The Instance The Instance is a weekly World of Warcraft podcast " so that you don ' t have to " , hosted by Scott Johnson of the ExtraLife Comics and ExtraLife Radio and Randy " Randydeluxe " Jordan . The podcast has a large fanbase that actively contributes emails and phone calls that are used during the show . " The Instance " first aired on January 7th , 2006 with hosts Scott Johnson and Andrew Konietzky from Cranial Jacks & Converse , and has been running on a regular weekly schedule ( personal circumstances of the hosts permitting ) . Randydeluxe was added as a third host in December 2006 . Andrew left the show in May 2007 , and Scott and Randy have since hosted every episode together . In 2008 , " The Instance " won the Bloggers Choice Award for Best Podcast and The Podcast Awards Best Gaming Podcast , beating out nine other finalists , none of which were World Of Warcraft - related . In addition to the podcast , " The Instance " is also broadcast live on The Instance uStream page when it is being recorded . Show Sections . " The Instance " is divided into different sections . They are typically in the same order : Big News of the Week . This covers breaking news related to WoW , Blizzard or the MMORPG game space . Rumors and Scuttlebutt . Scott and Randy talk about WoW - related , and sometimes completely unrelated rumors , predictions and analysis . Town Cryer . The hosts refer to their e - mail and answering machine to play phone calls , read e - mails and ask one another series of " Quickfire Questions " . Drop of the Week . An external site , movie , WoW - related product or addons is highlighted . The main body of the show is followed by an exit segment comprised of calls , recordings , comedy bits and songs that the hosts receive each week . Regular Contributors and Topics . The podcast features regular contributors who add information and entertainment to the show . Curt Schilling ( Retired ) . Mr . Schilling has made regular appearances on " The Instance " since his interview in episode # 102 - “ The Curt Schilling Episode ” . As an unofficial " third - chair " , Mr . Schilling contributes to the topics of discussion drawing from his personal experience as a WoW and EQ gamer , and a MMO developer . Patrick from France ( Retired ) . Patrick Beja ' s regular segment is called the " Mod Tip of the Week " and usually consists of a description of an AddOn , including who the mod is useful for , why Patrick likes it and where you can find the mod . All of Patrick ' s mods are listed here ( usually updated after the show ) . At Blizzcon in 2007 , 2008 , and 2009 , Patrick met up with " The Instance " listeners . At Blizzcon in 2008 , Patrick was joined by Randy in interviewing such Blizzard luminaries as Mike Morhaime , Jeff Kaplan , and Russell Brower . Randy regularly jokes that the show has since had a " special relationship " with Russell Brower , making it difficult for Mr . Brower to appear on the show , unless Scott can come up with something non - WoW - related to talk about . Patrick has also appeared on several episodes as " third - chair " , and done standalone interviews for the show . Patrick announced on the Instance 160 , that he is leaving due to acquiring a job with Blizzard , and thus didn ' t want to create a conflict of interest . Shawn Basic ( Retired ) . Shawn " Shawn Basic " Coons provided submissions for newbie s featured in many episodes during 2006 - 2007 , which captured basic information and tips for lower level and casual players of the game . Shawn left the show after Episode 56 , returning to guest host Episodes 70 and 100 . Darrell the Tip Giver . Starting in late 2007 , Darrell ' s submission to " The Instance " was the Tip Givers ' Tip of the Week ( TGTOTW ) , a comedy spot that was the first bit played after the hosts sign - off . Originally a tongue - in - cheek series of suggestions for all those wishing to submit tips to the show , TGTOTW grew to become many listeners ' favorite part of the show , with both comedy and advice for anyone aspiring to create tips , or do a podcast of their own . Darrell the Tip Giver has also done a mash up of clips from the previous episode to form something that often has a completely different meaning than what was said in the episode . This first started in episode 137 and continued through 182 when the birth of his daughter greatly diminished his editing time . All mashups done after 182 were done by other contributors . Buxley . Steve Pietrowicz has been contributing as the character " Buxley " in the " Ask Buxley " comedy segment since Episode # 116 . Buxley explains things that happen in the World of Warcraft universe according to his own view of the world , which has very little to do with what ' s really going on . It does make sense to him though . Buxley is a level 80 Tauren Shaman and is a proud member of Alea Iacta Est . Alea Iacta Est ( Retired ) . A regular returning item that usually appears in Rumors and Scuttlebutt ( but not exclusively ) is news or updates concerning the on the US - Earthen Ring server . Alea Iacta Est was formed as a companion guild to " The Instance " and Extralife Radio and was announced on February 13th , 2007 . The phrase " Alea Iacta Est " means " the die has been cast " , and is in reference to what Caesar supposedly said as he crossed the Rubicon in northern Italy in 49 B . C . A more detailed discussion can be found here . The most prominent mention of AIE on " The Instance " was on episode 74b : " Rest In Peace , Bruce Galloway " in which AIE members and Instance listeners made a special tribute to AIE member Bruce Galloway ( aka Milliway ) who passed away on August 2nd , 2007 . Mean Gene ( Retired ) . Mean Gene was a PvP guru and used to submit weekly segments with PvP oriented tips . This segment was played along side Patrick ' s Mod of the Week between Rumours and Scuttlebutt and Town Cryer . Mean Gene retired his segment at the same time Patrick joined Blizzard and stopped submitting mods .