> Todd Landrum
>
> DM's Familiar is reference tool and a DM assistant type tool. I've
> identified 3 areas where I feel I use Open Game Content.
The data entry form probably deserves some close scrutiny in the code to
make sure you don't do anything derivative with the data. Assuming it is
clean, it sounds reasonable, in my not-at-all authoritative opinion.
> To conform to
> the OGC, I think I have to identify where I implement the rule ("when you
> press "Attack" on the Combat Board, the following routine is run. This
> entire routine is designated as Open Gaming Content") and then I have to
> give the entire code for that routine as OGC (this is just a text file
> containing the code, it's not executable in inself but would be if you had
> VFP, my development language). There's nothing in the code itself
> that gets me in trouble with licenses other places.
Here's the rub. The OGL requires that you must clearly identify OGC
wherever it appears. Many people have taken that to mean "you must compile
a list of all the OGC and keep it with your work". Sometimes this works,
but the one way it cannot work is when you create a copy of the original OGC
and say "everything that looks like this is OGC". Since you are using
FoxPro, you have the advantage of using an interpreted language - meaning
that you distribute the source code with every delivery. I think the worst
you need to do is use comments within the code to mark the code itself as
OGC, and then describe this marking in your documentation.
For example: "All of the code between the words 'BEGIN OGC' and 'END OGC' is
Open Gaming Content. All of the remainder of the code is not open content
and is protected by applicable international copyright laws."
> So to accomplish all of that, I'll essentially have a help file that
> identifies the OGC. It's accessed from the menu of the program and is
> included with all updates. Selecting the help file will give a blurb about
> all of the following within the program is OGC and then explain for each
> item what exactly is OGC (visual layout, file structures, actual code,
> etc.).
There may be some concern about what happens when the files are separated.
Personally I think this is an unreasonable concern - what matters is whether
or not the files are distributed together, such as in a ZIP file. You are
not responsible for what an end-user does to your work which might violate
the OGL. Many install utilities allow you to place a license message and an
accept/decline button. This would be a great time to show the OGL, and make
a statement that the license is only for material that is not OGC, and to
make a statement about how to identify OGC within your project.
-Brad
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