Ryan Dancey -- Hasbro Cannot Deauthorize OGL

I reached out to the architect of the original Open Gaming License, former VP of Wizard of the Coast, Ryan Dancey, and asked his opinion about the current plan by WotC to 'deauthorize' the current OGL in favour of a new one.

He responded as follows:

Yeah my public opinion is that Hasbro does not have the power to deauthorize a version of the OGL. If that had been a power that we wanted to reserve for Hasbro, we would have enumerated it in the license. I am on record numerous places in email and blogs and interviews saying that the license could never be revoked.

Ryan also maintains the Open Gaming Foundation.

As has been noted previously, even WotC in its own OGL FAQ did not believe at the time that the licence could be revoked.

7. Can't Wizards of the Coast change the License in a way that I wouldn't like?

Yes, it could. However, the License already defines what will happen to content that has been previously distributed using an earlier version, in Section 9. As a result, even if Wizards made a change you disagreed with, you could continue to use an earlier, acceptable version at your option. In other words, there's no reason for Wizards to ever make a change that the community of people using the Open Gaming License would object to, because the community would just ignore the change anyway.

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[Reynard]

I can't help but feel they could have pursued profit/growth without being quite the titanic pricks they're being now.

Oh, sure, but I don't think they would throw away profits just to be cruel, which is what @eyeheartawk implied.

 

[SteveC]

However you just described half the people I know that work bad jobs. Walmart, Sears, Gas Station, Pizza Hut, Duncan Doughnuts, heck some call centers. You work with a sword of Damocles over your head that a single misstep (not worth even mentioning as a mistake) and a manager in a bad mood is you are gone. Heck a down turn in sales got one of my friends 'layed off' right before covid when he himself was the best seller... the reason, he was the 'most expensive' since he got more bonuses.

I get what you are saying, and was actually thinking about that as I wrote the message. I think the difference is that if you're working retail, everything you do is entirely at the whim of your manager and the Karens and Kevins (I think that the term for a male Karen...). You know that. And that's why I'm super nice to people in that situation because I know that's ridiculously difficult to live under.

But if you work in the gaming industry, you are much more in charge of your own fate. You are producing something that lots of people want, and you've made it your day job after building up and audience over time. And now you're about to be in a situation where someone you don't know and have no real contact with can just end you. Arbitrarily. And that's something you didn't sign up for.

Don't get me wrong: retail work (or any customer facing work) in America is scary. I have been the customer after someone has just been shouted down for ridiculous reasons, so I know it can be horrible. I think saying "let's not turn gaming into working at Walmart" is something we can agree on.

 

[humble minion]

The cruelty is intentional as it's neccessary to exploit all the things, to achieve the profit.

I’d argue that the cruelty is to a certain degree performative. There is a certain type of manager who wants to show off to their bosses or shareholders how driven and tough and decisive they are, and how willing to Make The Hard Decisions(tm).

A bit of ruthless cruelty can really help sell that image. Of such things are executive bonuses made…

 

[embee]

I reached out to the architect of the original Open Gaming License, former VP of Wizard of the Coast, Ryan Dancey, and asked his opinion about the current plan by WotC to 'deauthorize' the current OGL in favour of a new one.

He responded as follows:

Yeah my public opinion is that Hasbro does not have the power to deauthorize a version of the OGL. If that had been a power that we wanted to reserve for Hasbro, we would have enumerated it in the license. I am on record numerous places in email and blogs and interviews saying that the license could never be revoked.

Ryan also maintains the Open Gaming Foundation.

As has been noted previously, even WotC in its own OGL FAQ did not believe at the time that the licence could be revoked.

7. Can't Wizards of the Coast change the License in a way that I wouldn't like?

Yes, it could. However, the License already defines what will happen to content that has been previously distributed using an earlier version, in Section 9. As a result, even if Wizards made a change you disagreed with, you could continue to use an earlier, acceptable version at your option. In other words, there's no reason for Wizards to ever make a change that the community of people using the Open Gaming License would object to, because the community would just ignore the change anyway.

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I think one of the strongest arguments in favor of Mr. Dancey's position is one of the bedrock principles of contract law: Unless otherwise specified, ambiguities in a contract are generally construed against the drafter.

Is it or is it not revocable? Construed against WOTC (the drafter), it is irrevocable.

 

[overgeeked]

I think one of the strongest arguments in favor of Mr. Dancey's position is one of the bedrock principles of contract law: Unless otherwise specified, ambiguities in a contract are generally construed against the drafter.

Is it or is it not revocable? Construed against WOTC (the drafter), it is irrevocable.

Now we just need someone with enough money to step up and fight Hasbro in court to get a judge to rule that way.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Now we just need someone with enough money to step up and fight Hasbro in court to get a judge to rule that way.

I don't think it'll come to that, I think OGL 1.1 is dead, but there are folks who seem willing to take Hasbro on if they have too.

 

[Greg Benage]

I don't think it'll come to that, I think OGL 1.1 is dead, but there are folks who seem willing to take Hasbro on if they have too.

Who?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Why would WOTC/Hasbro be different from any other corporation?

This is the system working as designed.

The cruelty is the point.

I wish I could disagree

 

[kjdavies]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

The cruelty is intentional as it's neccessary to exploit all the things, to achieve the profit.

And I daresay this is likely to bite them, hard, and be less profitable than they hope. They're developing a huge amount of ill will in the industry right now.

The old 'smaller slice of bigger pie' thing comes to play here. I have the sense the current economy (with people having generally less discretionary spending capacity) means Hasbro sees the pie getting smaller, so they want a bigger piece.

If I'm interpreting generously. I wouldn't be surprised their complaint is not "we're not getting enough" but "others are getting some that should be ours!"

 

[ngenius]

They can still purchase it under OGL 1.1 if section 9s wording is taken literally. Hell Enworld Publishing can make modifications to that set of published material under OGL 1.1 and continue to sell it without having to adhere to the other terms of OGL 1.1 (like the royalty clause). Based on the terms of section 9. EWP just can't create NEW works without having to then adhere to the new terms (ie the royalty ones)

Good news for EN Publishing and bad for me, a buyer already paid for my books yesterday. But a new Level Up 5e Kickstarter is running. So EN Publishing found a providable way out of the OGL disaster.

Level Up: A5E Gate Pass Gazette Annual 2022

A hardcover compilation of archetypes, feats, spells, heritages, monsters, and more for Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition!

www.kickstarter.com