Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 stormdragon Apr 11, 2012 11:38:05	One thing I have noticed lately is there is no longer the option to download the entire issue of Dragon and Dungeon magazines and we have to download each article...this is a huge pain; is it intentional or is it just WotC not getting around to adding the link??
#2 barvas Apr 11, 2012 12:29:37	They stopped compiling issues after Dragon 393.
#3 Woodscanner Apr 15, 2012 13:46:16	Some people, despite how much they love D&D and 4e, and how grateful they are to Wizards for keeping it going despite a possible lack of love from Hasbro, ARE REALLY GRUMPY ABOUT THIS.  I mean, OK, I suspect the downgrade of the Monster Builder (ie its inability to export in rtf) was down to problems with Silverlight*, but the decision to stop compiling Dragon and Dungeon - and therefore cutting all links with the previous monthly magazine - I really, really don't understand.  As you say, it's a massive pain to download stuff, you no longer ever get the feeling of sitting down with your Ipad to read this months Dragon. They got a HUGE amount of, er, constructive criticism - but never really explained why. In fact, their response to the apparently large numbers of people complaining about the inability to download issues was "People don't really like downloading in whole issues, they prefer the current system". *Again, would it have killed you guys to actually tell us about this? We are (fairly) grown up. If they'd just said - Hey, we went with Silverlight, it looked like a good idea at the time, and we will never, ever be able to give rtf downloads. It might have saved me a lot of angst...
#4 spqr202 Apr 18, 2012 5:25:41	Woodscanner is right. WotC gave an obvious lie as their reason for not compiling full issues, and has been completely silent on the topic ever since. It seems that there are two real reasons that the magazines were no longer compiled. The first is to combat piracy. It became far too easy to transfer full magazines when they were compiled as a single pdf. The second reason is to mask the drastic decline in the size of the magazines. Articles were coming out late or not at all, which prevented the magazines from being compilable. This is territory that we have tread over many many times, and many people have complained about this. It is this exact problem that drove me away from WotC. They don't listen to their customers at all. Look at any other RPG company like Paizo, they absolutely love their customers. As you can see, I am no longer a DnDi subscriber. I check in once every few months to see whether or not they finally changed their ways, and I am not surprised that they haven't. Everytime I check in, the problem of compiled issues is always one of the top threads on this board. I have not only boycotted WotC, I have become an enemy for life. I will do everything I can to sink this company. I am proud to say that I have driven many players away from 4e to other games. If WotC/Hasbro is going to treat their customers like crap, then this is what they will get.
#5 Mand12 Apr 18, 2012 13:18:45	I suppose you know about the survey that they did asking about Dragon reading habits, yes?  The one where they asked how often you download articles, whether you download them individually and whether you download the compilations? I suppose, then, that you also acknowledge the possibility that a majority of respondents don't do things the way you do, and that it's possible that they might not be lying and that you might be wrong? I suppose, indeed. p.s. What gives you the right to deny me enjoyment of something I don't despise as much as you do?
#6 frothsof Apr 18, 2012 13:42:39	eh no compiled issues sucks. its pretty pitiful stewardship of the brands actually
#7 celloshane Apr 20, 2012 14:56:59	I suppose you know about the survey that they did asking about Dragon reading habits, yes?  The one where they asked how often you download articles, whether you download them individually and whether you download the compilations? I suppose, then, that you also acknowledge the possibility that a majority of respondents don't do things the way you do, and that it's possible that they might not be lying and that you might be wrong? I suppose, indeed. p.s. What gives you the right to deny me enjoyment of something I don't despise as much as you do? I'm curious who you think is denying you enjoyment?  Unless you're referring to spqr202's comments about driving customers away, but that's not directly interfering with your enjoyment, nor is it an entitled position to advocate to other customers.  Would it affect your enjoyment of D&D if WotC returned to the practice of compiling the monthy issues? I recall the poll asking how people used online articles, but I don't recall seeing any data from the results.  I'm not going to draw a firm conclusion from anecdotal evidence, but there was near universal support in posts on this forum to retain the compiled issues.  It was heavily suggested that WotC did not understand why the number of article downloads were higher than the number of issue downloads which I consider a naive view; it's more likely that a convenient data point was presented as justification for an unpopular action.  It's hardly the first time that WotC has failed to be forthright and transparent with a DDI management decision. I do want to note for those who may not have seen the conversation at the the time, that some users who are familiar with the software needed for this type of publishing suggested that an underlying issue was that WotC was using an unreasonable amount of manpower to create the compiled pdfs due to a lack of training with the software.  This seems like a plausible explanation to me, which if true would only testify to the multitude of management quagmires I've seen since DDI was launched.