The Ranting Thread

[McAvoy]

One of my favorite Eastwood movies.

[katefan]

I didn't know where to put this, so why not here?

I write a blog about GMing, running role playing games. And over the past couple years I have grown increasingly despondent over the lack of creativity shown by many GMs in their choice of games. So I decided to address the issue in my latest post here (The post is a bit meandering, covering several subjects.).

So I posted a link to the RPGs Posting Sanctuary...and the moderator booted me. He/she/it screens posts, apparently read mine, and decided it was too offensive.

Personally I do not think it was. I was addressing a serious problem in the PBEM community and that is many people who run games are lazy. Many do not bother creating web sites for their games and choose games based on established universes where you can only play canon characters.

I understand it is the right over every person to run the game they want, to play the game they want. But I think it is also my right to poke the ant hill a bit and stimulate some conversation. Look at the group's description:

RPGs_Posting_Sanctuary is a place for people to come and be at peace with one another, to advertise games, discuss difficulties they face in simming and hopefully find solutions, to give points of view on how we see our community changing for the better or not, to make our views known on issues that concern us as list members, Owners, GM's etc.
Hopefully we're all people who look for the good in any given situation because it's the games that we play in that are important, and not the cyber politics. And we're also here to support one another, give praise where it's due and to answer any questions posed by others if we can.

We all need a place of sanctuary, somewhere we are able to speak freely, openly and honestly and RPGs_Posting_Sanctuary is a place where you can do this.

Please feel free to join the list advertise your games and give us your views on what you believe can make our games a much safer and more vibrant place to sim in. After all, this is our place of sanctuary so that we can discuss what it is that affects our games.

I think I did that. I have been running PBEMs for twelve years, gamine a total of thirty two. I think I have a valid opinion. A pity the moderator did not have the courage to adhere to the principles of his own group.

Okay, rant over.

[Mikey]

Well let me first say that I am completely and utterly unfamiliar with the milieu to which you are referring. I know nothing of these types of games, though I have experience with more traditional P&P RPG's. That said, I can speak in more general terms. When someone takes enough personal umbrage at constructive criticism - especially when it is issued eloquently and without personal attacks included, as yours was - to abuse his moderatorial powers in this way (or otherwise overreact,) chances are that in some hidden recess of his soul he realizes not only your veracity, but how acutely your analysis applies to him. Unfortunately, most people in this world at one time or another find it next to impossible to accept a critical analysis of themselves and find it far easier to rail against the source of this criticism.

Was your wording concrete and bracing? Absolutely. Was it offensive? No, unless the reader was oversensitive due to a half-realized deficit in themselves. As the Bard said, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

[katefan]

Thank you. Play By E-Mail is essentially role playing through e-mails or message boards like this, either using a system like d20 or Fasa or what have you, or using no system at all. I started out years back doing table top games and I came across PBEMs by accident around '99 when I discovered someone running a Legion of Super Heroes game using the DC Heroes engine. Star Trek games were the most common back then, especially with DS9 and Voyager being on television and the TNG movies in theaters. Back then there seemed to be more diversity back then, more creativity.

There are still Star Trek games around, but the fleets that run many of them are rife with petty politicking. There are Harry Potter games, X-Men games (Gawd, are there X-Men games), Star Wars games, Highlander games (where you play canon characters, of course), Batman games (Have you ever wanted to play a member of Batman's supporting cast? Now you can!), etc. Original games are very few and far between.

[Mikey]

Yeah, I sort of gathered that "play by e-mail" intimated playing... by e-mail. I must say, though, that I'm flummoxed by the seeming popularity of playing an established character (established by other people, that is.)