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Message: <blockquote data-quote="billd91" data-source="post: 5180579" data-attributes="member: 3400">I've said similar things before so I'll add it again, I think a lot of the heat and hostility in debates on this board stem right from this issue here. People too often are unable to accept what people say at face value. It may be that they're really enamored with their own experiences, they think their experiences are universal, confirmation bias convinces them to count  posted experiences similar to their as evidence while discounting contrary ones, or any number of other reasons. But it naturally gets people's backs up because it basically says "You don't know what you're talking about. I know your experiences better than you." There are times in which that may actually be true because there are people with real delusions or who are really bad at understanding what their experiences mean, but that doesn't defuse the simmering resentment or anger.If someone does believe, honestly believe, that their experiences are so strong that other people's experiences may be discounted or are wrong, you have to ask what purpose does it serve to say that? Is it being used to constructively further the topic of the thread? Is it being used to deflate another poster? What happens to the atmosphere of the thread if it is said? Are the consequences of saying it worth it? Are you compelled to say it because "someone on the internet is wrong"? Or is it better to describe your experiences without giving it in the form of a rebuttal?It has been my experience that people play RPGs in a whole lot of different ways, some with widely spread commonalities and some highly idiosyncratic. There are some statements that I would consider highly improbable, even implausible, but very few of them actually deal with elements of playing style and campaign structure. There's far too much range and subtle variation of experience and preference for me to discount a lot there. Saying, however, that snorting coke off a hooker's hind quarters always makes the next die roll come out a natural 20, and I'm going to be a bit more skeptical. For one thing, the latter can be objectively verified (or disproved) by an outside observer. Objectively observing someone else's subjective experiences... not so easy, so I make more room for plausibility.</blockquote>

Verification