Pramas on the OGL

[SSquirrel]

Actually it is b/c he was saying that b/c the OGL didn't provide a guide to people for how to determine if a product was good that it was flawed. Which is something entirely outside the scope of the OGL as well as running counter to each individual person's taste.
TheOGL actually DID provide a way to know if a product was good. Learn the info in the SRD, compare the new product to the information found in the SRD. If the new product's balance is out of whack compared to the SRD and it is supposed to be in line w/it, then it is not a good product.

 

[xechnao]

Actually it is b/c he was saying that b/c the OGL didn't provide a guide to people for how to determine if a product was good that it was flawed. Which is something entirely outside the scope of the OGL as well as running counter to each individual person's taste.

Put it this way, I agree with this.

TheOGL actually DID provide a way to know if a product was good. Learn the info in the SRD, compare the new product to the information found in the SRD. If the new product's balance is out of whack compared to the SRD and it is supposed to be in line w/it, then it is not a good product.

If by good you mean SRD standard good, then I agree with this too.

 

[SSquirrel]

It is exactly that reason why I skipped a large chunk of WotC product heh. Everything released for Arcana Evolved is on my shelf tho. Ptolus too.

 

[Vigilance]

It is exactly that reason why I skipped a large chunk of WotC product heh. Everything released for Arcana Evolved is on my shelf tho. Ptolus too.

But, but, how did you decide to skip those products on your own, without a market guide to tell you what to buy?!?!

 

[xechnao]

But, but, how did you decide to skip those products on your own, without a market guide to tell you what to buy?!?!

There are various kinds of market guides -some explicit, some not- and usually they work with each other. Above review publications, promotions, group targeting and various other stuff there is the big universal one, called "trend" and is what 3rd parties have tried to take advantage of.

 

[Nellisir]

This is anecdotal. ... If it were Dominos or other low quality branches would not out be there. But they still are and dominate the market.

Y'know, I'd bet alot of money that you're wrong. If you looked at all the pizza's sold in the US over a year, I'd bet that the vast, vast majority were sold by single shops or small/local chains. For instance, there are 45 entries under "Pizza" in my local yellow pages. Only 3 are chains.

 

[Nellisir]

Put it this way, I agree with this.

So the SRD should've had a set of guidelines about what constitutes a good vs a bad product? Move outside the boundaries, and it's an automatic fail? I'm pretty sure Mutants & Masterminds is way beyond what anyone at WotC envisioned for the d20 rules, but it's awesome. You -want- Wizards to do exactly what you say is wrong with capitalism - you want them to set up fixed standards and tell the consumers what to buy. I think that's a horrible idea.

If by good you mean SRD standard good, then I agree with this too.

The SRD sucked. No hardcopy version, no pdf, no flavor text, no examples in play, no art, abysmal layout, horrible to print out and assemble. Fail.

 

[BryonD]

You did not get my point. I was talking about shops in general. My argument was that shops which stock by judgment are not reliable about themselves. Judgment is not something reliable in economy. Economists need to make judgment calls only in front of a dead ends and these calls are considered unreliable too.

Actually I get your point just fine, you are failing to grasp that it is the consumers that make the final call.

This is anecdotal. Markets get measured with analysis -not with judgment as judgment is not enough. If it were Dominos or other low quality branches would not out be there. But they still are and dominate the market.

Um, first, you have been suggesting that my anecdote should not exist.
If you claim that no human is over 7 ft tall, then a single anecdotal response is adequate to prove you wrong.

Second, you are demanding that everyone comply with your definition of quality. The reality is that a lot of people are very much satisfied with the overall quality package that Dominos provides. Maybe they LIKE the pizza. Maybe the like the price. Maybe they like the delivery guy's shoes. Your deeply flawed assessment of market level "quality" based on your personal preference is just as wrong in the case of pizza as it is in RPGs.

Overall your point is that market problems can and perhaps must be fixed by consumers. This is just not true.

Yeah, Adam Smith was all screwed up with that whole Invisible Hand thing.

 

[SSquirrel]

So the SRD should've had a set of guidelines about what constitutes a good vs a bad product? Move outside the boundaries, and it's an automatic fail? I'm pretty sure Mutants & Masterminds is way beyond what anyone at WotC envisioned for the d20 rules, but it's awesome. You -want- Wizards to do exactly what you say is wrong with capitalism - you want them to set up fixed standards and tell the consumers what to buy. I think that's a horrible idea.

M&M is still balanced in comparison with the SRD. a 10th level character there is equivalent to a 10th level D&D character. That was how I used it anyway.

 

[Dragon Snack]

If you looked at all the pizza's sold in the US over a year, I'd bet that the vast, vast majority were sold by single shops or small/local chains.

FWIW, a quick search confirms this...

US Pizza segment, 2005: ~$34 billion
Top 9* US Pizza/Pasta resturants, 2005: ~$13.3 billion (Dominoes specifically was ~$3.3 billion)

Franchised Pizza chains make up 60% of the US Pizza market, but from the numbers that looks to include local franchises.

*taken from Quick Service Resturant magazines top 50, only 9 Pizza/Pasta resturants ranked in the top 50 (6 of which were 26 or lower, 3 of which were 41 or lower, including the 50 spot).