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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spinozajack" data-source="post: 6649595" data-attributes="member: 6794198">I'm not an academic expert, but I've had my share of awkward moments and D&D does help out a lot of kids get out of their shell. But if you still can't get out of your shell in a safe environment with your closest geek friends, it ain't happening. D&D should still be fun for everyone at the table, including the DM, and while it can be therapeutic, it's not the game's primary purpose which is to have fun. All I'm saying is I don't have nearly much fun playing with players who don't say much. If you're incapable or unwilling to stepping out of your shell for a fun game, then it's pretty hopeless. In that case I would really advise proper, actual therapy, or just playing MMOs, as much better uses of everyone's time and energy. Unsocial people (for whatever reason, even if it's not their fault), are not ideal players of social games. That is fairly straightforward and common sense, even if it sounds exclusive. I've always tried my best to include such people (including those with autism, asbergers, major or minor social interaction issues), and have found, in my experience, that there's a limit to what D&D can achieve, and in some case, it won't help at all and might even be counterproductive. Sometimes a game is just not a good fit for certain people. For example, I'm a terrible artist so I don't play Pictionary. I don't find it enjoyable to lose all the time. Like I draw worse than a typical 5 year old child. It's not fun for me. It gives me anxiety even thinking about drawing in front of others. I get embarrassed at my totally worthless scribbles. It's fine, though un-PC, to admit that this is the case for social games with those who don't want to be social, or are unsocial, or anti-social to begin with. I don't want others to sit through my pathetic drawing attempts just like I don't want to subject the awkwardness of having to speak before others, seeing a friend who is clearly uncomfortable and likely never will be, even try. It's one thing to learn to interact in your teens and even 20s through playing D&D, but after a while it's time to give up, if you're in your 30s or 40s and still can't (or won't) assert yourself socially in a social game. Life's too short. I wouldn't presume to waste anybody's time watching be suffer through my horrible drawing attempts, so why should I in turn want to play a social game with someone incapable or unwilling to be social?D&D is not for everyone. Sometimes it takes others to notice when something isn't a good fit. Would you encourage a friend with horrible knees to keep running? This is the same thing.</blockquote>

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