I'd like to give a huge "thank you" to DTRPG for quickly responding and taking action to address a complaint with today's Deal of the Day.
Below is a screenshot of today's Deal of the Day:
Notice that last line? I certainly did. I emailed a polite complaint.
Within 15 minutes I had a personalized response that my complaint was forwarded up the chain of command.
In less than 90 minutes I had the following email:
A few minutes later the company's catalog was offline:
Well played, DTRPG. Well played.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support The Tavern. I Thank you in advance - Tenkar
Good on you and good on them.
ReplyDeleteGood eye and well done.
ReplyDeleteFuck you and fuck them.
ReplyDeleteThe feeling is mutual :)
DeleteI'm surprised- pleasantly so- that they took action like that. Good for them.
ReplyDeleteWhile I dislike gratuitous injection of politics into the site, this is worrisome to me as the potential start on a slippery slope. It's fine to remove unwarranted sociopolitical messaging from the site as long as it's done without favoritism, but what are they going to do when they inevitably get a listing for an RPG about a hot-button topic? An espionage game where players are the "dirty tricks" team for a presidential campaign, or are hunting for/collaborating with foreign agents meddling in the election? A modern RPG where players are on one or the other side of the BLM protests and plan strategies and execute operations to disrupt and discredit the opposition? Those are both RPGs that could happen, and which would obviously have legitimate grounds for including all sorts of messaging that many people would object to vigorously. Will DTRPG block something like that? Is that level of censorship something people would be okay with? And even if so, where do you draw the line on what's "too political/current/raw" to be acceptable?
ReplyDeleteYanking a wholly irrelevant-to-the-product ACAB reference is one thing, but how far do we want this to go?
But people were offended, so it had to go. Whenever someone is offended, the thing must go. That is the way of the world now. Don't protest this too much, you might offend someone.
DeleteIt was nonsensical. Initially, just those 4 words were removed from the description. Then the title was removed. Then the rest of the catalog. We don’t know who removed the other titles.
DeleteDon't you know? The line is when Erik here is personally offended. When it's objectionable because of that it's not censorship. Duh.
ReplyDeleteIt was a nonsensical statement political in nature that had nothing to do with the product. I would have made the same complaint if the had snuck in “Blue Lives Matter” in the product description.
DeleteThe issue seems to be that I don’t embrace the current political narrative and I can not be coerced or controlled to do so.
Hats off to you and DTRPG.
Delete"It was a nonsensical statement political in nature that had nothing to do with the product. I would have made the same complaint if the had snuck in “Blue Lives Matter” in the product description."
ReplyDeleteI doubt that very much. You really would have complained to OBS for a description that supports cops? Really?
Also, the assertion that art, and creative pursuits generally, cannot and should not be political either explicitly or implicitly to be ludicrous.
"The issue seems to be that I don’t embrace the current political narrative and I can not be coerced or controlled to do so."
And what better way to prove that point by attempting to exert control the speech of somebody else.
You apparently do not know me nor my history. I spent 12 years as a supervisor in Internal Affairs. I am true to my moral code. Yes, I would have made the complaint if it was “Blue Lives Matter”
DeleteA product description is not art. To claim such as a defense to insert political commentary is a weak argument.
To manipulate the Deal of the Day promotion to insert a stealth political statement is gaming the system at best, a violation of DTRPG terms of service at worst.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I notice you conveniently didn't engage with my point about how hypocritical it is to say how you cannot be controlled by attempting to control somebody else.
DeleteBut, to engage with your main point here you are saying that the distinction you are drawing is that it appeared in the description?
So, if it said all cops are bastards as the first line of the first paragraph of the first page in the book itself you would have zero problem with this?
I fail to see the difference.
If it was in the book I’d make my complaint to the publisher, not the distributor.
DeleteDTRPG is the distributor in this case. The publisher was gaming the system and was violating DTRPG rules and I suspect, did so knowingly.
The statement was only in the description of their Deal of the Day offering. I looked prior to the other titles being removed.
DTRPG is a marketplace. Publishers must adhere to the rules DTRPG sets forth. It is not a democracy. It is not a free speech haven.
The fact that all four releases from the company were removed from sale means one of two things:
1- the publisher knowingly and willfully violated DTRPG rules. There is some evidence this publisher may be related to the publisher that doctored a screenshot to falsely claim their product was banned back in December. That publisher was removed from the market
2- The publisher removed their other titles for their own reason
If it’s the first, my complaint has little to do with a publisher intentionally playing with fire getting removed. If it’s the second, I have nothing to do with the removal of products and it’s all in the hands of the publisher
DTRPG rarely kisses and tells. We may not know which answer is the true one.
Censorship is censorship, whichever way you try to spin it you are deciding for everyone what they can and cannot see, read and buy. I don't need you or anyone else to protect my delicate little sensibilities thanks all the same.
ReplyDeleteIf people don't like something no-one's forcing them to buy it. But to get it removed and then crow about what a wonderful thing you've done is a step too far. If you don't have anything constructive to do in your daily life then perhaps you should just take a step back and stop white-knighting.
I for one don't need or appreciate your virtue signalling.
So, I white knighted and virtue signaled white skinhead virtue signaling (because that’s what it is in our current environment)
ReplyDeleteI pointed out a white skinhead community motto that was irrelevant to a product description.
I’m impressed by you circular logic