Quoteand like St. Paul at Damascus, he felt that now he, and not everyone who'd been part of the old-school gaming thing all along, should be the one to determine what the Word From On High is.

I never got the sense that James ever thought he was that.  He just wrote articles and people liked them.  In many posts, he rejects the notion of that label of "pope of the old school" or other things the other people put on him.

I saw it as simply an opinion column, like any other blog, or the opinion columns you read in the paper.  I think too many people assume a serious tone = a haughty arrogance.

Quote from: RPGPundit;624812But I do feel bad for Autarch... to think, they could have been publishing Arrows of Indra right now, instead of being in this mess; if only they hadn't backed the wrong blogging celeb!

I am speechless with awe at this sentence.

Quote from: JRT;624821I never got the sense that James ever thought he was that.

He didn't say it himself, and as you mention, he was actually laughing at the idea publicly, through his blog and G+. It's a fact, nonetheless, that his blog was a center of attention of Das OSR, that some people certainly didn't want to rub him the wrong way to go along with whatever he posted on his site, because if he talked about you, that meant that much exposition to Das OSR and that many potential sales, probably (whereas not agreeing with him would lead him to ignore you at best, to delete your posts and block you otherwise), and that he welcomed the attention enough to make a business out of it with his "legendary" Dwimmermount and Grognardia Games.

Now of course he would laugh at the idea he'd be "the Pope of the OSR". But he didn't spit at the 50K handed to him by his sponsors either, did he now? He's also the guy who rushed to his keyboard to report the death of Dave Arneson when he wasn't dead yet, and the way he jumped on the "scoop" tells me he very much wanted the attention if he could get it. He made a mistake, felt bad about it or felt like he looked like enough of a fool to apologize about it, but that very much happened as well.

I don't wish ill will to James and I hope he can turn things around, or at least apologize for not delivering to his sponsors. But at the same time, let us not be naive about the whole thing and present him like he's a victim of everything that happened to him. He put himself in this situation. He wanted the attention and used it to move some product he ultimately couldn't deliver (in a timely fashion, at least). Come on, now. Let's be honest, here.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;624816There's no zealot quite like a convert.

Even more amusing are the individuals who frequently change the subject of their zealotry.  (They easily drop old subjects, and convert to another subject).

Once they get bored with a particular subject, they move on to another subject for their zealotry, and frequently condemn the previous subject of their previous zealotry.

Quote from: JRT;624821I never got the sense that James ever thought he was that.  He just wrote articles and people liked them.  In many posts, he rejects the notion of that label of "pope of the old school" or other things the other people put on him.

I saw it as simply an opinion column, like any other blog, or the opinion columns you read in the paper.  I think too many people assume a serious tone = a haughty arrogance.

A hobbyist blogger does not deserve the same commentary from the peanut gallery as a professional RPG designer.

Which one of those did James consider himself, again?  IIRC the justification about his drawing down the KS funds during the creative process was due to his status as a professional.

Although I think James - even as a hobbyist blogger - knew exactly his influence among large numbers of old-school gamers, and was not shy about actively using this influence.  The numerous back-handed requests for free collectible RPG products (some at not inconsiderable values) from his readership assumed a certain privileged position on his part.

It is always unfortunate, however, to see someone build up the credibility over long periods of time, and then lose it in a train wreck when taking the shot it earned them.  

Although I wonder if the revelation that Tavis and Autarch have no IP rights was realized even by Autarch at the time, or if James recently corrected Autarch's position on this matter.  I say this because earlier in this thread, when asked about this exact scenario, Tavis said that the fall back position was that Autarch would hire someone else to finish the dungeon.  But now they're saying they can't do that.  So was that an honest plan at the time, or was that smoke-up-the-skirt?

James stopped communicating with Autarch on November 19, which just happens to be right around the six-month period after the end of the kickstarter when the credit cards were charged, and after which it would be more difficult for anyone to pursue a reversal of charges from their credit card company (many can only be reversed for six months, although terms vary between companies).

Quote from: EOTB;624856Although I wonder if the revelation that Tavis and Autarch have no IP rights was realized even by Autarch at the time, or if James recently corrected Autarch's position on this matter.  I say this because earlier in this thread, when asked about this exact scenario, Tavis said that the fall back position was that Autarch would hire someone else to finish the dungeon.  But now they're saying they can't do that.  So was that an honest plan at the time, or was that smoke-up-the-skirt?

I can speak to this. I was the one who drafted the contract, so I was always quite aware of the status of our IP rights. At one point we did plan to push forward regardless. I told Tavis I'd help edit and finish the dungeon; I work very fast.

Unfortunately when the time actually came to actually do so, we decided it wasn't the right thing to do, morally or strategically. Morally, there is the old notion that "in equity one must have clean hands," or put another way, if you ever would like to seek redress for a wrong done you, be sure not to have done wrong yourself. Strategically, pushing forward without the IP is a no-win situation. If the project fails, we've put ourselves at legal risk to no gain. If the project succeeds, any profits would simply encourage James to sue Autarch.

