Why do you have a column here?

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Post originally by Dead.Blue.Clown at 2004-12-26 13:40:47
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Excuse me for saying this, but seriously, why do you have a column? It seems like most of your installments are just diary entries or avenues where you talk about yourself, and the others are occasional (adamant in the face of overwhelming disagreement by the RPG community) misuses of words popularised (mayhaps even coined) by fans of White Wolf.

So...um...while every other column has a clearly defined theme and a useful point, I'm confused as to what yours is, exactly. "An Amalgam of Ideas". Well, okay.

Also, while I appreciate the fact that you might *want* "splatbook" to mean what you say it means, the fact remains that it doesn't. It means what everyone else bar you has said it means. And before you retort along the lines of "Who made you arbiter of all things White Wolf?" I ask you to please bear in mind that if it means one clear thing to all the RPG players out there, then that's how the word is defined, not on what a single columnist hopes for and argues about.

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Post originally by Adrienne at 2004-12-27 09:27:50
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Well, you might try *reading* the column, since he's addressed that both in the comments when other people have asked, and within the column itself.

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Post originally by Dead.Blue.Clown at 2004-12-27 10:24:49
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Ah, such an unwarranted tone in answer to politeness.

Anyway, I have read each and every one of the "episodes" in this column. No matter what someone says or how it's addressed, I still don't think a collection of diary entries, reviews (error-filled or otherwise), and personal indulgence add up to a useful column, let alone one that is supposed to be linked to RPG's.

Also, Adrienne, if people are having to ask the "why is this a column?" question several times, perhaps there's a little truth in the opinion that this column is too vague compared to the others. The others serve a clear purpose and have a clear theme that is useful to RPG fans. This one doesn't and I'm not the first to notice and complain, nor will I be the last.

A column on here can obviously be many things, but surely "something that repeatedly needs justifying and explaining" isn't one of them. This is a gathering of reviews and forum posts about the writer himself and his opinions. Nothing more, nothing less.

I think Ross is a great writer and he rocks on toast. However, I still don't think his column is *about* anything.

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Post originally by Adrienne at 2004-12-27 13:10:10
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I didn't perceive your post as being particularly polite. ::shrugs:: That's the beauty of the internet -- none of us really know what the hell anyone else is talking about.

If you dislike the fact that someone is willing to spend his time, unpaid, writing shit that you don't think should be called a column, then complain to the people in charge. But Ross is very, very unlikely to stop writing the column because some people have asked what it's about and why it exists.

Of course, you could also do what he did, volunteer to write one yourself. Take time out of your day to write a thousand words once a month, for no other personal gain than the opportunity to put it out there to the world.

At the end of the day, I can respect the fact that you don't think it's about anything. Ross, who writes the thing, and I, who merely edits the thing (leaving aside endless brainstorming sessions in which he bounces ideas about the thing off my head), do think it's about something. ::shrugs:: We differ.

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Post originally by Keith at 2005-01-10 12:10:49
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Why does the column have to be about anything in particular? Op/Ed columnists in many major newspapers write in a similar fashion (my favorites being Mike Royko and Richard Roeper). They simply write about what they want at the given time. It makes for interesting reading. Not every column has to be about X, Y or Z.

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Post originally by Dead.Blue.Clown at 2005-01-10 12:28:04
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Then would it be too much to ask that this column is labelled as "some guy's opinions, reviews and diary entries" rather than as an RPG column?

You say that not every column has to be about X, Y, or Z - but on RPG.net, the entire Library layout seems to disagree with you. Each and every one of the columns is about a clearly defined subject. That's the point of them, and why they are labelled as they are. Even in the Suggest a Column section, there's the obvious "what is the column subject?" question. They all have a point...except this one.

So, why exactly does one person get a column about nothing in particular? What makes that one person so special? I appreciate your logic, but one person's monthly opinions do not really fit in with the column format established here. So, technically, if one person is allowed to do this, the rule should be changed to allow all seven million (or whatever) visitors to the site to do similar columns.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

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Post originally by Odie at 2005-01-10 12:35:05
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I agree. Every other column I've read has had some defining theme or central point; though I've never thought of Ross' as a 'diary' before, that is exactly what it comes across as.

While on the one hand, I can acknowledge that any author's column is welcomed so long as it has something to do with RPGs, and I will also grant that his entries have some substance, they're often more reviews anyway, and should probably be written as such.

