Game system flamage

[Andrew Hackard]

Some recent threads about games people do or don't like have turned nasty. Rude. Uncouth, even.

That has to stop.

If you dislike a game, it's fine to say so. It's equally fine to give reasons why you dislike it. It is not fine, under ANY circumstances, to belittle those who do like the game, even by implication ("That's a great game for players who chased parked cars as children"). That is flaming, and it is inappropriate.

No one's saying you have to like every game that's published. I certainly don't. But you DO have to respect that other people may like the games you don't, for perfectly valid reasons starting with "we have fun playing it," and if you feel compelled to criticize a game, make sure you criticize the game, not the players.

If you think this message is directed at you, it probably is. There's been way too much of this going around of late. Chill out, remember that in the end we're all gamers, and show people a little more respect even when they're playing a game you wouldn't touch with a hazmat suit and a bomb-sniffing waldo.

[Andrew Hackard]

With the recent release of the Fourth Edition of D&D, this message needs to be reinforced. Confine your criticism to the game, please.

(This is largely pre-emptive; I haven't seen much of this yet, and for that I'm very grateful. Let's continue to keep this in mind.)