4 ms·

My kneejerk reaction to the headline was that this might be a service to connect existing groups to vetted, high-quality GMs, like a premium service aimed at th

My kneejerk reaction to the headline was that this might be a service to connect existing groups to vetted, high-quality GMs, like a premium service aimed at the sorts of folks who'd otherwise spend a ton of money on TTRPG tables and miniatures. But this is more like a rideshare model, where you're looking at who's available for a given timeslot/location, then jumping into a game that's determined by the GM. With online games, you're also likely playing with strangers. This makes the whole thing feel more like a permanent convention/event setup — you pay for a seat at a table and agree to work with whatever's handed to you. Which is great, but it also has to compete with similar free game matchmaking as well as those types of (now also virtual) events. I'm also confused about the age tier filters — the "No Use By Minors" section of the ToS is very clear about users under 18 being prohibited from using the service, but there are game filters for games that can include players ages 9-17. That seems impossible without breaking the ToS. The Code of Conduct is welcome, but it's stowed away in the bottom of the ToS. For a social product like this, it would benefit from being much more prominent and discoverable. It's also unclear how to report issues with or violations of the CoC; there's a contact email and URL in the ToS, but they point to a different domain of startplayinggames.com, and the Contact form URL in the ToS just plain doesn't work. More importantly, the CoC doesn't appear to give the GM the ability to define additional conduct rules or expectations that don't necessarily delve into content sensitivities — can players be late, show up unprepared, play intoxicated? Can a GM remove a player who is following the CoC but otherwise being disruptive? I see some who state they will in their profiles — if they do, does the player get refunded, and from where does that refund come? What potential consequences are there for players or GMs who remove a player from a game? What's the revenue split look like? I tried the "Become a GM" link from one of the GM profile pages, but it pulled up a blank profile, presumably because the footer links are all relative? https://startplaying.games/game-master/become-gm https://startplaying.games/game-master/become-gm

masukomi 6y ago
100% this
devonchulick 6y ago
I agree so much with this! Most people who move into the pro gm world have a ton of experience and resources, but the reviews are one of the best ways to have people vetted. We only show GM's who have 5+ reviews on our search, but any GM can list a game if it meets our review standards. I like that take on it being a permanent convention set up. The drop in games are definitely filling that niche. A bunch of our games aren't in search because GMs use our tools for charging their customers and scheduling sessions, but for private groups. I'll be honest, we're working to make the ToS more clear as we've learned about other use cases. We mean to say, Minors need a parents consent (credit card to book). As we have grown, we're working to create a better and more apparent code of conduct. You also found an interesting bug! If you haven't signed up for an account but click become a GM, it won't work since our database looks for an account to them upgrade with new permissions. Thanks for pointing that out!
- trynewideas 6y ago
  Awesome! Thanks for responding. That clears up some details. > I'll be honest, we're working to make the ToS more clear as we've learned about other use cases. We mean to say, Minors need a parents consent (credit card to book). I know how tricky ToS can be, especially around safe access for minors. A lot of games I've run professionally have been at cons and events where kids could be present, and online signup/registration tends to be one of the recurring hangups. > A bunch of our games aren't in search because GMs use our tools for charging their customers and scheduling sessions, but for private groups. This is an awesome use of the service, and it'd be great if that use case was made more visible up front as a selling point toward becoming a GM. The pitch to GMs as it's presented on the site is more about how the site can help to drive people to games, but if I already have players and my goal isn't necessarily to expand my audience through discovery, then using this service solely as a front-end to handle private scheduling and compensation — and with the option to open it up if we want to add a player built in — sounds a lot more compelling. For instance, I use Calendly to book and take payments, but it's more rigid to work with as a group scheduling tool than I'd like — a business meeting isn't quite as expected to have people join and leave a group meeting on a whim. I feel also like I'm paying for business-focused features and integrations I don't use, while fighting against that design in order to connect it to VTTs and the like.
jgollhardt 6y ago
Good call on the relative links -- just pushed a fix!

masukomi 6y ago

100% this

devonchulick 6y ago

I agree so much with this! Most people who move into the pro gm world have a ton of experience and resources, but the reviews are one of the best ways to have people vetted. We only show GM's who have 5+ reviews on our search, but any GM can list a game if it meets our review standards. I like that take on it being a permanent convention set up. The drop in games are definitely filling that niche. A bunch of our games aren't in search because GMs use our tools for charging their customers and scheduling sessions, but for private groups. I'll be honest, we're working to make the ToS more clear as we've learned about other use cases. We mean to say, Minors need a parents consent (credit card to book). As we have grown, we're working to create a better and more apparent code of conduct. You also found an interesting bug! If you haven't signed up for an account but click become a GM, it won't work since our database looks for an account to them upgrade with new permissions. Thanks for pointing that out!

trynewideas 6y ago
Awesome! Thanks for responding. That clears up some details. > I'll be honest, we're working to make the ToS more clear as we've learned about other use cases. We mean to say, Minors need a parents consent (credit card to book). I know how tricky ToS can be, especially around safe access for minors. A lot of games I've run professionally have been at cons and events where kids could be present, and online signup/registration tends to be one of the recurring hangups. > A bunch of our games aren't in search because GMs use our tools for charging their customers and scheduling sessions, but for private groups. This is an awesome use of the service, and it'd be great if that use case was made more visible up front as a selling point toward becoming a GM. The pitch to GMs as it's presented on the site is more about how the site can help to drive people to games, but if I already have players and my goal isn't necessarily to expand my audience through discovery, then using this service solely as a front-end to handle private scheduling and compensation — and with the option to open it up if we want to add a player built in — sounds a lot more compelling. For instance, I use Calendly to book and take payments, but it's more rigid to work with as a group scheduling tool than I'd like — a business meeting isn't quite as expected to have people join and leave a group meeting on a whim. I feel also like I'm paying for business-focused features and integrations I don't use, while fighting against that design in order to connect it to VTTs and the like.

jgollhardt 6y ago

Good call on the relative links -- just pushed a fix!