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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8910620" data-attributes="member: 8461">No, it isn't; I believe you're fundamentally misunderstanding the issue if that's what you think.People are mad because their basic senses of justice and fairness are offended by what WotC is doing. There's no aspect of this which was necessary, nor can be justified under any ethical framework beyond &quot;maximize profits (at any cost).&quot;To see a huge multinational corporation inflict needless anxiety on numerous small publishers, hobbyists, and fans, all on legally-shaky ground, for reasons that amount to little more than trying to squeeze competitors (who don't really present that much competition) further toward the edge of the market, all to prop up their own bottom line, offends people. Taking that into account, it's no wonder that people want there to be more than just a return to the status quo; there's an intrinsic expectation that trying to do something that awful, even if they fail to pull it off, should have consequences.The fact that this could be characterized as simple business practices is not an excuse in this regard, nor is it a justification, particularly since it's highly questionable how much this would have helped WotC's revenues (and that's without taking into account the fan backlash and loss of DDB subscriptions). WotC was doing just fine without undercutting the OGL, and trying to do so causes disproportionate harm to others compared to what they're going to gain. Competition by trying to make the best product you can is ethical; pursuing unbalanced legal strategies to scare competitors off is not.It shouldn't be surprising that people get upset when they see a bad actor doing bad things, and want to know that they'll not only have their misdeeds ameliorated, but that they'll take responsibility for their actions.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 8910620, member: 8461"] No, it isn't; I believe you're fundamentally misunderstanding the issue if that's what you think. People are mad because their basic senses of justice and fairness are offended by what WotC is doing. There's no aspect of this which was necessary, nor can be justified under any ethical framework beyond "maximize profits (at any cost)." To see a huge multinational corporation inflict needless anxiety on numerous small publishers, hobbyists, and fans, all on legally-shaky ground, for reasons that amount to little more than trying to squeeze competitors (who don't really present that much competition) further toward the edge of the market, all to prop up their own bottom line, offends people. Taking that into account, it's no wonder that people want there to be more than just a return to the status quo; there's an intrinsic expectation that trying to do something that awful, even if they fail to pull it off, should have consequences. The fact that this could be characterized as simple business practices is not an excuse in this regard, nor is it a justification, particularly since it's highly questionable how much this would have helped WotC's revenues (and that's without taking into account the fan backlash and loss of DDB subscriptions). WotC was doing just fine without undercutting the OGL, and trying to do so causes disproportionate harm to others compared to what they're going to gain. Competition by trying to make the best product you can is ethical; pursuing unbalanced legal strategies to scare competitors off is not. It shouldn't be surprising that people get upset when they see a bad actor doing bad things, and want to know that they'll not only have their misdeeds ameliorated, but that they'll take responsibility for their actions. [/QUOTE]

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