TRPG General Chat

BESW

12:04 AM

@Max Xeno-anthropological study of dianoga baptismal culture.

Data collation and analysis of historical accounts of purrgil migration patterns.

trogdor

@BESW Lol

GreySage

@Max What every civilization always needs: scientists researching advanced compilers for programming languages.

Miniman

@Max Railings.

BESW

@trogdor I'm not even joking, the short story anthology From A Certain Point of View establishes that the dianoga which pulled Luke under the water in the trash compactor was Force-sensitive and used her culture's ritual baptism to help Luke better attune himself with the Force.

Miniman

Or any other form of OH&S.

trogdor

12:10 AM

@BESW I need to read this thing

BESW

But seriously, most science isn't "I'm making a thing!" It's mostly "that's weird, I'ma poke it" or "We need more data about [thing] and/or need to look at the data harder."

A compilation of Ewok traditional songs and their ritual contexts.

Max

Yeah someone on sjgames forum suggested Purgill migration routes. I want to avoid that since that could lead to finding Ezra and Thrawn.

BESW

The evolutionary diversion of porg/Lanai ancestors.

The influence of traditional art on revolutionary symbolism in Imperial colonies.

In other words: almost all your list of prohibited topics are "I want to do a thing," not "I want to know a thing." Look for knowledge-motivated research topics and you'll have a LOT of open space to play in.

user15026

@BESW That was a pretty good story. I liked a lot of that anthology.

trogdor

12:27 AM

@Ash where did you find it?

MikeQ

@BESW Snoke was really the dianoga

BESW

trogdor

Lol

user15026

@trogdor I believe my library had it as an ebook, and that's where I read it

user15026

That sounds right.

user15026

12:32 AM

(my library is getting really good at ebooks.)

trogdor

Ah ok

I have no idea if I can say the same for any library here

MikeQ

@Ash Is it easier for you to speedread ebooks or physical books?

user15026

@trogdor if my library doesn't have things, I get them from Kobo's store, or Amazon if I am really stuck

user15026

@MikeQ They're about teh same? I don't do anything differently, honestly - I just read

user15026

I mostly read ebooks but that's because I can get 'em from the comfort of my bed :P

BESW

12:34 AM

@trogdor According to the GPLS site, you can put in a request for them to get it.

trogdor

Amazon is,.. certainly an option

@BESW huh ok

@Ash I like them because I can grab them quickly, I've read most of the "classic" books I have because I could put them on a reader

But I kinda prefer physical copies myself

user15026

@BESW Yeah, most library systems let you request stuff - although sometimes I wonder what they think of the things I ask for :P

BESW

It's possible that you can get it as an ebook through one of the library's online services but the interface is ridiculously clunky.

user15026

I like my ereader because it is backlit and I can play with fonts and such when my eyes are being dumb and I can add more yellow backlight when the bus is being all BLUE and hurting my eyes

user15026

Plus it fits in my purse nice

user15026

12:39 AM

(That's a big bonus :P When I was a kid and went camping for a week I had a separate duffel for books but now I can just tuck the reader in my bag, easier to pack!)

trogdor

They are pretty great, I just feel like nothing can beat a physical copy of a book

user15026

That's fair :)

trogdor

For space though, on trips places my Kindle is still pretty nice

BESW

I read faster with ebooks, and they're more convenient and customizable. But I tend to retain a little better with physical books, and they have more nostalgic triggers for me.

user15026

I have some stuff I end up buying twice because I like hard copies but that's rarer and rarer (mostly Tamora Pierce books, to be honest)

trogdor

12:41 AM

Or for books that I can get more easily or more quickly or both on it

user15026

Although sometimes I like holding a book (like if they have like spirtual meaning, the holding feels betterer than physical?)

trogdor

@BESW I think this applies to some degree for me too

BESW

And when the power goes out I can read my ebooks in the dark on my phone... until the battery dies... while physical books can be read without electricity if there's some other light source... but then they start to mold.

user15026

It's complicated!

BESW

Neither are good in the bath or the rain.

user15026

12:43 AM

My Kobo Aura H20 does okay in the rain, it's water resistant to a certain depth, so I can read it in the bath if I want and don't like submerge it for more than a couple min

trogdor

Lol

Huh

user15026

(although honestly I just like that in the rain the rain drops don't turn the pages like they used to with my old ereader)

user15026

I have no bathtub, so that's out :P

BESW

I've seen a lot of people go "oh, only physical books are real books, ebooks don't give you the full experience" and I'm like "Only scrolls are real text, you can't get the full experience of the text if you have to turn the page to see the next bit."

trogdor

Rain turned the pages?

