Clerics are damned but doctors are revered

It has long been observed that there is a somewhat parallel relationship between the real and virtual worlds. After all, the latter is spawned from the former. Whatever we see in the real world, it is often mimicked in the virtual. Even if not yet, then surely eventually. I was just musing about the status of doctors in today's world. My irrational prejudice against them aside, the medical profession is supposed to be a somewhat reputable one. Before asset management dominated today's career paths, it is not uncommon for children to play with stethoscopes and dream of becoming doctors. Let's take a look at the state of affairs at MMORPGs. I don't want to zoom into any game in particular so generally speaking, we know there will usually be a warrior class, mage class and another miscellaneous class. Most games have more and almost all have at least these 3. And if we talk about MMORPGs specifically, then there is typically a cleric subclass branching out of somewhere e.g. mage. I don't think it would be unreasonable of me to compare clerics in the virtual world with doctors in the real. Looking at their core similarity, clerics and doctors both heal (though real-life doctors are clearly inferior to their make-believe counterparts). In the real world, doctors are relatively well-regarded. Surely this feeling will spill over to the virtual? Well, not really. In the virtual world, clerics are typically the "worst" class. No doubt they can heal and "bless" and all, but that's that. In terms of damage, well, the word is "laughable". If you think about it, it is neither unexpected nor unfair for clerics to be weak in the face of monsters. After all, each class has its pros and cons and the cleric is supposed to be a party character. Not "party" as in like those silly half-naked Tarzan-wannabes gyrating in some cigarette-y bars, but "party" as in joining with fellow human gamers and playing in a group. Oh yes, those of you who play clerics in your respective online games are going to mutter your little curses at me. You are going to insist that everyone loves a cleric and he is the most popular class in the game. Well, sure, I agree - everyone loves a dog who can wag its tail to chase away the Monday blues. Face it clerics, you are nothing if no one throws you a bone for breakfast. You've better stay close to your chosen "hosts" so that you don't need to chase too far when they move. :P Now stop yelling at me, alright? I have the right to say what I said because I have experimented with the cleric class too. Let's look at warriors and non-cleric mages now. If I were to attempt a mapping, I would say warriors in the virtual world correspond to sportsmen in the real. As for non-cleric mages, they are the modern scholars and researchers. You may come up with more appropriate mappings yourself but this is my interpretation for now. Earlier, I have mentioned that doctors receive thumbs-up while clerics get the rotten eggs. It seems that a similar relationship exists for the warriors/sportsmen. Sportsmen today are gaining "popularity" but they are still relatively few in numbers. Don't get me wrong - many people enjoy watching sports and have their drunk moments of wishing to be those stars (though their realities often return as soon as they are lucid). People don't want to play sports professionally - yet in the virtual world, we know that the place is usually overwhelmed by warriors. It seems that warriors are exhibiting this non-parallel situation like clerics. So what about non-cleric mages? How many scholars and researchers do you observe among your friends? Yet how hard is it to avoid bumping into a mage? So really, this post title should read "People behave abnormally online" but hey, I still can't decide which is more appropriate. :P If you are still with me, let me share the one thing that seems to be corresponding well. In both the real and virtual worlds, if you are at the top of your class, you are quite definitely a top $$$ earner. :-)