I don't doubt Ross' ability as a writer; I'm certain he could choose a topic and write a column about that, rather than list his opinions in a format which jumps back and forth between a review and a journal.

-B

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Post originally by Keith at 2005-01-10 12:39:20
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It is called an Amalgam of Ideas. The very first article even ends with:

"Basically an amalgam of ideas that are run through the filter that is my twisted mind. I am sure I willl offend, incite, bore, and amuse some people. I hope that you are one of them."

Also, if you read the FAQ it states about columns:

"How can I write a column for you?
The short answer is, pitch us. Choose a focused topic or approach, then write a one-shot guest column on it. Send that with a cover email and mention of what you'd like to cover in your first year of columns. We'll talk with you and also run the guest column. If the guest column gets good response, we'll make your column monthly."

It says choose a focused topic or approach. So if you want to write your own monthly op/ed column, pitch it to them. It is an approach.

Keith

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Post originally by Dead.Blue.Clown at 2005-01-10 12:45:13
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If this is "a focused topic or approach" to you, then you and I are speaking wildly different versions of English, Keith.

But enough, it's not worth going to war over. You enjoy reading a guy's forum posts and semi-reviews as a column. I don't. Let's just be pals.

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Post originally by Keith at 2005-01-10 12:46:44
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Fair enough. Pals it is... :)

Keith

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Post originally by Matt David T at 2005-01-10 14:12:10
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Quick aside - The other "personal gain" reason to write a column on RPG.net is resume filler.

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Post originally by NotMousse at 2005-01-11 02:51:46
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Dead.Blue.Clown wrote:
---
You enjoy reading a guy's forum posts and semi-reviews as a column. I don't.

Why are you still reading it? Better yet, why are you here in the first place? If you don't like a column you can simply skip past it. I'm not big into LARPing, so after a quick question to see what it's about, I saw it wasn't for me and let it be.

No need to answer, I'll take silence as you deciding it was indeed best to move on and leave well enough alone.

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Post originally by Vested Gain at 2005-01-23 17:11:17
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Honestly Ross Winn has rode piggy-back on everything he has done. He has no solid credit, just a lot of contributions and such. So you might as well let him ride on the back of RPGnet too.

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Post originally by Dead.Blue.Clown at 2005-01-24 14:32:55
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Dude, I'm not saying you're wrong (and I have zero idea if you're right) but I'm hoping to get a mature case together to uninclude this a column.

Libel is wicked-cool in PM's and all (and I'm more than curious as to what you meant in your post above), but there's no need to attack anyone out of hand here, right? A column writer's previous credits mean nothing if a column is a collection of forum posts, innaccurate reviews, diary entries and occasional musings on the writer's seemingly nebulous place in the industry.

Every month we get a little more of his opinions on a product, a little more about what he's been doing, and a little more about what he thinks of Cyberpunk. That's what Livejournal and the RPG Open forum is for, surely.

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Post originally by Storyte11er at 2005-01-28 07:28:41
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Hey, guys, simple solution. Don't like the column? DON'T READ IT! That way you can divert some of the energy and emotion wasted on debating this "column’s" validity to something a bit more creative and personally beneficial to yourselves.

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Post originally by Dead.Blue.Clown at 2005-01-29 11:04:30
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"Don't read it" is all fine and good to say, but ignoring something perceived as a problem isn't exactly a constructive way of dealing with it.

I think this should not be a column. Other people think so. I'm not idly whining, I'm attempting to rectify what I see as a problem.

So far, after reading all the entries (which I've done for almost all the RPG.net columns) it's taken less than 20 minutes of my time to talk about ending this column. That's not exactly a wealth of energy wasted, not does it particularly deplete my energies; creative or otherwise.

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Post originally by hwoolsey at 2005-02-11 12:32:25
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Dead.Blue.Clown said "I ask you to please bear in mind that if it means one clear thing to all the RPG players out there, then that's how the word is defined, not on what a single columnist hopes for and argues about."

I don't mean this as a comment on the splatbook discussion, and I don't mean this to support any alternate definition in that argument, but I have to diagree with this reasoning. I don't know why people think vocabulary is left ot the will of the masses. The masses think orientate means the same as orient (it doesn't - it means "to face east") and irregardless means the same as regardless.

