TSR Unearthed Arcana: TSR Policies

[Morrus]

but censorship for grownup entertainment starts getting a bit Third Reich, don't you think.

Let's not start comparing a company wanting to protect its brand's image with historical atrocities in which millions were murdered, eh? That's getting a little bit silly.

(Or, in answer to your question - no, I don't think that at all; there's no point at all to creating and nurturing a brand if you can't have some control over it; whether this particular set of guidelines is a particularly good one is another issue, of course).

 

[Halivar]

Something that is getting lost in the translation of time for #18 is the litany of urban legends and old wives' tales about D&D that almost put it in the ground. Heck, the verbiage of that particular point seems tailor-made for the old "steam tunnel" yarn.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Unearthed Arcana is a misnomer, as that dates to the second edition days.

 

[eondesigner]

Let's not start comparing a company wanting to protect its brand's image with historical atrocities

Ok, apologies, maybe a little too far in this case, but the atrocities you mentioned were preceded by book burnings. Just saying.

 

[the Jester]

Unearthed Arcana is a misnomer, as that dates to the second edition days.

Umm, sorry, nope. UA was the 1e book that was supposed to tease the never-released PH2 (EGG mentioned a lot of the stuff he was working on in Dragon- e.g. savants, mystics, mountebacks, thief-acrobats, barbarians, etc- in varying degrees of detail.)

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Exactly, and the TSR policies in question are from the '90s.

 

[Frostmarrow]

I actually worked for Disney for a time and the guidelines for artists are surprisingly relaxed although there's so many approval processes that anything a little 'adventurous' tends to get removed or watered down along the way. I kind of understand a set of rules in place for kids media, but censorship for grownup entertainment starts getting a bit Third Reich, don't you think.

I got the impression that the creative people behind Phineas and Ferb routinely make adult jokes so clever that the jokes are not always picked out during the approval process.
Is it like this or is this just an impression they like to give?

 

[eondesigner]

Can't speak directly for that show but my guess is its designed that way in an attempt to 'combat' other network's shows like 'the simpsons' and 'spongebob'. Deliberately anarchic without being offensive. They know what they're doing (most of the time).

 

[MJS]

Now I know why they never published my module : )

 

[Jester David]

I wonder how much of that was cut-and-pasted from the Comics Code Authority?

I wondered that too. The order seemed very close. Could just be coincidental.