Why was the prostitution thread closed?

[Ixal]

Why was this thread closed?
It had a mature discussion about prices both based on historic rates and also modern rates translated into D&D currency. There were no personal attacks, no shouting matches and only a little bit of topic discussion but that could have been handled with a reminder to stay on topic instead of directly closing the thread.

A mod comment of "Just nope" isn't exactly helpful, especially when you want people to remember what can be discussed and what not.

 

[beancounter]

Prostitution is problematic...

 

[AnotherGuy]

I recently binged on After Life (Netflix) where one of the main characters kept correcting Ricky's (Gervais) character that she is a sex worker not a prostitute. It's a good show.

 

[aco175]

I can see other topics being distasteful of problematic like this one. A thread on how to create drugs for my game, prices for an elf slave over a dwarf slave, and most things political about Trump or Biden.

In the end I sometimes throw my hands in the air and say that it is not my site. Some topics may have a high threshold for people being offended, and others do not. Some things hit home for some people. I know in the past with some threads, the mods have posted comments such as- move on to another thread if you this one is not for you.

 

[Ixal]

I recently binged on After Life (Netflix) where one of the main characters kept correcting Ricky's (Gervais) character that she is a sex worker not a prostitute. It's a good show.

Yeah, its not like its a forbidden topic in entertainment, even in a non-serious environment, and over the last decades it has been de-criminalized in a lot of places.

Even the Thirsty Sword Lesbians rpg which was covered and received quite well on this site has a setting/scenario in which the PCs are sex workers (and holy warriors).

 

[John R Davis]

It is a classic problem today
You cannot discuss "X" in an RPG.
BUT, Breaking into a creatures dwelling, slaughtering them, their family and stealing everything including the furnishings, and maybe the dwelling, is perfectly fine.

 

[John R Davis]

Prostitution is problematic...

Yep. But many things are, and ' gaming' them, playing through " gray and difficult things" can mostly be a good thing. DND may not be the right game, but many are.
IMO.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

I agree that it's a mistake to scandalize sex work in any way. But IMO the thread was unhelpfully vague. It assumed that there's a specific economy in D&D (there isn't, since the game doesn't present a default setting, and even Forgotten Realms was never presented in that sort of detail) and that a given service can be priced a single way throughout every town and city in an inherently limitless range of fantasy settings.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I agree that it's a mistake to scandalize sex work in any way. But IMO the thread was unhelpfully vague. It assumed that there's a specific economy in D&D (there isn't, since the game doesn't present a default setting, and even Forgotten Realms was never presented in that sort of detail) and that a given service can be priced a single way throughout every town and city in an inherently limitless range of fantasy settings.

I'm glad and relieved to realize that it was the topic of pricing in a fictional economy that was out of line.

 

[Umbran]

Why was this thread closed?

How about we all go a read the Terms and rules again? Specifically:

"I want a typical 13 year old kid to be able to come here and participate if they want to without feeling uncomfortable (or for their parents to feel uncomfortable about them being here). This should be a minor-friendly place."

I do not know how that thread managed to survive 20 years ago, but how much characters should pay for sex is not an acceptable subject for folks to discuss in front of random kids on the internet.