Quote from: J ArcaneYes.  Me.  I don't believe in intentionally limiting one's own experiences, and I never will.  Whether it's games, or movies, or food, or any number of other things, I think it's a fundamentally broken behavior to ignore the wealth of diversity this world has to offer out of sheer laziness or mindless conservatism.

So how did putting your penis in a blender work out for you?

Seanchai

Quote from: J ArcaneHe's already modded one person in the past for disagreeing with him too loudly and too often.

If you're referring to me, he's also un-modded me both times. It remains to be seen whether any disagreements I have with him now that he's back from vacation trigger a third time.

Quote from: King of Old SchoolBlissful ignorance isn't a virtue, ever.

Sorry, this is one of those blanket statements that I'm going to have to ask for some backing on. What is wrong with enjoying yourself the same way over and over again when you know it works?

For the record, I'm very pro-versatility, but when you start bashing people for doing what they like, you lose me. I've got Slayer, Mozart, Eminem, Pink Floyd, Tool, Norah Jones, Wagner, and God knows who else in my CD case in my car because I like different things on different days. I also know people who only ever listen to one radio station and the artists played there. That doesn't make them wrong, it just makes them different.

I think there's an excluded middle some peeps need to work out.

Quote from: J ArcaneThere's a difference between trying something, and not liking it, and never trying it at all.

OK, but I guess my point is that I know write off, almost wholesale, seafood resturants. I know from experieince that it's not my cuppa...

So now, let's apply that to gaming. Having played for decades and in all kinds of groups, is it not within my experiences to make a judgement about whether or not I need to try anything else, or have I done enough that I can tell, just by looking, whether I will like a game or not? what's the cutoff? when is it OK and when am I lazy or mindless?

See, I don't have a problem with the different approaches.  I think both are valid and it will depend on the person.  I have a problem with blanket judgements about how one approach is right and the other wrong. I find, interestingly (and not necessarily appropos to this discussion) that it's the often the very people who preach tolerance and acceptance who make these judgements. Like a some-animals-are-more-equal-than-others thingie.

Quote from: SeanchaiSo how did putting your penis in a blender work out for you?

Well, y'know, it's on my list ... but there's just so many things I want to stick my penis into, and I don't have as much time as I did in my student days.

Quote from: SeanchaiWhy do I have to give you a specific date?

Because people change over time.  Seeing this sort of thing happen five years ago and seeing it happen this morning are worlds apart.

!i!

Quote from: TonyLBWell, y'know, it's on my list ... but there's just so many things I want to stick my penis into, and I don't have as much time as I did in my student days.

Nor as much penis :eek:

Quote from: TonyLBWell, y'know, it's on my list ... but there's just so many things I want to stick my penis into, and I don't have as much time as I did in my student days.

Finally! Someone with an open mind!

Seanchai

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaFine.  I'll strike a deal here.  If Pundit and Settembrini will state whether or not they're homosexuals, I'll state whether or not I think D&D is commercial shit.  None of our answers will have a bearing on anything, and none of them are anyone else's business, but this seems to have become the raison d'être for this thread.

!i!

If you don't want to answer the question, why not just say so, rather than continuing with this Internet dickery?

Wow, folks here sure get riled up about the best way to sit in a dining room and pretend to be a gay-ass elf.

-O

Quote from: James J SkachBut in the answer you and KoOS provide, both answers are, essentially, no.

Very, very true.  It's not a definitive "no," though -- it's a qualified "no."  Commerciality is usually more of a scatter-shot approach.  Throw a lot of product at the target audience, and some of them will stick.

QuoteAnd what about the flipside - is something Indie Press or small publisher automatically of greater quality? Not accusatory, strictly curious about opinions and how they shape discussions...

Another good point.  I've seen a lot of "indie" products of plainly poor quality that the commercial process (editorial influence, directorial decision, etc.) would have kept out of the market.  Sometimes freedom from oversight is a curse as well as a blessing.

!i!

You simply cannot make a judgement about something without having actually given it an honest try.  I can't believe I'm having to debate such tired "lessons your mother taught you", but apparently I do.

The seafood thing is a fine example, and one close to my particular field.

A lot of people in America are convinced they don't like seafood.  But the vast, vast majority of those people don't like seafood because they've never actually had any good seafood.  

The fish that is frequently sold in supermarkets around the country often isn't actually good anymore.  That smell that so many people learn from a young age to associate with fish and seafood, is actually the smell of fish that's going bad.  

It's just that most of them have been wrongly educated to somehow fish is supposed to smell and taste like that.

