If players don't GM, can they complain?

[the Jester]

Players absolutely have the right to complain in a non-disruptive, non-asshat way.

If they piss and moan because nobody is running the game of their choice and they aren't willing to step up themselves, then they need to STFU. Sure, ask around for a gm once in a while- but if nobody volunteers, they only have themselves to blame for their lack of a good game.

If they complain about it unduly at the table, I wouldn't be interested in having them at my table, and I have no problem giving people the boot.

If club rules don't allow that, either kick them out or change the rules so nobody (that does all the work!) is stuck dming a table of s. After all, it's better to lose 4-10 crappy players than 1-2 gms, even crappy ones. No gms, no games.

 

[MarkB]

Nigel "This game sucks. Why don't we ever play Tunnels and Trolls? I loved that game."
clip "You run it and we'll play it. Until that happens, quit whining. Nobody likes to hear it."

To some extent, this sort of answer is non-helpful. To use the cooking analogy, if I'm expressing a preference for which type of food I'd enjoy eating, and I get the reply "Well, get in the kitchen and cook it for us, and we'll eat it", that's not really solving the problem from my viewpoint. I'm providing my favourite meal for others to enjoy, which is good if they do indeed enjoy it, but I'm not getting to eat any myself.

Likewise, if someone has preferences as to what sort of experience they have as players, providing them with the opportunity to deliver that experience to others by GMing for them doesn't actually get them any closer to experiencing that gameplay for themselves.

 

[Hella_Tellah]

...if someone has preferences as to what sort of experience they have as players, providing them with the opportunity to deliver that experience to others by GMing for them doesn't actually get them any closer to experiencing that gameplay for themselves.

How about: "You run Mouse Guard* for me, and I'll run Smallville* for you. Deal?"

*substituting your choice of game systems

 

[Boregar]

To those comparing this to people complaining in restaurants or about movies, I would say that in this case, its more like someone going into an Indian restaurant and then complaining that they can't buy a pizza, or going to a low-budget film about troubled relationships in a Paris appartment block and then complaining its not Transformers 4.

I'd agree that players have the right to complain in a civilised, constructive manner. And be responded to in kind. But once they have had a response, if they are not happy with it then they should either do something about it themselves (by running their own game, or looking for a different game that suits their tastes better) or suck it up and stop whining.

 

[joela]

They're free to complain, just as I'm free to eject complainers from my table. >

Nice. +1.