The major changes at WOTC

[dema]

Wahhh

I hope maybe with that funnel guy gone maybe we can get more people to work at WotC to make great products.

It would be great if this guy visits these boards or the ones at WotC just to pop in an say hello to get a feel of who his customer base is, and give up a what's up.

just a few thoughts.


edit -- removed your sig, look for an e-mail from Piratecate explaining why

 

[King_Stannis]

I'd agree that corporate business is Lawful Evil. Highly structured, the guys at the top get the money and the power, and those beneath them are viewed as scum. That's LE.

this attitude is what is wrong with our country nowadays, and why we find ourselves with a quasi nanny-state. corporate business allows you to play the 3rd edition of a game you probably love. corporate business is responsible for the car you drive to work. corporate business is responsible for much of the public dining you probably do.

i'm sorry, but this constant bashing of corporations is really starting to make me irate. sorry, but i've found that many times, people who bash "big corporations" are lazy asses who probably regret the choices they've made in life. "big corporations" are made up of people. as someone eluded to earlier, they're working stiffs who look forward to the weekend with their families. for every corrupt Enron or WotC exec, there are thousands of others who view them with the same disdain as the average joe or jane in the street.

you may wonder how certain people got into top positions in companies, you may even question their performance. but who the hell are you to call them evil?

 

[gordonknox]

I'm with the king...

Why all the anger towards corporate America?

Making money is not evil. I would go on to say that 99.9% of top execs are Neutral-Lawful Good. To be an exec, eventually, you have to care about the people below you. And to get to that position, that you would have to have shown a genuine concern for employees which is a facet of leadership.

Additionally, how much $$$$ does corporate America give to charities every year, what about community groups, what about blood drives? All good...OK, I know these people can be jerks, but does that make them evil? They have a job to do, which is making money, which comes from more efficient (sometimes cold) operations. This in turn, uses fewer resources, which in turn yields more profits. Who benefits form this the most? That’s right, the stockholders. Who can be a stockholder? That’s right, the lowest position in the company to the highest executive.

GK

 

[bayne]

Isn't it amazing how ignorant people are about business. Until the industrial revolution many of the basic things that people take for granted now didn't exist. I am talking about things like having a childhood and retiring. Before the industrial revolution if you were not rich you started working in the fields or at an apprenticeship (if you were lucky) before the age of 10 and you did not stop working until you were dead. Not to mention that work hours were a minimum of 12 hours a day 6 days a week. Farmers worked from dawn till dusk. If it wasn't for business there would be no such thing has the middle class.

 

[stormdragon]

That sums it up very nicley. What I have been seeing is everytime anyone complains, they are called brats, whiners etc, (Usually by the folks who produce the stuff to begin with) and told "If you don't like it don't buy it. That is a vestage from the old TSR , and the Loranne Wiliamson school of bussiness, and a condition that dose not foster customer loyalty. (Sure my gaming group wants to buy products from folks who treat them like on the net.) Personally I don't think it too much to ask to have a product that you pay Twenty-Five to Thirty bucks for not to have a web enhancment or erata sheet. Call it what you will its nothing more than poor editing, if this offends those hard working writers so be it. A bussiness lives or dies by the quality of thier products. It may come as a suprise but some of us do more with the source material than collect it, or trade it on ebay, and you know it really sucks when you spend money for a product that is incomplete or contradictory to the core rules. What is the most embarassing for WOTC is that smaller houses produce a product, that is more affordable, and has less errors. But hey no worries the product is selling, and thats all that matters.

I think the main money issue is that the PHB, DMG, and MM all sold for about $20. And they were good quality hardback in color. They easily lasted a long time.

Next come all the suppliments. These are $30, paperback, and black and white. Not only that, but they seem to always need some major errata, as much as the entire PHB, and it's only a quarter of the size. They don't follow the same format (are the spells in the front, back or middle?) and almost require the web suppliment (TaB anyone?).

When you compare the books, you can see why people are upset about the cost of the new ones and, really, who can blame them? It just seems as if they could just make their money after dropping all the other features, but the price is also uped.

Don't get me wrong, I can understand the other side of this too but it is an issue with all us poor gamers.

It's also another reason why all the new (and sometimes uneeded) projects that go on at WotC scare us on occation.

 

[Piratecat]

> What I have been seeing is everytime anyone complains, they are called brats, whiners etc,
> (Usually by the folks who produce the stuff to begin with) and told "If you don't like it don't buy it.