(Also, just to correct a mis-perception, our contract specifies that in exchange for the Kickstarter funds, James assumes the obligations of the Kickstarter. It's not the case that we gave him the assets without the liabilities.)

Quote from: amacris;624859I can speak to this. I was the one who drafted the contract, so I was always quite aware of the status of our IP rights. At one point we did plan to push forward regardless. I told Tavis I'd help edit and finish the dungeon; I work very fast.

Unfortunately when the time actually came to actually do so, we decided it wasn't the right thing to do, morally or strategically. Morally, there is the old notion that "in equity one must have clean hands," or put another way, if you ever would like to seek redress for a wrong done you, be sure not to have done wrong yourself. Strategically, pushing forward without the IP is a no-win situation. If the project fails, we've put ourselves at legal risk to no gain. If the project succeeds, any profits would simply encourage James to sue Autarch.

(Also, just to correct a mis-perception, our contract specifies that in exchange for the Kickstarter funds, James assumes the obligations of the Kickstarter. It's not the case that we gave him the assets without the liabilities.)

Thank you for your reply.  That clarifies things, and also is another thing to chalk up to future lessons learned, I guess.  The reason I say this is because the statement that Autarch would finish Dwimmermount and publish it, even if James flaked, likely provided some confidence to people who were on the fence at the time the statement was made.  There is - according to yourself - no change in circumstances, or understanding of circumstances, on the part of Autarch between then and now, only a change of heart.  

But if, back then, a statement similar to the one you just made would have been put out, more people might have decided to seek refunds when it was still possible to do so, either directly through James or indirectly through their credit card companies.

As to the transferral of liabilities from Autarch to James - Did Kickstarter agree to holding James as the responsible party?  My assumption would be that Kickstarter would still hold Autarch as the responsible party, and that it would just be up to Autarch to separately litigate the issue with James.

Not that I expect any of this to go there.  The money involved is too small potatoes for anybody to take the time.

Quote from: amacris;624859(Also, just to correct a mis-perception, our contract specifies that in exchange for the Kickstarter funds, James assumes the obligations of the Kickstarter. It's not the case that we gave him the assets without the liabilities.)

Seems sound. I appreciate what you say about "in equity one must have clean hands" in particular.

One question whilst you're here: did James ever provide you with a budget of how he intended to spend the money?

Quote from: EOTB;624863As to the transferral of liabilities from Autarch to James - Did Kickstarter agree to holding James as the responsible party?  My assumption would be that Kickstarter would still hold Autarch as the responsible party, and that it would just be up to Autarch to separately litigate the issue with James.

Not that I expect any of this to go there.  The money involved is too small potatoes for anybody to take the time.

Great question. The legal situation is complex.

1. Is there still a contract Between Autarch and Kickstarter for delivery of the rewards? No. Kickstarter's Terms of Use state that "by... creating a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, you agree [that you] are required to fulfill all rewards of their successful fundraising campaigns or refund any Backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill." We assigned this to James. (But see #3 below).

2. Will Kickstarter enforce on that Contract? Unlikely. Kickstarter specifically says "Kickstarter is not liable for any damages or loss incurred related to rewards or any other use of the Service. Kickstarter is under no obligation to become involved in disputes between any Users, or between Users and any third party arising in connection with the use of the Service. Kickstarter does not oversee the performance or punctuality of projects." Kickstarter has no legal reason to get involved.

3. Does our assignment of our Kickstarter contract to James relieve us of our obligation to Backers? No. Under common law, one can assign a contract, but this does not relieve the assignor (Autarch) of its obligation (to Kickstarter or to the Backers) in the event that the assignee (James) breaches.

4. What would happen in the case that Backers sued Autarch? We would have  to exercise our right to sue J.M. for breach of our Agreement, entering him as a party into the lawsuit so that he could indemnify us for our loss.

That said, Autarch is an LLC and therefore its losses are limited to its corporate assets (which are nil) while James as an individual would be personally liable. Therefore any lawyer who brought this case would likely file it against him, not us, as soon as they saw our balance sheet. Given the personal risk involved, I cannot imagine that James will leave the contract unfulfilled. Delay - yes. Default - no.

Quote from: Warthur;624866Seems sound. I appreciate what you say about "in equity one must have clean hands" in particular.

One question whilst you're here: did James ever provide you with a budget of how he intended to spend the money?

It was, rather, vice versa: Tavis created a budget for James detailing the costs for art, layout, design, and printing. It was highly detailed. Tavis writes grant proposals for a living, so he is very meticulous. He could quote you the cost per unit of the maps, the shipping & handling fees on the softcover art books, etc. There is/was a plan for every dollar.

