Why do we put each other in boxes?

[GMforPowergamers]

OK, so I know [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION] had a tweet not too long ago that said something along the lines of "what edition is my site bashing now?" at the time I thought it was funny, and laughed at it... but now I am starting to see it.


in the last month I have been told that I only hate piazo because I am a 4e fanboy... (Why yes I was the starter of threads about there minis and there card game...)

I was grouped with people who didn't give 4e a chance in the same thread that I was told 4e was 'my perfect d&d'

then I started to think of every time people try to figure out what the hidden side of things your on. some how being just a D&D player doesn't fit in.

SO to the title... WHY? Why if I want more balance then 3e fighter vs 3e druid I must only want 4e. why If I dislike the sameness of 4e I must only like 3e. Why can't anyone get the idea that somepeople want more then any edition has yet given.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Why can't anyone get the idea that somepeople want more then any edition has yet given.

I ask that sometimes myself.

Ad hominem contradictory straw men, yeah, I've been there.

I wish people would talk more about ideas and less about editions (and even less about other people).

 

[Sage Genesis]

Just FYI, but this is going to be the thread where we all despair about being the poor innocent victim and it's everybody else who did wrong. Gosh, I sure do wish we could all get along... and people would just not argue with whatever I said...

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Just FYI, but this is going to be the thread where we all despair about being the poor innocent victim and it's everybody else who did wrong. Gosh, I sure do wish we could all get along... and people would just not argue with whatever I said...

maybe, but I can hope we can move forward instead... I mean really if everyone just assumes that no one is trolling or trying to 'win an argument' or 'lying about a problem only on the internet' how much more productive could things be???

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

SO to the title... WHY? Why if I want more balance then 3e fighter vs 3e druid I must only want 4e. why If I dislike the sameness of 4e I must only like 3e. Why can't anyone get the idea that somepeople want more then any edition has yet given.

Because Tribalism. Because it's easy to slip into the Edition X vs. Edition Y mindset during a heated thread. I'm sure there are other reasons.

As an aside, while your sig doesn't put anyone into an edition box, it's not exactly conducive to breaking down barriers either. It basically paints anyone with a particular opinion ("feat taxes are real") as wrong and delusional. Which makes you look decidedly passive-aggressive, as you must be aware.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Because Tribalism. Because it's easy to slip into the Edition X vs. Edition Y mindset during a heated thread. I'm sure there are other reasons.

As an aside, while your sig doesn't put anyone into an edition box, it's not exactly conducive to breaking down barriers either. It basically paints anyone with a particular opinion ("feat taxes are real") as wrong and delusional. Which makes you look decidedly close-minded, as you must be aware.

maybe your right... but after months of being told I was wrong those quotes made me feel better... then I got lazy and having changed my sig...

 

[DM Howard]

Because Tribalism. Because it's easy to slip into the Edition X vs. Edition Y mindset during a heated thread. I'm sure there are other reasons.

This is it, in the end. I'd always throw out the idea that people wish for whatever they consider the Golden Age of their favorite edition being the edition that "everyone" played and you didn't have to ask if they actually mean D&D or if they mean Pathfinder, Hackmaster, or Castles and Crusades. I get the longing, to a point, of a Edition to end all Editions, but it never really was like that anyway, it's just more marked with the internet and sites like EN World.

 

[Remathilis]

What everyone else said is true, but I'll toss my own $.10 into the mix.

Almost every fandom breaks down into tribes: whether it be a specific actor who played the Doctor, Prequels vs. Original Trilogy, a specific ROM for your phone, or your favorite Starship Captain. D&D breaks down by edition. Naturally, people gravitate to their likes and defend them against all slights, real and perceived.

Everyone plays D&D slightly differently (or radically differently) so the "shared experience" is different. Ergo, everyone thinks that the game is best played the way they do it. (Even if some can accept other playstyles, few I think would give up their own unique tastes for someone elses.)

ENWorld, unlike say WotC's boards or Paizo's boards, isn't tied to a specific edition so the lingua franca is a bit botched. If I posted "Help with my rogue build" as a topic, people wouldn't necessarily know if I was talking 3.5, Pathfinder, 4e, or Next without reading it (though the topic-sorters help).

All of these things tend to lead to the camps and iron trenches that surround the place. The price for ENWorld's diversity is unfortunately the trench warfare.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The stupidest part of the whole thing is that everyone acts likes there's been four editions, or six editions, or ten editions if you count the basic/advanced split or whatever...

...when in truth, there have been HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF EDITIONS OF D&D.

Every single player's game is their own edition of D&D. None of them have been the same. Every single one has used its own rules (written or housed), has played in its own style, and has been run in its own manner.

So there's no de facto version of D&D, because nobody plays the de facto version of D&D. Every single one of us plays some sort of bizarre D&D Frankenstein's Monster that we've cobbled together from parts over our gaming careers-- attitudes, and beliefs, and foci, and influences. All of which tell us that we can't take ANY of our opinions seriously on what a new edition of D&D NEEDS to be... because they're just as absurd as everyone else's, regardless of the edition we are currently playing. What YOU think is the true spirit of D&D in your Companion rules Basic D&D game is just as much a lie as the "true spirit of D&D" is in my 4E Heroes of Shadow game.

Stop thinking "your edition" is the right one. Because with how you play "your edition"... there's probably a large percentage of people playing that same edition that would look at your game and think that it's completely messed up.

 

[n00bdragon]

When people come across opinions they don't hold their first reaction is almost always "that's wrong!" instead of "I wonder why you feel that way?" It's empowering to say to yourself "I understand this person and what he's saying. I don't agree with him because he's a moron and his voice is stupid." while it's dis-empowering to say to yourself "I don't know why he's saying that. Perhaps he's got a point. Perhaps I'm wrong."

The whole board could come together collectively to change the way it talks about things but it wouldn't fix the problem. Most of the regulars here are already more or less on the same page about how to discuss things. However, you always have an influx of new people who haven't yet learned that people who disagree with them are not their enemies and that their experience with their kitchen table or perhaps even a gaming store or two is pretty small in the grander scheme of things and that they really haven't experienced even a small portion of how D&D, much less RPGs in general are played.

tl;dr: Next time you find yourself saying "You're wrong!" change it to "Why do you think that?"