Legends and Lore: What's With the Polls?

[Saracenus]

Mr. Mearls explains why he is doing informal polls at the end of his articles...
Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (What's With the Polls?)

He realizes that the audience responding to them is self-selecting and that its more a tool for dialogue with the audience.

Enjoy,

 

[Dannager]

This will do nothing to shut the conspiracy theorists up. Evidence be damned, it's market research for 5e!

 

[Dice4Hire]

This will do nothing to shut the conspiracy theorists up. Evidence be damned, it's market research for 5e!

Nah, they are still doing it for 2E.

 

[Tony Vargas]

It's not 'market research' - if it were market research, they might actually listen to the responses. No, it's just a way to try to generate some imagined support for the most egregious they're pulling. Like '25% /like/ the idea of having their fighter shafted!' Yeah, right, keep spinning like that, Mr. Mearls, and you'll reach the antipode in no time...

 

[Aegeri]

Yeah I'm pretty amazed he seems to have forgot the remaining 75% who didn't like the martial classes being shafted. The most striking thing with the last poll was the majority weren't in favor of the simplistic classes of essentials. Personally they should go back to more like what they were doing, but leave the Knight and such as they are for those who want them.

 

[webrunner]

The problem with the gnome example is that there's a vocal minority who, despite not playing with a gnome, or intend to play a gnome, insists there be no gnomes because their mere existence hurts them in some way,.

 

[Kingreaper]

Yeah I'm pretty amazed he seems to have forgot the remaining 75% who didn't like the martial classes being shafted. The most striking thing with the last poll was the majority weren't in favor of the simplistic classes of essentials. Personally they should go back to more like what they were doing, but leave the Knight and such as they are for those who want them.

If 25% of people want something, and 75% of people don't... the 75% can happily ignore it, while the 25% will be happier with it.

Let's say only 25% of people want to be able to play druids. Does adding druids in harm the 75% who don't? Nope. But it really helps the 25% who do.

 

[webrunner]

If 25% of people want something, and 75% of people don't... the 75% can happily ignore it, while the 25% will be happier with it.

Let's say only 25% of people want to be able to play druids. Does adding druids in harm the 75% who don't? Nope. But it really helps the 25% who do.

It's more like
25% want it
50% can ignore it
25% protest it's inclusion

 

[Aegeri]

It depends on how much that 25% becomes the majority of what is released. Thus far the only new class released post essentials has been another railroaded option class (the Vampire). While there is plenty of stuff for older classes, the fact that new classes seem to be keeping to the essentials railroad design seems to be the new method. It becomes rather hard to ignore when that happens.

 

[Kingreaper]

It's more like
25% want it
50% can ignore it
25% protest it's inclusion

And if you're got a group of 20 people, all ordering a meal each, 5 of whom want carrots in their meal, 10 of whom don't care, and 5 of whom hate the idea of carrots because they don't like the taste; should the restaurant refuse to serve carrots to the 5 who want carrost?

The 5 who hate carrots are essentially just being asses to the 5 who like them by complaining.