DTRPG Says 'Don't criticize us or we'll ban you'

[aramis erak]

That's highly arguable. While there's no way to measure it that I'm aware of, I'd say that while pay-for-download role-playing game supplements might be an extremely niche market, there's certainly an argument to be made that OneBookShelf has monopoly power within it, even if they don't have an out-and-out monopoly.

Considering they've bought up at least two competitors... with RPGNow having been the big one

they have a few notable competitors remaining...
Paizo's webstore (Which sells more than just Paizo products)
e23/warehouse 23 (SJG's web store; it also carries many non-SJG products)
Indie Press Revolution (which seems less relevant every year)
itch.io (which seems an increasingly relevant store every month).
pigames.net (Precis Intermedia Games, formerly Politically Incorrect Games)

It's worth noting that PIG has bought up a number of orphaned¹ IPs and put them up in PDF... like WEG's Masterbook line.

A number of publishers support their own webstores as well, but only their own products, or in a few cases, a partner company's. Or, like Chaosium, 3rd party licensees of their systems.

Amazon has a number of game designers releasing through Kindle. Still pretty trivial.

while it pains me to say it, the monopoly element of DTRPG is that people think it a monopoly and don't look elsewhere.

-=-=-=-=-=-​

1: orphaned games: their parent company has died/gone out of business, and the rights holder doesn't want to try again, despite small vocal intense fanbases.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Except you as a supplier are at the mercy of a single seller - and that's bad business 101. You end up in a Wal*Mart situation where the retailer dictates terms to you if you allow that to happen.

Getting your product to the customer's attention is the ultimate goal. And in a niche field such as RPGs, getting a majority of customers to a single venue is the best way to do it.

I used to publish novels on Smashwords. Lovely people to work with. I have since switched to Amazon, who are interesting to work with, but their aggressive market share means that my sales went up by a factor of ten. Yes, there are a LOT more rules and restrictions, but it is worth it.

I also own Wal Mart stock, and cheer them on with great enthusiasm.

Of the endless 'business 101s' out there: changing with the market is high on the list.

 

[grankless]

I'm trying to determine where the concept that DTRPG has a moral and/or legal obligation to host Nazis is coming from. Obviously they can not host that stuff if they want to; there's no reason to ever host that kind of thing.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I'm trying to determine where the concept that DTRPG has a moral and/or legal obligation to host Nazis is coming from. Obviously they can not host that stuff if they want to; there's no reason to ever host that kind of thing.

The main reason would be a commitment to freedom of speech. In the USA it is not a crime to promote, support, believe in, or speak in favor of any political creed, so long as it does not have as its goal the overthrow of the US government by unlawful means.

I personally do not understand the big deal, myself. Is there that great of fear that reading pro-Nazi material would generate that many converts? Making something taboo often increases, rather than decreases, interest.

 

[MGibster]

The main reason would be a commitment to freedom of speech. In the USA it is not a crime to promote, support, believe in, or speak in favor of any political creed, so long as it does not have as its goal the overthrow of the US government by unlawful means.

I personally wouldn't want to make money off of being a peddler of pro-Nazi garbage. I also wouldn't support a company that was a peddler of pro-Nazi garbage. I'm a big believer in freedom of speech, but that doesn't obligate me to support any platform peddling pro-Nazi garbage.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'm trying to determine where the concept that DTRPG has a moral and/or legal obligation to host Nazis is coming from. Obviously they can not host that stuff if they want to; there's no reason to ever host that kind of thing.

Can’t say where anyone here got the idea, but I do know there are people spreading the idea in order to muddy these kinds of discussions.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I personally wouldn't want to make money off of being a peddler of pro-Nazi garbage. I also wouldn't support a company that was a peddler of pro-Nazi garbage. I'm a big believer in freedom of speech, but that doesn't obligate me to support any platform peddling pro-Nazi garbage.

Sure.

But the question was why anyone would argue in favor of letting such material be posted.

Personally, my thinking would be to allow it, as familiarity strips away mystique. Banning ideas tends to strengthen the idea.

 

[grankless]

No it doesn't, lol. Making something easily accessible is what encourages its spread. Much like homeopathic medicine, that doesn't work like that. Are you saying that ENWorld's forums should also be hosting hate speech?

 

[Jd Smith1]

No it doesn't, lol. Making something easily accessible is what encourages its spread. Much like homeopathic medicine, that doesn't work like that. Are you saying that ENWorld's forums should also be hosting hate speech?

You really think that if a web site allowed pro-Nazi material on it, that it would win significant numbers of converts?

You don't think much of your fellow man.

 

[Irlo]

You really think that if a web site allowed pro-Nazi material on it, that it would win significant numbers of converts?

You don't think much of your fellow man.

It's not a matter of conversion. It's a matter of acceptance and normalization. People aren't attracted to hateful ideologies by mystique. They're attracted and encouraged because the hateful ideas are present, promulgated, and stamped with society's approval (if only tacit approval by silence).

No, a web-site allowing pro-Nazi material won't convert many people. But it would drive away others of the community, and it would send a message to those others that they are not valued.

IMO, of course.