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Confused

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
hereticalee
Feb 10, 2011 11:57:00 Alright, I'm a bit annoyed at this point... I've been an on and off again player, but longtime reader of the D&D materials. I decided to start get back into things completely at the tail end of last year.

Last night, I went to grab my Dungeon and Dragon magazines and found that there were no compilations available for download for the new issue. Once my immediate nerd rage subsibed... well, I've slept since then, I came on here to find out if there had been a delay. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked to find out that the magazines will no longer be available as a compilation.

Now, I'm forced to make a decision. I see the utility of the CB and other tools, but I've basically started my D&Di for access to the magazines. I see the articles in the sections as good, but oddly, when they are turned from 'Magazine' to 'Articles' I find myself asking, how much would you pay for access to decent materials on another D&D website.

Additionally, I've been reading the magazines on my Nook Color... and the pdf is useable but an eBook version would be better. Having them in a format that was painfully hard to read on that eReader or phone was bad enough, but now having them hacked into multiple files is more frustrating. My wife was kind enough to suggest I just take the .pdfs with me to work and splice them together, but that is not a truly great option because some of the files are not .pdf but .html (editorials and the like).

So, my questions are:

Is there an official reason that they have stopped compiling issues?
Will they come out with an eReader friendly version of their magazines in the future?
B&N uses Adobe DRM pretty well for their books, why can't WotC do that?
Is there an option to 'al a carte' products?

Anyways, let me apologize for any ranting above. I'm just relatively new here and enjoy the hobby, so I'm sure I let things go a bit.

All better and done,
Lee
#2
Jharii
Feb 10, 2011 12:10:04 There is a sticky right at the top of this forum that covers all of this.

community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
#3
DMaple
Feb 10, 2011 13:07:23 You mean you missed Bill's very clear announcement? Spot it? Fourth paragraph from the end under the sub heading D&D RPG Product Release Updates

Finally, I wanted to let you know that we’re making a change to the way we handle D&D Insider content. Subscriber data informs us that the vast majority of you consume our articles individually, when they are posted, as opposed to downloading the monthly compilations. So, starting this month, we’re just providing the articles. There won’t be any more monthly downloadable compilations. This is not a reduction in content, just a clarification of presentation and putting the emphasis where the majority of you are using it. Corrections and updates to articles which used to appear only in the compilations will now be made to the individual articles a few weeks after the original posting.

Trevor kindly explains why.... in the thread Jharii linked

So why did we decide to do this? It takes a lot of time to compile and reformat the articles for the end of month rollups and, unfortunately, the amount of downloads we’ve been seeing hasn’t been enough to justify the time it takes to put them together. By cutting that out of the equation, we free up more time to focus on other aspects of the D&D website. We’re not cutting back on content*, we’re just eliminating an option that goes largely unused.

*Although January had less content than the 120 pages they (until recently) promised to deliever.
#4
Damon_Tor
Feb 10, 2011 13:55:35
*Although January had less content than the 120 pages they (until recently) promised to deliever.

Yes, and they WILL give you a refund for January if you remind them of this fact (and escalate your ticket once they initially refuse.)
#5
DMaple
Feb 10, 2011 17:25:37 Thanks I've already been refunded the rest of my subscription though so I think it would be a bit cheeky to ask them to do it again.
#6
hereticalee
Feb 11, 2011 1:11:08
Thanks! At least it makes a bit of sense. I normally don't post much on forums, otherwise I may have remembered and checked the stickies.

So, note to self... get a refund for January.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 hereticalee Feb 10, 2011 11:57:00	Alright, I'm a bit annoyed at this point... I've been an on and off again player, but longtime reader of the D&D materials. I decided to start get back into things completely at the tail end of last year. Last night, I went to grab my Dungeon and Dragon magazines and found that there were no compilations available for download for the new issue. Once my immediate nerd rage subsibed... well, I've slept since then, I came on here to find out if there had been a delay. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked to find out that the magazines will no longer be available as a compilation. Now, I'm forced to make a decision. I see the utility of the CB and other tools, but I've basically started my D&Di for access to the magazines. I see the articles in the sections as good, but oddly, when they are turned from 'Magazine' to 'Articles' I find myself asking, how much would you pay for access to decent materials on another D&D website. Additionally, I've been reading the magazines on my Nook Color... and the pdf is useable but an eBook version would be better. Having them in a format that was painfully hard to read on that eReader or phone was bad enough, but now having them hacked into multiple files is more frustrating. My wife was kind enough to suggest I just take the .pdfs with me to work and splice them together, but that is not a truly great option because some of the files are not .pdf but .html (editorials and the like). So, my questions are: Is there an official reason that they have stopped compiling issues? Will they come out with an eReader friendly version of their magazines in the future? B&N uses Adobe DRM pretty well for their books, why can't WotC do that? Is there an option to 'al a carte' products? Anyways, let me apologize for any ranting above. I'm just relatively new here and enjoy the hobby, so I'm sure I let things go a bit. All better and done, Lee
#2 Jharii Feb 10, 2011 12:10:04	There is a sticky right at the top of this forum that covers all of this. community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
#3 DMaple Feb 10, 2011 13:07:23	You mean you missed Bill's very clear announcement? Spot it? Fourth paragraph from the end under the sub heading D&D RPG Product Release Updates Finally, I wanted to let you know that we’re making a change to the way we handle D&D Insider content. Subscriber data informs us that the vast majority of you consume our articles individually, when they are posted, as opposed to downloading the monthly compilations. So, starting this month, we’re just providing the articles. There won’t be any more monthly downloadable compilations. This is not a reduction in content, just a clarification of presentation and putting the emphasis where the majority of you are using it. Corrections and updates to articles which used to appear only in the compilations will now be made to the individual articles a few weeks after the original posting. Trevor kindly explains why.... in the thread Jharii linked So why did we decide to do this? It takes a lot of time to compile and reformat the articles for the end of month rollups and, unfortunately, the amount of downloads we’ve been seeing hasn’t been enough to justify the time it takes to put them together. By cutting that out of the equation, we free up more time to focus on other aspects of the D&D website. We’re not cutting back on content, we’re just eliminating an option that goes largely unused. Although January had less content than the 120 pages they (until recently) promised to deliever.
#4 Damon_Tor Feb 10, 2011 13:55:35	*Although January had less content than the 120 pages they (until recently) promised to deliever. Yes, and they WILL give you a refund for January if you remind them of this fact (and escalate your ticket once they initially refuse.)
#5 DMaple Feb 10, 2011 17:25:37	Thanks I've already been refunded the rest of my subscription though so I think it would be a bit cheeky to ask them to do it again.
#6 hereticalee Feb 11, 2011 1:11:08	Thanks! At least it makes a bit of sense. I normally don't post much on forums, otherwise I may have remembered and checked the stickies. So, note to self... get a refund for January.