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Quantum Field TheoryQFT?QFTPeople like this is why the world is turning into a bastard-place to live.
Arse.Quite F-ing True.
Also "Quoted For Truth." Basically, "what he (or she) said." Though I like yours ;)
Also "Quoted For Truth." Basically, "what he (or she) said." Though I like yours ;)Quantum Field TheoryQFT?QFTPeople like this is why the world is turning into a bastard-place to live.
Arse.Quite F-ing True.
Quit F-ing with ooTs?
I just went over to Giant in the Playground and read Rich's announcement.
I'll agree with other posters and say that calling Rich unprofessional is really kind of a crappy way to treat the guy, especially since I can think of one or two diseases (not to speculate wildly out of my butt on the man's health or anything) that are NON-fatal, yet have severely debilitating symptoms that flare up randomly and render someone incapable of doing any kind of work (even just sitting in front of a computer).
I can think of one in particular, but I won't say it, because that would be crass and tasteless.
Regardless, if Rich has any of these diseases (and I'm guessing he does), anyone who thinks that Rich Berlew not giving them comic strips on their schedule is unprofesssional can CRAM IT.
The dude is not your bitca.
Here's a fanboi/carebear idea for ya:
Why don't we all(and by we I mean as many thousands of people as possible) check oots every day at least once and pray that Rich is well. If there is a new comic we will know that we helped him with our prayers!
seriously, i think it would be cool if people had a positive thought like that when clicking. It's much better than " let's see if the bastrad managed to get out of bed today"
( is it ok to say bastrad on these board?-you know like a bastrad sword?)
ok - I just now read Rich's announcement from 7/7/07 and He's definitely got my prayers. Russ, leave the guy alone! You may be right that his business may suffer and that is bad enough so don't give him extra grief. We need to support professional artists as much as possible because the world is in a sad state when art is valued less than war. Maybe we can help by sharing information about alternative and/or complementary therapies that can help even with "incurable' conditions. Rich, if you're reading this check out http://www.zeropointresearch.com/
!!!
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Apparently some people are under the mistaken impression that Rich's scheduling problems started a few months ago. They didn't - it's been an ongoing problem on his site for years. I read a fair number of webcomics, and something I've noticed of is that the people who update on time, nearly always do. The people who don't, don't - it remains a problem. The first group I classify as professional The second group, I classify as unprofessional. Keeping your schedule is like keeping your shop clean - it reflects well on you if you do, poorly on you if you don't.
I'm sympathetic that he's sick, but he doesn't get a free pass on blowing his schedule from me. I'm thrilled he's dropping his commitments back to something he might actually be able to meet, and I hope his vacation improves his ability to do that as well. I do think if he can't meet "three strips, specific days", he'd do better to move to "two strips, erratic days", since IMO if you can't do 3 strips in a week on a schedule, you can't probably do it off a schedule too. Even if this just-disclosed and unspecified illness is the source of all the update problems, that just shows he should have cut back some time ago to what his health allows him to do.
Note to anyone saying I'm demanding he update on my schedule: I'm not. It was his schedule he missed. And honestly, mostly it's something I just file away as "hmm, might need to move that to the 'erratic update' folder", since I order my comics by time of update :)
It's not being sick that's unprofressional. It's making promises you don't keep.
Really, I think some of the posters here think this is a bigger deal to me than it actually is :) Really, the thing that annoyed me was people shouting out "it's free", not Rich's flakey updates. I'm more bothered by the shrill defense of a broken promise than the missing content, basically.
I'm not sure I'd even care about Rich's updates at all if I hadn't read his FAQ all those years ago. His snarky-ass comment about never missing an update really rubbed me the wrong way. It's made me notice the ones he's missed since.
I'm more bothered by the shrill defense of a broken promise than the missing content, basically.
And I'm more bothered by someone's shrill attacking of a missed deadline than a broken promise.
Let me ask you this, Russ, how many diseases do you know of that a) are NOT fatal, but b) are debilitating enough to prevent you from even sitting in front of a computer for a few hours to finish a free web comic?
