I run on a PvP server and generally speaking I let people go about their business and only attack when provoked. Whenever I am grouped up with one of my more malicious friends, however, his aggressiveness tends to rub off on me.

If I could create one golden rule for world PvP, it would be this:

Do not interfere with players on escort quests

There is nothing more frustrating than having your lowbie toon watch an NPC mosey all the way across a zone only to be blown up by a stealthed level 80. Makes my blood boil!

That said, running around in your PvP gear gets rid of most of the scrub gankers. priest with 24k health? No scrub’s going near you, and most of the non-scrubs are just as busy as you are.

When I don’t feel like being bothered, I’ll throw up my Knight-Champion title on, or Justicar. Then I mostly get /waves from Hordes I come across.

I always would travel in my PvP gear, with my PvP spec on. Being a Human frees up a trinket slot for when I’m farming/questing. Plus when you see a Mage that has Ice Barrier up with 22k HP, you normally think twice before attacking.

My views on open world PvP ganking are quite a bit looser than yours. When I first run across someone who is anywhere between green and lower red level range, they’re getting attacked. Unless they’re almost dead already (subjective, I know).

If I win that first encounter, I stop being the aggressor. I have no desire to see if I can kill someone repeatedly, so I won’t start the fight. If I lose that first encounter, I’ll go another time or two (or more if the odds are stacked against me) trying to change the outcome before going back to questing.

I agree that corpse camping, killing greys, swooping in to cause another player to die from NPC’s, etc… are dirty tactics used by people with issues reaching outside the game world. But in my opinion, getting the drop on someone or having someone get the drop on you is just part of the excitement of playing on a PvP server.

If all fights were to begin at full health, with proper gear, etc… it would be no different than playing on a PvE server and requesting a duel with each Alliance member I run across. And what’s the fun in that?

I live on a pvp server and I am an etiquette ganker.
My rules:
1) Never kill lowbies (people who kill lowbies are sexually frustrated, true story). I just dont see the point of it. That of course if the said lowbie wasnt griefing one of my alts or something.

2) If it’s red (and in the level range), its dead.

3) Never camp an unworthy oponent. That keyboard-turning level 80 in pve gear is simply too boring to camp.

4) If ganking on a lower level alt, I never bring my main to help out in fair fights. (unless being endlessly griefed by a level 80 or so)

5) I usually let people finish what they are doing, as in killing mobs and such. Once I have helped one guy kill the 5-6 mobs he had pulled only to kill him just after.
Exception to this rule: paladins and dks MUST DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

6) I never gank non-shadow priests (i.e. who are not in shadowform)
(because of the sheer pain of leveling/questing with one)

7) All the rules above dont apply to 1v2 situations, which I love to get into, but I will use all the dirty tricks available to win such a fight.

Anyway, this is what makes a victory fun. Killing a helpless target will give no pleasure imo. But there are people who live to backstab.

And a few advices regarding your article.

1) ALWAYS quest/level in PVP gear/spec. With your pvp trinket on. I do it on all my alts, who got their trinket in the hellfire peninsula quest.
Simple enough, mobs and such can be easily taken down in this gear, whereas a gank might be hard to fend otherwize.

2) The best way to stop being ganked/camped/griefed, is to start ganking on sight. Unless the said enemy sees you and starts waving/cheering/saluting, your best guess is that he is a possible ganker and its a good idea to take him out first before doing your quest.

Don’t do it and you shall regret.

3) Learn to enjoy outdoor pvp. It can be really rewarding to pull some nice kills (like my most recent one: killing 2 paladins levels 70 and 66 with my level 67 lock)

My feeling has been: Bother me and I bother you. Gank me once, shame on you. Gank me twice, get a life. Gank me three times and seriously, wtf is wrong with you? Seriously, you’re camping someone who can barely fight back?

Then my level 80 friend comes by and tears them to pieces.

Secondly, I tagged you in the year in review meme I just wrote and posted. Hope to see your replies. cheers!