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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr. Harry" data-source="post: 1129767" data-attributes="member: 5468">No, my question is "Why were you surprised?".  You skipped 2/3 of the replies (at least as it appears in my setup); it was not that I think you should apologize for posting the WotC form letter, but if you wish to apologize for your own ...Did you really think that you were the only one to have written to them?  Hey, if you wish to post such strongly worded (read as: extreme) posts, then *read the whole thread*.  Really.  I'll wait.Okay?Oh, and while I think that things could have been done better and I do not wish to dismiss those with more reasonable complaints (ones not involving calling the poor schmuck who had to read through your letter a "communist pig" and accusing WotC of trying to burn your books or control your television by protecting the value of something they own), it has been my observation that anything, including late afternoon and evening thunderstorms will annnoy a good section of "normal" gamers, and even trigger some to scream about communist plots and censorship.Nope, I don't buy this.  Maybe some things need determined reactions, but I do not think that there is a justification for casting off all reason and restraint.No, but the child has every right to take his ball and go home.  Do you suggest that having the basketball (D&D) and allowing others to play with it (d20STL) gives them the right to slash it, damage it, or hit the child (WotC) in the face with it?  Again, nobody is stopping anyone from publishing.  A more apt comparison would be to demand that you should be able to publish whatever the smeg you want in a comic book, and then print a "Marvel" or "DC" trademark on the label.  Is Time/Warner censoring you by not allowing you to do that?Calling someone a "communist pig" is measured and self-censored?If they don't want it linked or associated with them, then require product that doesn't meet their standards to use OGL, not d20.  WotC is not censoring anything.  Please read the text after the word "immaterial".In order to construct a reasoned response?The meaning is quite clear.  I have made this suggestion before in this thread, and while I am not a lawyer, this reasoning was endorsed by Clark Peterson, who *is* a lawyer, and has a *real* stake in this, that stake being Necromancer Games.  The WotC material is quite clear.  Well, I could say "You made no differentiation that I could see, so why should I?", but let's not slip over to the dark side. You may not like how Disney changed the storylines to the movies the studio has done, as compared to the original versions, and I do not criticize that, per se (Tolkien himself greatly disliked Disney for that reason).  Still, that does not make your point.  Disney may have softened - severely, in some cases - the storyline in order to reach a mass audience, but Disney was phenominally successful in reaching that audience.  A letter that has the effect of suggesting "Gosh, WotC, you don't want to do what Disney does" would likely trigger a quick peek at the Disney empire, and the response, "Uh, yes we do."I must confess that I still miss the relevance of the Sailor Moon reference.Again, WotC protecting WotC's interest through what is WotC's physical property takes nothing out of your hands.  What this disallows is putting "Dungeons and Dragons" on the front of your product, if it crosses the line.What this indicates is the level of response that Wizards got.  This has gone to darn near 500 posts on ENWorld, and we are but one of the gaming bulletin boards.I have also received responses from various parts of WotC to inquiries.  I conclude that the reason for the form letter in this case is:1) The sheer volume of mail2) The genuine surprise (as attested to by third parties whose judgment I trust on this matter; see rest of thread) on the part of WotC to the reaction to the announcement, and3) The tone of your email; see my last post.There are genuine concerns about impleementation and meaning of the changes in the d20STL; I fail to see how your email addresses any of them.  Please see my last post.Peace,Harry Leckenby</blockquote>

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