Water Drinking at RPG Tables
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Posted by grognard262 squirecam
#26

squirecam wrote:
chaoticneutral262 wrote:
LOL, good luck enforcing that.  Expecting tens of thousands of people to sit at tables talking for 4 hours without so much as a sip of water isn't going to happen.  More so when you consider that many people have back-to-back events and don't have time to relocate to a "designated area" to take a drink of water.
This isnt your house and isnt their problem. If there is no eating allowed at gaming tables then your choice is to not play that game or play by the rules.Why is it that people simply wont follow the specified policies? Eat before you game. And if you have 14 hrs planned with no break that's a you problem. 

We aren't talking about eating.  We're talking about drinking.  The human body requires regular hydration.  Some people need to take medicine at various intervals  throughout the day.  GMs who are are talking for hours need to whet their whistle once in a while.  It's basic biology, and allowing people to push aside their mask for 15 seconds to get a drink of water is well within the CDC guidelines.

Posted by mikeboozer msteinbo
#27

msteinbo wrote:
Are players allowed to take short drinks from water bottles, given four hour games was curious on that policy.

Yes, it is perfectly reasonable to take a sip of water at your gaming table.

It is not an excuse to keep the mask off because "You're drinking" every once and a while.

Mike

Posted by vulcanspock squirecam
#28

squirecam wrote:
 
This isnt your house and isnt their problem. If there is no eating allowed at gaming tables then your choice is to not play that game or play by the rules.Why is it that people simply wont follow the specified policies? Eat before you game. And if you have 14 hrs planned with no break that's a you problem. 

The update said that masks are required unless you are actively eating or drinking.  I do a lot of RPG, which have always allowed snacks/drinks.  As far as I know, that hasn't changed.  If someone wants to jam in some beef jerky, just let them.  People should follow whatever table rules there are about that, of course.

Having said that, I don't think Gen Con has put itself in the best position to encourage success.  Masks won't be required anywhere outside Gen Con, including at a sold-out football game right next door.

People shouldn't come if they aren't planning to follow the rules.  Beyond my 4 events, I plan to see out as much non-mask activity as possible.  For me, that means minimizing time in exhibit hall and maximizing time in pickup games in hotel lobbies or wherever I can to game that doesn't mandate a mask. I am expecting there to be a lot of competition for these spaces.  Most frustrating is that I bet a lot of the people competing with me for these spaces will be the same people self-righteously posting about how much they love wearing masks.

I think attendance will be even lower than expected based on the number of people I have seen post of late cancellations. Frankly, I think Gen Con has adopted the exact policies you would adopt if you were trying to drive down attendance.  It's like The Producers, does someone have a financial stake in a convention failure?

They didn't appeal to health and safety conscious people by mandating vaccines
They didn't appeal to people who already feel safe by allowing them to participate without masks
They didn't appeal to people in the middle who'd accept vaccines, but not masks
(And I don't really think there is a substantial middle group that is pro-mask but anti-vaccine)
It's like they used a Venn Diagram to find the sweet spot that no one likes.

But, bottom line - if you're there, follow the rules.  Don't look for fights over this in either direction.  And get away from people who want to argue about it.

Posted by timjs21 vulcanspock
#29

mollymolly wrote:
squirecam wrote:
 
This isnt your house and isnt their problem. If there is no eating allowed at gaming tables then your choice is to not play that game or play by the rules.Why is it that people simply wont follow the specified policies? Eat before you game. And if you have 14 hrs planned with no break that's a you problem. 

The update said that masks are required unless you are actively eating or drinking.  I do a lot of RPG, which have always allowed snacks/drinks.  As far as I know, that hasn't changed.  If someone wants to jam in some beef jerky, just let them.  People should follow whatever table rules there are about that, of course.Having said that, I don't think Gen Con has put itself in the best position to encourage success.  Masks won't be required anywhere outside Gen Con, including at a sold-out football game right next door.
People shouldn't come if they aren't planning to follow the rules.  Beyond my 4 events, I plan to see out as much non-mask activity as possible.  For me, that means minimizing time in exhibit hall and maximizing time in pickup games in hotel lobbies or wherever I can to game that doesn't mandate a mask. I am expecting there to be a lot of competition for these spaces.  Most frustrating is that I bet a lot of the people competing with me for these spaces will be the same people self-righteously posting about how much they love wearing masks.
I think attendance will be even lower than expected based on the number of people I have seen post of late cancellations. Frankly, I think Gen Con has adopted the exact policies you would adopt if you were trying to drive down attendance.  It's like The Producers, does someone have a financial stake in a convention failure?
They didn't appeal to health and safety conscious people by mandating vaccines
They didn't appeal to people who already feel safe by allowing them to participate without masks
They didn't appeal to people in the middle who'd accept vaccines, but not masks
(And I don't really think there is a substantial middle group that is pro-mask but anti-vaccine)
It's like they used a Venn Diagram to find the sweet spot that no one likes.
But, bottom line - if you're there, follow the rules.  Don't look for fights over this in either direction.  And get away from people who want to argue about it.
Well said Molly!

Posted by stahlnee
#30

Keep in mind that outside of specific rooms and halls in the ICC is under ICC control.
 

Posted by lore seeker stahlnee
#31

stahlnee wrote:
Keep in mind that outside of specific rooms and halls in the ICC is public space and there will be folks going thru those areas without a mask.

