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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Corinth" data-source="post: 3464852" data-attributes="member: 497">This is an epic failure of a decision on WOTC's part, as stupid a move as Blizzard's implementation of their current Looking For Group system (for World of Warcraft) and it will crash and burn for similar reasons.  Specific to this matter, I list these reasons:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Passive is Superior to Active: A magazine on a newsstand is well within the visible scope of the common man, including the majority of gamers.  They can passively look at its content, consume its news (including FAQ updates) by means of purchasing and its doesn't rely on either electricity or bulking gear to make full use of it.  Online content is well outside that sale threshold, requires that the gamer make a deliberate and intentional choice to find it, relies far too much on bulky gear and electricity (so it's not portable), and can't be casually passed around at the table.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Convenience & Casualness Wins: Contrary to what some would believe, the majority of gamers are not wired into the online gaming scene and will not make an active effort to access it.  Content that's entirely online might as well not exist; if it's not in print, it don't mean spit.  Furthermore, there is considerable resistance to content--official or otherwise--that is entirely online, even if it's good stuff like rules upgrades or answers to common queries, precisely because it's not casual-friendly to do so.  Slap a price tag on ephemeral elements like electronic files, and you're just making it harder to get acceptance for it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Free Is Better, Always: The common perception of the worth of anything that isn't in print is so low that it takes the threat of criminal prosecution to get people to spend real money on unreal things like files.  Far more likely is that there will be a lag period before any electronic content ends up on a P2P network where it can be accessed for free, legality notwithstanding.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The Illusion of Progress: Electronic, online content sounds great until there's a big shift in the I.T. infrastructure that renders obsolete and inoperable programs and file formats formerly supported.  Fools rely on the goodwill of powers beyond their control, and that is certainly the case with online content of any kind.  Print remains superior in that it needs no electricity, no programs to read it, no expensive or inconvenient gear to access it, and can't be crippled by either the original provider or by ill-wishing third parties.</li> </ol>Print is easier, more convenient, more causal-friendly, more visible to the population, more robust, more portable, more friendly to the user, friendly to passive (and thus to impulsive) use, and lasts longer than any online equivalent.  (Remember, RPGs have the lifespan of a capital good- 25-50 years.)  Within a year or so, when this scheme's fall into ruin is known to all, I will be here to say "I told you so."</blockquote>

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