>From: korath <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
><<
>I could be dead wrong on this, but I seriously doubt that is going to
>happen. There are literally THOUSANDS of fan sites out there that are
>packed with stuff that violate the "Proprietary Content" clause of the
>OGL and very few of these folks are going to be happy about WotC
>suddenly deciding to pull the rug out from under them.
> >>
>
>Guess what. They'll have to deal with it.
Guess what? Those are the CUSTOMERS. The FANS. The people that BUY THE
PRODUCTS. If WotC wants to go down the road that TSR did and start to
alienate those people - the most vocal of their fans (something which they
have already committed NOT to doing) then D20 will be totally irrelevant -
because it is likely that those fans will decide it is not worth it. They
will walk.
>After all, the Online policy
>is literally up to the whim of WotC. Next week they could change it to
>disallow the use of specific mentions of their trademarks, and everyone
>who relied on it would be out in the cold.
Provided they don't give a damn about their customer base.
>With the OGL, even if WotC
>were to change it, you could still use a previous version of the
>license. The online policy is generous in what it allows, and WotC
>could've put up something restrictive, but they didn't.
Actually, what they put up in the OGL is *very* restrictive compared to what
you could essentially do by completely ignoring the OGL and being mindful of
current copyright and trademark laws. Further, it is ludicrously
restrictive compared to what you could do using the "online use policy".
If you never intend to sell, then the "online use policy" is DEFINITELY the
way to go - for six different good reason, with (still) NO reason against.
><<
>Where's the benefit if you do not plan to sell? There are plenty of
>downsides to using OGL if you are developing "not-for-profit", but I
>don't see the benefits. Maybe you could fill us in on on what you see
>as the upside.
> >>
>
>There are benefits (or atleast not any bad drawbacks), you just need to
>know where to look.
You are the third poster who has referred to these benefits without
specifically listing any. I'm still waiting for an example.
><<
>1. RISK: If you use the online use policy *nobody* will mistake your
>work for open source, and you will not be at any risk of "mislabelling"
>somebody elses closed content as open. Should you choose to use the OGL
>and mistakenly "open" someone elses copyright work then you would be
>legally liable for the resulting damages - and THAT could be some
>serious cash, depending on the circumstances.
> >>
>
>The OGL is binding. The Online policy is not.
It would be very difficult, damaging, and destructive to both their public
image and their customer base for WotC to rescind the "online use policy".
Even so, you can use it now, and it is enormously more flexible and
forgiving than the OGL, PLUS you don't get exposed to any risk.
So use the online policy until (unless) WotC rescinds it, then (if you feel
you must) convert to OGL.
>WotC could change it,
>and all those many people who violate the current policy would have to
>change.
And how does that differ one iota from your suggestion - except that you are
suggesting you make the change right now?
>With the OGL, WotC could release a new version, but if no one
>likes it, they won't use it. The risk is going with the online policy
>which could be here today, gone tommorrow, and replaced by the OGL.
There is functionally no risk in that scenario, because the cost of changing
over to OGL will not measurably increase for the person who continues to
ignore the OGL and develops using the online use policy.
The cost and hassle is significant, but it will be the same either way.
><<
>2. FLEXIBILITY: Want to develop in the Forgotten realms? You *never*
>will if you use the OGL.
> >>
>
>I would never develop in the forgotten realms ;-)
>Actually, if *you* want to develop in the Forgotten realms, send a
>resume to WotC ;-)
But we are not talking about you, are we? There are PLENTY of fan sites on
the FR.
><<
>3. TRADEMARKS: If you ise OGL, you can never say "This module is for D&D
>3E", "... Forgotten Realms", "... Ravenloft", "... whatever".
>
>So where are the upsides?
Again, we are not talking about you. There are PLENTY of fan sites based in
all these places.
> >>
>
>If the online policy gets dropped, wheres the upside to being able to
>say those things.
>
>Of course, this is all assuming that the online policy will be staying
>around. Myself, I prefer a license that won't be changed unless you
>decide to use a different version of the OGL.
A preference is a preference, and doesn't necessarily have to be based on
logic. If you want to accept monetary risk, lack of flexibility, and lack
of access to the most valuable trademarks in the industry IN EXCANGE for ...
... uh ...
... not having to MAYBE accept them later.
Then who am I to stop you.
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