Not many. That list is actually pretty short.
And since I personally have known a number of people who are important to me who have Lupus or MS or one of the other diseases that might fit this description, I find this attacking of Mr. Berlew on this board to be very shrill indead. None of the people I care about were lucky enough to have a job (such as publishing a web comic) where they could set and/or break their own deadlines. So they made do. Or in some cases, didn't work all that much any more.
But I tell you what I did run into a lot -- obnoxious people with little understanding of their condition who gave them a lot of crap for not being able to do all the things other people can do.
So Russ, I appreciate that you want Rich to keep his deadlines, but try to maybe have a little sympathy. Or just keep your uninformed opinions to yourself.
If defending someone who's sick and can't work is a "shrill defense of a broken promise" then I'm a shrill defender of broken promises.
(Rolled d20) (added my -1 Diplomacy modifier) vs. DC 20 diplomacy check modifier....FAILURE!
I hope you're never too sick to work, Russ. I hope you never have to worry about whether or not your health will prevent you from providing for yourself or your family, but you, sir, are a ......(edited out)
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Well, as a matter of fact, I've dealt with having some health problems (now resolved, or at least absent for several years) that did make it very difficult to work on a schedule. I was pretty careful what I promised to get done during that period, and I did a lot of work when I honestly didn't feel up to it. Pretty far from the worst that could have been wrong with me, but the point is, I did in fact live up to my standards of being careful what I promised, when I was having trouble meeting commitments. And when I did break a commitment, I was prompt about apologizing for it.
I don't see that as an unreasonable standard to hold other people to (meet your promises, or drop back your commitments), no matter how many people call me things that are worse than "unprofessional" :)
meet your promises, or drop back your commitments
Uhh, wasn't that what he just did with his recent newspost?
Don't feed the trolls.
Contributor
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I should probably just stay out of this, but it's not really my style.
I spent quite a bit of time on the messageboards at GiantITP once upon a time. I love the OotS and Erfworld. I have great sympathy for Rich Burlew and his illness. I think Rich Burlew is a freaking genius. I wish the best for him. I appreciate that he gives me a free webcomic. I have purchased products from him, but I do not feel this entitles me to expectation of future free materials.
However...
Rich has had trouble meeting his deadlines of all sorts, and the more he gives himself room in his deadlines, the more he tends to miss them.
Rich tends to be snarky with customers, and sometimes, downright rude. Many of those customers probably deserve it, looking at it from an objective standpoint. As do many customers that post on these boards, who are treated politely and kindly by Cosmo.
These behaviours, regardless of cause, reflect a lack of professionalism, or at least a lack of customer service. Personally, I think Rich would be well served by having a professional customer service person on board.
I am not making complaints. I am not whining about the shortcomings of something I get for free.
What I am is concerned. I don't want to see what Rich has built for himself crash becasue of customer frustration. I want him to succeed, within the limits of maintaining reasonable health.
Every time I've seen someone open a discussion regarding these facts, it is treated as an attack on Rich. It isn't, or at least it isn't always. Sometimes it's just advice.
For example, I'd rather see Rich try to post one strip a week on a deadline, than three at no specific time. Deadlines are useful, and meeting them shows professionalism and builds customer confidence. Not telling customers what you're going to do or when, and then not meeting what standards you have set, breaks their confidence. Confident customers will invest in you. And you know, it may be free, but it's still a business.
Expressing concern about a business is good for that business, if it can hear and can listen. A good business seeks criticism of its practices so that it can improve. Shutting out customers who complain alienates them and prevents a business from learning how to better meet the needs of its customer base.
So, fire away...
~claps~ And that is how an argument should be handled. I will not say if I agree or diagree. I am just proud of how you put it, Rambling Scribe.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Quantum Field TheoryQFT?QFTPeople like this is why the world is turning into a bastard-place to live.
Arse.Quite F-ing True.
