On Tuesday 2 December players on the White Wolf chats were made aware of the possible permanent closure of this much-loved resource. While we all appreciate that all businesses have a bottom line to care about, and that the chats must incur significant costs, we'd like to respectfully petition for their continues existance. Here are a few key reasons why we think White Wolf/CCP should keep these chats running: **Inspiration to play = inspiration to pay** Many of us have signed up to the chats to play a particular game line of choice and quickly find ourselves intrigued by other lines by virtue of exposure to them in the chats. This results in significant purchases of White Wolf books by those players. And though many start the game with only the required core books, players in the chats are quick to see the value in owning additional titles to give them greater in-game knowledge and a broader depth of information.  **A trusted venue for those who can't play Tabletop** A great deal of players on the chat are here because they live in isolated areas, parts of the world where there isn't a strong local gaming community, or work hours that make it difficult for them to attend a regular gaming group. For those people, the White Wolf chats offer a safe, respected, well-run venue to play the game they love. This keeps players passionate about the White Wolf product lines and inspires them to continue purchasing books.  **Online gaming has become an expectation** A significant number of people turn to the internet for their entertainment, with the numbers only on the rise. Having an active, online gaming community as part of the White Wolf/CCP portfolio ensures that it won't be found lacking for those who prefer to game online. The chats are as rich in experience as WoW or any other graphics-based MMORPG - and in any way richer. The worlds, scenarios and scenes we collectively build with the power of our shared imagination is limitless and often profound. **A powerful introduction to the game** Most players can attest to have convinced their friends to check out the chats as a means of introducing them to the game. This makes the chats a powerful marketing tool and serves as a dynamic 'gateway' to encourage would-be players to become devoted fans. And as we've already pointed out devoted fans purchase books. **A thriving, world-wide community** Players from around the world, in all manner of timezones, countries and cultures come together on the chats for one shared purpose; playing and supporting White Wolf games. If you consider that each one of those players is a “seed' of inspiration in their corner of the world, the chats can truly be seen as an avenue to continue growing the White Wolf customer base around the globe. That makes the players who chose to use this service a very valuable marketing tool for White Wolf/CCP. And it's also pretty amazing to think that your games connect people in such a huge way. **Depth and quality of roleplay** Many people chose to play on the chats, and have played for years because text-based roleplay offers something many cannot achieve in a tabletop game. Being able to describe actions, reactions and emotions in text often affords players greate freedom to say what they couldn't act out in person. Scenes can become that much more epic, tragic or profound. The World of Darkness becomes that much darker. There's a great deal of infectious, inspiring passion to be found amongst the online players – and once more this translates to people buying the books and spreading the word and getting their friends into the game. There are many other personal reasons why players hope to keep the chats up and many will be sending you their thoughts in individual emails. But we wanted to offer a collective, shared voice as well in hopes it will help serve as a single point of reference for those deciding the fate of the WW chats. Thank you for the years of free service you've provided so far. We hope you'll allow the chats to remain open so that we can continue to pay for this service in the manner that we have over the years – through the purchase of your books and the inspiration that drives us all to recruit new players and continue to spread the gospel of the World of Darkness to gamers world wide. Respectfully, The players on the White Wolf chats.

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