Are we gamers an ungrateful lot?

[Ravilah]

The idea that "I deserve to be happy by getting what I want" is a deeply embedded philosophy in American culture, in large part taught to us by our money-driven media. Commercials seem to be just hawking toys, make-up, beer, cars, and insurance--but they are also (in larger part) selling an idea: That there is a life out there better than the one you've got and that you have the right to have it.

There's truth in this idea ("...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness") but that makes it all the more dangerous when it's coupled with the false notion that contentment can come with a purchase and that being comfortable all the time is the ultimate goal of life.

Product companies actually like whiny, obnoxious consumers because they clearly demonstrate the mind-set they want us all to have: "Give it to me! Here's your money! I better be happy!"

Many more of us feel this way than actually verbalize it (a happy result of our mothers spanking us adequately), and it is the unfortunate lot of the people on the "front lines" of sales to deal with the vocal ones (who were not spanked sufficiently as children).

Ravilah

BTW: Yes, I do believe in spanking--but not for every kid in every situation. Please let's not get into that debate.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Many more of us feel this way than actually verbalize it (a happy result of our mothers spanking us adequately),
....
BTW: Yes, I do believe in spanking--but not for every kid in every situation. Please let's not get into that debate.

So you would like to state a (strongly worded) opinion on something you know some people will disagree with but request that no one actually state their own opinion in response, but leave yours unquestioned.... This may be the best proof of your overall thesis on self centered americans you could give.

 

[catsclaw227]

Reading Pramas' comments helped me realize what was going on with my order too.

I had gone online and went to purchase three Freeport PDFs that were discounted due to the Free PRG sale. I went through the process, using a mastercard, but the server errored when I was sent back to their site and therefore my paypal had a pending charge, but there wasn't any record of my purchase on Green Ronin (no download links).

I sent two or three emails a few days apart stating that their site errored out, and if they could resend my PDF links, with proof of the pending charge on my Mastercard account.

I never heard from any of the emails, but the pending charge was eventually removed and it was never processed.

I had always wondered why they didn't write back, since they have always been AWESOME with doing this, and I own just about every one of their d20 books (PDF and print), as well as some of the True20 line.

Now I know why... it seems that their MAIL account was just as slammed.

I am in the internet and hosting business, and while you can make some estimates about how well your servers can support a spike in traffic, between SQL errors/timeouts, HTTP timeouts and other volume related errors, it really sucks to be in their shoes.

The answered the call with the BEST response, simply extend their offer, spanning the different offers over different days to spread the traffic.

Well done on their part, I say.

Apparently the charge never made it past the "pending" stage.

 

[Dykstrav]

Take a look at his other thread.

Wow.

Now I feel like a tool for talking about D&D players being smarter-than-the-average-bear types. Seems like gamers don't dominate one end of the bell curve after all.

 

[Particle_Man]

Oops, it is not "alms for an ex-beggar", it was "alms for an ex-leper!"

Jesus had cured the guy of leprosy and now he was complaining that he could not make a decent living as a beggar anymore. When Brian gave him some money, he complained it wasn't enough (just like the real life case above).

I have got to watch Monty Python: The Life of Brian again. How could I have misremembered that one?

 

[Ravilah]

My dear, dear Kahuna.

I apologize for my utter lack of clarity. My original spanking comments were intended for humourous effect, and any further comments were included to discourage a possible decent into trollish debate on a subject not germane to the thread. It seems that my little smiley face was insufficient to communicate this. In future I will keep all comments on child care to myself.

Have a great day,

Ravilah

(I'd say "God bless" but wouldn't that just open up a whole new can of worms...)

And oh, cool! This was my 100th thread. Thanks Kahuna!

 

[Kahuna Burger]

And oh, cool! This was my 100th thread. Thanks Kahuna!

Post, not thread.

whether you intend the comment seriously or not, it's my experience that if you feel the need to say "but lets not argue/discuss that" you were better off leaving the comment out entirely. I've destroyed entire posts in the editing process when I decided they were too full of of trying to head off likely unhelpful responses.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

Remember, the squeaky, whiny, histrionic wheel gets the most grease. But don't confuse the loudest with the mostest.

Off-Topic:

"'Some people are XXits, darling,' an old black XXXXXX once said to me, and I've never been able to forget it." -- William S. Burroughs

Erik, I want to make a William S. Burroughs RPG. We can market it to kids. It'll be great.

 

[blargney the second]

"'Some people are XXits, darling,' an old black XXXXXX once said to me, and I've never been able to forget it." -- William S. Burroughs

Oooo, Mad Libs!

"'Some people are ijits, darling,' an old black dragon once said to me, and I've never been able to forget it." -- William S. Burroughs

 

[Kae'Yoss]

To answer the original question:

No, Roleplayers aren't any more or less ungrateful than everybody else. More vocal about things maybe.

Yes, there are ungrateful serial whiners as well as raving fanboys. Also, people who seem to have nothing better to do than incessantly cause trouble and incite anger, or people involved in designing, marketing and selling RPGs who think they're better than nobel price winners and everyone who doesn't run the naso-anal interface at peak efficiency is a punk. And a number of other bad seeds.

But they don't flock to roleplaying. They're everywhere. If your job involves regular or constant contact with customers, especially at retail level, you better be ready for your share of people you really would like to push face first into a wood-chipper (or better feed-first so they can appreciate it).

Among my kinship are a couple of people who work as salesclerks.

One is selling wallpapers and paint at a building centre and has told me several stories: Several times, people would come in, waving the leaflet of a competing store (that is across the street), demanding why the prices advertised aren't actually offered. Even when shown that they were in the wrong shop, they would not calm down.

Another was working in a supermarket, and told me that part of their policy is to take back products that were past their sell-by date, even if the products obviously weren't from the shop (because they were specially packaged for the competition).


And of course it goes the other way around, too.

I cancelled my previous ISP contract because of how they treated me: I didn't really pay too close attention to prices for a while, and then found out that for a couple of months now, the company in question had a new offer that was basically the same as mine, only that it cost half of what I was paying. They didn't tell me about the new rate, and when I called and asked about it, I was told, in a very condescending tone, that they don't change contracts for better offers or tell people about new offers, and that I had to do this myself, and that I could change the rate now if I wanted. It felt as if he thought that I was an idiot and should be grateful to be allowed to get their stuff at all.

Of course, once they had my notice that I cancelled, they called me, and the guy who then called me was brownnosing like a trooper, and he told me that they couldn't just switch because the new one had to be signed to for 12 months instead of just one month and he profusely apologised for it all. Of course, by that time I had signed another contract.

In the following months, they woudln't stop calling and asking why we had cancelled and why we won't return to their service.


I'm sure many of you have similar stories to tell.

Back to Free RPG Day, I appreciated every thing I received (didn't manage to get the Paizo adventure ), and look forward to trying them out on victims...er, players soon.

You can still get the PDF-Version for free:
http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/modules/v5748btpy7xpy