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17:10, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Vents with allowed responses - 3.

Posted by GamerHandle
ShadoPrism
member, 879 posts
OCGD-Obsessive-Compulsive
Gamer-Disorder
Fri 27 Nov 2015
at 16:15
  • msg #212

Fireball +4

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 211):

ooo sorry to hear about your unexpected journey in to special Effects. Glad it was not worse.
Tyr Hawk
member, 120 posts
You know that one guy?
Yeah, that's me.
Fri 27 Nov 2015
at 20:44
  • msg #213

Thanksgiving? What's That?

So, I know that there are at least a handful of people thinking it (and maybe someone even said it on the other vent thread), but I'm just gonna come right out and say it:

Physical stores that open anytime before normal business hours in Black Friday (and this includes being open on Thanksgiving) are pointless and dumb.

Before I get into my rant, let me just say that I really don't mind certain grocery stores being open Thanksgiving morning, to a certain extent. Before noon, so long as people have volunteered to do it, sure. That's fine. People sometimes have last-minute emergencies or whatever and need something they didn't prepare for. Hospitals, clinics, the police, yeah, all of them have to be open to keep things running smoothly, because accidents and crimes still happen on holidays, believe it or not. But those few things are the only INSERT YOUR FAVORITE FRUIT HEREing things that have an excuse anymore.

I worked in a "Big Box" store once upon a time. I was there on Black Friday from midnight to noon selling my butt off, practically throwing people out the door with armloads of heavily-discounted stuff. I was a man on fire, but despite moving thousands of dollars worth of product by myself, our store lost money. We lost money hand over fist, and that's the situation most of physical stores face. Because you have employees working for an additional 8-14 hours, the products are sometimes being sold for a net loss for the store (gotta make up for it with accessories!), stores have lost money on Black Friday. Maybe the overall company shows a bit of a profit, but that was before the advent of the internet. Now people can just buy the stuff online from the comfort of their own home, and with so many online stores offering Pre-Black Friday deals now, opening your doors out of normal business hours is like shooting yourself in the head.

Even if it weren't for the loss of money though (which, as I said, the companies don't face overall or they would have given it up long ago), now companies are losing face by treading upon Thanksgiving. The moment Halloween is over, suddenly it's Christmas in stores. People (myself included) are getting tired of Thanksgiving (a holiday all about being thankful for and celebrating people rather than mass-marketed gifts or candy, or even religion) being treated like it's dirt. So, those businesses cutting into family time, cutting into the holiday for a profit? They're now getting bad reputations because they're being morons by keeping their doors open during a holiday when they could just wait and sell the same stuff online. I don't even shop on Black Friday if I can help it, and I refuse to shop at any store that opens on Thanksgiving not just on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, but for the rest of the year. Oh, and one more thing...

I like Thanksgiving because it's not about getting things.

I'm selfish and greedy and full of flaws the rest of the year (including Wrath, as you might have guessed), but Thanksgiving is (to me) about sharing a meal with family and just enjoying their company. Yes, we eat too much and, yes, there's a lot left over, but if you threw out the food I'd still have a good time because Thanksgiving isn't even about the food. It's not. I'm sorry. It might be to some people, but Thanksgiving is about being thankful, about being grateful, about cherishing what you have and keeping people sane between Halloween and Christmas.

I'm tempted to go on, to rant for another hour or two about why Thanksgiving is important, and why it's just plain infuriating that there are people who don't recognize that, but I have a plane to catch, and I'm trying to learn to let things go at times (not all the time, but more often than I currently do).

Hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day!
Evil Empryss
member, 1383 posts
Because knowing
is half the battle!
Fri 27 Nov 2015
at 22:01
  • msg #214

Thanksgiving? What's That?

Preach it, Brother Hawk!

I had to do a last minute grocery run Thursday morning (the family joke being that me remembering everything on Thanksgiving is the final seal that starts the Apocolypse) but I remember the days when there wasn't anything but hospitals and the occasional gas station open after noon on Thanksgiving.

Now I do the best I can to protest Thursday Black "Friday" sales by not attending them. As I walked thru Wally World to find chestnuts and molasses, I saw some seriously wicked sales that would start at 6pm, and I admit it tempted my resolve, but I held firm. Thanksgiving is a wonderfully secular holiday free from the religious weight of most of the others. My dollars might not make a great deal of difference, but they matter to me. Family, friends, and food are the only things that matter on that particular day.

Maybe if enough of us do it, more people will be able to give thanks with their families that day.
Wyrm
member, 598 posts
Fri 27 Nov 2015
at 23:59
  • msg #215

Thanksgiving? What's That?

