How about a deadline to WotC?

[thecasualoblivion]

was that OGL or STL?



what the hell is that?

You asked what WotC has to lose. Without some sort of conditions and limitations on the use of their IP, there is nothing stopping you from producing Book of Erotic Fantasy for 4E, or RaHoWa, which stands for Racial Holy War, the RPG.

 

[joethelawyer]

Because it could generate more sales of their core products?

I offer free advertising of their products via mine.

What would WotC have to lose?

Only their chance to make the exact same product.

the thing you aren't getting, is what if your product totally and completely sucks?

someone new to the hobby sees it on a shelf, buys it, and it sucks. and they use that as a representative product for dungeons and dragons. and they then assume that all dungeons and dragons products suck as bad as yours does.

that's trademark dilution of the worst kind.

that's why they don't want anything out there with the name dungeons and dragons on it not published by them.

i know the ogl allows free use of certain game elements by the public. this allowed the public to do things like put up their characters and adventures and personal gaming material all over the internet. that's what we fought so hard for in 1994 on usenet.

my concern is that things not covered by the ogl that are in 4e like powers and eladrin, etc., give a right to wotc to prevent you from publishing your own stuff on the web for 4e

i have not read the gsl in any detail, so i don't know what it says in relation to publishing for free your own gaming material. after i post this, i wil read it and see what it says. but still, without a final version, unchangeable as to certain key aspects, i wouldn't trust it.

since i am not going 4e, as opposed to 1994, this time around i dont really give a crap though.

 

[joethelawyer]

Freedom of Speech - you Americans should really understand your own rights; the right is to not have your goverment make laws that restrict your freedom of speech.

i couldn't agree more.

 

[joethelawyer]

The important thing, in the context of this conversation, is that the GSL terms are legal (even if some people think they shouldn't be).

What you need to distinguish betwen is a voluntary agreement (a contract) and a crime (an illegal act), and not get the terms confused. A contract is not "illegal" unless it incoudes a criminal act. Now it may prove to be unenforceable, but that's just a practical issue.

Bingo!

 

[Shroomy]

You asked what WotC has to lose. Without some sort of conditions and limitations on the use of their IP, there is nothing stopping you from producing Book of Erotic Fantasy for 4E, or RaHoWa, which stands for Racial Holy War, the RPG.

Learning that there was a Racial Holy War RPG is the second most disturbing thing I read about today (the first would be the guy getting crushed at the Wal-Mart this morning). Yeah, WoTC needs to protect themselves from something like that.

 

[El Mahdi]

Do you mean, protect themselves from WalMart?

 

[joethelawyer]

Do you mean, protect themselves from WalMart?

getting 2 feet of shelf space in walmart would be about the best thing that could happen to the hobby long-term. gives it massive exposure, gets new gamers, and attains the implied walmart seal of approval of the product.

 

[WhatGravitas]

So could you legally make a contract with somebody physically abusing him?

If you mean by abuse "hurting a person", well sort of - it just wouldn't be abuse any longer (as there's consent). Furthermore, yes it does work - otherwise doctors would be in serious trouble - after all, they do cut you up (that's why it's so important to have the consent of relatives if the patient is in a coma and so on).

That's of course a bit simplified... but the core idea is the same.

Cheers, LT.

 

[xechnao]

If you mean by abuse "hurting a person", well sort of - it just wouldn't be abuse any longer (as there's consent). Furthermore, yes it does work - otherwise doctors would be in serious trouble - after all, they do cut you up (that's why it's so important to have the consent of relatives if the patient is in a coma and so on).

That's of course a bit simplified... but the core idea is the same.

Cheers, LT.

Doctors try to fix you, not abuse you. For example could you sign a contract with a doctor that he experiments on you something unconventional with unknown aftereffects in exchange of say money?

 

[Shroomy]

Doctors try to fix you, not abuse you. For example could you sign a contract with a doctor that he experiments on you something unconventional with unknown aftereffects in exchange of say money?

Yes, though if they're following the law, the process can get pretty involved before it gets to human testing. Where I live, a drug testing company is constantly advertising, looking for human test subjects for new experimental treatments.