So, all you lurkers...

[James Maliszewski]

Heh, that contrasts with my experience, I have actually found Dungeons & Dragons forums have become more friendly in the last five years!

I've noticed this, too, and I wonder if it's due, at least in part, to greater self-segregation. There are a lot more forums devoted to specific interests now, so there's less need to visit "big tent" forums that cater to any and all who come along. Goodness knows there are plenty of forums I haven't visited in years because I've got others where I can more reliably expect to have actual conversations about topics of mutual interest rather than fending off trolls.

[francisca]

It might help if forum admins would unlock my account. I used to post here as 'gleepwurp' and then noticed that my account had an old email address, so I tried to change the email address. I was informed that a moderator would have to unlock my account. I've been waiting a week+ and still nothing.

Sorry about that!

The right side of my brain thinks it is just an oversight. The forum tells me to contact a moderator to fix the problem, but can one contact the moderator if one does not have an account? I don't know. The left side of my brain wonders if it has something to do with a somewhat less than complimentary thing I posted on my blog about one of the locked threads here (it was really me bitching about how, as an insolated community, we 'fantasists' often attack one another over percieved differences of values within our tiny subset of a subset of a community when all of the rest of the world thinks we are freaks anyway).

It was an oversight.

Would you like a tinfoil hat?

But, really, what is wrong with lurking? I don't visit forums as much as I used to; in part because of time and energy and in part because, well, I think the forum culture has changed over the past few years --- members have gotten much more angry --- and not just angry in the old "Zeb Cook ruined D&D for me!" schtick, but some people have just gotten freaking MEAN and vindictive over this fantasy game... and it just feels like a soul sucking experience to read sometimes.
Believe it or not, when I do visit, I often think of posting and just don't. I just don't want to get into it with some people who seem to have so much invested in 'winning' the internet or kicking a stranger in the balls. It just makes me tired. I like reading about different campaigns and things --- Terry's campaign over on DF (Heores of Cuidraika) is a good read, and "Archive of the Rotted Moon" is fun --- but there's not much for me to write in response to such posts. I read them and enjoy them, but, other than saying something lame like "+1," (or its equivalent), there is not much to say.
I've also discovered that anything you post will somehow offend someone somewhere for reasons you cannot anticipate.

The "Heores of Cuidraika" kicked my puppy. Thanks for reminding me, JERK.

Your account has been reactivated.

I've noticed this, too, and I wonder if it's due, at least in part, to greater self-segregation. There are a lot more forums devoted to specific interests now, so there's less need to visit "big tent" forums that cater to any and all who come along. Goodness knows there are plenty of forums I haven't visited in years because I've got others where I can more reliably expect to have actual conversations about topics of mutual interest rather than fending off trolls.

Yeah, that's part of it. In some ways, it's a bad thing, as you run the risk of only stopping by echo chambers which re-enforce your own particular views.

Regardless, I've learned to avoid places and poster who do nothing for me outside of pissing me off.

[Matthew]

I've noticed this, too, and I wonder if it's due, at least in part, to greater self-segregation. There are a lot more forums devoted to specific interests now, so there's less need to visit "big tent" forums that cater to any and all who come along. Goodness knows there are plenty of forums I haven't visited in years because I've got others where I can more reliably expect to have actual conversations about topics of mutual interest rather than fending off trolls.

Yeah, that's part of it. In some ways, it's a bad thing, as you run the risk of only stopping by echo chambers which re-enforce your own particular views. Regardless, I've learned to avoid places and poster who do nothing for me outside of pissing me off.

It seemed to me to suddenly get friendlier within a year of the release of D20/4e, maybe a lot of the jerks followed it out the door, but I think mainly because it was so radically different not even pretending to be a incremental improvement on the original game. Prior to that, a lot of groundwork seems to have been done for rehabilitating TSR editions into the mainstream community, judging them on their own merits, rather by comparing them with D20/3e and saying "they fixed X with Y".

[Falconer]

Yeah, we told 3e-ers all along that they would eventually be joining the OOP crowd, and then their smug superiority would be exposed for folly. Now here we are, and the 4e-ers know they aren’t far behind.