As was the case before. But is a lit easier to slide down the slope then climb up it.


As for me, sometimes I don't mind working during these holidays. But then most of my work centers around serving people, such as at a bank or in a nursing home.
neochivalry
member, 173 posts
DM / GM / ST
Dominion of Storytelling
Sat 28 Nov 2015
at 07:23
  • msg #216

Shoddy GMing

Nah, I'm not here to complain about some GM that ticked me off. I'm here to talk about me screwing up, or at least...I think I did.

I've run games for over a decade. On pbp, tabletop, and LARP if you can believe it. I like to style myself as a ST/DM/GM (pick your acronym) that likes to present challenging and interesting scenarios while still making it enjoyable to experience. I avoid the term fun, as some of my games delve into dark subject matters that I doubt a lot of us would consider "fun". In those years I've mostly been able to live up to my self-styled description. Sure my games can be difficult, indeed challenging, but still enjoyable to play; even if they ended in three sessions or thirty. I'm quite happy with that, dare I say proud of that. I like the idea of giving people a good time.

However, I do screw up. No-one's perfect. But, when I screw up it just jabs me, right between the eyes; just stuns me. For all the effort I put in, I sometimes manage to make a player have a genuine bona fide Bad Time. Like, I am taking my dice and never playing this game ever again Bad Time. This has happened about 4 times I can really recall. Possibly more, but I either don't remember or I wasn't told. The majority of players that leave my games either: can't make it for personal reasons, medical reasons, vocational reasons, and so on. Those I can live with. Surprisingly, they even apologize for having to leave. Where I'd rather congratulate them or offer my condolences as the situation really deserves; rather than any apology to me, just some goof telling silly stories for entertainment. No, it is those 4 Bad Times I just cannot stand.

Each time it happens, I question if I should be running games any more. If, perhaps, I'm just too unfair, unpleasant, or irritating to play for. Some players are really nice people, willing to give even most GMs a chance to dig themselves out of a terrible story; confusion on the rules; or just a bad adjudication. In cases where I was the GM in question, I usually ended a game for the players in favor of a better game; or suggested the one with the better idea to run. (I don't mean that in a snide way btw: I mean that they actually HAD the better idea and I felt silly to be running a lesser game in place of a better one.) However, when a lone player leaves due to having a Bad Time...that's a total failure on my part. As a GM of my style: I feel I must be constantly making sure people are actually challenge but also enjoying themselves. If too unchallenged: it's boring and thus cannot be enjoyed; if not enjoyable, then the challenge is way too high. I should be ready to adjust (within reason) as needed. When I fail to do so, I feel I've lost my eye for it.

10 years later, I'm still running. I manage to learn from my mistakes (I think) and move on. Though each and every time, as today is my 4th Bad Time I've caused. Perhaps I should quit being a GM and just stick to being a player. I honestly do not know right now; but, that is the state of where I am. (/ Vent)
Brianna
member, 2022 posts
Sat 28 Nov 2015
at 20:57
  • msg #217

Shoddy GMing

Corporate greed has overtaken the rights of employees and their families.  I can remember when stores here were not open on Sunday (and a lot of them on Monday also - that wasn't a day off for family run stores, but the day they did the buying for their business, extra cleaning, whatever).  We ran a petition to try and not allow wholesale Sunday opening, and one of our employees, an avid shopper, didn't want to sign it till I pointed out that if we were open Sunday, she would have to take her turn to work.  Now, of course, Christmas is about the only day left when pretty much everything isn't open.  I've even heard people complain about the local store that closes at six.  Family run, they would have been there all day, and they want their evening off - probably not always to relax, but to do the housework, business bookwork, etc.

But now that the cycle is running, if stores don't open on all those days, they don't just lose the dubious sales for that day, people would go elsewhere.  And having gone elsewhere once, they are more likely to do so again.
OceanLake
member, 933 posts
Sat 28 Nov 2015
at 22:15
  • msg #218

Shoddy GMing

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
― Michael Jordan
ShadoPrism
member, 880 posts
OCGD-Obsessive-Compulsive
Gamer-Disorder
Sat 28 Nov 2015
at 23:36
  • msg #219

Shoddy GMing

In reply to neochivalry (msg # 216):

Hi
I have been where your at - sometimes it's good to step back and take stock. But giving up on GMing cause you made a mistake is slow thinking (I think).
(Bad ones happen to us all, even to the point of people giving up gaming, though in my experience people like that usually have many other things going on that your probably unaware of that pushes them in to that direction. These things may have nothing to do with the game your running or what happened, it just one last tick on their nerves and BOOM that last item gets blown up).

