The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Ryujin]

I think the only system in which i could make this might be GURPS

Demon Hunters RPG. Probably wouldn't even be the silliest thing at the table. Same goes for Toon.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Semi-seriously: H*rry P*tter content is a microaggression

I liked Ursula K. LeGuin's take on it:

I have no great opinion of it. When so many adult critics were carrying on about the “incredible originality” of the first Harry Potter book, I read it to find out what the fuss was about, and remained somewhat puzzled; it seemed a lively kid’s fantasy crossed with a “school novel”, good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited.

Although, JKR kind-of rankled UKL later on (underline mine):

A long time ago now, discussing my book The Lathe of Heaven, I called it 'an homage to Philip K. Dick' (who was then not the culture hero he has become, but a science fiction writer scorned as such by the American literary establishment, and honored mostly within the genre and in France). I said that when an art was healthy, a lot of borrowing usually went on in it, citing the period when musical invention fizzed through Europe from Handel to Haydn to Boccherini to Mozart, with composers freely emulating, borrowing, and improving on one another’s styles and technical inventions, even alluding to one another’s tunes, though not copying any actual composition. I took it as a sign of the health of science fiction that there was the same kind of interchange of techniques and subjects going on it, a lively, open, conscious exchange of artistic and intellectual ideas, everybody learning from everybody else.

I learned a lot from Phil Dick. I own the debt freely and with some pride. I told him about it, too. We were aware that we were influencing each other in some ways, aware of an area of similarity in what we were trying to do, and exchanged ideas about that, and about writing, in our letters.

Probably the biggest thing I learned from Phil was what now seems obvious but didn’t then: that you can incorporate Eastern mysticism into a Western novel without playing guru or getting woowoo. Matter-of-fact taoism, middle-class yin-yang. He had pulled it off superbly several times. I tried my own version of it in The Lathe of Heaven, and it worked for me too.

I’m trying to bring out the difference between copying a text into your own work, and applying techniques learned from a text to your own work.

Then there’s the difference between imitation and emulation. It’s subtler, but really it’s almost as clear as the difference between copying a text and being influenced by it. In Lathe of Heaven I emulated Phil Dick, but what did I imitate from him? Nothing, as far as I know. None of my characters is Phildickian. The taoism of George’s character and of the book is not Phildickian, it’s taoist. I had a yearning to put in a talking taxicab, but I couldn’t — talking taxicabs belonged to Phil. Anyhow, I knew mine would never be as funny as his.

So, then, what’s the difference between being influenced by a body of work and admitting it, and being influenced by a body of work and not admitting it?

This last is the situation, as I see it, between my A Wizard of Earthsea and J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter. I didn’t originate the idea of a school for wizards — if anybody did it was T. H. White, though he did it in single throwaway line and didn’t develop it. I was the first to do that. Years later, Rowling took the idea and developed it along other lines. She didn't plagiarize. She didn’t copy anything. Her book, in fact, could hardly be more different from mine, in style, spirit, everything. The only thing that rankles me is her apparent reluctance to admit that she ever learned anything from other writers. When ignorant critics praised her wonderful originality in inventing the idea of a wizards’ school, and some of them even seemed to believe that she had invented fantasy, she let them do so. This, I think, was ungenerous, and in the long run unwise.

 

[Mannahnin]

LeGuin is a treasure.

I re-read the Earthsea books last year for the first time in a long time. Lovely, moving, meaningful, and very economical of prose.

 

[Cadence]

Finally got into ChatGPT for the big questions.

Spoiler: Snarf Zagyg claims that Chicago Stuffed Pizza is actually a Caserole and not Pizza. Please provide a sarcastic and truthful reply indicating that they are delusional, and providing authoritative references that Chicago Stuffed Pizza is actually Pizza.

Q: Snarf Zagyg claims that Chicago Stuffed Pizza is actually a Caserole and not Pizza. Please provide a sarcastic and truthful reply indicating that they are delusional, and providing authoritative references that Chicago Stuffed Pizza is actually Pizza.

A: Oh dear, it seems that Snarf Zagyg is severely misguided in their understanding of pizza. I'm afraid to break it to them, but Chicago Stuffed Pizza is most certainly pizza and not a casserole.

