The end of all edition wars?

[Jack99]

Okay, maybe that was a gross exaggeration, but I just couldn't come up with an interesting title.

I must admit that I am pretty tired of the arguing back and forth about 4e sucking or not. At this point, I doubt the two “sides” can change the mind of anyone that is still undecided, or change the mind of the “other side”.

Also, while some people (including me) believe that discussion is good, there comes a time where I think we just need to realize that even though some good probably comes out of these discussions about the differences between 3.x and 4e (or whatever the topic of the day is), it always end with thinly veiled insults, snide and sarcastic comments and a lot of yelling back and forth. And all this is making ENworld a not so great place to come for your gaming questions and talks.

Now, I am not saying I haven’t contributed to the flames, because I surely have, even though I have only ever been warned once and never banned. I still fully accept a part of the blame for some of the flamewars. And I want to stop being part of them. In order to do so, I will do the following things.

1 – Focus on positives instead of negatives: Instead talking what I didn’t like about 3.x, I will stick to talking about what I like in 4e.

2 – Ignore those who insult 4e players and 4e: I mean, what do I care if poster X thinks page 42 is the worst crap ever made. Or if Y poster Y claims that 3.5 is the last edition of D&D. Or if poster Z thinks 4e players like 4e because 3.x was too complex for them. And if I can’t ignore them, then I will focus on 4e, and how whatever is their issue with it works well for me.

3 – Use sarcasm less. This is probably going to be the hardest. I am simply a sarcastic being by nature, and use sarcasm a lot in real life. I just keep forgetting how poorly it translates in writing and how other cultures use it much less than we (Danish people) do and thus might wrongly interpret my comments.

Now, some of those reading this will say: WTH! Why do I care what some random poster thinks about edition wars? Does he think he is special or something, making a post about his intentions regarding the edition wars? Of course, no, I do not even remotely think I am special. I am simply posting this in hope that others will be inspired and do the same, which should hopefully contribute to a much better ENworld.

Cheers

 

[jdrakeh]

I very recently sold every physical D&D rule book that I own because of the incessant sniping going on over which edition of said game is superior to all others. I have started ordering books for other games and game systems whose player bases aren't so deeply and bitterly divided over something as petty as edition preference.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

A late new years eve resolution?

Sounds good.

What did I say on Cirvs Maximvs?

I enjoy playing 4E. If you do not, do not play 4E.

Maybe a corollary would be:
If you like aspects of 4E, but not the whole package, figure out how to fix either 4E or your preferred game with ideas from 4E.

Or some more rambling:
If you see someone having a problem with 3E/4E, help him - if he seems to want help and not merely vent. Condescending is not help. Saying "You are doing it wrong" is not helpful. Saying his play style, preferences or intellect leaves something to be desired is not helpful.

If you have a problem with 3E/4E, consider if you want to continue trying it or not. If not, don't waste much time on posting what's wrong with it, rather focus on the game that works for you and how to make that better. If you want to continue trying it, consider the advice given and ignore bile and negativity directed at you for people that can't accept the fact that people are different and like different things and even understand or perceive things differently!

Don't try to figure out how much 3E or 4E (or any game) sucks for others. You are bound to invite people that disagree with you and will want to defend their game. Reserve such behaviour for "niche" games on EN World - World of Synnibar or Rifts perhaps...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Hey, if you can change your little part of the world for the better, do it!

I hope your attitude is contagious!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I very recently sold every physical D&D rule book that I own because of the incessant sniping going on over which edition of said game is superior to all others. I have started ordering books for other games and game systems whose player bases aren't so deeply and bitterly divided over something as petty as edition preference.

Do these type of gamers exist? Or do they just not have a board or more then one edition?

 

[Phaezen]

Okay, maybe that was a gross exaggeration, but I just couldn't come up with an interesting title.

I must admit that I am pretty tired of the arguing back and forth about 4e sucking or not. At this point, I doubt the two “sides” can change the mind of anyone that is still undecided, or change the mind of the “other side”.

Also, while some people (including me) believe that discussion is good, there comes a time where I think we just need to realize that even though some good probably comes out of these discussions about the differences between 3.x and 4e (or whatever the topic of the day is), it always end with thinly veiled insults, snide and sarcastic comments and a lot of yelling back and forth. And all this is making ENworld a not so great place to come for your gaming questions and talks.

Now, I am not saying I haven’t contributed to the flames, because I surely have, even though I have only ever been warned once and never banned. I still fully accept a part of the blame for some of the flamewars. And I want to stop being part of them. In order to do so, I will do the following things.

