“Those employees of TSR who are doing creative work are doing so strictly for the benefit of TSR with regards to their designs,” Gygax explained.
”As you [Arneson] do not wish to sign the statement, we cannot have you continue as research director. Hence forward, you are transferred to shipping. Your hourly rate will be $2.30 per hour, with a basic forty hour week." Cruelly, Gygax construed this demotion as an act of mercy. “Please note that we are transferring you despite the fact that you committed an intolerable offense by leaving the premises today Without the courtesy to notify anyone."
Up until this point, I thought, well, both of them are bad workplace partners, so it’s hard to say who’s clearly at the most fault. Here, though, Gygax tried to force Arneson to sign a bad contract that benefits Gygax. (Gygax had far more shares in TSR than Arneson, who had a token amount, so making employees sign rights to TSR is more or less asking them to sign them to him.) He’s clearly power tripping at this point.