And when you're used to it, they take your god-given right to the forum away!

True story.

Quote from: Old GeezerI had no idea RPGnet sent armed squads around to force people to look at Tangency.

No-one said that anyone was forced to read Tangency. I realise that in discussions it's often easier to defeat your opponent's arguments if you make them up yourself, but even if Socrates did it it's still pretty lame and should only be done as a joke.

They don't say that anyone is forced to read Tangency, because no-one is. Which is why I said that in being bannzorzed from rpg.net and not being able to see Tangency, you lose nothing of any worth.

But the "you don't have to read it, so you can't complain about it" argument falls on its arse pretty quickly.

"Dude, quite picking your nose and eating it, that's disgusting."
"Is there an armed squad forcing you to look?"

You don't have to be forced to look at something to be annoyed by it.

The objection to Tangency is commonly that it detracts from the roleplaying discussion on rpg.net. It distracts regular posters, and new posters see it and take it as representative of the site. For similar reasons, here we've had discussions about what to do with racist and shit-stirring posters with little or no interest in rpgs (like Dominus Nox), whether bashing rpg theory really belongs in the Roleplaying subforum or should go to Off Topic, and have noted that calling all women whores probably won't encourage women gamers to join therpgsite (though RPGPundit's comments along those lines have mysteriously quietened now that his "chick" is with him).

The basic idea is that the purpose of therpgsite, and the original purpose of rpg.net, is to discuss and promote roleplaying games. Everything else is secondary to that goal, and should support it, or at least not detract from it.

Pity-whoring, cliqueing up to keep out n00bs, arguing about which old man should run the US, and talking about the details of anal sex and how to do it best, those don't in any way support that aim of talking about rpgs, and will often detract from it. Thus the scorn for Tangency, and thus many discussions about how best to run rpg discussion forums elsewhere.

Quote from: HackmastergeneralYa know what?  I apologize to The Pundit, and everyone else who has worked to make this place what it is.

I used to rail at Pundit for making "anti-RPG.net" the defacto norm around here.

But you guys have moved past that, and have made this place as something other than "not RPG.net".  

I was just making a dumb joke, but it dismisses the effort that been put into giving this place its own identity other than "the place to come when you want to bitch about being banned from the BP".

So I apologize.

Apology accepted. I hope you'll post more often, and about good stuff.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Kyle AaronThe objection to Tangency is commonly that it detracts from the roleplaying discussion on rpg.net.

You present your points elequently, and I understand what you are saying.

I happen to disagree with it.

Tangency does not distract from RPG discussion any more than MMORPGS are stealing players from TTRPGs.

Those people would quit TTRPGs in any case.

Those people would gab about non-RPG things in any case.

Digression occurs.  You can either be reconciled to this and provide a venue for it, or be destroyed by it.

I spent several years regularily posting and reading on rpg.net.  I went to Tangency maybe once or twice, usually following up the trouble tickets, you know gawking at a car accident.  The two times I actually started looking around there was enough to give me such a bad taste that I vowed never to go back again.  I am not a snobbie person, but Tangency makes me be one because it is such an obvious cesspool  of that terrible crossroads of geekdom:  Extreme Loserness meets Anonymity-Inspired Overconfidence.  And the sexy talk [shudder].

They only keep it around because it drives pageviews, which is pretty lame for a supposed site about roleplaying games.  Kyle Aaron is right.  Sure, it's easy to avoid, but that doesn't make it a good thing.  From what I understand from an old old school rpg.net guy that it used to be a much livelier and richer place for gaming talk.

Quote from: walkerpFrom what I understand from an old old school rpg.net guy that it used to be a much livelier and richer place for gaming talk.

Sure was.  I used to post there before there was a Tangency, and was actually among the first to suggest that a 'tangential', goofy thread be labeled as such by putting pound signs in the title (f'r'ex, "##I hates me some Algebra!").

But that, that was...long...ago.  :emot-sigh:

Quote from: Old GeezerTangency does not distract from RPG discussion any more than MMORPGS are stealing players from TTRPGs.

I disagree.

