It is time to forgive WOTC and get back onboard.

[Parmandur]

Guacamole itself is heinous.

You should try good Guacamole, then, if only takes three ingredients (avocado, salt and lon juice).

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah. An analogy is mean to help with understanding, not represent one thing equating to another. Claiming we're equating what WotC with murder is a Red Herring. It avoids acknowledgement of what we're really saying.

There are apt analogies, and inapt. Personalizing corporations is always inapt, and equating above board (albeit dumb) business maneuvers with crime is inapt.

 

[Faolyn]

"Releasing the game into Crestive Commons ultimately benefits out business", however, us pretty high level thinking. And somebody had to make thst case.

Except they clearly only did this because of the overwhelming number of people who were turning against them. If they were "deep" or "high" thinkers, they would have done this from the start instead of as a desperate attempt to staunch the bleeding from their self-inflicted wound. Heck, if they were "deep" or "high" thinkers, they would have realized that what they did was dumb from the beginning.

 

[Parmandur]

Except they clearly only did this because of the overwhelming number of people who were turning against them. If they were "deep" or "high" thinkers, they would have done this from the start instead of as a desperate attempt to staunch the bleeding from their self-inflicted wound. Heck, if they were "deep" or "high" thinkers, they would have realized that what they did was dumb from the beginning.

Well, remember, there is no monolithic "they." There are a number of people at WotC, good and bad, clever and not so clever. What theybdid was dumb, and some probsvly knew that the whole time. And those are the ones who won the internal argument, ultimately, which is good.

 

[Maxperson]

You should try good Guacamole, then, if only takes three ingredients (avocado, salt and lon juice).

I don't like avocado. That's the major issue.

 

[Maxperson]

There are apt analogies, and inapt. Personalizing corporations is always inapt, and equating above board (albeit dumb) business maneuvers with crime is inapt.

It is personal, though. The corporate suits essentially ARE the corporation. It does what they want it to do. It's not like they were sitting around a board meeting going, "Holy hell! Did you see what the corporation just sent to those 3PP?! If that gets out..."

 

[Parmandur]

I don't like avocado. That's the major issue.

Well, fair enough.

 

[Parmandur]

It is personal, though. The corporate suits essentially ARE the corporation. It does what they want it to do. It's not like they were sitting around a board meeting going, "Holy hell! Did you see what the corporation just sent to those 3PP?! If that gets out..."

Honestly, I doubt whoever pushed for this actually thought of it that way. Theybseem to have felt the 15% royalty vit for a badge was a win-win that people would jump on. So, it's more like someone making a merging mistake in traffic and causing an accident than a knife murder or robbery attempt. Knowledge and intention matter.

 

[Maxperson]

Honestly, I doubt whoever pushed for this actually thought of it that way. Theybseem to have felt the 15% royalty vit for a badge was a win-win that people would jump on. So, it's more like someone making a merging mistake in traffic and causing an accident than a knife murder or robbery attempt. Knowledge and intention matter.

I refuse to believe that they were that dumb. What the leaked info meant was immediately apparent to those they sent it to who didn't sign it, those here, all of the attorneys who spoke hear and on other social media, the influencers, and on and on.

We would have to think that all of the upper management of WotC AND all of their high priced attorneys were too incompetent to realize what we could see right off the bat in order to think that they didn't know.

 

[Parmandur]

I refuse to believe that they were that dumb.

That seems overly optimistic about the human condition, to me.

We would have to think that all of the upper management of WotC AND all of their high priced attorneys were too incompetent to realize what we could see right off the bat in order to think that they didn't know.

So, if we go on the rumors that come from internal leaks, this was the hobby horse of one VP, the VP of Digital in charge of making the VTT (hence the focus being where it was in the final compromise). This VP has reportedly never played Dungeons & Dragons. Do I believe that one VP in a position of influence (because Said VP did actually double WotC revenue literally overnight by delivering Magic Arena), talking to top execututives whons ae not familiar with the hobby from the inside, going over the situation with lawyers who are also outside the hobby...I mean, it really doesn't at all strike me as improbable to believe they could miss these big honking issues, or see a pretty standard royalty offer with access to IP as being received poorly. Also according to rumors, most of the D&D team was left in the dark until after the NDAs started being broken, so the executive team was insulated from being corrected. However, thar barrier apparently got broken down.

I mean, I've known for 20 years that WotC and Hasbro are dysfunctional basketcases as far as workplace politics goes (a lot of Innis out there on record), but accidebtal stupidity and Chaotic decision making seem familiar enough from my career in silicon Valley. Particularly departments not talking to each other, or customer input bwingnignored until things are on fire.