It’s been a busy week this past one on social media. Of course, by the time you’re reading this it’ll all have died down, but in particular the stuff about reviewing games with/without having played them stuck with me – not least because I decided to only review things I’d played last year. It’s increasingly difficult to talk about TTRPGs on social media without some annoying things happening – and so here’s my ideas to talk about games better online

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Share Your Bona Fides

If you’re discussing a game or technique, it might be worth sharing how much contact you have with it. Have you played or used it? Read it? Read about it? Did someone on the internet say something about it? I’m not suggesting we get all elitist about it, but there’s a lot of opinions on stuff flying about without any actual backup.

And if someone’s offering an opinion on something based on second-hand hearsay, or reading the back cover copy in a games store, you can attach importance to their opinion accordingly.

Don’t Spill Beer Everywhere

Talking about games on social media, when it goes well, can feel like a pleasant after-hours convention chat putting the gaming world to rights. But because it’s a public forum, obviously everyone can join in, and often do. If you’ve happened on a discussion, don’t join in with Monty Python jokes, or start a long thread of ‘banter’ that the rest of the internet (who were trying to follow the original discourse) now has to follow. More seriously, if you’ve drifted to another discussion, start a new thread if you think the posters before won’t be interested in it. And definitely do it if you’re talking about cheese.

People Like Different Things

I mean, it’s obvious, right? But that means making statements like “PBTA is rubbish” really means “I don’t like PBTA,” which is a very different thing, and you might consider if it’s an opinion that’s worth sharing with the world. Conversely, I don’t really get involved in threads about, e.g. Doctor Who or Traveller, both things I have no time for – I don’t have anything to contribute (apart from “I don’t like this,” which isn’t very helpful). No need to yuck on anybody’s yum.

Also, if someone disagrees with you, that’s fine, right? I’ve seen loads of people in the hobby bemoan how “toxic” social media is, when all that’s happened is they’ve posted an opinion that somebody has disagreed with. Either engage and do some actual discourse, or…

Block Hard And Fast

I’ve seen lots of people in the hobby be really reluctant to do this, and you really should. If somebody posts something you find offensive, or just seems egregiously aggressive or silly, just block them. They don’t need to know and you won’t see them again. If somebody’s just spilling beer a lot, or you just don’t care to talk to them, just mute.

There’s a pretend idea in the hobby that because we all share a love of games we all have to get on with everybody else. We can be civil, of course, and not brawl at conventions, but we don’t have to hang out with everyone – use block and mute liberally, and they’ll improve your online experience and the quality of your discourse.

Now, I’d say a couple of caveats to this. I have very little time for posts like “block this dude look what he just said” – I think the block should be a personal thing for individuals to do based on what they’ve seen and what it makes them feel – and likewise for blockchains. Also, on the other side, if somebody’s blocked you – it’s no biggie. Don’t post asking why they’ve blocked you (they literally won’t see – that’s the whole point) and you’ve probably not even had a disagreement – they’re just curating their feed. Pay it forward and block some people who are grinding your gears!

Well, I’m glad I’ve got that off my chest. Normal service will resume in the next post! Any tips for improving the quality of discourse gratefully received – and go out there and be the change, people!