Wow

user15026

12:44 AM

@trogdor yeah, if they were big enough, it would think it was a tap to turn page

user15026

It was exasperating while waiting for a bus in the rain :P

MikeQ

@BESW A true reading enthusiast would only read cuneiform

user15026

I didn't get the Aura H20 because it was waterproof, I got it because I was leaving the next day for Georgia and my old ereader died and I was not going to go a whole 11 days without my books and since it was close to Christmas, Chapters only had a limited stock of readers

BESW

I will say this, though--I have a MUCH harder time reading traditional comic formats in any digital medium.

trogdor

@BESW lol, I don't think there's anything wrong with an e reader, but I do feel like physical copies are just slightly better for me

They are both great though

BESW

12:45 AM

Any full-page-comic style design just doesn't work for me, even on a full-screen computer.

user15026

@BESW I can barely read comics at all, but if I hold them and can touch them and cover up bits and go slow, I can do physical

user15026

But yeah, digital comics are....super hard

trogdor

Huh

BESW

And trying to read comics on a phone/tablet style display is nonsense.

trogdor

Strangely enough I really like internet comics

I barely read any physical ones

@BESW I do this all the time

user15026

12:46 AM

Comics confuse my eyes

user15026

I don't know where to focus

user15026

It's SO furstrating.

trogdor

That's fair enough

BESW

@trogdor I do too! But webcomics that use traditional full-page formatting, like Atomic Robo or LeveL, are really hard to read for me. Strip comics like Skin Horse, and scroll comics like Dents, those work much better.

trogdor

I read a whole bunch of different types of them though

And for some, I think most notably Schlock Mercenary, it can change size within the same comic

I think I like that I can wait a week and then check stuff and it's updated, and after all this time doing that I have gotten used to the weird formatting obstacles

It's practically the only way I read a couple of my favorite things now

user15026

1:05 AM

I foloow a couple webcomics but not very many

user15026

I tend to forget them a lot

trogdor

I have really good reading retention

As long as I read something with my eyes

Podcasts are a little less retained

(including listening to someone else read a book, though I still do enjoy that as an activity)

user15026

Podcasts are....pretty much only good for making me sleepy

user15026

(see also: being read to. If you read to me, I apologize, I'm gonna fall asleep on you.)

trogdor

Oh I can't listen to stuff at bedtime

I will fall asleep

But during the day I can

user15026

1:13 AM

During the day I still can't, I get distracted and sleepy

user15026

Spoken stuff is just too slippery for my processing

user15026

(my brain is weird)

trogdor

Huh

So is mine

We can start a club

user15026

1:24 AM

Excellent I will bring the cupcakes

MikeQ

I would like to join the club. What is the DC to join?

BESW

No DC or Marvel, only indie comics.

trogdor

Not sure, what's your brain like?

Lol

user15026

@BESW giggles

trogdor

I'm already bringing the 2 million unused ideas

user15026

1:33 AM

I am bringing cupcakes and a terrible attention span and broken proprioception

trogdor

Proprioception?

user15026

The idea of knowing where you are in space in relation to yourself and other objects

trogdor

I'm bringing bad body language reading and a dislike of physical contact as well

@Ash ah ok

TIL

What that means

user15026

@trogdor I am terrible at body language, but I thrive on physical contact (I am getting better at boundaries!)

trogdor

I'm pretty good at the body language that says "leave me alone"

But I'm bad at noticing what I just said myself with body language or reading other people's

user15026

1:40 AM

nods

MikeQ

@trogdor Sore and infested with bad ideas. Probably cursed too.

trogdor

Welcome to the club

MikeQ

Hooray I get cupcakes now

Speaking of baked goods, I'd be willing to try running Uranium Chef (FAE) next time we don't have ToA, if you don't want to do GSS

trogdor

I mean, I ran GSS exactly one time and loved it, but if you really want to run Uranium Chef you can

user15026

Acronyms!

trogdor

1:45 AM

Golden Sky Stories

It's the one about,... Magic animal kids

From Japanese folklore type stuff

BESW

Fate Accelerated Edition; Tomb of Annihilation; Golden Sky Stories

trogdor

Ah yeah there were a bunch of them huh

MikeQ

@trogdor Unsure. I'd probably need in-game feedback and corrections. There's a default "adventure" in the book but it's very barebones, and I'm still a bit fuzzy on when and how to use compels/invokes/aspects. So I'm not super eager yet.

goodguy5

I just wanted to stop in between naps. Baby is born. Looks great. Doing amazing. So tired. Thanks to anyone that talked me through during pregnancy.

