Philosophy
There's always a third way.
Becoming telepathic with each other.
Love.
- This idea of the "third way" keeps coming up in my [essays], especially [this one]. Society tends to split issues into "for" and "against" -- and I think ultimately, those two sides just end up unwittingly conspiring against the minority that opposes or doesn't fit into this polarization. (The example in the essay is sex -- there's an unspoken alliance between people who fear sex is dirty and dehumanizing, and people who pray that it's dirty and dehumanizing. One group's views lends credence to the other's, and help define the terms of debate. And that makes it a little harder for people to be heard who think sexuality should be beautiful and intimate.)
- The social philosophy of Puzzlebox is that issues are complex, too complex to handle with Procrustean rules; simply singling out an abstract concept to oppose -- saying, for instance, "public OOC is always detrimental to roleplaying" or "we will never, ever allow elves on our MUCK" -- is only going to stifle good roleplaying and conviviality in the long run. Some innocent with a great idea will inevitably get nailed just breaking a rule -- even though the rule was written to nail bad players, not good ones. Our existence depends on our players being able to deal with conflicts with sophistication and goodwill. If something is causing a problem, we want to solve it through public discussion and the offering of alternatives, not just by laying down an arbitrary new rule that will probably create as many problems as it solves. -- OR
"Third way" philosophy is really just the Buddhist doctrine of [madhyamika] with the serial numbers scratched off. :)
One point from above bears repeating: "We believe very strongly in the power of play for its own sake."