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Ttrpg players be like (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/rpgmemes@ttrpg.network
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[–] 6 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I’ve never played a TTRPG, but I noticed that the first person said DM and you said GM. Are they interchangeable? Or is DM specifically only for D&D because of dungeon? Is there bad blood between people who say GM vs DM? Is it like crips and bloods?

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

    The phrase "Dungeon Master" is a registered trademark[1] by the rights holders of Dungeons and Dragons. DM is the abbreviation of that, and most likely safe to use. Game Master (GM) is used as a generic (and game agnostic) term.

    [1] https://trademarks.justia.com/742/64/dungeon-74264094.html

    Edit: I have (twice) edited this now after additional information from others (thank you Kichae for the link to the Dungeon Master trademark) was posted on this thread.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    I don't think DM is a trademark, but if you have other information feel free to provide it. Looking through older discussion forums on this topic, the only semi-definitive answer I've found is in this 2021 thread where somebody referred to a now-defunct US gov't trademark search link, where they said they found a lot of "DM"s registered but none related to D&D. I'm inclined to believe it was a working link at that time and they weren't just making shit up.

    Personally I use the term DM because I've mostly played D&D, so to me it's more natural.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    My primary source at the time of posting was a sentence in the Wikipedia[1] but I have added the link to the trademark[2] that was provided by Kichae and rephrased my text now.

    Thank you for reminding me that I should always properly check my sources and provide all information.

    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dungeon_Master&oldid=1185015796 [2] https://trademarks.justia.com/742/64/dungeon-74264094.html

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