Quit Frakking trolls...
The half troll template is closed content ;-)
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This professionalism stuff is silly - the term is being misused, in the context of his comics.
A professional's job is about being paid for your expertise - that's why people get qualifications and stuff. Burlew isn't paid for the comics - he puts them out for free. They might be his shop window, but he is simply not paid to produce them. Instead, they are the basis for his reputation, but that is not as a proficient churner-outer of comics but as a creative individual who writes comics of genius. While he doesn't want to alienate his public, holding him to similar standards as those of the accountancy profession (one I understand well) is daft - the whole set-up is completely different. It would actually be very unprofessional for him to offer any product for free, on that basis - and we would all be worse off.
As for his supposed snarkiness, compared with, say, Cosmo - Cosmo is paid to be nice (though I suspect he is nice anyway). Burlew makes his money from his reputation as a creator of comics - whether he is nice has nothing to do with it (and I haven't seen his snarkiness in action, so I can't comment).
~claps~ And that is how an argument should be handled. I will not say if I agree or diagree. I am just proud of how you put it, Rambling Scribe.
Ditto.
You know, I'm almost reminded of the people that complained about how late Superman/Batman was for a while, regardless of Jeph Loeb's personal situation.I love that comic. I was kinda sad that it was delayed for a bit, but lucky for me I collect enough other titles that I didn't really notice. Either way, the stories have been pretty good, especially the recent one with Despero (although I wish they had more of him).
So what was Loeb's personal situation?
Jeph's son Sam had cancer, and was having a lot of problems. He eventually lost his fight. Even after some of these facts came to light, there were still various posters on several comic's boards that complained about the book shipping late or demanding that DC can him from the book.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Huh. I agree completely with Russ. Rich is massively talented, his work is terrific, but I'm not sure why liking someone's work means they are inherently a good person.
And the "it's free" refrain to stifle criticism is bullshit. You know what else is free? Television. Why don't you take a moment to poke around the paizo boards and find every time you said heroes sucks or BSG isn't any good. Just because something is free does not mean it is immune from criticism. Ever get upset when a tv show was preempted or cancelled? Let me take a moment to play a tune on the world's smallest violin for you because, after all, it's free.
But, let's pretend that somehoow being free means it's okay to be late or erratic in your activities. Suppose you have a dm who runs the greatest game ever. There's action, there's roleplaying, the story is incredible. Presumably, you don't pay your dm, right? What he does is free. So, I guess its no big deal if he cancels every other game and shows up an hour late for the rest. Hey, it's free. He doesn't have to dm for you. How dare you be upset!
That's about what we're talking about. I give Rich some of my time, I buy his books, I tell people to read his comic. I do this word of mouth for free. I give him money. I don't owe him any of this. But, I do it because I like the product he offers. The more that product is late, the less I am inclined to do these activities and the more I'm inclined to do things like b~%~@ about him here.
Basically, I don't give a damn about his dog ate my homework stories, at least with regards to the frequency which he gives them. if he says he's going to post 3 times a week, that's what I expect. If he can't, he can't, and I'm glad he finally said so. But I'd rather he do what he says he will do than over-promise, under-deliver, and post on his faq that I'm an a&+$$%@ for even having such expectations. If he we're my DM, I'd talk with him and ask him to change his behavior. As an anonomyous fan, the best I can do is withdraw my support, encourage others to do the same, and hope he learns that he learns to honor his commitments - even those for which he does not earn direct compensation.
(Damn, that was the biggest fanboy rant ever. Maybe I should've added my outrage that he didn't include tom bombadil in the strip)
~laughter~ Yes everyone! This is Sebastian at his best! He will be in town untill Thursday. Autographs do cost extra!
Also, please do not feed the chaotic evil with evil tendancies Lawyer. Giving him meat encourages him. Keep all hands and fingers away from the bars. Do not taunt him for he will take you to court!
Also, please do not feed the chaotic evil with evil tendancies Lawyer. Giving him meat encourages him. Keep all hands and fingers away from the bars. Do not taunt him for he will take you to court!
