Is Now the Time to Send WOTC a Real Message?

[EarthsShadow]

shares...

If there are 2 million active DnD players, and if each bought even 5 shares of Hasbro stock, how much stock would that be? 10 million shares, and if we all purchased it with the agreement that we want Hasbro to devote some energy to our game, and our market, would 10 million shares be enough? I sure hope my math is right. 13*5 = $65.00, which is the cost of two main rulebooks...

Personally, even if 1/4 of the active DnD players bought stock, those with jobs and money, at 13$ a share that's still not bad, so if 500,000 people bought 20 shares (13*20 = $260) over the course of a three month time, and we all agreed, that would still be 10M total for the gaming community, right? It wouldn't cost us much to do this.

Plus, if we suddenly purchased that many that quick, you can bet that the cost of the shares would suddenly increase, and that would put money in the pocket's of Hasbro collective bunch of moneymongers...their profits would go up, and we might have some leverage that if they do not cater to the gaming community, we sell our stocks when the price for the stocks increase above 20$, maybe even 30$...then let's see how long their company lasts when they lose that much money.

I guess if something like this would happen, this would be the first time in history that all roleplaying gamers stuck together to deliver a message to a corporate company. I would be a part of this if everyone else agreed to it, and if we all are upset about the decisions, and if we are truly dissatisfied with how Hasbro is handling things, the only way to get their attention is with $$$, not just words, and the only way to affect them is with their stocks. Buy the stocks, increase the price of the stock to hopefully double, then threaten to sell them. Hit Hasbro where it hurts, and after all, its only business, right?

 

[Nathal]

Re: Re: Boycott

Do you own a car? Do you buy groceries? Wear clothes? Watch TV? Surf the internet? Then you are helping to support hundreds of companies and corporations that treat their employees like cattle. That's America, my friend.

I do not believe that every corporation in America treats their employees as a number. Good management recognizes talent and keeps their strong employees to ensure the future of their products. If such talented, hard working people are getting dumped, then that means a radical change in the direction of the company. If the goal was to keep D&D alive, then the decision was a bad one. If the goal was to shut it down or change what is IS drastically, then they are probably on the right track. I do not know the mind of Hasbro or what they see in the cards for Wizards or D&D, but I would be shocked to find that they considered the game or its authors more important than whatever revenue they can squeeze out of the name recognition.

Also, I fight against injustice in corporate politics on whatever scale I can. Read Michael Moore's "Downsize This"...there are people out there who CARE if people are being treated as cattle. If you are satisfied with the way things are in corporate america and how they are handled in politics, then what can I say?

Are you saying that it's okay to treat "ordinary" people like cattle, but not "talented" people?

Not all jobs require specialized skills. Layoffs at a Mcdonalds are of a different order than at WOTC, no? I wouldn't layoff people who are the strongest talents in a company and replace them with managment that does not understand the game or give a damn about the fans (which is the impression I have from the letters I've seen). Late T$R did just that, people like Lorraine Williams hating gamers in general and the way that company treated their employees sucked from the accounts that I've read and the people that I've spoken to. Who is left in the creatie department of WOTC now and can they possibly met the demands with such a small staff?

I never said that ordinary people ought to be treated like dirt and the artists held in high esteem. That is a straw man argument, but Plato might agree with the idea.

[/B] $$$ is the bottom line with Hasbro. $$$ is the bottom line with America. Either face the entire problem or just deal. [/B]

I walk out of jobs where I am treated like a number and will always do so. Work to live, don't live to work. It is possible to work for a company that has a code of ethics in how they treat their employees, but I can understand how nobody believes this...it is a very rare thing to find.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Re: shares...

If 10 million shares, and if we all purchased it with the agreement that we want Hasbro to devote some energy to our game, and our market, would 10 million shares be enough

Considering some of the anti-corporation sentiments voiced on this board alone, I am not sure I would like to see that all.....

Hit Hasbro where it hurts, and after all, its only business, right?

You have to understand that I (and seemingly others) have no hard feelings what so ever towards Hasbro. If people active to the level of participating in it online are not interested, then do you think the casual player is going to give a hill of beans?