In other words, we had a contract with clearly assigned liability, a budget, and a project manager. I don't think there's much else we could have done to avoid being harmed by the "black swan" of James disappearing.

If we had kept the funds we could have then offered refunds but we didn't keep the funds for tax reasons - by making it a pure passthrough transaction, we didn't get stuck with a tax bill. Even if we had the IP and published "a" Dwimmermount, Backers could (in theory) sue us because what we published wouldn't "James Mal's Dwimmermount".

So my life lesson here is never, ever, ever, ever be involved in a Kickstarter I can't *personally* fulfill.

What kind of man is this?
 
1) Sends his wife into the world to provide for him
2) Does not provide for his kids materially
3) Spends a lot of time online with his hobby  while his wife is working to
 provide for him and the family
4) Did not serve
5) Wrote for White Wolf
6) Made nothing material out of his education (once pursued a Ph D in analytical philosophy)
7) Born in Bawlmore
Fled to Canada
9) Claimed 50k on his online hobby bona fides
10) Has wee-wee in his eyes because his 70+ father might die before he does?
11) Wrote boring essays on old hobby mags while the kids were in school an the wife earning money for him?

Quote from: Settembrini;624888What kind of man is this?

7) Born in Bawlmore

Easy, there, Sett.  

Stream-of-consciousness observation as I was catching up on this thread just now: After 'Petty Gods', I think the 'black swan event' wasn't nearly so black.

Quote from: Settembrini;624888What kind of man is this?
 
1) Sends his wife into the world to provide for him
2) Does not provide for his kids materially
3) Spends a lot of time online with his hobby  while his wife is working to
 provide for him and the family
4) Did not serve
5) Wrote for White Wolf
6) Made nothing material out of his education (once pursued a Ph D in analytical philosophy)
7) Born in Bawlmore
Fled to Canada
9) Claimed 50k on his online hobby bona fides
10) Has wee-wee in his eyes because his 70+ father might die before he does?
11) Wrote boring essays on old hobby mags while the kids were in school an the wife earning money for him?

There exists people who satisfy 1 to 4 in the above list.  (5 to 11 seems to be more specific to JamesM).

They're better known as as wannabe rock stars, starving artists, unknown actors, struggling writers, poets, etc ...

Quote from: Settembrini;624888What kind of man is this?
 
1) Sends his wife into the world to provide for him
2) Does not provide for his kids materially
3) Spends a lot of time online with his hobby  while his wife is working to
 provide for him and the family

I don't get any of this.  Welcome to the 21st century.  Gender roles no longer require it be the man who works and the woman who stays home.  Instead, it can be either one.  There is no evidence that he "sent" his wife to work.  Rather, odds are (without any further evidence) that she wanted to work and he wanted to stay home and that was their agreement.

You can live in the 1950s all you want, but don't place your perception of how married couples should live on other people.  Leave that stuff for your own relationship.

Quote4) Did not serve

In the military? You think this is somehow a morality issue, that someone does not choose to serve in the military?

Quote5) Wrote for White Wolf
6) Made nothing material out of his education (once pursued a Ph D in analytical philosophy)

Other that professor of philosophy, there isn't much in that field to begin with.  He made as much out of his degree as most people with that degree - he's a writer.

Quote7) Born in Bawlmore

Wow.  You're blaming him for his place of birth? Now I know you're an asshole, I am just trying to classify you as to what type of asshole you are.

Quote Fled to Canada

Fled? What, is he a fugitive from justice? He moved.  Lots of people move nations.  The owner of this message board moved nations.  There is nothing wrong with moving.

Quote9) Claimed 50k on his online hobby bona fides

Yeah, this is the issue, the only issue, that we're talking about.

Quote10) Has wee-wee in his eyes because his 70+ father might die before he does?

Wee-wee? What are you, a child? Of course caring for a daring parent is hard, you douchebag.  

Quote11) Wrote boring essays on old hobby mags while the kids were in school an the wife earning money for him?

Again, nothing wrong with that.

You seem to have a bizarre perception of what a "real man" is like.  Your perception is not reality.  It's not even this decade, and it comes off as more than a little sexist and sterotyping in parts.

See, this is where I hate the anonymity.  You're attacking the guys personal life, in ways that have nothing to do with this topic, just to attack the guy.  Most of that shit is meaningless for the topic at hand, other than to make it you personally hating on the guy.  And yet, you don't tell others about your own personal life so we can judge if you are a hypocrite.  Which itself makes you a hypocrite.  Let's hear all about your "manly" life - I am sure if we get enough answers to questions, you'll be shown to be the asshole you're sounding like right now.

He took $50k without delivering the product.  That's the only legit issue you mention.  The rest was just you letting everyone know you're a fucking idiot.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;624816There's no zealot quite like a convert.

Ha! :rotfl: