This is entirely sane and reasonable...as has been Snarf's expressions along the line of "why is this still a conversation topic?"
Arguing about what the new books are called (especially when there is an obvious motivation to make it clear that third party material and earlier material published by Wizards of the Coast from 2014 on still work with the new books) is such a low-level use of the mind...categorization being one of the least interesting uses of the intellect.
The naming of the new books also appears to be an easy target for those with a penchant for obsessing over categorization. Their intellect is on display here, especially when compared to other (far more stimulating) topics that people discuss on these boards. I was convinced that one particularly obsessed person was probably a teenager and that is why he or she posts scores of posts daily reiterating the same complaint about categorization and naming, only to read in one of this person's own posts that he or she is much older than being an adolescent. It made me sad.
Thanks for your clarity of expression and thinking, Snarf. I have appreciated your post here as well as your other (more intellectually-stimulating) topics and contributions.
I wanted to reply to this because I love compliments, and quoting you means that they are posted twice!
Uh.... dang it. Sorry, that was my internal monologue. You weren't supposed to see that. What I actually wrote was this-
This is a great point, and to be honest, I hadn't thought of it. After reading it, I can see how some of the pushback is because of the desire to categorize. Not just that, it's about discussing the new releases- how are we going to refer to the newly released products when we want to compare them to the past ones?
See, I liked the 5e champion. But I prefer the 5e champion....
On the other hand, I also think that the discussion for some people represents something else. It's kind of like how an athlete will say, "It's about respect." Sure. It's about the money.
In my opinion, that type of pushback can be .... um ... oh no ...
categorized ... in the following ways:
1. WoTC sucks. There are those who just don't like WoTC, and this is something for them to latch on to showing that WoTC is bad, or lying, or something.
2. New Material Junkies. There are also people who want to be able to determine is 5e24 is "new" and make determinations of what is worth getting and not.
3. The lying liars category. Related to (1), those who try to parse every statement to see if WoTC (or anyone working for them) has ever said anything that might lead credence to their position.
Hasbro/WoTC has stated that they want 5e to be an evergreen edition, and they get to call it whatever they want. Now, if you (as in the general you, meaning anyone out there) wants to call it a new edition, that's cool! I mean, I have argued in the past that 1e is
different and personally refer to 1e and 1eUA (Unearthed Arcana), and there isn't some law enforcement agency that will come to my house and slap the term from my mouth.
But I just don't see the point in arguing that WoTC must call this a new edition. They aren't. Case closed.