No, this is not a David Bowie tribute. When I used to play WF, 10 years ago, there was no one better. When all the pub servers were empty, I would use my official name, "]$[Chemist". It wasn't a name I had any affection for, it just kind of stuck with me. When I used this name, within 20 minutes, an empty server would become full. The moment it was full, I quietly switched to an alias and continued playing. No one knew it was still me, but the games continued.

Fame can have its advantages. It can also have its disadvantages. If I continued using my official name for too long, many 'challengers' would come along to test themselves against me. They would all join the other team - all go on offense (I played defense), and the game would end 10-0 in only a few short minutes. On other occasions, they would all join my team, which would result in 10-0 the other way around. The only time good pub games could happen, was when I used an alias. It was then I learned the downfalls of fame, and naturally, decided to avoid any future occurrences.

The beauty of the internet. It allows us to have fame, and yet still retain a level of equality. As a professional video-game player, you can be famous in your public life, and in your personal life, be completely unknown. Maybe you would have to lie to your coagulate, but it is, at least, an option. To have fame and yet non-fame simultaneously, is something impossible to achieve in traditional sports. The mystery that a person you meet could be a professional player, must be stimulating to various members of the populace. If you care not to be the source of stimulation, you can tell them you work on a farm. Obscurity or fame, with professional online gaming, it is your choice.

Fame is like a rose. When you smell a rose, there is a chance you will inhale a spider. In professional online gaming, if people find it worth the risk, there is no reason to inhibit them. And for everyone else, there is no reason to force them. Lans are like traditional sports. Everyone must risk inhaling spiders. They must deal with the disadvantages of fame. Most people are probably unaware of these disadvantages, which is why they so heavily favor lans. They probably have insecurities. Fame validates them as people, something they so desperately need. But for me, I prefer eliminating the disadvantages of fame, which is one of the main reasons I choose online-only.