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Message: <blockquote data-quote="catsclaw227" data-source="post: 3958402" data-attributes="member: 14197">Here's the way I see it.  The editorial was written to nip a problem in the bud.  They don't have the manpower to dedicate a team to writing new crunch for an edition that they don't plan on supporting for the next six months.  They have made the business decision to move their resources to making the next version of their product the best that they can in the hopes that it will be able to attract the most customers.They have instead decided to utilize their DDI to:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">provide adventures, of which there have been three for Dungeon 152, and two for Dungeon 151 (though one of them is a 94 page triple sized adventure)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">provide peeks into their new edition</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">added support articles for their recent 3.5 products (Elders and Exemplars)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">wrote content for two of their previous columns in Dragon (Demonomicon and Ecology)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">added a pair of good articles on Devil (Infernal Aristocracy)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">and finally looked at FR and Eberron</li> </ul>Some of these were provided for free in the past, via wizards.com, yet now all of it has been free.  Unfortunately, it hasn't been posted at a pace that the customers have come to expect.  Though it is questionable whether the expectations are a bit too high.  Only the preview articles have some real revenue opportunities since it is obvious they won't be creating 3.5 content after the release of 4e.I have heard the complaints that WOTC should be EXPECTED to provide adequate content to convince people that this digital magazine should be more than it is.  I was part of the digital transition of 27 different publications in 2000 and 2001 that were trying to move their print medium online.  We NEVER had responses from customers that were as harsh, unappreciating, cynical, and had such radical expectations as the way WOTC is treated on the boards here and elsewhere.  They need to make business decisions that are in the best long term interest of their company, but how do you do it when your customers will rake you over the coals for taking a break from supporting a lame-duck edition so you can make something they will really like?I do not envy their position.  Personally, I am appalled at the responses. Would you rather they give you some 3.5 crunch, spend resources on art, writing and editorial and then put out a sub-par edition in June?  Only to have you complain in August how this or that is broken and why didn't they spend more time on it?Or maybe they should simply charge now for online Dungeon and Dragon, keep the 4e previews for free online, but now you won't get your FR, Eberron, Ecology, Demonomicon, and e-Dungeon for free?  Then they could maybe give you some more crunch that will be stale in a FEW months.  (BTW, when I tell a customer that a development project in alpha might be released in a few months, I am talking about 5-7 months.)WOTC isn't going to support 3.5 after May 2007 when H1 comes out.  If a customer want sto play 3.5 only, and have totally committed to NOT going to 4e, then they have decided that they aren't WOTC's customer anymore. They don't plan on supporting WOTC with their dollars, so why should they spend money to give you something now for free?They are transitioning, and I understand their business decisions.  I have had to make similar decisions in the past and as a result I have had two sucessful businesses.  As much as our oversized expectations may revolt and rant and we stomp our feet and pout, it doesn't change the fact that they are right about what they are doing.</blockquote>

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