Of Sandboxes and Railroads, part 1

Regarding the topic of Sandboxes and Railroads, I have many thoughts that I would like to express and I will do so over the weeks and months ahead as the whim strikes me.

Regarding Railroads, I have been reading blog posts here and there and many of them have things in common. The player wants to have his character take an action and the DM heads that off by saying that the PC would not do that. Then the DM will conclude by telling the player what their PC is going to do instead. That is classic railroading where the players decisions and choices mean nothing and the DM overrules the player at every turn to keep things on the railroad.

Now there are two responses to this, one is the response I have seen repeatedly where both DMs and players say they like railroads, why I am never quite sure. There seems to be an expectation that everything is supposed to go a certain way and that gives them comfort in some strange way.

The other response is for players who like to make choices and go anywhere they want, these players will usually vote with their feet and find a different DM to play with.

I have also seen comments to the effect that the opposite of a railroad is to let the players do what they want, even if it messes up the plans the DM had. What is never really explained to my satisfaction is this assumption that the DM should have plans. It seems that some people think the solution to a railroad is not to eliminate railroads, but to have multiple railroads in the form of purchased modules, then you don't have to force the players onto a specific railroad, but instead allow them to choose which railroad and how this empowers players by giving them choices that matter.

I beg to differ, having three railroads is not meaningly different than having one railroad, yes I understand it gives the players a small modicum of choice, but still nothing that really matters.

Someone said that to avoid railroading you have to be willing to put hours and hours into things and then be OK if the they walk away from it. Then they say just reuse it another day and don't let the players know you are doing it. Right a little deceit here or there is no biggie, right! I'm sorry as a player that doesn't work for me. If Dungeon X is located below Castle Y 150 miles southwest of Starter Town, then that is what its location should always be and maybe the PCs will go there someday or maybe they won't. Moving it in front of whatever direction the players decide to travel is IMO as both a player and a DM, what is referred to as "cheating." IMO don't "cheat."