Oberoni wrote:Let me get this straight. You:
1. Don't care what Gygax might have done in the past, but
2. Do care that he's not constantly staying on the cutting edge?
Something like that, yes. If Mr. Bill Gates insisted that everyone continue using Windows 3.X despite the fact that we're in the era of XP, I'd think he was a total quack. So would a lot of other people.
Oberoni wrote:1. Past accomplishments are the only way to measure someone's impact upon a field. The instant you're done doing something, it's a past accomplishment. I don't care if it's five minutes ago, five years ago, or five decades ago.
At what chronological point do you suddenly stop cheering someone for their accomplishments? Please tell me.
At the point in time when their attitude toward progress is a negative one. At the point where they want other people to go back and remember what they did because they're so important that their accomplishments are way better than anyone else's. At the point in time when someone says something akin to, "Everyone should buy a Ford Model T because it's the direct product of more progress and impact and imagination than a 2004 Honda Accord."
Oberoni wrote:2. By not constantly staying on the cutting edge, and in fact revelling in the proudest moments of his past, Gygax has become like every other older person throughout time. Hell, he's like a lot of youngins, too.
The instant you stop producing innovation, or wear clothing that is so last year, or don't get a computer with a Pentium IV because your Pentium III is holding up just fine, you're committing the same "crime" you accuse Gygax of. Seriously, he (and everyone else I know) is either in or will enter the state where he's not on the cutting edge; that has all of jack shit to do with whether or not you should respect him.
Not updating your old 486 because it's way better than a brand new computer is indeed the same "crime" I'm talking about. Not updating your computer because you can't afford to or because you've heard about something cooler you're willing to wait for is not the same "crime." Updating your computer, but keeping the 486 around because it's got a lot of personality and nostalgic value is only the "crime" of which I speak if you continue to shun the newer computer despite having it.
Oberoni wrote:As I've said before, Gygax has done some pretty cold stuff in the past (as related by Frank's posts). You could hate him for that.
I could.
Oberoni wrote:But considering past accomplishments irrelevant? Dissing someone because they're not constantly evolving with the times?
Past accomplishments are irrelevent to "temporal felonies." It doesn't matter whether you've done something or not. I can pretty much guarantee that my father-in-law (step father-in-law?) has pretty much done nothing with himself, but all during my husband's young life, my SFIL imposed strictures like, "You can't listen to music on my stereo that was made after 1975." Granted, he never stated that in a coherent, easy to comprehend way like I just did. He'd just get angry that something had been near his stereo, start being pissy and mean to everyone, and start drinking. This guy still rolls up his cigarettes in his sleeve, and he hates the fact that he can't drive his classic Chevelle around everywhere. He was fired from his job and replaced with "some young college student" because he wouldn't update his skills, and as a result, he sat on his ass and moped for years. Do you know it took to get him to think about considering the possibility of joining the new millenium? A psychiatrist and Zoloft (he was only on it for a few months). He's found modern artists he listens to, he goes ballroom dancing with his wife, he got a job, and he listens to a CD player! He has yet to update his computer, but now, at least there's hope that it will happen.
If you honestly can't relate to anything I'm saying, consider yourself lucky that you've never met someone like that.