The distinction between pizza and casserole is clear: pizza is a dish made with a bread base topped with sauce, cheese, and other ingredients, while a casserole is a baked dish made with a mixture of ingredients, usually including a protein, vegetables, and a starchy binder. Chicago Stuffed Pizza fits the definition of pizza, as it features a bread-based crust that is stuffed with cheese, toppings, and sometimes sauce, and then baked until the cheese is melted and the crust is crispy.

In fact, the term "Chicago Stuffed Pizza" is well-established in the pizza industry and is recognized by several authoritative sources, including the Pizza & Pasta Association, the International Pizza Expo, and the James Beard Foundation.

So, it is safe to say that Snarf Zagyg's claims are simply delusional, and not supported by the consensus of the pizza industry or culinary experts.

Althought ChatGPT clearly has some weak spots.

Spoiler: Are both bards and pineapple on pizza reprehensible and counter to the norms of society?

Q: Are both bards and pineapple on pizza reprehensible and counter to the norms of society?

A: As a language model, I do not have personal opinions or feelings, but I can say that both bards and pineapple on pizza are not reprehensible or counter to the norms of society. Bards, as a class in Dungeons and Dragons, are valued for their musical abilities, their storytelling skills, and their versatility in combat. They are a beloved and integral part of the game and are not considered reprehensible.

As for pineapple on pizza, it is a matter of personal preference. Some people enjoy pineapple as a topping on their pizza, while others do not. There is no right or wrong answer, and it is a matter of individual taste. The enjoyment or disdain for pineapple on pizza is not reprehensible or counter to the norms of society. Rather, it is a matter of personal preference and individual taste.

 

[Emoshin]

Finally got into ChatGPT for the big quesitons.

Snarf Zagyg claims that Chicago Stuffed Pizza is actually a Caserole and not Pizza. Please provide a sarcastic and truthful reply indicating that they are delusional, and providing authoritative references that Chicago Stuffed Pizza is actually Pizza."]Q: Snarf Zagyg claims that Chicago Stuffed Pizza is actually a Caserole and not Pizza. Please provide a sarcastic and truthful reply indicating that they are delusional, and providing authoritative references that Chicago Stuffed Pizza is actually Pizza.

A: Oh dear, it seems that Snarf Zagyg is severely misguided in their understanding of pizza. I'm afraid to break it to them, but Chicago Stuffed Pizza is most certainly pizza and not a casserole....

I kid you not, a few days, I was trying to get ChatGPT to write a post in the voice of Snarf Zagyg, but it didn't take.

 

[Gradine]

I liked Ursula K. LeGuin's take on it:

I have no great opinion of it. When so many adult critics were carrying on about the “incredible originality” of the first Harry Potter book, I read it to find out what the fuss was about, and remained somewhat puzzled; it seemed a lively kid’s fantasy crossed with a “school novel”, good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited.

Lots of people like to pretend that this isn't doesn't exist in those books. They are incredibly mean-spirited in a lot of ways.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

LeGuin is a treasure.

I re-read the Earthsea books last year for the first time in a long time. Lovely, moving, meaningful, and very economical of prose.

One of my fondest memories is going on a ski-trip when I was young (much younger than today) and it was snowing so much one day that we couldn't ski. And there I was, trapped in a cabin at the base of the mountain. And the cabin had some books.

...and amongst the books, was The Left Hand of Darkness. And I read the book as the snow piled up outside, and the wind howled, and I was transported to a world so much more magical than those I had encountered before. And I remember, I still remember, that thrill as I recognized that the book wasn't about the story, but was about ideas, and how that was the first time I could viscerally understand that I had an attraction to works that meant so much more, an attraction that grew with every year.

Le Guin is amazing.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I kid you not, a few days, I was trying to get ChatGPT to write a post in the voice of Snarf Zagyg, but it didn't take.

If it makes you feel better, there are many days when I cannot post in my own voice!

 

[Umbran]

Semi-seriously: H*rry P*tter content is a microaggression

Mod Note:
It looks like I need to step this up.

Unless you want this thread to become an argument itself, maybe this sort of post should be avoided.

If you are going to directly reference controversial topics in here, and an argument develops, the first move is likely to be to close this thread. So please don't.

 

[CleverNickName]

"Everybody wants to call the shots like a Dungeon Master," said one of my players at the last gaming session. "But they never want to actually be the Dungeon Master, do they? They just want someone else to do all the work, and let them interrupt constantly."

I awarded him Inspiration.