D&D 5E Mearls' "Firing" tweet

[JacktheRabbit]

aaa

 

[epithet]

Really? He was the lead designer on 4E, that seems like it should have been grounds for termination years ago. ;-)

Ok, here's something really controversial:

A lot of those ideas from 4e that are "the worst thing ever omg" were repackaged in an OSR wrapper for 5e, and now they're brilliant. Viewed as an iteration instead of a finished product, 4e has some pretty good ideas.

I mean, except for warlords, right? They're obviously the worst. (Evil Smiley Face)

 

[epithet]

Why would that keep GIRLS out as opposed to keeping out ALL new players of either gender. That statement reeks of racism and implies that girls for some reason have an inferior ability to learn new information provided to them.

Also it is patently BS. Every table I have ever played at was very happy to actually have a girl at it, in fact it occasionally became a problem not because the other players didnt want them there but the complete opposite as a good number of male gamers can be a bit socially awkward.

I'm not saying it made complete sense to me, I'm saying that's what I thought he meant the first time I read his tweet.

I later learned that's not what he was talking about at all. That's why I'm on board with the whole "that was a crappy tweet" thing.

 

[jgsugden]

Mine was "Mearls thinks you shouldn't have to know what the effect of 3 levels of exhaustion are, the difference between a lich and a demilich, the damage type of a spiritual weapon, the resources restored on a short rest, the members of the Council of Eight, how many masked lords run Waterdeep, whether Lolth is a goddess or an archdemon, or any crap like that in order to be allowed to play Dungeons & Dragons, and to say otherwise is probably an effort to keep girls away."

When I re-read it with context, I figured he meant that D&D didn't need self-appointed guardians of the faith, and that he felt those self-appointed guardians had been sexist and rude and he was mad about it.

We should probably discuss my rates at this point. I'm not cheap.

Use some of those funds to take a reading comprehension course and revisit our discussion. Any you're apparently overpaid. Seriously - he correlates guarding the game based upon rules/lore concerns with sexism. Do you not know anyone that would potentially be critical of her hiring, based upon rules/lore concerns, that would not be basing their beliefs on sexist legs?

If not, also spend some of those unearned funds on expanding your social circle.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

aaa

 

[JacktheRabbit]

aaa

 

[JacktheRabbit]

aaa

 

[3catcircus]

So it doesn't get lost in my earlier post:

I anxiously await anyone who has questioned the hiring of Kate to show me where they've done the same on the same grounds when a man was hired there. The AA disclaimer has been on their job postings for decades.

*When* you do the questioning is important. Saying "Why'd they hire *that* person" said immediately after a hiring announcement is vastly different than saying it immediately after that person's 3rd, 4th (or more) monumental f*&^-up that they perpetrated without any repercussions.

 

[evilbob]

Wow. The whole idea that people would jump all over this hiring decision is kind of horrible. It's especially bad for a niche (ish) hobby that is trying to grow and be more inclusive in order to broaden itself and make itself better. The thread that got closed on this site is pretty bad, honestly. This thread is pretty bad, honestly. Mike's tweet is sort of crappy but it's still well short of the reaction of many people, and I'm glad he's at least trying to say that this behavior isn't cool. Honestly none of this behavior is cool.

 

[3catcircus]

That sounds nice and all, but it’s an impossible goal. Human brains are flawed and irrational, and incredibly prone to unconscious bias. There will always be admission and hiring guidelines not 100% related to experience, talent, and qualifications. The only thing that removing such guidelines officially would accomplish is to insure that all such guidelines are unstated, unchallenged, and determined entirely by the hirer’s unconscious biases.

Add in the fact that people just naturally feel more comfortable with like-minded people. Hiring someone who thinks like you do is an easier choice than hiring someone with diametrically-opposed viewpoints, even when they both have the exact same qualifications and experience.