D&D 4E The internet: 4E can't have it both ways

[Lonely Tylenol]

Side note:

And it was - what's the problem? Still own that movie, it's one of the few examples of "Plan Nine from Outer Space" genius that was actually intentional...

Where are my sequels?

Snakes on a Boat
Snakes on a Space Station
Snakes in a Building

and

Velociraptors on a Plane

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

There are about 55,000 members of EN World. At first blush, that sounds really impressive! After all, 55,000 is more than almost any non-D&D RPG book sells! (White Wolf sells more of its major releases, and Mongoose may, but I'd be really surprised if anyone else does.)

However, this number isn't very useful. Of those 55,000, I would say far less than 1% post regularly, if at all - look at the names you see floating around the boards. Do you see 550 different people posting on a regular basis? MAYBE half that many post multiple times per week across the entire forum.

Now, consider that 55,000 is itself only a bit more than 1% of the overall D&D playerbase, according to the last WotC numbers we have. (FWIW, WotC staffers current and former assert that the number of players has gone up, not down, in the intervening years.)

In other words, even if we're generous and say 1% of EN Worlders post regularly, they amount to only .0001% of the D&D playerbase. One one-hundredth of one percent.

Finally, consider that there is almost never a CONSENSUS among the one one-hundredth of one percent.

I really don't see how data collected from EN World or any other message board of similar size could possibly be useful to a brand as large as D&D. :\

 

[Desdichado]

I can't vote on this poll because you forgot to check the "multiple options" box.

I don't honestly think he "forgot" to allow you to vote both yes and no.

Make a decision already! I get it that there's exceptions, reservations and concerns, but pick the answer that most closely matches your opinion.

 

[maggot]

I voted "yes" with the caveat that the internet opinion should be given its proper weight (which is far less than the internet opinion generally thinks it should be). After all, what company doesn't listen to its customers?

 

[Scribble]

I voted Yes... But it doesn't completely match what my feelings are.

I think yes the internet is a GREAT indicator of how the fan base is feeling. But it shouldn't be the end all be all.

People on message boards about a subject, just like those at the big conventions, tend to be a "megafans..." the ones that are really really into said subject. They're also like a divining rod. You can guage somewhat what the current thoughts are in the gaming community at large. (or what they will be...) Since they are so invested into the subject, they tend to know the ins and outs and recognize features before the fans at large really start to.

From that you should then go on and get better surveys and such if you're thinking of making changes, but it's a good starting point.

People are generally social beings, and generally have similar feelings about things. (whether we like to believe it or not...)

 

[Mistwell]

You're asking the internet community devoted to D&D if that internet community should have more power over the thing that community has in common. I mean, come on now, what possible answer could you get other than "Yes"? :\

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

No.

 

[Lord Fyre]

I voted "no."

Here is why. WoTC have commited to releasing the finished project next summer. As it is, that schedule is very tight so having to sift through mountains of player suggestions (despite many of them being very good) will take resources away from getting the product done with quality and consistency.

 

[KoshPWNZYou]

I doubt the finished product is going to be anything that was significantly molded by Internet viewpoints. The devs are not going to implement any ideas unless they agree with those ideas.

Having said that, they'd be foolish not to pay some attention. There are a lot of smart people here at ENWorld, including a few RPG publishers. There's also a lot of back and forth discussion/debating/flame-warring. You can complain about the people who only bring negativity or the people who only bring positivity ... but we have both. Anyone reading has access to a lot of different viewpoints. If a dev sees something and says 'hey, that might work!' or 'oh, that might cause problems' there's no reason it shouldn't be given consideration.

 

[Gundark]

I voted yes...it's very important for a company to listen to their customers. However I will acknowledge it's a very slipery slope picking out the "vocal miniority".

Who was it that said that what killed TSR was that they stopped listening to the fans