tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post7955729715033752245..comments2024-03-28T22:00:35.840-07:00Comments on Playing D&D With Porn Stars: So, Wait, You Play D&D? Like, '80's D&D?Zak Sabbathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-68335425008129960862010-07-01T09:05:49.337-07:002010-07-01T09:05:49.337-07:00@shlominus: "when i am questioning some of yo...@shlominus: "when i am questioning some of your (or, in this case, mandy's) statements..."<br /><br />But you promised :(Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-67403016708757860032010-06-30T15:11:20.505-07:002010-06-30T15:11:20.505-07:00*whistles*
*nominates Rick Marshall for Best Suppo...*whistles*<br />*nominates Rick Marshall for Best Supporting Comment in an RPG or Gaming Blog*<br /> <br />Masterfully done, sir. :)A GMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14013007369310498835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-51947307194778464562010-06-30T07:21:51.097-07:002010-06-30T07:21:51.097-07:00Dammit, okay, now you did it. I'm hungry.Dammit, okay, now you did it. I'm hungry.AGCIAShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00555314975157295572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-2194490116229272842010-06-30T00:24:40.179-07:002010-06-30T00:24:40.179-07:00@shlominus, continued: You're not alone in wri...@shlominus, continued: You're not alone in writing comments that insult the original author by suggesting they're playing D&D wrong; I've seen a lot of these both here and at Grognardia. I suspect most OSR bloggers get their share of such comments.<br /><br />Although many of the commenters do mean such an insulting judgment, I believe you when you write that you didn't mean offense. I also agree that you had the makings of an interesting dialog, but you fumbled the ball and then compounded it by not accepting people's criticism of what you wrote, by trying to defend it. You made a mistake and you need to own up to it to regain conversational credibility.<br /><br />Were I in your shoes, I would apologize whole-heartedly for your unintended insults, promise not to do it again, ask for forgiveness, wait for that discussion to play out (be penitent, not defensive), and then try to relaunch your original promising discussion in a more careful way that validates the choices other people make about how to game. If you do this, you'll not only clearly demonstrate your good intentions, but you'll also lead by example for all those other commenters who make the same mistake, and thereby maybe ward off future flame wars.<br /><br />I hope you take this in the spirit it's meant, not as an attack but as an attempt to help you understand where all the hostility toward you is coming from. I'm writing because I sympathize with your position, having started a few unintentional flamewars myself in the past. If you don't find my comments helpful, feel free to disregard them. After all, I could be completely wrong about the situation and YMMV.Rick Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01707062453047354335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-43602467484065396572010-06-30T00:24:04.907-07:002010-06-30T00:24:04.907-07:00@shlominus: I believe you when you say you aren...@shlominus: I believe you when you say you aren't trying to be insulting and that you don't understand why your comments are being read that way. But I also agree with Zak and Mandy that your comments were indeed insulting.<br /><br />It is very easy in English to give offense without meaning to (just as in Navajo it is very easy to unintentionally make a pun - each language has its pitfalls). Here's how you did it (from the Escapist Thread for I Hit It With My Axe episode 15 at http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.204173-I-Hit-It-With-My-Axe-Episode-15-Ambush-at-the-River-of-Despair?page=3):<br /><br />When Mandy quoted Gygax ("Character background is what happens between levels 1 and 6." -Gary Gygax), you responded with:<br /><br />"so what/who do you play during these first levels? a blank sheet? do you care about this... i don't know what to call it as it's obviously not a "character"? is she a peasent, or maybe a noble? developed during play? her family, developed during play? personality, likes, dislikes, what drives her, what made her become an adventurer? all developed during play?<br /><br />"in what way is having a background for a character from the start a bad thing?<br /><br />"and last, but not least, considering your character is now lvl5, what does her "backstory" look like now? i'd be interested to see how this might work out."<br /><br />This compositional structure is called the barrage of questions; it always carries an emotional charge of some kind, since normally in polite discourse we only ask one or two questions at a time to give the speaker a chance to respond. Therefore, the barrage of questions always signals the reader that there's some kind of strong emotion at work and invites him or her to figure out what it is.<br /><br />You meant to convey curiosity and humor, as evidenced by your last paragraph, but your second sentence is hard to read as anything other than sarcasm (regardless of how you meant it), the third sentence implies that she might not care, and the second paragraph is a challenge in the form of an accusation of unfair judgment on Mandy's part. In other words, though you hoped to start an interesting comparison of different character-development styles, you used an emotionally charged structure and included the elements of an attack.<br /><br />To anyone but you, some of what you wrote does carry the flavor of amazed disbelief that anyone would play the way they do, which tars the rest of what you wrote by association. That's why Zak's getting such a positive response for his satire; regardless of what you meant, it captures the spirit of what you said and then belabors it delightfully.<br /><br />You may have difficulty seeing this in what you wrote, but it's there, and it's why everyone is reacting with such hostility to you. Part of the reason you can't see it is that you're distracted away from the aggressive literal meaning of what you wrote by your private and better intentioned interpretation of what you meant by it. The problem for you as for any writer is that no one else gets to know what you meant; we can only read what the words you actually wrote mean and judge your intentions from that.<br /><br />One of the hardest things about writing or speaking is that it is your responsibility to control the implications of the words you use, to rephrase your message as many times as you need to until you come up with a phrasing that says what you mean and doesn't imply anything you don't mean. You didn't do that, and now you're unfortunately paying the price.Rick Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01707062453047354335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-51774975065240375292010-06-29T15:48:02.672-07:002010-06-29T15:48:02.672-07:00I continue to love this blog more and more.
