Did WotC Effectively KILL the En World community's conversion process?

[Morrus]

While it may be true that WotC's decision was based on a desire to protect their property, there are many, many ways of doing that -- the route they chose immediately removed from circulation hundreds of conversions already made (conversions made *with their permission*, no less) and completely destroyed the momentum that the conversion library had gathered over 2+ years.

I, too, am no lawyer. But I firmly believe that the way they handled the issue was very over the top. It's no surprise that people are unwilling to build the conversion library back up. I'm not willing to put the effort in, not knowing what will happen in two years when WotC change their minds again.

As a non-lawyer, I would imagine that meeting any property protection requirements could have been done simply by requiring a predefined statement on the web page where the conversions are stored. Deleting the entire library and starting again was, in my opinion, an unfair demand.

 

[Mark]

I hear ya, but it might be worth a try. Ben Franklin, so they say, was quick to admit that the constitution of the United States was not a perfect document. It represented the compromises put forth by a lot of self-interested people, and in the end pleased no one completely. We have a forum here where anyone can add in their two cents and create a list of things they would like to see in a revised conversion policy and only by trying can that happen. If you had one thing you would want to change, what would that one thing be?

 

[scadgrad]

I'm with Morrus on this one

Mark you bring up a valid point, but I just feel that their policy was extremely draconian. Even more so when one considers what small chance there is that any of this stuff will ever be reprinted.

And no I don't agree that it's dead easy to convert critters, traps, etc. The CR of many creatures have drastically changed. Just for arguments sake, do you really think you'd convert Return to the Tomb of Horrors on the fly? Or even the D series?

 

[Mark]

Re: I'm with Morrus on this one

(I'll just quote the portion directed toward me and leave the remainder for Green Slime to address...)

Mark you bring up a valid point, but I just feel that their policy was extremely draconian. Even more so when one considers what small chance there is that any of this stuff will ever be reprinted.

Draconion how? If you can be specific you might find a way to suggest a compromise that they may find acceptable. If so, you have the chance to move things toward change and be part of a worthwhile solution.

As stated earlier in the thread, any single opinion on the likelihood of any portion of their property being reprinted does not enter into the equation at all. To protect their property they had to come up with a policy that covered all of it. To go over each bit and byte would have carried an extremely high cost.

Again, what one specific thing would you change about the current policy if you could only choose a single thing?

 

[Morrus]

I hear ya, but it might be worth a try. Ben Franklin, so they say, was quick to admit that the constitution of the United States was not a perfect document. It represented the compromises put forth by a lot of self-interested people, and in the end pleased no one completely. We have a forum here where anyone can add in their two cents and create a list of things they would like to see in a revised conversion policy and only by trying can that happen. If you had one thing you would want to change, what would that one thing be?

It's not the conversion policy itself which bothers me unduly - if WotC had said "all new conversions from now on must adhere to this new policy" I'd have been happy. It was the way in that the policy retroactively applied to all current conversion, requiring the deletion of, literally, hundreds of conversions and 2-3 years of hard work. I think it showed a lack of respect for the community.

 

[Mark]

It's not the conversion policy itself which bothers me unduly - if WotC had said "all new conversions from now on must adhere to this new policy" I'd have been happy. It was the way in that the policy retroactively applied to all current conversion, requiring the deletion of, literally, hundreds of conversions and 2-3 years of hard work. I think it showed a lack of respect for the community.

That's water under the bridge and can't really be changed. It's likely that any policy that was instituted would have to cover all products/conversions retroactively for it to have any legal standing, but we'd have to hear from someone with legal expertise to know for sure. Part of that change, I suspect, came in response to some prodding from Hasbro for WotC to be specific in their policies in regard to conversions.

But we are here now, today, discussing the conversion policy and I'd really love to hear some suggestions on what would make it better. Barring that, the thread is doomed to be no more than complaints about the past and has no real possiblity of being very productive.

 

[Morrus]

Well, I have no problem with the policy itself. It is easy to compy with and seems fair.

If anything, it needs a "we can't change our mind in two years" clause, though, which the previous one also lacked.

 

[Mark]

(Double Post)

 

[Mark]

If anything, it needs a "we can't change our mind in two years" clause, though, which the previous one also lacked.

That's a very solid point. Some clause that states that anything converted under current policy can remain even if they establish a new policy to deal with future conversions. That certainly seems like a reasonable policy change.

Are there other things that anyone would want to see added, deleted or adjusted?

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

While it may be true that WotC's decision was based on a desire to protect their property, there are many, many ways of doing that -- the route they chose immediately removed from circulation hundreds of conversions already made (conversions made *with their permission*, no less) and completely destroyed the momentum that the conversion library had gathered over 2+ years.

A sad day, indeed. First, the library at Alexandria and then the 3e conversion library.

The only reason I found the original precursor to EN World was the conversion library. Wow--a use for all those 1e modules I still have. I'm such a nerd I downloaded all the 1e conversions, regardless of format, but now I can't share those with anyone.

Still, it's been fun running Saltmarsh and Against the Giants with no conversion work required. Just the usual D&D fun!