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The DM is Not a Player; and Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock
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<blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8155239" data-attributes="member: 7023840"><p>I saw this, and will address it first because it's a tangent and thus will probably get buried by my second response to another post from yesterday which is actually on-topic.</p><p></p><p>So we can imagine various idealized worlds in which people are paid based upon the "actual value of their labor." Call it "util" or something. A world in which a teacher that adds a great deal to society is paid more than, say, a person who makes arbitrage profits. But as you note, we do not live in that idealized society, nor is there some way to measure the "actual value of labor" ... except money. Money is how we are able to allocate scarce resources (in this example, your time, your skills, etc.). This is overly-simplified, but you get the gist.</p><p></p><p>The quickest way to make laborers feel their work is pointless is ... to not value their labor. To not pay them for their labor. <em>By definition</em>, you pay someone because you want them to do something that they would otherwise not be doing if it's an issue of employment. I think that we should all want the <em>terms and conditions </em>of work to be better; more vacation time, a safer working environment, more breaks during the work day, more allowance for sick time, more ancillary benefits, and so on. But whenever I see someone talk about how "fun" work should be, I see someone who is usually plugged into a certain mindset and is neglecting the vast majority of workers; a video game company can claim that they are "fun" with free sodas and nerf battles (never mind the crunch) and google can claim that they are "fun" (never mind that people work there because of the pay and prestige), but most Americans do not work at those type of companies. They want good pay, good benefits, and a safe working environment. Not "fun" or "fulfillment" from their work. </p><p></p><p>The reason that this (tangentially) ties into the DM thread is because the original claim is, IIRC, that the people being paid to DM are probably just doing it because it's fun, and why not? And you know what? Sure, there are some people that are doing it for just that reason. But I know that there are other people that are not doing for that reason. Moreover, because D&D is so much more diverse now in so many ways, including economically, it is not correct to say that the people who DM for pay are likely just doing it for "fun." I just gave two examples- one that I read about, and one that I know personally, of people that were depending on the money that they were earning from DMing. I don't know the socioeconomic situation of the women who used DMing for pay to support herself when she was transitioning, but I know the person that I know who DMs for pay at night on-line never went to college, and has only had service industry jobs. </p><p></p><p>The point being, the way the world works I always try to have the utmost respect for people's labor. In fact, given the increasing rise of the so-called "gig" economy, I am often impressed at the ways some people can hustle to make ends meet. If DMing pays your bills, more power to you. <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="Snarf Zagyg, post: 8155239, member: 7023840"] I saw this, and will address it first because it's a tangent and thus will probably get buried by my second response to another post from yesterday which is actually on-topic. So we can imagine various idealized worlds in which people are paid based upon the "actual value of their labor." Call it "util" or something. A world in which a teacher that adds a great deal to society is paid more than, say, a person who makes arbitrage profits. But as you note, we do not live in that idealized society, nor is there some way to measure the "actual value of labor" ... except money. Money is how we are able to allocate scarce resources (in this example, your time, your skills, etc.). This is overly-simplified, but you get the gist. The quickest way to make laborers feel their work is pointless is ... to not value their labor. To not pay them for their labor. [I]By definition[/I], you pay someone because you want them to do something that they would otherwise not be doing if it's an issue of employment. I think that we should all want the [I]terms and conditions [/I]of work to be better; more vacation time, a safer working environment, more breaks during the work day, more allowance for sick time, more ancillary benefits, and so on. But whenever I see someone talk about how "fun" work should be, I see someone who is usually plugged into a certain mindset and is neglecting the vast majority of workers; a video game company can claim that they are "fun" with free sodas and nerf battles (never mind the crunch) and google can claim that they are "fun" (never mind that people work there because of the pay and prestige), but most Americans do not work at those type of companies. They want good pay, good benefits, and a safe working environment. Not "fun" or "fulfillment" from their work. The reason that this (tangentially) ties into the DM thread is because the original claim is, IIRC, that the people being paid to DM are probably just doing it because it's fun, and why not? And you know what? Sure, there are some people that are doing it for just that reason. But I know that there are other people that are not doing for that reason. Moreover, because D&D is so much more diverse now in so many ways, including economically, it is not correct to say that the people who DM for pay are likely just doing it for "fun." I just gave two examples- one that I read about, and one that I know personally, of people that were depending on the money that they were earning from DMing. I don't know the socioeconomic situation of the women who used DMing for pay to support herself when she was transitioning, but I know the person that I know who DMs for pay at night on-line never went to college, and has only had service industry jobs. The point being, the way the world works I always try to have the utmost respect for people's labor. In fact, given the increasing rise of the so-called "gig" economy, I am often impressed at the ways some people can hustle to make ends meet. If DMing pays your bills, more power to you. :) [/QUOTE]
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