JaggedJimmyJay wrote:I think there's a tendency for players and hosts alike to severely underestimate the influence they can have on the game with certain behaviors.
I also want to directly address this.
Provide dead players or the host are staying within fair rules, when they influence the game, that's the problem of the active players. As a player, one has to figure out how to deal with it to not let it influence you.
I've seen plenty of tunneling based on this kind of external information and be wrong nearly every time. Perhaps I've just been brought up in a community where you quickly realise that as much information as you might
perceive people are providing while you're playing - the reality is that if you base decisions off it you're probably going to be entirely wrong. I think active players severely overestimate the actual value and relevance of the posts that end up influencing them. That's not to say they don't have influence... just that it's on the people who are influenced.
Dead on-topic posting, host information... these things are part of the design space that should be available to hosts as well, provided it's balanced.
Having said that... I did host a game where dead posting was outlawed, and I had to put it in bold and red in the rules and PM players to remind them, because I know that unless you are that forceful about it, our culture here is one that allows deadposting and you'll just see it happen naturally.