So then we come to sushi.  The vast majority of the American public dismisses the very concept of raw fish out of hand without even trying it, because they supposedly "know what fish tastes like".  Despite the fact that actual, quality fresh fish doesn't taste anything like the flavor they're thinking of.  Fresh raw tuna actually has a meaty taste more resembling rare beef, but with a softer texture.  

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it."

For all you know, you could be wrong in dismissing category X, or you could find that there's some thing out there that you'd like even better than what you've already been eating and thought was a favorite.  And sometimes just eating the same fucking thing every day gets really old.  Even if it's something you really like.  We can't all eat cake for every meal.

I think therefore, that I owe myself a duty to try as much as I can, and it sometimes pains me just to think about how little I've tried out there, and how much more I want to try before I shuffle off this rock, and whether I'll find time to try it all.  

But rather than give up, I go out, and I try to branch out as much as I can.  I'm constantly seeking new things to try, whether it's games or food.  I've bought countless oddities in my lifetime, not all of them successes, but I never regret trying something new, because in trying something new I'm also learning jsut that tiny bit more about the world I inhabit.

I have even, on countless occasions gone out of my way to try something I was pretty much certain I was going to dislike.  And have found myself pleasantly wrong on quite a few of them.

Quote from: J ArcaneYou simply cannot make a judgement about something without having actually given it an honest try.  I can't believe I'm having to debate such tired "lessons your mother taught you", but apparently I do.

The seafood thing is a fine example, and one close to my particular field.

A lot of people in America are convinced they don't like seafood.  But the vast, vast majority of those people don't like seafood because they've never actually had any good seafood.  

The fish that is frequently sold in supermarkets around the country often isn't actually good anymore.  That smell that so many people learn from a young age to associate with fish and seafood, is actually the smell of fish that's going bad.  

It's just that most of them have been wrongly educated to somehow fish is supposed to smell and taste like that.

So then we come to sushi.  The vast majority of the American public dismisses the very concept of raw fish out of hand without even trying it, because they supposedly "know what fish tastes like".  Despite the fact that actual, quality fresh fish doesn't taste anything like the flavor they're thinking of.  Fresh raw tuna actually has a meaty taste more resembling rare beef, but with a softer texture.  

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it."

For all you know, you could be wrong in dismissing category X, or you could find that there's some thing out there that you'd like even better than what you've already been eating and thought was a favorite.  And sometimes just eating the same fucking thing every day gets really old.  Even if it's something you really like.  We can't all eat cake for every meal.

I think therefore, that I owe myself a duty to try as much as I can, and it sometimes pains me just to think about how little I've tried out there, and how much more I want to try before I shuffle off this rock, and whether I'll find time to try it all.  

But rather than give up, I go out, and I try to branch out as much as I can.  I'm constantly seeking new things to try, whether it's games or food.  I've bought countless oddities in my lifetime, not all of them successes, but I never regret trying something new, because in trying something new I'm also learning jsut that tiny bit more about the world I inhabit.

Jeez, you sound like my dad. He was lamenting my unwillingness to try new things when it came to food, specifically seafood. When I go to a restaurant, I almost always order a burger and fries, with either a lemonade or strawberry dachary for a drink. I do that every time, provided we don't go out for pizza or Chinese food. All my friends have a wider variety of tastes than I do, but apparently I'm a stick-in-the-mud.

And I'm at peace with that.

Quote from: J ArcaneYou simply cannot make a judgement about something without having actually given it an honest try.  I can't believe I'm having to debate such tired "lessons your mother taught you", but apparently I do.

What is your judgement on the act of sticking your dick in a baby? Presumably you've either tried it or you have no judgements.

Or to use a less extreme example, I know for a fact that I do not like even the mildest of jalapenos. My little girly tongue just can't stand the fire, no matter how low key. Knowing that, when handed a different type of food that I know is also spicy, you would expect me to bite into it and feel the burn on the off chance I might like it this time?

Just because your mother said "try it, you might like it" doesn't mean that you have to try everything to know if you'll like it. Things you have no reference for? Sure, if you don't try you'll never know. Things you've had similar experiences with? Not always. The only times you have to try the similar things is when your idea of similar doesn't match reality (i.e. thinking peppers are similar to hot dogs because they're both "hot").

Quote from: James McMurrayWhat is your judgement on the act of sticking your dick in a baby? Presumably you've either tried it or you have no judgements.

Check, please! :eek:

EDIT:  To be absolutely clear ... that's the sound of a person in a restaurant trying to get out before the conversation at the next table comes to blows.  Not ... uh ... anything else.