Evil Genius Games bleeding personnel?

[Sacrosanct]

The burden of providing proof is upon the party that's making accusations.

Exactly. So where is your proof that they are "...trying to throw someone under the bus in a not-legally-liable way" like you accused them of?

 

[Sacrosanct]

If you are unfamiliar with NDAs, then you probably would do best to avoid speculating about what they do, and do not, cover on the internet.

Making a blanket statement (such as the one you did above) that is not accurate does not help. NDAs (and more specifically confidentiality agreements) are just contracts, and while contracts that are themselves illegal (such as a contract to kill someone) are unenforceable, and other contracts may be void as against public policy, and still others may be subject to statute (The Speak Out Act), the actual contours of what constitutes a permissible disclosure, and what constitutes a crime, are not something that any reasonable employee would deal with on their own.

Shorter version- what you said is incorrect, and I have no idea why you are so determined to attack employees who resigned on principle.

Indeed. Also, something doesn't have to be a crime to be unethical.

 

[Kitsune]

If you are unfamiliar with NDAs, then you probably would do best to avoid speculating about what they do, and do not, cover on the internet.

Then I will do your homework for you, as you could not seem to be bothered to. Evil Genius Games is apparently located in California. California's relevant code covering NDAs is here.

Specifically:

(b)(1)(A) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer or former employer to include in any agreement related to an employee's separation from employment any provision that prohibits the disclosure of information about unlawful acts in the workplace.

(B) A nondisparagement or other contractual provision that restricts an employee's ability to disclose information related to conditions in the workplace shall include, in substantial form, the following language: “Nothing in this agreement prevents you from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination or any other conduct that you have reason to believe is unlawful.”

 

[Morrus]

I feel it would behoove folks to wait for my article. I see a lot of speculation and assumptions in this thread--and entire tangents. You won’t have to make guesses much longer, but it will be a few days.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Then I will do your homework for you, as you could not seem to be bothered to. Evil Genius Games is apparently located in California. California's relevant code covering NDAs is here.

Really? Did you just google that, or do you know what you're talking about? I have a good guess on this one ...

Let's start by reviewing what I wrote ....

If you are unfamiliar with NDAs, then you probably would do best to avoid speculating about what they do, and do not, cover on the internet.

Making a blanket statement (such as the one you did above) that is not accurate does not help. NDAs (and more specifically confidentiality agreements) are just contracts, and while contracts that are themselves illegal (such as a contract to kill someone) are unenforceable, and other contracts may be void as against public policy, and still others may be subject to statute (The Speak Out Act), the actual contours of what constitutes a permissible disclosure, and what constitutes a crime, are not something that any reasonable employee would deal with on their own.

Shorter version- what you said is incorrect, and I have no idea why you are so determined to attack employees who resigned on principle.

Yes, California adopted it's own law (similar, yet not the same, as the federal Speak Out Act called Silenced No More Act, which expanded the earlier 2019 provisions). Which means that in California, there are specific restrictions on the use of NDAs and confidentiality clauses.

But they aren't as sweeping as you make them out to be. For example, if a termination is part of a settlement, then unless there was already an asserted claim before a tribunal, you can have confidentiality clauses related to threatened or unasserted claims. This might be if you have a severance and waiver package (for example).

Further, there is a statutory difference between an NDA and a (standard) separation agreement.

Of course, we are not privy to what (if any) contracts are at issue here or what governing law controls (which is why I was careful to make general statements that were caveated, as opposed to whatever it is that you are doing), but sure, you really seem like someone who know what they are talking about, and not someone just googling stuff to argue on the internet.

Then again, as I previously noted, it seems very important to you to attack the employees that left, so ... good luck with that! Your posts are, to borrow a phrase, res ipsa.

 

[MichaelSomething]

I urge the people in this thread to follow the words of General Mattis...

"Be polite. Be professional. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet."

Evil Genius Games and its employees took the time to come to Enworld and we should treat them with the same respect we would give any other poster.

But one needs only look at threads about the "new" "TSR" to know that we Enworlders hold no mercy towards those that would exploit the TTRPG world and the people in it.

Will a bunch of posters here issue apologies in the coming weeks for their accusations? Or will they become the tracing rounds that many others will follow in the hunt? Only time will tell.

 

[Dire Bare]

The person who crashed parts of the TSR fiction publishing program in the mid-90s had done good things in New York in fantasy fiction publishing circles, but failed to translate that specific experience to the hobby game market.

Part of the reason Hasbro, even with all their resources, let the fiction program at Wizards wither was they knew they did not have the experience or clout in the book trade they neeed (or wanted) to succeed there.

I've always LOVED the D&D fiction line, from the days of the Dragonlance Chronicles through the slight resurgence we seem to be having this year. I've always wondered, "Hey, wha' happened?" regarding the near total collapse of the line, other than Salvatore's Dark Elf books, for a while there.

I'm starting to put together a picture . . . .

 

[EldritchHistory]

I've always LOVED the D&D fiction line, from the days of the Dragonlance Chronicles through the slight resurgence we seem to be having this year. I've always wondered, "Hey, wha' happened?" regarding the near total collapse of the line, other than Salvatore's Dark Elf books, for a while there.

I'm starting to put together a picture . . . .

Getting off topic for this post but they very nearly screwed up the relationship with Salvatore too. They commissioned and almost published (I'm talking scrapped mere weeks before release) a Drizzt novel by Mark Anthony called The Shores of Dusk.

 

[Dire Bare]

Getting off topic for this post but they very nearly screwed up the relationship with Salvatore too. They commissioned and almost published (I'm talking scrapped mere weeks before release) a Drizzt novel by Mark Anthony called The Shores of Dusk.

Um, actually . . .

They screwed up their relationship with Salvatore first, which then resulted in WotC commissioning Anthony to write (and finish) "The Shores of Dusk". Anthony's Dark Elf novel got canned because they repaired their relationship with Salvatore.

I've always wanted to read that "alternate history" Dark Elf novel . . . I've also felt bad for the guy (Anthony), to be this close to getting your story published, to have the rug pulled out from under you.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

I've also felt bad for the guy (Anthony), to be this close to getting your story published, to have the rug pulled out from under you.

He seems to have come out of it okay. Checking his wiki (mostly to see if that was his real name - it is - or a pseudonym) he's written nine other novels (three as Galen Beckett) since 1998, which is roughly when he parted company with TSR. He'd written several other D&D books for TSR before that as well. Not prolific, but he seems to have had a pretty solid literary career throughout the 90s and 2000s up to 2012.