Your argument would have been stronger, in my opinion, had you cited experts or objective sources. "What everyone thinks" wasn't valid when everyone thought the earth was flat and isn't valid today.

Hank

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Post originally by Rich at 2005-02-12 03:32:17
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The facts of this argument are fairly simple as far as I'm concerned: I read this column and always enjoy it. Sure, it's not always following the same theme, but it's always clear to me what each column is about. It might not be conisitent in terms of area covered, but Ross always has something to say.

Of course I don't always agree with him. He's wrong about "splatbook" for example

The columns I have issue with are the ones that basically say "Woohoo! I have a column!" (like, for example, DMing by dummies"), or the ones which state a clear intent to do or discuss one thing and then end up doing something else without ever pausing to explain that they're changing tact.

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Post originally by Rich at 2005-02-12 03:34:15
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The facts of this argument are fairly simple as far as I'm concerned: I read this column and always enjoy it. Sure, it's not always following the same theme, but it's always clear to me what each column is about. It might not be conisitent in terms of area covered, but Ross always has something to say.

Of course I don't always agree with him. He's wrong about "splatbook" for example

The columns I have issue with are the ones that basically say "Woohoo! I have a column!" (like, for example, DMing by dummies"), or the ones which state a clear intent to do or discuss one thing and then end up doing something else without ever pausing to explain that they're changing tact.

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Post originally by Rich at 2005-02-12 04:17:04
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Hank,

Your argument that people believing that the world is flat would not make it so is true, but utterly irrelevant to this argument. The Earth, in all it's spherical glory, would exist in this form regardless of what people believed. Language exists purely in usage and interpretation. A word has no intrinsic value or meaning, only when someone uses a word and someone else interprets it is there any meaning. That meaning exists only in the mind of the reader or listener. Hopefully, both user and interpreter are working from the same definition, only thin is accurate communication possible. With most words, there is a consensus as to their exact meaning, and this definition is recorded so that someone using a word can check that they can be accurately interpreted. But since words are used by people all the time, and rarely (if ever) referenced to a dictionary definition, there is a certain amount of "drift" in used and interpreted meaning over time. If I say "Ramboesque" for example, you'll probably know what I mean, but won't be able to look that up. This is what makes language fluid, and because of that fluidity, it cannot ever be precisely defined. The best you can ever do is explain how the majority of people define a word in any given group and AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT.

The idea of a right and wrong use and definition of a word is meaningless, since language is a tool, and doesn't exist unless it is used. In using a word, you give it meaning. Enough people use words in the same way to give a consensus to a single meaning. If that consensus changes, so does the meaning of the word. A reference to meanings and definitions which does not accurately reflect consensus is useless, except as a historical curiosity or as a reference for historical works.

Bottom line is: Definitions of what words mean change along with the consensus of what people using that word to mean.

I find your use of the word "orientate" interesting, as this is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. You say that most people using it are wrong. You are therefore saying that the consensus is wrong, and that the word as it is commonly used and understood doesn't actually mean what people understand it to mean. You are saying that literally millions of accurate communications are invalid because a word is defined somewhere to mean a different thing than millions of people understand it to mean. Can you not see how farcical that is?

Oh and btw, from the OED (if there is a "correct" definition of what words mean, it's the OED)

+_+_+_+_+_

orientate

* verb another term for ORIENT.

orient

* noun /orint/ (the Orient) literary the countries of the East, especially east Asia.

* adjective /orint/ literary oriental.

* verb /orient/ 1 align or position relative to the points of a compass or other specified positions. 2 (orient oneself) find one’s position in relation to unfamiliar surroundings. 3 tailor to specified circumstances.

ORIGIN from Latin oriens ‘rising or east’, from oriri ‘to rise’.

+_+_+_+_+_

So it looks like it USED to mean "face east", but simply doesn't mean that anymore.

Look at the word "Special" for example. During my lifetime it's gone from meaning "exceptional" or "above average" when I was younger, was miss used for years to describe the crippled and mentally ill and now basically means anyone or anything sub-normal. Eg "Hmmm, the implementation of classes in Spycraft was a bit special".

Look at "gay" or "dude" for other (probably less British) examples

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Post originally by Jethrow at 2005-03-28 00:39:41
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Right on, Rich. Word.