I would not just Stop the GMing, but stepping back and looking over what you did and Why you did it can help. Give yourself a little time to gain perspective and maybe learn a bit from this mistake.
It's not the end of the world, though it may feel that way at this point in time.
This message was last edited by the user at 23:38, Sat 28 Nov 2015.
Palomino
member, 1 post
Mon 30 Nov 2015
at 19:19
  • msg #220

Too Many Possibilities!

I have a simple vent, real First World Problems stuff: I can't decide on a game to run!

Every day I look at Rpol and read through the GM Wanted threads and see things I'd like to run. I look at my bookshelf and think of other things I'd like to run. I've been making lists over and over again of which games I'd like to GM, and still haven't been able to narrow it down to anything lower than five different games. I have so many ideas, but I'm afraid that if I try to run more than one game right now, I'll get overwhelmed and burnt out.

I want to run fantasy, because I really enjoy it and feel like I can do it well, but I'm already playing in a tabletop fantasy game with my regular group, and even if I weren't, I've got no fewer than three games I'd like to run (Fantastic Heroes & Witchery, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay/Small But Vicious Dog, AD&D1e Oriental Adventures/Ruins & Ronin, GURPS Fantasy...maybe you could say that's six games).

I want to run science fiction, because I've been replaying the Mass Effect games and, for some reason, around this time of year I get Star Trek on my mind, and the Deep Space Nine gamebook has some cool ideas. And the new Star Wars movie is coming out soon - I haven't run Star Wars in years, but I know as soon as I see "The Force Awakens," I'll be chomping at the bit to run a game of rebels against the Empire. And then there's Star*Drive, which I've always wanted to run...or 2300 AD...or Transhuman Space...or Traveller...or Stars Without Number...

Binge-watching Jessica Jones and re-runs of Supernatural make me want to try running In Nomine or Werewolf: the Apocalypse.

And what about that After the Bomb game idea I've been sitting on since I first signed up here?

Every time I start to settle on a game, five minutes later I've started thinking about a different one. And do I want to run a solo, one-on-one game, which would have a nice pace to it? Or would I rather run a game with a full party, where players can roleplay with each other as well as with me?

My indecision is making me into a crazy person, muttering to myself and scribbling notes all over everything. It's at times like this that I wish I only owned one or two games.
Tyr Hawk
member, 121 posts
You know that one guy?
Yeah, that's me.
Mon 30 Nov 2015
at 20:27
  • msg #221

Too Many Possibilities!

In reply to Palomino (msg # 220):

We're all roleplayers here. Put the names of the games you want to run on one die, put the groups sizes on another, and then let the Dice Gods decide your fate however they may!

Alternatively, best of luck. I'm really bad at making decisions like that, so I usually have other people decide for me.
Brianna
member, 2023 posts
Mon 30 Nov 2015
at 20:40
  • msg #222

Too Many Possibilities!

In reply to Palomino (msg # 220):

Take a look at available games to see if one of your choices is already well covered?  Perhaps at games that are active but full for a trend where players might want more?  Ask a few of your friends what they might like?  As in, look for one of your concepts that is most likely to attract players.  Doesn't matter how wonderful your concept if no one currently wants to play in it.
Eggy
member, 653 posts
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 03:04
  • msg #223

Grr!

People who try to pass their pets off as Service Animals! Sir, your piglet is eating the merchandise and peeing on the floor. GTFO.

No, I can't always spot a service animal at a glance. But if someone is having trouble wrangling their animal and they're "just about to get the proof from the car," then I get annoyed.
praguepride
member, 1052 posts
"Hugs for the Hugs God!"
- Warhammer Fluffy-K
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 03:13
  • msg #224

Grr!

First of all 'emotional support" animals do not count.

Second of all, at least in the US, service animals MUST be a dog (or a miniature horse...don't know how that works)

Third, the condition that the dog cannot be denied is conditional that is must be in control at all times.

There is no proof or special harness, in fact you cannot actually ask that however the condition is that the dog is under control and barking/pooping/getting away from the owner are signs that it is not in control and can be removed.


Chances are if they threaten to sue just laugh it off because people think they can 'cheat the system' by 'self training' their dogs for a 'disability' but the courts won't buy any of that garbage. Their internet "id" doesn't mean anything to anyone but the scammer that ripped them off.


http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
Evil Empryss
member, 1387 posts
Because knowing
is half the battle!
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 04:15
  • msg #225

Grr!