16

trogdor

Well if you aren't up for it by the time we would have a game I can run the same GSS scenario I did the first time

MikeQ

1:50 AM

@goodguy5 [confetti]

goodguy5

No, I didn't deliver myself. Yes I did cut the cord

trogdor

I already Know it's pretty good for beginners

user15026

@goodguy5 Congrats on the tiny human!

trogdor

Grats on the child creature

MikeQ

@trogdor That would be most likely and most appreciated

Mark Wells

1:57 AM

@goodguy5 Congrats!

nitsua60

@goodguy5 I was hoping that's why we hadn't heard from you in a while--congratulations!

Trimester 4 has begun!

trogdor

2:17 AM

@MikeQ fine by me

V2Blast

3:47 AM

@goodguy5 Congrats! <3

Now the real trial begins

The Oracle

4:03 AM

0

Q: Sign language use out of character?

When should a player use sign language to communicate with the dm out of character? Granted this question is only appropriate for deaf/mute players, but it’s something to consider.

discussion

PhiNotPi

I got nerd-sniped by the dice probability question people were talking about in here earlier: rpg.stackexchange.com/a/142062/23833

nitsua60

4:25 AM

@PhiNotPi HNQ get ya?

PhiNotPi

4:50 AM

@nitsua60 Nah I saw it mentioned in chat earlier.

I do think my solution is pretty elegant though. Instead of totaling up all the dice, total up all except for any 1s. If it's at or above DM's target, then success. If it's below 2*(original count of dice), then critical fail. Pretty linear.

kviiri

7:01 AM

@goodguy5 Congrats on new party member!

The Oracle

10:18 AM

0

Q: Why Are Modification Logs Misleading?

I noticed something odd going on. Two questions I found interesting list new modification (incidentally both by Abraham Ray). So of course I wanted to read what was edited. Clicking the links, they lead me to the main pages of each thread. So OK, that implies the modifications are in the OP. B...

bug

BESW

12:28 PM

@goodguy5 Grats! Aaand pinned.

BESW

12:43 PM

trogdor

1:05 PM

lol

Rubiksmoose

1:37 PM

The same sort of thing happens if one follows a link to a now-deleted comment. (Those are rather rarer, but it happens, and took me a while to figure out.) — nitsua60 ♦ 52 mins ago

@nitsua60 ohhhhh it had never occurred to me this was the reason! I remember been fairly confused why the links don't just break but never gave it much thought.

Rubiksmoose

1:49 PM

@goodguy5 yaaaaaaaay! Congrats. Good luck on your new adventure :)

Rubiksmoose

2:04 PM

Pokemon Sword and Shield announced!

Sir Cinnamon

2:46 PM

@Rubiksmoose please tell me that means its a medieval pokemon game

Rubiksmoose

@SirCinnamon alas that does not appear to be the case

Sir Cinnamon

twitter is all over the announcement apparently

Rubiksmoose

That was amazing and fast and I love it lol

Yuuki

3:20 PM

The Oracle

3:49 PM

1

Q: Should this question about player attendance be system agnostic?

This question is asking about an issue that seems like it is pretty clear of system mechanics. However, it started as being tagged with dnd-5e and it is clear that is the game being played. I removed the 5e tag originally because I saw nothing that the system can contribute, but then I did thin...

discussion

The Oracle

5:08 PM

3

Q: How is the [system-agnostic] tag supposed to be used?

Coming off my discussion about this meta I have realized that I have no idea how the system-agnostic tag is supposed to be used correctly. Or, I thought I did but that not everyone agrees. Or maybe nobody ever agreed in the first place and I'm just catching on. This has been a hot meta topic bef...

discussion tags

Yuuki

@TheOracle @Rubiksmoose I should make a TRPG named "System: Agnostic".

