The CGL situation p3 Options

[JM Hardy]

Right now the only rewrites that have been mentioned are for things that aren't published, and therefore people aren't owed for. In fact the only rewrites that have been mentioned are for stuff where the freelancer terminated their contract, thus effectively retracting their work from use by CGL.

This is correct. I'm happy to go ahead with stuff that has been written, but some writers do not believe they will be paid for it and have terminated their contracts. That means I cannot use what they have produced, and I don't have many other options besides generating new text.

As part of my regular reminders, I'm going to point out that I was a freelancer for years before I was line developer. I still do some freelancing. A lot of my perspective is based on being a freelancer. Thus, I have no interest in screwing over freelancers.

Jason H.

[Tiger Eyes]

This is weird. Aside from the concern about your work being re-written by less experienced writers (in Shadowrun, I mean), it just doesn't make a lot of sense from a business point of view. You'd written the work and it was ready to go. I don't know if layout was done or not (if so, then the situation is even worse). In any case, CGL would rather pay others and pay for the whole editing and proofing cycle to be repeated (which is going to be a pain for something as number-crunchy as PACKs sounds). And additionally there's the uncertainty of delivery times which is always a pain for a business too. Additionally they've drafted in writers from BattleTech (though JM says they've written for SR before, so I'm really curious to know what their writing credits are). So anyway, they'd rather all this than pay you your money. How does this make sense?

You terminated your contracts, so if they want to press ahead with this they have to either approach you with a cheque in hand and ask you nicely to re-sign. If they're bitter about you leaving, then perhaps they don't want to do this and that is the reason, but it's poor business sense and spite is a bad master.

Knasser hit the nail pretty firmly on the head here. Rather than approach AH with a check and an apology (a check for under $4K total, I believe, for multiple products), they decided to rewrite entire portions of books. I will speculate there were hot emotions on both sides - hey, Bobby and Jason are both red-heads, what do they expect? - but there is a simple solution. Was it explored? Not to my knowledge. It does prompt the question that perhaps it financially makes sense to pay someone else far, far later than to pay now... for whatever reason. I don't believe it has anything to do with spite; I'm sure Jason would much rather everyone be paid. So if you rule out spite, and you rule out convienence, what is left?

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Knasser hit the nail pretty firmly on the head here. Rather than approach AH with a check and an apology (a check for under $4K total, I believe, for multiple products), they decided to rewrite entire portions of books. I will speculate there were hot emotions on both sides - hey, Bobby and Jason are both red-heads, what do they expect? - but there is a simple solution. Was it explored? Not to my knowledge. It does prompt the question that perhaps it financially makes sense to pay someone else far, far later than to pay now... for whatever reason. I don't believe it has anything to do with spite; I'm sure Jason would much rather everyone be paid. So if you rule out spite, and you rule out convienence, what is left?

Politics....

Keep the Faith

[JM Hardy]

Knasser hit the nail pretty firmly on the head here. Rather than approach AH with a check and an apology (a check for under $4K total, I believe, for multiple products), they decided to rewrite entire portions of books. I will speculate there were hot emotions on both sides - hey, Bobby and Jason are both red-heads, what do they expect? - but there is a simple solution. Was it explored? Not to my knowledge. It does prompt the question that perhaps it financially makes sense to pay someone else far, far later than to pay now... for whatever reason. I don't believe it has anything to do with spite; I'm sure Jason would much rather everyone be paid. So if you rule out spite, and you rule out convienence, what is left?

The key sentence here is "not to my knowledge." Jennifer has not been a part of discussions between Bobby and myself. It comes down to this--I was willing to publish Bobby's stuff. Bobby, as he has stated, does not believe he would ever be paid for things published by Catalyst. From his perspective, he would rather hold on to his work rather then let it go for what he believes would be no compensation. Further, he has stated he believes there will be opportunities to publish some works elsewhere and be compensated for them. He has every right in the world to do what he believes is best for his work and to feel comfortable about any business relationships he is in.

If someone does not want their work to be published, I cannot force them to publish it.

Jason H.

[Tiger Eyes]

I agree. Reading the post of TigerEyes really got me mad at CGL for the first time in this situation. Not paying freelancers is one thing - and it's bad - but not paying a freelancer who is really in need of the money for her livelyhood ist just low beyond words, especially if, as I read it, the management went through all the due payments and decided which of them to pay and which not.

