Zuxius wrote:

Lawyers. Danny Devito said in the film Other People's Money, "Lawyers are like nukes. You keep them around, but you never intend to use them." On the otherhand, it seems their presence prevails over a Messageboard Community in restricting topics of all kinds.

How is it that Paizo seems to have so little contact with lawyer spiderwebs that surround most messageboards. NDAs seem to straight jacket honest answers into vague generic answers. Most companies do not have editors and writers posting their opinions because it is easier to chase down one consensus, with a representative, that is well briefed on what one can say and cannot. I understand that Paizo wishes to have a closer relationship with its customers, but I find it strange that so many boards do not see the disconnect that such a system is creating.

Why is it that Paizo hasn't been gripped with this fear that most companies have about what is spoken of on their boards?

I'm not sure that I am 100% sure. As you said, we pride ourselves on being close to our customers. I hire great employees who know what to say and when to shut up. We have our armful of NDAs which prohibit us from talking about certain topics, and if you are observant, you will notice when that happens. But I don't need to police my guys—they know what topics are off limits and they are adults, so they can police themselves.

I do have a lawyer that we use here at Paizo. He was the first lawyer we hired at WotC and he left there when it got too corporate for his tastes. Long hair and flip flops don't quite cut it in the corporate world of Hasbro. But he is a really good lawyer who knows how much we value our customers and helps us protect ourselves without sacrificing that.

-Lisa

So we should all thank Pikachu for giving us Paizo! :)

-Lisa

ha.. haha.... Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fthagn! Ph’nglui mglw’nfah Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn! hahahahahahahaha.......

I choose YOU zylphryx!

-Lisa

Lisa Stevens wrote:

So we should all thank Pikachu for giving us Paizo! :)

-Lisa

Oh I think this is one of the scariest things I have heard. ;)

Seriously though, having never been a fan of Pokemon, I am overwhelmingly grateful that something that I enjoy as much as the Paizo products I have gotten were made possible by those crazy critters.

Just don't send out my APs in one of those little balls. ;)

I even bought Pokemon Emergency and got my kids interested in roleplaying. They'll be in the game group when I first run a PFRPG session. :)

I choose YOU zylphryx!

-Lisa

<bangs on the sphere walls and wonders what kind of critter he'll be facing when he gets out>

So we should all thank Pikachu for giving us Paizo! :)

-Lisa

Heh. Somehow, Lisa was involved in all the RPGs I was interested in during the last 20 years (well, almost 20 years): Ars Magica (with the note about the merger in the Stormrider (2nd Ed)), Vampire and all the other WW games, D&D 3.x, the two magazines (which were at their best in the paizo era IMO), and now Pathfinder. It would seem that Lisa has a thing for being in the right place at the right time, RPG-wise - for me, at least.

Stefan

It would seem that Lisa has a thing for being in the right place at the right time, RPG-wise - for me, at least.

Stefan

...I do have a lawyer that we use here at Paizo. He was the first lawyer we hired at WotC and he left there when it got too corporate for his tastes. Long hair and flip flops don't quite cut it in the corporate world of Hasbro....

So we should all thank Pikachu for giving us Paizo! :)
-Lisa

<muffled> Hey! What the? How did I get in this sphere???

<bangs on the sphere walls and wonders what kind of critter he'll be facing when he gets out>

Stunning Sausage Attack!

This shakes me to my very core. I feel reality tearing around me as all I hold dear crumbles, taking with it the tatered remains of my sanity...

What is taters, precious? Mmmmnnn?

Darkwolf wrote:

This shakes me to my very core. I feel reality tearing around me as all I hold dear crumbles, taking with it the tatered remains of my sanity...

Tatered?

What is taters, precious? Mmmmnnn?

Edit: Sorry, this is about Paizo, not WotC...

Edit: Sorry, this is about Paizo, not WotC...

Wait, now I'm confused.

So, edited and removed. :P

I have a question, more about the boards themselves than the company stuff. What's the story behind the smurf obsession?

What smurf obsession?

Move along. No smurfs here. Nothing to see people, move along.

Smurftacular!

Smurfette?

I don't know what y'all are talking about.

I don't know what y'all are talking about.

EDIT: ACK! It's contagious!!!!

I don't know what y'all are talking about.

Y'all can do it if you try.

Just click yer heels three times and think blue thoughts (hyuk!)

~clicks my heels together~ I wish I were done with work! I wish I were done with work! I wish I were done with work!

~HAS SOME BLUE THOUGHTS AS i REALIZE THAT IT DID NOT WORK~ Stupid Caps Locks key!

So we should all thank Pikachu for giving us Paizo!

My old one was Monte Cooks "The rules don't matter!" I love it to disturb my fellow board members there with quotes like this.

So sneaky...

Ok, so that wasn't it.

DAMN!!! It didn't work!

Now I know how to do it!

I have a question, more about the boards themselves than the company stuff. What's the story behind the smurf obsession?

No, really.

An April Fool's joke gone out of control.

No, really.

Alright!

A Smurf Orgy!

Alright!

A Smurf Orgy!

Ok, I'm as big a fan of the little blue cartoons as anyone, but should a serious and useful thread like this one really devolve into a smürf-fest? If it had turned into an edition war or mud-slinging, I'd be first in line to blue it up, but I think this is a (mostly) topical thread that may still get some real questions and comments and we shouldn't write it off as smürfed quite yet.

