The Nature of Change (or, Understanding Edition Wars)

[JohnnyQuest]

Of course some people prefer one edition over another. That actually has nothing to do with the OP's thesis. He's not saying that people who don't like 4E are resistant to change. He's saying that 'Edition Wars' -- as opposed to personal preferences -- have roots in people's responses to change (on both sides). I think there are some other factors as well, but I agree with the OP that response to change is a big part of it.

 

[Umbran]

I suspect that there was just as much reaction to the 2e->3e change (and the 1e->2e change), but there are now more people online and in this forum, so you see more of the reaction than before. (I can't prove this at all, so take that guess for what it's worth--not much ).

I actually think you're wrong, there.

While you are correct that the internet medium allows us to see more of the reaction, I think it actually creates, amplifies, and sustains the reaction. The internet allows us to dwell on the issue for longer, and have salt rubbed in the wound more often.

If they just got new books on the shelves, and we didn't have places like this to discuss it, the folks who didn't like it would grumble, sure. They'd try it or not, like it or not, and they'd move on and not keep coming back to the same thing over and over.

We are, in this sense, our own worst enemies.

 

[JohnnyQuest]

I agree, Umbran. I think the internet also makes a difference in terms of anonymity. I read incredibly rude posts, and I'm pretty sure that few people actually would say those things face-to-face.

 

[Truename]

I hope you realize just how patronizing this thread is, despite your intentions.

I'm sorry I came across that way.

I think that you're correct in your presumption that there is more to changing systems than the objective qualities of those systems. However, your ascription of these difficulties to a generalized "fear of change" lacks substance and support. Here's a question: what evidence would lead you to believe that resistance to 4e is mostly "rational" (that is, based on the qualities of 4e vs. some other edition) vs. "fear based". Describe how one might discover the truth of the matter in this specific instance.

You're the only one to use the word "fear" in this thread. That's definitely not what I'm saying.

What I'm saying is that, when a change happens, there's a predictable sequence of events that occur. (And yes, this is a generalization that doesn't apply to everyone.) I see how people react to these things in my day job, and I see the same sorts of reactions in the threads here. So the edition wars look like a typical reaction to change to me... and so, I described that sequence of events in hopes that it would be interesting.

Is that patronizing? Maybe, maybe not, but it is human nature. Try this. Write "Pick one: 1 2 3 4" on a piece of paper, and show it to ten people. Most of them will pick 3. (You can show them the back of the paper afterwards. Write a suitably funny remark on the back, like "People who pick 3 make the best lovers," or "If you picked 3, you secretly prefer 3e.") We humans tend to be more predictable than we wish.

Anyway, I thought it might help to understand why people might not want to make a change... and generally, that resistance is not about "fear of change." A person generally resists because he (or she) thinks the change will cause him to lose something he values. If he ends up accepting the change, it's typically because he discovers how to keep what he values in the new system.

For example, if Bob values his system mastery over 3e, and feels that 4e doesn't really support system mastery, then he might resist using 4e because he would lose that sense of mastery he values. Is that fear of change? Not really. It seems pretty rational to me.

 

[Truename]

While you are correct that the internet medium allows us to see more of the reaction, I think it actually creates, amplifies, and sustains the reaction. The internet allows us to dwell on the issue for longer, and have salt rubbed in the wound more often.

Good point. I agree.

 

[Truename]

For example, if Bob values his system mastery over 3e, and feels that 4e doesn't really support system mastery, then he might resist using 4e because he would lose that sense of mastery he values. Is that fear of change? Not really. It seems pretty rational to me.

But then, unfortunately, Bob comes on EN World and doesn't say "I really enjoy my mastery over 3e system and I don't think there's much benefit to system mastery in 4e, so I'm not going to use it." (Which would be a cool thread, because then we could talk about system mastery, and what's fun about it, and what opportunities, if any, there are for system mastery in 4e, and why the designers chose to change this part of the system, and so on.)

But instead, Bob thinks "4e sucks, my system mastery will be worthless," and then he posts "4e is too simplistic, for example: it's stupid for epic characters to have a higher DC to climb ladders than heroic characters," and people start shouting about DC tables and p.42 and a gigantic flame war erupts.

And then I read all the flame wars because they're addictive little things and then I start a thread like this. Not helpful, really.

 

[Cadfan]

I think another aspect of the way the internet changes things is this:

What some people value, that thing they fear losing, can be membership in a community. The internet provides that community. A new edition presents the possibility that the community might start to care about things you don't, and you might lose your connection with it.

I think that's why you sometimes see what is essentially trolling behavior from forum regulars during edition changes. A troll can just be a fan in the wrong forum- and during an edition change, which forums are the "right" or "wrong" forums can shift.

 

[Korgoth]

If 4e is the game for you, more power to you. But I don't think "resistance to change" is as big a factor in people not choosing or sticking with 4e as some believe.

Please report immediately to People's Glorious Democratic Revolutionary Arctic Resort for mandatory Fun Realignment Therapy. No resistance to change will be tolerated, tovarish!

...

When I had a loaded pistol pointed at me, I experienced a notable resistance to change. Up to that point, I did not have any bullets or wound channels present in my body. I displayed classic intransigent psychopathology by vehemently resisting the introduction of any bullets or wound channels. Because, in my pitiable and benighted ignorance, I refused, like a petulant child on the threshold of ingesting green vegetables, to sample even one single bullet or wound channel. Not even one... as if I knew what was best for myself! Man, can I be bullheaded sometimes!

 

[Pseudopsyche]

I agree with the OP's point that edition wars stem from a normal human reaction to change, but my question is precisely what change is the cause? Many of the posts in the thread assumed a proposed change to "what game I play." I submit that the change causing the edition wars is a change to either "what game Wizards of the Coast supports with its immense resources" or "what games are topics of discussion on EN World."

Clearly each individual can choose to adopt 4E for their home game or to keep their existing rules. But 4E is now the flagship for our hobby, and it now occupies a large share of this forum's mindshare. These changes are the ones to which we are all still adjusting.

 

[underthumb]

Truename-

Anyway, I thought it might help to understand why people might not want to make a change... and generally, that resistance is not about "fear of change." A person generally resists because he (or she) thinks the change will cause him to lose something he values. If he ends up accepting the change, it's typically because he discovers how to keep what he values in the new system.

Okay, but what you argued is that "resistance to change" is "completely independent of how much better or worse the 'new thing' is". Those are your words. You're saying that humans have a response to change which is content-neutral. More specifically, you're implying that the content of 4e is irrelevant to the responses observed, which reduces any resistance to a kind of psychological hiccup. You even described the irrational lengths that people would go to so that they might avoid "change", implying that normal attempts to reason with those who are anti-4e are bound to fail.

All of this effectively becomes a neat way of packing anti-4e sentiment into a self-help syndrome. Really. Your post even ends with a description of the "stages" of change, helpfully suggesting that "people get stuck at different stages in the process".