I've noticed an unfortunate tendency creeping into the Digest lately, caused by some posters confusing the message with the messenger. Given that the name of our hobby is role-playing, you wouldn't have thought this would cause so many difficulties; unfortunately, for a few people, it has.
When I write, in an overtly pro-Lunar post:
> All Orlanthi are hairy, unwashed barbarians,
I am being rude about a non-existent ethnic group. They "exist" only within the confines of a role-playing game, and in that game they are characterised (correct me if I'm wrong) as hairy barbarians. My Lunar sympathies lead me to add "unwashed", because everyone knows the Lunars have better bath-houses than the Orlanthi.
When someone replies to my post:
> Nick Brooke is a wanker,
they are being rude about me.
When I write, in a post encouraging better role-playing than the hack'n'slash infantile powergaming which reportedly prevails abroad:
> We enjoy playing Lunars as militant cultural imperialists with
> stiff upper lips and "Evil Empire" upper-class British accents,
I am talking about an entertaining player-character stereotype my friends and I enjoy sending up in our games. Other people enjoy playing knuckle-brained beer-swilling fanatical berserkers, but I do not assume from that fact that they themselves are knuckle-brained beer-swilling fanatical berserkers.
When someone replies to my post:
> You can shove your xenophobic politics where the sun don't shine,
> you reactionary neo-Victorian racist colonialist running-dog,
they are being rude about me.
When I write, in a speculative theory about the end of the Third Age:
> Here's something I found between the lines of "King of Sartar": maybe
> the Red Goddess planned, and survived, the destruction of the Red Moon,
I am encouraging people to read the sources with more open minds, and see how ambiguities can be exploited for game purposes. It'd be a bit of a no-brainer to write in saying: "My theory is that Argrath wins the Hero Wars." (In case anyone is tempted to do so, I should warn you that the "Argrath Wins" theory has already been copyrighted by Anne Elk [Miss]).
When someone replies to my post:
> This is the drivelling, senile rambling of an incontinent madman,
I would *like* to assume they're talking about the person in Glorantha who holds this belief, rather than me. So, when I reply in the same spirit, it's a bit of a shock to find out *they* take it personally -- implying that *I* should have done so?
Again, it looks as if they are being rude about me.
Please don't waste everyone else's time being rude about me. If you *really* want to be rude about me, or to question my reasons for posting something that offends your delicate sensibilities, you can always do it in private mail: my address appears in the header of every post I send this Digest, and I can usually find time to reply to sensible comments, questions and criticism.
But defence, surely, is the best means of attack. If my postings upset you, I suggest you write more posts saying,
> All Lunars are effete, decadent, shirt-lifters,
or:
> We enjoy playing characters with an IQ smaller than their boot size,
or:
> Everything in King of Sartar is literally and simultaneously true,
> and trying to add anything to it or read between the lines is futile.
But try to give us some supporting arguments, too. Go on, just try. Explain why saying these things is fun; how they add more to our hobby, and to Glorantha. That's what this mailing list is for!
But *DON'T* come over all politically correct, and pretend that your own role-playing sessions, campaign worlds and player characters are perfect models of racial, sexual, religious and cultural harmony, completely unlike those designed and run by that racist, chauvinist, bigoted xenophobe (and effete, decadent shirt-lifter; not to mention demon-worshipping Satanist) Nick Brooke.
A little more honesty, intelligence and understanding would make this list, and the rest of the world, a far nicer place to be.
Regards,
PS: IMHO, David Boatright is an arsehole. But I wouldn't want the expression of this opinion to detract in any way from the integrity of my argument, so I've relegated it to the beginning and end of this post. Just to be even-handed, Phil and Fred can suck on toads, while Brian is a horse's arse. Does anyone else out there want some cheap abuse? Or can we all get back to Glorantha As Usual?
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