Silly Sharoth, everyone am knowing lawyers not being lawful evil.
Ohhhhh Sebastian! ~wicked smile~ Do not forget that I am still on your "list". ~grins a toothy grin and then flies off~
Thanks guys! <comes back out from behind flame-proof shield>Ditto.
~claps~ And that is how an argument should be handled. I will not say if I agree or diagree. I am just proud of how you put it, Rambling Scribe.
~evil grin~ Oh, don't worry. We are having the "Burn the Heretic Day" soon and you are first in line. ~thinks for a minute~ Or is it that I am first in line? ~brightens~ Oh, I know!!! Heathansson is first in line!!! Yes! He is to be burned!
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~evil grin~ Oh, don't worry. We are having the "Burn the Heretic Day" soon and you are first in line. ~thinks for a minute~ Or is it that I am first in line? ~brightens~ Oh, I know!!! Heathansson is first in line!!! Yes! He is to be burned!Thanks guys! <comes back out from behind flame-proof shield>Ditto.
~claps~ And that is how an argument should be handled. I will not say if I agree or diagree. I am just proud of how you put it, Rambling Scribe.
Make sure you get one of those funky christmas logs that burns a silver color, cause the last thing we need is a flaming were-wolf that won't die.
well said Scribe and Sebastian. And Russ too I guess.
I pre-ordered (and paid for) 3 copies of the first book in january 2005. As a matter of fact, I was one of the first 600 to do so, and got all three autographed as a result. Why? because I liked the comics and I wanted to support Rich. And quite frankly, I wanted Rich to be able to quit his day-job and move up to a 3 commics a week schedule. As a matter of fact, that was one of the promissed he made. If he sells enough books, he'd move up the schedule to 3 times a week.
And that's when the whole mess with the first book started. The original publication schedule was to have the books sent out in april. The schedule moved up, a couple of weeks at a time, untill it was july. In this period updates of the comic were erratic. As was news about the orders. When the books finally did arrive, sending them out took ages. I finally got my copies in november or december.
Of course, there was Gen-Con, and there was Rich moving - twice. And there was a lot of problems with printing and delivery. But as others have said, that does not excuse the terrible way he treated his customers.
Don't get me wrong. It's a great book and I love OoTS. But my experience with the first book has made me *very* hesitant to pre-order anything from Rich. I didn't do it with the other books, the game, or any of the other products. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
And that is bad for Rich's business. Because a pre-order is a sure sell and makes your sales more predictable, it's a good indication of the success of your product and drives down production cost. And as a start-up, I think you need as much of that as possible.
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Maybe I'm too nice. I see the point being made (Russ, CS, Sebastian, et al), and the more I read the posts, the more I can remember my own short moments of frustration, especially when the SoD was delayed (I'm getting ready to move to Korea, and I'm watching my mail orders very closely), but I've never felt upset (which is way too strong a word) for more than a minute or two. I do have to agree, I stuck with the site for some time, but when the comics weren't updated for a while, I drifted away and consciously decided I'd rather read them in the magazine and the collections than bother with the site. As a consequence, I don't visit the site often at all, and probably don't buy nearly as much from Ape as I would. Nonetheless, I still wish the best for Burlew and I still see the webcomic as free, not a service, and so there's no expectation on my part--he doesn't owe me anything except what I pay for, and my copy of SoD is on my shelf. My wife might argue that I've grown used to busted suspenses because I'm a government employ and I am a SUPER SUPPORTER of Chaosium, who can't even spell 'suspense.' Wait a minute, wrong choice of word. I should have written, Chaosium is not very good with deadlines, like, years-not-good...cf. Pulp Cthulhu, which has been 'coming soon' for about nine years...and might make it sometime this fall...
