In a message dated 01/22/2002 12:33:06 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
> I have reviewed the OGL and I have had an attorney review the OGL. On the
> surface it is pretty straight forward, but it creates complex situations
> that
> require legal review. Unfortunately, that is something that (apparently) the
>
> vast majority of people on this list DON'T obtain. Instead, they post
> questions here hping you will answer them and they put more credence in your
>
> opinions than they do a practicing attorney's. That is dangerous, foolish,
> and very naive. I also think that to encourage such behavior is needlessly
> irresponsible.
>
I asked a lot of stupid questions here and I got a lot of dangerous answers, but
without this list I estimate that my attorney and accounting fees would have easily
been tripled. No, not because I took a stranger's advice and ran with it, but because
I got practice with asking dumb questions and discussing minor business matters in a
"safe" environment. This made my _real_ business meetings much more productive and it
got me asking the _right_ questions and more importantly from the _right_ perspective.
My point is that everyone has to start somewhere. In no way should people get all
of their advice here, but there is no reason why people should be discouraged from
asking questions on this list. Nor should list members be condemned for taking the
time to answer them, even when their answers are wrong.
If I had to bet I would say that most confusion is aimed at the legal language of
the OGL, however, what really gets people in a bind is their lack of experience which,
in turn, leads to a false perspective through which they filter all of their
information.
I suspect that no matter how you craft your Action! license you are still going
to be flooded with ignorant questions. And unless you have a list as genuinely
supportive as this one, or unless you plan on taking the time to personally hold
everyone's hand, then you will probably lose a lot of potential license users because
they will be new to the industry (or unused to using an attorney) and they will not
even begin to know what questions to ask an attorney, let alone have the foresight to
go out and hire one.
Another point I want to make is that the last Gen Con proved that even people in the
industry were not willing to get legal advice on the d20stl and OGL. That has NOTHING
to do with a fault in the language of the OGL or the d20stl. So, I sincerely hope you
don't think that Action! is going to be able to attract a more business-savy user base
than the OGL. I'm not trying to slam Action! it's just that the cautious and business
minded in the gaming industry seem to be the exception, not the rule.
Maybe the newbies were never met to make it under licenses such as the OGL, or
perhaps silence is some form of industry natural selection, but I find it odd that
you, as the leader of a separate open gaming license, would not see the importance of
a "place" where new people (ie.. new ideas) can come to _start_ to face their
ignorance.
Most posts here are written as "this is not intended to replace legal
counseling..." In addition, I think that most people are wise enough to know that
they should not depend on advice from any one single person, _including_ their
attorney. So, please do not discourage discussion of legal matters on this list. If
that is how you want to run Action, go for it, but I wanted to voice my contrary
opinion to Ryan and the rest of this list.
Informal discussion of legal matters on the OGF lists are what, IMO, makes them so
invaluable. I know for a fact that my goals never would have been achieved if it
weren't for the people here and I would hate to see others even slightly discouraged
from partaking of this incredible resource. (Besides, the experienced people probably
learn a thing or two, as well, while helping the newbies)
Maggie
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