Rubiksmoose

@Yuuki hahahaha!

user15026

@Rubiksmoose And I am like "ooooh yes new Pokemon" even though I barely played the last one. I love the idea of Pokemon but I am bad at sticking with the game long enough to finish it

Rubiksmoose

@Ash me too sadly. And then I breifly get interested in competitive pokemon then get bored. Rinse and repeat. But I can't not get a new gen pokemon on my Switch though.

Speaking of Pokemon, can we get this question closed until they clarify?

user15026

5:24 PM

@Rubiksmoose I just get like mid way through the story and then I am like "nope I don't wanna catch any more pokemon" and wander away :P

Rubiksmoose

Yeah I feel you.

Yuuki

@Rubiksmoose There's always Pokemon Showdown for competitive Pokemon.

It's an online battler that lets you skip the whole breeding gameplay loop (IVs, egg moves, etc.).

Rubiksmoose

@Yuuki indeed! I've never actually used it though.

kviiri

5:58 PM

After two days of being remote because of my flu I think I can finally say I'm actually sick

Jack Stout

6:56 PM

Writing a program to manage DnD5e stores for a friend. Not enjoying this project like I thought I would.

Jack Stout

7:15 PM

It's supposed to limit item availability and modify prices based on player faction and NPC bias.

Colin Gross

7:27 PM

Writing a simulation of RPG stores? What language?

Jack Stout

Normally I use Python since I'm the only one that runs my code. This time I'm using Godot Engine.

Yuuki

Why would you need to simulate an RPG store? Isn't 5e low-tech?

I can't imagine you'd have a large stock of rocket-propelled grenades in medieval-esque Europe.

Jack Stout

I have one and a half DMs that want things to be more complicated.

One guy wants to limit availability in small towns and on caravans. The other wants faction pricing.

Colin Gross

@JackStout a game engine? Seems like overkill

@JackStout Seems like overkill to model an economic system with something that could be essentially be done with a spreadsheet.

Jack Stout

It's got GUI built in, can compile, etc. etc. I just want to give 'em something they can run on any platform without using the command line

I'm all about spreadsheets and simple command line scripts

Colin Gross

7:34 PM

Base Price * modiferA * modiferB ... etc.... just need some functions to update the modifiers based on whatever else is being traced. Faction affinity or whatever.

@JackStout You could have made a simple form app with wxWidgets. I think that's still a thing.

or qt. I'm sure that's still a well used framework for making desktop apps.

Dev work is expensive stuff. I think they could probably suffer through a bit of command line to make it easier on you. Plus, it's not like you're asking them to learn regex or anything like that.

Jack Stout

@ColinGross Looks like it's still maintained.

Colin Gross

@JackStout I was writing c++ last time I worked with it, but it did cross compile without too much complaint.

Jack Stout

@ColinGross Maybe I should expect them to learn regex. "Hey, I made that tool. Here's a list of websites that will help you use it." Dump a bibliography.

Colin Gross

I do recall it was getting python support at soemt point.

Jack Stout

Ya, wxPython.

I'll mull over it while I work on something else. Thanks for the input!

Colin Gross

7:42 PM

NP. Just wanted to provide some pushback on scope creep when I think I see it.

Jack Stout

I keep using project as excuses to learn more about Godot, but it just gets in the way.

Colin Gross

Gotcha. That makes sense

Rubiksmoose

8:08 PM

@kviiri oh no! At least you know now???

Ender Look

8:56 PM

It seems to me or in this question the same user answered twice?

nitsua60

@EnderLook Yup. (It's me!)

It's two different ways of explaining how we can know the answer.

The lower-ranked one is the one I wrote first, IIRC. And some were having a hard enough time following it that I posted the other example-based answer which got voted up past the first.

Ender Look

Yes, you made it 70 minutes before the accepted answer

So, the correct should be $d20^+ + castmod > 8 + savemod$?

nitsua60

I forget =|

BESW

9:47 PM

Blades in the Dark is back! Return to the war-torn streets of Doskvol as tensions are high and the situation with the Lampblacks and Red Sashes is sure to escalate... What is the price of power? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D0fqwck0G8 @EvilHatOfficial @john_harper @SeanNittner #bladesinthedark

Tweeted by GuildofGamingTV on February 26, 2019 at 12:37 AM

Colin Gross

@EnderLook Must be a witch. Let's see if the user weighs as much as a duck.

BESW

10:04 PM

I really like this Flip Fate idea, but I'm not sure what sort of storytelling modes it's best suited for because it introduces hard caps to the Fate economy. Anybody got thoughts on that?