rule ...I continue to love this blog more and more.<br /><br />rule one: is the group having fun? if yes, keep playing!<br /><br />I have never understood the apparent free license to be a douche nozzle the internet seems to grant when it comes to rpgs. Do these same people stop strangers at a bowling alley and tell them to mark it a zero because a toe was over the line? doubtful. <br /><br />Zak, it was a combination of Hit it with your axe and the penny arcade D&D podcasts that got our gaming group back together after 10 years. good times are being had by all.<br /><br />Keep being awesome.Giving up on Ubuntuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13561020397241467314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-26126703042529420502010-06-29T14:48:41.398-07:002010-06-29T14:48:41.398-07:00I had a tasty, tangy post that would have beautifu...I had a tasty, tangy post that would have beautifully summed up the whole salami v. tuna debate --<br /> <br />-- and then blogspot ate it. *sigh*A GMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14013007369310498835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-84081034472956424442010-06-29T11:57:35.729-07:002010-06-29T11:57:35.729-07:00But... I like hamburgers...But... I like hamburgers...Jeremy Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-73592660406187142422010-06-29T11:35:21.278-07:002010-06-29T11:35:21.278-07:00Genius.Genius.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-77802891571064367152010-06-29T10:25:33.771-07:002010-06-29T10:25:33.771-07:00Also, did we even get an answer to how the vegan t...Also, did we even get an answer to how the vegan tuna-melt wrap on a gluten-free buckwheat tortilla difers from a plain gluten-free buckwheat tortilla, since neither tuna nor cheese are part of vegan diets (as recognized by the international society of vegetarians, vegans, and gamblers)Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14672917794716928287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-23562635198568472702010-06-29T10:21:40.343-07:002010-06-29T10:21:40.343-07:00Is it wrong to take the Tuna wrap and Salami Sandw...Is it wrong to take the Tuna wrap and Salami Sandwich apart then just eat the ingredients you like, leaving the others for the birds and racoons?Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14672917794716928287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-83053332546190671802010-06-29T07:48:15.465-07:002010-06-29T07:48:15.465-07:00Brilliant.Brilliant.Roguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02645124165599230491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-35051686614846245142010-06-29T03:20:34.745-07:002010-06-29T03:20:34.745-07:00*shrugs*
I like my Famous Orange Sandwiches becaus...*shrugs*<br />I like my Famous Orange Sandwiches because they're yummy, and I don't eat fish, because it smells like fish. Doesn't mean I've got something against people who say that putting oranges in your sandwich is silly. <br />Of course, that's the situation with sandwiches. Now when it comes to literature, ooh boy...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-53056360035345848512010-06-29T02:12:51.184-07:002010-06-29T02:12:51.184-07:00OT: buahuhauhauhauauha! Lotta continua was pretty ...OT: buahuhauhauhauauha! Lotta continua was pretty awesome, but you should write it continua and not Continua. Although it was not directly related with terrorist groups during the '60-'70, it's still a sensitive issue here.<br />Cheers from Italy and fight on!Il Male™https://www.blogger.com/profile/02699384706214815033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-58947930059076869222010-06-28T21:44:31.637-07:002010-06-28T21:44:31.637-07:00A masterful piece of satire.A masterful piece of satire.Tazz2060https://www.blogger.com/profile/05274031996855374522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-3184864363057588752010-06-28T20:23:11.210-07:002010-06-28T20:23:11.210-07:00"Today the role of soap opera starlet will be..."Today the role of soap opera starlet will be played by gamers, and in an interesting twist, the roll of roll players will be played by porn stars..."The Cramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05278933189696141920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-81739595023591271912010-06-28T20:06:59.352-07:002010-06-28T20:06:59.352-07:00Wow - Ive been having these kinds of conversations...Wow - Ive been having these kinds of conversations recently - deja vu...