D&D (2024) D&D Player's Handbook Video Redactions & Takedowns

There's a lot of YouTube videos looking at the brand new Player's Handbook right now, and some of them include the YouTuber in question flipping through the new book on screen. A couple of those video creators have been asked by WotC to redact some of the content of their videos, with one finding that their video had been taken down entirely due to copyright claims from the company. It appears to be the folks who are flipping through the whole book on-screen who are running into this issue which, it seems, is based on piracy concerns.

Jorphdan posted on Twitter that "Despite fulfilling [WotC's] requests for the flip through video I was issues a copyright strike on my channel. Three strikes TERMINATES your channel. I don't think going over the 2024 PHB is worth losing my channel I've been working on since 2017. I'm pretty upset as none of this was said up front and when notified I did comply with their requirements. And I see other creators still have their videos up. Videos that are not unlike mine. Covering WotC is not worth losing my channel... Meanwhile please subscribe to my D&D free channel the Jocular Junction, where I'll most likely be making the majority of my TTRPG videos."

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Mike Shea, aka Sly Flourish, also posted a walkthrough of the Player's Handbook. While he didn't receive a copyright takedown action, after an email from WotC he has blurred out all the page images. "Note, I blurred out pictures of the book after Hasbro sent me an email saying they worried people would take screenshots of the book and build their own. Yes, it's complete b******t, but we must all do our part to ensure four billion dollar companies maximize shareholder value."

Popular YouTuber DnD Shorts had a video entitled 100% Walkthrough of the New Player's Handbook in D&D. That video is no longer available. However, his full spoilers review is still online.

 

[Corinnguard]

Are you suggesting he views himself as a fan and partner of WOTC?

Like I mentioned in either this thread or another one, you can be a fan of a company's product while not being a fan of the company itself. I'll go further on this particular line of thought; you can be fan of the people who worked on the product itself. They are the ones who spent many hours working on the 2024 PHB for those of us who are going to be getting the book. They designed the newest versions of our favorite species, classes, feats, spells, etc. They designed the layout of the book with regards to the text and the artwork.
Otoh, you don't have to be a fan of WoTC's executives or their shareholders. These are the individuals who wanted to end the OGL last year. They are the ones who decided to cut costs by laying off a large number of WoTC employees.

So, my answer is yes and no. I am suggesting that he is a fan of D&D and a partner to those who spent the man-hours designing D&D for us over the last 50 years. He's not fan or partner for those at the top of the company. Namely WoTC and Hasbro.

 

[SlyFlourish]

you can be a fan of a company's product while not being a fan of the company itself.

Yes! I have a phrase I try to reinforce constantly:

Don’t let Hasbro determine your happiness with D&D.

 

[Minigiant]

So, my answer is yes and no. I am suggesting that he is a fan of D&D and a partner to those who spent the man-hours designing D&D for us over the last 50 years. He's not fan or partner for those at the top of the company. Namely WoTC and Hasbro.

This is what I believe.

He is a Fan of 5e and D&D. However he is not a fan of Hasbro nor WOTC. This is common in the community.

HOWEVER he is/was a partner of WOTC and Hasbro by accepting early access.

Here comes the tricky part.

People can't enter contracts with WOTC but let their dislike of WOTC to let them be reckless, irresponsible, or, in worst case, malicious. That is not good for the community. That's will just cause more problems. And it will just cause WOTC to treat us worse at a time when they have no real competition.

 

[Michael Linke]

I gotta admit that while I kinda get it, the proposition that somebody is going to screenshot nearly 400 pages from a YouTube video and then painstakingly print them all out and cobble together their own terrible-looking version of the Player's Handbook is actually pretty funny. If somebody were to actually go to all that effort, I'd be more impressed than anything else.

But of course, nobody is going to do that because it's waaaaaay too much effort. And even if one really industrious person did, does that even matter? It's hardly likely that people are going to do it in droves.

Actually, I suppose an intrepid person might cobble together a PDF of the screenshots and sell it online as a complete Player's Handbook.... but then if somebody really wanted to do that, I imagine they'd get hold of a copy of the book and scan the pages. But that will always be the case with books--screenshotting YouTube videos seems like a really bad way to do that!

