My DTRPG order for the 1e set a while back all came in one box with no bubblewrap, packed together, so the ones on the outer got some dings on the edges.  Annoying but other than overpaying on EBay, no other choice.  On the plus side, there was a misprint on one page of the DMG and they refunded me he whole purchase on that one so good and bad.  Really wish they would use some better designed packing boxes.

A VTT can be quite useful if the integrated systems are done well.

Warhammer 4th Edition on Virtual Foundry and 2e D&D on Fantasy Grounds are fine examples of stellar integration of the gaming systems.  As far as I can tell, they are more passion projects.  It makes it very easy to sell a group of players on a new system if the VTT eases them into learning it.

At some point 5e will not be the latest:  I wonder if players moving on will look back on it with nostalgic fondness or indifference.  Probably the latter.
I personally doubt it will hold the same fascination that the TSR offerings have had over the years.

My misgivings about WOTC's progress seems to have resulted in something positive after all so I guess that's something.

So this Unearthed Arcana 5e that seems to be happening, is there more to it than just creating new humanoid races?
Was just reading the latest playtest release:
https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthedarcana/folk_feywild

Is there some specific world that is being developed to house all these variations?  Yay, a rabbit, hobgoblin option and other wildlife assortments. Whoopee.  Why not just make set rules for converting the MM creatures for player character use and be done with it?  My dream of playing an Ochre Jelly will be finally fulfilled.  Is every 'naughty' humanoid creature in the game eventually going to get a 'just misunderstood' variant?

Is there some inherent desire from the player base for all these character race options?  I'm just not hanging with the right RPG crowds I guess.  The days of a DM being able to roughly memorize what the player races are capable of seem pretty impossible now.

Maybe some interesting rule changes are coming but if Tasha's is any indication, I'll just stick with the 3 original books as I'm not seeing anything really groundbreaking happening here, which is kind of sad for what is arguably the most influential RPG system on the market.  Meh.

Seems after the 5e core, they started to run out of steam and are just releasing whatever now.
C'mon WOTC, let's see something really new and exciting, rather than throwing stats on the cutesy animal of the month please?

Does this mean 5e, despite some of its flaws, may truly be the last version of D&D that didn't go completely off the rails, despite WOTC's best efforts?

Maybe 6e will be a solution of sorts:  It will give the crowd that wants all the inclusivity elements, non-binary cultures, etc. that they desire and 5e will still have a following that prefer to not include everything and the kitchen sink: with all the extra bits that have built up around it, I doubt it is fading into the sunset anytime soon.

So both groups will be happy as they now have their own edition?
6e gets to continue exploring their woke sensibilities and WOTC stops releasing more goofy stuff for 5e to 'bring it up to modern cultural standards' as they focus on the new edition.

Everyone kind of wins?

While I would prefer that people steer towards the earlier editions on a grand scale, that is more of a pipe dream than anything.  I can live with 5e as unless 6e mechanics are some groundbreaking thinking that deserves merit, I feel it is going to be nothing more than a woke calling card for WOTC.

Perhaps giving people like Price and her like-minded associates 6e to run with it, will prove some point about where the real market lies with D&D and Hasbro's profit, rather than relying on the misdirection of Twitter bait.

6e will be great for one thing at least:  it will move the attention of a lot of players who are more concerned with the social guise of D&D, rather than the game itself onto the new shiny and give 5e a bit of breathing room.

<edit: sp, thoughts>

1e PH, DMG, MM and Fiend Folio.  Lent to a friend to read over the summer.  He decided to take them while backpacking in Europe to game with and 'lost' them.  Blame myself for being too trusting, assuming that friends would recognise the value they had for me.
Problem is, what's precious to us is just some curiosity or lark for others.
If my friends want to borrow now, they get the pdf, never the print.  Trust no one.

I think the artwork they are showing looks great and far superior to what was being touted for Cubicle when they were going to do it.  I still think the original Cubicle TOR had some of the best artwork.  This looks equally good, just different style.

I like Collector's editions simple in style and look so this checks my boxes.

I think the TOR rules were a nice fit for the theme and enjoyed the stance rules, etc.
Guess I'll watch the Twitch stream to hear about what they did with the rules but this is looking pretty good so far.