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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 9249608" data-attributes="member: 7026594">(Lovely exchange between [USER=42040]@Retreater[/USER] and [USER=2525]@Mistwell[/USER] there resolving the misunderstanding, BTW.&nbsp; Way to show off how ENworld posters abide to a higher standard than most of the internet. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> )I think that's indicative of how old-school she was. I remember there being regular debate over these terms in Dragon Magazine and other venues when I was a kid and growing up, though it seems to have mostly quieted in the last couple of decades, at least in my observation.Some people preferred to avoid &quot;DM&quot; and used &quot;GM&quot; because it was more general and covered more types of games. Other folks liked Referee for its implication of impartiality or neutrality and/or for its lack of the perhaps-implied hierarchy and authority of the word &quot;master&quot;.&nbsp; Others disliked it as they felt it implied a different kind of play dynamic than RPGs have- it's not a competitive sport where a Referee is needed to neutrally arbitrate rulings between two competing sides.&nbsp; Some people liked Storyteller for its implication that story is the point of the game.It's possible that Jennell also disliked &quot;master&quot; as it's not an entirely gender neutral term (even if it can be so in some senses, given the kind of weird ways English works).Trivia: The World of Synnibarr uses the title &quot;Fate&quot;, implying something more impersonal but inexorable. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 9249608, member: 7026594"] (Lovely exchange between [USER=42040]@Retreater[/USER] and [USER=2525]@Mistwell[/USER] there resolving the misunderstanding, BTW. Way to show off how ENworld posters abide to a higher standard than most of the internet. :) ) I think that's indicative of how old-school she was. I remember there being regular debate over these terms in Dragon Magazine and other venues when I was a kid and growing up, though it seems to have mostly quieted in the last couple of decades, at least in my observation. Some people preferred to avoid "DM" and used "GM" because it was more general and covered more types of games. Other folks liked Referee for its implication of impartiality or neutrality and/or for its lack of the perhaps-implied hierarchy and authority of the word "master". Others disliked it as they felt it implied a different kind of play dynamic than RPGs have- it's not a competitive sport where a Referee is needed to neutrally arbitrate rulings between two competing sides. Some people liked Storyteller for its implication that story is the point of the game. It's possible that Jennell also disliked "master" as it's not an entirely gender neutral term (even if it can be so in some senses, given the kind of weird ways English works). Trivia: The World of Synnibarr uses the title "Fate", implying something more impersonal but inexorable. :) [/QUOTE]

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