BESW

10:24 PM

This is part of a subject I've been mulling over for a long time: "The phrase "Non-Player Character" in roleplaying games erases the Gamemaster as a player of the game." Unfortunately it seems to spark a lot of defensive feelings.

vicky_molokh

Err, nothing is erasing the GM. Both the players and the referee/host/dungeon master/etc. are participants of the process, but they're not the same thing (not both players).

BESW

Strong disagree based on personal experience. "Participant" is a good hedge word that I've used myself, but at the end of the day we're all playing the game.

vicky_molokh

Spending my time on both sides of the screen, being a GM feels much more like work that I love than like playing the game. It has more in common with my day job making (computer) minigames than with what it feels like to be a player in either a TTRPG or any other game.

BESW

The gap in terminology became especially obvious to me when I started playing games where that gap between GM and player doesn't exist but "player" remained a term of art that implied a relationship to an adjudicator.

I remember feeling that way. It's one way to approach GMing but it's not inherent to the GMing role.

vicky_molokh

It seems to be inherent as much as the game has a GM. Not all games have them of course, but that's another matter entirely.

BESW

10:31 PM

Again, hard disagree based on personal experience. I've deliberately cultivated a collection of games that require a GM but don't require the GMing role to be work.

vicky_molokh

Then is it perhaps GMing in name only? (I'm probably not acquainted with games that happen to take the middle ground between the two platonic ideals.)

BESW

Looking back on my time in D&D, I wonder if I could have avoided burnout if I'd had the perspective that GMing didn't have to involve so much labor.

Xirema

On some level, I think a lot of people perceive the GM role (correctly or not) to be a referee. If you were a Soccer fan, and someone raised the objection "Why isn't the Referee allowed to have fun?", you'd probably have a funny look on your face in response to them.

BESW

(I think not, especially in the case of 4e. The system is designed with an assumption of labor. But I do wonder...)

Still, the linked conversation is less about the GM's labor, and more about how assumptions about the GMing role can negatively impact the health of the social group.

vicky_molokh

Oh, GMing is fun. That's the reason for GMing. But it's a very different kind of fun. It's like the difference between making a game and playing it.

Xirema

10:36 PM

As I've probably established by this point, I'm the kind of person who thinks Soccer should be played by players who master the art of walking on their hands and carry the soccer ball with their feet to the goal, since that's clearly the way you defeat the ongoing Meta in Soccer, but even in that situation, I don't spare a lot of sympathy for the Referee. (Maybe I should!)

BESW

@vicky_molokh The kind of GMing you're describing is not the only kind of GMing that exists, and it's not fun for everyone. That's the point of the linked conversation: the terminology we've inherited from D&D comes with baggage that can create bad social situations when peoples' fun falls outside that paradigm: it can lead to resentment and abuse.

Ender Look

@ColinGross mmm, I don't understand the point.

BESW

Nobody's saying that high-prep, high-control GMing is inherently bad. Just that as a game community we lack common terms for clearly communicating other ways of being, which makes it hard for games to decide to be that instead.

vicky_molokh

This seems to be a case of trying to redefine what 'a rifle' means when one discovers a Tesla longarm.

If I invent a Tesla lightning-shooting longarm, and I start insisting that this disproves that all rifles have rifling, I'm engaging in attempts to muddle the terminology. That's not nice.

If a game doesn't have a GM, it's fine to call that participant something else.

BESW

That's... not what we're talking about. At all.

vicky_molokh

10:43 PM

But trying to prevent others from calling GMs GMs . . . that doesn't look nice.

BESW

It feels like you're responding to the blurb I quoted rather than the full context of the linked conversations.

Because you're pushing against things nobody's said.

vicky_molokh

I read through the rather short thread linked, and now am looking at the second one.

BESW

Nobody's saying "don't say GM." The originating thread was actually pushing against the term "non-player character."

vicky_molokh

The two are indeed connected in this context.

BESW

And it was very very specific about the problem it's observing and focuses on that problem.

vicky_molokh

10:46 PM

Because NPC is de facto a shorhand for saying 'a character of the GM, not of a player'.

BESW

And that "the GM is not a player" vocabulary has been observed, widely, to create problems at the table.