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14741915662135713990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-85917385469461543032010-06-28T19:44:41.838-07:002010-06-28T19:44:41.838-07:00My Philly Cheesesteak is very good. I'm intere...My Philly Cheesesteak is very good. I'm interested in reading your thoughts on using knives to cut your sandwich because my cheesesteak requires cutting too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-69682600523219096372010-06-28T18:21:30.169-07:002010-06-28T18:21:30.169-07:00Huh, that seems weird. Why is it impossible that y...<i>Huh, that seems weird. Why is it impossible that you just hadn't thought of "this", or that you had thought of it but hadn't realized something crucial that could be clarified? @PoeticExplosion</i><br /><br />That's very true, especially for people who have only been playing a year or two. A lot of people say they like a gritty game but later learn they don't, or that they're not roll-players but later find out that's how they get their fun.<br /><br />But they can go read blogs if they're interested in other ways of doing things -- unsolicited advice from people watching their game is just not going to be helpful.<br /><br /><i>(Can someone point me to the discussion that sparked this? I'm getting a strong feeling that I'm missing something important.)</i><br /><br />A post by shlominus <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.204173-I-Hit-It-With-My-Axe-Episode-15-Ambush-at-the-River-of-Despair?page=3" rel="nofollow">on the Escapist discussion boards</a>, probably just representative of other posts Zak's seen.Noumenonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01597461989960782762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-40234350585773606622010-06-28T17:58:16.009-07:002010-06-28T17:58:16.009-07:00I find a similar problem with pizza. I can and do ...I find a similar problem with pizza. I can and do enjoy basic pepperoni, but I personally prefer vegetarian. Whenever I'm at my buddy's place, they will brook NO OTHER toppings but pepperoni when it's time for everyone to have pizza, and actively mock me for being an admitted vegetarian pizza lover and insult me if I suggest that we add mushrooms.<br /><br />The only time I get to have vegetarian is through those tiny personal pan pizzas, when I'm home alone, maybe with my roommate.Virgil Clemenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00188692409290996174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-81267272439912613782010-06-28T15:55:59.908-07:002010-06-28T15:55:59.908-07:00You all suck and eating lunch, traditional sandwh...You all suck and eating lunch, traditional sandwhich lunches are just a stepping stone to new toppingless indie "soups". These high concept lunches are able to even get rid of outdated concepts like "Solidness", and aren't so "control oriented" by having some arbitrary "bread" control how the food moves about as you interact with it.Zzarchovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07714805545939725730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-16929343980829153012010-06-28T15:05:15.840-07:002010-06-28T15:05:15.840-07:00@noumenon:
http://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/2010/06/ha...@noumenon:<br /><br />http://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/2010/06/harmless-bit-of-deception.html<br /><br />http://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/2010/06/30-ways-not-to-cheat-at-d.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-91568305033765973522010-06-28T14:48:21.472-07:002010-06-28T14:48:21.472-07:00Been having this conversation for a week, now. You...Been having this conversation for a week, now. Your streamlined version is spot on.squidmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486198900111225929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-88563424188394079092010-06-28T14:33:29.608-07:002010-06-28T14:33:29.608-07:00I'm curious shlominus -- what was the other bl...I'm curious shlominus -- what was the other blog that posted about you?Noumenonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01597461989960782762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-29144975623323296032010-06-28T14:09:42.444-07:002010-06-28T14:09:42.444-07:00Funny...I kinda thought he was talking to me for a...Funny...I kinda thought he was talking to me for a moment. I can be a real tool with my anti-D&D tirades. :P<br /><br />Difference is, I know for a fact my way is better...for me, my group and those that enjoy the kind of games we play. My opinions are very much my opinions and I acknowledge them as not standard for this hobby.<br /><br />Which is just the way I like it.Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.com