The Culture: A Hobby Culture Relies On Competent Technical Instruction

Speaking of conversations about the hobby, the Father of Battleswine points out Gygax's big flaw:

Thinking that Gygax’s use of “big words” (i.e. “High Gygaxian”) was the beginning and end of his difficulties as an author is a layman’s understanding of the flaws within the AD&D text.

Opacity of language is a fundamental issue, but there are more and deeper problems there.

— Daddy Warpig (@DaddyWarpig) June 21, 2023

Rulebooks are technical manuals. They are not literature. They are not esoteric tomes. They are written works specifically commissioned to instruct the reader in how to perform a skill or use a widget, and in fantastic adventure wargaming the manual must do both tasks simultaneously: using the widget requires performing a skill.

Gary Gygax was many things, but a technical writer was not one of them. That it took the #BROSR, with its superior skill and acumen as writers, to fix what even Boomers failed to comprehend is testament to this defect being present.

Technical writing must be clear. This is where Gary's expansive vocabulary, and his ego left unchecked, worked against him. If there is any merit to any retroclone, it is in those that comprehend that this is necessary and thus takes care to ensure that the reader receives the intended instruction for how to Do The Thing.

Technical instruction done in person is no less required to be clear in its communication. The competency of grammar necessary for clear technical writing is also necessary in clear technical instruction in person; this means that mentors must cultivate more than just mastery in the acumen of the hobby, but also acumen in the skill of instruction itself- a master hobbyist is also a teacher.

Consider that the current owner of AD&D is a hostile party, and that they have already demonstrated a willingness to Memory Hole the past, and that is not the only proper game under hostile management. You may need to exercise technical communication skills--in speech and in writing--sooner than later to keep Your Prefered Ruleset alive.