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On November 13th, my guild lost a dear friend when 30 year-old Hans David Bromm, or 'Dave' as he went by IRL (who had played the Mage Wisebob with us for the better part of 2 years), died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle Washington, due to injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident.

It's been over a month since we were notified of Bob's passing, and every time I click the post in our private guild forums, I read through the messages that people left about Wisebob ('bob' to us on ventrilo).

People who have not played the game with our guild in 3 years came back to post fond memories of Bob.

Bob was the kind of person who lived his life to serve others. Our guild is a fairly hardcore raiding guild (12 hours a week spread out over 4 days), and well established on our server. Bob has raided with us for about a year, and then retired to a more casual status, filling gaps in raids when needed, but otherwise messing around on alts, or playing horde-side with RL friends. Bob didn't have a lot of time to spend playing WoW, but every time he logged on, there was a flood of "Hey bob!"'s, followed by what became his trademark over the last year: "Does anyone need help with anything?"

With what little time bob had to play with us, he dedicated all of his time to helping other people. He was truly selfless in WoW. Where he could be anything he wanted, protected by the anonymity of an internet persona, bob chose to be as helpful and selfless with his leisure time as possible.

Even his voice in vent could cheer you up after hours of wiping. He'd join the raid channel, listen intently to make sure we weren't in the middle of a communication-oriented fight, and say his trademarked "Hey guys... what's up?"

There's not much I can say about bob that would do his memory more justice than the words my guildies posted in our "In Memoriam" thread in our guild forums, so I'll post some of those here:

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I may not have known him in real life but I know from knowing him on vent he was a really great guy and all around nice guy to talk to and play Warcraft with. We will miss you Wisebob and always remember you.

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Wisebob was one of the nicest people I've ever had the fortune of meeting through a game.

Every time he signed on vent, with that excitement in his voice, you couldn't help but get cheered up, regardless of what you were doing.

I remember one time I was in this completely abysmal heroic durnholde group on my mage, and was like, complaining in vent constantly, in a very pissy mood.

Bob jumps in vent and gives his trade marked "hey guys what's up?", and it's hard to explain, but he always had this energy and kindness in his voice that would just really improve my mood.

We talked about being in shitty pugs as a mage, and how to alleviate the pain. Max rank dampen magic on the tank really pissed him and the healer off, and I nailed em with a darnassus port at the end.

Wisebob was a wonderful person, from what I knew of him. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

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Why do the most terrible things seem to happen to the nicest guys, and assholes like me are some how left standing =[

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He was always energetic and cheerful on vent and in game and was just a great guy. I'll miss him...

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I've always said it's a burden being the person doing raid invites, as you always get spammed with tells, but I remember Bob always being the most polite one whenever he'd logged on. I had a conversation one night with him about why he was often missing raids. He was telling me that he couldn't make our 6pm start time as he couldn't make it home from work in time. But he'd always log on around 6:20 as soon as he got home and would whisper me with the polite "I'm here if you need a mage :)". Always a delight to have around.

He was our first Illidari Council mage tank!

Here's to Bob! We'll never forget you!

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Holy shit.....that makes me sad.

When I came back to WoW he was the first post-tbc guildy that I got to know and become friends with.

I have a letter in my mailbox that he sent me just a few days ago, it is really sad to look at it and think........that's it.

I'll miss him.

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It is rare that you meet a truly selfless person. Generally we find ourselves surrounded by people that are motivated by selfish or greedy intentions, always attempting to better themselves through their actions, rather than those around them.

Dave was a beautiful human being. He never had a single bad thing to say about anyone, and though I could tell if he was frustrated with something, he would never give it voice; almost as if he didn't want to bother us with something as trivial as his own concerns. Every moment Dave spent with someone, was a moment he spent trying to cheer them up or make them happy. Which is ironic, because from what I am feeling right now, I wish I could talk to him and have him make me feel alright.

Every memory I have of Dave is one that will make me smile. I remember him banning me from his vent by accident, when he tried giving me admin access, then whispering me with 'oh god, I'm sorry, how do I fix this!'

There are a few people in this game that I wish I could meet. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been able to meet and shake Dave's hand, even if it was for so short a time. I miss you, buddy. I miss you and I wish you were still here.

