YourGamesNow.com April Book Giveaway

[FickleGM]

I have a few thoughts to add here.

About a year ago, a publisher on RPGNow (Emerald Press to be precise) ran a customer appreciation program called "The 1 in 20 Reward". Basically it worked like this: One out of every 20 purchasers of Emerald Press material would win a free electronic copy of another Emerald Press book. Sadly, EP has since shut down, but at the time no one made even one comment on it or even paid any attention to it at all. How was that program any different than the one YGN is running?

What if the company running the program was based in say Uzbekistan? This is the internet we are dealing with, right? Anyone with a connection can enter the contest, including people where the contest would be illegal. What if the company is based in the US and the winner lives in some country where any form of gambling is illegal and punishable by death; would the company be considered liable for providing an outlet for the winner's habit?

Where exactly is the line drawn in the land of the World Wide Web?

I understand what you are saying, but I would still be wary. The line should be drawn at the point where a company (this would vary from company to company) deems the risk acceptable. If that means skirting the law and hoping not to get caught, fine. If that means dotting every i and crossing every t, fine.

What YGN does is their prerogative, but I don't think that advising them of the risks is that out of line. I say this because I really like Joe and Suzi and would hate for anything bad to happen to them.

 

[jgbrowning]

What YGN does is their prerogative, but I don't think that advising them of the risks is that out of line. I say this because I really like Joe and Suzi and would hate for anything bad to happen to them.

We appreciate the concern and don't believe that anything bad will happen by giving away free physical products to a few lucky customers. All that will happen will be that Your Games Now will have 30 very happy customers. End of story.


Joseph Browning
Your Games Now, LLC.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Sometimes the law is both retarded and subject to interpretation. I feel that is the case here.

 

[Bardsandsages]

Sometimes the law is both retarded and subject to interpretation. I feel that is the case here.

Actually, many of the laws regarding this go back to the old Publishers' Clearinghouse days. Not to get into a big legal dissertation, but PCH was found guilty of fraud because of the way it promoted it's contests. The laws were put on the books in many states for consumer protection. Obviously, I don't believe for one second YGN plans on committing any fraud, and that was never my implication. But there are times when you pick and chose your battles, and something like this can be easily tweeked in order to insure legality, which is always better than deciding you don't like a law and therefore don't have to follow it. I don't disagree that there are some pretty stupid laws on the books (Anyone familiar with Sarbanes-Oxley? I am. It is the bane of my life!). But as stupid as SarBox is, we still follow it because if we get hit with a spot audit and get caught NOT following it, the U.S. government isn't going to accept "well, we thought it was a stupid law" as a defense.

 

[Pielorinho]

Moderator's Notes

Okay, folks, I think everyone is now aware of the potential legal issues. If you would like to discuss these issues further, you could do so by contacting Joe or Suzi or your local attorney general; I don't think it's appropriate to turn their announcement of a contest into a debate on the legality of this type of contest. No harm, no foul so far. But from here on, please discontinue discussion of that matter.

Thanks!
Daniel

 

[Umbran]

Congrats ...

Just_Hal, I'm going to suggest you go read The Rules for posting around here. We ask you to keep things civil. Name calling and such insults are not welcome or appropriate to these boards. Please do not post in this thread again.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact one of the moderators by e-mail. Our addresses are available in a post stickied to the top of the Meta Forum.

 

[xrpsuzi]

The first three winners have been selected and notified via e-mail! The first three prizes (in alphabetical order) are:

Beast Builder (Expeditious Retreat Press)
Slavelords of Cydonia (Bad Axe Games)
Unusual Feats (Ronin Arts)

There are more great titles in store for future winners of the YourGamesNow April Giveaway.

Thanks for supporting the publisher co-op and hope the first round of winners enjoy their prizes!

-Suzi

 

[xrpsuzi]

We've notified the next batch of winners via e-mail with more exciting prizes, including (in alphabetical order)

Golemcraft 101 from Dog Soul
Nebuleon from Hinterwelt Enterprises
Odyssey Prime from Misfit Studios

We have more prizes in store, making April a great month for shopping at www.YourGamesNow.com!

-Suzi

 

[xrpsuzi]

Next batch of Prizes

Shopping for electronic products is looking better and better. Here's the next batch of prizes in the YourGamesNow April Book Giveaway!

Against the Darkness from Tabletop Adventures
Heroes of High Favor: Halflings from Bad Axe Games
Silk Road from Expeditious Retreat Press
Zodiac Ring from Lame Mage Productions

-Suzi

 

[jgbrowning]

More Prizes!

We've got more winners that have been notified via e-mail and more prizes!

Baba Yaga (Dog Soul)
Myriad (Sane Studios)
Questers of the Middle Realms (Silver Branch Games)
Treasure Trove #1: SpirosBlaak Arsenal (Misfit Studios)

We are only halfway through the month with more prizes from great publishers.

joe b.