Most pencil-and-paper RPGs I'm familiar with have disclaimers already -- apart from covering their fleshy regions in case of litigation, it's also a good thing to show people who think playing "Mage: the Ascension" is going to make you kill people, go insane, be a Satanist, whatever -- the makers of the game don't want you to do those things either. Maybe EverQuest ought to consider these, on the game MOTD or packaging, it doesn't really matter. Two samples from White Wolf (I use them because to my knowledge, has never been sued, so is doing this of their own accord (or their lawyers', I suppose)):
Mage:the Ascension: "The Disclaimer (As Always) Mage: The Ascension is a game. It's a game about mature themes and difficult subjects. As such, it requires not only imagination but common sense. Common sense says that words in an imaginary game aren't supposed to be real. Common sense says that you don't try to do "magic spells" based on a creation derived entirely from someone else's imagination. Common sense says that you don't try to dig up agents of the supernatural just because of inspiration in some wholly fictional source. Common sense says that the game is just for fun, and that when it's over, it's time to put it away.
If you find yourself flying in the face of common sense, then put the book down, back away slowly and seek professional help.
For the rest of you, enjoy the unlimited possibilities of your imagination." (Mage Revised, (C)2000 White Wolf Game Studio)
And the shorter and sweeter version from "Exalted": "The Disclaimer Exalted is not really the secret history of the world. You cannot really cast spells. You should not hit your friends or loved ones with swords. This game is not intended to be played by people who can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality." (Exalted, (C)2001 White Wolf Game Studio)
Printing these doesn't cost much ink, but certainly makes their position clear. Maybe digital RPGs should take the hint from the paper ones.
-- Tinuviel "Either I'm gonna kill her or I'm beginning to like her." -Han Solo
I'm a sophomore at Case Western Reserve University, a predominantly science and engineering school in Ohio. This year a plan was unveiled to start buying every incoming freshman their own (identical) laptop with University funds (the plan is currently stalled and hopefully being scrapped). Most of us were appalled by this.
My own take on it can be extended to the idea of laptops in the schools; it abrogates personal choice. In the college setting, it not only ignores the student's established OS preferences, but their specific computer needs and usage patterns; some people need a powerful desktop system for 3D rendering, some people want a great video card for our -- oops, I mean their -- Quake 3 fix, and some of us just plain can't cope with more distraction in class than that afforded by our Palm IIIs.
For younger kids, the OS question is even more pressing; the computer companies that support these 'educational' efforts want the children of America to grow up equating "computer" with their operating system. In much the same way that Pepsi has bought my campus, hoping to train us all to be Pepsi drinkers, computer companies want to "get 'em young". Even inadvertently, the educational systems will be choosing an operating system to teach to the exclusion of others.
Also, the sheer distraction of a computer is problematic. When only one or two kids in a whole class has a laptop, the teacher can still maintain discipline. When every kid has one, and is encouraged to have it on during class, very few kids are going to pay any attention to the teacher.
This can be avoided by using the kind of computer education model that my (private) high school used; they had a computer lab, and various installations of Mac and PC computers scattered throughout the school. They didn't have any Unix machines (*sigh*) but we were taught to use applications under both MacOS and Win95, as well as some weird Novell interface. We had a "Computers" class, where we learned to touch type, to program shapes in Logowriter, and occasionally some other classes, usually Math, would arrange for us to get new software loaded that was germane to the class, and then teach us to use it.
Giving laptops to immature students and expecting them to not get trashed is incredibly naive. Expecting them to be used only for educational purposes is even more so. Giving laptops to kids will give them an early learning bias for the chosen operating system (and who *doesn't* think it will be Winblows?), will distract them from their classes, and will encourage learning of application skills, not content. Besides, public schools (I attended Oregon public schools for years and years) would do better to raise teacher's salaries, decrease class sizes, increase tracking, and pay for music programs, than to waste money on laptops for every child. Teach the kids to type early; introduce applications slowly as the years go by, using well-networked, well-maintained desktop systems at school, and hire knowledgable teachers to teach computer classes. More exposure to computers can be at the parents' discretion (it all comes back to active parenting, doesn't it?) and/or on the students' own time.