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The only thing about Burlew that I noticed is the fact that imho
a) He's overambitious and doesn't quite measure his own potential all that well. I distinctly remember him saying at the beginning of last year that the Oots would be changed into, basically, some sort of DI that WotC is doing now. check the News Post of 1/2/2006.
b) He has the tendency to miss deadline, which in his former choice of career, a graphic designer if you read his faq, is a dead sentence. Companies do not have much mercy for your illness when they await your design for a brochure or a book or their new product they want to launch. It's a hard world out there, wear a helmet. And yes I do have some experience in this world, I am a part time graphic designer as well.
c) His reaction towards customers/fans sometimes is rather crude to say it. But then again, he has produced something that filled a certain whole in the cartoon world and deserves credit for it, and is entitled a little ego for it. Also, when I'm sick, luckily never something to troublesome, I also am a little cranky and might get riled up when I arrive at work the next day and see me getting hammered because I've missed work for two days.
All in all, I'm happy with what he produces, his more sporadic updating means I'll check the site less than I did, now I check every monday instead of 3 or 4 times a week like I did, but I'll still do it and am allways glad that he makes a new Oots.
His missing of deadlines means that I'll never contact him to do something professional and I base this not on his updating of the site but rather on the missprint of Start of Darkness, because if my printer did something like this I'd work with someone else. I mean where were the print samples? You allways get one if you work with a professional printer.
Finally his rather crude answers sometimes just mean that I'll wait till the products are finished and never pre order or order any signed copies since I only collect signed copies of people that act correctly towards their fans.
Lengthier than I thought, seems I do give a damn.
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Huh. I agree completely with Russ. Rich is massively talented, his work is terrific, but I'm not sure why liking someone's work means they are inherently a good person.
And the "it's free" refrain to stifle criticism is b@~*@~&#. You know what else is free? Television. Why don't you take a moment to poke around the paizo boards and find every time you said heroes sucks or BSG isn't any good. Just because something is free does not mean it is immune from criticism. Ever get upset when a tv show was preempted or cancelled? Let me take a moment to play a tune on the world's smallest violin for you because, after all, it's free.
But, let's pretend that somehoow being free means it's okay to be late or erratic in your activities. Suppose you have a dm who runs the greatest game ever. There's action, there's roleplaying, the story is incredible. Presumably, you don't pay your dm, right? What he does is free. So, I guess its no big deal if he cancels every other game and shows up an hour late for the rest. Hey, it's free. He doesn't have to dm for you. How dare you be upset!
That's about what we're talking about. I give Rich some of my time, I buy his books, I tell people to read his comic. I do this word of mouth for free. I give him money. I don't owe him any of this. But, I do it because I like the product he offers. The more that product is late, the less I am inclined to do these activities and the more I'm inclined to do things like b!!~@ about him here.
Basically, I don't give a damn about his dog ate my homework stories, at least with regards to the frequency which he gives them. if he says he's going to post 3 times a week, that's what I expect. If he can't, he can't, and I'm glad he finally said so. But I'd rather he do what he says he will do than over-promise, under-deliver, and post on his faq that I'm an a&!!%~@ for even having such expectations. If he we're my DM, I'd talk with him and ask him to change his behavior. As an anonomyous fan, the best I can do is withdraw my support, encourage others to do the same, and hope he learns that he learns to honor his commitments - even those for which he does not earn direct compensation.
(Damn, that was the biggest fanboy rant ever. Maybe I should've added my outrage that he didn't include tom bombadil in the strip).
Hey Seb - I'm afraid I have to disagree (oh, and I added a full stop at the end of your last sentence - all part of the Malformed punctuation service, you don't want Fakey on your case).
I would certainly agree that Burlew's erratic schedule and behaviour will hurt his business. But as I see it, that is his risk. What I don't get is the "unprofessional" tag - he is unprofessionally not handing out something for free. Handing out stuff for free already is unprofessional, as you and I both know.
