Hard to make "Real" friends in PWI now?

Options
2»

Comments

  • Jay_Dubbz - Lost City
    Jay_Dubbz - Lost City Posts: 385 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Dralighte - Harshlands wrote: »
    -.-
    How to make (true) friends for nubs?
    well, that's what I think about your topic, seriously...





    TRUE friends does not mean to have MANY of them and to be POPULAR. True friends are rare, you should care about the ones you have and not to have more....

    Well your point would make sense if a lot of them weren't quitting the game as a result of horrid updates on PWE's part
  • _Ink_ - Raging Tide
    _Ink_ - Raging Tide Posts: 400 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Rawrgh - Raging Tide wrote: »
    That's what I'm saying. Just set guild chat to show guild, squad, and PMs and you can filter out everything else. (except for duke blacke ofc)

    Duke is sodding evil. But, yes, that's how I have my chats set up. What I was saying was that it would be nice if I could just make a separate chat and instead of having people in the guild talking to me and all the people whispering me, I could just go "Here, come to this chat" and have us all in one place instead of clicking to squad to talk there, guild to talk in guild and clicking names to respond to whispers. I was just talking about a matter of convenience. Not that it would ever go that smoothly, but one can dream.
  • Rawrgh - Raging Tide
    Rawrgh - Raging Tide Posts: 6,790 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    _Ink_ - Raging Tide wrote: »
    Duke is sodding evil. But, yes, that's how I have my chats set up. What I was saying was that it would be nice if I could just make a separate chat and instead of having people in the guild talking to me and all the people whispering me, I could just go "Here, come to this chat" and have us all in one place instead of clicking to squad to talk there, guild to talk in guild and clicking names to respond to whispers. I was just talking about a matter of convenience. Not that it would ever go that smoothly, but one can dream.
    I think if they ever tried to implement something like that they would somehow end up disabling chat completely.


    Except for duke blacke.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "My understanding of women only goes as far as the pleasure. When it comes to the pain, I'm like any other bloke - I don't want to know."
  • MagicHamsta - Lost City
    MagicHamsta - Lost City Posts: 10,466 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    _Aubree__ - Dreamweaver wrote: »
    Use vent. If you hang in vent with people you squad with, you may make friends easier.

    Be a "133.7 Radio Hamster".


    o.o'
    darthpanda16: Firefox crashed on me. Aryannamage: I don't think I am a GM that would be new.
    Hawk:Do this. closing thread
    frankieraye: I'll see if we can replace the woman with a stick figure and the tiger fangs with marshmallows.//Issues like these need to get escalated quickly to minimize the damage.
    Kantorek: Yeah.. you should try it. It's awesome.
    Sihndra: Nope- not currently possible under any circumstances. Sorry.
    LokisDottir: I mean...not haunting the forums, nope nope..
    Konariraiden: You don't know what you are up against. You will lose.
    Waiting for...Hamster Packs!
    58% chance to get tokens
    41% chance to get an all class pet hamster....but they has already been freed by the magic hamster.
    1% chance to get ban hamstered with the message "Hamsters United!"
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Deceptistar - Sanctuary
    Deceptistar - Sanctuary Posts: 10,454 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    no its not HARD to make real friends in pwi.
    Its just that real friends are the real jewels; you dont obtain them that easily.
    And if u think u can, wake up and smell the coffee.
    even in RL classes, if u had 30 classmates; then 20 were your casual friends. Out of that 5-10 close friends, 1-2 best friends.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]lagunal8.deviantart.com
    ★"New weekly quests! "Discover the bug in the patch""-Nihillae★"My father would beat me if he found out I was QQing over a virtual pony."-Neurosis★"You're amongst the biggest blobs of fail I've ever seen in my life."-Ninnuam★"A statistic said 3% people of the world get enjoyment primarily from making people upset, and you are trying to discriminate them"-ilystah★["How To Tank Rebirth Order Delta (86+)"-Stickygreen Barb (1)restat. you want full magic, Arcane armour build (2)when mobs come /faceroll on your keyboard and you will one shot all the mobs (3)rinse and repeat]★"I've been spammed with 3 poops for 2 hours."-ColdSteele★"If someone fights learning, I don't bother with them outside of amusement factor."-Telarith★"This thread is a joke right? Please say yes."-eatwithspoons★ "This is why you don't post your opinions on the internet, most of the replies you get will be from people who missed a hug or two sometime in their youth."-Alacol★"Sexy! A post with a Binomial Distribution."-Asterelle★"It's about time PW starts to separate out the noob Sins from the rest."-salvati0n★"Shoo troll >:O"-TheDan
  • Lulznotwar - Lost City
    Lulznotwar - Lost City Posts: 239 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    MagicHamsta - Lost City wrote: »
    Be a "133.7 Radio Hamster".