I'm glad I could put a face on the situation, hopefully for everyone. But it isn't just me. It's the new dad with a baby and a mortgage who could use the money for medical bills. It's the single mom paying her way through school who could have really used the money for Christmas presents for her daughter. It's the man facing bankruptcy who just lost his job, and could have really used the money to make a few house payments until he found another job, as the bank threatened to take his house. It's the student who desparately wanted to go to GenCon and couldn't. It's the man who's been out of work for 6 months and can't pay rent. It's all the employees of CGL who took late paychecks, or skipped getting paid altogether, because they were told "the money isn't there."

These are a real examples of people, who I won't name, who begged and pleaded with Catalyst for even a portion of their back owed pay.

There are hundreds of people who have freelanced for Catalyst. Writers, artists, editors, layout artists. All of them fans. All of them who provided work for Catalyst in good faith. People who have written pleading letters to Catalyst asking for money, people who have threatened to sue, people who have just walked away, burned by the company.

When you read about what's happening now, think about all those people. Not just me (although I will admit to being far more touched than I could imagine by all the incredible offers of well wishes and support).

Then think about the two people who took that money -- as has been stated in letters released by folks other than me (I wasn't ever even sent that freelancer letter).

If Catalyst can't--and hasn't in years--met it's contractual obligations to all the freelancers who poured their hearts into their work, why can't they? Where did the money go? I know. You know. If they can't even pay a few thousand dollars to get products back into production, how can they pay for the larger debts? How are they supposed to pay tens of thousands of dollars for printing? For shipping? For royalties? For all the other expenses a printing company faces?

Yes, there is a face on this entire debate. It's the face of a hundred people like me, who really could use the money they're owed. And who, most likely, will not see it. There's the true tragedy.

[otakusensei]

The key sentence here is "not to my knowledge." Jennifer has not been a part of discussions between Bobby and myself. It comes down to this--I was willing to publish Bobby's stuff. Bobby, as he has stated, does not believe he would ever be paid for things published by Catalyst. From his perspective, he would rather hold on to his work rather then let it go for what he believes would be no compensation. Further, he has stated he believes there will be opportunities to publish some works elsewhere and be compensated for them. He has every right in the world to do what he believes is best for his work and to feel comfortable about any business relationships he is in.

If someone does not want their work to be published, I cannot force them to publish it.

Jason H.

I don't blame him holding out at this point. While I want Runner's Toolkit as soon as possible, I want it right. The version AH wrote for sounds right, the version currently in production... it's a mystery.

Jason,

Would you mind giving us some freelancers names? I think a good portion of us would recognize them and knowing who is working on upcoming products may help ease fears of a lack of quality moving forward. You don't even have to tell us how is working on what or how much, just drop some names here.

Edit: Just read Jennifer's post. Screw it. I'm holding out on buying Shadowrun products until the license passes on.

[Werewindlefr]

Edit: Just read Jennifer's post. Screw it. I'm holding out on buying Shadowrun products until the license passes on.

I suggest we wait a bit before saying such things. Give it a couple weeks, so we see the developments of the story. It's not that I don't trust Jennifer Harding, but it's always better to keep one's head cool and know the whole story, because we might actually rush to the wrong conclusions. If the next days confirm our fears and bad opinions concerning CGL, then it'll always be time to make such statements.
(To the freelancers and ex-employees: this isn't criticism against you - at all. I tend to be on your side here, but we don't have a picture as clear as the ones involved in this whole mess can have.)

[fistandantilus4....]

If the next days confirm our fears and bad opinions concerning CGL, then it'll always be time to make such statement.

Especially since you can't buy much in the way of new books right now anyway.

[D2F]

Edit: Just read Jennifer's post. Screw it. I'm holding out on buying Shadowrun products until the license passes on.

I don't think that is the right approach, either. It's your personal decision and I will do hell to tell you otherwise. I even understand where you're coming from and from a purely emotional viewpoint I even agree.
That said, not buying products, means not getting money into CGL. Not getting money into CGL also means less of a chance for those writers, still waiting on their paychecks to ever be paid.
Do I expect CGL to pay the moeny they owe? I don't know. I really don't have enough information to form a proper opinion here. There are many sides to a story and while I doubt anyone involved is outright lieing to us (including current CGL employees), personal testimony is always biased. That's the nature of how we store and process information.

