Why do we feel compelled to spill out our guts all over the intertubes for the entire world to read? The answer, of course, is a subset of the larger question, why do people blog about anything? It's probably a variation of the same question that medieval bards asked the operators of the first printing press: "Dude, why do you want to put yourself so, I don't know, out there?"

The "serious" answers get all sociological and some junk. We want to be heard popping off about our opinions on talent trees, bragging about one-shots, or feeling part of the larger WoW community outside our own servers.

However, as a WoW blogger myself, I know that the truth about us isn't nearly that pretty. We blog to brag about Kara exploits or show off our expertise on the Hunter class, a frame addon, or prime Oily Blackmouth fishing spots . We dream of demi-celebrity status in the WoW community. We try to provoke people into replying, sometimes with generous link love. We like to have the first scoop on expansion news (essentially, more showing off). We gossip about guild drama, sometimes wrapped up snuggly in the ignorance of our fellow guildies that we even have a blog. (There is a sweet freedom in finding the comfort of internet strangers.) We blog for artistic expression and to make others laugh.

And the main reason we blog? The same reason we feel itchy when we haven't called Mom in a few weeks: guilt.

Last week, Insider Trader began the journey from 300 to 375 jewelcrafting skill. While we were able to avoid using recipes that required faction reputation or that had to be farmed, the cheapest methods to 375 from about 365 may require a bit more effort to obtain.

If you are like so many other craftsmen, stuck with 375 seeming far away and expensive, then carry on through the break to examine ways to not only maximize your skills, but to attempt to make a profit while doing so, rather than running on a loss.

Featuring several distinct ways to reach 375, you will find that you have many choices to suit your own needs, your guild's needs, and your server's market. In addition, I've put together some links for further reading that you should find helpful.

What do you do for WoW Insider?

I'm a regular blogger. Right now, I'm the chronically late co-writer for Know Your Lore, the paladin column The Light and How to Swing It, and the rogue column Encrypted Text. I swear to Thrall there will finally be a new KYL this week. I also contributed to Arcane Brilliance for a short time until I realized that I don't really like playing a mage. I used to do a lot of short pieces on the forums and social aspects of WoW, but due to a new work schedule, those have decreased in recent months.

What's your main right now?

Right now, I have no main. Kelstar, the troll rogue pictured above, was my first character and the only one I've seriously raided on. I recently leveled a blood elf protadin, Sandinista, and am in the process of building up an undead affliction warlock, Sabra. All these characters are on Magtheridon-US. Yes, I am fully aware that my gear, rep, spec, appearance and entire being suck, so don't bother to look up my characters and tell me that. Most recently, I've been working on a new class, faction and server -- Mehitabel is my lowbie night elf druid on Warsong. WTS Blood Elf Bandit Mask plz.

A simple topic, but so difficult to figure out the answer to. If you could go back to when you first played WoW and give yourself some advice (WoW-related only, you can't tell yourself not to date that skeezy dude with the '80s hair from the Rockford), what would you tell yourself?

In retrospect, I probably would have advised myself not to make a Rogue as my first character to level. They're a nice class, but having a primary Rogue made it difficult to get into groups and raids. I would have made a Druid or Priest instead.

Additionally, I would have never tried to level in Silverpine Forest, entered Stromgarde Keep, or tried to solo all the seven billion elite quests before Outlands. I would have never tried to raid hardcore, and generally spent less time thinking about loot and more time cooking deviate fish.

What would you do differently if you started WoW again?

Ahhhh, how I love the Elitist Jerks forums, the home of the most intelligent, informed, and well-written players of WoW. EJ produced another gem of a topic recently that made me think a bit about the purpose of sites like ours, and what function they serve in the overall scheme of WoW.

Malan, who plays the tauren shaman Keiji on Skullcrusher, recently posted in a thread on the shaman forums about an upcoming patch. Rather than complain about shaman mechanics, however, he asked the community manager Nethaera an important meta-question: If most WoW players don't read the forums, and the forums are the main way the developers and community managers tell new information to the player base, then isn't there a huge gap in communication for most players?

New to WoW Insider and want to know what's in our back catalogue? Looking for our more reference-oriented posts? We know stories and features drop off the front page all too quickly and search isn't always the best way to find something, so we're always looking for ways to give you access to some of our older content that's still informative. We've started a new WoW Insider directory page to help you find some of our best guides, resources and original features. Is there a guide we haven't done yet that you'd like to see? Let us know what you want to know in the comments!

WoW Insider directory

There's a fairly familiar troll thread on the WoW Europe forums -- the usual "people who play WoW are wasting their lives" spiel. "I am worried that people are, and will, lose the best years of their real life to WoW," writes Anti. "... In my experience, between 18-21 are the best years of your life, partying, girls, going mad, you get the idea...those years can never be replaced ... Most people WILL look back at some stage in their lives and regret the real life they threw away to play Warcraft. And if they dont think it was wasted time, and still regard it as time well spent, their present life at that time must be sad."

The thread has a lot of responses, from people regretting the time they've spent in WoW to celebrating that they didn't waste their youth drinking and partying. So that inspires me to ask: Overall, has WoW been a positive or negative force in your life? Do you regret the time you've spent on WoW, or consider it a good investment?

I've been playing WoW for two years now, and I don't really regret the time I've spent on it. I don't neglect my real-life responsibilities to play, I haven't become a lump attached to a keyboard, and in many ways, WoW has actually enhanced my real life. I've met tons of people who I would never have occasion to meet out in the world. I visited a new city to meet some guildmates, and liked it so much that I ended up moving here. WoW helped me get a writing job and opened up new career opportunities. Heck, WoW even helped me learn French, although most of what I learned was raid instructions and curse words. Sure, I sometimes get scared when I realize my /played on all my characters is in the triple digits, but if I hadn't played WoW, I would have just watched TV or stared at the ceiling.

What about you? Has WoW been a good thing or a bad thing for you?

It might not be something any of us are countenancing, but people do stop playing WoW. There are many reasons to quit--lack of time, money, enthusiasm. However, as with any MMO, the words "Game Over" never flash on your screen--how do you know when it's time to stop?

We each have different goals when we play WoW. I play because I enjoy the social side of things, and my ultimate goal (if I had all the time in the world) would be to play every class to level 60, visiting every area and dungeon, finishing every quest line. I love the depth of WoW, and I like seeing the tricks that other classes can pull off to surprise me; I want to learn them all. I'm not in this game for epics, but I know many of you are. If I achieve that goal, I may stop playing, or I may have found another along the way.

What's your core goal in the game? Have you left WoW and returned, or has it always had a place in your life?