    o.o'

    Orly naow hammy?
    RIP spoons
    RIP PWI
    The game is dead
  • tidesuxbadly
    tidesuxbadly Posts: 39 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    It's extremely close to impossible to make Real Friends in Real life.. LET ALONE in a freaking ONLINE game of any kind .. dont bb:cutee an idiot.. dont be a freaking freaking idiot.. PLEASE.. please.. Im actually begging you.. please..
  • Jadsia - Lost City
    Jadsia - Lost City Posts: 1,322 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Kiyoshi - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    I am saying its a lot easier to make friends if you have a full set of r9s. After all... who won't want a friend list full of r9s.



    Gear play a huge part in pwi friendship. After all... you don't usually see a +12 r9 in the same squad as a stock npc gears. Huge difference in gears just doesn't work.

    I wouldn't want a friend's list full of r9s. I want a friend's list full of others who just enjoy playing the game. My FL has level 1 to 102 players and we all usually 'play our own game' if you know what I mean. Every once in awhile I'll quest or run HH for and with them. Now looking at your quote this may be incredibly illogical that I have a FL like that. Well, they're there because we have a social connection apart from the game. Some on my FL talk to me once every 2 to 3 months, others every day. I wouldn't want a FL full of folks that are always trying to drag me off into this instance or that event. Like I said, my friends and I all have our own game to play.

    I have r8 gear. I rather buy myself a house or a fishing boat than pay for r9 gears myself but that's just me. I'm going to work on getting the most out of what I already have.
    I **** bigger than you...

    Shut up and play the game.....Damn
  • Kiyoshi - Heavens Tear
    Kiyoshi - Heavens Tear Posts: 2,385 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Jadsia - Lost City wrote: »
    I wouldn't want a friend's list full of r9s. I want a friend's list full of others who just enjoy playing the game. My FL has level 1 to 102 players and we all usually 'play our own game' if you know what I mean. Every once in awhile I'll quest or run HH for and with them. Now looking at your quote this may be incredibly illogical that I have a FL like that. Well, they're there because we have a social connection apart from the game. Some on my FL talk to me once every 2 to 3 months, others every day. I wouldn't want a FL full of folks that are always trying to drag me off into this instance or that event. Like I said, my friends and I all have our own game to play.

    I have people of mediocre and below gear on my friend list. But thats not saying that my archer would make friends with them. I am not going to fill my list with people who I never interact with. There are only three types of people on my friend list.

    1. People who don't want anything from me.
    2. People of +10 or greater refines.
    3. People who I know in real life.

    Once in a while I'll get someone who I spent time charm tanking (many) bosses for them for free. And they'll refuse to help me with something I need unless I offer them something in return. Yea... those are the people who gets deleted or ignored from any and all future aid requests. I pay my debts... those who help me will get my help in return.
    Jadsia - Lost City wrote: »
    I have r8 gear. I rather buy myself a house or a fishing boat than pay for r9 gears myself but that's just me. I'm going to work on getting the most out of what I already have.

    With the price of r9 these days... thats going to be a pretty sad house that you plan to live in. I don't know about you, but most people tend to enjoy the finer things in life... like running water. Or in the case of the boat... one that is not made of rubber.
    1. If I kill you; do something about it yourself, don't go complaining to my wife.
    2. If you have less kill counts then me, don't expect me to take pk advice from you.
    3. If you are hiding behind an alt, don't expect me to acknowledge your existence.