Does boycotting CGL ease your own conscience and/or cater towards your own moral/ethical viewpoint? Most surely it will. Does it better the chances that those people, who put all their hard work into providng you with top quality shadowrun sourcebooks get paid? Hardly. In the worst case it will even have the opposite effect.

My personal opinion: Things are FUBAR. CGL is to blame. No doubt about it. But it's the CGL upper management, not all of their employees. I doubt the situation can be rectified at this point. I am convinced that Topps will not renew the license. I am convinced CGL will try to ship out as many SR products as they can until the license runs out. I also believe Jennifer Harding about the request to falsify financial information and I am certain that the "mistaken" shipments of Midnight were far from an accident. I am convinced that the CGL upper management will sell those sourcebooks they have finished and not yet published, even without the permission of the authors.
Do I believe the CGL management to be amoral and devious? Not more than any other large company I know. They know they are on a sinking ship and they will try to get as much booty off the husk as they can before the sea swallows them whole.
That's just a personal opinion, though and as I said before, I lack the nescessary information for have a proper, informed opinion on the subject matter. Hell, I'll be the first one dancing on the streets, if CGL proves me wrong!

[JM Hardy]

Jennifer makes a good point about this whole situation in that the pain of it all has been borne by the freelancers. I know this is a good point because the summer of 2009 was one of the most stressful of my life. I really needed money to come in, and it wasn't coming. It was incredibly frustrating.

So why, at the end of the summer, did I take a job with Catalyst, whose late payments were a source of a lot of this stress? Well, first, because I love Shadowrun. I've fought for it many times over the years, and if the game needed help, I was going to do what I could to help it. It's such a great setting, it deserves to shine. But another reason for taking the job is that if I wanted the freelancers to be paid, the best way for that to happen was to get the Shadowrun line running smoothly as possible.

So now we come to the current situation. Some payments to freelancers have been made, but Catalyst is far from caught up. What do I do about this? How do I respond?

Some of me responds with anger. If I'm not being paid because there's no money to pay me, that's annoying but understandable. If I'm not being paid because the money to pay me has gone somewhere else, though, that's more than annoying. It's infuriating, which explains the passionate reactions many have had.

But one of my priorities is, and will remain, getting the freelancers paid. How will we accomplish that? Well, I'm not a finance guy, I don't know the efforts that will go into raising money, finding new revenue streams, etc. I know those efforts are happening, but I don't know the details of them because it's not my thing. But I do know this--if Catalyst goes away, or if it loses the Shadowrun license, that's it. No one gets paid. It will be FanPro all over again. If a company is not a going concern, then it has no revenue to pay people. All the pain Jennifer refers to will continue.

While I could talk about my reasons to have confidence or not have confidence in Catalyst's management, that's of secondary importance to the fact I mentioned before--if Catalyst goes away, the freelancers' pain continues. The only way to get people paid what they are owed is to get Catalyst's ship righted. Yesterday, I'm told management spent 12 hours getting information together and writing checks. More payments will be going out. Why did it take 12 hours? Partly because there was so much work to do; partly because of the new systems, mentioned in Randall's letter, that have been instituted to make sure all money is accounted for properly. The work is underway to correct things, but it will take time and effort. I'll add my effort to the whole to see how much I can help it.

I cannot speak for anyone else. Others have reasons for making their decisions, and I respect the thought they put into it. But this is why I'm doing what I'm doing--to try to get all the freelancers paid, so that the pain Jennifer is talking about is relieved, and not made permanent.

Jason H.

[LurkerOutThere]

Otakusensei i wouldn't pretend you were ever on the fence to begin with when a review of your posts indicates you never were. But I thank you for your honesty.

Jennifer: Ouch, my sympathies.

[Ancient History]

It should be apparent at this point, but Jason has far greater hope and trust in Randall and Loren than I do. While I understand that he's trying to do what he thinks is right, I don't respect how he's going about it, and I believe he is actually making the situation worse by his actions. At this point, I believe Catalyst's collapse is inevitable, all Jason has accomplished by trying to prolong the gameline under CGL is to make the situation even longer and more painful for everyone involved.

[D2F]

Jennifer makes a good point about this whole situation in that the pain of it all has been borne by the freelancers. I know this is a good point because the summer of 2009 was one of the most stressful of my life. I really needed money to come in, and it wasn't coming. It was incredibly frustrating.

