[QUOTE=butler1850]
<former AD&D gamer checking in>
Do you REALLY want those nutbags with a security clearance? I’m surprised I’m allowed out in public!
[QUOTE]
Oh, Please!
When was the last time you were actually out in public?
On line, doesn’t count.
Tris
);
Hey, I’d let him guard the President if he was Clint Eastwood.
You’ve been whoosed. He was the president.
Ronald Reagan Bedtime for bozo
Yeah, I’d let Clint Eastwood guard Ronald Reagan 
Thanks for your explanation of the “the devil is tricky” point of view, Johnny Angel. I can see how it might make sense for those who have that world view.
Ah, finally someone who agrees (in part) with this policy! We have a debate! 
What do you base that “socially, if not mentally, deficient” *) on? I’m trying to understand your point of view, but I’m having problems understanding why you see this difference between “weird hobby based on make-believe #1” versus “weird hobby based on make-believe #2”. As a general rule, in a LARP you interact with more peple than in a tabletop game.
Some (aspects of) LARPs resemble paintball with swords, and seem more sports-like than roleplaying-like. I can see nothing there that it would make sense for any army (or anyone else apart from the “pretend violence leads to real violence” crowd) to disapprove of. Then there are those (aspects of) LARPs which are based more around playing a role, the lets-pretend-to-be-someone-else-for-a-while part. I suppose I can see, in a devil’s advocate kind of way, why that would seem suspect to someone unfamiliar with the hobby. But why would someone who plays tabletop RPGs see this aspect of LARPs as troubling? It’s the same lets-pretend that we do in tabletop games.
You do notice that he’s bashing table top gamers, not LARPers, right?
*) Somewhat of a hijack, but I have a language question. Which of these does “socially, if not mentally, deficient” mean:
Yes, I noticed. I’m actually kind of ambivalent about the whole issue, but liked that one of my favorite comics was addressing the topic.
I meant #3: “socially, and maybe mentally, deficient”.
The Israeli Defense Force may, or may not be reacting arbitrarily. I don’t know. There may be some aspect of the way D&D is played in Israel that truly indicates an unstable personality or hostility to order. It might be seen the same way as openly worshiping Satan is in the United States. It’s not that the discrimination is justified in the face of the situation, but there may be something else going on.
Certainly there is a personality type that likes role-playing games, and other types that don’t. It requires great imagination, logic, and attention to detail to play the game. Live action role playing, in my opinion, requires a different frame of mind. You are correct in calling me out on my own prejudice – I perceive the LARP level of gaming as too weird or far out to fall into the range of normal. I am likely wrong in that prejudice, and I admit that.
However, it is true that the type of person who plays D&D, and particularly who enjoys LARP is, in some way, different than the norm. It’s whether that difference is positive to military service, or potentially negative to military service that is the underlying issue. Again, I don’t know, but the IDF thinks it does.