The guy who leaked the Core Books was a:

[evillives]

If there hasn't been a call for this already, perhaps the poll choices need to be expanded:

Herobag: Mostly a hero, but still a jerk for monkey-wrenching the release date, piracy, etc.

Douchero: Mostly a douchebag, whose actions will produce a measurable amount of good for somebody, somewhere, regardless of the douchero's intent.

Douchebago: As above, except actions could possibly produce a debateable amount of good for somebody, somewhere, in spite of the douchero's malicious intent.

 

[reutbing0]

Scott, I was being a bit silly when I suggested earlier in this thread that WotC had put the PDFs out there on purpose. There's no need to shoot down a goofy conspiracy theory.

Of course there's a need to shoot down goofy conspiracy theories. Suggesting intentional leaks legitimizes the act of downloading the files, because people will think "well WoTC leaked it themselves so they want me to download it". Clearly they don't like this, so it is very much in their interest to dispel that myth.

 

[Incenjucar]

WotC has made it possible for people to compete with them fairly directly. This makes secrecy particularly valuable. If they feel that having a few more pieces of errata hurt sales less than someone pumping out a 3rd party product with the same ideas before they do, they're going to pull back and release products that have only been tested by people that they can trust, which will be fewer and fewer every time someone with no respect for creative rights pulls something like this.

Regardless of your beliefs on piracy, it makes designers nervous. There is a lot to lose by doing this, and nothing to gain.

Spook the cow enough you'll get sour milk, whether you pay for it or no.

--

And yes, they do HAVE to condemn piracy. If you don't object to a violation of your rights, a court is likely to assume you have given them up. Our legal system makes leniency a stupid idea.

Heck, if you let someone use part of your property as a trail long enough, they can be given a legal right to use that path which you cannot obstruct even though you own it.

 

[aboyd]

And yes, they do HAVE to condemn piracy. If you don't object to a violation of your rights, a court is likely to assume you have given them up.

You're confusing trademarks with copyright.

 

[Incenjucar]

You're confusing trademarks with copyright.

As a general thing. My general impression is that, if you let people walk all over your rights, you don't get to change your mind about it afterwards. You have to, at the least, object to it openly, and then where you go from there is up to you.

I am, of course, no lawyer.

 

[aboyd]

As a general thing. My general impression is that, if you let people walk all over your rights, you don't get to change your mind about it afterwards.

You get to change your mind with copyright, so WotC doesn't have to behave as you imply. They can shrug this off and be very aggressive later. The copyright will not be revoked or lost because of inaction in selective cases.

Of course they can fight it hard if they want to. But they can't use "sorry, copyright makes us be aggressive" as a justification. They'll have to say, "We're asserting our rights because we want to, and our justification is simply that we CAN."

 

[theNater]

You know how it is when you're planning an elaborate surprise for somebody? You've got something you know they'll just love, and you've got a bunch of buddies helping you make it be exactly perfect? You've maybe dropped a few hints at the person you're going to surprise, to get them excited? And they start asking you for details, and you have a handful of hints to share, one at a time, to keep the anticipation up? And then, about a week before surprise time, one of the guys who was helping you out spills the beans?

The guy who leaked the Core Books was that guy.

Criminal? What the heck do I know, I'm no lawyer.

A big jerk? Oh yeah.

 

[trimeta]

I voted Hero, but frankly neither are correct; I don't think we have enough information about the informant's motives to make an accurate assessment. If it was simply a "screw my boss" kind of move, then douchbag is correct. If it was an "information wants to be free" move, it's a little more questionable. Still, regardless of motive, it almost certainly was a criminal act, and Wizards should take whatever legal measures they can against the informant.

From a practical perspective, however, I'm definitely of the opinion that the leak will at least have short-term positive effects for Wizards. 10 days isn't enough to give their competitors the ability to push out new, competing products, and judging by the polls and comments I think this will drive more sales than it will ruin. I personally was at least partially on the fence about pre-ordering until I read the PDFs; I probably would have pre-ordered sooner or later anyway, but actually reading them pushed me over the edge. It certainly didn't dissuade me from giving Wizards money. Maybe in the long run, this will lead to greater paranoia within Wizards which reduces the quality of their work, but I think it will help increase sales of the core ruleset.

 

[delericho]

Douchebag.

It really doesn't matter whether releasing the files will actually improve Wizards' sales - that was Wizards' call to make, not the thief's.

I don't believe the conspiracy theory that suggests this guy was secretly working with Wizards' blessing, not least because The Rouse has said otherwise. However, if it were to prove to be true, then this guy is still a douchebag (as would be those who sanctioned his actions) for another reason entirely:

There may very well be customers out there who are eagerly awaiting their pre-orders, and who have never previously downloaded a file illegally. When made aware of these files, some of these people might well have rationalised to themselves "I've already paid for these, so what's the harm", and so downloaded their very first illegal file. (The morality of that can be argued, but the legality, or rather illegality is pretty clear.) In effect, releasing these files in this manner may have being the factor that turns someone into a pirate for the very first time.

As a ninja, I can only condemn that as a fairly douchebaggy thing to do.

Disclaimer: I'm not really a ninja.

 

[Oldtimer]

Hero,

Everything that makes D&D a success is heroic.

And please stop referring to it as theft and the person as a thief. It has nothing to do with theft. You might as well call him (or her) as terrorist or a pedophile. Even if you disapprove of the action, we can still be correct in the discussion about it.