    Tokichiro - Heavy Armor Fish / Kiyoshi - Dual Blade Elf
  • LappDance - Sanctuary
    LappDance - Sanctuary Posts: 32 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Kiyoshi - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    I have people of mediocre and below gear on my friend list. But thats not saying that my archer would make friends with them. I am not going to fill my list with people who I never interact with. There are only three types of people on my friend list.

    1. People who don't want anything from me.
    2. People of +10 or greater refines.
    3. People who I know in real life.

    Once in a while I'll get someone who I spent time charm tanking (many) bosses for them for free. And they'll refuse to help me with something I need unless I offer them something in return. Yea... those are the people who gets deleted or ignored from any and all future aid requests. I pay my debts... those who help me will get my help in return.



    With the price of r9 these days... thats going to be a pretty sad house that you plan to live in. I don't know about you, but most people tend to enjoy the finer things in life... like running water. Or in the case of the boat... one that is not made of rubber.

    Did anyone else read this and have Eddie Haskell from Leave It to Beaver come to mind? "That's a lovely Rank 9 armor you're wearing Mrs. Cleaver."
  • Jadsia - Lost City
    Jadsia - Lost City Posts: 1,322 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Kiyoshi - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    I am not going to fill my list with people who I never interact with.

    Some of the folk on my FL have been there for years. Sure they go play another MMORPG for awhile but they pop in from time to time to stay in touch.


    With the price of r9 these days... thats going to be a pretty sad house that you plan to live in. I don't know about you, but most people tend to enjoy the finer things in life... like running water. Or in the case of the boat... one that is not made of rubber.

    Thanks for the elitist bash. Ever hear of the term 'down payment'? Why pay rent when I can make mortgage payments. I've got my eye on a 3 bed, 2 bath house on 8 acres in the country for $50K. It's a foreclosure and I can get it with 3% down. That's what? $1500.00. Oh nevermind about that though. I'm prioritizing what I want to do with my money. And yes, real world priorities trump virtual ones. Nothing ever wrong with that.

    To each their own, dude.
    I **** bigger than you...

    Shut up and play the game.....Damn
  • Lurani - Raging Tide
    Lurani - Raging Tide Posts: 344 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    In my case it's hard to find people who i have similar interests with, or people who talk about something rather then the game...yeah i play the game...i know wtf is going on around the game i don't feel like sitting there only talking about what i'm doing on the game...that's rather dull. Also hard to find people who aren't users in the game. Personally atm i talk to no one and just stick to being a loner at best then having idiotic convos or getting dragged into helping people non stop and killing pots over nothing. b:lipcurl
    [SIGPIC]http://i55.tinypic.com/2dm9sev.gif[/SIGPIC]
  • Michael_Dark - Lost City
    Michael_Dark - Lost City Posts: 9,091 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    1) There are far less people playing.
    2) There are far less new users.
    3) People that have been playing for a while have their own cliques.

    1 + 2 + 3 = more difficult time making new friends.
    I post in forums. This one and others. That's why I post.
  • Jay_Dubbz - Lost City
    Jay_Dubbz - Lost City Posts: 385 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Michael_Dark - Lost City wrote: »
    1) There are far less people playing.
    2) There are far less new users.
    3) People that have been playing for a while have their own cliques.

    1 + 2 + 3 = more difficult time making new friends.

    Most of which is a result of bad choices on pwe's part
  • ZoanoAce - Lost City
    ZoanoAce - Lost City Posts: 469 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Jay_Dubbz - Lost City wrote: »
    Most of which is a result of bad choices on pwe's part
    Not necessarily for me Jay, its cause college studies are killing me lol >.< Sorry I'm not on as often, but I still consider you as 1 of my true, great friends for who you are :)

    Not your toons,

    Not your gear/possessions

    Not your guild

    Just plain you ^^. We had real fun as low lvls growing up and everything, and not even endgame changes that! :D
    ●Barb - The "natural" leader. Cool and collected, slow to anger, and typically jovial. Swift to act when friends' lives are in danger, and prepared to lay down his life if the situation calls for it.

