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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BlackMoria" data-source="post: 1342731" data-attributes="member: 424">I've had a open table policy for over 25 years.  In that time, I've had all sort of people that I don't know outside the game at my table.  And by and large, in 25+ years, I've only had a couple of individuals I asked to leave.When a strange face show up at my table, the first thing that happens is I explain about how my DMing philosphy and how I run my campaign world.  In this discussion, I outline my 'do and don't' list.   My 'do and don't' is a list of do's and don't covers the whole spectrum of potential problems.  I have do's and don'ts concerning rules disputes, situation disputes, player vs player disputes, player vs DM disputes, game table ettiquette, and anything that may pose an issue during a play session.At the end of my spiel, I tell the individual that if my 'rules' are acceptable to him/her, they are welcome to the table.Then the individual is to talk about his past RPG experience, his last playgroup, and what his/her expectations are.  I make a point to find out where he/she is 'coming from'.At the end of each play session, I get feedback from all the players about how the session went.  In particular, I focus on new players and try to find out if they had a postive experience and what they liked or didn't like about the session.   I also ask them for input about what they would like to see in the future.This usually floors them because almost all new players to our group come from other groups in which they were never asked their opinion, the DM has never said how he runs his game and what the DM's expectations of the players were, and the players were never encouraged to articulate what their expectations  were.I like to think that my success in running an 'open table' is that everyone know before they sit down at the table as a player just what is expected of them and of me. Expectations/Assumptions don't necessarily equal reality (as in what is really happening).  My experience is most interpersonal disputes at my table are the product of unvoiced expectations or assumptions of what the individual in questions assumes as reality.  Frank discussion about this usually changes the perception of individuals so that the situation can be resolved successfully and without ill will.In short - I can game with strangers and what I outlined above can make it a positive experience.  The secret is both sides have to work to make it happen.</blockquote>

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