With all this discussion of "publishers", doesn't it seem like a definition of what is and isn't a "publisher" would be worthwhile? (or at least, on-topic.) Feel free to jump in with thoughts and comments--and the sort of wild conspiracy theories that somehow never get pinned on me... ;)
If I were called to define "publisher" right now, as it relates to "who should be able to get on the d20-modern list if they want to", I think I'd say the following: Publisher: A legal business (either a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation) with the ability to enter into contracts in the state of Washington, that has sold at least one copywritten work to the general public with sales to date of at least 100 copies of the same work. Of course, thinking about that also leaves me wondering about everyone else--people like Brad Thompson or Korath who make works, but who can't exactly pass themselves off as publishers, or the FanNCC, which certainly makes works but doesn't sell them. So, two more (closely related) definitions: Self-Publisher: A single person that has created at least one copywritten work that has been distributed to at least 100 seperate people without the aid of a Publisher. Community Organization: A group of persons that has created at least two copywritten works that have been distributed to at least 100 seperate people between them without the aid of a Publisher. So, if we all had agreed on easy definitions similar to the above, a company (like SSS or WotC) that wanted to open a pre-release item up to all the other guys in the industry, but filter out the 10,000 fans who just want the rules, could say something like: "All publishers may join this list, and Self-publishers or Community Organizations may be accepted on a case-by-case basis." Comments? Suggestions? Conspiracy Theories? DM _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
