D&D 4E Why is this board so down on 4E critics?

[Xath]

So "the basic premise of the thread has no merit" is not a valid and expressable point of view? Or...?

Would just "I won't use it at all." be acceptable?

Confused...

Lanefan

If you feel that the basic premise of the thread has no merit, why would you post in it at all?

 

[DaveyJones]

Are you saying that the word "crap" offends you? Because I consider "crap" to fall in the same category as "darn" or "shoot."

and yours is a valid opinion.

but yes, i find crap to be not a word for polite conversation.

although, in truth i am not a polite person in conversation as you well know.

i would not say crap in front of a child nor mixed company of strangers.

 

[Rel]

It's not clear what you're trying to communicate with this. Are you saying that "threadcrapping" is generally heard in polite conversation? Are you saying that the prior guidelines have been relaxed or changed?

I'm saying that "crap" is not a word that has been added to our filter here and is not considered objectionable to the moderators in general, contingent upon the context. For example, if I called you a "craphead" then that would be a direct insult and unacceptable. But if I said, "Holy crap! We almost had a TPK last night!" that would be perfectly fine.

I don't know that there has ever been a time when "crap" was disallowed here, though I'll admit that it seems a bit over the edge of the Grandma Rule were it strictly applied. So I don't think you can say that the guidelines have been relaxed or changed. But I would remind you that, well, "them's more 'guidelines' than actual 'rules'."

 

[Delta]

Well, "threadcrapping" isn't generally heard anywhere because it's fairly limited to internet forums. Are you saying that the word "crap" offends you? Because I consider "crap" to fall in the same category as "darn" or "shoot."

Yes, I was brought up understanding it that way. From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crap

Note that this word can be considered a curse word... The word is used nearly interchangeably with "" as the less offensive of the two. Still, some people find the word crap offensive, even if not intended to mean feces, and will use the minced oath "crud" instead.

 

[Delta]

If you feel that the basic premise of the thread has no merit, why would you post in it at all?

And, I guess I'd also like a direct answer to Lanefan's question. I was wondering the same thing.

 

[Rel]

And, I guess I'd also like a direct answer to Lanefan's question. I was wondering the same thing.

My advice would be that if you see a thread whose basic premise you disagree with entirely then you should move on to another thread. I think you have every right to roll your eyes firmly in the process (I do this all the time) and further, if this appears to be a pattern for the thread starter in general, take a moment to put them on your Ignore list (as a moderator I can't do this so consider yourself lucky).

Failing that, go on into the thread and post your objection to the premise in a way that is so far above your normal standard for "polite and respectful" as to make it really, REALLY difficult for us to warn or suspend you. I'm not saying that'll never happen (especially if you become a habitual if polite naysayer) but it helps out your odds quite a bit.

But remember this place is all about having (fun, polite, respectful) conversations. Saying, "I get where you're going but I disagree in a couple of particulars," is a fantastic way to engender MORE conversation that offers differing points of view and insights into a topic. Saying, "This topic is stupid and unworthy of discussion," is an attempt to kill conversation. So rather than allow that we'll just kill (which is to say "Ban") the offending party instead.

 

[Rel]

So "the basic premise of the thread has no merit" is not a valid and expressable point of view? Or...?

Would just "I won't use it at all." be acceptable?

Confused...

Lanefan

Let me just speak to this precise example to excessively illustrate my point. The question was "How will you use the Points of Light approach in your game?"

"I won't use it at all." is not an answer to that question. I won't say that this would be an egregious threadcrap. But it's still dodging the question being asked.

Had the question been "Will you use the Points of Light approach in your game?" then that would be an absolutely valid, and probably not uncommon, answer.

I think that's probably the best metric you can use for whether something is threadcrapping. "Is it specifically avoiding the point at hand?"

That's about the best answer I know how to give.

 

[Umbran]

So "the basic premise of the thread has no merit" is not a valid and expressable point of view? Or...?

Would just "I won't use it at all." be acceptable?

Confused...

"The basic premise of the thread has no merit," thus stated as an absolute, is not provably true (because "merit" is not usefully defined), so its validity is highly questionable.

"The basic premise of the thread has no merit to me," is a fine personal opinion, as it is clear that it is your own personal definition of merit involved. Without elucidation, it isn't terribly constructive to the discussion, but we don't strictly require that.

Note that, in general, the "to me" cannot be assumed.

 

[Delta]

So it sounds like it's agreed that "crap", "crapping" is acceptable language on the boards?

 

[jdrakeh]

As a player (and lover) of multiple editions of D&D I would really like to have a place where all editions are truly welcome and it is possible to engage in meaningful comparisons and discussions.

There is a market for this and I've discussed it with several members of several exception-based edition-specific or boards overtly hostile to Edition X. If I had the extra cash, I'd probably look into funding such a forum as a commercial endeavor. Sadly, I like buying games, excessive internet bandwidth at home, and gourmet food too much to budget toward something prudent such as an edition-neutral D&D discussion forum