Given the response that I have received to my e-mail, I've decided that the
goals and aims of the OGF and the OGL are contrary to my goals and aims as
an RPG publisher, no matter how small or obscure. While I appreciate all of
the time folks here have taken to respond, I've decided that this particular
movement in the industry is not for me.
Mr. Shoemaker likened the OGL and legalese to:
1. "...musical notation..."
I can hum a tune to someone or play a recording, and that person can learn
the song without resorting to clef signs. Music is an intuitive human
(animal?) activity, and cannot be compared to the english language. After
all, Native Americans have passed on the Ghost Dance for millenia without a
single bar being scored.
2. "...mathematics..." Can't be done. Plain English cannot express certain
mathematical concepts.
Really? It's a marvel that mathematics textbooks get written at all. Any
concept can be put into words - it may take twenty pages of words, but it
can be done. I'm not saying that the "People's OGL" will be as concise as
the OGL, but it can be done. I also was not advocating the REPLACEMENT of
the OGL with plain english. How about a "dummy" OGL that isn't official but
is in plain english?
3. "...programming languages..."
I don't know about you, but comparing the english language, even technical
jargon, to a programming language is pointless. If I put a semicolon in the
middle of a wo;rd, the english language is not going to crash. HeLL, I can
doo anything I want, And the WORDS are *still* clear. No need to reboot -
no General Protection Faults.
Quite frankly, if the OGL is the future of gaming, then thank you very much,
I'll just plod along without it. I apologize for wasting everyone's time
thinking that the gaming community, and RPG producers, were a different
class of individual who might not try to litigate at the drop of a hat.
Anyone requesting the joy of telling me to screw off has my e-mail address.
Good luck and best wishes with your future endeavours and the Open Gaming
License.
[Plonk]
Kuma
El Presidente for Life,
Kuma Pageworks
-------------
For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