In reply to Eggy (msg # 223):

As someone with a service dog AND an emotional support dog (SD for me, an ED for my daughter), this is a hot issue for me.  I am constantly having to fight these kinds of experiences when I go places because I don't "look disabled" and the facility had a bad experience with someone trying to pass some ill-trained curr off as a service or support animal.  I trained my dogs myself and I'm in the process of training my old dog's replacement so old Goldie can retire (having liver cancer, it's not right to keep her on duty any longer).

First, a brief primer on the difference between a service dog and an emotional support dog.  Service dogs are trained to perform an active "trick" or set of tasks, some task they perform under very particular circumstances or on command.  This can be as obvious as a seeing eye dog in full harness or as innocuous as a smaller mutt trained to alert to the handler's low blood sugar or epileptic seizures.  An emotional support animal's only job is to be present: their passive presence is enough to alleviate emotional distress.  It is the active component that addresses a medically-recognized and documented disability that is the main difference between service and emotional support animals.

Let me assure you that Praguepride is absolutely right as far as service animals go: Any animal in public must be under 100% control of the handler, no excuses.  The ONLY exception is intelligent disobedience: when an animal is trained to disobey when the handler is doing or about to do something dangerous, it will refuse to follow instructions in order to prevent the handler from being harmed.  An example is when a seeing eye dog stops the handler from walking off a curb into the path of a car.  Under NO circumstances is a service animal permitted to show any signs of aggression, and not making messes inside a building is one of the most basic of training standards.

Emotional support animals do NOT have all the protections of the ADA laws protecting service animals, but they are protected in certain situations (the Fair Housing Act specifically permits them in housing where animals would not otherwise be allowed).  A properly trained ED can make a big difference in someone's life.  Regardless, if the animal is not behaving properly and is causing damage to a facility, the facility (public or private) has the right to insist the handler and the animal leave immediately.

Anyone saying they have "proof" that they have a "certified" service or emotional support animal is full of strawberries.  While there are organizations that train service animals, there is no legal requirement to get your animals from them.  For that matter, some of those organizations have cropped up in the last few years and are churning out very poorly-trained dogs, leaving truly disabled people at risk of lawsuits or injury.  There are also a bunch of fly-by-night "registries" that will send you a service vest, a dog tag, and an official looking document with your and your animal's names on it to "Certify" its status.  They aren't affiliated with any state or federal agency, no matter how official they sound.

If you want to know if someone has a "real" service animal, there are only three questions you can ask them:

1.  Are you disabled?
2.  Is that a service animal?
3.  Is it trained to assist you with your disability?

That's IT.  You can't ask exactly what the dog does or what their disability is because that violates their privacy (tho I and many other proud SD owners will happily rattle on about how our dogs make our lives better with what they do, some people have social anxiety and would rather flee than have to explain).  This also means that while my dog is a service animal, if my husband has her alone he can't take her into a restaurant without me because she's not his service dog.  Only when she's with me does she get protected status.  Even then, if she's acting up I am required to remove her from the situation or I can be forcibly removed by the owners.  I'm also liable for any damage she causes if she should act up.  Being disabled and having a service dog doesn't shield me from litigation if I or my dog is a jerk.

I also agree that if someone with a poorly-behaving animal in public threatens to sue, they probably don't have a "real" service dog.  Offer to call the ADA yourself to help them file their claim and watch them run.  While I have been challenged in the past and told to leave because they didn't believe me that Goldie was my service dog, I have found that speaking calmly and rationally with the management was able to resolve the issue without having to resort to threats of lawsuits.

/rant
Time to settle my blood pressure and breathe.

PS:
If someone says they have a "therapy dog", that's a different kettle of fish.  I have one of those, too.  ^_^

Therapy animals are those that go to hospitals or schools or other places to provide support to those who might be suffering some emotional trauma.  Therapy animals do -- in general -- have minimum training standards that they can be asked to prove.  In the case of dogs, it's the AKC's Canine Good Citizen test, a list of training standards that show the dog can act properly in public without showing aggression or being a hazard to the handler or anyone else.  A therapy dog has NO protection under the law and you can ask the handler to remove it from the premises for any or no reason.
Eggy
member, 654 posts
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 04:38
  • msg #226

Grr!

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 225):

Thank you! I wasn't an employee in that scenario, but the barista seemed at a loss and I didn't know what to say, either.
praguepride
member, 1054 posts
"Hugs for the Hugs God!"
- Warhammer Fluffy-K
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 17:09
  • msg #227

Grr!

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 225):

Speaking of vents. My mom and sister are blind but they get so much crud because "they don't look blind."

