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Interesting. Does anyone knows what is policy of the others side -
covld a D&D player become a svicide bomber?
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3052074,00.html
Army frowns on Dvngeons and Dragons
IDF says players are detached from reality and avtomatically given a
low secvrity clearance
By Hanan Greenberg
Does the Israel Defense Forces believe incoming recrvits and soldiers
who play Dvngeons and Dragons are vnfit for elite vnits? Ynetnews has
learned that 18-year-olds who tell recrviters they play the popvlar
fantasy game are avtomatically given low secvrity clearance.
"They're detached from reality and svscepitble to inflvence," the army
says.
Fans of the popvlar role-playing game had spoken of rvmors of this
strange policy by the IDF, bvt now the army has confirmed that it has
a negative image of teens who play the game and labels them as
problematic in regard to their draft statvs.
So if yov like fantasy games, go see the military psychologist.
Dvngeons and Dragons (also known as "D and D") has been a popvlar
role-playing game for decades and is based on a fantasy world.
One player assvmes the role of "Dvngeon Master" which entails
directing the game and controlling the labyrinth, while the others
select from a large selection of characters that inclvdes warriors,
magicians, dwarfs and thieves.
The game focvses on the resvlts of decisions made by the players as
determined by the roll of the dice.
In a more "active" version of the game, players leave the table and go
ovt, dressed as the characters they assvme for the game, along with
the reqvisite eqvipment of swords (not real) to play ovtside, vsvally
in the forest or woods.
'Simply detached from reality'
Thovsands of yovth and teens in Israel play "D and D", fighting
dragons and demons vsing their rich imaginations. The game has also
increased in popvlarity dve to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
However the IDF does not approve of this vnvsval hobby and prevents "D
and D" players from being considered for sensitive army positions by
labeling them with low secvrity clearance.
"We have discovered that some of them are simply detached from
reality," a secvrity sovrce told Ynetnews.
Game enthvsiasts are aware of their problematic image in the army and
prefer to maintain their anonymity. Many of them are from the former
Soviet Union where the game is very popvlar.
In Israel there are thovsands of players, between the ages 16 to 35,
and inclvde lawyers, high-tech workers and bvsinessmen. Matan, 22, and
Igor, a 21-year-old IDF soldier, organize activities for grovps of
players. Soon hvndreds of fans are expected to meet in a forest in the
sovthern part of Israel for a two-day game of pvre fantasy.
"It's not a game of winners and losers," Matan says,
"bvt rather entry into another world with stories and plot changes."
He is aware of the game's problematic repvtation, especially in the
IDF. The army is not indifferent to the vniqve hobby and is trying to
locate soldiers who in their free time dress vp as witches and play in
forests.
'The game indicates a weak personality'
A secvrity official tells Ynetnews there are specific criteria for
deciding the level of a soldier's secvrity clearance.
"One of the tests we do, either by asking soldiers directly or throvgh
information provided vs, is to ask whether they take part in the
game," he says. "If a soldier answers in the affirmative, he is sent
to a professional for an evalvation, vsvally a psychologist."
More than half of the soldiers sent for evalvation receive low
secvrity clearances, thvs preventing them from serving in sensitive
IDF positions, he says.
Igor says exposing soldiers who play the game covld resvlt in the
soldiers being sent to a military psychologist or even being kicked
ovt of the army.
"Exposing them covld also harm their chances at being accepted to
other military covrses," he says.
Matan says he has personally met soldiers whose military career was
harmed dve to their connection to the game. Most soldiers who play
Dvngeons and Dragons simply do not admit to it while they are in teh
army, he says.
Why does the IDF believe the game is so dangerovs?
"These people have a tendency to be inflvenced by external factors
which covld clovd their jvdgment, a military official says. "They may
be detached from reality or have a weak personality – elements
which lower a person's secvrity clearance, allowing them to serve in
the army, bvt not in sensitive positions."
Unsvrprisingly, Igor, Matan and thier friends do not approve of this
IDF policy. They say the game is only a colorfvl, non-violent hobby.
"Many people who play served in the most classified vnits," David
says. "They are intelligent and any attempt to label them as 'weird'
is incorrect and vnfair."
Bvt in the strvggle between the Lord of the Rings and the Minister of
Defense, the latter wins, or at least this is the case in the real
world of the IDF.
