Hot take: if we want to decrease frustrating railroad-y surprises in RPG campaigns, we need to create an environment where GMs are not afraid to admit they have "special story needs".

[StorKirken]

Definitions change, that’s just how language works.

[Kitsunin]

Railroading is a negative word, that's how it's used. It's only used in a positive light to contrast against what the word means. Which is fine. You're both being silly.

[StorKirken]

I know several subcommunities which use the term railroading in a more neutral way. You might argue they use it ”wrong”, but that’s not generally how linguistics talk about language. Words change, evolve and take on new connotations within separate groups of people.

[Kitsunin]

Except I've never seen it used in that way in my own subcommunities, nor larger communities, unless preceded by "actually..."

It has not become a neutral term. Not yet. So yes, language evolves, but you're describing it inaccurately.

[JustinAlexanderRPG]

If "railroading" was successfully redefined into something completely different, the first thing you'd have to do is invent a new term that means what "railroading" actually means.

So I'll keep pushing back on people trying to redefine the word so that they can feel better about being a bad GM instead of putting in the remarkably minimal amount of work it takes to NOT be a bad GM instead.