Ok, I'm as big a fan of the little blue cartoons as anyone, but should a serious and useful thread like this one really devolve into a smürf-fest? If it had turned into an edition war or mud-slinging, I'd be first in line to blue it up, but I think this is a (mostly) topical thread that may still get some real questions and comments and we shouldn't write it off as smürfed quite yet.

But in line with the original purpose of the thread, I do have a question, also message board related. How does one get a unique avatar? I'm thinking of Sebastian here ... so I guess this also ties in with the Paizocon 2009 Quiz, which was about Paizo trivia.

Didn't mean to derail things. I was honestly curious, and I thought it was a good place to ask. Maybe I should have made a separate thread.

I do have a question, also message board related. How does one get a unique avatar? I'm thinking of Sebastian here ... so I guess this also ties in with the Paizocon 2009 Quiz, which was about Paizo trivia.

(Kobold Cleaver also has a unique smurf avatar, for similar reasons.)

yoda8myhead wrote:

Ok, I'm as big a fan of the little blue cartoons as anyone, but should a serious and useful thread like this one really devolve into a smürf-fest? If it had turned into an edition war or mud-slinging, I'd be first in line to blue it up, but I think this is a (mostly) topical thread that may still get some real questions and comments and we shouldn't write it off as smürfed quite yet.

Quite a valid point sir. But one could look at the blue invasion as an on-going answer to the original question posted by Darkwolf re: the origin of the s***f silliness; once invoked people tend to get a little wonky about it.

But in line with the original purpose of the thread, I do have a question, also message board related. How does one get a unique avatar? I'm thinking of Sebastian here ... so I guess this also ties in with the Paizocon 2009 Quiz, which was about Paizo trivia.

zylphryx wrote:

I do have a question, also message board related. How does one get a unique avatar? I'm thinking of Sebastian here ... so I guess this also ties in with the Paizocon 2009 Quiz, which was about Paizo trivia.

Generally, you can't. As for the exception that is Sebastian, well, that was also an April Fool's joke gone out of control, except that it wasn't April Fool's Day.

Yes a custom avatar would be well worth it. At least then it would me that someone knows who I am.

Especially since I am not sure I know that anymore.

OK, another question for the Paizo folks. If there was one thing Paizo did over the years that you could change, what would it be and why? I'm not sure what to expect with this one, but such questions usually result in different answers from different folks within the same group and I'm curious to see who lists what.

zylphryx wrote:

yoda8myhead wrote:

Ok, I'm as big a fan of the little blue cartoons as anyone, but should a serious and useful thread like this one really devolve into a smürf-fest? If it had turned into an edition war or mud-slinging, I'd be first in line to blue it up, but I think this is a (mostly) topical thread that may still get some real questions and comments and we shouldn't write it off as smürfed quite yet.

Quite a valid point sir. But one could look at the blue invasion as an on-going answer to the original question posted by Darkwolf re: the origin of the s***f silliness; once invoked people tend to get a little wonky about it.

But in line with the original purpose of the thread, I do have a question, also message board related. How does one get a unique avatar? I'm thinking of Sebastian here ... so I guess this also ties in with the Paizocon 2009 Quiz, which was about Paizo trivia.

Sebastian's spiffy Bella Sara avatar was created due to a practical joke played on Sebastian. One of the empoyees over at Paizo decided to join in on the fun and created that avatar for him. So now you have to ask yourself, is getting an unique avatar worth all the Hell that would come both before and after you get it? ~grins~ Ask Sebastian. I am sure that he can answer that question for you.

You can also get custom avatars as a perk of being an employee, of course! :P

OK, another question for the Paizo folks. If there was one thing Paizo did over the years that you could change, what would it be and why? I'm not sure what to expect with this one, but such questions usually result in different answers from different folks within the same group and I'm curious to see who lists what.

I originally said something about removing firearms from Golarion, but I have to change that. My change request would be to have air circulation/air conditioning that works in the editorial pit after 5:00 PM. It gets nasty in here. Thankfully, we're moving to a new office in a month!

There are, of course, plenty other things I would change about things Paizo has done, but you only asked for one, so that's that! :-)

zylphryx wrote:

OK, another question for the Paizo folks. If there was one thing Paizo did over the years that you could change, what would it be and why? I'm not sure what to expect with this one, but such questions usually result in different answers from different folks within the same group and I'm curious to see who lists what.

Only one thing? That makes this a tough question indeed!

I originally said something about removing firearms from Golarion, but I have to change that. My change request would be to have air circulation/air conditioning that works in the editorial pit after 5:00 PM. It gets nasty in here. Thankfully, we're moving to a new office in a month!

There are, of course, plenty other things I would change about things Paizo has done, but you only asked for one, so that's that! :-)

OK, another question for the Paizo folks. If there was one thing Paizo did over the years that you could change, what would it be and why? I'm not sure what to expect with this one, but such questions usually result in different answers from different folks within the same group and I'm curious to see who lists what.

-Lisa

zylphryx wrote:

OK, another question for the Paizo folks. If there was one thing Paizo did over the years that you could change, what would it be and why? I'm not sure what to expect with this one, but such questions usually result in different answers from different folks within the same group and I'm curious to see who lists what.

Unfortunately, I can't answer this question due to NDAs. I could probably come up with 10 or so, but all of them would break confidentiality. So I think I will have to pass on this question. :)

-Lisa