Other than Sean's recent rebuke to you, I would love to see an example of this, because I think it's simply not true. WotC designers and staff members have never taken this attitude that I've seen, and I'm fairly aware of what's going on in the industry. Could you please provide references?

I certainly agree, though, that WotC products should be well-playtested and well-edited. there's no real excuse for something like Sword & Fist. (Just so you know, web enhancements are a GOOD thing - they are over-written material that can't fit into the book. Once upon a time, it would have been thrown away. Now, it's made available, and I think that's great.)

 

[Ysgarran]

Re: I'm with the king...

Why all the anger towards corporate America?

I think it comes down to the idea that they are not playing by the same rules as your normal working stiff. There are now two tiers of benefits, executives at big companies get a different set of medical benefits, a different set of retirement benefits and a pay scale that doesn't seem to match performance.

To be an exec, eventually, you have to care about the people below you.

A quible: an execs first responsibility is to the share holders and not to the employees. A SMART executive sees the connection. On the other hand I subscribe to Hanlon's Law: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

I think you can expect the anger towards corporate America to get worse before it gets better. The FBI expects that white collar crime will be the crime of 'choice' in the future. The penalties are generally less and the chance of getting caught are less. Frank W. Agagnale has said "I believe that punishment for fraud and recovery of stolen funds are so rare, prevention is the only viable course of action."

I dislike 'big' corporate america enough that I only work for small companies where I can walk to into the CEO's office and say what is on my mind. That means I will probably never work for any company larger than 30 people or so. I prefer that and fortunately have the skills and abilities to make such choices.

later,
Ysgarran.

 

[Corinth]

Isn't it amazing how ignorant people are about business. Until the industrial revolution many of the basic things that people take for granted now didn't exist. I am talking about things like having a childhood and retiring. Before the industrial revolution if you were not rich you started working in the fields or at an apprenticeship (if you were lucky) before the age of 10 and you did not stop working until you were dead. Not to mention that work hours were a minimum of 12 hours a day 6 days a week. Farmers worked from dawn till dusk. If it wasn't for business there would be no such thing has the middle class.

No, that's not quite right. None of those things would exist even with a business class. It was because of the business class that child labor became bad enough to require a federal law (in the US) to ban its use. It was because of the business class that the Red Scare began in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was the Labor Movement that brought the prosperity of the Industrial Revolution to the masses, and the Nanny State is the means to ensure that it stays that way. Without the leftists of old, there would be no 40 hour work week, no 8 hour day, no benefits, no collective bargaining, no retirement and none of the other things that you false ascribe to the business class.

 

[Wolfen Priest]

No, that's not quite right. None of those things would exist even with a business class. It was because of the business class that child labor became bad enough to require a federal law (in the US) to ban its use. It was because of the business class that the Red Scare began in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was the Labor Movement that brought the prosperity of the Industrial Revolution to the masses, and the Nanny State is the means to ensure that it stays that way. Without the leftists of old, there would be no 40 hour work week, no 8 hour day, no benefits, no collective bargaining, no retirement and none of the other things that you false ascribe to the business class.

Thank you Corinth! Look, big corporate America is doing just fine without all the fricken "grass-roots" support and sympathy. Oh yeah, and the irateness.

I for one work for a company where layoffs could happen at any time. And the CEO is not a teddybear, nor is he stupid. I have nothing against him personally whatsoever, but along the coporate ladder, people sometimes move up because they are shrewd and are willing to step on people to get there. Period.

If you are going to take a stand, why not make one for the underdog rather than the all-powerful corporations? Do you think they give to charity out of love or kindness? Or is it PR...

Anyway, everyone has their own opinions, and I am not about to change mine in the face of being labelled a "whiner." If you fear that because you want to associate yourself with a 'strong' entity, feel free. That's why we vote. Power to the people. Word.

 

[Taren Nighteyes]

A few bad apples spoil the bunch...

As is common with any vocation, group, and people, generalizations are made from what gets the publicity.

Saying corporate America is evil is similar to saying all Catholic priests are evil. Public opinion of the Cathlic clergy is quite low after the publicizing of sexual misconduct. But does make the institution of priesthood inherently evil?

I think not. As it is with everything, the institution isn't usually inherently evil, it is what the individuals who are members of the institution that determine the "alignment".

Over 90% of Catholic priests are probably innocent of any misconduct, but they too will feel the mistrust and long standing effects the recent media blitz. Same goes for corporate America.


Just my 2 cents,

Taren Nighteyes