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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kreynolds" data-source="post: 89496" data-attributes="member: 2829">I assume you mean esoteric. I have found that many, not most, of the misunderstandings of the rules are due to poor wording or poor organization of the information. I'm not saying all of the rules are like this, just some. Now, what I am going to do is fully explain why I am here. I am not trying to insult anyone, nor am I telling anyone what to do. I’m going to start with the basic definition of the word “esoteric”.es·o·ter·ic adj. 1. a. Intended for or understood by only a particular group: an esoteric cult. 1. b. Of or relating to that which is known by a restricted number of people. 2. a. Confined to a small group: esoteric interests. 2. b. Not publicly disclosed; confidential.3. a. Designed for, and understood by, the specially initiated alone; not communicated, or not intelligible, to the general body of followers.3. b. Confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle.Now. What I am going to do is address each and every meaning of this word.1. a. Intended for or understood by only a particular group: an esoteric cult.This implies that certain rules were intended to be known only by certain members of these message boards, WotC employees, whatever. Thus, I don’t think this definition applies in any way, so I assume this is not what you meant when you stated “esoteric”.1. b. Of or relating to that which is known by a restricted number of people.This I understand. Basically, it could mean that a restricted number of people know what a given rule actually means. This is a good thing in the sense that these people are here on the message boards to help clear it up. Though this definition does not fully apply because it implies that the knowledge of how a rule works has been purposely restricted to a small number of people.This definition is the most interesting one because it implies a business strategy of deliberate disinformation, causing dozens, if not hundreds of people, to gather to a given site’s message boards, a site that is strewn with advertisements for products related to the given rule or materials. This means that people who do not understand a rule will go to a given site for clarification, and while they are there, they will be bombarded with advertisements enticing them to purchase even more products. Though I’m 100% sure this is not the case, because I’m not paranoid, so I’m sure this is not the definition you implied. If it is, it doesn’t apply.2. a. Confined to a small group: esoteric interests.This I also understand. Quite simply it means that the knowledge of how a rule truly works is confined to a small group of people, meaning that fewer people understand a given rule as compared to those that do not understand a given rule. This definition means that the given rule was poorly stated, otherwise, the clarification would not be so widely necessary.2. b. Not publicly disclosed; confidential.Now this definition simply doesn’t apply at all and I don’t think I need to go into the reasons of why.3. a. Designed for, and understood by, the specially initiated alone; not communicated, or not intelligible, to the general body of followers.If this is the definition you implied, then you’re more paranoid than you think I am! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />3. b. Confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle.If this is the definition you implied, get off your high horse. But I know this isn’t the one you implied, CRGreathouse. So don’t worry. This isn’t an attack on you.Now, why am I here? Simple. I want to know how certain rules were meant to work. I want to help others understand how certain rules were meant to work. Sometimes I’m wrong. Sometimes others are wrong. But the bottom line is that sometimes, we figure it out as a group. Other times, we run into a brick wall and end up emailing The Sage.So what is the long post really all about? Quite simply, we gather here because many rules are not that clear. Also, none of us is infallible. If you need proof of either, simply look up the definition of “esoteric”.If none of the above definitions apply to what you were trying to say, trying a different word. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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