Wil Wheaton Drops Dungeon Column

[GlassJaw]

Wil quit the column because of the whiners on the "Failed Wil Save" thread on the Paizo boards.

Well that is certainly unfortunate. He deserved a better fate than that.

Thanks for the info Erik.

 

[Erik Mona]

To be fair, Wil quit the column because he was overcommitted in his life in general, and the negative posts on the Paizo thread were the straw that broke the camel's back.

--Erik

 

[Jdvn1]

Who says we want to be fair? We just want Wil Save back.

 

[DonTadow]

Wil quit the column because of the whiners on the "Failed Wil Save" thread on the Paizo boards. I didn't mind him talking about games like GURPS so much, but I didn't care for the articles about poker (one of which never saw print).

For the record, I enjoyed Wil Save, and thought it put a human face on the magazine. It was a nice way to close out the issue. Wil is an excellent writer, and I appreciated the chance to work with him in the magazine.

On the other hand, in the age of the Internet, public writing (and editing) can be a tough business. Being able to put up with negative comments from a vocal minority of readers is a critical skill to stay in the game, and with the other restrictions on Wil's life and personal time (he hadn't actually played D&D for months) he decided that the Dungeon column (and a lot of other things, judging by today's blog post) wasn't worth the effort.

I tried to get Wil to reconsider, but I think the combination of the negative feedback and a recent bout of Mono and a general feeling that he is over-committed (believe me, I understand that!) teamed up to give Wil Save the knock-out punch.

The only reason I'm posting this is to quash the idea that it was "editorial interference" that played a major role in Wil's decision to leave the column. I had a great time working with Wil, and all of the feedback I've received is that he had a great time working with me.

Had it been up to me, the column would still be going on. But it wasn't up to me, so here we are.

--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon

Hi Erik,

I want to personally apologize for my last comment. I was talkinga bout editors (my editors) in general, not at you I think you do a fine job crafting both the magazines and I thank you for giving a great series of articles like that a chance. As a writer, I'm quick to point the finger at editors. The adventures in the magazine are good but a magazine with just adventures is bland too me which is why the first thing's I always read was Wills and then Monte's article (his second becuse I always have to take notes with Monte's stuff). I hope that the next column is equally as good.

I was just really disheartened at the Paizo board. I went over there expecting Enworld 2 and the harsh comments reak of something that is rarely regulated.

 

[Brain]

As predicted

 

[NewLifeForm]

Well that about wraps it up for Dungeon

Wil Wheaton's column, a well written and often sensative approach to the feelings and thoughts of older gamers, was about the only redeemable feature of Dungeon magazine. I was looking for one more reason to stop wasting that extra 7-8 bucks a month and now I have it.

Now if I could only stop buying Dragon...

NewLifeForm

 

[Mystery Man]

As predicted

And now you know why I asked!

 

[Mouseferatu]

While my biggest disappointment is the loss of the column...

My biggest fear is that once the shrieking banshee minority who were making the complaints and rude comments on the Paizo boards realizes that they've accomplished something, they'll like the taste of power and redouble their efforts.

 

[Henry]

The only reason I'm posting this is to quash the idea that it was "editorial interference" that played a major role in Wil's decision to leave the column. I had a great time working with Wil, and all of the feedback I've received is that he had a great time working with me.

Erik, I'm glad you did, but I don't think you even had to, because Wil made it very clear in his column that you were a great person to work with. It seemed that most of Wil's cutbacks are about things that give TOO much of his personal life, and that's perfectly OK. Given some of my relatives' experiences with blogs in the past three years, one can blog a little TOO much about their personal lives, enough to get them in trouble with family and friends, even. The general change from personal journals/diaries detailing innermost feelings to public weblogs is a phenomenon I still can't understand.

 

[The Shaman]

While my biggest disappointment is the loss of the column...

My biggest fear is that once the shrieking banshee minority who were making the complaints and rude comments on the Paizo boards realizes that they've accomplished something, they'll like the taste of power and redouble their efforts.

You mean like they did with Polyhedron, which (with all due respect to Mr. Wheaton) contributed a whole lot more to gaming than "Wil Save"?

Yes, I'm bitter. No, I won't get over it, so don't ask.