Who are the most interesting Old School Forum Posters?

[_kent_]

Forums are full of crap encrusted doubloons.

There are insightful comments here and there but they tend to be isolated and frankly not worth the effort of finding - unless ... you find an interesting poster and use his post history as a spine. At least this is the only way to read for example Dragonsfoot without getting banned or gnawing your own flesh as a protest against stupidity.

This tactic has served me well at the Acaeum and the OD&D discussion forum and I don't see why it wouldn't be a useful tactic on any forum to cut to the chase. So contribute to this thread with the aim of gathering a list of posters whose considered opinions reflect well on some old school forum.

Personally, I recommend T. Foster's posts at Dragonsfoot and The Knights & Knaves Alehouse (though I decline to recommend that forum in general). His posts are often treated as TL;DR by other contributors but he writes nonetheless with earnest diligence as if expecting, some day, that someone will write his gaming biography.

Here for example is the spine of Foster's posts from DF.
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&author_id=240&start=3225

And here is a specific introductory to all that is good about Runequest:
http://knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=448

Don't post to this thread without links, examples or reasons for your choice.

[John Morrow]

So contribute to this thread with the aim of gathering a list of posters whose considered opinions reflect well on some old school forum.

Melan posts some very insightful stuff, in my opinion.  For example this (reposted on Dragonsfoot here) and his comments in this thread here.  See also his comments here, here, here, here, and here.

[_kent_]

JM, are you now or have you had a handle on Dragonsfoot?

[John Morrow]

JM, are you now or have you had a handle on Dragonsfoot?

No, but I do sometimes follow threads on that forum if they are brought to my attention.  If that disqualifies my answer, then I apologize for offering my opinion and perhaps you should further narrow your request to people registered to the specific set of message boards you are fishing for answers for.

Melan does, in fact, post on Dragonsfoot and if I were to spend more time reading threads there, I would be as inclined to pay attention to what he wrote there as I am to pay attention to what he writes here and elsewhere.  I think most of the names I'd go out of my way to pay attention to on RPG forums write quality messages whether I'm looking at their blog, their replies to the blogs of others, or any role-playing game discussion forum.  So maybe that's a strategy worth pursuing to answer your question, too.

[_kent_]

Ive spent some time at DF so I was just wondering if I had bumped into you there under another name. I remember enjoying reading Melan's campaign journal at DF which was competently written up by a player from his group by the name of Premier.

http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=34856

[Joethelawyer]

Me, Motherfucker

[B.T.]

Me.  Except I'm new school.

[Marleycat]

This whole thread just gives old school a bad name and to me is a none too subtle jab at a couple of people that are regulars on this site. Who cares though, I'm just a girl and Middle School myself.

To talk brass tacks Kent, this thread makes you look like an elitist in the worst definition of the term. I sense serious sour grapes at the root of this.

[jeff37923]

Forums are full of crap encrusted doubloons.

Then why bother?

Seriously, if this is what you believe, then why would you want to look at forum posts at all?

I enjoy seeing people of all levels of experience and read their opinions. I never know if something will stick and provide a good insight or inspiration. So I read and try to keep an open mind.

A better concept may be to identify those posters who are pieces of shit who do not contribute at all.

Then I have never been a guy who believes that the glass is either half-empty or half-full, I believe that the glass was just too large for that particular volume of liquid. Then I use Traveller to fix it, gearhead style.

[Marleycat]

Then why bother?

Seriously, if this is what you believe, then why would you want to look at forum posts at all?

I enjoy seeing people of all levels of experience and read their opinions. I never know if something will stick and provide a good insight or inspiration. So I read and try to keep an open mind.

A better concept may be to identify those posters who are pieces of shit who do not contribute at all.

Then I have never been a guy who believes that the glass is either half-empty or half-full, I believe that the glass was just too large for that particular volume of liquid. Then I use Traveller to fix it, gearhead style.

I've decided this thread is bullshit so I will start the derailing,  Traveller is cool (thanks Jeff) but I use Mage to "fix" it. Game on.

[The Butcher]

I've decided this thread is bullshit so I will start the derailing,  Traveller is cool (thanks Jeff) but I use Mage to "fix" it. Game on.

I'm a big fan of the game, which had a mixed reception in my group, and still want to run a Proper Traveller Sandbox in a homebrew Traveller universe someday. I've even picked up the new Traveller 2300AD the better to inject modern-day hard SF stuff into the game.

But lately I've been considering Stars Without Number, because (1) it uses D&D, or more specifically the streamlined OD&D that is S&W, to "fix" Traveller; and (2) because it's so damn well written and laid out.

[Marleycat]

I'm a big fan of the game, which had a mixed reception in my group, and still want to run a Proper Traveller Sandbox in a homebrew Traveller universe someday. I've even picked up the new Traveller 2300AD the better to inject modern-day hard SF stuff into the game.

But lately I've been considering Stars Without Number, because (1) it uses D&D, or more specifically the streamlined OD&D that is S&W, to "fix" Traveller; and (2) because it's so damn well written and laid out.

So you think SwoN is worth picking up? I saw it at my FGLS. Got more info, like how exactly is it like Dnd? Do you need S&W?

[Melan]

Jeff Rients is a giant among men, and a man among giants. He speaks sense about practical issues in gaming, because he practices what he preaches. His play reports, like the recent posts on his Myrdinn campaign, are as good as anything. Others I have learned a lot from have included Calithena, Geoffrey, rogueattorney, T. Foster, Haffrung, Mythmere and Pierce Inverarity.

John Morrow: Thank you! A pleasure. I rarely post on Dragonsfoot anymore; it used to be a great forum with a great community, but the people who made it a hit have mostly left for other places or contribute too rarely.

[Marleycat]

What bothers me about this thread other what I already said is that I have a short list of old school posters I think are cool but I have no way of giving linked threads.  It makes me even more angry that I saw this thread created and yet still can't post by the OP's requirements.  Which galls me because I wanted to mention Melan among others yet unnamed, so I stand by my opinion that you Kent are an elitist at best.  I leave it to you to figure out what I actually think of you and your attitude from there.

I will give you one despite your asinine requirements.  Mr Guignol always posts good stuff and it's accessible to middle schoolers like myself.

I broke your rule ...deal with it.

[_kent_]

Since this is not a beauty contest I think it is reasonable to expect a link to be provided so readers can judge for themselves.

There is an unimaginable amount of content on many forums but to most people the forum exists only in the topics bubbling away on the front page. The idea is to resist recommending your pals, in fact you might consider your interesting poster to be obsessive or a bit of a douche, but to select an intelligent entertaining guide to content beyond the first page of a forum through his post history or a name worth stopping on when browsing through classic threads in the underbelly of a forum.