Which edition of D&D gets the most heated discussions?

[Bullgrit]

Is it just me, or do discussions of the AD&D1 edition of D&D, here, on this message board, seem . . . different . . . than discussions of any other edition of D&D (including the original and the current)? Discussions of AD&D1 seem almost like religious debates, quoting and interpreting holy scriptures, defending and attacking faith in the text.

Edition wars seem to always be AD&D1 vs. [current edition], only. I don’t see BD&D vs. D&D4, or OD&D vs. BD&D, or even AD&D1 vs. AD&D2.

Arguments for the “old ways are better” always seem to refer to AD&D1, even though it isn’t the oldest edition of the game.

What is it about AD&D1 that makes discussions of it the most heated and polarizing? There are people who seem to hold it as perfect as written, and people who see it as irredeemably flawed. It’s like saying, “I love it, but it has problems,” is a contradictory idea that people on the two extremes just can’t accept – you must be for it or against it, wholly.

BD&D was a contemporary of AD&D1, and many who played AD&D1 also played BD&D, but BD&D doesn’t get nearly the conversation/argument time that AD&D1 does. Nor does BD&D get the fanatical pros/cons that AD&D1 seems to get.

Or maybe I’m completely wrong, and the above is just my imagination conjuring up a reality to fit my point of view?

Bullgrit

 

[ExploderWizard]

BD&D was a contemporary of AD&D1, and many who played AD&D1 also played BD&D, but BD&D doesn’t get nearly the conversation/argument time that AD&D1 does. Nor does BD&D get the fanatical pros/cons that AD&D1 seems to get.

Or maybe I’m completely wrong, and the above is just my imagination conjuring up a reality to fit my point of view?

Bullgrit

No fanatical BD&Ders? Are you denying my existance!!!!

 

[Fifth Element]

What is it about AD&D1 that makes discussions of it the most heated and polarizing?

I suspect it's because 1E is the game the majority of use grew up playing. Since it's what is remembered from childhood, it is considered to be the best, or "how it should be." That's a common human foible, not restricted to RPGs.

 

[Markn]

4e for sure for two reasons. It is the current edition and therefore, IMO, has the most market share and therefore the most attention. And this edition happens to be the most polarizing ediition to date.

 

[Celebrim]

Is it just me, or do discussions of the AD&D1 edition of D&D, here, on this message board, seem . . . different . . . than discussions of any other edition of D&D (including the original and the current)?

It's just you.

Edition wars seem to always be AD&D1 vs. [current edition], only.

Huh? Weren't you around for the whole 3e vs. 4e edition war? Do you remember the whole 3e vs. 2e war? The 1e vs. 2e war? The OD&D vs. everything that came after it?

I don’t see BD&D vs. D&D4, or OD&D vs. BD&D, or even AD&D1 vs. AD&D2.

Maybe you just aren't looking hard enough.

Arguments for the “old ways are better” always seem to refer to AD&D1, even though it isn’t the oldest edition of the game.

Huh? I believe the most famous adherents of 'the old ways are better' are not referring to AD&D1 and I have some difficulty understanding how you'd think they were.

There are people who seem to hold it as perfect as written, and people who see it as irredeemably flawed. It’s like saying, “I love it, but it has problems,” is a contradictory idea that people on the two extremes just can’t accept – you must be for it or against it, wholly.

I love it, but it has problems.

Or maybe I’m completely wrong, and the above is just my imagination conjuring up a reality to fit my point of view?

I'd put money on that.

 

[Chainsaw]

Is it just me,

Probably. I'm kidding!

If what you suggest is true, and I'm not agreeing that it is, one explanation could simply be that this phenomenon results from AD&D having the largest historical base (if that is true). Admittedly, I'm using speculation to answer a generalization based on one guy's experiences on ENWorld.. we may not be able to nail down The Answer.

 

[Riley]

I'm still upset about the lack of support (or love) for the "Players Option" version of AD&D 2e.

Anyone want to argue about it?

 

[Bullgrit]

I don’t see BD&D vs. D&D4, or OD&D vs. BD&D, or even AD&D1 vs. AD&D2.

Maybe you just aren't looking hard enough.

Can you give me examples/links?

Bullgrit

 

[Plane Sailing]

Or maybe I’m completely wrong, and the above is just my imagination conjuring up a reality to fit my point of view?

I think it's just you, I'm afraid!

 

[Stoat]

Prior to August 2007, the typical edition discussion here seemed to be pretty consistently AD&D1 versus 3.X. Post August 2007, 4E has become the focus of most edition warring. There have been a lot of 3.X v. 4E conversations over last two years. Some factors that I have observed:

1) There seem to be more folks talking about OD&D and Basic/BECMI/BD&D whatever.

2) In a typical "old school" v. "new school" debate, it isn't always immediately apparent which old school edition any particular poster is talking about. I've seen more than one thread where folks assumed that they were all talking about AD&D1 only to discover midway through that half of them were really talking about OD&D or BD&D.

3) 4E has made strange bedfellows of some 3.X folks and fans of older editions. Posters who might have fought lustily two years ago about the relative merits of AD&D1 v. 3.X now have a mutual dislike of 4E to agree on.