And what he does isn't a "professional" service, it's entertainment, which we are entitled to take or leave. He hasn't been commissioned to produce these comics (though I can see the tag having more relevance wrt the published comics) so if he does them, or he doesn't, is up to him. It might be upsetting if you like the comic, but it doesn't make him unprofessional. Frankly, if he never issued another webcomic, it still wouldn't make him unprofessional. And with all the flack he is receiving, he might as well not bother and just write them for the published books.
The comics were, I would imagine, a bit of fun that would hopefully get some interest for his website. Now they have become an industry, but it doesn't take away from the fact thet they are still a bit of fun. By throwing around the "unprofessional" tag, this could make the whole thing very un-fun - for him and the readers.
Is Burlew a nice guy? I don't know, and frankly I don't care. Am I? Are you? It's all in the eye of the beholder. None of us have a mainline into the mind of Rich Burlew. But we do know the guy isn't very well, may not have been for a while, and that can make you very cranky. And makes it hard to hit very demanding deadlines. And what he is doing is also quite subtle - I read on comment of the "Other Lord of the Rings" webcomic where the writer said that he couldn't do what Burlew does and actually weave the joke in such a way that it advances the plot. So he isn't just writing a few gags.
I suspect Burlew's main sin is simply over-promising - three very funny comics, each week every week, is tough. Most comedians either use the same material over and over or have a team of writers - Burlew has none of these crutches. Maybe he could churn out sub-standard crap - that probably would be the professional thing to you (you and I both know that a professional fee is really a form of indemnity insurance sometimes) but he possibly also has very high standards and won't release something to the public until he is happy. Not professional, maybe, but we should be more grateful that the quality is maintained. And maybe he's a bit lazy - well, him and a few billion others (including me).
I learnt ages ago in professional life - don't say you are going to anything, so no one expects anything from you. And now I have a fairly stress-free life with a good salary which allows me to post on the Paizo website all day every day. I think Burlew hasn't learnt this yet. And that is his source of "unprofessionalism".
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I would guess that Rich is a guy who doesn't like to admit to limitations on what he is capable of finishing in a timely manner. No, that doesn't really excuse the erratic scheduling. But then, I don't read OotS to be impressed with Mr. Burlew's punctuality. I would call this "cutting some slack", because it is a minor inconvenience that I can accept (though perhaps not predict).
Best wishes for your health, sir, and thank you for a wonderfully entertaining strip!
(edited for spelling)
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Hey Seb - I'm afraid I have to disagree (oh, and I added a full stop at the end of your last sentence - all part of the Malformed punctuation service, you don't want Fakey on your case).
Sorry. I typed it on an airplane on the blackberry.
I would certainly agree that Burlew's erratic schedule and behaviour will hurt his business. But as I see it, that is his risk. What I don't get is the "unprofessional" tag - he is unprofessionally not handing out something for free. Handing out stuff for free already is unprofessional, as you and I both know.
Completely disagree. If handing out stuff for free is unprofessional, then I guess network television and broadcast radio are unprofessional. In fact, most law firms give out their best legal advice for free to the general public. Every time there is a change in a law that affects our clients/prospects, my firm puts together a summary of the change in the law, distributes it to our clients, and posts it on our website. Why? Because prospective clients who read our updates and receive our advice for free realize that we know what we are talking about. They are more likely to patronize us and become full fledged clients. If we were to make a commitment to post updates on relevant laws within 24 hours of their release and we failed to do so, that would be perceived as unprofessional and the ability to attract new prospects would be diminished. If we were to put out sloppy updates filled with incorrect legal advice and poor spelling, that also would be unprofessional.
And what he does isn't a "professional" service, it's entertainment, which we are entitled to take or leave. He hasn't been commissioned to produce these comics (though I can see the tag having more relevance wrt the published comics) so if he does them, or he doesn't, is up to him. It might be upsetting if you like the comic, but it doesn't make him unprofessional. Frankly, if he never issued another webcomic, it still wouldn't make him unprofessional. And with all the flack he is receiving, he might as well not bother and just write them for the published books.