Sorry, Joe Schmoe but how should a blind person look? Should they have mandatory dark sunglasses or always have to carry a cane even in places like cramped restaurants where a cane is more hassle then it's worth?

My sister is allergic to dogs but should she suffer through it just so she can "look" disabled to you?


I've been with them when people were challenging them on their blindness. My first thought was "frankenberry you, buddy" and my next was "What do you care? It's not like we're asking for a free meal just a seat close to the entrance so she doesn't bump and trip all over the place getting seated."

Never tell someone that they don't "look" disabled.

On the flipside I've found that most people with a "real" disability try not to make a big deal about it. When you live with it all your life it's hardly a big deal and telling people about it gets old fast so they try not to make a big deal about it until it comes up as an issue. HOWEVER then you have these people who loudly complain and have to tell the world their "terrible tragedy" which grinds my gears. I just stew and think "you think that's a tough life? You have no clue what it's like..."

Grrrrr....
Palomino
member, 2 posts
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 23:21
  • msg #228

Grr!

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 225):

Thanks for posting that! I didn't know there wasn't some sort of registry or "official documents" involved. I had no idea about a lot of that, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one here who didn't.
Evil Empryss
member, 1389 posts
Because knowing
is half the battle!
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 23:48
  • msg #229

Grr!

I've been challenged when parking in handicapped spots with my disabled veteran license plates because I don't "look disabled".  They don't see that some days I have to choose between using that spot with the powered buggy in the stores or not being able to stand to make dinner.  Some people are nosey jerks.

As for the service dog stuff, I'm happy to share what I know because the public's ignorance is what allows the frauds to get away with their bad behavior.  I not only have a service dog, I have what's termed an "owner-trained" service dog, and I feel that it's my responsibility to ensure that I don't dork things up for the rest of the owner-trained teams out there by presenting an ill-trained animal to the public.  I have enough trouble to deal with, I don't want to be a problem to the next generation and I'd thank others to show me the same consideration.

By the way, I carry a card with a short version of the ADA information on a laminated card.  Showing people that card usually puts them at ease and answers their questions.
TCArknight
member, 29 posts
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 23:53
  • msg #230

Grr!

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 229):

I was going to write out a whole long post, but it can be summed up in five words.....

Thank You For Your Service!
praguepride
member, 1059 posts
Wed 2 Dec 2015
at 14:15
  • [deleted]
  • msg #231

Grr!

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 17:58, Wed 02 Dec 2015.
Eur512
member, 714 posts
Wed 2 Dec 2015
at 16:05
  • [deleted]
  • msg #232

Grr!

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 17:58, Wed 02 Dec 2015.
praguepride
member, 1061 posts
Wed 2 Dec 2015
at 16:27
  • [deleted]
  • msg #233

Grr!

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was moot, at 17:57, Wed 02 Dec 2015.
Tyr Hawk
member, 122 posts
Wed 2 Dec 2015
at 17:37
  • [deleted]
  • msg #234

Re: Grr!

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 17:57, Wed 02 Dec 2015.
Townsend
member, 11 posts
Wed 2 Dec 2015
at 18:38
  • msg #235

Re: Grr!

So it's December and I'd usually be starting on my holiday baking by now, especially since most of my holiday gifts are baked. However, I've been fighting gastroenteritis for two and a half weeks now, and it's not right to be baking gifts while I'm sick, even if half the time I feel fine.

...But even before that, I was fretting over my holiday baking this year. I've been allergic to wheat (among other foods) all my life, but since my allergy is mild, I've mostly ignored it since my early teens. Living wheat-free is a PITA. And pricey. (Tried it for ~3 years in my 30s; had only one noticeable benefit, amid my fleet of food and environmental allergies. Not really worth the trouble and expense.) Unfortunately, changing metabolism, or something, has caught up with me, and now, eating wheat causes excessive burping.

(Doesn't sound so bad until you've lived with it -- can't bend over to tie your shoes, or go horizontal, without feeling like the alien's fixing to explode out of your chest. And you flat can't sleep, even sitting up, if you're literally burping every minute. Or more often.)

Now that I've tracked down the cause, I've been unhappily shifting over to a wheat-free diet. But the idea of trying to do my holiday baking without nibbling my way through it as normal sounds horribly frustrating, and might just take the fun out of it entirely. :(
Brianna
member, 2024 posts
Wed 2 Dec 2015
at 22:18
  • msg #236

Re: Grr!

In reply to Townsend (msg # 235):

And how can you know if things taste right if you don't try them?  :-(
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