layoffs?

[xechnao]

[Conspirasy]Or that they need to get rid of the old gaurd so that they can bring in new people with new ideas who are less resistant to change.[/Conspiracy]

See, you can never stop the conspiracy folks.

For the last 8 years it has been all about the D20 systemt. Where and how are they going to find trustworthy people with trustworthy NEW ideas?

 

[Noumenon]

Or that they need to get rid of the old gaurd so that they can bring in new people with new ideas who are less resistant to change.

I can imagine that they picked the people who were great at designing paper RPGs, but didn't seem like they'd be any good at designing computer-based RPGs, and got rid of them. I mean, an electronic subscription D&D would be so much more profitable than one based on books. How can you make money selling books? They're PDFs in paper cases.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

On the other hand, their expertise with that system would make them some of the best choices to design 3rd party products for it. The relative lack of 3rd party support means that if someone does it right, they stand to reap big gains.

I would be stunned if Goodman or Paizo were not salivating at the chance to add these names to the credits of their products.

 

[occam]

So how do we punish them? Should we spend more money on their products, because that seems more like a reward.

It's like imposing economic sanctions on a country; they never hurt the people who made the decisions leading to those sanctions. My point is that if your intent is to hurt WotC with a boycott, the first to feel it would be the employees you're claiming to stand up for.

 

[occam]

Second, either make a trip to the Washington State Employment Security Department, or hit their website, and apply, immediately, for your benefits, even if you do not feel you need them just yet. You have paid into it and it is your right to access it, guilt free.

A post full of good advice, including this. If you're laid off, don't fall into the trap of thinking "I'll find another gig soon, I won't need unemployment benefits, and it's a pain in the butt anyway." Especially in an economy like this, it's very easy to find yourself in crisis mode a few weeks or months later, kicking yourself for not filing for unemployment while you're trying to figure out how to pay your bills. File for unemployment right away, even if you don't think you'll need it.

Also, try to view the requirement to record a certain number of job prospects every week as a support system rather than a burden. Looking for a new job is hard, usually harder than an actual job, made worse by emotional and financial stress. The job-search requirements can help instill the self-discipline you'll need to keep going through this difficult process.

As you can tell, lots of people have gone through this before. Keep your chin up, lean on your friends and family, and good luck!

 

[Fifth Element]

I think it just shows that WotC is a bit more mature to not beg for money for screwing up but taking responsibility for their actions by trying to make the money themselves.

Or perhaps WotC would have zero pull with the government? The auto industry employs thousands and thousands of people. The RPG industry just doesn't compare.

Not saying they would be begging if they were much larger, I just don't think it's a realistic comparison.

 

[Fifth Element]

It's like imposing economic sanctions on a country; they never hurt the people who made the decisions leading to those sanctions. My point is that if your intent is to hurt WotC with a boycott, the first to feel it would be the employees you're claiming to stand up for.

That's very true, and it's why boycotts generally don't work against large companies. The people to feel the hit are the non-management employees who get laid off when profits drop, and they had nothing to do with the decision-making to begin with.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

Given some thought on this subject overnight, I believe this was inevitable. Not only because of the economy, but the push for WotC to reduce costs on material production by moving their share of effort into the digital market. With that in mind, I would not be surprised to see another round of layoffs in early spring. The SG&A alone will justify the cuts.

Digital printing is the 21st century, kiddies. I highly suspect that paper books will not be the majority line item in their gross profits within the next few years.

 

[billd91]

It's like imposing economic sanctions on a country; they never hurt the people who made the decisions leading to those sanctions. My point is that if your intent is to hurt WotC with a boycott, the first to feel it would be the employees you're claiming to stand up for.

There is some truth to this, but to subscribe to it fully ultimately leads to paralysis. Unless you can take your grievance directly to the persons responsible for the decision (and good luck even finding out who to contact, getting their contact information, and actually being heard), there is nothing you can do to hold the company responsible for decisions you consider unethical, immoral, or otherwise wrongheaded.

It's a lot like trying to sue a corporation for liability. It doesn't matter if they were really responsible for a dangerous product that killed your whole family, any settlement you get out of them is passed on to the consumers via price increase or to the employees with layoffs.

But I would submit that it is still worthwhile doing so, voting with your purchasing dollars or suing for real liability. You've got to do something rather than just moan, groan, and protest. It may be that the buzz generated by the protest is the real agent of changing a corporation's decisions, should the publicity become too much or the protest gain too much support for the corporation to risk the extra loss of sales (why else do a lot of corporations impose gag rules in return for settling out of court for civil lawsuits). But it's your commitment to backing it up with personal actions that provides the protest/boycott/whatever with respectibility. People don't respect your talking the talk unless you walk the walk.

 

[Baz King]

Can anyone tell me what products have had Johnathan Tweet's design credits on them in the last couple of years? Genuinely curious, and slightly out of the loop.