Not trying to start a thread war, but wanted to address a few statements.
Yes and that doesn’t in fact relate to my statement that I find it unlikely that Foundry would turn off access to content you paid for quite that easily. It’s not a subscription, you don’t repurchase the content each month. Stop conflating subscriptions and digital purchases
Foundry could (and have) delete modules based around content they don't have a license to provide. GW could pull the modules for WFRP and forbid its sale, updating, etc on the site. The very next time there's a Foundry update, your existing modules you've downloaded could be incompatible. You could no longer play that game or use the purchased content on that service. This has happened with Foundry, Roll20, and Fantasy Grounds already.
Sure it’s a possibility, I’ll stipulate. Will you acknowledge it is not the ONLY possibility
It's not the only possiblity, and it's not necessarily going to happen tomorrow, but it WILL happen. Companies will move on from their present editions. Certain VTTs will fold (see Astral). When you purchase rights to use something online, you're not getting an evergreen product. You're getting a license to use it temporarily on the terms of the platform.
Unprecedented growth =/= dissolution of print media content. You’re skipping form A straight to
It's not dissolved, but it is growing less practical to play in person. If I'm the only person to think this way, please let me know.
Again, growth in online play is not a decrease in physical media objects. I have no clue why that concept is not landing with you, because I’ve said it a lot
Is every person purchasing online AND print? If not, then online must be effecting print to some extent.
I can guarantee there are people who purchase some stuff only on D&D Beyond who (if not given the choice) would've purchased a print copy.
Don’t speak to the outcome of contracts you’ve not read, that’s entirely speculative
The specific instance I cited with the D&D Beyond Importer on Foundry as a Patreon service was a fact, documented with a C&D.
Yes you can also use Roll20 without purchasing their digital files and relying on physical books. Stop presenting these things as only working the way that supports your argument when it in fact works multiple ways
Yes, but if you want to use your purchased content, you have to subscribe, putting a second paywall between you and your content.
Yeah, but that was your choice to platform shift. How hard it is to understand the you are at fault for that problem and not the games publisher.
That's true. So you do admit that you don't own your purchases, that they can be pulled from you even through no fault of your own? (Like if Fantasy Grounds changes to a new operating system, forces you to pay a new fee if you want to continue to use your content? Roll20 increases its fees for you to access previously purchased content? A game company decides to switch platforms to go from VTT A to VTT B?)
But you said 10 years before, funny how the duration got significantly longer.
Wait? I said what? Nope, I've always been a librarian since 9/96. I don't know if you're misreading something or confusing me with someone else, but trust me, this close to retirement I'm not forgetting how long I've been working there.
How many TTRPG publishers provide the former and how many the latter? The answer is almost all the latter and very few the former.
Yes. Most publishers use PDFs - except, you know, WotC, which is kind of a big deal.
The main point is subscription to online tools, databases, articles, VTT content. That's stuff that can be yanked away at a moment's notice. And I can say that since I've purchased some stuff on Roll20, that's material that's as good as gone as soon as 1) I stop subscribing; or 2) WotC pulls their products [possibly to support their upcoming proprietary VTT]; or 3) Roll20 closes shop; or 4) Roll20 changes their programming to not run on my computer; or 5) their services go down because of peak traffic; or 6) I have a random Internet outage.