This exact type of video was common in the Warhammer community as recently as a few years ago. I don't know if videos like it are still made. Some in the community nicknamed the channel who started the practice "Man Reads Book".

And yes, people would absolutely screenshot the pages they needed rather than buy the book. It's less likely with a D&D book maybe, when you kind of need all of the pages.

 

[tetrasodium]

This exact type of video was common in the Warhammer community as recently as a few years ago. I don't know if videos like it are still made. Some in the community nicknamed the channel who started the practice "Man Reads Book".

And yes, people would absolutely screenshot the pages they needed rather than buy the book. It's less likely with a D&D book maybe, when you kind of need all of the pages.

Having seen the original sly flourish video (one of the ones wotc was upset about) the quality of the book camera was not at all passable for the purpose of screen grab to build a PDF/book from. It was barely good enough to screencap & squint at interesting sections for purposes of discussion. The video was setup to show off the process of building a character not give scan/near scan level clarity of the book.

I'm the case of one video (Jorphan's) he had actually reached out to wotc about his plans to get an ok and still got a copyright strike because of a claim submitted from wotc to YouTube. You can find screen caps of the strike and email effort to get the plans blessed pretty easily if they haven't been posted already.

 

[Corinnguard]

HOWEVER he is/was a partner of WOTC and Hasbro by accepting early access.

True, DnD Shorts could have turned down a chance to get his hands on an early copy of the 2024 D&D, review it and post a video of that review onto YouTube for everyone to see. I am not sure how turning down WoTC's offer would have affected him in the short term or the long term. As he could have later gotten the book himself along with everyone else, and still produced a video for YouTube about it.
But did accepting the offer make him an actual partner of WoTC? Considering how @SlyFlourish and several other content creators were treated after they posted their reviews onto YouTube and social media, I don't think they and DnD Shorts were treated as partners. They were treated more like a means to an end. Thanks to the content creators, more people are aware of what WoTC is offering, a chance to learn about the new PHB.

People can't enter contracts with WOTC but let their dislike of WOTC to let them be reckless, irresponsible, or, in worst case, malicious. That is not good for the community. That's will just cause more problems. And it will just cause WOTC to treat us worse at a time when they have no real competition.

You could flip this comment, and it would apply to WoTC quite well IMO. As for competition, give them time. Remember when Paizo's Pathfinder 1st edition was actually doing better than 4e D&D?

 

[Minigiant]

, DnD Shorts could have turned down a chance to get his hands on an early copy of the 2024 D&D, review it and post a video of that review onto YouTube for everyone to see. I am not sure how turning down WoTC's offer would have affected him in the short term or the long term. As he could have later gotten the book himself along with everyone else, and still produced a video for YouTube about it.
But did accepting the offer make him an actual partner of WoTC? Considering how @SlyFlourish and several other content creators were treated after they posted their reviews onto YouTube and social media, I don't think they and DnD Shorts were treated as partners. They were treated more like a means to an end. Thanks to the content creators, more people are aware of what WoTC is offering, a chance to learn about the new PHB.

Again

They weren't treated the same.

Those with the NDA and PDFs got strikes.

Those without got last minute emails.

That's why you don't sign contracts and don't act like a partner in a contract.

I believe that is one reason why Slyflourish said they didn't sign the NDA for early info.

 

[Corinnguard]

That's why you don't sign contracts and don't act like a partner in a contract.

For DnD Shorts, not signing the NDA would have simply meant no early access to the 2024 PHB.

So, who at WoTC would he have been partnering with? Those at the top of the company or their marketing/legalese team?

 

[bedir than]

Why would he go and hurt his own reputation as a content creator by doing what you claim him to be doing?

This is a person who whole-throatedly admitted to manufacturing quotes during the OGL crisis, who didn't corroborate his sources and who completely invented a fiction that "no one reads playtest feedback."

His reputation wouldn't be hurt by doing a preview in a traditional fashion. It was hardly damaged by the above.

 

[Minigiant]

For DnD Shorts, not signing the NDA would have simply meant no early access to the 2024 PHB.

So, who at WoTC would he have been partnering with? Those at the top of the company or their marketing/legalese team?

Exactly.

He would be a person using a physical book and not be striked.

By signing the NDA, he agreed to be a full partner attached to the release of the 2024 books. And thus the onus of being a cooperative responsible partner is on him.