Your definition of professional is remarkably narrow. All entertainers provide entertinament services, which in many cases we are entitled to take or leave. You don't have to watch Heroes and you don't have to pay the chick who plays the cheerleader when you do watch it. What you do is (theoretically) purchase the products advertised, who's manufacturers pay the television broadcasting company, who pays the creators of the show, who pay the actress. Yet I can't imagine that she doesn't think of herself as a professional actress because I don't pay her directly to watch Heroes.
The comics were, I would imagine, a bit of fun that would hopefully get some interest for his website. Now they have become an industry, but it doesn't take away from the fact thet they are still a bit of fun. By throwing around the "unprofessional" tag, this could make the whole thing very un-fun - for him and the readers.
If we were talking about something like DM of the Rings, where it is entirely a side project, I'd be more inclined to cut some slack. But Rich makes his living selling his work and I doubt he would appreciate being told that he is not in a profession because he is not paid for the content available on the website.
If he's not having fun, he can just quit writing OotS and go back and get a regular 9-5 job just like the rest of us. I wonder how his boss in such an environment would react to his inability to meet deadlines and frequent absences?
On the other hand, maybe if enough people call him out on not meeting deadlines constantly he'll come to realize that he actually has an audience to pander to and that, as much as that is apparently beneath his dignity, it's the thing that pays his mortgage and earns him our interest and support.
Is Burlew a nice guy? I don't know, and frankly I don't care. Am I? Are you?
We all know the answer to that question...
If this were out of the blue, things would be different, but it's not. I feel bad that the guy is ill, I wish him a speedy recovery, but I don't believe that his problem meeting deadlines stems solely from this illness.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Come to think of it, I've bought two copies of each of Rich's books. Looks like I'm a paying customer after all. The rest of you freeloaders who just read his comic on the website are the ones that should quit complaining. I am paying money for this "free" web comic. And, if I find his customer service to be lacking, I will quit paying him.
Also, if you find that my posts are upsetting you, I would remind you that they are "free" and that you should not be upset. Unless you actually exchange currency for my inspired writings, you have absolutely no grounds to criticize me or my art. After all, you're not paying me any money to read them, so it's not as if I have to craft them for your satisfication. Once you start buying my compilation ("Best of Sebastian on Paizo Volume I"), I might consider entertaining your arguments.
IT'S A FREE WEBCOMIC!
There. I saved us both some time. Maybe now you can quit making that same stupid argument.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Completely disagree. If handing out stuff for free is unprofessional, then I guess network television and broadcast radio are unprofessional.You keep using the Network TV and Radio thing - but they're not giving anything away for "free." The amount of profitability they yield from advertisers directly corelates to the Neilsen ratings a show maintains. The wider the audience, the more it costs. It's why the Superbowl is so well done and orchestrated... Because they sell 30 seconds for $1,000,000 Dollars US.
Hmmm...looks like your argument got away from you there. I think what you mean to say is that the number of persons that watch television affects how much money the networks make because their advertising revenue depends on that number. Given that Rich could sell the exact same amount of merchandise if you, and only you, read his webcomic, I guess I'm forced to agree, the number of people that read his website is in no way related to the amount of revenue said website generates. Some people might suggest that the number of readers somehow translates into a higher number of purchasers of Rich's other product offerings, and thus the television analogy is correct for the limited purpose of its deployment.
So you send a Newsletter informing your clients of Legal updates? With 24 Hours? Every time? unless you have a flawless automated system for such, I'll bet any amount of money that has failed, and will fail again sometime in the future - whether it be your systems, other system, or employee inavailability. It's the nautre of business - this coming from someone who writes business applications for a living.
Huh. I guess that my law firm isn't exactly like a webcomic, which was the claim I was making. I wish I had thought to make the claim that people do give things away for free to generate alternate sources of revenue. But I guess what we should really focus on is whether the actual timing and scope of that delivery method is exactly the same.
