Dear Jon and Katie:
I hope this is reaching the correct people. You two are the only e-mails listed on the Live Game Auctions page as organizers for the Gen Con Live Game Auction. If you are not the proper people, please do me the favor of forwarding my response to the appropriate person or persons.
As you are probably aware, the refusal of Christian Children's Fund has caused a bit of an uproar in the gaming community and has prompted questions as to the exact reason for the refusal. The numerous e-mails sent by disgruntled gamers frequently received a form letter reply, an excerpt of which is below.
Quote:
When Gen Con contacted CCF about its auction, we were pleased to accept donations. However, we couldn’t lend our name for publication because our policies have specific criteria for endorsements. We were unaware that this had caused any problem or concern for Gen Con until we began receiving emails. This decision was in no way intended to be a reflection on Mr. Gygax, gaming enthusiasts or the game Dungeon and Dragons. We have the utmost respect for the gaming community and were touched by the generosity expressed through your auction. We were disappointed that we were not the recipients of the donation but we were pleased that another worthy organization benefited.
Naturally, this reply has caused a bit of debate as to the cause of CCF's unwillingness to accept donations from the event. As you note, they cite specific criteria for endorsements which, according to them, Gen Con did not meet. This has prompted some to claim that Gen Con has an anti-christian bias, rather than CCF having an anti-D&D bias.
Obviously, we would all like to clear the air as much as possible. No one wants either CCF or Gen Con to be labeled closed minded undeservedly. So, I write to ask if when CCF refused they mentioned the "specific criteria" to which Gen Con did not conform. If so, what were those criteria?
I understand that discussing the negotiations between Gen Con, CCF, and other organizations may be a legal concern or you may be otherwise restrained in how detailed your response to this kind of question can be. You needn't be specific if doing so would be problematic. It would be more than enough to know if it was an organizational or legal reason cited by CCF or if it was an explicitly ideological one.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration. The entire gaming community, including those of us like myself who do not regularly attend gaming conventions outside of their home state, is pleased by, proud of, and thanks you for the fantastic job you did raising $17,000 for the Fisher House Foundation foundation this past year and for putting so much of your own time and effort into Gen Con.
Sincerely,
Patrick Woods