Being involved in the community means a number of things. For one thing, the community is not one big nebulous “thing”, but rather a series of much smaller groups of fellow players who are somehow involved with each other.

Take for example one of the three gaming groups that I regularly interact with: I am involved with them as GM and also as fellow player. I “run” most of the sessions. But I am also involved with each individual as a friend (or at least an acquaintance).

Involvement is about creating a space and time in which people can interact and play games. It’s also about coming to know and be known by each individual. In my case, it’s important to both accept the individuality of each person and feel accepted by them.

It could also mean time spent in the broader community that has been established around the Roleplay Rescue podcast and blog. People who are drawn towards what I have said, shared, discussed, and imagined gather to listen in and sometimes comment.

Listening is one way in which you can be involved. Tuning in to what others are doing and saying is a point of connection and understanding. It’s also a means towards your own growth and development as a hobbyist. You pick up ideas and maybe try them out.

Sometimes involvement is about support. The time when someone is struggling and you are there to offer an open ear or a sympathetic word. Or just to sit with them. To be alongside others is involvement.

And then there are other communities that identify around different aspects of and approaches to the broader RPG hobby. We are involved in some of them and perhaps blissfully unaware of others. Our involvement can be more or less active.

Sometimes people assume our involvement with elements of the wider community. If we have spoken to a person from another group then sometimes we are assumed to be sympathetic and supportive of them. This is not always the case, of course.

At the bottom of it all, we are involved when we engage with people in this hobby in play. This play can take many forms: roleplaying itself; game play; but also discussion and argument; shared ideas and curious conversation.

The least of our involvement, it seems to me, is when we buy something from another hobbyist. This is the lowest interaction – the transaction – and it is transcended when we take what they sell us and bring it to life for our friends.

In the end, this is an involvement with friends and potential friends. That’s the reason I have always been involved. RPG fans have involved me and I, in return, seek to involve others. This is the great joy of community.

Game on!