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<blockquote data-quote="Scurvy_Platypus" data-source="post: 5519374" data-attributes="member: 43283"><p>Heh. Yes and no.</p><p></p><p>I mean, I certainly grant that if you can't harden up and take a stand, you're going to be in trouble in life.</p><p></p><p>But in this particular context, I don't think it's quite as cut and dried.</p><p></p><p>We're engaged in a social hobby and not only that, we happen to be engaged in talking on a message board. For better or worse, we're sensitive to a greater or lesser degree to being influenced. Not even addressing the whole topic of advertising, peer approval, etc, there's a whole bunch of kinda complicated social dynamics going on here. And by "here" I mean "participating in the community that exists to talk about and participate in the rpg hobby."</p><p></p><p>Because message boards are their own sort of creature. The fact that WotC estimates there to be 6 million players of D&D but ENWorld is sporting a lot less than that, tells me that if you actually want to be a part of _this_ community, there are certain expectations.</p><p></p><p>And honestly, one of those expectations is to be a consumer. Talking about the newest product that's come out, looking forward to what's coming out.... product consumption is an expectation. It's not a requirement, just an expectation.</p><p></p><p>People sometimes have blinders when it comes to this stuff. Sure, buy a book, ban a book... it seems like a straightforward enough proposition. But it produces ripples, not just at the game table, but also with the other rpg players and GMs you might interact with. Sometimes it's helpful to remind people that it's not always an obvious or easy call to make for everyone.</p><p></p><p>Me personally? I maintain a policy of 3 books or $150 for a gameline; anything past that has to be exceptional in some fashion. It's a personal choice, it's an unusual one, and it's not one that I expect anyone else to understand. I bring this up because I want to illustrate that it _is_ possible to be a (semi) active participant on rpg forums (I float between 3) and I'm not one of those "armchair" rpg hobbyists that's simply buying books so I can feel like I'm still involved in a hobby that I've otherwise dropped out of. I'm involved, I'm active, and I'm probably dead-weight in terms of supporting the rpg industry.</p><p></p><p>But in the context of what you're quoting... I'm also aware that I'm kind of excluded. It's by my own choice, but that doesn't change the fact that past a certain point, I don't count. Some people find it more difficult to juggle being a non-participating participant than others. Turning around and saying, "Oh well, it's your choice as to whether you want to buy a book or not" is easy to do, but there actually are ramifications to someone doing that. Ramifications beyond the "I'm not interested in having these additional options in my game" statement that's made by not buying the book.</p><p></p><p>*shrug*</p><p></p><p>I'm sure that as far as some folks are concerned, I'm way overthinking things. And for them, yeah I probably am. But social interaction is a funny creature and folks react one way or another for all kinds of reasons. It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes dysfunctional things become in a hobby that's dedicated to folks hanging out and playing Invisible Barbie together; for such a socially focused activity, you'd think we'd have a better understanding of social interactions. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scurvy_Platypus, post: 5519374, member: 43283"] Heh. Yes and no. I mean, I certainly grant that if you can't harden up and take a stand, you're going to be in trouble in life. But in this particular context, I don't think it's quite as cut and dried. We're engaged in a social hobby and not only that, we happen to be engaged in talking on a message board. For better or worse, we're sensitive to a greater or lesser degree to being influenced. Not even addressing the whole topic of advertising, peer approval, etc, there's a whole bunch of kinda complicated social dynamics going on here. And by "here" I mean "participating in the community that exists to talk about and participate in the rpg hobby." Because message boards are their own sort of creature. The fact that WotC estimates there to be 6 million players of D&D but ENWorld is sporting a lot less than that, tells me that if you actually want to be a part of _this_ community, there are certain expectations. And honestly, one of those expectations is to be a consumer. Talking about the newest product that's come out, looking forward to what's coming out.... product consumption is an expectation. It's not a requirement, just an expectation. People sometimes have blinders when it comes to this stuff. Sure, buy a book, ban a book... it seems like a straightforward enough proposition. But it produces ripples, not just at the game table, but also with the other rpg players and GMs you might interact with. Sometimes it's helpful to remind people that it's not always an obvious or easy call to make for everyone. Me personally? I maintain a policy of 3 books or $150 for a gameline; anything past that has to be exceptional in some fashion. It's a personal choice, it's an unusual one, and it's not one that I expect anyone else to understand. I bring this up because I want to illustrate that it _is_ possible to be a (semi) active participant on rpg forums (I float between 3) and I'm not one of those "armchair" rpg hobbyists that's simply buying books so I can feel like I'm still involved in a hobby that I've otherwise dropped out of. I'm involved, I'm active, and I'm probably dead-weight in terms of supporting the rpg industry. But in the context of what you're quoting... I'm also aware that I'm kind of excluded. It's by my own choice, but that doesn't change the fact that past a certain point, I don't count. Some people find it more difficult to juggle being a non-participating participant than others. Turning around and saying, "Oh well, it's your choice as to whether you want to buy a book or not" is easy to do, but there actually are ramifications to someone doing that. Ramifications beyond the "I'm not interested in having these additional options in my game" statement that's made by not buying the book. *shrug* I'm sure that as far as some folks are concerned, I'm way overthinking things. And for them, yeah I probably am. But social interaction is a funny creature and folks react one way or another for all kinds of reasons. It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes dysfunctional things become in a hobby that's dedicated to folks hanging out and playing Invisible Barbie together; for such a socially focused activity, you'd think we'd have a better understanding of social interactions. :) [/QUOTE]
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