I’m going to tell you something that most of you already know, but which a lot of you aren’t going to like.
The tabletop hobby has always been open and welcoming.
The tabletop hobby has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to being progressive, despite what you may have heard.
In fact, it used to be more open and welcoming than it is now. Ironically it is the efforts of the supposedly progressive that have made the hobby more closed off, wary and gatekeepy.
Why?
Because the old guard has been constantly insulted and painted as villains. Because it has had stupidity foisted upon it which harms the art and the fun of roleplaying. Because they’re being gatekept out of their own hobby. Because simply having different priorities in games, they get monstered and called awful things.
When you run an open house, it’s all well and good so long as nobody takes advantage.
After you’ve had Aleister Crowley over for dinner and he’s turned up naked and shat on the rug, you might well be excused for introducing a vetting process for future guests, and being a little less open.
This also rather makes one question why anyone would want to join a hobby that they seemingly hate everything about.
RPG gaming was tolerant and open precisely because it was escapism, because people left their bullshit at the door and whatever size, shape, colour or anything else anyone was they were there FOR THE GAME.
Now people seem to want to bring their bullshit with them, not to examine it with artistry, metaphor and allegory, but to just play themselves, in a kinder, softer version of reality. Not a challenging imaginary world of excitement, adventure and really wild things.
Leave people alone, stop hurling accusations, keep in mind that people who’ve been doing this for decades, might actually have a clue to do it well. If you actually love gaming, stop wrecking it. If you value its ability to bring people together across their divisions, stop fucking that up.
Both the argument from tradition and the argument from novelty are both fallacious. Keep that in mind.
Postmortem Studios 