D&D (2024) 2024 is out...and yet.....where are the threads?

[Mistwell]

Interesting. Now, I'm not an influencer that relies on WotC's good will for my livelihood so take this with a grain of salt, but: Eff Them.

They released the book into the wild. They have no right to try and control how it is presented. They get to deal with reality, which is that the book it out there. They sold 3000 copies at GenCon. One of those (at least) is going to get scanned and end up online.

Which remains illegal. They 100% have the right to stop someone from violating their copyright.

More importantly: what are you trying to suppress? You released the book. Stop trying to control the narrative.

Gawd I hate this company.

Gross opinion dude.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Which remains illegal. They 100% have the right to stop someone from violating their copyright.

Gross opinion dude.

How is that opinion gross? People have the book. Why can't they show it in detail to others?

 

[Mistwell]

How is that opinion gross? People have the book. Why can't they show it in detail to others?

You cannot post a digital copy of every page of the book in order.

I mean, this is a familiar concept, right? You know what pirating a book is.

 

[Yaarel]

This is correct. When they gave out review copies the only limitation was holding off on posting content from inside the book until 1 August. Then today, days after many of us shot, edited, and posted videos, they suddenly had much higher restrictions on what should be posted. It’s a total pain in the ass. It makes our videos look like naughty word and makes them look like corporate jerks.

One other clarification, I wasn't under any NDA. Those who got the PDF of the book in late May signed an NDA that limited certain pages they couldn't show. I wasn't interested in an early review like that so I passed on it. If I had known all this drama was going to ruin my Saturday, I'd have passed on the review copy too.

Hasbro asked you restrict the percentage of a two-page spread in view.

Does it make sense to set the camera closer up, to only show about 50% of the view, then move the book around to focus on what you are commenting on?

 

[Clint_L]

How is that opinion gross? People have the book. Why can't they show it in detail to others?

Because that's definitely copyright violation. You're essentially stealing from the people who created the IP. Whether it's gross or not comes down to your personal ethics, I suppose. I think it's kinda gross.

"I bought Dark Side of the Moon. Why can't I play it for others on my YouTube channel?"

"I bought Level Up. Why shouldn't I be able to post a PDF of it on the Internet?"

 

[Micah Sweet]

You cannot post a digital copy of every page of the book in order.

I mean, this is a familiar concept, right? You know what pirating a book is.

So you can show every page of a book to someone, but as soon as someone trains a camera on you, it becomes illegal?

 

[Older Beholder]

You know what, nevermind.

 

[Corinnguard]

That's not what happened at all. It had zero to do with what he was saying. He literally showed every single page of the book, in order. They expected him to, yah know, not violate copyright!

So I have been told by several posters already.

It's a little too late for anyone on this side of the fence to start complaining about copyright violations.

 

[Corinnguard]

I wanted to check something specific (how many languages a character creation grants), so went to @SlyFlourish's YouTube to see if maybe, perhaps, he happened to have a page on screen that mentioned it.

Unfortunately, all the screens of his video were now blurred out. In his comments he wrote: "Hasbro's D&D Creator Team Relations emailed me with new rules saying we weren't able to show more than 75% of the page on a two-page spread because they're worried people will take screenshots and stitch them together into a book."

It is these "new rules" from Hasbro that were forcing the influencers to block the access to the 2024 Players Handbook. Earlier in this thread I was blaming some of the influencers for the gatekeeping. I apologize for my unfair assumption, and to DnD Shorts in particular who I mentioned by name.


Heh, now my assumption is, Hasbros historical aversion to digital documents is becoming self-defeating again.

WotC is the authorship of the 2024 Players Handbook, and it is their right to restrict access to their content to only "fair use". But obviously in context this is awkward, and people involved surprised by the lockdown.

Showing 75% of a two-page spread in screenshot seems clumsy but still useful.

They released the book into the wild. They have no right to try and control how it is presented. They get to deal with reality, which is that the book it out there. They sold 3000 copies at GenCon. One of those (at least) is going to get scanned and end up online.

More importantly: what are you trying to suppress? You released the book. Stop trying to control the narrative.

Indeed. One would think that both Hasbro and WoTC would have been aware of the possibility that once the NDA was lifted that this had the likelihood of happening. But it sounds like both of them rolled a 1 on both Perception and Insight when they decided to let the influencers promote their book on YouTube and presumably other social media platforms and sell 3,000 copies at GenCon. Now they're trying to do damage control via an Intimidation check with these new rules.

How do you get someone to promote your own product when you place a 75% limit on what can be seen? I don't think you can. And what sections of the new PHB did they really want the influencers to show off anyway? From my understanding, most of us already had an inkling of what was going to be in the book well before the big debut thanks to all of the playtests, and all of the forum discussions on EN World.

 

[Corinnguard]