D&D 5E Toxicity in the Fandom

[Vaalingrade]

Yes, people griping about Star Trek being "too woke" now do amuse me. "Hey, do you remember that classic Trek episode about the race of people who were white on one side of their bodies, and black the other, and the people who were white on the right side of their bodies hated the people who were white on the left side? What do you think that was all about?"

As a friend of mine put it: "Star Trek isn't woke. They're the alarm clock. And it's been ringing for fifty freaking years."

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Of course, everyone knows Captain Kirk has a love of Oreos. Why do you think he starts getting a little pudgy by mid-season?

Oreos are the PRETENDERS to the Black & White Cookie throne.

No, not THAT THRONE.

THAT THRONE!

 

[James Gasik]

Oreos are the PRETENDERS to the Black & White Cookie throne.

No, not THAT THRONE.

THAT THRONE!

Oh, so Hydrox, then?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Oh, so Hydrox, then?

Really more of a usurper than a pretender.

 

[mythago]

Its the biggest reason "gatekeeping" is a strong theme in a lot of arguments (which doesn't mean its not sometimes overused, but people who don't think its a genuine problem either haven't looked around much, or just have decided that the gatekeeping at hand is okay.)

Or they enjoy being the gatekeepers, because they see their appropriate role as "protecting" something important to their identity.

This isn't specific to gaming, but does a nice job of dismantling the idea that it's OK to keep out "normies" or "mundanes" or whatever who threaten to pollute (beloved activity) with their noobness:

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/07/26/who-gets-to-be-a-geek-anyone-who-wants-to-be/

 

[Thomas Shey]

Or they enjoy being the gatekeepers, because they see their appropriate role as "protecting" something important to their identity.

I see no meaningful difference between that and my second clause other than to put a nice coat of paint on it. Its still a case of "this gatekeeping is okay."

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

I am the keymaster, I heard the gatekeeper is here in this thread?

 

[James Gasik]

I am the keymaster, I heard the gatekeeper is here in this thread?

Vinz Clortho, as I live and breathe, I barely recognized you! Have you lost weight? Did something with your hair?

 

[MGibster]

Oreos are the PRETENDERS to the Black & White Cookie throne.

I grew up believing Hydrox was the imitator.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Franks is a general purpose sauce, with a pretty decent flavor, besides its heat. It is a good product for people who haven't had a constant diet of heat. This probably aligns pretty well with WotC products.

Franks has imo kind of weird and very specific flavour imho, that doesn't work with everything, but works very well with certain things. I've never actually experienced it as a "hot" sauce because it's so mild.

Disagree on tabasco not having much flavour. It's not very hot, but it has a distinct pepper-y flavour that's really pleasant with certain things (like roast turkey + cheese sandwiches). I like Cholula's flavour better with a lot of things. Sri Racha has a strong flavour but it's disgusting (all the worst notes of red peppers and vomit combined) so there's that.

Tabasco is well-known to be hotter, but has little other flavor to it. Sauces hotter than that are largely useless except to the officionado.

Oh yeah?!?! That sounds like the sort of thing someone who can't handle hot sauces would say!

But yeah being real I am definitely no longer freaking out from even mild heat, like I might have when I was say, 15. So yeah desensitized if you wish. I mean I think it's right that you can't appreciate certain flavours unless you've got past the heat. I like peri-peri sauces (I dunno if those have reached the US, they're very popular here), and they're pretty hot (like 15k SHU chicken I was having), but some of them have really lovely flavours. I do note that I wasn't really aware of those flavours when I was younger though.

My wife, who is American, and back in the US atm, observes that it's pretty funny to see what other Americans consider "hot", because it is very weak stuff compared to what British people our generation or younger consider "hot" (though I suspect this would reversed with say, 60 or 70-somethings), despite the popularity of Mexican food, insane SHU hot sauces and so on.

I did once try the tiniest dot of one of those 1m SHU sauces and yeah that wasn't fun. The Sri Lankan guy I was with who ate a piece of chicken slathered with it, confident he'd be fine given his culinary background, definitely looked/felt like he'd been pepper-sprayed though. Took him like an hour to recover.