So why, at the end of the summer, did I take a job with Catalyst, whose late payments were a source of a lot of this stress? Well, first, because I love Shadowrun. I've fought for it many times over the years, and if the game needed help, I was going to do what I could to help it. It's such a great setting, it deserves to shine. But another reason for taking the job is that if I wanted the freelancers to be paid, the best way for that to happen was to get the Shadowrun line running smoothly as possible.

So now we come to the current situation. Some payments to freelancers have been made, but Catalyst is far from caught up. What do I do about this? How do I respond?

Some of me responds with anger. If I'm not being paid because there's no money to pay me, that's annoying but understandable. If I'm not being paid because the money to pay me has gone somewhere else, though, that's more than annoying. It's infuriating, which explains the passionate reactions many have had.

But one of my priorities is, and will remain, getting the freelancers paid. How will we accomplish that? Well, I'm not a finance guy, I don't know the efforts that will go into raising money, finding new revenue streams, etc. I know those efforts are happening, but I don't know the details of them because it's not my thing. But I do know this--if Catalyst goes away, or if it loses the Shadowrun license, that's it. No one gets paid. It will be FanPro all over again. If a company is not a going concern, then it has no revenue to pay people. All the pain Jennifer refers to will continue.

While I could talk about my reasons to have confidence or not have confidence in Catalyst's management, that's of secondary importance to the fact I mentioned before--if Catalyst goes away, the freelancers' pain continues. The only way to get people paid what they are owed is to get Catalyst's ship righted. Yesterday, I'm told management spent 12 hours getting information together and writing checks. More payments will be going out. Why did it take 12 hours? Partly because there was so much work to do; partly because of the new systems, mentioned in Randall's letter, that have been instituted to make sure all money is accounted for properly. The work is underway to correct things, but it will take time and effort. I'll add my effort to the whole to see how much I can help it.

I cannot speak for anyone else. Others have reasons for making their decisions, and I respect the thought they put into it. But this is why I'm doing what I'm doing--to try to get all the freelancers paid, so that the pain Jennifer is talking about is relieved, and not made permanent.

Jason H.

I for one, neither doubt your enthusiasm, nor your willingness to work on resolving this issue. But based on my (very, VERY limited) knowledge, you are not in a position to guide CGL's financial expenses.
I don't envy you. You're in a tough spot and no way in hell I'd want to trade places with you. You're the public face of a dilemma, you may as well had no influence on. You're the target of well founded frustration, you feel yourself as well.

I wish you well and all the success in the world, for you said it very well: if CGL goes down, no one gets paid. I admire the quality of the SR products that hit the market under CGL, both in writing as well as production quality. Those were some of the best sourcebooks to come out in over a decade. I want that to continue. I want CGLs problems to be solved, the freelancers to be paid, the bad blood laid to rest and the quality products that were already in development, like the awe inspiring DoTA series to see the light of day, providing untold hours of etertainment to SR fans around the globe.
That's what I want. It's not what I expect, though. And I am fairly confident in my assumption that said expectation is something I share with a good deal of fellow SR players here. It is that expectation that makes you job that much harder. As I said: I don't envy you. Not a bit.

[JM Hardy]

It should be apparent at this point, but Jason has far greater hope and trust in Randall and Loren than I do. While I understand that he's trying to do what he thinks is right, I don't respect how he's going about it, and I believe he is actually making the situation worse by his actions. At this point, I believe Catalyst's collapse is inevitable, all Jason has accomplished by trying to prolong the gameline under CGL is to make the situation even longer and more painful for everyone involved.

As I mentioned, checks were written yesterday. Had Catalyst folded earlier, those checks would not have been written. So it's a small improvement, and my goal is to get product out so that more improvements will follow.

Jason H.

[Ancient History]

If the sole issue was seeing to it that some freelancers were paid, or that some books were published, then that would be an improvement. Those are not the issues at stake here. The individuals responsible for CGL's current financial pickle remain in control of the company; the freelancers have continued to be treated poorly, and the books are currently being pushed out with an eye towards speed rather than quality, with no overall plan for the course of the game. CGL is by its actions and inaction continuing to devalue the game and do disservice to its fans.

Put it another way: I'd rather see no book out than a hackjob put out to rake in a few more bucks before Catalyst loses the license.

