WotC WotC Community Update from DnDBeyond, Creator Summit Preliminary Thoughts.

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I was under the impression that the creators submitted questions before the event - so I'm confused how WotC could have been surprised by the topics.

Because then they decided to have an AMA period and people took them at their word.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Having been part of, or having dealt with, unhealthy organizations, I'm extremely impressed by WotC's willingness to identify places where they've screwed up and say so publicly. Organizations in crisis typically do the exact opposite. This is really good news, IMO.

 

[dave2008]

Because then they decided to have an AMA period and people took them at their word.

I am not sure what point you are trying to get across. However, the AMA was added because the questions they were getting were not related to the presentations they were giving. So the asked the attendees and more than half wanted to have these off-agenda discussions. So WotC quickly tried to accommodate them. I think that is good on both sides.

The issue, as alphastream pointed out, was the attendees were not given an agenda so they had no idea what they were getting into.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I am not sure what point you are trying to get across.

Q: "Hey, why did they ask questions WotC was unprepared for?"

A: "Because WotC said, hey, ask us anything!"

That things would go off-script was predictable, as anyone who used the AMA acronym should have known. That it went quite so off the rails, though, was probably a surprise to nearly everyone.

 

[dave2008]

Q: "Hey, why did they ask questions WotC was unprepared for?"

A: "Because WotC said, hey, ask us anything!"

That things would go off-script was predictable, as anyone who used the AMA acronym should have known. That it went quite so off the rails, though, was probably a surprise to nearly everyone.

However that is not quite what happend.

Attendees starting asking questions not related to the VTT session they were in. From Alphastream's blog:

"When lunch was followed by another VTT discussion, the questions began to shift. One after another, the attendee questions were about equity, accessibility, creator support, localization, hiring and promoting marginalized staff, trust, and problematic content."

Wizards tried to direct things back to the agenda. When that didn't worked. They hastily added another session which became the AMA session. My point is that session was never planned, and the attendees were asking questions unrelated to what was presented initially. So it is no surprise the presenter of the VTT wasn't prepared to discuss them. Regarding the AMA, Alpha said this:

"This pivot was not easy. I know when I have arranged professional events, I put a lot of energy into preparation and I can be slow to pivot (something I am trying to improve). To their credit Wizards provided the extra time and worked through very difficult moments. Staff jumped in, covering blind spots – which speaks to how important it was that Wizards had dedicated so many staff to being present."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

However that is not quite what happend.

Attendees starting asking questions not related to the VTT session they were in. From Alphastream's blog:

"When lunch was followed by another VTT discussion, the questions began to shift. One after another, the attendee questions were about equity, accessibility, creator support, localization, hiring and promoting marginalized staff, trust, and problematic content."

Wizards tried to direct things back to the agenda. When that didn't worked. They hastily added another session which became the AMA session. My point is that session was never planned, and the attendees were asking questions unrelated to what was presented initially. So it is no surprise the presenter of the VTT wasn't prepared to discuss them. Regarding the AMA, Alpha said this:

"This pivot was not easy. I know when I have arranged professional events, I put a lot of energy into preparation and I can be slow to pivot (something I am trying to improve). To their credit Wizards provided the extra time and worked through very difficult moments. Staff jumped in, covering blind spots – which speaks to how important it was that Wizards had dedicated so many staff to being present."

OK, I just saw @brimmels referring to an AMA session. I didn't realize the chaos had started earlier. (WotC and their weekday marketing events!)

But yes, as WotC is copping to, this all comes down to a lack of a clear agenda and mutual understanding of what everyone wanted out of this event.

Happily, it looks like everyone is moving forward in just about the ideal manner from here, so the next event should be much better for all concerned.

 

[bedir than]

"When lunch was followed by another VTT discussion, the questions began to shift. One after another, the attendee questions were about equity, accessibility, creator support, localization, hiring and promoting marginalized staff, trust, and problematic content."

No one should be surprised that the VTT and Beyond leadership were unable to answer most of those topics

 

[Parmandur]

No one should be surprised that the VTT and Beyond leadership were unable to answer most of those topics

No, but the Executive Producer and Vice-President were present, and they should be.

 

[bedir than]

No, but the Executive Producer and Vice-President were present, and they should be.

my understanding is that the attendees were split and not everyone was present in the same session at the same time.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

No, but the Executive Producer and Vice-President were present, and they should be.

IDK, they were pretty difficult questions that would not have a simple answer. If they weren’t expecting the questions, I’m not surprised they didn’t have the best answers yet. It seems they tried to answer them and other staff helped fill in the knowledge gaps.