Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@******.CARL.ORG>
Subject: Re: KISS
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 08:14:23 -0600
For the mere cost of a Thaum, Erik Jameson wrote:
/
/ I have been strongly suggesting, repeatedly,
/ that there are lots of times that FASA really ought to just assume we are
/ all morons and state rules and descriptions in as simple terms as possible,
/ which would eliminate some of the confusion and misconceptions.

However, there's the chance that if they treat they're customers like
morons, that they'll act like morons. It's the same philosphy that if
you treat someone like a child, they'll act like a child.

They've got to be careful that they don't cross the line from being
specific to being demeaning.

And FASA doesn't have to be the one to tackle the issue. Use your web
page :) For those rules that should have had examples, write them up
and put it on your web page :) Or talk someone else into doing it ;)

-David
--
"Earn what you have been given."
--
email: dbuehrer@******.carl.org
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm
Message no. 2
From: Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM>
Subject: Re: KISS
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 11:53:07 -0400
At 08:14 AM 10/16/98 -0600, you wrote:

>/ I have been strongly suggesting, repeatedly,
>/ that there are lots of times that FASA really ought to just assume we are
>/ all morons and state rules and descriptions in as simple terms as possible,
>/ which would eliminate some of the confusion and misconceptions.
>
>However, there's the chance that if they treat they're customers like
>morons, that they'll act like morons. It's the same philosphy that if
>you treat someone like a child, they'll act like a child.

Huge difference between treating a customer like a moron and simply
explaining the rules is as simple a fashion as possible and not making the
often erroneous assumption that the customer knows all the applicable rules.

I mean, how many times do we read a rule on one page, only to have modified
100 pages later? And how many times do we *miss* that modification?

No, it's not really a slam or a complaint really, to be directed at FASA.
I've just come to believe, from my personal experiences and from what I've
seen with other people, that often it's best to not overestimate the consumer.

This, in and of itself can be potentially demeaning to people. And gamers
do tend to be better read and have higher IQ's than the average population.
Many of us are really quite sharp. But as is obvious from this list, even
the really sharp folks sometimes miss or misinterpret rules because of
ambigous or poorly worded rules.

And being in public relations, I can also see how a poorly worded phrase or
sentence can sometimes have disastrous (to some anyway) results.

>They've got to be careful that they don't cross the line from being
>specific to being demeaning.

It's all about tone...they don't have to use first-grader words, they don't
have to have an attitude about it. Just a bit more black and white and
less gray. No, you can't do this. No, you can't do that. Yes, you can
only do this.

And of course, people will still always have their houserules...

>And FASA doesn't have to be the one to tackle the issue. Use your web
>page :) For those rules that should have had examples, write them up
>and put it on your web page :) Or talk someone else into doing it ;)

Ah, but that would entail interpretation by me, a mere player and GM. I'd
rather, in all honesty, have to do as little interpretation of the rules as
possible.

But that's really just a matter of choice on my part; I know some folks
revel in the gray areas of the rules and such.

And as for my own web page...once I either get my computer fixed or decide
to buy a new one (those iMacs are actually not too bad, lack of
"upgradeability" aside...), then it's due for a major overhaul. Got me
some plans there...

Erik J.


http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/dungeon/480/index.html
The Reality Check for a Fictional World

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about KISS, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!