I am both autistic and have a rather serious social anxiety disorder. My reactions are not "normal people" reactions. I also haven't had anyone try to shove their way through my door in over 20 years.
I haven't had anyone ever try to shove their way in through my door. However, I question his version of events. More on that below.
Why do you believe he's exaggerating? Just for likes and subscribes? Isn't that a really risky move for him? If any evidence comes out that indicates otherwise (and no, WotC claiming they didn't tell the agent to not being intimidating isn't evidence), then that would sink him and he'd lose all credibility as well all those likes and subscribes you think he's currying.
I think there are inconsistencies in Cannon's story that make me question his truthfulness. Plus, there are things he did without considering how it may affect others, which to me is an indication of someone who is inconsiderate and possibly willing to do or say things for his benefit, even if it affects others in a negative way.
For example,
in this article it is reported that:
In an email exchange with io9, Cannon confirmed the statements he made on the video and added additional context, stating that “as soon as my wife answered the door they aggressively asked for me by my full name… announced themselves as the Pinkerton Agency (which I am very familiar with their reputation), and said they were there to recover ‘stolen goods’.” After his wife asked them to wait outside, Cannon says that they “forced themselves” at least partially through the door and prevented her from closing the door all the way. When Cannon eventually got to the door he says he “assertively moved everyone outside” and told the agents that they needed to treat the Cannons with more respect. “They did eventually dial it back and become more civil after that,” he says. At some point, Cannon alleges, the treatment by the agents made his wife cry.
So, Cannon was so threatened that he assertively told the Pinkerton agents they needed to treat the Cannons with respect, and they eventually dialed it back. They even became civil. So it seems that the "threats were made even before he got to the door. So the reports of"threats" are being made by Cannon as told to him by his wife. We're playing a game of telephone here at this point. I'll go ahead an say that it is most likely she cried, which to me denotes that she may have been highly stressed. Now, we don't know what her ability to handle stress is, but in general, people who are crying and stressed are not the best to have retell what happened. So the threats part of the story, to me, are suspect because of who made them. It wasn't Cannon. It was Cannon's crying wife. He isn't even sure when she started to cry. He just says that "at some point, the treatment by the agents made his wife cry. Assuming we are to believe Cannon that he assertively told them to treatment with respect and they. dialed it back and became civil, it seems to indicate his wife was crying prior to him getting to the door.
According to this article:
When he got on the phone with the Wizards of the Coast representative, oldschoolmtg says that the man was “apologetic” and they needed all the product back in order to “plug the hole.” He describes the interaction as “nice and laid back,” and it appears as if Wizards of the Coast was “apologetic” about sending literal Pinkerton agents to his house.
So the interaction wit hre agent was nice and laid back. Again, I don't know how many people would feel threatened by people who are physically in their homes and have a nice and laid back conversation with a customer service rep. I know, you mentioned you had a very nice customer service rep talk you down when some company tried to charge you $700 for a $7 pdf; however, that is not what Cannon said. He said it was nice and laid back. No one calmed him down. He was already calm, from what it appears. So again, was he really feeling threatened? I doubt it.
According to the first article I linked, the article's write reports:
Wizards of the Coast says it “strongly refutes this depiction of events, which contradicts both the report from the investigation as well as the conversation between the individual and the Wizards of the Coast representative after the interaction in question.” The company also stated that “under no circumstances would we instruct any employee or contracted agency to intimidate an individual.”
WoTC says it didn't happen, and if that was the only proof, I'd say, yeah, they can easily be lying. Probably would lie, too. But that isn't the only piece of information supporting their claim that didn't happen. They have a report which states otherwise, and a rep who spoke to them. The Pinkerton report could be exaggerated or downplayed, but Cannon himself states they became civil. He claims the interaction with the rep on the phone was nice and laid back. It seems even Cannon is giving some credence to what WoTC is saying.
Then we have Cannon himself. He seems inconsiderate and not a good person. We both agree Cannon is knowledgeable of Magic: THe Gathering card game. He has a channel where he makes videos of the game and the cards. He has been playing the game for years. How many, I don't know, but I'm guessing it's more than 2. He knows his stuff. He knows when cards are being released. I'm willing to bet he knows that people who get caught early releasing cards, whether it is selling or making videos, end up losing early access to the merch, and possibly more.
