So what does the CPA do now?

[Spiderman]

In response to theorgg's question about WOTC using results of polls sent in by groups such as the CPA, Mr. Adkinson said basically that WOTC wasn't going to use such results, or at least count them very high when considering Magic's future.

How does this affect the CPA? Does it? If so, does the mission statement (what's the status on that, anyway?) need to change?

Does anyone care at this point?

Just trying (dare I?) for some serious discussion again...

 

[Gizmo]

Everybody knows what I`m going to say, so I shan`t bother. Just assume that I`ve said it all again.

I think that this is an issue where there is little actual desire to make changes on behalf of the half dozen or so people who actually count.
People might discuss and discuss, but nothing will happen.

 

[Fire Slinger]

Maybe we can start lobbying Congress.

 

[Spiderman]

Well, I meant this thread in terms of the expectations of the CPA in using the results of polls to influence WOTC. Since it appears that such results would be not be considered by them, does the CPA simply become a haven where casual players can talk and post their decks? Essentially what it's doing now?

 

[The Undertaker]

One of the things that attracted me to this site is the intelligent conversations that seem to go on in the boards. The collection of people here seem to care about the game and its directions. That is something that definitely does not need to change. I also think that is something that WOTC notices.

I think WOTC listens maybe more than they lead you to believe. The game is built on new ideas and fan support which is what this site is all about. If they didn't listen to the people, I don't think the game would have blossomed as it has. I may be wrong? That is the good thing about your polls. WOTC can see where some Magic players view the strengths and weaknesses of the game. Personally, it helps me get new ideas for decks that I might not have thought of before or overlooked.

I think you should be proud of what you have created here. I am sure WOTC is aware of what happens on your site as well as some of the other major ones. Maybe the CPA has direct or indirect influence, but it is influence all the same.

 

[Spiderman]

I agree that "the collection of people here care about the game and its direction" but let's face it, it appears that it's not really going to matter to WOTC and that expectation is what needs to be "nipped in the bud". They are aware of this and other sites, true, but it appears that WOTC do their own studies and polls to determine Magic's future and decisions (otherwise, Mike Long would have more than 1 month suspension, to take one example).

I don't want to change this site; I think it's pretty good right now. I'm only bringing it up because the idea of "polling the members" and sending the results to WOTC in hopes of change was one of the driving forces in the creation of the site and the CPA.

 

[rkoelsch]

I can't believe that an executive of a company would say they don't pay attention to what consumers say. My hope is that he said that to prevent a few people setting up bogus polls to influence the course Magic will take. I can't imagine that any company would not take consumer input into account.

 

[Spiderman]

No, I don't think he said that. What he said was that WOTC sets up their OWN polls and consumer surveys (like the ones in the Duelist); they determine the criteria and questions. It seems they just don't accept those "unsolicited" from the public at large.

 

[Baron Sengir]

Obviously Adkison or any other executive isn't going to hang on our every word. The CPA was founded as a place where Magic players could voice their opinions in an organized way so WotC would know how the people that buy their product feel. If they use that advice, that is great. If they ignore it, that's their choice. What we have to do is make sure that if there is something that pisses us off, WotC should at least know about it.

This group of people has grown into so much more than I ever dreamed it would. The CPA has only existed for a little over a year but it has filled a niche for casual magic on the net and is steadily growing. Besides, if we keep growing like this, maybe one day we'll rival thedojo.com and we all know that WotC pays a lot of attention to them. At any rate, with the existance of the CPA, at least now no one at WotC can say that they were unaware a group of people felt a certain way about an issue.

I am proud to be a member of this group. I am proud to be a founder. Let's keep the CPA going strong.

I remain
The Baron
Life is short and God is mad.

 

[TomB]

Although I'm not too sure about the God thing there at the end .

I took the liberty of copying the text of Mr. Adkison's response to that particular question here, for your perusal:

Peter Adkinson: I usually prefer to do market research the other way around. Start with a question that needs to be researched and then figure out the best way of researching to get the answer to that question. Research is a double-edged sword; done correctly and we can make changes that help the player community, done incorrectly and our decisions can be disastrous. That's why we need to understand who answered the questions how and make sure they answered them only once.
We are putting together an on-line panel with these parameters in mind so that we can get quick responses to hot questions as they come up in the future.

It seems to me what he actually said was, he USUALLY prefers to do his market research differently. We already knew that - That's one of the reasons why we decided to try doing this, so casual players could have some input too. He also said they like to know WHO answers the question(s), and WHAT they said, and that they'd like to prevent any ballot box stuffing.

That makes it tougher, to be sure, but the idea of dressing up the vote with a smattering of commentary from the issue discussion would help with legitimizing the vote, since we'd likely be adding in the names (well, at least the screen names) of the people who's comments were used. If WotC needed additional verification of who we were they could always email those individuals, via the addresses attached to our profiles.

The bottom line is, just as The Baron said, WotC has always been free to ignore any results we come up with from our informal polling. I personally feel that would be short-sighted, considering the ever-expanding membership base we're talking about here, but again, that's always been their choice.

In the meantime, we'll know in our hearts we tried to do the best we could for this game we all love. And that's what matters to us.

 

[Spiderman]

Well, it's only been a day so still feel free to voice your opinion

But it does sound like the CPA will continue to do the polls and send them in. I just wanted to know if Mr. Adkinson's remarks concerning this topic would cause the CPA to change their stance on it and it sounds like they won't.

 

[terzarima]

These people are voicing there opionions and I beleive that WOTC should listen. These conversations are the pro/cons of the CCG world, so why shouldn't the people at WOTC not listen, its their product we are buying and trying to make better.

If the WOTC people like Adksion decide to ignore such feedback like this they are going to lose customers. I've talked to some of my Magic playing friends and they beleive that the Mercadian Trilogy was the worst, not only because of the cards but because of the timespan in which they were released, 2-3 months? Does it seem to anyone else WOTC is pumping out too many card sets?

 

[FoundationOfRancor]

The past, like, 3 blocks have been produced at that speed-im not saying I like it, just pointing it out.

 

[Gizmo]

Wrong - Magic sets are released to strict schedule of one every four months and have been ever since Mirage.

This is the schedule for the block expansions, and the only time this is added to is for non-tourney releases (Unglued) and for the two-year pattern of updating the basic set. Personally I find it fine, I understand people might think it fast, if anything I think it slightly slow (I`d rather see four sets per year, not three) but the current system is working well enough to not need fixing.

Back to the topic of the forum, the CPA should accept it is ONLY going to be succesful as a meeting place for casual players and work to promote itself as such.

 

[Hellion]

WotC has recently set up a program where Magic players sign up as a "reviewer" of Magic products. The program sorts of ask the reviewer questions like those involving card face changes or opinions of the sets.

I have already signed up, and I think it's for a limited time only. My guess is that WotC wants to do a CPA like poll but they want to control the way it is done. Besides, they offer prizes for a draw.

After you register, there will be a profile maker and some other questions. I think the polls will start sometime this fall.....

For a better insight, go to WotC's offical website and check out "Join the Advisory Panel."