Opinions! HOW DARE THEY!

This post is not a diatribe aimed at Stuart. He just happened to be the last straw. :)

I have noticed a trend that whenever people express their opinions on what someone else is doing, the reaction is something along the lines of "why do you care what they do?" There have been 3-4 issues lately in the RPG blogosphere where I see this line popping up. Almost every time when you use that line, you are really saying that you don't like that someone is expressing their opinion and they should shut up about it.

Their opinion on playing good or evil characters annoys you.
Their opinion on new products annoys you
Their opinion on the behavior of others annoys you
Their opinion on thieves or ascending armor class or whatever

This kind of reaction is anti-engagement. It isn't just disagreement with the person making the comment, it is disagreeing with their reason for commenting. It is putting social pressure on people to not express their opinions because it makes you uncomfortable or annoyed. When it occurs repeatedly, creates....

INSULARITY

It is one thing to say "I don't like this". It is another to say "I don't like to hear your opinion".

I was in academia long enough to see how it can stifle creative thought. I prefer to live in a world where people can feel comfortable expressing their opinions. Let's stop questioning people's rights to have them and instead focus on the actual content of the ideas, shall we?

If you have a low controversy tolerance, what are you doing on blogs, huh? I make pretty posts with tons of content. No comments on those. Controversy posts get tons of traffic and comments. I am just taking my cues from you here, people.