is Dungeons and Dragons still Lame

[JDJblatherings]

Alas that our culture finds it appropriate to ridicule personal expression.

My parents living room just wans't the place to turn up in wearing a cloak and carrying a staff when no one was expecting it and we'd all be playing D&D for 8+ years at that point.

You have the right to free speech and so do those who had to listen to you.

 

[Kaffis]

BTW, the phrase is "bona fide"

As long as we're nitpicking, it's bona fides, which has been mistaken as plural by the English speaking crowd (historically speaking), and thus deformed to bona fide, as you said.

 

[Wormwood]

You have the right to free speech and so do those who had to listen to you.

Your right to free speech also allows you to be polite and treat others respectfully.

In case nobody ever pointed that out before.

 

[getgoldcardsoul]

Yeah really. I'm sick of seeing our "freedom of speech" being touted around like its proof that we're allowed to be cruel to each other. The "freedom" just means the government won't intercede when you say most things. By all means, if you have the ability to say something cruel, you have every right to say it even if you lived in some totalitarian state without the Bill of Rights. It's just a matter that you won't likely be punished for it in the US. Too many people seem to think that because they won't be punished for something, that means it's okay to do it.

Besides, freedom of expression is included in our rights. Freedom of harassment? Ah... hmm... I'm going to bet the forefathers certainly didn't have verbally treating someone like crap in mind when they jotted down that part of our laws.

And as for our "freedom," look up the terms harassment, slander and libel regarding the laws of the US to see how we don't have absolute freedom.



Edit:

And to wrap this back around to the topic, isn't this the biggest problem? You know? So what if people think this hobby is lame? They're entitled to their opinions. No, the problem is the harassment some of us would (or do) have to deal with if certain people were to discover this fact?

How many of us can talk about this hobby at work? I know I can't, but that's because I know what kind of people I work with. That fact would sure be a source of office gossip, ostracization and slander, not anything I need. Once I get X years of job experience, I'm out and maybe will be around better people, but as of now my hobby has to remain a secret.

What about anyone else? How open are you about the hobby due to this very topic?

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Alas that our culture finds it appropriate to ridicule personal expression.

You know if I showed up at a friends house in my underwear and a cape to play a superhero game then yeah, I'd pretty much expect to get laughed at. There's personal expression but there's also poor judgement. When you make poor judgement calls anyone with a modicum of
common sense can expect to be called on it.

 

[JDJblatherings]

Your right to free speech also allows you to be polite and treat others respectfully.

In case nobody ever pointed that out before.

Seriously... being polite doesn't mean embracing behavior one does not want to deal with and had no reason to expect to have to deal with. Show me a room full of friendly, respectful 18-20 year old men and I'll show you a room full of strangers not people that have all known each other for five or more years (even the guy that had been playing for 6 months knew us all since jr high).

A stranger or nearly a stranger would have gotten a much more polite reception.

 

[JDJblatherings]

How many of us can talk about this hobby at work? I know I can't, but that's because I know what kind of people I work with. That fact would sure be a source of office gossip, ostracization and slander, not anything I need. Once I get X years of job experience, I'm out and maybe will be around better people, but as of now my hobby has to remain a secret.

What about anyone else? How open are you about the hobby due to this very topic?

My co-workers who deal with me on a regular basis know i play D&D or D&D like games and I play them with my kids and family members. Of course I don't show up at the office in my LARP garb. The only thing that is annoying about that is if something odd gets left on the copy machine people assume it's mine if it includes sci-fi/fantasy stuff. I work at an R&D engineering firm we have plenty of closet RPG players and nerds of various degrees.