The role of the GM

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by calgodot

(SNIP)

I've developed a theory: adult males gathering for what is perceived to be an adolescent activity fall into adolescent male behavioral patterns and engage in transgressive behavior that is not tolerated in their usual work or social arenas. It is a "safe" place to express things that would be regarded as antisocial or even hostile in most (if not all) other circumstances.

(SNIP)

This explains the behavior of members of Goon Fleet, in EVE. The guys from Something Awful forthrightly acknowledge that one of the reasons they play lots of different MMOs is because they want to indulge in anti-social behavior as a form of personal freedom (and as a break from tedious jobs or difficult lives, or whatever), in a medium that causes no actual harm to anyone.

I flew with Goons, briefly, before I took a break from EVE, about four years ago. I can't say they were the best bunch to fly with (stupid, profane commentary in local, etc.), and frequently acted like jerks, and they're one of the reasons I took such a long break. That said, they were honest about why they played as they did.

Moreover, something fun came out of it. They attacked and defeated the largest, and most annoying (to that date) alliance in EVE (Band of Brothers, or BOB), and in so doing threw 0.0 space into chaos -- which opened up lots of opportunities, for other players.

I started to play EVE again, this past spring, and just re-activated my old character. I joined a 0.0 Alliance in what used to be Goonfleet space. They're a great bunch, really, and they took their region by ganging up and destroying Goons (an effort which Goons didn't particularly like, but did respect).

Now, the key difference between a computer MMO and a table top game is that, if someone acts like an ass-hat in a PvP MMO, the other players can impose consequences pretty freely. As the Something Awful guys note, that doesn't cause any actual harm to anybody, except (possibly) some hurt feelings in someone you don't really know and will likely never meet.

That's totally different in a table-top game, of course. The group needs to establish a set of behavioral norms all agree to follow, I think. If everybody wants to act like an ass-hat, and they all enjoy it, that's fine. It could even be a bit therapeutic.

But if not everyone agrees, then people need to make some hard decisions -- which basically come down to, "Alter behavior, or leave the group."