# OGL 1.1 Phone Campaign



## xiphumor

Thought I would post this here. Basically the OP’s proposal is to get the higher-ups’ attention with a civil phone campaign to WotC.

EDIT: Here’s a script if you feel nervous, unsure of what to say, or are prone to lose your temper:



> “Hi! My name is X, and I would like to express my concerns about the next iteration of the Open Gaming License. I believe that the proposed changes to IP protections and royalty collection will do significant harm to the Dungeons & Dragons community, as well as negatively impact the value of the game itself. Above all, I believe that the language revoking the previous OGL significantly harms the public image of Wizards and Hasbro, as it represents act of bad faith to the Creator Community. If the new OGL is published without such protections, it will significantly impact my decision to support Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro in the future. I thank you for your time and your patience while listening to my concerns. Goodbye!”




As someone who works in a call center myself, please be civil and remember that the person who answers the phone likely has very little power or influence over the situation. Remember that the person you will be speaking with is not really the person you want to hear you. The representative on the phone is most likely overworked, underpaid, and just trying to survive to the next bathroom break.

That being said, here’s the link and photos of the post:


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## HammerMan

Don’t do this. 
The people making non wage taking your calls are not making decisions. And the people who manage them are not either. 

The people who ARE making the choices you don’t like do not (most likely) interact with the call center at all.  

Imagine tomorrow Walmart issued a new rule akin to no shirt no shoes no service… but instead required everyone to wear a bow tie.  No one in the store cares or has ANY control over that policy. Most likely not even the store manager.  So don’t bug every cart pusher door greeter and cashier you find.  They didn’t make the rule they can’t change it.  They have enough trouble every day without you adding “get mad for something they can’t control” to the list.


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## xiphumor

HammerMan said:


> Don’t do this.
> The people making non wage taking your calls are not making decisions. And the people who manage them are not either.
> 
> The people who ARE making the choices you don’t like do not (most likely) interact with the call center at all.
> 
> Imagine tomorrow Walmart issued a new rule akin to no shirt no shoes no service… but instead required everyone to wear a bow tie.  No one in the store cares or has ANY control over that policy. Most likely not even the store manager.  So don’t bug every cart pusher door greeter and cashier you find.  They didn’t make the rule they can’t change it.  They have enough trouble every day without you adding “get mad for something they can’t control” to the list.



I believe I did note that I intend to be civil and that I ask everyone else to be as well. I also noted that I work at a call center myself, and I know exactly how little influence the person on the phone or their manager has over the situation. I also know how it feels to be on the receiving end of customer complaints with no ability to solve the issue. Nonetheless, aggregate information is passed up the line.

If you have a more productive suggestion, I would love to hear it. I am concerned that social media buzz won’t be sufficient to get their attention for such a critical decision.


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## Mecheon

HammerMan said:


> The people who ARE making the choices you don’t like do not (most likely) interact with the call center at all.



They do get feedback from the call center though, and if the call center is experiencing unseasonably high call volumes over one event? That news is going to get passed along quickly. Going to need to force them to get more people on the phones to handle it. Which in turn means more feedback can be sent along.

Be polite to who you get but make it abdantly clear why you're calling so the feedback gets pushed along


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## xiphumor

Also, if you’re sent any kind of survey after the call, please leave high reviews insofar as they pertain to how your call was handled. That can affect the phone rep’s stats and compensation, assuming their company is anything like mine.


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## Xethreau

Remember that non-violent direct action necessarily precludes harassment. Do what is reasonable and right for you to do as an individual, and as a group, disrupt. There is no reason for anyone on a phone zap to be anything less than polite. Cause no harm.


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## AdmundfortGeographer

Strong disagree. Not a good idea.

Non-believable assumption that in this hoped for high call volume event that any caller that has waited a long time to get through will behave anything definable as polite. Extremely likely such a person will leave a dump review based on the call wait time.

Though I do wonder what the next Unearthed Arcana survey feedback will look like, at least that will be seen by people directly involved in the game design.


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## Ruin Explorer

AdmundfortGeographer said:


> Though I do wonder what the next Unearthed Arcana survey feedback will look like, at least that will be seen by people directly involved in the game design.



I'm not keen on phone/fax stuff or letter-writing even, I think that's all a bit... last century... and kind of rude. But it is clear on the 1D&D reddit that people are going to be a lot more negative and harsher about stuff, and some people are planning to one-star everything.

That plus opinions souring may significantly degrade the quality and signal-to-noise ratio of the 1D&D feedback. Which I think is fine. Actions have consequences. You can't expect to piss you core audience, who are giving you most of the feedback, and then for it to be fine.


