When I was first playing D&D, my hometown had an anti-D&D freak-out. There is a fun thread going on at rpg.net about that history and it inspired me to get off my duff and scan in the articles from that period. My mother, bless her soul, kept them all and made a scrapbook that she gave me for my 30th birthday, entitled "D&D: a Cautionary Tale". I really love reading it from time to time and I think it I should share it with you.

So here's the article that started it all:

A follow-up article that came out a few days later:

Here's how cool my mom was (yep, that's her in the picture and the primary "expert" for the article):

And the counter-attack. You know, in reading this again, I kind of feel bad for these people. They really believe they are doing good. It's kind of sad. I can say that in the light of living in a democratic, tolerant society, though, as this kind of behaviour has often been successful in other societies and times and caused a great deal of pain.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Now the battle moves over into the letters page of the Times. The first volley is by one of my friends, though he didn't play in my regular group. Even today, I am impressed by how well written his letter is (though some sectors of the hobby may rankle today at his use o the "you're not playing it right argument"). Today, the author of the letter below is a successful, well-adjusted husband and father who doesn't have enough time to game (though he would be if we lived in the same city).