[EricH]

Originally Posted by bduddy

This is what happens when the GDC (or anyone else) tries to make "common-sense" rules or "simple" rules or anything of the sort. Discussion about "rules lawyering" or whatever misses the point: rules need to be clearly defined and as comprehensive as possible, or there's no point in having them. Otherwise you end up with differing interpretations and that very rarely ends well.

Maybe not "as comprehensive as possible".

The rules need to be a) clear, b) as comprehensive as necessary to communicate the intent of the rules, and c) written clearly.

But the questions about interpretations need to be answered promptly and clearly. Not "we're using the common sense definition of 'grapple'" or "We don't give design reviews". More like "We are using the following definition of 'grapple'..." and "We don't give design reviews; however, you may want to pay close attention to the following rules..."

The GDC neither declared the concept legal nor declared it illegal. They simply said, "We aren't going to make the call." Then, it seems that they decided to make the call... a month and a half after it was asked, and a few weeks after declining to provide a specific definition of "grapple", "grasp", and "attach".

This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened (and yes, I can cite instances); however, the real question is, how do we keep it from happening again?