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Fair enough. I'll agree it's not all that clear, but I strongly disagree that it's hard to resolve once you identify the questions that need answering -- and the main one, as you point out, is what to do when both sides A & B are effecting the chance that A is surprised. Come up with an answer...

I'm not sure what the obvious issue with surprise is, so I'm not convinced it's that obvious. Perhaps that it happens too often? If so, this can be mitigated in various ways through play, or with relatively straightforward mechanical changes. I found initiative pretty straightforward for the...

Yes, I said it becomes easier, not that it becomes unnecessary.

I think the main thing that's required is just a basic level of mutual respect. Other than that, the person who feels an issue needs to be addressed needs to have sufficient confidence to actually raise the subject. IMO, being willing and able to have an adult conversation then mostly just...

I sidestep this issue entirely by simply not playing with such people. The rest then becomes much easier.

As per my earlier post, the use of a bell curve (eg 3d6) means that the raw dice output is more predictable than the raw dice output of a linear distribution (eg 1d20). However, it does not immediately follow that a game system using dice that provide a bell curve is a more predictable system...

A d20 is absolutely more swingy than 3d6 (where swingy means the outcome is harder to predict). However, one of my huge pet peeves is the claim that if a game uses dice that produce bell curves, the game is less swingy/more predictable than one that doesn't. What range or distribution your dice...

One poster defines social media as platforms with toxic algorithms, that push engagement via any means, harvest data and are generally unethical. Conversely, any platform that doesn't engage in this kind of nefarious behaviour is, by definition, not social media. The posts are still there, so...

Inasmuch as it is entirely true in both cases, I agree. I would certainly disagree with anyone trying to claim molten steel is not a liquid.

Nobody's disputing the difference. They're disputing the words you've chosen to use to label the differences.

Fair enough; I can see the internal consistency in your position. As long as you understand that these personal definitions aren't shared by the majority of people and are not going to be conducive to clear communication on the topic.

So Facebook only became social media after the algorithm reached a certain threshold of toxicity, and if the problems with the algorithm were fixed, it would cease to be social media? What was Facebook prior to this point, and what would it theoretically be afterwards, if not social media?

It sounds to me as if they're specifically disagreeing with the assertion that, "Most of the problems go away then".

You may be thinking of "Not My Turn," where the archer is waiting for the half orc (with lower initiative) to move out the way in order to take a shot. They also did "Turn Based" about initiative generally. I don't recall and can't find any skits about surprise specifically. There could be...

Ten or fifteen years ago, I installed Ubuntu on a laptop. I ended up breaking it after a few months (constantly playing around with settings) and went back to Windows. About 18 months ago I suddenly realised I was getting no value from Windows or MS Office generally, but I was getting less and...

If a rando off the street is interested in playing at all, why would they only want to play D&D? Does, "rando off the street" actually mean, "An existing D&D fan sourced from a D&D community"? If the rando knows basically nothing about TTRPGs, there is no reason for them to insist they only...

There is no reason to include a section in the rules about how to deal with sexual content if the game is meant to be about raising pets and exploring the world with them and is not, by design, intended to include sexual themes. Certainly, if the IP holder considers their material G-rated and...

Over the past decade, I've hunted down most of the box sets for the awesome maps. I had no interest in AD&D back in the day, and it's only relatively recently that I discovered how good many of the 2e settings were. Al Qadim is definitely up there as one of my favourites, and I have plans to run...

That's never occurred to me in 40-odd years of gaming, so I can't agree it's inevitable. In my experience, players who turn up less often simply don't have characters who are driving the campaign forward and whose opinions are essential, nor would such a player in my group have an expectation...

I think one of the absolute biggest factors in a successful game is establishing clear, shared expectations. Before every campaign, I go out of my way to ensure my players understand my vision for the upcoming game, the general style and mood I'm aiming for and the like. I don't have a formal...