D&D General Jaquaying the dungeon - a term to avoid

[Vaalingrade]

What did we call this guy.

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The greatest.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

What did we call this guy.

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One of the greatest, if not the greatest, ever .... tragically taken from us before his time.

 

[Mannahnin]

She didn't put her name on it. She asked her name be taken off of it. That is all that is required. Her reasons are her own, and are academic to us - it is her name, her identity, and she gets a veto on it being applied to stuff.

You can be resistant to his applying his own name to it, but resistance to taking her name off it is inappropriate.

Assuming that JA is accurately conveying how she feels about it, I agree.

The article reads to me more like there was some friction between JA and JJ (which I recall from his pushback on her request that he fix the spelling), and that it finally led to her not wanting to be associated with his article. And that he's done this now and only now that his book is coming out, so it's more about claiming credit for his article and not crediting her in his book. (Edit: and some of this may indeed be on advice of and at the steering of his publisher and/or lawyer, so I don't think it's necessarily a dastardly act on his part).

Which, if she prefers to be disassociated from those things, of course that's her right, but I still think it's a damn shame for her to no longer have the credit in the form of the eponym.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Which, if she prefers to be disassociated from those things, of course that's her right, but I still think it's a damn shame for her to no longer have the credit in the form of the eponym.

Completely agree. It is her decision, and we should respect that decision. Full stop.

But for a multitude of reasons ... just starting with her contributions to our hobby ... she deserves accolades, of which an eponym that would introduce new gamers to her contributions would have been a fitting way (with her consent).

 

[Willie the Duck]

Re: Jacquays wants her name off. Done, no question. Yes, Xerox and Escalator and fighting against the tide, but we can do our best.
Re: The right word-- I think multipath, non-linear, and anything alluding to 'open structured' all make sense.

If i'm understanding the post in the OP correctly, the term "xandering" was mutually agreed upon by Justin and Jennell. Isn't it presumptuous to try to supercede that?
I mean, one always has the option simply not to use the term.

To the former, nope. JJ has every right to ask us not to use her name if possible, neither she nor JA have the same right to dictate a new one to others. To the latter, that's what people are suggesting.

The correct short form of Alexander

Wait the what now? There are definitely common and uncommon hypocorisms, but I'd certainly be surprised if there were levels of officialdom to them.

Re: whomever mentioned Buffy, yes I think that series probably did do something to promote Xander over Alex as a preferred shortened form of Alexander.

I guess so! I just learned the dude was banned here, so I just find it kinda funny

Well I think we're doing a good job on this one about not making it about him (other than whether he is notable enough to deserve a term to be named after him).

To that point, I'm of two minds. In general, if getting your name affixed to something is an honor, these are non-comparable. Jenell Jacquays is a seminal figure in the development of the D&D as it evolved, akin* to Tom Moldvay, Tim Kask, or Don Kaye. Justin Alexander** is a blogger with a bit of a following -- more comparable to Treantmonk***. I can understand someone saying that no, they aren't going to accept the shift of the naming convention from one to the other. On the other hand, is it some form of honor? Does anyone really know anything about Stormwind or Oberoni, excepting that they coined specific terms (regarding concepts they too clearly didn't invent)? If Xandering ended up becoming the defacto term for this, would it end up the situation where a bunch of people would then know JA as 'that guy who coined the term Xandering to mean that well-understood concept in gaming?'
*to grab a few random names from different aspects of the game
**and I say this as someone who loves to see local guys do good.
***and to clarify, I have no strong opinions on either of these two -- they both have good and bad contributions to the gaming discussion -- excepting a position on how influential they are.

What did we call this guy.

View attachment 320678

One of the greatest, if not the greatest, ever .... tragically taken from us before his time.

I worked just up Hwy 62 from Paisley Park when it happened. The gathering there was a site to see. Still can't believe it, he was the one we joked was some form of immortal fertility god who would stand with Keith Richards at the end of time.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'd certainly be surprised if there were levels of officialdom to them.

There is if I say there is.

That's how it works isn't it?!

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I worked just up Hwy 62 from Paisley Park when it happened. The gathering there was a site to see. Still can't believe it, he was the one we joked was some form of immortal fertility god who would stand with Keith Richards at the end of time.

Between the Prince post and the first two entries on Iron DM, I am of the belief that this will be a melancholy Friday.

 

[aco175]

Between the Prince post and the first two entries on Iron DM, I am of the belief that this will be a melancholy Friday.

I was looking for a Purr-ince to cheer you up, but this will have to do.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I don't like that he chose to name it after himself, but I get the overall thrust of the reasoning.

I agree that the reasoning is sound. He was the one who coined the concept, and had originally named it as an homage to the person who inspired it. If the inspiring person doesn't want their name used going forward, and it's fine if the homage gets moved to the creator of the term. To be honest, anything else might sound contrived or arbitrary.

Often, ideas/theories/arguments/laws that are named after the person who popularized them. This particular change comes from a place of kindness, and is mindful, respectful, and appropriate.

Also, in my head-canon, "xandering" sounds like a non-linear "wandering" with lots of cross(x)-roads/decision points where you can go anywhere, all sandbox-like. I also have been playing around with saying it out loud with a terrible posh British accent, "xahndering" as if it rhymed with "wandering."

 

[Wolfram stout]

To be fair, Jayquaying wasn't instantly parseable either...

It does seem that changing it to a new non-parseable phrase based on his name will always carry the weight of explaining it by reference to the original term, and therefore may be self-defeating.

I like the term Warren as well. Warren-Style dungeons.