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i didn't get to know Bob as long as some of you guys did but from the little time i did know him he was a great person. i remember him logging on vent and asking if we wanted to help gank horde. i normally never liked to pvp but bob had a way of you just wanting to help. i never really got to know you as well i've liked but i will miss you Bob.

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Wisebob was by far the nicest person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing online. He was always interested in helping people with whatever he could and whenever he had time. There were many of times he came in to save some doomed heroic or 10man dungeon.

Unlike jackasses like me, Bob always spoke up when he felt he had made a mistake and always asked for advice in situations he was unfamiliar with. He did this not only because he was a really honest and nice guy, but because he didn't want other peoples enjoyment of the game to be hampered by any mistakes he might make. He was a truly selfless human being.

I'm really glad I had the chance to know such a kind and personable guy, even if it is was only in the context of WoW.

If anyone knows an address where I could send flowers to his family or for his funeral services please send me a private tell.

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this is incredible, bob was one of the most polite and colorful people I've had the pleasure to play with. I'll miss you bud and your signature vent "hey guys whats up?". May you find peace in the next life, and hopefully we can hang out and drink a beer when I get there.
goodbye friend

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Like many have said before me, Dave was one of the nicest people I've ever met. I only had the chance to meet and hang out with him once outside of wow, and I am very glad I had the chance to do so.

I have countless memories of Dave and his endless positivity, and I'll miss him for sure.

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Dave was definitely one of the nicest individuals I've had the pleasure of meeting and he was a complete and utter sweetheart. He did a 3s team with me and Carm, and while it was definitely not the most succesful, he was always positive and jovial about it. You will be missed, Dave...

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Ali and I went down to Seattle to meet Dave for the first time and we met at his favourite restaurant, Famous Dave's BBQ. He came down on his lunch hour to meet us, we got seated and Dave ordered the biggest platter on the menu. After about 10 minutes of chat, he says 'oops I have to get back to work'. He asked for the bill and proceeded to pay for the entire thing despite Ali and I's loud protests, said 'goodbye nice to meet you both seeya online', drained his pop and left back to work.

I was stunned when I read this today and a couple hours haven't made a lot of difference. I called Ali and told her and she didn't believe me for a solid minute. Bad things happen to good people and this unfortunately is as solid evidence as there will be to support that claim.

We're all better people for having known Dave, RIP Bob

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don't even know where to begin...I am just in shock. For the longest time we were the only 2 raiding mages so we spent alot of time talking. He was the nicest person, always willing to go above and beyond to help anyone out that needed it. While not raiding he would constantly be asking in guild chat if anyone needed help with anything. He was always positive and strived to be the best that he could, not for himself, but for those around him. I am sorry that I never got to meet him IRL, but am fortunate for the many hours that I got to talk with him. I never thought someone I met in a game would have made as big an impact as he did.

: (:( :( :(

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Quite simply the nicest person I have ever known. Willing to sacrifice his time and enjoyment to help anyone and everyone. I never had the good fortune of meeting him in person though I know I would not have been disappointed. It is a shame to lose a person like him and he will be sorely missed.

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Wow. There really isn't anything I can say that hasn't been said by pretty much everyone. My condolences go to his family. If he was such a nice guy to complete strangers, he must have been an angel to his own family. Rest in peace Dave.

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like what Shaun said about Dave's trademark vent greeting of "hey guys, what's up?" on vent, was his in game greeting of "hello ^_^"
just full of positive energy and friendliness from simple greetings

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I really dont have much to say as I am choked for words. This shocked the hell out of me and brought a few tears to my eyes. Bob is truly the most non selfish person I have ever met wether it be online or in person.

You will be missed buddy!!!

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I don't like goodbyes. He was a great person, I've talked with him many hours on vent. I believe he liked me, to have someone of his caliber's respect is a rare thing, and I will never forget it. I will truly miss him.

*******

So why bother posting all of this?

Our guilds biggest regret in all of this, as cliched as it sounds, is never getting to say goodbye, or tell him any of the things that you read here.

If anyone who reads this takes away one thing, I would want them to be a little more like Wisebob when they play WoW. People come here to have fun and get away from their real lives. Don't make it any less fun for anyone. Take a few minutes out of your game time to be polite and friendly towards those who tolerate you. And for god's sake if you know someone like bob, ask them what you can do to help them for once in a while. ]]>