OPF takes on stewardship of Warhorn

[Eric Brittain]

Big announcement (finally)! The Organized Play Foundation (OPF) has taken over running Warhorn. We've committed to following Brian's principles in keeping it ad-free and free to users forever. It will remain a platform-neutral site. Any player who uses Warhorn or wants to join in the future will have their data protected and will never be monetized for corporate interest.

Which means it's going to rely on donations. If you have the means, head to Warhorn donations If you don't, spread the word!

If you want to know more about us, head to our website: OPF Website

[Keirine, Human Rogue]

Will you be keeping a Patreon option available if people want to set up a recurring donation?

[Painlord]

Hey Keirine,

We will be keeping the Patreon open, and that’s completely fine to use. However, if we had a magic wand of changing donations, we’d prefer it from our website donation form as 1) we lose less of a slightly less % of the donation due to fees, and 2) if you’re US based and do donation deductions on our taxes, your gifts to the OPF will be tax deductible.

Mostly, we’re just happy for the support.

Best,
Painlord

[Leg o' Lamb]

This makes me happy.

[Hilary Moon Murphy]

Me too. I like to see us doing something for the greater gaming community.

[Leg o' Lamb]

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

Me too. I like to see us doing something for the greater gaming community.

"Us"?

The OPF is not Paizo. It is a separate entity similar to Minnesota's separation of Ten Thousand Lakes Gaming and MNPop.

[Hilary Moon Murphy]

Yes, us.

Although there is a legal distinction between the OPF and Paizo Organized Play, they are both part of the greater organized play community that I interact with all the time.

When I look at the main Organized Play website, I scroll down to the bottom and find this about the Organized Play Foundation:

Paizo Organized Play Page wrote:

The Organized Play Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to help bring players together around the globe. It uses volunteers to organize regular opportunities for gaming at local game stores, huge conventions and everything in-between.

When I go to the OPF Page, they talk about the Venture Officer Corps and the volunteer agreement that all Paizo volunteers sign.

So yes, I am proud of us - with us being the full community of dedicated volunteers who make games happen - no matter what hat any of us are wearing at the given moment.

Hmm

[medtec28]

My understanding is that the initial implementation of the OPF was a veneer of legalese pretending that the OPF and Paizo were different, despite the fact that the president of Paizo and the president of the OPF resided in the same physical person. My unders is that this has now changed.

[Painlord]

medtec28 wrote:

My understanding is that the initial implementation of the OPF was a veneer of legalese pretending that the OPF and Paizo were different, despite the fact that the president of Paizo and the president of the OPF resided in the same physical person. My unders is that this has now changed.

This is correct. We are separated from Paizo but very much supportive and happy to have them as a partner. They have been very helpful in getting us established over the past two+ years.

Hillary, I miss our hangs in the good ol’ days, but now we’re organizing together, yet differently.

Leg o’ Lamb, I haven’t seen BBQ pics in weeks, it seems. It’s like you’re not even trying to make me jealous anymore.

I’m excited that we have this chance to define what the OPF can mean to volunteers and gamers everywhere.

[xXBelocXx]

Hello Sulemaivory,

Thats a big question. In my other life, aka day job, "IT Security" is our business. I can go into more detail in a PM on our Discord if you are interested but for here I will answer a little more generically.

At the OPF level, we operate using the "CIS Community Defense Model v2" as a base. This is an excellent model for good overall cyber hygiene that addresses things like PII, PCI, various attack vectors and other privacy concerns. We do not store, transmit or interact with any financial data of any of our donors or volunteers so there is no need for us to move to the level of PCI compliance, for example.

Warhorn will also be brought up to this standard as we move along in its management. There are a number of things we are reviewing at the moment for Warhorn and its security posture so this will take a little time. Warhorn is not "insecure" by no means, but we will address and remedy any privacy or cyber security concerns that we find or that our users bring to our attention as quickly as possible.

I hope this answers your question. :)