But you did create the context of the spell- which religion it came from, what
nation it has cultural significance for.  The mechanics may be open, but the
ethos, cultural resonance, and historical significance are acts of
Imagination...

(Query: what is the cultural significance of Tensor's Floating Disk, Leomund's
Little Hut, and Rary's Mnemonic Enhancer?)

The cultural interactions of a given game world for the tapestry against which
campaigns take place.  The act of creating such a tapestry requires not only
knowledge, but talent and effort....which is rewarded buy the customer's
purchase of their works...and protected by being PI.

"Open the whole spell" means: give away your larger (and harder) efforts for
nothing.

Which is why no one but WOTC can make Forgotten Realms modules. 

--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 11/28/01 5:20:44 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> 
> >So to say "open the whole spell" is to say "give up
> >ownership of the thing you have created."
> 
> Except you didn't create it alone. Your spell, in this context, is derivative
> 
> of someone else's work (or at least that's the assumption behind the OGL).  
> In this case, that work is the d20 SRD. Why should you expect to be given 
> free use of someone else's hard work made through blood, sweat and tears if 
> you aren't willing to make the same offer?
> 
> That seems to be the perspective that some people are arguing from when they 
> say "open the whole spell". And, legally speaking, they have a good point.
> 
> WotC hasn't lost D&D by opening up the core mechanics behind it (to use your 
> words: they haven't "given up ownership of the thing they have created". 
> Rather, they have given up an aspect of what we consider "ownership". 
> Specifically, the right to copy and modify that work. I think that's really 
> what some folks want from those who are essentially riding on WotCs 
> coat-tails. Give us the same rights that WotC (or any other OGC contributor) 
> gave you.
> 
> -Andrew
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> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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=====
Jasyn Jones
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Ulysses, Alfred Lord Tennyson

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