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Wizard of the Coast forums shutting down

ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
in Off-Topic
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/wizards-coast-community-forums-be-shut-down-2015-09-16

WTF is this Wizards? Get your shit together.

Comments

  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Are they having financial woes? I'd have thought that with something as (relatively) cheap as a blog/forum site costs they would choose to maintain them if only to keep their fingers on the pulse of the community. They may not get "All of the picture", but at least there would be a place where any potential issues would be sure to get some visibility.

    But hey, whatever works I guess.
  • Sylvus_MoonbowSylvus_Moonbow Member Posts: 1,085
    Wha?!

    Who is going to go to Twitter for a 150 character response on a D&D question?

    The amount of knowledge that will vanish is every reason as to why NOT to close a forum.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    I also noticed that they have officially discontinued any new 'Versions' of Magic The Gathering as of this year as well. They will still provide expansions, but no new official versions. So maybe they are not seeing as bright a financial future as they once did?
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    It's just a shift in strategy. From my perspective, shutting down the forums is one way to encourage players to forge their own path through D&D, rather than seeking out "official" answers on a WotC-sanctioned board, which seems in line with the design philosophy for Fifth Edition D&D. Official errata comes through the DnD site, not the forums, and from what it looks like they're doing a good job of keeping that errata all in one place.

    As for Magic, I imagine the thinking is similar--targeting a more sustainable long-term goal, rather than fulfilling a promise to reinvent everything every couple of years "Just because we said we would".
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    First no official translations for 5th edition and now this. What happened to you WOTC? Also i have to say while 5e was a big improvement over 4e, theres still very few material outside of the 3 core manuals.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    Full disclosure: I work for Beamdog, and we have a working relationship with Wizards of the Coast. I've spoken to some of their people, and while they don't pay me, it's safe to say that I'm more than a little biased in this. That being said...

    Give it time; 5e has only been out (in its entirety) since last December, and they've been releasing campaign modules pretty steadily since then. The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide is coming out soon, too, which does a good job of expanding on the source material.

    The "edition wars" debates typically make the mistake of comparing "New Edition at Release" with "Old Edition at Release of New Edition"; but if you compare the core three rulebooks (PHB, MM, and DMG) from 5e to the same books from 3e, you'll see that 5e carries with it a lot more material with which to build and develop characters and campaigns. To wit: 5e doesn't need a lot of supplementary material in order to sustain a full campaign. And if you need more, there's plenty more on the way; the edition is less than a year old, and has plenty of time to grow.

    Of course, that doesn't explain why the books aren't translated yet (or why the copies I have are falling apart at the seams), but I'd hesitate to say WotC have "lost their way". If anything, 5e is a strong signal that they're just now rediscovering their footing, and that to me is very exciting.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,754
    I just hope I won't ever see these forums shut down.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Another site that I frequent regularly is also shutting down their forum site. They state that managing the admin duties and dealing with spam bots and other intrusive marketing techniques is becoming an increasingly onerous chore and they are going to rely upon Facebook and Twitter and other publicly hosted social media instead.

    I agree with @bengoshi that Beamdog doesn't decide to go that direction as I really like it here. Despite not having played BG in some months, I still come back here over most other sites that I could frequent. That and it is 'company' friendly and never have to fear that the content will be objectionable to my employer.

    Thanks Beamdog.
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    I heard the creator of Adventure Time is working with WOTC.
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