D&D Next and Messaging

Someone from WotC needs to reign in this playtest and provide specific guidelines for what they are looking for. Right now, their perceived message is really causing undue heartache in the community. Let me explain.

When generating the amount of anticipation that has been for the next edition of the game, the organization needs to work furiously to manage expectations. As best as I can tell, no one is doing this other than fans and contributors. I wrote sometime ago about managing expectations (I can't locate it right now due to being on my iPad and on vacation), and in it I detail why it's important to guide the community. As it stands now, it is the wild west out there. With few exceptions, WotC is largely silent (Trevor Kidd has trying and should be commended).

The community needs purpose, direction, and motivation. Someone needs to herd the cats and bring a vision to the intent of this initial playtest. Too many who are participating have no idea what's going on and they are interpreting it as a complete game. If not, they are trying to read between the lines and they are coming up with wild theories on how the game will eventually be.

This is a messaging nightmare. Someone needs to jump in, grab the reigns, and squash the wildfires.