Yes

...and its getting worse.
 Next campaign I start I want to ban all smart phones during the game sessions.

- Ed C.

Quote from: Winterblight;1037264Quite frankly it irritates me. I don't mind someone taking a call or replying to a text, but if they are going to sit there updating farcebook or surfing the web, im gonig to take issue with it.

Yes.

Sorta like at the cinema, when someone in the audience is talking/texting and not watching the movie. It's rude, both to the players and the GM. Keep it on vibrate and take a call or text only if you need to.

Quote from: Krimson;1037307As was mentioned earlier, you don't need an electronic device to be distracted. I certainly used to read during those games where you got to roll a dice every half hour before waiting another half hour. I've known groups that demand the phones get turned off, and as someone who found out after the fact that a relative died while someone was trying to call me, no elf game is worth that. However these days, if you have the technology and you aren't using it to enhance the game, you can be losing out. I have one app that syncs character sheets across devices. Another with spell lists. Another with a loot generator, which the DM has often asked me to use. Not to mention Donjon.

I think if you don't want people to be distracted at the table, then the sure way to do it is to run a game that is more interesting than a cellphone. I never have issues when I run a game.

Fundamentally disagree. It's is not the job of the DM to entertain the players. It's everyone's responsibility. RPGs aren't TV shows or theatre, with a passive audience. They're dynamic, and require the players to be engaged. If someone's more interested in the phone than the game, it's a sign they're in the wrong hobby. The correct response is to talk to them, and if necessary give them the boot.

While you may have met a group that took no technology to an extreme, I think that's an extreme outlier case. It's fine if you want to insist your phone be on in case there's an emergency. But conversely, it's also perfectly reasonable for a DM to ask everyone to put their phone on vibrate and not respond unless it actually is an emergency. That's just common courtesy and basic communication. And if you need to respond, that's what breaks are for -- you do have breaks, I hope? They're actually very important, but so many people forget them unless the group contains smokers. And if there's a lull in the game, it's perfectly reasonable to have a longer break. But again, that's a social issue not a technology issue.

It's rude and it annoys the fuck out of me. An RPG session isn't a TV show playing in the background for you to halfheartedly snatch peeks of while you do other shit. I used to just let it slide because it's become so common and I didn't want to cause a scene (As a teacher I've seen teens cry and/or LOOSE THEIR FUCKING SHIT when devices were taken away or turned off so perhaps that's made me a little gun-shy). But recently I've reached a breaking point and I'm putting my foot down the next time I run.

Quote from: Pat;1037399Fundamentally disagree. It's is not the job of the DM to entertain the players. It's everyone's responsibility. RPGs aren't TV shows or theatre, with a passive audience. They're dynamic, and require the players to be engaged. If someone's more interested in the phone than the game, it's a sign they're in the wrong hobby. The correct response is to talk to them, and if necessary give them the boot.

While you may have met a group that took no technology to an extreme, I think that's an extreme outlier case. It's fine if you want to insist your phone be on in case there's an emergency. But conversely, it's also perfectly reasonable for a DM to ask everyone to put their phone on vibrate and not respond unless it actually is an emergency. That's just common courtesy and basic communication. And if you need to respond, that's what breaks are for -- you do have breaks, I hope? They're actually very important, but so many people forget them unless the group contains smokers. And if there's a lull in the game, it's perfectly reasonable to have a longer break. But again, that's a social issue not a technology issue.

As a DM, I do feel it is my job to keep the players entertained. This comes from years of having to fit in drop ins, several of whom never played an RPG in the past. These days it's a little easier, since you can explain things in terms of video games. I not only look at every sheet that comes to the table, I copy it by hand on to another character sheet which sometimes ends up being the main character sheet because I am cursed with good handwriting. There are also players who just never learn to take initiative and are reactive in their style of play, often reacting by hitting things. I go over each sheet, and make yet another sheet with the character summaries that I use when encounter building and tracking combat. I want to know what the party composition is, because I adjust my encounters to take their abilities into consideration. Then I make sure they have something to do. All of them. I talk directly to the players, looking straight at them until I have their attention. As a GM, I could care less if they are using a phone. It's not a single bit different from reading a comic book, a novel, or even a game book when not looking for something specific to the action at hand. I don't care because when it's their turn, I give them a quick and concise summary of their current situation, unless they are already on the ball. For the most part, I ignore their device because it's presence can hardly stop me from getting someone's attention. If that doesn't working saying something along the lines of, "Okay, Bob the Fighter just seems to be standing there staring into space while the hobgoblins send a barrage of crossbow bolts at the party. So, onto Hendrix the Bard..." A little bit of observation helps to figure out how to get someone's attention. Sure it might take a few sessions, but figuring out someone's buttons isn't exactly hard.

If a DM wants me to set my phone to vibrate, that is fine. Heck, I usually mute it then lay it face up, because if I get a text then I can quickly glance at it to see if I need to respond and then turn the screen off. An all out ban would probably end with my leaving the game. I have very little family left and I don't want something to happen over an elf game. At my table. I invite adults to play and I treat them as such. My one big rule is people have to wash their hands before they touch my stuff. That's about it. The beer is there to be drank. The food is there to be eaten. The books are there to be read... with clean hands. I see Cheeto dust on a book, out the door they go. Not that I have Cheetos in my house. If someone's phone is making a lot of noise I might ask the player if that is going to be happening for the entire game. Then I sit there, sometimes with one of my cats, and wait for them to do the right thing. And if one of the other players wants to make a remark, well I can hardly control what comes out of other people's mouths, now can I?

If it is a distraction, and it often is. Yes. Its a problem.