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## Sacrosanct

I feel for the WoTC employees like I felt for the Twitter employees. It’s no fun when senior leadership comes in and makes your life hard for a job you have to have just to pay the bills. 

I don’t know how large WoTC call center is, but it’s probably small. I would be surprised if they had software integration that tracks and reports reasons for the call like larger companies have. 

Honestly, there are only two things I see really getting the attention of the execs. Losing a lawsuit about revoking the old OGL, or literally having no one sigh on to the new one. 

I guarantee you it will get attention if no one uses the new OGL, no one reports earnings, and no one reports products. Stakeholders will have questions they will demand answers to, since the whole reason was to further monetize the brand and no one ends up using it.


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## Lojaan

AdmundfortGeographer said:


> Strong disagree. Not an good idea.
> 
> Non-believable assumption that in this hoped for high call volume event that any caller that has waited a long time to get through will behave anything definable as polite. Extremely likely such a person will leave a dump review based on the call wait time.
> 
> Though I do wonder what the next Unearthed Arcana survey feedback will look like, at least that will be seen by people directly involved in the game design.



I worked in a call centre for many years. If you swamp their phone lines they will pay attention because it starts to cost them money


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## Sacrosanct

Lojaan said:


> I worked in a call centre for many years. If you swamp their phone lines they will pay attention because it starts to cost them money



I was a supervisor/manager at a call center years ago for a large company. When the queue gets big, what happens first is the employees start getting pressured more to cut their AHT (average handle time) and micromanagement of personal time (bathroom breaks) gets worse. 

It’s the reps who will suffer most, long before senior leadership gets the message.


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## Sacrosanct

And I’ll add this. Judging by a lot of responses I’ve been reading over the past week, I can assure you a lot of callers won’t be polite. That’s too bad.


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## AdmundfortGeographer

Lojaan said:


> I worked in a call centre for many years. If you swamp their phone lines they will pay attention because it starts to cost them money



You have worked on a far more functional call center than I do. I‘ve never seen a high call load result in near-term introspection by the legal or product teams.


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## Composer99

AdmundfortGeographer said:


> Strong disagree. Not a good idea.



This is false.

Sustained high-volume call-in campaigns work. Not all the time, but they work.


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## Lojaan

AdmundfortGeographer said:


> You have worked on a far more functional call center than I do. I‘ve never seen a high call load result in near-term introspection by the legal or product teams.



Yes it was a good call centre. How good is WotCs call centre? We don't know.

Be careful of assuming that because the place you worked for didn't change in the face of feedback that no where will change in the face of feedback.

Also if no one calls or emails about it then it can be perceived as not a big deal. "Sure YouTubers are shouting about it but they just want clicks. No one has actually called us to complain.."

It is an imperfect solution, but infinitely better than doing nothing.


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## AdmundfortGeographer

Be aware you’re going to get the people taking your calls lower NPS scores when people who aren’t wise to this campaign call in. Hope for discipline all you want. Those other people calling in will reduce their ratings, affecting reviews later.


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## Henadic Theologian

Sacrosanct said:


> I feel for the WoTC employees like I felt for the Twitter employees. It’s no fun when senior leadership comes in and makes your life hard for a job you have to have just to pay the bills.
> 
> I don’t know how large WoTC call center is, but it’s probably small. I would be surprised if they had software integration that tracks and reports reasons for the call like larger companies have.
> 
> Honestly, there are only two things I see really getting the attention of the execs. Losing a lawsuit about revoking the old OGL, or literally having no one sigh on to the new one.
> 
> I guarantee you it will get attention if no one uses the new OGL, no one reports earnings, and no one reports products. Stakeholders will have questions they will demand answers to, since the whole reason was to further monetize the brand and no one ends up using it.




 WotC has folks keeping an eye on social media trends, they know exactly what's going on, they already know a huge backlash is occurring from multiple angle, they threats of lawsuits already.

 I think the reason for WotC's complete radio silence is it's an complete radio silence is it's an complete chaos.

 I haven't seen anything like this since  4e, only worse because the Player base is bigger and largely undivided and turning either rage on WotC/Hasbro instead each other.


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## GMforPowergamers

xiphumor said:


> As someone who works in a call center myself, please be civil and remember that the person who answers the phone likely has very little power or influence over the situation. Remember that the person you will be speaking with is not really the person you want to hear you. The representative on the phone is most likely overworked, underpaid, and just trying to survive to the next bathroom break.



I just want to endorse all of this... and say your script is excellent. 



