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

[Thomas Shey]

We really do need to come up with a name for the "rules protect players from bad referees" fallacy.

I'd never claim that. I will claim it can protect mediocre referees from becoming bad ones.

 

[CleverNickName]

I don't know what thread y'all are talking about, and that sounds like a good thing.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I don't know what thread y'all are talking about, and that sounds like a good thing.

Eh, its a bit of thread drift, probably spinning originally off of a thread I can think of.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

You know, it’s fascinating to watch a particular topic become like a hydra, with its many heads infecting other threads even if the thread was not originally about said topic. Even multiplying it’s heads to reach into even more threads and so on and so forth.

Also, I now want to create a plant type hydra monster based in a pineapple.

 

[overgeeked]

Eh? That’s not a fallacy.

It really is. And a prevalent one, too.

Rules are there to facilitate a game.

Yes.

If the rules create a fun game, then as long as the rules are followed, people will have a good time.

That conditional statement is exactly where that fallacy lives.

According to you, to have a good game the referee has to follow the rules. That's easily shown to be false. Good referees ignore the rules all the time. Three of the best referees right now running live plays are Matt Mercer, Brennan Lee Mulligan, and Aabria Iyengar. They break the rules all the time...and their players have a blast, so following the rules is not required to have a good time.

But accepting your false premise is exactly what gets us the fallacy. Okay, so if good referees follow the rules...what do bad referees do? Ignore the rules. Cool. So...

Good referees follow the rules; bad referees ignore the rules. What elicits a good time? Rules that create fun games...and a referee who follows the rules. What do bad referees do...ignore the rules.

Note how the referee can, at any time, regardless of what the rules say...simply ignore the rules. Change them. Make up new rules. Nothing actually binds the referee into following the rules. They're not a fey creature you've caught out with a bit of blood and milk. And again, there's plenty of examples of the top three live play referees regularly breaking the rules...while their players have an absolute blast. There's nothing forcing the referee to follow the rules. Nothing. So how exactly do the rules protect the player from the referee? They don't.

Rules absolutely protect players from bad referees.

They absolutely do not. They literally cannot do what you're suggesting.

 

[Cadence]

To another thread...

I really don't understand why you play any of those games given how you talk about them.
On second thought, I wonder if it's so you can complain about them.

 

[MarkB]

Okay, this is becoming another thread now. Maybe it's time to start one, and takes the rules & referees talk there.

 

[Cadence]

I look forward to a thread in about a week about someone buying some catalog slides from the Gygax estate auction and thinking it gives them rights to the art...

Items for sale by thecollectorstrove | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from thecollectorstrove!

www.ebay.com

 

[Maxperson]

True story- even as a kid, Waldorf and Statler were my favorite muppets.

Hard to believe, isn't it?


....oh, it's not that hard to believe? Never mind ....

Nope. Same here. Always loved them. They are now my son's favorite since we binged the old show.

 

[Alzrius]

I look forward to a thread in about a week about someone buying some catalog slides from the Gygax estate auction and thinking it gives them rights to the art...

Items for sale by thecollectorstrove | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from thecollectorstrove!

www.ebay.com

Wait, it doesn't?

<hurriedly withdraws bids>