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Hello, I am lawyer with a PSA: almost everyone is wrong about the OGL and SRD. Clearing up confusion.
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8900805" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Just to make it clear what I'm not surprised about:</p><p></p><p>As I've posted, I don't have a strong view on the commercial rationality of what WotC is doing. I'm not as confident as you and some other posters that it's medium-to-long term irrational.</p><p></p><p>But my remark about being surprised was directed to "what they actually think of the people who play" D&D. I'm not at all surprised that they see those people as a source of revenue, either directly - by buying books, subscribing to online services, and purchasing branded goods which return a royalty back to WotC - or indirectly, as "promoters" of the brand who thereby lead to others engaging in the same sorts of transactions.</p><p></p><p>In abstract terms, this is what Weber predicted about organisations like WotC in work he published around a century ago. In more concrete terms, it seems to have been fairly apparent for at least the past 20 years when it comes to D&D, and longer than that in the context of M:tG.</p><p></p><p>On the RPG side, the earliest critique I know of WotC-style commercialisation of RPGing is this (which dates from 1999, ie around the time WotC purchased D&D): <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/articles/12/" target="_blank">The Forge :: The Nuked Apple Cart</a></p><p></p><p>It's also seemed clear to me that Paizo's commercial model is lifestyle/consumption-based at least since I read this post in 2011: <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/a-reason-why-4e-is-not-as-popular-as-it-could-have-been.300674/page-6#post-5451442" target="_blank">A reason why 4E is not as popular as it could have been</a></p><p></p><p>This sort of lifestyle/consumption-based commercial model depends upon the company flattering its customer-fans (which we see WotC doing in its "apology" re OGL 1.1). When it works well, the flattered experience it as a genuine interpersonal relationship. But in my view that doesn't actually make it one.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8900805, member: 42582"] Just to make it clear what I'm not surprised about: As I've posted, I don't have a strong view on the commercial rationality of what WotC is doing. I'm not as confident as you and some other posters that it's medium-to-long term irrational. But my remark about being surprised was directed to "what they actually think of the people who play" D&D. I'm not at all surprised that they see those people as a source of revenue, either directly - by buying books, subscribing to online services, and purchasing branded goods which return a royalty back to WotC - or indirectly, as "promoters" of the brand who thereby lead to others engaging in the same sorts of transactions. In abstract terms, this is what Weber predicted about organisations like WotC in work he published around a century ago. In more concrete terms, it seems to have been fairly apparent for at least the past 20 years when it comes to D&D, and longer than that in the context of M:tG. On the RPG side, the earliest critique I know of WotC-style commercialisation of RPGing is this (which dates from 1999, ie around the time WotC purchased D&D): [URL="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/articles/12/"]The Forge :: The Nuked Apple Cart[/URL] It's also seemed clear to me that Paizo's commercial model is lifestyle/consumption-based at least since I read this post in 2011: [URL="https://www.enworld.org/threads/a-reason-why-4e-is-not-as-popular-as-it-could-have-been.300674/page-6#post-5451442"]A reason why 4E is not as popular as it could have been[/URL] This sort of lifestyle/consumption-based commercial model depends upon the company flattering its customer-fans (which we see WotC doing in its "apology" re OGL 1.1). When it works well, the flattered experience it as a genuine interpersonal relationship. But in my view that doesn't actually make it one. [/QUOTE]
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Hello, I am lawyer with a PSA: almost everyone is wrong about the OGL and SRD. Clearing up confusion.
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