[Patrick Goodman]

As I mentioned, checks were written yesterday. Had Catalyst folded earlier, those checks would not have been written. So it's a small improvement, and my goal is to get product out so that more improvements will follow.

Though I am personally loath to discuss this with anyone, I feel like there's a lot of people piling on CGL in general, and on Jason in particular, and I'm damned if I'm going to watch that and not do something about it. At the same time, this is going to seem like I'm pouring salt on some people's wounds; this, I'm afraid, can't be helped, but it's not what I'm trying to do.

Jason's speaking the truth. Checks are being cut. I was informed yesterday that a check had been cut for my contributions to Running Wild. If this is, in fact, the case (and I've no reason to doubt it; I was informed by someone whom I respect), I'll know it by Friday. That's approximately the outside of first-class postal service between their corner of Washington and my corner of Texas. I'll know soon thereafter if the check clears. Once that happens, I'll release my hold on the book.

There is no instant fix. I feel for Jennifer and a bunch of my other co-freelancers who've gotten screwed over the years by this situation, but there is no instant remedy. I'm inclined to think the best of a situation; I'm not the cynic I was in my youth. Perhaps I'm too much of an optimist (one of the things that keeps me from writing as much for this line as I might like, I suppose; I prefer a glimmer of hope to my fiction and my gaming). But I already see some things improving, and I believe that things will continue to improve.

In the meantime, try a little faith. It'll do wonders for your blood pressure, and give you something to do besides try and poison the well.

[Dread Moores]

Put it another way: I'd rather see no book out than a hackjob put out to rake in a few more bucks before Catalyst loses the license.

What happens if they don't? I'm not meaning to call you out on it, but it's a sentiment I've seen a number of people (freelancers and fans) express as impacting their plans and thoughts. What changes for you if CGL retains the license?

[ketjak]

I've heard rumors of authors who can write for three different universes.

The legends even speak of the "Short One" who will fulfill destiny and write for Shadowrun, BattleTech, Star Wars AND Star Trek.

Ken,

I didn't realize you were writing for Trek and Wars! That's good news. It's hard finding a non-BattleTech bibliography for you online, though. What SR, ST, and SW (you're mastering the S-series!) products should we look for?

- Ket

[LurkerOutThere]

It should be apparent at this point, but Jason has far greater hope and trust in Randall and Loren than I do. While I understand that he's trying to do what he thinks is right, I don't respect how he's going about it, and I believe he is actually making the situation worse by his actions. At this point, I believe Catalyst's collapse is inevitable, all Jason has accomplished by trying to prolong the gameline under CGL is to make the situation even longer and more painful for everyone involved.

Ok, i preface this with all the respect that is due you as a a fan of your work on here in the books, but we get it, you don't like the way things are going, you don't trust the people in charge, you don't like the new writers, line developer, management, etc. But you know what, it's no longer any special concern of yours. You terminated that relationship.

You are basically trying to have things both ways, you have been dealt out of the poker game at your own request but want to critique how the other players play their hands, who plays, and to criticize the rules the game is played by as if you hadn't given up your seat at the table. You further In fact you are actively hoping the company will fold and you can sell your material to another entity buying the license so you have an active interest in CGL folding.

I recognize the freelancers who have not been paid have every reason to be upset and have every right to make that choice to terminate contracts Ethically and legally you should be paid for work completed. However you've terminated your contracts, burned your bridges and walked and are now praying for failure.

I believe Jason when he says he's working to get the freelancers paid, partially because I have no vested interest in the situation and have been happy with his efforts so far. I have no vested attachment to any author or another so I don't see it as a travesty if new writers are brought in to replace those who have canceled contracts, I wasn't cheated out of money so my concern about where money comes from is minimal. Do i love shadowrun? Surely. But CGL hasn't done me wrong in that regard on the back end, in fact they've done great as far as i'm concerned.

So at the end of the day I will say this History, welcome to the spectator gallery, have some peanuts. To all the other members of said gallery: If folks want to organize a boycott or something else that's fine, but please don't pretend like it will fix some great moral injustice or that it will actually help the game or help those people get paid, because it won't.

Full Disclosure: I have recently been engaged to begin writing for Missions so i guess in the loosest sense of the word I am now or at least soon to be a freelancer. It is my understanding I may be paid for my work, however this doesn't factor into this policy as I've more or less stated it from the get go and I've done a lot of work for other "living style" campaigns that I liked a lot less then shadowrun for free, so the fact that I'm theoretically on the payroll doesn't change much for me.

