thread: 2005-12-03 : Closing GNS and RPG Theory is Good
On 2005-12-03, Joshua BishopRoby wrote:
A whole lot of confusion on both boards had to do with their names and their short-descriptions on the index page. GNS Discussions was the better of the two, because the board really was about the GNS model. RPG Theory, however, wasn't really about the entire breadth of RPG Theory, it was about Big Model. Additionally, the intent of both boards were specifically to develop GNS and later Big Model into a workable framework. The short-descriptions weren't invitations to contribute to the Models, however, and so people walked in thinking that any take on RPG Theory was appropriate to discuss.
For me, the difference wasn't clear until Ron closed the boards. They had served their purpose—which begged the question of what that purpose was. I'm not one that has to believe in a theory in order to question, develop, or even talk about it. I mean, I can still discuss religion like an old believer. And at root, I like seeing theories built and articulated in general. So somebody runs a board to build a useful model? Great, more power to them.
But I'd say that a whole lot of time and effort was wasted because some people were posting about RPG Theory while the old hands were posting about Big Model. I mean, how many people were referenced to the Articles? How many people did you shake your head and say, "These people just don't get it" when the it in question was the Big Model, which they hadn't been given clear instructions that that was what the discussion was about. I'd also say that this helped build up the sense that Forgites think the Big Model is all there is to RPG Theory—because in terms of the forum, RPG Theory was equated with Big Model.
So, yes, discussion on those boards did often take the slant of "accept these foundational principles in order to participate in the discussion." There's nothing wrong with that; that's pretty much how discourse works. It just wasn't made as clear as it might have been, to my eye. An "Intro to Big Model" board will be far more explicit about this, and I think it will be a significant improvement.
This makes BR go "It's the history of the academy, yo."
The problem being that many folks on the Forge thought they were joining a book club, not an academy.
This makes JBR go "Exactly."