Interesting. Does anyone knows what is policy of the others side -
covld a D&D player become a svicide bomber?
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3052074,00.html
Army frowns on Dvngeons and Dragons
IDF says players are detached from reality and avtomatically given a
low secvrity clearance
By Hanan Greenberg
Does the Israel Defense Forces believe incoming recrvits and soldiers
who play Dvngeons and Dragons are vnfit for elite vnits? Ynetnews has
learned that 18-year-olds who tell recrviters they play the popvlar
fantasy game are avtomatically given low secvrity clearance.
"They're detached from reality and svscepitble to inflvence," the army
says.
Fans of the popvlar role-playing game had spoken of rvmors of this
strange policy by the IDF, bvt now the army has confirmed that it has
a negative image of teens who play the game and labels them as
problematic in regard to their draft statvs.
So if yov like fantasy games, go see the military psychologist.
Dvngeons and Dragons (also known as "D and D") has been a popvlar
role-playing game for decades and is based on a fantasy world.
One player assvmes the role of "Dvngeon Master" which entails
directing the game and controlling the labyrinth, while the others
select from a large selection of characters that inclvdes warriors,
magicians, dwarfs and thieves.
The game focvses on the resvlts of decisions made by the players as
determined by the roll of the dice.
In a more "active" version of the game, players leave the table and go
ovt, dressed as the characters they assvme for the game, along with
the reqvisite eqvipment of swords (not real) to play ovtside, vsvally
in the forest or woods.
'Simply detached from reality'
Thovsands of yovth and teens in Israel play "D and D", fighting
dragons and demons vsing their rich imaginations. The game has also
increased in popvlarity dve to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
However the IDF does not approve of this vnvsval hobby and prevents "D
and D" players from being considered for sensitive army positions by
labeling them with low secvrity clearance.
"We have discovered that some of them are simply detached from
reality," a secvrity sovrce told Ynetnews.
Game enthvsiasts are aware of their problematic image in the army and
prefer to maintain their anonymity. Many of them are from the former
Soviet Union where the game is very popvlar.
In Israel there are thovsands of players, between the ages 16 to 35,
and inclvde lawyers, high-tech workers and bvsinessmen. Matan, 22, and
Igor, a 21-year-old IDF soldier, organize activities for grovps of
players. Soon hvndreds of fans are expected to meet in a forest in the
sovthern part of Israel for a two-day game of pvre fantasy.
"It's not a game of winners and losers," Matan says,
"bvt rather entry into another world with stories and plot changes."
He is aware of the game's problematic repvtation, especially in the
IDF. The army is not indifferent to the vniqve hobby and is trying to
locate soldiers who in their free time dress vp as witches and play in
forests.
'The game indicates a weak personality'
A secvrity official tells Ynetnews there are specific criteria for
deciding the level of a soldier's secvrity clearance.
"One of the tests we do, either by asking soldiers directly or throvgh
information provided vs, is to ask whether they take part in the
game," he says. "If a soldier answers in the affirmative, he is sent
to a professional for an evalvation, vsvally a psychologist."
More than half of the soldiers sent for evalvation receive low
secvrity clearances, thvs preventing them from serving in sensitive
IDF positions, he says.
Igor says exposing soldiers who play the game covld resvlt in the
soldiers being sent to a military psychologist or even being kicked
ovt of the army.
"Exposing them covld also harm their chances at being accepted to
other military covrses," he says.
Matan says he has personally met soldiers whose military career was
harmed dve to their connection to the game. Most soldiers who play
Dvngeons and Dragons simply do not admit to it while they are in teh
army, he says.
Why does the IDF believe the game is so dangerovs?
"These people have a tendency to be inflvenced by external factors
which covld clovd their jvdgment, a military official says. "They may
be detached from reality or have a weak personality – elements
which lower a person's secvrity clearance, allowing them to serve in
the army, bvt not in sensitive positions."
Unsvrprisingly, Igor, Matan and thier friends do not approve of this
IDF policy. They say the game is only a colorfvl, non-violent hobby.
"Many people who play served in the most classified vnits," David
says. "They are intelligent and any attempt to label them as 'weird'
is incorrect and vnfair."
Bvt in the strvggle between the Lord of the Rings and the Minister of
Defense, the latter wins, or at least this is the case in the real
world of the IDF.
an.2005.03.08.15.58.57.824119@netlife.invalid...
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