I've never really liked the dichotomy some suggest between criticising the person and criticising the idea. My ideas are a big part of who I am. They are a product of my imagination, knowledge and critical faculties, and if worked into something more substantial, quite possibly a lot of love and effort, too. I may be biased, but I'm quite favourable to them, and can get put out by such ideas/efforts being knocked, over and above being called a tosser or a jerk.
If someone criticises your ideas/efforts as regards Glorantha, it doesn't just occur in a single 'imaginary' frame of reference. There's a wider social dimension, in that we exist as game/storyplayers and -creators with our own sensibilities. Actions go beyond Glorantha and can offend people. It doesn't really matter if people mean to or not, sadly -- them's the breaks.
Given the nature of Gloranthan commentary and publishing, with the interaction of various communities, it's just something we have to deal with these days.
In a private e-mail a few years back, regarding these matters, someone made the apposite comment 'Social Skills, default 6'. I'm not saying it's necessarily that bad, but a little extra EI/EQ (Dave; all soundmen are called Dave) to go with all the IQ might help.
Some might say a lot of this is actually due to people being oversensitive. Me? I'm not so sure, and I think past experiences -- and, sadly, there are a few -- support the opposite argument.
Cheerio,
Stu.
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