does) often engage in extended arguments with other players. Skirting the edge of "reportable" behavior, and invariably using protracted and often tortuous grammar, alongside archaic and esoteric vocabulary, Palehoof is most often criticized for talking down to others, a charge he's never once denied. As the first year of the game's life wore on, Palehoof became a bit of an icon on the forums. Posters formed a brief but extensive group called "The Evangelical Church of the Hoof," while other posters launched a brief but passionate movement to have him banned from the forums on general principle.
In November of 2005, Blizzard announced the "MVP" program. This program recognizes those posters on the World of Warcraft Forums who have made an effort to improve or help the community out. The first four posters thus recognized were Trepas, Faizaniel, Hyacinth, and Palehoof. Each had different ways of dealing with people, and were, each of them, liked and disliked for their methods. Palehoof remained arguably the best known, being the most prolific as well as the most caustic of the four posters. Blizzard's MVPs were identified first by a light blue font, halfway between the "poster gray" and "staffer blue." Some months later the MVP posters received an upgrade: an animated forum avatar in the form of a devilsaur. Over time, additional MVPs were added to the program and some were removed. Blizzard has made distinctions between "Community MVP" posters, of which Palehoof is one, and "Tech Support" or "UI" MVPs, such as Iriel and Thunderwulf. In August of 2006, Blizzard released a new version of their forum software, and the MVPs received a new font, green, while retaining the devilsaur avatar.
Palehoof remains a frequent poster on the World of Warcraft forums. He lurks primarily on the General and Profession forums, as well as visiting other forums as time and opportunity present. He plays a Hunter almost exclusively within the game, and concentrates on the Engineering profession, Gnomish specialty. He remains a controversial poster as well, attacked as often as praised. He tries to maintain a sense of helpful assistance, with an undercurrent of biting wit. But he doesn't always succeed at either.