1 – Focus on positives instead of negatives: Instead talking what I didn’t like about 3.x, I will stick to talking about what I like in 4e.

2 – Ignore those who insult 4e players and 4e: I mean, what do I care if poster X thinks page 42 is the worst crap ever made. Or if Y poster Y claims that 3.5 is the last edition of D&D. Or if poster Z thinks 4e players like 4e because 3.x was too complex for them. And if I can’t ignore them, then I will focus on 4e, and how whatever is their issue with it works well for me.

3 – Use sarcasm less. This is probably going to be the hardest. I am simply a sarcastic being by nature, and use sarcasm a lot in real life. I just keep forgetting how poorly it translates in writing and how other cultures use it much less than we (Danish people) do and thus might wrongly interpret my comments.

Now, some of those reading this will say: WTH! Why do I care what some random poster thinks about edition wars? Does he think he is special or something, making a post about his intentions regarding the edition wars? Of course, no, I do not even remotely think I am special. I am simply posting this in hope that others will be inspired and do the same, which should hopefully contribute to a much better ENworld.

Cheers

This.

I would like to add

4. I will read my post before clicking on submit reply, and if it is not related to the topic of the thread, or does not contribute to the conversation in a meaningfyl way, I will not post it.

Phaezen

 

[Jack7]

I'm tired of that crap too.

I think criticism is good, as it can only improve a thing if it leads to careful analysis. But I've never understood the "edition wars" ideal or why some people take it personally, as if they have staked their own individual reputations to a particular product.

I'm not thrilled by 4E and think it ought to be criticized for weaknesses, though it has both good and very interesting aspects, and I like it better than 3E which I never much cared for or played, but I also thought it had some positive aspects as well.

But overall I don't see how criticism of a game should lead to personal attacks. It's just a game. You like it and think it has more positive aspects than weaknesses or you don't and that it has more weaknesses than advantages.

But it is still just a game.
It isn't curing cancer or saving the world no matter what edition it is. Nothing is gonna catch fire here and tomorrow the sun also rises.

So it's just a discussion of game elements, it's not like its a fight for your soul.
I don't see getting all exorcised over a game.

Such discussions can be interesting yes, but no matter what it is about the game nobody has their life at stake in the balance of an internet argument.

So the other guy is not Orcus come to raze your village and rape your women, he's just a guy with a different opinion about a game.

 

[jdrakeh]

Do these type of gamers exist? Or do they just not have a board or more then one edition?

Yes, such gamers exist. Yes, they have boards. Yes, they have more than one edtion of their chosen game. Frex, I can ask for advice on pretty much any edition of Rolemaster at the ICE forums, HarnMaster at the Lythia forums, GURPS at the SJG forums, etc without a legion of people calling me a "retard" or a "moron" in 'l33t' speak.

There is the occassional exception to the above rule, of course, but I found that I typically had to deal with one such individual at the aforementioned forums, rather than dozens upon dozens of individuals at any given D&D (or primarily D&D) forum. I did the math and it made my choice an easy one, though not necessarily a happy one.

I've found that I can play and discuss different editions of these other games without being personally attacked for my preferences. I know! I found it hard to believe, as well! I've found that, in recent years, it has become increasingly hard to do that with any edition of D&D (thankfully retro clone fanbases seem to be largely safe at the moment, though).

It's possible that this phenomena presents because D&D has the largest fanbase in the world — but you know what? I no longer care why this happens to be the case. Today, I know that this is just how things are, and I've learned the hard way that it's easier for me to accept this than it is for me to commit time and resources to 'fixing it' in some way.

To be clear, I was in pretty much the exact same place as the OP for the last four years or so. The D&D fan community continued to grow more divided and fracture during that time because, IMHO, too few members of it are willing to accept personal preferences as personal and quit calling each other names for the choices that they make.

I tried very hard for a very long time to put my best foot forward but, when it became clear who I was dealing with, I found it much easier to simply use my Ignore Lists. There are some forums that I simply refuse to visit at all due to their constant indulgence of edition wars screaming and name calling based on edition preference.

So, kudos to the OP if they can make this work for them. I sincerely mean that. If you can make it work, you're a better man than I am.

 

[Kzach]

Sheesh, talk about Johnny-come-lately!

I made these basic resolutions about three or four months ago. It's amazing how liberating it is. Now if only I could reconcile the #enworld chat room in the same manner...

 

[Starfox]

I'm ok with this... It was basically always my stance. It did help to sit on the fence and play both editions at once. Being laid-back in this way also means the edition wars never really troubled me.

Besides, I haven't really seen any edition war in the last three months or so.