Thread by @lincodega

I was able to speak to former and current WotC employees for this latest piece, and the situation inside the Seattle stronghold is dire. Here's a report on some of what happened in between the OGL 1.1 leak on Jan 5 and the apology yesterday.

gizmodo.com/dungeons-drago…

Long story short: nobody in WotC planned for the OGL 1.1 to be widely seen before @io9 reported on it. We confirmed the rumored "sweetheart deals" WotC presented to 3PP in late December. And how the fan-led #DnDBegone campaign sent the biggest message.

There WAS an OGL 2.0 that was supposed to release Thursday, alongside a FAQ. The 2.0 would go into effect Fri. We saw the FAQ ahead of time. It was a half-step back. When the FAQ began to spread, WotC buttoned up in order to avoid more leaks to press and content creators.

The apology/update was *very likely* written Thursday afternoon, after the 12PST release of the FAQ 2.0 was cancelled. I did not receive a copy of that blog, or any indication it would happen ahead of time. This was a surprise response to try to take narrative control back.

The PR spin from WotC brass in their update is transparent, and nobody is taking them at face value. Even optimists are waiting to see the updated OGL. In 7 days, WotC has destroyed the 5e community it enjoyed for nearly 10 years.

They are on their back foot. They did NOT win. This was NOT the plan. Do not let yourself charitably imagine for a single moment that this is anything other than a dozen suits whispering, "we're not owned!" to themselves in fancy schmancy boardrooms.

Another thing to note; this isn't about money. It's clear that by dismissing royalties in the update that cash was just the cherry on top. This was, and always will be, about controlling the value of their IP, their image, and the cultural currency of D&D.

I want to thank all the #WotCstaff who risked their jobs, livlihoods, and who knows what else to get me this information. Please, if any of ya'll take anything from this, please know that this was not something that the staff were excited about implementing.

Read the full article for a more in depth look at the WotC effort to exact control over their community, and how they learned--the hard way--that the tighter they tried to hold onto their community the less of it they had.

gizmodo.com/dungeons-drago…