You Don't Talk Shop at the Dinner Table

[S'mon]

The game table is not the place for a real-world political or religious discussion, we avoid it.

 

[S'mon]

As far as I know, there are no taboo subjects.... ...I know that I personally won't tolerate any form of bigotry.

To me this translates as "there are no taboo subjects, except what I consider bigoted opinions", ie you do have taboo subjects. So does almost everyone. There are times and places to discuss anything and everyone, but the game table is for discussing game-related stuff, maybe genre fiction, but not politics, religion or science - science is increasingly a politicised topic IME.

 

[Ranes]

Actually, S'mon, it's not your place to say what gets discussed at someone else's gaming table - or mine, at least. But let me set you straight. Just because I say I won't tolerate bigotry doesn't mean that any particular subject is off-limits. Subjects cannot be bigoted, only people.

 

[schporto]

Isn't that a generally accepted rule of etiquette amongst non-friends? Don't discuss politics, religion, or money. Those three things lead to the most arguments. If you are not gaming with friends, its probably a good idea to stick by. On the other hand if you regularly are talking about this stuff at the gaming table, you may be gaming with friends, even if you didn't realize it.
-cpd

 

[S'mon]

Actually, S'mon, it's not your place to say what gets discussed at someone else's gaming table - or mine, at least. But let me set you straight. Just because I say I won't tolerate bigotry doesn't mean that any particular subject is off-limits. Subjects cannot be bigoted, only people.

That just means "We can talk about X, as long we don't have opinion Y about X". :\

Edit: But really, it seems to me there are plenty of subjects that can't be discussed at all, because simply to discuss these subjects is to be considered bigoted by many people. This varies a bit by country - you don't discuss class in the UK or race in the USA, for instance.

 

[Henry]

We really don't have any taboo subjects -- we've talked about religions, politics, current events, insults, and everything else under the sun for a long time, now, even with a pretty wide spread of religions and political leanings (though I'm about the only conservative-leaning one in the group, so sometimes I'm holding the fort by myself. ) We are pretty strong friends, too, so this helps, and I don't think any of us have ever let anything related to religion or politics has ever gotten under anyone's skin.


In fact, of arguments that have threatened to break our groups, most of them have been related to in-game conduct, not P. or R.

 

[Aaron L]

Variety = spice of life, dude!

Or is that melange......

My mature group and i don't discuss it, much, because i know full well our political views are WILDLY different. I am a frothing at the mouth feminist, treehugger, and scientist, and we have a military type, some republicans, and people who believe deeply in things i consider scientifically unsound. But we all respect each other, and so far other than a few "Oh, well, i _totally_ don't believe that but you certainly can!" we just don't get into it.

My immature group and i spend too much time being immature to get into "grown up" topics like politics or religion. Realism in the D&D cartoon is WAY more important

No no, I get very heated, and if someone spouts dogmatic, bigoted, Evil garbage, I will tell them that they are a dogmatic, bigoted, Evil jerk. I will not associate with such people, and I will definitely not game with them.

 

[Ranes]

That just means "We can talk about X, as long we don't have opinion Y about X". :\

Edit: But really, it seems to me there are plenty of subjects that can't be discussed at all, because simply to discuss these subjects is to be considered bigoted by many people. This varies a bit by country - you don't discuss class in the UK or race in the USA, for instance.

You do realise, don't you, that just by being willing to discuss a subject, it's very likely that you're not bigoted, at least in relation to that subject. A bigot is someone intolerant of any view other than his own on a particular matter. Ergo, a bigot isn't open to discussion about that view.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

I'm a Prodestant Christian

*sigh*

Who can't spell Protestant...

((Pot/Kettle issue noted, my response is barely english grammatically.))

 

[Nikroecyst]

Im thourghly suprised by the responses this thread has recieved, on both topics and all oppinions. I appriciate all the oppinions expressed here, even though I agree with few of them.
That being said I would like to elaborate on my situation.

First off all the players are under 21. Most are 16 and 17, at what I like to refer to as "That Age". This doesn't mean they are all immeture and childish, BUT they do tend to disreguard other's fealings and just say what ever they want. And frankly from time to time they can be downright rude or even cruel. I've seen groups of 30 and 40 yr olds with less maturity than the group I am running but not as consistantly as this group.

The two that don't get along well are kind of a problem in game and out of game. One is a VERY good friend of mine while the other is my Brother-In-Law. It puts me in a hard place often. Mostly they don't get along due to the friend picking on the BIL. Another consistant problem is that there is a pair of siblings in the group (older sister, younger brother). So theres alotta nit picking and bickering, but it usually is quashed with me telling them "Save it for the ride home".

My game sessions run for 8 to 10 hrs due to the fact that we play only twice a month. This being said, EVERYONE gets a lil cranky after spending 10 hrs at a table with eachother. We take breaks often for food and drinks and varied reasons. Especially when I order pizza, theres about a 30 min break while everyone mobs the kitchen. But for the most part it stays civil I have yet to have a serious problem.

To reply to some of the comments: Not all of us are good friends so its not like we ALL know eachother personally outside of gaming. Some of the people in the group meet for games and get along at the table just to enjoy a game of DnD. We aren't all best of buddies outside the game table and not everyone hangs out when not gaming. This is mostly due to the same reason we only meet twice a month. Also, some of us are still learning the game and some are Pros at it. Some of us are quiet and reserved and some are loud and in-your-face. Some are ubber conservetive while others are the ultimate free thinkers.

With all of this being said, I find that, WITH THIS GROUP, as a DM, I have to have a firm hand and an iron rule so that every one can have fun and get along fair. Its worked well so far and despite me having to play judge often every one has a blast and there are plenty of laughs and enjoyment to be shared at my game table.

P.S. I can't say that in the past I haven't tolerated bigotry at the game table. This is something I personally feal ashamed of, however, I have learned my lesson and Bigotry of any kind is automatic grounds for expulsion and non re-additance to my game table. Period!