If your cellphone/pad is more important to you than the session then why the hell did you even bother coming?

Quote from: Omega;1037454If it is a distraction, and it often is. Yes. Its a problem.

If your cellphone/pad is more important to you than the session then why the hell did you even bother coming?

Its more what's ON your cellphone that's important and I rank a lot of things as more important than elf games. Anything to do with my family or job (where I work appointments and deadlines which is great for being able to game even at odd hours, but means I often have to field business calls and texts during the game) for example take absolute priority over elf games. I have a few other players in similar work arrangements. As I've mentioned elsewhere, many of the people I game with are married couples who have sitters watching their kids. They NEED their phones on hand in case of emergency.

I also haven't carried physical dice around in five years and with my new phone I've started keeping my character sheets on my phone because that way I never leave them behind. At least half the people I game with use a dice roller app and/or keep their characters on a digital platform too (one player has eyes so bad that even printing his sheet in 16 point font is nearly illegible for him. He plays with his sheet on a laptop screen so he can zoom it enough to read as needed).

Ban my phone from the table and I won't bother with your game because you are making my life harder than it needs to be. It's that simple. Among the people I know, you wouldn't have ANY players with that sort of rule in place and a GM with no players is just a frustrated fanfic writer.

Fortunately, I'm in plenty of game groups where this is no problem at all.

Quote from: Omega;1037454If it is a distraction, and it often is. Yes. Its a problem.

If your cellphone/pad is more important to you than the session then why the hell did you even bother coming?

This, so much this.

Quote from: Krimson;1037415As a DM, I do feel it is my job to keep the players entertained. This comes from years of having to fit in drop ins, several of whom never played an RPG in the past. These days it's a little easier, since you can explain things in terms of video games. I not only look at every sheet that comes to the table, I copy it by hand on to another character sheet which sometimes ends up being the main character sheet because I am cursed with good handwriting. There are also players who just never learn to take initiative and are reactive in their style of play, often reacting by hitting things. I go over each sheet, and make yet another sheet with the character summaries that I use when encounter building and tracking combat. I want to know what the party composition is, because I adjust my encounters to take their abilities into consideration. Then I make sure they have something to do. All of them. I talk directly to the players, looking straight at them until I have their attention. As a GM, I could care less if they are using a phone. It's not a single bit different from reading a comic book, a novel, or even a game book when not looking for something specific to the action at hand. I don't care because when it's their turn, I give them a quick and concise summary of their current situation, unless they are already on the ball. For the most part, I ignore their device because it's presence can hardly stop me from getting someone's attention. If that doesn't working saying something along the lines of, "Okay, Bob the Fighter just seems to be standing there staring into space while the hobgoblins send a barrage of crossbow bolts at the party. So, onto Hendrix the Bard..." A little bit of observation helps to figure out how to get someone's attention. Sure it might take a few sessions, but figuring out someone's buttons isn't exactly hard.

I like this approach, and thinking about it a bit, even when paying attention, it can sometimes be hard to keep everything straight, so a short "Player, Bob is in the front ranks, the hobgoblins are armed with crossbows, Joe just took one out with a single shot. What do you do?" may be a lot more effective than "What does Bob do?"

Frank

Quote from: RPGPundit;1037258I used to have an issue with this, where players would be on their phones during the game. But this has sort of passed for me.

Do you care if your players are on their phones during the game, presuming it's in downtime when their PC isn't doing anything?

Not really. We have a player who gets bored easily and checks things out on his phone. It gets annoying when he shows the results to other people, but they tell him to stop more than I do.

But, there again, in our old RQ2 group with between 6 and 8 players, we had a player who used to bring a book and read it when it wasn't his turn in combat, when it was his turn, he'd put a bookmark in, look at the table and ask "What's happened since my last turn?"

We're all getting used to this behavior in various social situations, and probably quite a few of us do things like this. But, I think it is horrible and everyone who does it is, at that moment at least, the absolute worst. If you are a social animal of any species occupying the same space as another social animal of any species, and there is any reasonable basis for the two of you to interact in any way, then your $%&#ing phone should stay in your $&@#ing pocket until you are by yourself. The only exemption to this rule is answering a significant call or peeking briefly if your $#%&ing phone bleats at you in some random way. Seriously, it is all so horrendous it makes me think the whole world has stuffed its head up its collective ass.

Quote from: soltakss;1037550he'd put a bookmark in, look at the table and ask "What's happened since my last turn?"

"You died."

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with people.  How can you be that God damned uninterested in the rest of the game.

It would rather play with 3 engaged players than 6 people where my 3 engaged players were being immersion drained by 3 half there fucknuts.

Hell, I can happily run with 2 players. Either go Exemplars & Eidolons, higher level, or 2 PCs each.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1037578"You died."

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with people.  How can you be that God damned uninterested in the rest of the game.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1037583It would rather play with 3 engaged players than 6 people where my 3 engaged players were being immersion drained by 3 half there fucknuts.

Hell, I can happily run with 2 players. Either go Exemplars & Eidolons, higher level, or 2 PCs each.

Agreed in full with both of you. Is it really so difficult to give a shared social activity your undivided attention?

Quote from: Kiero;1037657Agreed in full with both of you. Is it really so difficult to give a shared social activity your undivided attention?

It really seems to be something about gaming... or perhaps gamers.

Look also at the amount of complaining about people showing up late, or blowing off the game, or similar things.  And it's always answered with "people are busy, they have jobs and families, things happen."  Yet other hobbies, from bowling leagues to chess clubs to model railroad clubs to bingo games to God knows what else, manage to get people to reliably commit to them.

Maybe some critics are right... maybe "gamers" really are a bunch of social maladroits.