I got banned from the /MTGRumors reddit for asking for sources to help support my reporting, sure would be a shame if my “crappy online article” made it on there. Like I get it, but also this is a shit way to treat a journalist who was only asking the very community they are writing about for sources! I didn’t do anything wrong, I was just asking for information/spreading the word.

io9 has new details about what happened after Wizards of the Coast (allegedly) hired the Pinkertons to take Magic: The Gathering Cards from a YouTuber, including an interview with Mr. Cannon.

Also, did you know WotC has likely hired these guys before?
gizmodo.com/magic-the-gath… A truly unhinged afternoon yesterday where I had to email both Wizards of the Coast and the Pinkertons to ask for a comment on this story. Neither of them responded.

When I was 8 years old, I read Harry Potter for the first time. I loved it. Who didn’t? But It’s time for Harry Potter to die, and it has to die with us.

Keep your memories. Kill your nostalgia.

gizmodo.com/harry-potter-r… As rule, @io9 does NOT write about Harry Potter. The site hasn’t covered anything Rowling does since 2020 when the first “middle aged moments” came out. I got to break that rule to write this op-ed about how no nostalgia is more important than trans rights.

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.

Yesterday, I received the full text of the OGL 1.1 from a reputable source. The updated Open Gaming License is incredibly restrictive, demands community surveillance and, most importantly, renders the previous WotC OGL an unauthorized agreement.

gizmodo.com/dnd-wizards-of… The OGL 1.1 is deliberately aimed at taking down and restricting completion. It says so! “[The original OGL] wasn’t intended to subsidize major competitors, especially now that PDF is by far the most common form of distribution.”

I was really delighted to be able to put this year ahead in TTRPGs together. I tried to take a big picture view without losing sight of the smaller presses and the individuals who are working towards real change, innovation, and doing excellent work in tabletop roleplaying games.

https://twitter.com/io9/status/1610730802312269824

First, I think that the ecosystem is going to pay a lot of attention to the new OneD&D OGL, new crowdfunding platforms, what's going on in specialized, niche VTTs, unionization, and creator-owned outfits.

With Wellerman taking over TikTok I’ve seen a few people tweet “Space Shanties” and dropping the thread, but let’s pull on that a little. Let’s dig into what a space shanty would look like. Some reflections from a sailor, historical sailing buff, and a sci fi fan ahead— Here’s the thing. Sea shanties (or chant-ys) were done to keep time on the boat. They’re practical songs, passed down, but easy to recall. one thing about shanties is that the hand-over-hand beat on refrains are much older than the stories in verse.