These are just some things rattling around in my head from the past few days of internetting:

RPGs are a hobby of the nerd community.

For nerds, ostracism is the ultimate crime, so nerds instinctively define things as part of an out-group as the sort of ultimate dismissal/put-own.

From RPG.net: “Re: “This is not an RPG”: Trying to figure out an argument”

Dear Gaming World,

Your knights are all thugs.

Sincerely,

Judd

P.S. Thugs can fun; I’m not knocking it.

From here: “[Burning Sands: Jihad] Is it too much to ask to play a terrorist?”

You’re the master of your own destiny – unless of course the bad luck of the dice declare otherwise. In this sense it provides valuable life lessons to youngsters (especially the geeky and bookish youngsters who the game attracts) – take risks, have adventures, make something of your life; even if you fail, which is a distinct possibility because the universe is a random and uncaring place, that’s more interesting than staying in your comfort zone.

From here: “Monsters and Manuals: I got my philosophy”