Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
Yeah. To clarify, I'm not encouraging people to believe nonsense. I just believe the resulting chaos may not be the worst thing in this instance, and have no pity for the target of the nonsense.
So I'm going to start off by pointing out something .... with a little nod to an old movie ...
Hasbro is made out of people. They're making our corporations out of people!
Ahem. Look- I get that it's easy to hate on evil corporations. But a lot of these rumors and, worse, deliberate misinformation and lies? They affect real people! How would you feel if you were one of the many designers who have worked on D&D to know that people were out there lying about your use of the feedback surveys?
You don't have to guess- the designers have been telling you how they feel.
And in addition to the harm that these lies can cause real people (not just a faceless corporation), it does harm to the product going forward. Because a lot of people will just remember this swirl of lies ... so let's imagine that at some point we do manage to move forward on the licensing issue. Well, the harm done to the surveys and feedback ... that still exists. For no reason.
So I am not a big fan of the "Let it all rain down so youtubers can get their CLICK ON YO, and it doesn't matter who it hurts, because HASBRO SUCKS" philosophy.
Lies are lies. They cause harm. Even if, perhaps especially if, they seem like they are useful to "a cause." It's really easy to justify things ... but that is precisely why we shouldn't. As far as I know, most systems of morality and ethics don't say, "Don't lie, unless you don't pity for the target of the lie, in which case let loose 'cuz it's all good!"