No, the reason is it's massively boring.
...resulting in it being the weakest core book. This does not need to be an either/or situation, and there is no need to be confrontational about this.
There are lots of different ways to DM, which ones do you think the DMG should teach?
The 4e DMG draws awarenes to multiple styles, including play preferences of players. This approach could be expanded further. It seems useful to cover many of the most popular styles, including the pros and cons of each. It need not be a massive treatise. Sometimes basic overviews of styles and highlighting some DMG rules options that may help cultivate said style are helpful enough for starting out.
This is the subtext of people complaining about the DMG "not teaching": "People DM differently to me. This BadWrongFun must be stamped out!"
I believe you got this all wrong, both explicit text and implicit subtext. It's definitely not in-character for
@Whizbang Dustyboots. I don't think that the desire is to stamp out the "BadWrongFun." I think the ultimate desire is to
increase the longterm pool of DMs in the hobby who are comfortable in the role.
When people complain about the DMG "not teaching," IMHO, it is more about wanting to help new DMs grow into the basics of running the game as the DM: e.g., role expectations, guidelines for prepping encounters and adventures, how to make rulings, DM principles, etc. It's about making sure that the new DM has some easy-to-reference guidelines they can fall back on. It's about easing new DMs into the role so they don't bite off more than they can chew when starting out. New DMs may discover what they and their groups find more fun later (e.g., grim 'n' gritty, epic heroes, adventures, sandboxes, etc.), but the aim of people advocating for improving the DMG as a tool for teaching new DMs is about providing them with a solid foundation for the role.
Good, this is useful. It's a shame it isn't better written to make it more interesting, but it's certainly the sort of thing that should be in.
Sure, but the point being made here is not that it shouldn't be in the book, but, rather, that it's so close to the start of the book before more pertinent sections. Again, the 4e DMG organizes the book as a funnel from the smaller basics to the bigger aspects, and ends by providing a sample setting and adventure to get the DM started. The World itself, however, is Chapter 9. Look at everything that the DMG conveys to the reader prior to getting to the point of detailing the world.
- Chapter 1: How to be a DM
- Chapter 2: Running the Game
- Chapter 3: Combat Encounters
- Chapter 4: Building Encounters
- Chapter 5: Non-Combat Encounters
- Chapter 6: Adventures
- Chapter 7: Rewards
- Chapter 8: Campaigns
* Chapter 9: The World
- Chapter 10: The GM Toolbox
- Chapter 11: Fallcrest & The Nentir Vale