–M. J. Young

Nowadays, I think closed information is regarded as a sign of weakness.

This is not neccessarily that you try to please everyone as you’re quite correct, that won’t work. However, it is good to try to figure out your customer base, and please them.

These are, of course, sliding scales. No one is ever completely open, or completely closed.

I think you just shot yourself in the foot with that one.

You wrote:
“Eric is correct that we are not terribly transparent. Even when I actually knew the total number of books sold I never would tell anyone–because whatever number you give, someone will think that makes you too big and someone else that it makes you too small. The same goes for financial information, how much we pay for what, how much we make on sales. I doubt I would ever be comfortable sharing that information, because no matter what it was I would expect that it would create impressions I could not dispel.”

However, you’re also constantly talking about your personal financial problems. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that if the vice president and lead author of the company is in financial trouble, then things probably aren’t going as well for the company as he would like them to be going. Either that or you just have no concept of how to budget millions of dollars and are constantly broke because of it. I think perhaps that is what Mr. Walker was trying to prevent you from doing.

J. David Walker, is that Pharaoh? Pharaoh is John Walker, so it could be. I doubt it though. Just something tells me it’s not Pharaoh.

John “A1nut”

Eric is correct that we are not terribly transparent. Even when I actually knew the total number of books sold I never would tell anyone–because whatever number you give, someone will think that makes you too big and someone else that it makes you too small. The same goes for financial information, how much we pay for what, how much we make on sales. I doubt I would ever be comfortable sharing that information, because no matter what it was I would expect that it would create impressions I could not dispel.

There’s a lot I don’t tell. Some people are bugged by what I don’t tell, and some by what I do tell. There’s an old Aesop’s fable the moral of which is that if you try to please everyone you’ll just end up losing your, er, donkey. I’m doing the best I can.

–M. J. Young

Thank you for your prompt and courteous attention.

One benefit of this blog has been a much greater understanding of why it is taking so long for projects to advance. Before, I wondered at notions of ill intent, and bad faith. After all, I was able to write a 125,000 words for the Fourth Book of Worlds in five months for the first draft. Now I see more clearly what is going on.

Your concerns about privacy are valid, but unfortunately antique. Way back in the Twentieth Century, John Naisbitt, noted futurist was talking about ‘hi-tech/h-touch’. Getting your customer base involved in your life is Life As It Is Now.

Note: I’m a fairly serious futurist and extrapolator of social effects. (In Multiverser terms 2@2). Privacy of the TwenCen version is exiting stage left as we speak. Welcome to the Transparent Society.

And ‘nice, safe, corporate blogs’ tend to be dead. Press releases do not cut it.

Your company needs openness, and an ability for outside voices to easily interact with inside voices, and it needs a slew of developers who find you easy to work with. It needs to follow the Windows approach of easy for developers instead of the Apple approach of hold tight to everything because of power and greed which nearly bankrupted Apple before they Ipodded their way out of trouble.

The new website is a step in this direction, but a baby step.

As to my helping with the workload…sure. My skills are more in the area of world creation (at which I’m a Freak of Nature), but what do you need? I could edit on the Third Book, or some other project. My skills are not so much toward the Rule System Creation, but I could try, and we’d see how it went.

Note: My critiques are apt to be constructive but blunt. For the Third Book, I can say off the top of my head….Dark Honor needs more detail. Orc Rising needs a territory description. Playground is….problematic. It needs a whole new module because a place where people just exercise is a kewl concept, but its just not enough.

For the questions you wanted: Are you considering printing Third Book electronically? It will speed things up, and save a bunch of cash. And you can do POD for those who want a ‘dead-tree edition’.

Also, I’ve been lobbying MJ for a ‘Gamemaster’s Guide to the Multiverse’ based on the concept of the Dungeonmaster’s Guide to AD&D. I think a huge chunk of short articles on various issues plus a lot of informational charts on world design factors would be very useful to the MV gamemaster. Your opinion, sir?

Cordially,

Eric R. Ashley

I encourage M.J. to keep people posted with upcomming products as I want consumers or anyone with interest in the game to see progress we are making.

What I discourage is displaying any information regarding internal discord within the company. There are a few personel issues and we are dealing with them. But making that public knowledge does not instill faith in people’s confidence in the company. I also discourage handing out information regarding other people’s personal information. I don’t think it’s fair to the people mentioned (even if it’s in the vaguest reference), nor do I think it’s any business of our customer base. This blog is supposed to be a marketing tool, not a way to involve people in one’s personal life. PMing someone is a better way to get to know someone personally. Also M.J. has a Myspace to use for more personal reasons such as you suggested. Im not trying to upset anyone, but I think the personal and professional should remain seperate.

It’s not a matter of avoiding or embracing the sunlight, it’s a matter protecting the company’s image, and having common courtesy and respect for other people’s privacy. I know the people referred to in some of these blogs very well. And I know it would cause alot of drama in M.J.’s daily routine if they read some of these blogs. Drama that would slow down his daily workload more than necessary. Therefore, it’s also a matter of saving M.J. hassles he doesn’t need.

As president of Valdron, Inc., I have to make decisions to above all protect the company’s image. I also have to sometimes protect it’s employees from themselves. Our company is not secretive. If you have any questions about our operations, feel free to ask. We are not, nor have we ever been hiding a thing.

We have alot of projects in the works. Due to the monumental undertaking of the rules re-writing, most have been sidelined until that project is done. We are currently a small company with few employess, and a huge workload. However, if you wish to volunteer to help lighten the workload, I’d always be willing to listen to any ideas you have.

Regards,

J. David Walker
President
Valdron, Inc.

LOTS. (I had to emphasize that.)

Another way is for people to get involved in your life.

Lastly, this blog does do a good job of explaining why things are so incredibly slow on the production front with all the difficulties you face. Which might be the problem you’re facing. Some people would prefer to avoid sunlight instead of embracing sunlight and changing their ways.

I’ve noticed a streak of secrecy in your operations, and frankly, I don’t like it. Nor do I see a reason for it. Its not like this is military secrets. Nor is is likely that someone is going to ‘steal’ your ideas, or some such silliness.

You desperately need a lot of things. More books, more worlds, more….well everything. Hiding is not going to get you there.