Not that I think anyone could organize all the d&d players anyway..

Respectfully submitted
FD

 

[Nathal]

I don't understand this at all. Why "boycott" a company that has laid off a bunch of people most of us don't know? Sure you like their work but jeez...seems like fanboy stuff. The only way I'll boycott a company is if thier product sucks.

Those who say the boycott won't work to improve the situation are probably right. Regardless, I won't buy anything more from Hasbro/WOTC, only on principle. I would not condemn anybody that would buy something that was of quality.

I feel bad for the creative talent and I know how difficult it can be to freelance (I am a freelancer who has worked for Hekaforge and has product coming soon from Troll Lord). I am angry over corporatism in America in general, but feeling empathy for fellow creative types is not "fanboy stuff".

 

[Ravellion]

The problem with the Netherlands is that it is never mentioned outside of school or a map. Advertising always refers to it as Holland. So people don't knnow that one place is the other.

Add to that the fact that we speak Dutch (which isn't Deutsch, which is German), and the confusion is complete.

Calling the Netherlands Holland would be like calling the US New England. It is inaccurate and, to some, offending. The Provinces of Holland do hold nearly all the important cities though.

I blame the English. The Americans inherited their language, and they couldn't make up their minds on how to call us . Besides, as all things in history after 1500, it probably is England's fault.

Rav

 

[Wicht]

Re: Re: shares...

Not that I think anyone could organize all the d&d players anyway...

Nor do I. Its a pipe dream. The money needed is too much for a few of us, but the organization needed for the many to be a cohesive force is too daunting.

 

[Xeriar]

Add to that the fact that we speak Dutch (which isn't Deutsch, which is German), and the confusion is complete.

Calling the Netherlands Holland would be like calling the US New England. It is inaccurate and, to some, offending. The Provinces of Holland do hold nearly all the important cities though.

I blame the English. The Americans inherited their language, and they couldn't make up their minds on how to call us . Besides, as all things in history after 1500, it probably is England's fault.

Rav

In fact, I never knew that Holland, the Dutch, and the Netherlands were all (in a sense) the same thing until I met some friends there (online) and decided to actually look the whole mess up. I wasn't taught that the Netherlanders are the Dutch, and that it holds the province of Holland. Learned nothing of the Hanziatic League in school, etc. And all that cool historic stuff.

On the other hand, we do learn quite a bit about European military history. What the heck happened to Luxembourg, and all that. Belguim's role in WWII is well-noted in school, as well.

Now, on the other hand, the only reason I know Andorra is a country in Europe is simply because it is so obscure. How many French and Spaniards don't know that they neighbor that little dot of a country?

 

[radferth]

QUOTE]I blame the English. The Americans inherited their language, and they couldn't make up their minds on how to call us . Besides, as all things in history after 1500, it probably is England's fault.[/QUOTE]

I agree with Rav, let's skip the Hasbro thing and boycott England. Or buy them up; how much do shares of England go for?

In all seriousness, what is the worst case scenario for Hasbro/WotC mishandling the game? They get rid of all the staff and just keep D&D around for the licensing revenue? This doesn't sound so bad. The OGL has taken WotC out of the position of being the sole company that can support the game, so even if they are totally unable to publish supplements I would care to purchase, I can still get good supplements, some from the very same designers that no longer work for WotC. What was bad was the early nineties, when TSR would not allow anyone else to produce AD&D material, and most of what they produced was crap. (Maybe some FR stuff was OK, but I never looked at any of that).

 

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

Re: shares...

If there are 2 million active DnD players, and if each bought even 5 shares of Hasbro stock, how much stock would that be? 10 million shares, and if we all purchased it with the agreement that we want Hasbro to devote some energy to our game, and our market, would 10 million shares be enough?

Uh, a quick look at Edgar on-line would show that Hasbro has 209,694,630 shares issued. So 10 million shares would be 0.5% of Hasbro's stock. Barely significant, but not really a lot of clout. You have to get to about 5% before the company notices.

 

[EarthsShadow]

true

true.

time to move on with life, we can't change anything that's been done, and all we can truly do is move with the times of change.