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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Willie the Duck" data-source="post: 9825979" data-attributes="member: 6799660">I think people are arguing multiple things in the same thread.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Whether such behavior happened. Here the burden is find an example, and personal experience works. So that should be pretty easy and not have much to equivocate over.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Whether it was widespread (seen in many places). There, I think Thomas Shey is right that although it is not proof, seeing it referenced in A&E, show up in convention games, and be seen in multiple game groups not just within one's primary circle are certainly strong evidence towards the notion. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Whether it was commonplace, or an overall measure of how prevalent it was. There I think SableWyvern is right that the burden of proof is on the claimant, and we just don't have the information to solidly make a case. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Whether it was more common then than it would be now. Here I think you are providing solid reasoning that it ought to have been. One would think that the ruleset advocating a course of action would increase its usage compared to rulesets that don't or even advocate for competing behavior. Of course it is still a prevalence measure and we just don't know (and can't rule out that some other quality might have drowned out the importance of this factor). Still, one could say that having the books include this guidance would increase the prevalence at the time compared to what it otherwise would have been, all other factors being held constant. </li> </ul>I recall this as well. The problem is that I don't find my recollection on the matter to be particularly valuable, from a survey-research perspective. It is self-report behavior amongst the minority subset of gamers during that time who were online (or in my immediate circles), who were the DMs of their group, who thought their DMing style was relevant to discussion, and who thought it something to brag about (or confess). Add in whether they were truthful/whether their players would agree with the assessment, as well as that they were memorable to you or I now.  At best, my takeaway from my similar recollection is that being a killer DM was seen as being a more admirable quality (at least among some) then compared to now. Which, itself, is a useful piece of information for the discussion, but again depending on what we're trying to show.</blockquote>

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