Reviewer accuses WotC of Espionage! <Put Dramatic Chord Here>
- Thread starter jester47
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I've reason the believe shenanigans like that have happened, but never with a large company nicking from a small one. WotC has no reason to steal anybody's niche idea, because WotC's material vrtually always has precedent over third party material. Class books are one good example of this, since WotC could still make a dime with "official" classbooks after rushing a few out and waiting for everyone else to top them.
Instead, try "Small company creates rush product to fill a niche they know another company with a sensible release schedule has coming down the pipe." Even then, the more likely truth is just that there are a limited number of obvious niches in D&D-style fantasy gaming.
Instead, try "Small company creates rush product to fill a niche they know another company with a sensible release schedule has coming down the pipe." Even then, the more likely truth is just that there are a limited number of obvious niches in D&D-style fantasy gaming.
Espionage, nay they all just read stuff that has been put up on this site, say what a great idea and start the ball rolling! 
lior_shapira
Explorer
So now we're having a conspiracy theory about conspiracy theories? I think the reviewer's point was that its interesting how several books of the same theme get released in a short time period. I don't think he came out as accusing WOTC of anything. Its the same in movies, in the same year you get two movies about asteroids crashing into the earth, a year later two films about aliens invading the earth...
Why does it happen? I dont think anyone can pinpoint it completely, part of it I think is that people hear about other projects and it sparks their creativity, part of it is 'espionage', but in the sense that person x from company y hears that company z is developing something and suggests something a bit similiar to his boss. I dont really think there are secret carrier pigeons arriving at WOTC offices with secret 'lets do that' messages.
whoa, long post, stopping to catch breath.
in any case - good review!
lior
Why does it happen? I dont think anyone can pinpoint it completely, part of it I think is that people hear about other projects and it sparks their creativity, part of it is 'espionage', but in the sense that person x from company y hears that company z is developing something and suggests something a bit similiar to his boss. I dont really think there are secret carrier pigeons arriving at WOTC offices with secret 'lets do that' messages.
whoa, long post, stopping to catch breath.
in any case - good review!
lior
Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
Crothian said:
Couple of reviews of my own products that show a certain lack of wit.
He dinged Grim Tales because it didn't have an index-- the Index, of course, is in the back of the book, same place it is in every book.
Still, it did give me occasion to write Ghostwind with an amusing (to me, at least) zinger:
"He couldn't find the Index, a task not much more difficult than finding one's ass with both hands."
Wulf
Ghostwind
First Post
For the record, John's comments were meant to be tongue-in-cheek. It's amazing that over 600 people read the original review on my site and not one commented to this fact, but no more than a day after it's cross-posted to EN World and someone is crying foul and that the reviewer should be castrated and crucified. Psion asked me to edit John's comments and I inserted a couple of sentences to make less "accusatory" to his satisfaction. But is still remains a solid and fair review. Even the people from Wotc, whom I send review links to, have said so. They thought it was fair and passed it on the the R&D team.
Wulf, John has the respect of many publishers as a reviewer and personal attacks like yours are not only uncalled for but out of line. I've already told you privately that we would no longer review your books since it seems with every review we've ever done on your books you felt obligated to find offense with and email me about. It was a closed subject as far as I was concerned. John is not only a damn good reviewer but a man I consider to be a friend. Keep the snide remarks to yourself and off a public board, please. Your quote from a private email you sent me is in poor taste at best and should have never been put here.
I find it utterly unbelievable that nearly everytime I cross post a review from my site (which many EN World readers regularly visit according to site statistics), people feel compelled to complain and personally attack the reviewers because either myself or my staff might actually be critical and say something *gasp* unpopular about a favored EN World publisher. I've been a part of this community in one name incarnation or another since shortly after Eric established the site. And most of the time, folks here have made me feel welcome. That is until I set up my review site and Morrus and I reached an agreement to have me cross post to help his database nearly three years ago. Then the waters became tepid at best and the personal attacks ensued, both in comments on the reviews and in these forums. Know what? I'm tired of it.
If myself and my review staff are so damn bad and unprofessional then why is it that there are more than a few publishers out there (including Wotc) that I can pick up the phone, call and ask for something and then have it delivered without question or issue? There are publishers out there who have told me face to face at a convention that they will only send my site reviewers actual print review copies where everyone will get a pdf copy at best because they feel we are fair in our reviews and they feel we actually READ the product before reviewing it. And I'm not just talking about small press publishers.
This grief is no longer worth the extra time I take out of my schedule to cross post so that everyone who reads the reviews here can have the benefit of an extra shared opinion. Psion and Morrus, this is a formal request to delete all d20 Magazine Rack reviews in the database. There will be no more future reviews cross-posted and added here from my site. Folks who desire reading the reviews of my staff will just have to visit my site from now on. Got a problem with the content of a review? Leave your comments there (and that includes any personal attacks you may feel inclined to make).
Wulf, John has the respect of many publishers as a reviewer and personal attacks like yours are not only uncalled for but out of line. I've already told you privately that we would no longer review your books since it seems with every review we've ever done on your books you felt obligated to find offense with and email me about. It was a closed subject as far as I was concerned. John is not only a damn good reviewer but a man I consider to be a friend. Keep the snide remarks to yourself and off a public board, please. Your quote from a private email you sent me is in poor taste at best and should have never been put here.
I find it utterly unbelievable that nearly everytime I cross post a review from my site (which many EN World readers regularly visit according to site statistics), people feel compelled to complain and personally attack the reviewers because either myself or my staff might actually be critical and say something *gasp* unpopular about a favored EN World publisher. I've been a part of this community in one name incarnation or another since shortly after Eric established the site. And most of the time, folks here have made me feel welcome. That is until I set up my review site and Morrus and I reached an agreement to have me cross post to help his database nearly three years ago. Then the waters became tepid at best and the personal attacks ensued, both in comments on the reviews and in these forums. Know what? I'm tired of it.
If myself and my review staff are so damn bad and unprofessional then why is it that there are more than a few publishers out there (including Wotc) that I can pick up the phone, call and ask for something and then have it delivered without question or issue? There are publishers out there who have told me face to face at a convention that they will only send my site reviewers actual print review copies where everyone will get a pdf copy at best because they feel we are fair in our reviews and they feel we actually READ the product before reviewing it. And I'm not just talking about small press publishers.
This grief is no longer worth the extra time I take out of my schedule to cross post so that everyone who reads the reviews here can have the benefit of an extra shared opinion. Psion and Morrus, this is a formal request to delete all d20 Magazine Rack reviews in the database. There will be no more future reviews cross-posted and added here from my site. Folks who desire reading the reviews of my staff will just have to visit my site from now on. Got a problem with the content of a review? Leave your comments there (and that includes any personal attacks you may feel inclined to make).
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Well, all I can say to Steeve's post is... Ouch.
I still think it would be a good idea to leave the older posts in though. The database does have utility and having a wider platform of reviewers allows people to see other's ideas and comments on how a book is used.
I still think it would be a good idea to leave the older posts in though. The database does have utility and having a wider platform of reviewers allows people to see other's ideas and comments on how a book is used.
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