Felicity Shoulders ------------- "Either I'm gonna kill her, or I'm beginning to like her." - Han Solo
Slashdot Mirror
Most pencil-and-paper RPGs I'm familiar with have disclaimers already -- apart from covering their fleshy regions in case of litigation, it's also a good thing to show people who think playing "Mage: the Ascension" is going to make you kill people, go insane, be a Satanist, whatever -- the makers of the game don't want you to do those things either. Maybe EverQuest ought to consider these, on the game MOTD or packaging, it doesn't really matter. Two samples from White Wolf (I use them because to my knowledge, has never been sued, so is doing this of their own accord (or their lawyers', I suppose)):
Mage:the Ascension:
"The Disclaimer (As Always)
Mage: The Ascension is a game. It's a game about mature themes and difficult subjects. As such, it requires not only imagination but common sense. Common sense says that words in an imaginary game aren't supposed to be real. Common sense says that you don't try to do "magic spells" based on a creation derived entirely from someone else's imagination. Common sense says that you don't try to dig up agents of the supernatural just because of inspiration in some wholly fictional source. Common sense says that the game is just for fun, and that when it's over, it's time to put it away.
If you find yourself flying in the face of common sense, then put the book down, back away slowly and seek professional help.
For the rest of you, enjoy the unlimited possibilities of your imagination." (Mage Revised, (C)2000 White Wolf Game Studio)
And the shorter and sweeter version from "Exalted":
"The Disclaimer
Exalted is not really the secret history of the world. You cannot really cast spells. You should not hit your friends or loved ones with swords. This game is not intended to be played by people who can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality." (Exalted, (C)2001 White Wolf Game Studio)
Printing these doesn't cost much ink, but certainly makes their position clear. Maybe digital RPGs should take the hint from the paper ones.
--
Tinuviel
"Either I'm gonna kill her or I'm beginning to like her." -Han Solo
My own take on it can be extended to the idea of laptops in the schools; it abrogates personal choice. In the college setting, it not only ignores the student's established OS preferences, but their specific computer needs and usage patterns; some people need a powerful desktop system for 3D rendering, some people want a great video card for our -- oops, I mean their -- Quake 3 fix, and some of us just plain can't cope with more distraction in class than that afforded by our Palm IIIs.
For younger kids, the OS question is even more pressing; the computer companies that support these 'educational' efforts want the children of America to grow up equating "computer" with their operating system. In much the same way that Pepsi has bought my campus, hoping to train us all to be Pepsi drinkers, computer companies want to "get 'em young". Even inadvertently, the educational systems will be choosing an operating system to teach to the exclusion of others.
Also, the sheer distraction of a computer is problematic. When only one or two kids in a whole class has a laptop, the teacher can still maintain discipline. When every kid has one, and is encouraged to have it on during class, very few kids are going to pay any attention to the teacher.
This can be avoided by using the kind of computer education model that my (private) high school used; they had a computer lab, and various installations of Mac and PC computers scattered throughout the school. They didn't have any Unix machines (*sigh*) but we were taught to use applications under both MacOS and Win95, as well as some weird Novell interface. We had a "Computers" class, where we learned to touch type, to program shapes in Logowriter, and occasionally some other classes, usually Math, would arrange for us to get new software loaded that was germane to the class, and then teach us to use it.
Giving laptops to immature students and expecting them to not get trashed is incredibly naive. Expecting them to be used only for educational purposes is even more so. Giving laptops to kids will give them an early learning bias for the chosen operating system (and who *doesn't* think it will be Winblows?), will distract them from their classes, and will encourage learning of application skills, not content. Besides, public schools (I attended Oregon public schools for years and years) would do better to raise teacher's salaries, decrease class sizes, increase tracking, and pay for music programs, than to waste money on laptops for every child. Teach the kids to type early; introduce applications slowly as the years go by, using well-networked, well-maintained desktop systems at school, and hire knowledgable teachers to teach computer classes. More exposure to computers can be at the parents' discretion (it all comes back to active parenting, doesn't it?) and/or on the students' own time.
Felicity Shoulders
-------------
"Either I'm gonna kill her, or I'm beginning to like her." - Han Solo