Malhavoc copy/paste eased

[Mystery Man]

Ghostscript for one. Also this link has other alternatives.

Works pretty well. I've used it (combined with a couple scripts and a port re-director) to give all my users basic .pdf writing capabilities. I still have licensed copies of the full Acrobat product for the content creating folks, but this is a nice alternative for those people that only need it once a month to send a document or some such.

Tanks!

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I want RPGDT to succeed. I don't think there'd even be a question of that success if the files were open and completely accessible to those who paid hardcash to get them.

If they'd get their act together I'd go there right now and buy every single Twilight:2000 book/supplement in one swoop.

 

[Buttercup]

When DRM is removed, I'll probably shell out a few hundred bucks over a month or two on that site.

Heck yeah. I generally spend about $150 each month on this hobby. I would be more than happy to buy those OOP titles that I missed.

But I will never buy a PDF that requires me to register my machine. I'm surprised the folks at WW didn't realize how offensive so many people would find this. Actually I'm more than surprised. My mind is truly boggled.

 

[BryonD]

I'm surprised the folks at WW didn't realize how offensive so many people would find this. Actually I'm more than surprised. My mind is truly boggled.

[sarcasm]Well, obviously you just don't like change and are completely incapable of seeing the big picture. The world would be a better place if it were not for simple minded people like you. [/sarcasm]

[honesty]I am just as amazed by the tunnel vision as you are. [no need to turn off the honesty....]

 

[Sir Elton]

(If you care, the answer to the above is still, "no, I still won't buy." I will not buy DRM-encumbered files, period, end of discussion, for many reasons, not the least of which is I want a guarantee of "future portability" to any number of machines I personally might use, without the bother of connecting them to the internet.)

I know the solution to the problem. The solution is not to assume your customers are pirates in the first place. I think I'll offer my stuff on the internet and ask for donations. This is the only way I can protect my Copyright and protect the Digital Rights of my customers. I can say something like "Don't you think this is a great RPG product? Donate $9.00 to me and Guardians of Order and I can produce a great looking print copy for you to buy!"

It's crazy, but I think it will work. It's better than, "Look, I'm afraid that you are going to steal my stuff away from me without paying for it. So to protect myself, I've encoded my product in DRM. That way, I am sure that I can have my property protected and that you won't steal it."

 

[Rydac]

Well I was No vote 366. I do buy pdf gaming products, and in fact have bought at least a half dozen from Malhaovc, but I will absolutely not be purchasing any product encumbered by DRM.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

One of my high school history teachers taught me one very important principle in that class: it's not as important what is true as what people beleive to be true.

Regardless of the fact that you and I beleive that the safeguards are laughable, White Wolf, Eden, Necromancer and all the other publishers who previously were to skittish to try it out before are now offering their products in electronic format. They fell for Adobe's marketing; their fans who are better off than before stand to benefit.

Oh, I agree that this is the perception; I'm just pointing out that the continued (nay, easily continued) pirating of their material will quickly put an end to this illusion. In the end, the perception will be closer to reality: Too much effort and money invested into a process that was proven to fail on the very first day of implementation.

 

[tauton_ikhnos]

...lots of good stuff...

My worst fear was that Expeditious Retreat would be part of this nonsense, and I wouldn't be able to buy your stuff anymore.

I would have cried, I think.

 

[The Sigil]

I think I have finally figured out a way to easily express to publishers and consumers alike why DRM is "distasteful" to most PDF buyers... and why it's not a good idea. This is a near crosspost of something I put on the Malhavoc boards a few minutes ago.

DRM is use protection, but it's implemented in such a way as to take away The Right of First Sale.

The Copyright Act states that the owner of a lawful copy can "sell or otherwise dispose of" the copy.

DRM prevents me from doing this. I cannot purchase a DRM-encoded PDF as a gift and give it to my friend. If I get tired of it, I cannot give it to one of my players (yes, I know the argument, "well, you might keep a copy" - but assume I am using it lawfully and I delete all copies from my computer, destroy any backup CDs, etc.).

My right to sell or otherwise dispose of my copy - granted to me under the copyright act - is taken away by DRM.

Does the "good" that it "might mitigate piracy" overshadow the bad in that one of my rights has been taken away? In my opinion, the answer is "no."

That, to me is my fundamental gripe with DRM. It takes away one of the rights granted by copyright law to the legitimate purchaser of a copy of copyrighted material. For those defending/wanting DRM, how do you propose to resolve this problem?

Specifically, to publishers who choose to sell products with DRM... "what gives you the right to take away the Right of First Sale?" It sure as heck ain't copyright law, because copyright law is what provides the Right of First Sale to begin with. Taking away my rights granted under copyright law in the name of "defending our copyrighted material' smacks of deciding to become a law unto yourselves, and I for one won't support that.

--The Sigil

 

[The Sigil]

Yeah, I'm rather pessimistic about that as well.

What I'm hoping is that if enough people show those publishers that DRM doesn't give them any guarantees that their work won't be copied and that it actually reduces sales compared what they would be without DRM, some of the publishers may become more comfortable with the uncomfortable fact that, although they own the copyright, they never own the copies.

This needs to be repeated. Although publishers own the copyright to a work (i.e,. the RIGHT to COPY it), they do NOT own the copies themselves once each copy has been paid for/gifted/otherwise legally transferred to someone else. That's the "right of first sale" alluded to in my previous post... which publishers of physical media SHOULD be familiar with.

When 300+ people say they're not going to buy your product and the average sales for the products are rarely higher than 500, you'd better be paying attention.

Given that we've already seen movement to relax copy/paste from Malhavoc, I'd say that Monte, at least, is paying close attention. Of course that's not the "eliminating DRM" step most would like to see, but he's clearly responding.

I want RPGDT to succeed. I don't think there'd even be a question of that success if the files were open and completely accessible to those who paid hardcash to get them.

joe b.

Me, too. Should DTRPG ever drop DRM entirely, I have a bunch of cash I'm going to drop there. Until they do so, however, they won't see a penny from me.

--The Sigil