D&D Media Spotting and Mild Rant

[Kelleris]

Okay, there's a computer troubles columnist in my local paper (the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) called "Dr. Bombay." I usually enjoy this column, since he seems to know his stuff and has a nice sarcastic wit going. But today he runs this ignorant drivel about D&D in response to someone asking him about EverQuest addiction -

Dear Game: I suppose what you really ought to do is point out what a total loser your kid at this point in his life, and that he stands about as much chance of making it through the first month of college as I do of making it to the Miss America semifinals.

Your little nimrod isn't the only one with this problem. As many as 100,000 people with not much of a life are logging in to the EverQuest worls every night. The fantasy land of dragons and and heroes and damsels in distress becomes so real to some of these poor saps that they'd rather spend their lives there than taking care of business out here in reality-vlle.

And here's where I start to get cheesed off -

Imagine the old Dungeons and Dragons cardgame that geeks, weirdos and other such misfits obsessed over a few years back, except on steroids. That's EverQuest, bulked up with 3-D graphics and an imaginative interface where the player can interact with thousands of others. D&D was bad enough/ It was as addictive as heroin to the people who got wrapped up in it. Back then, the games would last days at a time, the players would forget to go to work or classes, and parents were up in arms, railing that something had to be done. Sound familiar?

Anyway, the rest of the column goes on to call EQ players (and D&D players by extension, I imagine), "reclusive toad with no friends or job prospects" and suggest some tough-love techniques. It also compares Half-Life 2 favorably with EQ and its ilk, but whatever.

As someone who just graduated from college, I'm a little cheesed off at the comparison to an EQ addict, and the implication that EQ is a better version of D&D (that "old" game from "a few years back") is just stupid. I don't like MMORPGs and I like D&D quite a lot, for very different reasons. And what's with this "card game" nonsense!? Aaargh!!!

Hmph. Well, I've vented. I'm considering sending this guy a polite e-mail to correct his ignorance, but I'm not sure it's worth my time. Sheesh, just when I think I may be able to convince my grandmother that I am not in fact worshipping Satan, I come across something like this...

 

[Henry]

If it were me, I'd be sure to write up the correspondence in the same sort of sarcastic tone that he employs in his column, reminding him that people who post ignorant drivel are little better off than the slavering morons who drop their responsibilities to their families and lives to indulge hobbies, and reminding him that it wasn't that long ago when he used to cry in his bed at night from school-mates chiding him about "playing with those nerdy computers" while drooling over ASCII pictures of Farrah Fawcett....

If it were me, of course. You're hopefully much too strong in character to resort to such juvenile behavior as I would employ.

 

[reveal]

So this guy calls someone a "total loser" and you laugh but then he insults something you like and now you're upset? That an incredible double-standard. :\

 

[Umbran]

This is what you (and society in general) gets for enjoying and supporting sarcastic tones, and in finding enjoyment in others being insulted.

Sometimes, the sarcasm gets turned against something you like. It isn't so funny now, is it? How do you think the author's previous targets felt? How often do you figure this guy has used falsehoods to make other people look bad?

 

[Greatwyrm]

Sarcasm aside, you can never count on a reporter having the facts straight on anything you're an expert on.

 

[caudor]

Yuck, that's my local paper. I'll cancel the paper and let them know why (actually, I never read it anyway so this is a good excuse). Sounds like Mr. Bombay is way too grown-up for games.

You don't quit playing games when you grow old; you grow old when you quit playing games.

 

[knitnerd]

Sounds like he doesn't know the difference between Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. Thats worse than mixing up knitting and crochet and thats always good for a few hundred nasty e-mails from fans.

 

[Kelleris]

This is what you (and society in general) gets for enjoying and supporting sarcastic tones, and in finding enjoyment in others being insulted.

Sometimes, the sarcasm gets turned against something you like. It isn't so funny now, is it? How do you think the author's previous targets felt? How often do you figure this guy has used falsehoods to make other people look bad?

Down boy. That's why I'm wondering if I should send an e-mail or just shrug it off. That's also why I mentioned the columnist's usual style, in the interests of full disclosure. That said, the sarcasm is usually directed toward people who write in; I don't recall specific groups being singled out like this before, though of course I'm not a frequent reader.

I just had a gut negative reaction, and I happen to know he's wrong in a number of ways. That's why this is a rant, y'know.

You'll also note that I intended to only send a polite e-mail correcting inaccuracies, not a little hissy-fit rant. I save that for where I can get it off my chest and it won't hurt anyone. You know, here. And yeah, I'm more emotional about D&D than most things, because the entire human race tends to be emotional about the things they know well and love.

 

[James Heard]

I'm thinking you should stalk him and kill him outside the steamtunnels with Ffarfignuggies, your trusty +2 bo staff.





...jk

 

[Tewligan]

I would go the "shrug it off" route. Sounds like his bit is being sarcastic, and this time he took aim at an easy target. Big deal. Sending a complaining/corrective e-mail about the column would make you look like...well, like an obsessive geek. Just let it go.