WotC New D&D survey from WotC as part of the 50th anniversary year.

[Yaarel]

100% the lack of empathy and basic decency is disappointing.

That is the part that weirds me out.

It isnt all of the executives. They sometimes disagree with each other.

Some of them pushed to put 5e into the CC and eventually won.

But not all of them have this pro-player relatability.

 

[Mistwell]

Harassing elderly neighbors under false pretense to gather intel − and to socially embarrass? Having a family member in tears? Absconding with someone elses property by means of extortion − probably fraudulent legal trickery and intimidation?

This is the stuff that Pinkerton is historically infamous for.

Again it would appear the initial witness testimony about how things went down may be in some question I guess, including by that witness himself?

And no to your last sentence. Let's be super clear - the Pinkerton investigation department (which this was) does not in fact have that reputation, and has never had that reputation. That is 1) conflating it with the security department, and 2) taken from 1950s portrayals of the security department.

I get why that was the rumor. It was fun, it's a genre that appeals to gamers, it makes for a good story. But the whole "Pinkertons are union busting gun thugs!" isn't the reality of that department, and has never been the reality for their investigators who more often than not are overweight guys with beards who work behind a computer most days. I know one of them, I have heard countless stories about the company from him, and this 1950s thug fantasy scenario in no way relates to the reality of the Pinkertons investigation department. People should probably stop spreading that rumor.

 

[Mistwell]

Maybe you're OK with rando goons showing up and making your wife cry, I absolutely am the F not!

You're joining in on spreading the "goons" rumor too? Disappointing.

 

[CapnZapp]

if they hadn't have reduced staffing

This happens EVERY TIME a new edition is released

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Sounds like it was short for everyone then. I was wondering if my negative responses had filtered me out of more extensive questions. Which sometimes happens...though oftentimes that is a great way to ruin your data. (If you only accept feedback from folks who are already happy, you'll never hear constructive criticism.)

 

[CapnZapp]

Again it would appear the initial witness testimony about how things went down may be in some question I gPeople should probably stop spreading that rumor.

What people probably should do, is stop defending the Pinkertons ...


Just because you might be right in this one case does not mean the thing you think it does.

 

[Yaarel]

Again it would appear the initial witness testimony about how things went down may be in some question I guess, including by that witness himself?

And no to your last sentence. Let's be super clear - the Pinkerton investigation department (which this was) does not in fact have that reputation, and has never had that reputation. That is 1) conflating it with the security department, and 2) taken from 1950s portrayals of the security department.

I get why that was the rumor. It was fun, it's a genre that appeals to gamers, it makes for a good story. But the whole "Pinkertons are union busting gun thugs!" isn't the reality of that department, and has never been the reality for their investigators who more often than not are overweight guys with beards who work behind a computer most days. I know one of them, I have heard countless stories about the company from him, and this 1950s thug fantasy scenario in no way relates to the reality of the Pinkertons investigation department. People should probably stop spreading that rumor.

There are decent people who also are part of the WotC executives. Also some less so.


We all came thru the ap-OGL-ypse.

We all read that weird lawyer letter, and continually weirder followups.

We all saw that bizarre, out-of-touch, coerciveness, and inability to relate to the spirit of the D&D game or its reallife players and contributors.

We know such disregard constitutes some of the WotC Hasbro executive mentality.


This disregard for the rights of a fan, sending Pinkerton to "fix" the situation?


Not everything is wrong. But something isnt right.

 

[Yaarel]

By the way, Pinkerton today does to continue to "squash" workers "like a bug", and specialize in union destruction, on behalf of executives of powerful corporations.

 

[Yaarel]

I suspect what happened here is, there was a concerning leak. An executive who had no understanding of what was going on, pulled out the heavy guns against innocents. Namely, sent Pinkerton who assumed the fan was part of a corporate espionage. (By the way, Pinkerton also commits corporate espionage for hire.)

But all of this goes back to a tone-deaf executive who thought harassing and intimidating a fan was no problem − and even a great idea.

LOL! And this fan is an influencer! Precisely who other executives are trying to charm, win over, and appeal to.

When the family called a WotC employee to report what happened. Even the employee was "very apologetic" about what had happened to the family, probably appalled, and tried to do what the employee could to try comfort the family.

 

[darjr]

You're joining in on spreading the "goons" rumor too? Disappointing.

No. It’s in his first video and quotes after. It may be false, he may be lying. But it’s a fact. It isn’t rumor.

This kind of rewriting of what is actually documented isn’t great.