I'm not sure that's the case.

Here's the news bulletin from August about the ICC's COVID response. From that article, one of the measures they're taking:

"Masks/face coverings for staff, temporary labor, and visitors and we will work with our clients one-on-one to determine their desired policies for both risk mitigation efforts." (emphasis mine)

Sounds like that would cover people just passing through.

Posted by elvinlord vulcanspock
#32

mollymolly wrote:
squirecam wrote:
 
This isnt your house and isnt their problem. If there is no eating allowed at gaming tables then your choice is to not play that game or play by the rules.Why is it that people simply wont follow the specified policies? Eat before you game. And if you have 14 hrs planned with no break that's a you problem. 

The update said that masks are required unless you are actively eating or drinking.  I do a lot of RPG, which have always allowed snacks/drinks.  As far as I know, that hasn't changed.  If someone wants to jam in some beef jerky, just let them.  People should follow whatever table rules there are about that, of course.Having said that, I don't think Gen Con has put itself in the best position to encourage success.  Masks won't be required anywhere outside Gen Con, including at a sold-out football game right next door.
People shouldn't come if they aren't planning to follow the rules.  Beyond my 4 events, I plan to see out as much non-mask activity as possible.  For me, that means minimizing time in exhibit hall and maximizing time in pickup games in hotel lobbies or wherever I can to game that doesn't mandate a mask. I am expecting there to be a lot of competition for these spaces.  Most frustrating is that I bet a lot of the people competing with me for these spaces will be the same people self-righteously posting about how much they love wearing masks.
I think attendance will be even lower than expected based on the number of people I have seen post of late cancellations. Frankly, I think Gen Con has adopted the exact policies you would adopt if you were trying to drive down attendance.  It's like The Producers, does someone have a financial stake in a convention failure?
They didn't appeal to health and safety conscious people by mandating vaccines
They didn't appeal to people who already feel safe by allowing them to participate without masks
They didn't appeal to people in the middle who'd accept vaccines, but not masks
(And I don't really think there is a substantial middle group that is pro-mask but anti-vaccine)
It's like they used a Venn Diagram to find the sweet spot that no one likes.
But, bottom line - if you're there, follow the rules.  Don't look for fights over this in either direction.  And get away from people who want to argue about it.
Excellent Analysis 

Posted by matthias9 elvinlord
#33

elvinlord wrote:
mollymolly wrote:
 
The update said that masks are required unless you are actively eating or drinking.  I do a lot of RPG, which have always allowed snacks/drinks.  As far as I know, that hasn't changed.  If someone wants to jam in some beef jerky, just let them.  People should follow whatever table rules there are about that, of course.Having said that, I don't think Gen Con has put itself in the best position to encourage success.  Masks won't be required anywhere outside Gen Con, including at a sold-out football game right next door.

People shouldn't come if they aren't planning to follow the rules.  Beyond my 4 events, I plan to seek out as much non-mask activity as possible.  For me, that means minimizing time in exhibit hall and maximizing time in pickup games in hotel lobbies or wherever I can to game that doesn't mandate a mask. I am expecting there to be a lot of competition for these spaces.  Most frustrating is that I bet a lot of the people competing with me for these spaces will be the same people self-righteously posting about how much they love wearing masks.

I think attendance will be even lower than expected based on the number of people I have seen post of late cancellations. Frankly, I think Gen Con has adopted the exact policies you would adopt if you were trying to drive down attendance.  It's like The Producers, does someone have a financial stake in a convention failure?

They didn't appeal to health and safety conscious people by mandating vaccines
They didn't appeal to people who already feel safe by allowing them to participate without masks
They didn't appeal to people in the middle who'd accept vaccines, but not masks
(And I don't really think there is a substantial middle group that is pro-mask but anti-vaccine)

It's like they used a Venn Diagram to find the sweet spot that no one likes.

But, bottom line - if you're there, follow the rules.  Don't look for fights over this in either direction.  And get away from people who want to argue about it.

Excellent Analysis 

I'll also add to the list of those who think this is very well-said. 

Nice job.

Posted by mark_theurer
#34

Having returned from GenCon yesterday and having participated in several events I can say that this turned out to not be a problem at any game that my group played in.  People took a drink or a bite and then put their mask back on without being idiots about it.  We had fun, played our games, and took care of our business.  Masking was not great, but it was also not an affront to my personal liberties as I understood that I was choosing to be there and could just have easily decided not to go and yell at the clouds if that's what I wanted to do.  I was disappointed that in some cases the mask rules were enforced differently depending on where you were at the con, though.  I'm hopeful that the need for a mask mandate will be gone for next year.

Posted by msteinbo
#35

Agreed!  Very smooth and non-issue.

Posted by helenbb
#36

[This post has been removed]

Posted by toxic_rat helenbb
#37

helenbb wrote:
Also, it helped a lot that the hotels (and outside block party) did not require masks, so it was easy to step out and take a ‘mask break’ if needed.
Don't forget the orange tables in the center of the gaming hall (near concessions).  That was nice too.

Posted by cmegus
#38

I found it ironic that the signs in front of all the doors for “Harassment would not be tolerated” was right next to the sign saying “Masks required no matter what your vaccinated status”.

In other words, we will not tolerate harassment unless you’re not wearing a mask, in which case all bets are off :)

G
 

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