Ok, GameCraft is fantastic. I've put it in my link list, and will be checking it out in greater depth from home. Please credit GameCraft if you pass this along.

Getting Feedback - Repeat, Clarify, Probe

First, ask specific questions. Were the scenes and encounters too hard? Too easy? Too long? Did they feel railroaded, did they feel 'adrift'? Stuff like that.

Second, repeat what they tell you. When they answer a question, put it in your own words, and ask if that's what they meant, just to make sure you're understanding clearly.

Third, probe for details. That is, ask about various little bits of what they said that seem to be leading somewhere. The dragon wasn't too tough, just a bit simple. What struck you as "simple"?

Fourth, clarify. Recap everything you've learned by asking. Thank the players for their feedback, and pay attention to it. The players are telling you not only how their priorities were served, but what those priorities are. Try to look at their answers in light of what they are telling you is important about the game.

I came across an entry in someone elses's blog remarking that they'd stumbled across their first Internet posting, and that got me curious about mine.  I like to joke that I was waiting at the onramp with my bags when they first opened the Information Highway -- well, maybe not, but here's the earliest I can find from yours truly.  This does not, of course, address participation in BBS's in the pre-Internet world.  I post (repost, I guess) it here because, appropriately, the first posting I can find was to ADND-L, on the subject of gamesmastering.  Not only that, but I think it's darned good.  It's fairly long, so behind the ( cut )

it goes...