The Problem with Wizards of the Coast (Part 1)

Nothing is wrong with Wizards of the Coast!!

I have a little beef to pick with all the players out there who have nothing to do but complain and gripe about Wizards of the Coast.  This is not a hate post to all those people, but an post on how to go about venting their frustrations without sounding like babies while doing it.

I will showcase 3 parts on the following topics: 1. The bad, 2. The Good, and 3. My thoughts.
I don't know what is wrong with some of the people in the world today.  It seems like some people have nothing better to do than complain about frivolous things. I love playing Dungeons & Dragons and I love the fact that there is a lot of support for the 4th Edition content.

The Bad

Visiting the community forums I mostly see negativity coming from subscribers and non subscribers.  Most of the complaints are same things over and over:

• Non subscribers threatening to not subscribe because of the changes made.

"All in all, I think it was a poor decision. Perhaps it saves Wizards some time at the end of each month, but honestly? I think it's a lazy decision, and it will negatively impact my decision when and if to resubscribe. The magazine was something I was paying good money for (until recently), and I'm disappointed that Wizards no longer sees it prudent to actually give me my happy little compilations at the end of each month. ....and since I'm not a subscriber, it has twice the value since unlike constant subscribers, I'm actually going to vote with my wallet."

• People quitting because they cannot handle change.

"Our entire group has left DDI.

We got tired of the silence broken only by half-truths, the sudden disposal of a functional character builder for a non-functional (for our needs, and actually NON-functional at first, at that!) version designed solely to put the players in complete dependence on WotC/HASBRO (much like the draconian measures of the early GSL), and other rather reprehensible measures taken that just made DDI too much to stomach anymore. 
I have no use for what I feel is ABUSE that WotC then demands that I PAY FOR."

• People who gripe because they think the empty can rattles the most

"It seems like ever since Wizards of the Coast decided that "Dungeon" and "Dragon" would no longer be compiled into issues of downloadable PDFs, the D&D subscriber-only content has gotten REALLY light. I'm seeing a lot of fluff articles (which is great, but in measure), a lot of interviews which, sorry, I could care less about, and virtually no crunch." 

And,:

"Dragon and Dungeon are frankly embarrassing, they're so bad. 

I do like having access to the (now diminished) character builder, but given the fact that the material on tap won't keep accumulating with new product books as often, so they say, and given that they've moved the CB to the cloud in order to keep forcing us to pay monthly for what should be a one time purchase, and I will no longer pay for that either.
They can reduce the price or change the model if they want to keep me as a subscriber.  It's currently not worth the asking price."  

These are only a few examples of what I find on the internet regarding Wizards of the Coast.  The people never seem to see the big picture in all of the work that is gone into potting out this content for us.

It seems like most of these people are month to month subscribers. These are probably the same people that pirate the WotC content from torrent files.  To me, I think it was a no-brainer for WotC make their content available online.  It is harder to steal the content this way.  Looking at some of the downloadable content makes me sick.

I don't think the people who complain are upset that WotC no longer supporting the offline version of CB, but are upset that they will no longer be able to download the information for free anymore.  Who will take the time to upload one article at a time on torrent sites, instead of putting the whole magazine?

I know when CB was downloadable, people would pay for one month every six months or so and then download the content and not visit the site. PDFs are available for all the hardcover books now and of course, now that the production of hardcore books is slowing, these people will no longer be able to pirate them.  They are now forced to subscribe to DDI, which is what is upsetting them. I find it a shame that these people resort to this. Then they have the nerve to complain about it.

Do you think I am off base with my reasoning?  Do you think that all these people have a valid concern?  What are your view on DDI and WotC?

Stay tuned for the next selection that showcases everything DDI has to offer and why a subscription is worth the cost we pay every month.