    End of lvling, starting of the unimaginableb:laughb:victoryb:coolb:cool
  • Cadeal - Dreamweaver
    Cadeal - Dreamweaver Posts: 162 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    I have a face for radio, and have the mentality of a pissed off wolverine with a cricket up its butt, but I tend to make good friends
  • _Ink_ - Raging Tide
    _Ink_ - Raging Tide Posts: 400 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Lurani - Raging Tide wrote: »
    In my case it's hard to find people who i have similar interests with, or people who talk about something rather then the game...yeah i play the game...i know wtf is going on around the game i don't feel like sitting there only talking about what i'm doing on the game...that's rather dull. Also hard to find people who aren't users in the game. Personally atm i talk to no one and just stick to being a loner at best then having idiotic convos or getting dragged into helping people non stop and killing pots over nothing. b:lipcurl

    If you ever want someone to talk to, feel free to message me in game. I'm all for talking to anyone that has at least half of their brain left that hasn't been eaten away by QQ madness or WC drama wars. b:chuckle
  • TigerLily - Lost City
    TigerLily - Lost City Posts: 1,209 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    A lot of people doesn't play videogames to make "real friends". They have friends already, and people in the game are more like acquaintances they talk to around same level that suits their current needs - like running Frost. But i guess it might get a bit complicated when you meet people who plays PWI to gain deeps social relations/friendships/romance etc lol.

    Was probably easier to make friends before since there was more new players searching for someone to hang out with. Most new chars today are alts and these people already have "friends" and a little clique they play with, so they cant really be bothered getting to know and hanging out with new people. They might add people on their alt to be nice and than deleted them a few days later.

    I personally dont have the energy anymore to make closer friendships (or whatever you wanna call it) with people i know i wont keep in touch with as soon as any of us stop playing and thats like 99.99% of PWI. I dont add in-game people on msn anymore either because i know i will delete them as soon as they stop playing lol. Hate those pointless forced MSN-conversations you get from someone that quit 1 year ago and you never really had anything in common with besides a videgame.
  • firedolphin
    firedolphin Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Jay_Dubbz - Lost City wrote: »
    I dunno about everyone else but it seems to me that its like impossible to find any good friends on pwi lately, or maybe its just my server lol?

    It just seems like before pwi became a frosty hyper stone 5aps nirvana fest, that its was easier to make some good friends. You would meet some pretty cool people out there questing and doing rb for exp.

    Now it just seems like the only friends i make are people ive ran frost or nirvana with. And those are just friends that pm you asking you to come to nirvana or bh lol

    Ima cleric so my friends list is always full, i'm constanly deleting and adding ppl but ive only have like 5 "real" friends that arent frost, nirvana, bh buddies lol
    It is not impossible; however, it is hard to find "real friends" anywhere...even outside "cyberspace"...I mean, if you go for a walk, how many friends do you make that day? Probably NONE! And it is not because you are not a "likable person", it is just because it is so hard to find people willing to be "friendly" or even just willing to have new friends...even your "childhood friends" may not be reliable...I can tell you this: each and every "childhood friend" i had betrayed me at LEAST one time (most of them did it more than once)...It happens since a long time...as long as i can remember...The difference is that i am more "aware" and i am not as naive as i was...seriously, back then even if one of them STABBED me (i mean it literally) i would just think "he/she is my friend..." god! i even feel pity and even a little bit of despise for my old self...thank god i changed!
    Don't get me wrong; I am still a great ally to have, but i'm not so "soft" as i used to be...i won't think of someone as my "friend" easily...friendship takes time, effort, love, mutual help, gestures...you can't ask for a "lifetime friendship" with someone who you met last week. I like to help my friends, but how should i know who my "friends" are? There are 2 types of people who distrust others: The ones who are not trustworthy and the ones who have been betrayed too many times...
  • firedolphin
    firedolphin Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    for some reason, part of my post didn't appear, so i'll write AGAIN the rest in this post...
    i was saying that if you want someone to be your friend, you must be their friend first!
  • firedolphin
    firedolphin Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Deceptistar - Sanctuary wrote: »
    no its not HARD to make real friends in pwi.
    Its just that real friends are the real jewels; you dont obtain them that easily.
    And if u think u can, wake up and smell the coffee.
    even in RL classes, if u had 30 classmates; then 20 were your casual friends. Out of that 5-10 close friends, 1-2 best friends.
    Eh? you had that much friends on a class? wow!
    I think that for most people it is more like:
    on a 30 students class, 5~8 "dislike" you, 15~19 are "neutrals" who don't like nor dislike you, ~2 are people who you sympathize with, ~5 are "peers" who you won't even speak with on the following year (most likely), ~1~2 are potential friends, 0.5 is the person who is your friend (doesn't happen in every class you get).
  • firedolphin
    firedolphin Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    silver02 wrote: »
    Well, it's hard to get connected with people not in your guild, people who you've met in a bh that was pretty neat. You add them to your FL thinking, "Yeah that girl was very nice, saved my life from agro-hungry Sin." Then you don't get connected with them till your in another bh with them b:sad