> “Hi! My name is X, and I would like to express my concerns about the next iteration of the Open Gaming License. I believe that the proposed changes to IP protections and royalty collection will significant harm to the Dungeons & Dragons community, as well as negatively impact the value of the game itself. Above all, I believe that the language revoking the previous OGL significantly harms the public image of Wizards and Hasbro, as it represents act of bad faith to the Creator Community. If the new OGL is published without such protections, it will significantly impact my decision to support Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro in the future. I thank you for your time and your patience while listening to my concerns. Goodbye!”
Click to expand...



I could not have hoped in a million years when I clicked this title to see such a professional and nice answer. We aren't savages, we don't need to yell or make some phone jockey's day miserable, but WE DO NEED TO LET THEM KNOW.

my only suggestions is be smart. Don't call 100 times. Call once for sure a second time another day is great, but if you find yourself doing it multi times a day and/or more then 3 times a week you should consider it is not the best look for the movement.


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## GMforPowergamers

xiphumor said:


> Also, if you’re sent any kind of survey after the call, please leave high reviews insofar as they pertain to how your call was handled. That can affect the phone rep’s stats and compensation, assuming their company is anything like mine.



this goes for every call. I know those Survey's are annoying but say you will do them and give the rep a good score (Unless they themselves were being jerks or unreasonable)


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## GMforPowergamers

Lojaan said:


> I worked in a call centre for many years. If you swamp their phone lines they will pay attention because it starts to cost them money



let me tell you, when call centers have above average call times more then 1 or 2 days in a row it is a company wide notice. I have not been in a call center position in a while, but I have friends in them still and I work with companies that have them in house and ones that out source. 

5 calls on Monday will not be noticed. 100 calls over the week will have accounting running reports.


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## HammerMan

xiphumor said:


> I believe I did note that I intend to be civil and that I ask everyone else to be as well. I also noted that I work at a call center myself, and I know exactly how little influence the person on the phone or their manager has over the situation. I also know how it feels to be on the receiving end of customer complaints with no ability to solve



Okay. Me too. But I just don’t think giving out WoTC number and getting a bunch of angry nerd rage sent to those people is a good thing overall. 
You said be nice. I now see your script.  You can’t tell me with the things being aid here you believe people will stay calm and polite. Not all of them.


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## Xethreau

HammerMan said:


> Okay. Me too. But I just don’t think giving out WoTC number and getting a bunch of angry nerd rage sent to those people is a good thing overall.
> You said be nice. I now see your script.  You can’t tell me with the things being aid here you believe people will stay calm and polite. Not all of them.



Their phone number is public information


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## HammerMan

Xethreau said:


> Remember that non-violent direct action necessarily precludes harassment. Do what is reasonable and right for you to do as an individual, and as a group, disrupt. There is no reason for anyone on a phone zap to be anything less than polite. Cause no harm.



Since gamer hate bro s are already in the #opendnd tag and spreading hate and racist and sexsist things I am sure this will turn toxic fast. 

I can’t WAIT to hear people brag about the calls they made to “own” WoTC.


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## HammerMan

Sacrosanct said:


> I was a supervisor/manager at a call center years ago for a large company. When the queue gets big, what happens first is the employees start getting pressured more to cut their AHT (average handle time) and micromanagement of personal time (bathroom breaks) gets worse.
> 
> It’s the reps who will suffer most, long before senior leadership gets the message.



I worked in out sourced call centers and we didn’t even have a way to directly give complaints to some companies and those companies LIKED it that way.


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## HammerMan

AdmundfortGeographer said:


> Be aware you’re going to get the people taking your calls lower NPS scores when people who aren’t wise to this campaign call in. Hope for discipline all you want. Those other people calling in will reduce their ratings, affecting reviews later.



I would bet dollars to donuts that someone will lose there job in the call center before this effects anyone in the high ups.


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## HammerMan

Xethreau said:


> Their phone number is public information



I didn’t say doxing them.  People CAN on their own google it and think to call and be jerks.  But you just shook up the jerk turned him loose and gave him the number to save him time.


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## Xethreau

HammerMan said:


> I didn’t say doxing them.  People CAN on their own google it and think to call and be jerks.  But you just shook up the jerk turned him loose and gave him the number to save him time.



OPs didn't shake anybody up. They have issued and communicated civil calls to nonviolent direct action. If anybody has shaken anybody up, it is not this initiative.

@HammerMan I see you posting in this thread a lot, and I think that the reason you are bordering on spam is because you don't want anybody to get hurt. And that's admirable, but I don't feel like your contributions have been helpful so far.


