thread: 2005-06-16 : The Forge and Me
On 2005-06-16, xenopulse wrote:
I love the Forge. 95% of the people I've interacted with on that site are very friendly and helpful. Some others are more debaters than discussers, which makes it more difficult to learn from/with them.That said, I come from a strong theory background (my MA is basically a philosophy degree). And I know that many people sometimes lose sight of the applicability of a theory and get lost in disputes about specific definitions. Once people reach a certain degree of familiarity with the material, they become defensive. It's no longer about learning; it's about being right.
I am NOT talking about Ron here, who has been instrumental in my understanding of my own gaming. I am not even talking about any particular person(s) all of the time, just about some people some of the time. Hell, I fall into that same hole at times.
I think that's what turns people off to the big theory places; the really useful discussion pieces and design work often are overshadowed by the debates that focus on semantics, abstract categories, and being right or wrong.
But then there are always designs at work, like Eric's FH8, that I see develop on there and try to help grow, and that makes me see the great effect of the Forge. When people put their designs out there, others help, and great things come out of it.
- Christian