    To me, best friends are in the family-type factions those that are loyal and don't really care about the power, more about the fun and doing it together b:victory
    Maybe getting together more with people in your faction? or maybe inviting people you meet into the faction your in? Being with them more often might make you "real" friends.
    lol i was actually involved in a similar situation...just the attacked one was an assassin and the attacker was a barbarian!
    I was playing my assassin (my main) and doing my bh (bh51) and, when we finished killing a boss, our barbarian (i remember his name, i am just not going to mention it here, for respect) our cleric had to leave (she was on the same guild as the barbarian) and he called her STUPID! to her own guildie! that was rude, but not enough to a fight...Afterwards, he DEMANDED our squad's leadership (i was the leader), and i was actually stupid enough to give it to him...(but ONLY because i thought he wanted to invite a cleric to our squad, so that we could finish the BH) and as soon as he got it, he kicked me out of the squad and attacked our other assassin (there was 2 of us, sins ^^). The assassin fought back, but i wasn't sure how that would end up, so i decided to help the sin and i attacked the barbarian as well; I created that squad, which made me the leader, therefore, it was my ethic obligation to protect my members if i could (there is something that i do not tolerate on the squads where i have leadership and that is the betrayal of one of our members regarding another (trying to kill one of the squad members during the BH or right after IS a betrayal)). Unfortunately, the timer teleported me out before i could do the job properly, so i couldn't see how it ended...I hope the sin wasn't killed...(otherwise my help was useless...) Little after i arrived to Archosaur, the same assassin sent me a friendship request!
  • Lesthar - Heavens Tear
    Lesthar - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,045 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    Deceptistar - Sanctuary wrote: »
    no its not HARD to make real friends in pwi.
    Its just that real friends are the real jewels; you dont obtain them that easily.
    And if u think u can, wake up and smell the coffee.
    even in RL classes, if u had 30 classmates; then 20 were your casual friends. Out of that 5-10 close friends, 1-2 best friends.

    *A thousand times approved*

    Being acquaintances in a MMO is quite peculiar by the way. By choosing a server and not another and connecting at certain times or being at certain places can make you meet all kinds of people, good or bad, or between the two (or nothing) and not others (but forums enlarge this spectrum).
    It is also how you relate to people and how they do with you. Commitment is another step as well.

    This is all like reality, except for a few factors... You interact by the help of an avatar and can pretend being someone else (I am sure many trolls are not so bad in reality, or then, well, I would not want to know them better given how they introduce themselves, even if it's a joke, perhaps?). The rest is all about circumstances stated above.

    After that, having friends is all about sharing qualities and views on things, degree of quality in relationship may vary, by the way.

    True friends are the rarest, obviously. They don't act with greed (the latter concept which is mostly hidden, hitting you all of a sudden) or would leave you in the dust for a petty reason, they are here for you, you can count on them always and they seek the same.