We have here on therpgsite for example guys like John Morrow. Morrow writes intelligently and interestingly about rpg stuff. Then someone posts a political thread in Off-Topic, and we hear nothing about rpgs from him for days. Most people's time, effort and interest are limited; they can do X posts a day about rpgs, or X posts about politics and anal sex, or some combination, but not both.

As well as "distracts", it detracts from rpg discussion. Most of the rules created at rpg.net over the years about what people could and couldn't say came out of Tangency. If I say, "you play Game X? What a fucking freak!" you may be a bit surprised and annoyed but will probably not be offended. Whereas if I say you're a fucking freak because of your race, sexuality, politics etc then you may be offended. So the rules they created to avoid people offending one another arose mainly from non-roleplaying conversations, ie Tangency.

These rules detract from roleplaying conversations because they stifle the normal back-and-forth of conversation. When we talk about rpgs and game sessions people need to be able to speak openly and frankly to us. For example, I was recently complaining about a gamer who annoyed me, and my gamer buddy emailed me, "you sound like a pregnant woman who has just been visited by her mother-in-law." On rpg.net this comment would violate personal and group attacks, blah blah. But it was needed, and brought me back down to Earth.

The rules don't entirely squash rpg discussion, obviously; but they do inhibit it. The rules have previously been used by Forgers to get non-Forgers banned.

One sign of someone not really there to discuss rpgs is that they have something political in their sig. It's rpg.net, not politics.net. To me, that's like a gamer who brings a stack of comics to the game session and reads them. That's nice that you like that, but it's not what we're here for.

Quote from: Kyle AaronWe have here on therpgsite for example guys like John Morrow. Morrow writes intelligently and interestingly about rpg stuff. Then someone posts a political thread in Off-Topic, and we hear nothing about rpgs from him for days. Most people's time, effort and interest are limited; they can do X posts a day about rpgs, or X posts about politics and anal sex, or some combination, but not both.

Guilty as charged.

Quote from: John MorrowGuilty as charged.

I should pay more attention. I've seen you talk politics but no anal sex or a combination of both...like I said, I should pay more attention.

Regards,
David R

Would you like me to talk about anal sex, David?

Quote from: HackmastergeneralI know the rules and didn't play by them. That makes ME the fuckwad, because in every place, there are rules. Some less, some more, but theres no place anywhere thats totally free from any rules or laws. You play by them, and if you don't its your own stupid fault and shouldn't bitch about it.

Agree with it. You go to a private place, that place has rules. You may not like them so you can (a) tell about it and try to change them, accepting that the owners of the place can tell you to piss off, (b) play by them or (c) leave the place. If you break them you have to assume the consequences, not whine like a little bitch.

Quote from: droogWould you like me to talk about anal sex, David?

"This is about the truth coming out. You're a goddamn liberal, Mr.Garrison, you don't know shit, cause you never been fucked in the ass." - Willie O'Keefe (Kevin Bacon) - JFK

Regards,
David R

My problem is I never have anything meaningful to add to gaming threads. Frex, I looked up anything on the Serenity RPG yesterday. Everything that needed saying was there.

I could post Tang-worthy threads about bringing my kids into gaming, but that's just fluff and no one really gives a fuck about a pair of ankle-biters fumbling their way through 3E. And that's fine.

It's what I like about tBP. I can get all sorts of crazy ideas there for games, and post a  stupid story about my 4 year old saying something clever or cute while we flee a besieged city.

Quote from: David RI should pay more attention. I've seen you talk politics but no anal sex or a combination of both...like I said, I should pay more attention.

I may have touched on the combination years ago in Tangency.  I'd look, but searching RPGnet is nigh impossible these days.

Quote from: shewolfI could post Tang-worthy threads about bringing my kids into gaming, but that's just fluff and no one really gives a fuck about a pair of ankle-biters fumbling their way through 3E. And that's fine.

Ummmm...maybe someone does.  I mean, I don't know how old your are, but I'm always on the lookout for advice/info/opinions on this as I have a couple of linoleum lizards who seem a bit interested in that shit daddy is always looking at (no, not the porn - you sicko's).

Look at Ian's posts on his game for some inspiration...