WotC may have sent the Pinkertons to a magic leakers home. Update: WotC confirms it and has a response.

[CommodoreKong]

I'm sure Linda will put out an excellent story on this.

 

[Amrûnril]

What "power" are you referring to? The power to get their products, which were misappropriated (maybe not stolen, but acquired under circumstances which should not have occurred) by others?

So what are their options? Let people take their products by whatever manner or whatever means they believe is appropriate? How about all the other
YouTubers who were going to release their own unboxing videos and have been working with WoTC, following the rules set up?

Wait, are you proposing that even if crimes were committed, and the property was stolen, the aggrieved party should have no method of retrieving their property? I get that everyone wants to make it seem as if the Pinkerton employees showed up and busted this guy's door down, dragged him out of his home and threatened to break his legs if he

If WotC believes they have legal right to the cards, they're fully entitled to pursue a claim through the legal system. They are not, nor should any corporation ever be, entitled to employ a private security firm as a substitute for that system.

Wait, but isn't that heavy handed for a guy who "mistakenly" got these? I mean, Pinkertons spoke to him and gave him a number to call. Isn't it worse to have to go to court and pay a lawyer to defend you?

If I'm going to be threatened with legal action, I would prefer those threats be made specifically and in writing, not as an insinuation of what will happen unless I immediately submit to an extralegal search and seizure.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's weird to get fired for not doing your job? What's a non-weird reason to get fired for?

Your workplace sounds like a terrible place to work if you have to comply with even the most inane directives from your supervisor or face immediate termination.

In my workplace, even the most deranged managers and supervisors will listen to "I hear that you're upset, but have you thought about trying X, Y or Z instead?"

 

[Bradjalon]

My understanding is that MTG cards and other items like this are generally released to distribution a week ahead of time, in order to avoid this type of problem. So the issue would have come from farther upstream.

He said he received it on Friday, April 21. That's three weeks ahead of time. If there had already been a release to individual POS (points of sale), then they wouldn't bother trying to track it down like this.

TLDR; these aren't Legos. If someone has specific information that the above timeline is inaccurate, that would be cool.

Lego is really my only frame of reference as I don't do CCGs and honestly care little about trying to get something early, but I do keep an eye on Lego news. If WoTC hold their distribution later/tighter, then that does raise questions of where in the he got it from if not an end retailer. Not sure I agree with the use of private security in this manner or getting the product back this close to distribution, but understand speaking to him, finding where he purchased it from, and critically finding the source. This is bad PR at a time WoTC should keep their nose clean.

 

[Cadence]

I suspect, this would have been better received if the private investigator rocked up in a red flashy sports car, wore shorts, a Hawain shirt and sunglasses, bore a bushy mustache and had curly hair. But that's just supposition on my part.

I just rewatched that whole series. About 80% of the episodes hold up really well, and I have the feeling the other 20% weren't great originally. Very solid series.

I was sad that the OG set was apparently torn down in 2018 :-(

But, to be fair, there's an 80% chance he would have broken in to get the cards when no one was home, and about 75% of that 80% a dead body would have been discovered. I'm not sure it would have been better.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Also how most US journalism outfits make their money. YouTubers have managed to reinvent an already existing business model.

True, but in that case, couldn't we also hold YouTubers to the same standards as journalism outfits?

No?

I get that some folks, maybe including you, feel moral outrage at this leak,

Ha! Jokes on you. I have no morals.

but at the end of the day, this is the kind of thing that happens when you are part of the mediasphere, broadly speaking. Whether your competitor beat you because they out hustled you; called in favors; obtained a leaked, lost or stolen product (remember Gizmodo and the iPhone prototype? I'm sure everyone at Engadget sure does), at the end of the day, you got beat.

But, just like on days where you didn't get beat, you need to start working on the next bit of content. Being upset about it is a waste of time.

Wait, are we talking about streamers or WoTC here?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just rewatched that whole series. About 80% of the episodes hold up really well, and I have the feeling the other 20% weren't great originally. Very solid series.

It's wild to me that in the last two seasons, it basically turned into a paranormal show, where Thomas was flat-out psychic and the remaining audience just rolled with it.

 

[Cadence]

If WotC believes they have legal right to the cards, they're fully entitled to pursue a claim through the legal system. They are not, nor should any corporation ever be, entitled to employ a private security firm as a substitute for that system.

Companies shouldn't be able to hire people to go ask for product they think is there's back - they should have to go ask themselves?

If I'm going to be threatened with legal action, I would prefer those threats be made specifically and in writing, not as an insinuation of what will happen unless I immediately submit to an extralegal search and seizure.

Did anyone search and seize? Or did they ask and get given?

 

[BrokenTwin]

I'm sure Linda will put out an excellent story on this.

They haven't updated it yet with whatever dirt they're currently digging up, but they do already have an article up. Will be interesting to see what they manage to turn up. Hopefully how this streamer actually got the cards will turn up in their investigation as well.

Magic: The Gathering Fan Allegedly Set Upon by Pinkertons for Unreleased Cards

A YouTuber revealed dozens of cards from the new set March of the Machine: The Aftermath without realizing just how embargoed they were.

gizmodo.com

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Your workplace sounds like a terrible place to work if you have to comply with even the most inane directives from your supervisor or face immediate termination.

I teach, as one of my jobs, and I have no supervisors. I'm my own boss for my other job. My boss is a terrible person.

In my workplace, even the most deranged managers and supervisors will listen to "I hear that you're upset, but have you thought about trying X, Y or Z instead?"

Two different things, though. One is not doing your job. The other is being upset at something in the workplace?