The other point I take away is that all rates of failure are equal. According to the logic you've presented, it doesn't matter how frequently a system fails, just that it can fail. Under your reasoning, there's really no difference between surgery to remove your gall blader and just ripping it out with a rusty nail. Each procedure has a failure rate. I recommend obtaining future medical care in third world clinics. They perform the same procedures in those fancy first world hospitals, but charge much less. Since both environments have a failure rate, they're basically the same.
But regardless, you can't critique Rich's quality. It's because he puts out a quality product - at no charge - that he often is late. In parallel to your law firm handing out legal advice. Would you rather someone hand out proper quality legal advice a bit slower than having a mail-room clerk chrun out illegible legal jargon within 24-hours?
I'd rather have quality and customer service. I didn't realize they were mutually exclusive.
Never-the-less, law firms hunt for clients. They are constantly trying to lure more people into their client base. Rich lets his comic speak for itself on it's creative merits, and it does a splendid job. If you have issues with the timing, I suggest you compete with him by making your own web comic and eat into his market.
Or, I could just quit buying his products and encouraging others to do the same, which, given my limited talents, seems the more efficient route.
Oh wait - it's not a solitary use market. People will still look at his if they enjoy it, even if another good one exists. This is quite unlike picking a lawyer or dentist or barber. It's non-restrictive. So you see, all he HAS to do is keep making a quality product. If a very minor blip has an issue with the timing - so be it. He's not actually in competition with anyone else.
If only I hadn't signed this lifetime contract promising to purchase his products and recommending his website to my friends. I just wish that I could stop buying his books as gifts for my gaming group. If only there were some way to exercise my market power other than trying to steal his customers. I just wish I could think of some method that I could employ that would reduce the revenue that Rich receives. I mean, it's not as if there are other websites I could read instead or other gaming related merchandise I could purchase. My only real options are to spend time/money on Rich or not spend that time/money.
Think...think...think...
Oh well. Maybe it will come to me.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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If it's free we should be simply grateful to have it.
Except, as pointed out above, I do pay for it, and, if you're not purchasing Rich's products, I'm paying for you too. Once Rich quits taking my money for his work, I'll quit complaining about the timeliness of his delivery.* Alternately, I'll quit purchasing his work once my irritation at his failure to meet deadlines exceeds my enjoyment of his product.
*Yes, yes, I am purchasing the completed book, not the right to the thrice weekly strip. Ponder for a moment though whether, as suggested above, there may be a link between the free comics and the purchase.
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Also, if you find that my posts are upsetting you, I would remind you that they are "free" and that you should not be upset. Unless you actually exchange currency for my inspired writings, you have absolutely no grounds to criticize me or my art. After all, you're not paying me any money to read them, so it's not as if I have to craft them for your satisfication. Once you start buying my compilation ("Best of Sebastian on Paizo Volume I"), I might consider entertaining your arguments.
Do you take PayPal? SIGN ME UP!!!
;pFH
I like OOTS, that said I haven't seen the need to purchase one of the books.
I also do not see the need to accuse people of unprofessionalism because they do not update quite as often as promised / desired.
It is all true that the free comic update serves as a marketing tool and whatnot, but the truth at the core of this little thread is that you are worried about the (possible) decline of OOTS.
Because you cannot do something productive with that feeling you are lashing out here.
So, is the above helpful to you?
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If it's free we should be simply grateful to have it.
Except, as pointed out above, I do pay for it, and, if you're not purchasing Rich's products, I'm paying for you too. Once Rich quits taking my money for his work, I'll quit complaining about the timeliness of his delivery.* Alternately, I'll quit purchasing his work once my irritation at his failure to meet deadlines exceeds my enjoyment of his product.
*Yes, yes, I am purchasing the completed book, not the right to the thrice weekly strip. Ponder for a moment though whether, as suggested above, there may be a link between the free comics and the purchase.
There's a link, but complaining about non-delivery of a book you have paid for (very unprofessional) and non-delivery of a free webcomic (maybe upsetting) are not the same thing.
By the way, harking back to your comment above, TV isn't free in the UK. We have the licence fee.