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## xiphumor

To be frank, I don’t believe I’m responsible for the actions of every individual if I’ve made a reasonable effort to encourage people to be civil. I know some people will be jerks. I’ve gotten those calls myself at my own company when things go wrong. But I also believe that it’s worth empowering good people to take action. I respect that we disagree on this point, and I admire your concern for the workers on the phones who will, sadly, take the brunt of it.


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## HammerMan

Xethreau said:


> @HammerMan I see you posting in this thread a lot, and I think that the reason you are bordering on spam is because you don't want anybody to get hurt. And that's admirable, but I don't feel like your contributions have been helpful so far.



How am I bordering on spam. After I said my peace I responded to people?


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## xiphumor

HammerMan said:


> How am I bordering on spam. After I said my peace I responded to people?



I think they’re referring to the four posts in a row with no one in between, which admittedly, seem like part of a single thought.


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## GMforPowergamers

xiphumor said:


> To be frank, I don’t believe I’m responsible for the actions of every individual if I’ve made a reasonable effort to encourage people to be civil.



I agree with your sentiment (and really can not stress how much I think you did it well) but I have to admit "it's not my fault bad people are on my side and will take my work and do bad things" leaves an icky taste in my mouth. 

Yeah, if people get fired over this (under the level of decision makers) or people terrorize those call center reps that DOES look bad on all of us. I will just resay what was already said "PLEASE BE NICE"


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## xiphumor

GMforPowergamers said:


> I agree with your sentiment (and really can not stress how much I think you did it well) but I have to admit "it's not my fault bad people are on my side and will take my work and do bad things" leaves an icky taste in my mouth.
> 
> Yeah, if people get fired over this (under the level of decision makers) or people terrorize those call center reps that DOES look bad on all of us. I will just resay what was already said "PLEASE BE NICE"



I will be nice, and I will reaffirm that it would be my fault if I promoted action irresponsibly or allowed malicious behavior to stand without comment and correction. But I struggle to think of a single worthy cause in history that didn’t have unsavory people involved for their own motives at some level, but if that had stopped good people from the pursuit of justice, we’d either have no progress or worse: only the kind of progress the unsavory people wanted.


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## GMforPowergamers

xiphumor said:


> But I struggle to think of a single worthy cause in history that didn’t have unsavory people involved for their own motives at some level, but if that had stopped good people from the pursuit of justice, we’d either have no progress or worse: only the kind of progress the unsavory people wanted.



okay, but we aren't talking about a human right violation or a war crime... yeah sometimes those ends justify working with bad people... I just don't want to get painted with the gamergate brush.


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## xiphumor

GMforPowergamers said:


> okay, but we aren't talking about a human right violation or a war crime... yeah sometimes those ends justify working with bad people... I just don't want to get painted with the gamergate brush.



Well, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. No one is forcing you. But I think we’ve probably reached the end of where we can have a productive conversation about this, so with all due respect, I don’t intend to reply to further comments on this subject. Thank you for providing an opposing voice!


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## GMforPowergamers

xiphumor said:


> Well, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. No one is forcing you. But I think we’ve probably reached the end of where we can have a productive conversation about this, so with all due respect, I don’t intend to reply to further comments on this subject. Thank you for providing an opposing voice!



I am not a opposing voice... I agreed with the OP. I even said that the script was well written. I only said to be careful... this whole "If you are not 100% with me with no reservations you are the enemy" thing gets weird at times like this...

I just know that when I asked someone who someone was I got pushed (yes physically pushed) out of a place being told that was "A gamergate dog whistle" and the kicker... I didn't know who the person they brought up was. 

So the same way I caution us not to let the bad people do bad things in our names, I ALSO want to caution against labeling people as 'opposing'


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## xiphumor

GMforPowergamers said:


> I am not a opposing voice... I agreed with the OP. I even said that the script was well written. I only said to be careful... this whole "If you are not 100% with me with no reservations you are the enemy" thing gets weird at times like this...
> 
> I just know that when I asked someone who someone was I got pushed (yes physically pushed) out of a place being told that was "A gamergate dog whistle" and the kicker... I didn't know who the person they brought up was.
> 
> So the same way I caution us not to let the bad people do bad things in our names, I ALSO want to caution against labeling people as 'opposing'



Oh, sorry. I got your username mixed up with someone else’s. My bad.


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## xiphumor

UPDATE: called in and, predictably, was sent to voicemail. Nonetheless, drop in the pond!


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## MichaelSomething

This is certainly more civil then punching the CEO of Hasbro in the face. And more fesible then an in person protest at the WOTC headquaters.


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## Xethreau

Made my call, predictably got a voicemail.

(WotC customer service line tries to divert like 90% of calls to email.)


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