    As many (most?) people in MMOs want to reach the top fast, there is the risk that some will do it without any morals, even if it includes backstabbing and scamming others. It's quite revolting and disheartening to say the least, in my opinion. And then, like if that was not enough, they say 'it's a game, and you lost'. Do you play games to be frustrated? Not me.

    And for me, absolute true friends coming from MMOs are not just interacting within the game alone, but also outside of it (instant messaging, e-mails and so on). They will share part of their lives with you and you as well, without any fear or trickery.

    I know select people I have learned to truly like, accept and help to the point I consider them brothers and sisters (I'm a loner. I've never met romance in a game and I don't think it will happen to me -and I am not into lovey-dovey pretentions/acting/whatever else; love is not made to be trifled with, right? I feel it can only develop outside of the game-), but also I learned quite a bit from them too, to say the least. I could not go 'I will be your friend' as an empty promise. It would mean lying to myself and to the other and even more because I grew careful around people, even online.

    Thanks for reading, and good luck in your search, Jay.
    Maintenance time. Please choose a line:
    - When is it over? OMG I need my fix!! *super spazzing*
    - Fix the damn bugs, dammit! I'm so angry! I'll quit!!
    - New codes out there? I like free stuff~ *wink*
    - When will we get new content? QQ
    - Will we get sales? I got a ton of gold to spend.
    - I'm bored, I'll create a useless thread to annoy Opkorock.
    - *Incessant poking on Sweetiebot* Fun~
  • EliteDemons - Archosaur
    EliteDemons - Archosaur Posts: 6 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    yeah i know what you mean alot of people add you but never talk or see see you again...Im a barb and alot of people add me but never really talk. I find that alot of people wont add you if your not a very high level my lvl 11 blademaster that i used to have got a few friends then stopped getting them all together. It's the same with dating and then someday getting married on this game. Say your a lvl 13 archer dating a level 11cleric, your having a good time and wanting to get married at level 20 when some lvl 32 barb comes in and she thinks "now i can have a lvl 13 or lvl 32..tough choice!" So she dumps you for the barb. I have to say if it was me i wouldnt be overlly upset as its just a game, but id be annoyed of how people have changed on PW just like any other MMO even RS was cool until the owners got greedy and so did the people.b:angry
  • Lesthar - Heavens Tear
    Lesthar - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,045 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    EliteDemons - Archosaur wrote: »
    yeah i know what you mean alot of people add you but never talk or see see you again...Im a barb and alot of people add me but never really talk. I find that alot of people wont add you if your not a very high level my lvl 11 blademaster that i used to have got a few friends then stopped getting them all together. It's the same with dating and then someday getting married on this game. Say your a lvl 13 archer dating a level 11cleric, your having a good time and wanting to get married at level 20 when some lvl 32 barb comes in and she thinks "now i can have a lvl 13 or lvl 32..tough choice!" So she dumps you for the barb. I have to say if it was me i wouldnt be overlly upset as its just a game, but id be annoyed of how people have changed on PW just like any other MMO even RS was cool until the owners got greedy and so did the people.b:angry

    Well, if the girl in your example only needed a powerlevel she would indeed choose a higher leveled character. That said, your example is just showing some lack of seriousness from some players. I think you meant in-game bf-gf, not marriage itself, given the price of a marriage pack.
    Having short-term friendships is normal in a MMORPG, especially at a low level. It is more likely you could make friends when you join a faction or when you get in instances, or get in a team to beat some boss...

    But again, this is not an absolute rule. And don't forget, some people 'befriend' you just to use you a few times then dump you after... Be wary about it.
    Maintenance time. Please choose a line:
    - When is it over? OMG I need my fix!! *super spazzing*
    - Fix the damn bugs, dammit! I'm so angry! I'll quit!!
    - New codes out there? I like free stuff~ *wink*
    - When will we get new content? QQ
    - Will we get sales? I got a ton of gold to spend.
    - I'm bored, I'll create a useless thread to annoy Opkorock.
    - *Incessant poking on Sweetiebot* Fun~
  • Pennince - Lost City
    Pennince - Lost City Posts: 93 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Options
    I'll be your friend =) I always love to run Frost so pm me some time and add me!

Categories