The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[darjr]

The problem with that, and to be clear I've done it too, is that the person cut off can easily read that as "Moving on matters more than resolving problems. Got it." And that can easily lead to some of the other pathologies you see in the hobby.

There's no winning on this stuff. Some times its just going to be a problem, and you have to decide which set of problems you want to deal with.

There is. Being mature about things.

Look I’ve seen people say Rule Zero makes fir bad GMs. I think that’s the cart before the horse. Bad GMs do not need rule zero. Not even a little bit.

 

[darjr]

And by that … look at people here who’ve talked about problems in thier game yet they persist trying to work it out.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I have made it an implicit rule in the past. When we run up against something that we're unsure of I'll rule in the moment, move on, and we all check into it between sessions so that it's not an issue going forward. One of the worst things that can happen, in a session, is for it to break down into 3 hours of rules lawyering instead of playing.

That can work as long as you're willing to roll things back if necessary. Otherwise, its potentially a problem that's just going to propagate down the length of a campaign, because the decision has ongoing effects.

 

[Thomas Shey]

There is. Being mature about things.

To be blunt, people aren't always mature about any number of other things; I'm not going to assume they'll suddenly do it here. Watched people's reactions to sports things lately? Or their favorite shows?

Look I’ve seen people say Rule Zero makes fir bad GMs. I think that’s the cart before the horse. Bad GMs do not need rule zero. Not even a little bit.

I'm going to push back on this. I agree bad GMs don't need rule zero, but rule zero can teach mediocre GMs to be bad ones, by telling them that not listening to people is okay (and even worse, teach the people they're not listening to that its to be expected). I've seen waaaay too much of that to believe otherwise.

 

[darjr]

That can work as long as you're willing to roll things back if necessary. Otherwise, its potentially a problem that's just going to propagate down the length of a campaign, because the decision has ongoing effects.

Outside of a session I dint think it should be a “one and done forever” kind of thing.

The conversation should continue.

 

[darjr]

To be blunt, people aren't always mature about any number of other things; I'm not going to assume they'll suddenly do it here. Watched people's reactions to sports things lately.



I'm going to push back on this. I bad GMs don't need rule zero, but rule zero can teach mediocre GMs that not listening to people is okay. I've seen waaaay too much of that to believe otherwise.

I dunno. I’ve found people who aren’t going to listen to others won’t no matter what rules are in place. Folks that will, eventually, and if they are interested in being part of a game group at all, will.

 

[darjr]

And people not always being mature about things is exactly why rule zero, or letting a referee do thier job, is important. It’s harder to be to be mature in the heat of the moment and let things go.

 

[Thomas Shey]

And by that … look at people here who’ve talked about problems in thier game yet they persist trying to work it out.

Because, again, you can be getting enough value out of a game that you'd really like to make it work. Doesn't always mean you can, though.

 

[darjr]

Because, again, you can be getting enough value out of a game that you'd really like to make it work. Doesn't always mean you can, though.

Yea. Absolutely.

But rule zero, or it’s lack, won’t really help anyone here.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I dunno. I’ve found people who aren’t going to listen to others won’t no matter what rules are in place. Folks that will, eventually, and if they are interested in being part of a game group at all, will.

All I can say is I've seen plenty of rank-and-file GMs decide that because they were told Rule Zero was their right, they should use it even when multiple players disagreed with them. If you didn't have that presented in the hobby as "the way things are done" where do you think one guy in a group hobby would decide that was the case?