[Clangador]

Yeah, we told 3e-ers all along that they would eventually be joining the OOP crowd, and then their smug superiority would be exposed for folly. Now here we are, and the 4e-ers know they aren’t far behind.

And this is a cycle that will keep going around and around.

[Falconer]

I’m not so sure. As I said, I think people are aware that 4e’s days are numbered in a way they somehow weren’t with 3e. Also, I think Pathfinder and OSRIC have changed peoples’ assumption that they will “upgrade” by default.

[Philotomy Jurament]

Yeah, I think with 3e a lot of people saw it as "improved D&D," and not "different game still named D&D." With 4e, the changes were so numerous and obvious that many more people readily acknowledged, "yes, this is a different game still named D&D." I think that shift in perception had a subtle effect on the willingness of people to get off the edition carousel and look at the different editions as different games with different approaches, rather than one game that continually improved or evolved.

[James Maliszewski]

Yeah, I think with 3e a lot of people saw it as "improved D&D," and not "different game still named D&D."

That's very true and helped, I think, by the fact that 3e actually uses a surprisingly large amount of 1e text verbatim. I was amazed at this myself, but, if you read things like spells, monsters, and magic item descriptions, you'll find a lot of familiar verbiage. For all the ways that 3e is a different game than its predecessors, there's also more continuity there than I'd have expected.

[Matthew]

That's very true and helped, I think, by the fact that 3e actually uses a surprisingly large amount of 1e text verbatim. I was amazed at this myself, but, if you read things like spells, monsters, and magic item descriptions, you'll find a lot of familiar verbiage. For all the ways that 3e is a different game than its predecessors, there's also more continuity there than I'd have expected.

I was surprised by how much was also borrowed from the Rules Cyclopedia.

[gleepwurp]

The right side of my brain thinks it is just an oversight. The forum tells me to contact a moderator to fix the problem, but can one contact the moderator if one does not have an account? I don't know. The left side of my brain wonders if it has something to do with a somewhat less than complimentary thing I posted on my blog about one of the locked threads here (it was really me bitching about how, as an insolated community, we 'fantasists' often attack one another over percieved differences of values within our tiny subset of a subset of a community when all of the rest of the world thinks we are freaks anyway).

It was an oversight.

Would you like a tinfoil hat?

I never accept hats from strangers. You never know when a gift hat might be equipped with a mind control device or permeated with brain-boring parasites. Whenever I buy a new hat I always (a) microwave it for at least 30 seconds to zap any embedded devices and (b) wash it in a mixture of Dr. Bronner's soap and hydrogen peroxide to kill any genetically engineered parasites. Our reptilian enemies are verrrrry cunning and one must always remain alert.
Thanks for fixing my account.

[James Maliszewski]

I was surprised by how much was also borrowed from the Rules Cyclopedia.

Really? Can you think of any examples?

[francisca]

I never accept hats from strangers. You never know when a gift hat might be equipped with a mind control device or permeated with brain-boring parasites. Whenever I buy a new hat I always (a) microwave it for at least 30 seconds to zap any embedded devices and (b) wash it in a mixture of Dr. Bronner's soap and hydrogen peroxide to kill any genetically engineered parasites. Our reptilian enemies are verrrrry cunning and one must always remain alert.

well played.

Thanks for fixing my account.

You're welcome.

[Matthew]

Really? Can you think of any examples?

The magic item creation rules spring to mind. If I remember correctly there was quite a lot more, but it has been a few years since I looked into it.

[James Maliszewski]

The magic item creation rules spring to mind. If I remember correctly there was quite a lot more, but it has been a few years since I looked into it.

Well, if you ever remember any further specifics, let me know. This is the first I'd heard of any influence from the RC, so it's of great interest to me.

[Matthew]

Well, if you ever remember any further specifics, let me know. This is the first I'd heard of any influence from the RC, so it's of great interest to me.

Browsing through the document, I spotted a few things, but I am not as familiar with D20/3e as I once was:

Simple Attribute Scale
Single Damage Category for Weapons
Ranged Weapon Attack Rates: All 1/1
Starting Fighter THAC0: 19 (= BAB 1)
Challenge Levels for Encounters
Section on "character conditions"
Section on monster "special abilities"