Extrapolated somewhat from discussions in this thread, how much does the perceived courtesy and professionalism of a small-press game designer or author factor into whether or not you'll buy their product?  

Personally, I can only think of a very few instances when a designer's online behavior has made me not want to purchase their games.  However, professionalism goes a long way in deciding to support a company; for example, when Guardians of Order went months without responding to inquiries or shipping out ordered products, that was a no-brainer for me, much as I wanted to pick up some of their stuff.  There are companies like HinterWelt, who I think deserve credit for really focusing on acting in a professional manner with their customers.  (Nice work!)

So how about you?  How much does a designer/authors courtesy and professionalism facotr into whether you'll check out their game, good or bad reviews aside?

If I interact in some was with a game designer, and he turns out to be a cockmonkey, then yes, it makes me substantially less likely to desirer their products.

I won't purchase anything from John Wick, for instance, after numerous examples of his being a complete goddamn cock, from the fake death, to his joint hoax with Jared Sorenson, to the shit he pulled over PRIMEVAL.

I had not heard what happened with PRIMEVAL.  Would you mind explaining a bit?

I don't buy games because the designer is a nice guy. Why would I not buy a game because the designer is discourteous (leaving aside any question of context)?

Quote from: Zachary The FirstI had not heard what happened with PRIMEVAL.  Would you mind explaining a bit?

Wick, unheilig, IronRa, and a number of other RPGnetters were at one point hard at work on a game called Primeval, which was a wierd sort of ancient fantasy game, borrowing a lot from Egyptian and Greek and other mythologies of that era.  

It was a hugely anticipated project, and everyone on RPGnet just about was waiting for it with bated breath.  A number of RPGnetters even contributed photos of themselves for art reference.

Then it went quiet.  We didn't hear about it for some time.  Apparently what had happened was that Wick had just ditched them half way through the project, and run off and rushed out some other game that was almost exactly the same concept.  At that point unheilig basically just gave up, as the project was a mess, and to top it off Wick had basically stolen the idea and ran off to market with it.

It was an unbelievably shitty thing to do.  There was a wierd sort of strained public amends-making between them when it came up sometime later, and of course, Wick denies that Primeval had anything to do with his project.

But frankly Wick's proven himself time and time again to be a goddamn liar, so by and large that whole exchange seemed mostly for show.

I don't even like unheilig, in fact I would go so far as to say he was one of my absolute least favorite posters on that site.  But I wouldn't wish that shit on anyone, and what they had announced of the game and the concept sounded fucking awesome to boot.

Man, that bites.  Not much else to say about that.

Yep.

Anyone here a usenet poster of old? After the various spats the proprietor of an online store perpetrated, I never purchased anything from his online store after that. Now it's pretty much slipped into obscurity as far as electronic book stores goes, and there are plenty of other options for most of his offerings I am interested in.

One publisher has drawn near that level of ire from me, but he has one product in the pipe that I may be willing to "get over it" for. But even then, the attitude displayed towards one of my friends I still find pretty appalling; I may just have to live without the product.

I prefer to interact with polite, friendly people in any situation and of any profession.  How's that?

I'm a strong proponent of game designers staying out of public forums.  Decent people eventually say something to piss off someone, the event gets blown out of proportion, and reputations that should have nothing to do with the purchase or play of a game suddenly become a deciding factor.  I'd rather not know that the author of my favorite game can be a prick.

As for John Wick -- yeah.  I'm sorry to say that I warned unheilig & co. about mixing him into their business.  That was right about the time that I jumped ship from his little promotional collective.  The fact that John used them to a) bolster his flagging ego, and b) stimulate his creative process brought me no joy.

!i!

Quote from: Zachary The FirstSo how about you?  How much does a designer/authors courtesy and professionalism facotr into whether you'll check out their game, good or bad reviews aside?

It factors a lot, if we are speaking in terms of customer service. For instance, if I email Luke Crayne about a specific rule problem or question, I expect, even demand a polite response. Not ass-kissing, just a polite answer. Failure to provide that would result in loss of sales.

On a random internet forum where I discuss games and shit, I absolutely don't care if Luke Crayne blows a fuse about politics or games or feels the need to irationally "defend" his friend.

If I am boycotting an author or publisher, it's more likely to be for a rational or ethical reason. Such as where the game is printed, how freelancers are treated, outrageous pricing, lack of customer support or extremely fucked up propaganda (RaHoWa-style).

Justin Achilli is a festering twatmonkey of the 6th order.

He's the only one I think I've ever really massively objected to. I've had problems with various other people in the industry, but he'd be the only genuine 'personality' that I take real issue with how he handles himself publicly.

Quote from: GRIMJustin Achilli is a festering twatmonkey of the 6th order.

He's the only one I think I've ever really massively objected to. I've had problems with various other people in the industry, but he'd be the only genuine 'personality' that I take real issue with how he handles himself publicly.

jachilli is the most egotistical prick I think I've ever met in the entirety of the RPG hobby.  

He is, basically, the epitome of the "I hate my audience" primadonna.  He hates gamers.  Period.  He looks upon everyone else with a sense of utter disgust.

As a gamer, I can't say as I can really support an author who hates me.  Sort of goes against my principles.

Quote from: J Arcanejachilli is the most egotistical prick I think I've ever met in the entirety of the RPG hobby.  

He is, basically, the epitome of the "I hate my audience" primadonna.  He hates gamers.  Period.  He looks upon everyone else with a sense of utter disgust.

As a gamer, I can't say as I can really support an author who hates me.  Sort of goes against my principles.

You know, with jachilli, I can think of several pretty bad flame wars I've seen him in, but I really don't think of him as any worse than say, Skarka.  But it seems like a lot of folks have him as much, much worse.

I don't do a lot of small press shopping, but customer service, professionalism, and friendliness is a big deal. It's one of the reasons I'm a big fan of Hackmaster. When I first went to their forums I was treated well and welcomed to the game by Jolly and Dave Kenzer.

I asked a similar question some time ago on RPGNet. Essentially it was more about familiarity breeding contempt of designers/companies that posted on fora.  Most folk pointed to wanting to interact with designers and company reps but that it did influence their views. I found it rather depressing.

You see, I like interacting with people like Mike Crow and Zach. They often set me straight on ideas I have and give me honest feedback without turning into hyenas. In general, I like chatting with fellow gamers and running ideas past people. That said, I believe people are affected, whether they like to admit it or not, by their perceptions of a company/designer. I also believe that people will buy some products with absolutely no knowledge of people at that company. I don't think of individuals at WW or WOTC when I purchase their products and I have had drinks with some of them. Alternatively, I would never purchase a book from Ron Edwards or Luke Crane. Why? Because there are so many alternatives to what I feel their games offer and would prefer to be treated with respect if I have questions or participate in discussions. Have they personally attacked me? Ron has but Luke would not know me from Adam. My view of him is third party and to be honest, I do not need to be bothered to get to know him better. Heck, I would even go as far as to say my views of him are not that accurate but I have no need.

Now, have I caused hard feelings with people? Most likely. I try to be professional and polite in all aspects of my life but that is not always possible. Not possible because some people will take offense at any reason. I like to think I make the effort but if someone has it in their head that all game designers are offensive, long before I meet them they will have desided I am offensive.

So, short version, I think the way you conduct yourself in life reflects on all aspects of your life. Some people will be offended regardless of your conduct while most will see you as you conduct yourself.

Bill