Roll20 users; are my impressions right or wrong on this

[Greg Benage]

Thats not actually true though, is it. As far as I am aware the only really discrimination in roleplaying was during the M.A.D.D. era and that was mainly focused against white males.

Oh, come on. Look at how women were presented in the AD&D books, for example. Try to find *any* representation of people of color. You probably don't come up with much until "Oriental Adventures" was released. ::facepalm::

 

[5ekyu]

Oh, come on. Look at how women were presented in the AD&D books, for example. Try to find *any* representation of people of color. You probably don't come up with much until "Oriental Adventures" was released. ::facepalm::

but hey the chainmail bikini cartoon was dead spot on!



EDIT to add... its been a shock recently - in the last 3 months or so doing more FLGS table playing and it is a culture shock to be around players who do not know the "chainmail bikini" references or the "incident at a gazebo" either. its quite eye opening.

i have seen some colleges hand professors a primer page on "what these new kids do not know" which basically tells them things like "when 911 hit they were infants" and so on across a variety of subjects so the professors could know some small bit of their perspective. freshmen this month in college have never existed consciously without social media or pre-patriot act.

Maybe there should be a primer for GMs too... At FLGS...
"Vampire the Masquerade was already almost ten year old when this freshman college RPG player was born."

 

[Shasarak]

Oh, come on. Look at how women were presented in the AD&D books, for example. Try to find *any* representation of people of color. You probably don't come up with much until "Oriental Adventures" was released. ::facepalm::

I dont see how those black and white pictures in the ADnD books were discriminating against anyone. I guess if you thought it was a cartoon book then you were being discriminated against I suppose.

 

[Umbran]

Thats not actually true though, is it. As far as I am aware...

Maybe you should make yourself more aware. Go find a a couple women or minority folks you don't already know, who have been playing for a couple of decades, and talk to them about their experiences. That will be anecdotal, but it will be a start.

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

For the record, I play twice a week on Roll20, I'm a Pro subscriber, and will continue to use and enjoy the platform. I would never even consider leaving simply because the company is seeking more diversity in their promotional partnerships, regardless of how crudely or clumsily they expressed this position. YMMV.

Greg says it well.

Personally I think Nolan has made quite a number of dumb moves lately, and while he has soured me on his management of Roll20 for some of those moves, I would never say he's on the wrong side of racial justice and diversity.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I dont see how those black and white pictures in the ADnD books were discriminating against anyone. I guess if you thought it was a cartoon book then you were being discriminated against I suppose.

Other than a complete dearth on non-Caucasians? Even when non-Caucasians were being depicted?


OK.

How about when we started getting full color illustrations for interior art?


Sooooooo Egyptian, amirite?

 

[Gradine]

Maybe you should make yourself more aware. Go find a a couple women or minority folks you don't already know, who have been playing for a couple of decades, and talk to them about their experiences. That will be anecdotal, but it will be a start.

To say nothing of the fact that Roll20 is not just gaming, but an intersection of gaming and the interneHarassment of women on the internet is a pretty huge, awful thing that exists (to say nothing of the harassment faced by members of marginalized races or sexualities). That’s a particularly dangerous kind of discrimination that requires some measure of mitigation, if not outright protection.

 

[Shasarak]

Maybe you should make yourself more aware. Go find a a couple women or minority folks you don't already know, who have been playing for a couple of decades, and talk to them about their experiences. That will be anecdotal, but it will be a start.

I have listened to women like Lisa Stevens that started in the very earliest days of DnD. She does not say anything about being discriminated against by the ADnD rules.

In fact her groups always had a lot of women players.

 

[Shasarak]

Other than a complete dearth on non-Caucasians? Even when non-Caucasians were being depicted?

You mean like this fella?



He is a white guy right?

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

I have listened to women like Lisa Stevens that started in the very earliest days of DnD. She does not say anything about being discriminated against by the ADnD rules.

In fact her groups always had a lot of women players.

Clearly Lisa Stevens thinks gamers can do better to represent women and other disadvantaged groups. Let her actions speak: look at the representation in the pages of a Pathfinder book and compare with AD&D.

We can do much better than we did back then and we should.