Friday, March 05, 2010

even quicker fourth item

Alexis of the Tao seems to be making a lot of sense to me in this post.

17 comments:

  1. Zzzz.

    There is no 'one true way' to play this game. For all the bickering and belaboring that goes on within the OSR, I find a lot of things that I like.

    If you're having fun, then you're doing it right.

    Some of the shit that fascinates Alexis bores me to tears. So what? The following week he may provide some interesting insight that never occurred to me before. Establishing some kind of 'Hegemony of Play' should not be, now or ever, the goal of the OSR -- whoever the fuck they are. I'm quite comfortable with the anarchy we have right now. I don't need anyone to tell me how to run my show or what my campaign should look like.

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  2. Was there some sort of GM's Day special on Crazy Pills?

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  3. Was there some sort of GM's Day special on Crazy Pills?

    I was thinking the same thing.

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  4. Tim From Scranton7:10 PM

    James M et al, y'all wonder who people are talking about when they mean "OSR people are jerks".

    ::points up at link::

    Just keep it in mind the next time someone wants to write about how the negative portrayal of the "elitist" OSR (I know, I know...) is an exaggeration.

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  5. The thing is, Tim, Alexis doesn't claim to be part of the OSR at all.

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  6. OSR is the celebration of DIY, of how everyone enjoys the game differently, and how you don't have to play it like everybody else esp not how the game companies tell you to play.

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  7. OSR is the celebration of DIY, of how everyone enjoys the game differently, and how you don't have to play it like everybody else esp not how the game companies tell you to play.

    I can totally get behind that. :)

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  8. "Was there some sort of GM's Day special on Crazy Pills?"

    "I was thinking the same thing."

    Ditto.

    That and I was thinking how much I love reading OSR posts that make me point at them, laugh and than go play something else,

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. One of the things that draws me to the OSR is how much it reminds me of my punk rock past, sensibilities that I cling to more tightly even as I get older.

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  11. The important thing here, I think, might be the fact that I thing Alexis is onto something even though we have totally different approaches to the game. It wouldn't surprise me in the least that he counts me as one of the guys doing it all wrong. That's not the point. The point is that even though I really believe in all the dirty hippie can't-we-all-just-get-along sentiment that we all so casually disregard when our own feelings get hurt, that such touchy-feely good times are shallow without everyone onboard having some sort of commitment to excellence.

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  12. "touchy-feely good times are shallow without everyone onboard having some sort of commitment to excellence."

    But who's holding the exell-o-meter? Alexis? I've got my own, and you do too. We've all got them, and they're all differently calibrated.

    Certainly, though, we shouldn't hold back when people are asking for criticism. I just have my doubts that the OSR is ever going to harmonize on what makes the cut and what doesn't.

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  13. A commitment to excellence is one thing. Being an unrepentant jerkoff to people you disagree with is another.

    Just sayin'.

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  14. No, I'm not holding the excell-o-meter. I was merely making the point that Jeff extols. He has me dead on here. No, I don't think people will play the game my way. What I do want is a real dialogue, not endless hair-splitting on definitions of fan-groups and what constitutes a Renaissance or not.

    Actual discussion about the actual game. G. Benedicto, I am completely on board with what you're saying. I only throw out this stuff in case it might stick; I like that some of it does.

    Stuart, James ... are you just going from sight to sight to comment on this (as long as you don't do it to me, personally)? The actual inspiration for the post was the TV Tropes and Idioms page, "Fanboy." I laughed because of how I identified with it ... to a degree. So I went with it. A sincere inspiration to a sincere rant. Sometimes the potatoes at the bottom of the pot need to be stirred up before they burn.

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  15. sight = site. my shame.

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  16. Stuart, James ... are you just going from sight to sight to comment on this (as long as you don't do it to me, personally)?

    Personally? Like what, driving to your house?

    My comment here wasn't just about your rant. Yesterday it was this and today you're posting something similar. Or complementary.

    Actually, I'm still not completely sure what you're on about.

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  17. My comment here wasn't just about your rant.

    Nor mine. I noted yesterday to a friend that the blogosphere seemed a lot more prickly than usual (which is saying something) and joked that it might have been last Sunday's full moon having a delayed effect. If my comment offended, that wasn't my intent and you have my apologies.

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