The Imperial Order, a World of Warcraft guild on the Detheroc server, is holding the server hostage. The guild has completed the various quests needed to obtain a septer used to ring a gong. Ringing the gong will open the gates giving everyone on the server access to new content, but the guild refuses to do it. At least, they refuse to do it until someone pays them 5,000 gold.

They say theyâ€d rather be known as the obnoxious guild that held their server hostage than forgotten as the kind guild that opened new content.

Yeah, that’s the server I’m playing on. No one bothered to pay and IO eventually opened the gate anyway. Seriously, with the stuff you can get in AQ, who needs 5000g?

The second part of the drama.

Just a few hours after we reported on one guildâ€s apparent vicegrip over a server, the thread has been deleted and the guild, Imperial Order, revealed that it was all just a big joke.

However, just because it was in jest, doesnâ€t make it any less worth mentioning. Tony over at Clickable Culture didnâ€t think of it in terms of “terrorism,” but rather “opprotunism.”

Had Imperial Order been serious and the only guild able to open up new content, Blizzard wouldâ€ve been effectively stepping aside to allow the players of Detheroc (the realm) tell the story of the opening of the Gates of Ahnâ€Qiraj. More and more MMOs need to move in this direction. Do I mean promoting terrorism or opprotunism (depending on your view)? No. MMOs need to allow for more player-driven content, thereâ€s a couple out there that do it – EVE immediately comes to mind. If Blizzard (and I mention them because of their success they are most likely to be copycatted) finds a way to allow players to drive the storyline of World of Warcraft and allow players to impact the game world, MMOs in the long run will be much better off for it.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Meh. I’m still lvl 59 so I can’t be bothered either way.