Flatfingers wrote:I won't be voting on this "poll" because it comes across to me as a barely-veiled attack on another member of the forum. Essentially, "who else wants ThymineC to shut up?" I'm not going to endorse that one way or the other because I think that will have a chilling effect on the free expression of ideas here.
There are several ideas of mine I've mentioned in multiple posts that I hope might be worthy of consideration for parts of mechanics in LT: fundamental personality types, player contracts, tactical/operational/strategic levels of gameplay design, and more. Do I need to be concerned that someone will personally feel that one or more of those is tedious and throw up a poll encouraging other forum members to vote against my suggestions? What happens when it's one of your suggestions that someone posts what's basically a thread to discourage you from posting?
This thread is not about one of ThymineC's ideas. That would be fair. Instead, it's about the effectiveness with which he's expressed one of his ideas. That comes close IMO to a criticism of the person. When new forum members who are on the fence about posting an idea they're enthusiastic about see that one forum member can call for others to criticize another forum member for being good at advocating one of their ideas, why should that fence-sitter choose to join the conversation at all? Who wants that kind of treatment?
ThymineC hasn't done anything to deserve this kind of treatment, or for any other forum members to tolerate this kind of treatment. His crime is that he's had an idea that he believes provides a consistent explanation for the way that Josh has described the world of LT to work, and he's been enthusiastic and articulate in explaining and defending that idea. Furthermore, he's been remarkably courteous in his responses to criticisms.
My opinion is that back-handed requests to censor a forum member whose behavior has been nothing but constructive -- either covertly with "do you also not like Idea X?" polls or overtly as by suggesting that their posts on some subject be thrown into a single ghetto thread -- is not appropriate. If as just another forum member you don't like something another forum member says, say so politely, then, having expressed your opinion, move on... just as I have done and intend to do with this thread.
Or, if you're really concerned that someone else's idea that you don't like might sneak into the game, propose something better. That is how a forum prospers and encourages new members to post their hopes and ideas, making the place more enjoyable for everyone.
Thank you, Flatfingers, for saying exactly what needed to be said, and summing up the reason why I am now locking this thread. This poll is neither constructive nor respectful to a forum member who has put a remarkable amount of time and effort into elegant, interesting, and integrated webs of gameplay concepts.
If you do not like ThymineC's ideas, feel free to ignore them or debate them in the relevant thread. But this forum has a reputation for a high caliber of intellectual suggestions, and I will not stand to see a forum member who embodies the very essence of that devalued in such a way.