I want to clarify: The Gamemaster is a player of the game with a special role, like the banker in monopoly, they describe the world, arbitrate rolls etc. They are still a player w/ the same expectations as other players, follow the game rules, gets to have fun, dont be a dick etc

Tweeted by acegiak on February 25, 2019 at 11:23 PM in reply to acegiak

By reinforcing that they are a player like the others, albeit one with a special role, we can avoid situations where the GM feels entitled to be a dick at the table & others feel like they cant question that, or situations where the GM feels they have to serve play & not have fun

Tweeted by acegiak on February 25, 2019 at 11:26 PM in reply to acegiak

user15026

@vicky_molokh Right, but it then alienates the GM and makes them sound liek they're not an active player of the game which is...weird at best

BESW

If you want to say that "participant" fills that role for your group... great, I'm glad for you. It is not sufficient for many other people, including myself, who have had bad experiences stemming from an unnecessary and toxic granting of social power to the GM over the other people at the table.

The answer is actually making my point for me. By arguing "The GM is actually God at the table because rules say so" without engaging in the discussion of social roles they are trying to misdirect the conversation back to protecting the unquestionable authority of the GM

Tweeted by acegiak on February 27, 2019 at 4:09 AM in reply to acegiak

vicky_molokh

> still a player w/ the same expectations as other players

This seems like an overgeneralisation from GM-lite/GMless gaming styles to all styles.

BESW

It's a discussion about how game roles bleed into social roles.

That's not a GMless thing.

Literally, look at the examples that tweet you quoted gave, of the expectations.

user15026

10:51 PM

Even as a traditional GM, you have expectations of how you want to have fun and stuff and enjoy the game, same as anyone else. And giving them godlike powers and going "your characters you play don't count as real players" is kinda cold and alienating.

BESW

> They are still a player w/ the same expectations as other players, follow the game rules, gets to have fun, dont be a dick etc

vicky_molokh

I mean, the phrase that the GM and players have the same expectations regarding e.g. rules is IME very much an overgeneralisation from GM-lite gaming styles. It's pretty common for, say, Rule Zero being something in the hands of GMs - that's an example of rule expectations not being the same.

BESW

"Follow the game rules" is not "everyone has the same rules to follow."

And Rule Zero is a totally different conversation, let's not go down that rabbit hole.

vicky_molokh

> "Follow the game rules" is not "everyone has the same rules to follow."

But which rules are followed and how (and expectations thereof) is exactly the kind of thing that distinguishes the referee and the players.

user15026

Right but there's a lot more to GMing than just being a referee

BESW

10:55 PM

Yeah, sorry, I'm done here. I would love to have a conversation about how the TTRPG community can avoid commonly recurring toxic social problems. I have no interest in haggling over precise definitions in order to legislate the commonly-perceived problem out of existence on a technicality.

vicky_molokh

Of course there's a lot more to everything. But I didn't say it's the only thing, I said it's the kind of thing.

BESW

I thought we might be able to get over that hurdle quickly and talk about something more productive but ain't nobody got time for this.

user15026

@vicky_molokh I feel like we're rules lawyering words at this point :(

vicky_molokh

Maybe.

I found that terminology clashes can be quite vicious.

user15026

Gonna call silent retreat and run away.

vicky_molokh

11:06 PM

It doesn't help that Anglophones tend have a hatedom for the whole concept of prescriptivism, so any changes of terminology cannot be conducted 'bloodlessly'.

user15026

Oh, do not get me started on prescriptivism. No thank you.

vicky_molokh

You can't go to the Academie anglaise and ask it what 'roleplaying', 'game master' etc. mean and get a solid answer to clear things up for everyone. ^_^

nitsua60

@BESW This looks like an unfortunate small-scale replica of the "explosion into lots of things I wasn't even talking about" that the original twitterer experienced over the last day and a half =\

vicky_molokh

Which means that often people in random spots are grasping for a short word to convey what they mean, and two isolated groups pick the same word for different meaning without knowing that it's already defined to mean something else.

When the two groups finally meet, they explode.

nitsua60

@BESW I'd love to listen in on and ask questions of that conversation! I suspect that my relatively sheltered RPG existence leaves me largely unaware of the sort of social problems the twitterer and you are talking about, and that I've got huge blind spots as a result.

BESW

11:14 PM

@nitsua60 It's a big topic, not helped by the scattered and isolated nature of TTRPG experience making it hard to systematically identify patterns.

