WotC Class History Article: Blackmoor References

[Vile]

I'm basing my theory on these two sentences:

Rogues have one of the more interesting histories among the D&D classes. Gygax liked the concept, creating his own thief for Great Plains Game Players Newsletter #9 (June 1974).

There's clearly something missing - Gygax liked what concept, exactly? Looks very consistent with later editing of the text. So I'm not so sure Applecline is to blame, necessarily. Imagine the mess that could result (for WotC) if they credited Switzer and crew with the thief, no matter how obliquely? It's not a matter of whether Switzer would sue, which I doubt, but the modern corporate world is highly risk-averse when it comes to this sort of thing.

I just want to point out that I'm only speculating, by the way!