Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
(1) Even if the action (of the play, of the RPG session) extends beyond the opera house, you can add on that stuff as needed. In serial fiction, new elements of the setting are established as needed. In RPGing the same thing is possible. The fact that some GMs and some RPG groups prefer that it all be done in advance doesn't show that it has to be.
Yes, story now worldbuilds as it goes along. I don't think anyone here has claimed that it all has to be done in advance.
So someone who says "I find worldbuilding to be unhelpful/counterproductive" isn't necessarily confused about what RPGing involves. Nor are they necessarily saying that those who enjoy it are confused.
But someone who gives a non-RPG setting like Phantom is confused about what RPGing involves. A movie, play or TV show is never going to play out like an RPG would and doesn't involve the same kind of worldbuilding needs as an RPG does.
Definitions are not pointless. When you have someone misrepresenting a word, it's incredibly unhelpful to just wander on through the conversation with people using a word that is central to the conversation in different ways. It's not only unhelpful, but it actively harms communication. Until people get on the same page, the conversation can't go forward. Once [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION] acknowledged the definition and moved on to his position as dislike of excessive worldbuilding, the conversation started to progress and we started to have discussions going on as to what excessive meant. Once he dug in his heels again, it derailed once more. It seems like he doesn't actually want the conversation to happen.(2) This semantic debate seems exceptionally pointless. If someone says "Worldbuilding is bad" because eg it kills spontaneity or it bogs down narration in needless detail, it's pretty clear what they have in mind. Someone else may or may not agree with that; but it adds nothing to the conversation to bog it down with discussion of whether "worldbuilding" is the word that ought to have been used to express that preference.