D&D General D&D Editions: Anybody Else Feel Like They Don't Fit In?

[Lanefan]

I think I did... there were a number of their surveys/playtest surveys I responded to during that time (due to the 2024 playtest packets) and so I likely did that one too.

Yeah, it's hard sometimes to know what the design parameters of the surveys are, or how to interpret the questions, when we're getting different numbers of questions based on partially randomization and partially based on answers provided early in the survey. Doubly so if/when the surveys were designed by some third-party firm who has more experience with marketing research for soft drinks or action figures and playsets than for TTRPGs. Plus that perhaps that they felt (correctly or not) they already had enough of a sense of the desires of more aged players. FWIW, in all of their surveys I took I never felt deliberately or intentionally snowed.

I've felt "snowed" on some of their surveys and been suspicious of the rest.

What's more telling to me is that whenever they do a survey and there's a thread about it here, how vastly different the surveys we each saw and did seem to be. The cynic in me says it's because they already 99% know what results they want and if some early answers from a respondent indicate those "correct" answers aren't forthcoming that respondent doesn't get the rest of the relevant questions.

A truly honest survey would:

a - ask exactly the same questions of every respondent, with every question having a complete range of possible answers including variably positive, variably negative, and neutral
b - every question has a "not applicable" option (e.g. 4e-related questions for someone who never played 4e would be n/a, but you still get to see those questions anyway)
c - every question (or at least every group of questions) has an open-ended comments section
d - no "trap" questions, i.e. those where the same thing is asked in a different way in order to get a different response
e - compile and include every response they get; the only discarded responses being duplicates from the same person or from bots
f - release the actual survey results to the public - as in, the hard numbers plus comments - along with the summary.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

I just felt dismissed and insulted by the survey. It almost seemed intentional. I mean, they could have just given older respondents the same amount of questions, then just discard them. We would never have been the wiser.

Then, they tried to triggered the 23-year trap shortly thereafter and that was it for me. I'm not chasing that dragon anymore. I chase my own dragons now.

And now, they've completely turned over their staff. They've made it very clear that their dragons are not meant for me.

I'm left out.

 

[haakon1]

they tried to triggered the 23-year trap

I don’t know what that means, but in my reading of every issue of Dungeon, I noticed they had a reader poll around 1993 in which the age categories ended with “23 or higher”.

They were surprised that most of their survey respondents were in that category, and wondered if they should have added more ages going up.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

The 23-year trap refers to the Open Gaming License debacle.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

The 23-year trap refers to the Open Gaming License debacle.

What's with all the Wows!? Did I use a bad word? Is '23-year trap' an obscure racist term? Debacle?

I apologize ahead of time. My intent was not to offend people. The '23-year dirt word' simply refers to my personal feelings of having the rug pulled out from under me after 23 years of the open gaming license.

I have 1 of 1 warnings and I don't want to get another.

 

[payn]

What's with all the Wows!? Did I use a bad word? Is '23-year trap' an obscure racist term? Debacle?

I apologize ahead of time. My intent was not to offend people. The '23-year dirt word' simply refers to my personal feelings of having the rug pulled out from under me after 23 years of the open gaming license.

I have 1 of 1 warnings and I don't want to get another.

I’m not sure what you mean by 23 year trap in the context? In one instance you make it sound like it was planned from inception like a “trap” and the ogl itself is a debacle. I’d disagree I like the ogl and the resultant years of products from it. Or did you mean ogl debacle that occurred recently made the ogl retroactively a trap?

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

I think you get it.

 

[Kannik]

I just felt dismissed and insulted by the survey. It almost seemed intentional. I mean, they could have just given older respondents the same amount of questions, then just discard them. We would never have been the wiser.

And now, they've completely turned over their staff. They've made it very clear that their dragons are not meant for me.

I'm left out.

Aye, that was clear to me that's where your question was leading and also what your previous responses in this thread was indicating. All of which is your (and Lanefan's) prerogative, of course.