But as I've said before, I think Old Man Henderson is a seminal text.

vicky_molokh

Speaking of big topics, trying to fit it into a 140-character format isn't helping.

nitsua60

@BESW If I were a more thoughtful person I'd probably have something intelligent to say along the lines of "we all game in our own groups, but in the modern age we're imperfectly aware of other gaming groups... it's almost as if shattering the Tower of Babel saved us from ourselves so long ago but now we've rebuilt it."

BESW

@nitsua60 Shaka, when the walls fell.

nitsua60

Shaka?

trogdor

@nitsua60 :'(

It's a Star Trek

BESW

11:20 PM

@nitsua60 Ah, Star Trek: The Next Generation reference, to an episode where the universal translators didn't help because the aliens of the week spoke in cultural references to commonly shared stories.

trogdor

Darmok and Talad at Tenagra

user15026

@BESW Temba, his arms wide.

Yuuki

@trogdor is lying to you, we're talking about a Mongol leader and noted singer.

trogdor

@Ash :)

user15026

(I am just quietly being small delighted that my brain held on enough to make a reference to this thing.)

trogdor

11:21 PM

@Yuuki why you

BESW

So the translators translated the words just fine, but the Enterprise crew lacked the cultural context to understand the references.

nitsua60

@BESW Most TNG episodes I haven't seen since they aired. I may fix that some day....

trogdor

It's on Netflix

BESW

Most TNG episodes it's okay to keep that way, they haven't aged well.

trogdor

True

But that's a really good episode

nitsua60

11:22 PM

@BESW Basically, it's like when I'm driving a bus with the high schoolers all chatting in the back. I understand the words they're all using, but the referents are all mysteries.

user15026

I liked TNG when I watched it but I've not watched all of it, just giant chunks of it. (I watched it a few years ago, when WorldEngineer was teaching me about Trek, as it was a thing I did not know anything about beyond slight cultural osmosis til he came into my life)

BESW

@nitsua60 One of my friends recently had to explain "shade" to a high school teacher.

user15026

@nitsua60 Sounds about right, yes

trogdor

Lol

They are all little aliens after all

Speaking in some weird code

nitsua60

@BESW I was accused (lauded?) of "cancelling" a student the other day. I just moved on.

trogdor

11:25 PM

That sounds,... Ominous?

What is this process of Cancelling a person?

user15026

Generally it's pretending they don't exist/aren't valid/aren't worthy of response or being listened to?

user15026

At least in my experience of the term

user15026

(I spend way too much time on twitter, augh)

trogdor

Wow I didn't even know that one

nitsua60

In context it was some of that, but much lighter-hearted. Along the lines of "Mr. Nitsua, can we go over #6 from the homework?" "We already went over that one, Alice--look on the board to your right." (other kids) "CANCELED!!!"

user15026

11:28 PM

Romancelandia twitter has taught me a lot.

trogdor

I do that to everyone on Twitter, it's called not having an account

XD

@Ash I shouldn't be surprised

That that is a thing that exists

user15026

romance authors on twitter? oh it's a whole thiiiiing. How else would I know about so many of the weird scandals in the book world

trogdor

Lol

BESW

I'm on the very edges of Romancelandia Twitter and it is magical and scary.

trogdor

@nitsua60 ooooooooh the students said it

I was picturing like, the principal or something

Well except I don't even know them so I imagined a generic guy in a suit

Sorry everyone, that's what you all look like now

user15026

11:32 PM

@BESW That does sum it up well. I'm pretty immersed in it (because oh hey I read SO MANY ROMANCES), and it can be a bit of a trip

trogdor

(sorry)

user15026

@trogdor It's all good, I've always wanted to be teh kind of person who could wear a suit, I'm fine with this.

trogdor

Ok so now you all owe me money I guess? Suits aren't free guys

Come on

XD

Sorry

user15026

giggles

user15026

So we're not talking thirft store suits then

trogdor

11:37 PM

I don't know suits at all

In fact I hate the whole idea of them

T-SHIRT everyday

user15026

my whole life is spent in as much comfygender as possible (aka tshirts and jeans and other assorted things that are easy to match and don't yell about gender as much as possible)

user15026

Matching clothes is hard.

trogdor

I can't even imagine

user15026

I stick with jeans and tshirts because it's hard to mess that one up :P

BESW

@Ash Are you the one who shared that thread about Beau Effing Brummell?

user15026

11:44 PM

It was not, because...I do not interact with Alexandra Rowland as a rule. But that is a good thread, upon reading it.

nitsua60