Progression isn't about what you've done, it's about what you've done lately

I think I know the key to MMO happiness. I believe that you must accept a few basic truths about MMORPG's if you are going to be happy playing them. Now, accepting them won't guarantee happiness, but you will not be happy if you do not accept them.

Spinks runs headlong into one of them today.

But it bothers me that my alt is almost as well geared as my main, and that all the extra work I did on Spinks now seems to mean nothing. I don’t say it’s logical.

Surely the whole point of persistent games was that we could keep working on our characters to progress them over time? What does it really mean if all that time spent means nothing any more.

Spinks ends up reasoning that progression has been flattened because it makes the game more fun and social. But, as I've argued before, WoW has always been the game of now, where progression isn't about what you've done -- it's about what you've done lately. Progression progresses itself, and what was impressive yesterday isn't as impressive today.