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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 2988837" data-attributes="member: 177">*nod*.&nbsp; Various folks have said as much, when noting that the success of D&amp;D was partly based on &quot;network externalities&quot;.&nbsp; But I think the communication protocol (or other standardization, like VHS/Betamax) analogy is somewhat more clear.However, I think all that misses something - prior popularity probably is not the sole support of D&amp;D's current popularity.&nbsp; Recall, the heyday of D&amp;D was two decades ago.&nbsp; That's a long pair of coattails to try to ride.&nbsp; Even if a lot of people use it, if a given protocol or standard really stinks compared to the alternatives, folks will leave.&nbsp; They'll start slowly, but once a certain minimum of adopters take on the technically better standard, folks will rush out of the old standard in droves.&nbsp; That has apparently never happened to D&amp;D.&nbsp; So, there's a second part to the story - it is actually a pretty good game.&nbsp; Much as we chew over it's faults a lot here, it also has a great deal of merit in and of itself, both in terms of current structure and long-term style.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 2988837, member: 177"] *nod*. Various folks have said as much, when noting that the success of D&D was partly based on "network externalities". But I think the communication protocol (or other standardization, like VHS/Betamax) analogy is somewhat more clear. However, I think all that misses something - prior popularity probably is not the sole support of D&D's current popularity. Recall, the heyday of D&D was [i]two decades[/i] ago. That's a long pair of coattails to try to ride. Even if a lot of people use it, if a given protocol or standard really stinks compared to the alternatives, folks will leave. They'll start slowly, but once a certain minimum of adopters take on the technically better standard, folks will rush out of the old standard in droves. That has apparently never happened to D&D. So, there's a second part to the story - it is actually a pretty good game. Much as we chew over it's faults a lot here, it also has a great deal of merit in and of itself, both in terms of current structure and long-term style. [/QUOTE]

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