...ORC is not about creating a dominant product or a "new D&D".
Don't you think that will be the end result? Otherwise, what is the point of it?
Plenty of other games have come out with some form of creative commons agreement. Why were all those games able to be released that way without the ORC existing?
The ORC seems to be about maintaining compatibility with material released under the old OGL, no? This is why it's being spearheaded by those whose output relies most upon access to that license.... Paizo, Kobold, Goodman, and the like. Yes, others have signed on, and that solidarity is a good thing, sure... I'm all for smaller companies taking on the big one.
As I said, I've been watching from afar, so I certainly could be wrong. I mean, I get that they're going to try and include multiple systems that already exist as like a community or industry standard, and sure, that's cool. But I don't see how it's not also, and probably primarily, about maintaining access to the OGL material that many products rely upon to exist and function. Which keeps things largely D&D adjacent.
And honestly, that's fine... I'm not against that or anything. But I read Mercer and Ray's comments here and, as limited as they are, I can't help but interpret it as a call to actual diversity and creativity... in making new things instead of perpetually relying on the old ones. And I think that idea appeals more to me than just watching people continue to make stuff that's D&D in all but name.