OGL v1.2 Survey Feedback: 'Hasn't Hit The Mark'

WotC has shared some of the (still ongoing) survey feedback following the release of the Open Game License v1.2 draft last week.

We want to thank the community for continuing to share their OGL 1.2 feedback with us. Already more than 10,000 of you have responded to the survey, which will close on February 3.

So far, survey responses have made it clear that this draft of OGL 1.2 hasn't hit the mark for our community. Please continue to share your thoughts.

Thanks to direct feedback from you and our virtual tabletop partners it's also clear the draft VTT policy missed the mark. Animations were clearly the wrong focus. We'll do better next round.

We will continue to keep an article updated with any new details posted here or elsewhere on the OGL. You can read it here

The linked FAQ (no, not THAT linked FAQ, the one where they say the original OGL cannot be revoked, I think we're supposed to ignore that one!) indicates that recent rumours about $30 subscriptions and homebrew content are false. They also say that they will be revising the 'harmful content' morality clause in the recent OGL draft, which in practice gives WotC power to shut down competitors at will.

You can still take the survey here until Feb 3rd.

 

[FoolishFrost]

Well.

So, suddenly and unilaterally trying to break your word is kind of a jerk move, I agree.

But, "You made a promise 20 years ago, and we will not even consider changing the arrangement no matter how much the world has changed," makes you the kind of person nobody wants to do business with.

There were far better ways to manage this, yes. But, having flubbed, standing there demanding that WotC get absolutely no changes whatsoever is not a way to move forward with a changing world.

I agree in principal.
pity they screwed up so bad with obviously poor behavior as to make us feel they can’t be trusted in good faith. Even this new choice makes me wonder: do they understand what happened, and do this because they learned, or was it a sudden spasm from hasbro layoffs happening like a castle exploding in the background and freaking them out?

 

[MarkB]

So, suddenly and unilaterally trying to break your word is kind of a jerk move, I agree.

But, "You made a promise 20 years ago, and we will not even consider changing the arrangement no matter how much the world has changed," makes you the kind of person nobody wants to do business with.

There were far better ways to manage this, yes. But, having flubbed, standing there demanding that WotC get absolutely no changes whatsoever is not a way to move forward with a changing world.

It seems to do the job.

 

[Staffan]

So, suddenly and unilaterally trying to break your word is kind of a jerk move, I agree.

But, "You made a promise 20 years ago, and we will not even consider changing the arrangement no matter how much the world has changed," makes you the kind of person nobody wants to do business with.

There were far better ways to manage this, yes. But, having flubbed, standing there demanding that WotC get absolutely no changes whatsoever is not a way to move forward with a changing world.

The way to do those changes would be what they did in 2008: leave the things that have already been released alone, and release whatever new stuff you want to make under the new terms you like better. I mean, it's been 15 years so it's not as fresh in my memory as it could be, but as I recall the common reaction was "Well, that's dumb, but sure."

 

[Olaf the Stout]

“Hasn’t hit the mark” - Not sure if they’re still oblivious or if that’s marketing speak for “we totally stuffed this up and we know it, but we need more time to convince the execs this won’t work”.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

EDIT: LOL WHO CARES WE WIN.

 

[Umbran]

I feel like I'm missing something.

It is irrelevant. They've released the entire SRD 5.1 under Creative Commons.

 

[Umbran]

It seems to do the job.

I am glad that public pressure worked. It shouldn't have been necessary - this could have all been handled so much better, for everyone.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

It is irrelevant. They've released the entire SRD 5.1 under Creative Commons.

Yeah I just saw

 

[Umbran]

WotC's stance on the OGL 1.0a is to revoke it.

Stances can change.

 

[Reynard]

I hope this doesn't come back to bite us all

How could it. Literally the only thing they can do is pull yet another idiot A-Ha! move and try and revoke it later, with the same exact results.

This is victory.