So we have a well informed YouTuber who gets cards from a friend that the friend should not have sent him.
From the first linked article:
Oldschoolmtg thinks he knows how the mix up happened—and says that he believes it’s a complete accident he received these cards ahead of time. He said that he purchased the booster boxes from a friend of his who is “not really a Magic player” and is much more invested in other Trading Card Games (TCGs) like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokémon. Because the earlier set of cards was titled March of Machine and was released on April 21, oldschoolmtg suspects that his supplier simply didn’t realize that the cards he was selling (titled March of the Machine: The Aftermath) was a different, unreleased set.
So he buys this from a friend. He knows the cards were not out. He made videos showing cards he knew were not out. He knew that if WoTC found out a supplier released these cards early, they could face serious repercussions which could damage the business. Yet, he didn't seem to care. He went and made his videos, regardless of what could happen to his "friend." He went and made videos that probably increased his viewership since he was the only one with those cards. His friend is probably going to end up losing access to early merch going forward. THat's going to suck for popular products. He now runs the risk of not having merchandise to sell because he could not buy early... because of Cannon.
Sure, Cannon was under no obligation to return the products. He was under no obligation to consider the effects it could have on the supplier. But that is a jerk move to do to your supposed friend. Putting himself and gaining, as you state below, a few hundred bucks, is not worth causing your friend trouble. Cannon could have made all the videos and held them until 12:00 am of the release date and put them all up. He could have avoided anyone knowing his friend released the cards before he was allowed to contractually do so. But he didn't because he's an inconsiderate clout chaser.
So yeah, I have a hard time believing someone who contradicts themselves and screws over friends.
That extra few hundred bucks he may be making from the increase in popularity is nothing.
To some people a few hundred bucks more is a lot. Now, we are looking at YouTube only. As far as I know, there has been no mention of him having a Patreon where people can subscribe and give him money, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have one. In any case, let's only consider YouTube as that is what we have certain proof of. As he gains in subscribers and viewers, it becomes more lucrative.
Meanwhile, the Pinkertons have a history of using intimidation, even when they're not supposed to (as per the time referenced above when a supposedly unarmed agent was actually armed and killed someone). The agency was literally formed for the purpose of intimidating people. They've done nothing over the decades to change that reputation.
It's far more likely that he's telling the truth and not exaggerating anything at all.
No, it's not far more likely considering how he has contradite his story. Is it possible? Yes. Is it possible that Cannon is lying? Yes. Whichever one you believe is the one that may seem more likely, but that isn't necessarily a fact.
By the way, why do you think the guard that shot the guy in Denver had his charges dropped and didn't have to go to trial? Have you looked into that incident? I don't want to introduce, or reintroduce that discussion, but you should look it up on your own, read what happened, and see if you think it the guy that was killed was completely innocent.
These, of course, are utterly ridiculous, and you know it.
I do know it, which means it's just another couple of points we agree on. I present them, though, because some people responding to this thread make it seem as if that is what they believe.
I think the WotC employees who are in charge of making these sort of decisions--dealing with people who bought a product before its release date, trying to destroy the OGL, etc.--are greedy, clueless idiots with no understanding of optics and with no common sense.
Do you believe that the people who tried to "destroy" the OGL are the same people that deal with people who bought a product before its release date?
The rest of the employees are just normal people who may or may not approve of what's going on probably can't do anything about it.
Agreed
I think the Pinkerton agents are knowingly working for a company with a well-deserved bad reputation for thuggery. Whether or not they are all bad people with bad intentions is immaterial--the agent that went to Cannon's house threatened him and his wife.
I wouldn't call it "immaterial." Either they all are terrible people willing to threaten and willing to engage in violence, or not all of them are terrible and willing to threaten and engage in violence. If some aren't, then there is a possibility that Cannon exaggerated and these particular Pinkerton employees did not threaten Cannon. You have to at least allow for the possibility that Cannon is not being truthful. That doesn't mean that it didn't happen, just that it is possible it didn't happen.