[Ancient History]

What happens if they don't? I'm not meaning to call you out on it, but it's a sentiment I've seen a number of people (freelancers and fans) express as impacting their plans and thoughts. What changes for you if CGL retains the license?

Not a whole hell of a lot. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I won't write SR professionally under Jason, Loren, or Randall again, and frankly after my salt-the-earth-behind-me approach, I doubt they'd want to work with me either. Such is the way of things.

You are basically trying to have things both ways, you have been dealt out of the poker game at your own request but want to critique how the other players play their hands, who plays, and to criticize the rules the game is played by as if you hadn't given up your seat at the table.

The joys of a public forum. I can still voice my opinion, even if my opinion currently has no more weight than yours or anyone else's. I make no pretense about that.

But CGL hasn't done me wrong in that regard on the back end, in fact they've done great as far as i'm concerned.

This is the nut of the issue, I think. In a very real sense, you're write. Catalyst doesn't owe its fans anything. They have no obligation to cater to the fanbase, either products or information. They have certain business obligations, but that's it. Plenty of players feel entitled to answers and whatnot from Catalyst or those that work for it, but nobody has a requirement to tell the public jack squat. Nobody's entitled.

[Cain]

As I mentioned, checks were written yesterday. Had Catalyst folded earlier, those checks would not have been written. So it's a small improvement, and my goal is to get product out so that more improvements will follow.

Jason H.

But according to what's been posted, these checks are for only a select group of freelancers. Obstensibly, payments are made in order of the importance of their projects; the cynical part of me says they're going out to those who are toeing the party line.

More seriously, here's my problem. Your own accountant, someone with a more complete financial picture than you, says the situation is dire. You're not able to pay off all your freelancers, for reasons you either don't know, don't understand, or cannot reveal. And even then, only a "special" group of them are getting paid: the one who quit due to ethics, for example, isn't getting paid; while Patrick Goodman, who has staunchly defended CGL, is. So the question is: who's deciding which freelancers get paid? Is it you? If not, then who, and why are they going over your head on this one?

I'm beginning to get the picture that you may just be the Line Developer on paper; the actual decisions are made by others. (Namely, Mr. Bills and Mr. Coleman.)

Jennifer: I applaud your integrity. We know there's a lot of freelancers out there who are suffering right now, but you were the one with the courage to speak up. That's why we want to help you. Let's see what Dumpshock can come up with for you. If there's only a token amount, you can keep it or return it; if there's a lot, you can share it with the other freelancers who did not get paid. We know you're capable of honest accounting (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) so you're the best person for the Freelancer Relief Fund.

[Sengir]

That said, not buying products, means not getting money into CGL. Not getting money into CGL also means less of a chance for those writers, still waiting on their paychecks to ever be paid.

That's the problem. If CGL goes belly up and has to be liquidated, everything that is left of the company funds and acquired during the sell-out is distributed among the debtors as a percentage of their demands. A low, one-digit percentage usually.

The fact that many freelancers chose a course of action which could lead to precisely that situation, instead of waiting for CGL to fulfill their contract obligations, probably says a lot about their confidence in the company.

[Demonseed Elite]

So the question is: who's deciding which freelancers get paid? Is it you? If not, then who, and why are they going over your head on this one?

I'm beginning to get the picture that you may just be the Line Developer on paper; the actual decisions are made by others. (Namely, Mr. Bills and Mr. Coleman.)

In my experience, Shadowrun Line Developers have never really had control over who got paid when. I know Rob Boyle and Peter Taylor struggled with that also, because they would contact FanPro or Catalyst management on my behalf and would often get the same lack of reply that I got.

[MindandPen]

If the next days confirm our fears and bad opinions concerning CGL, then it'll always be time to make such statements.

It will all come down to the license renewal.

[D2F]

In my experience, Shadowrun Line Developers have never really had control over who got paid when. I know Rob Boyle and Peter Taylor struggled with that also, because they would contact FanPro or Catalyst management on my behalf and would often get the same lack of reply that I got.

To my knowledge, a Line Developer merely sets the course for new products of a particular line and insures they are in conform with existing products(canon). If I am wrong about that, by all means, someone please correct me.