DriveThruRPG Exclusivity

[Psion]

I have purchased several eBooks--and it was *horrible*. Copying files from PC to another (specificially home and work) was a pain in the *bleep*. And requiring a MS Passport? Has any even bothered to read what restrictions having a MSPassport means?

It's not necessary. You can get by with having an Adobe account. Though they don't make that exceedingly clear.

 

[johnsemlak]

Here is an article on Digital Rights Management.

This link isn't working for me.

One thing, I certainly want to be very clear on what exactly are the differences between a DRM file and a regular PDF before I buy one.

 

[2WS-Steve]

There's a free download of the Exalted rulebook through DTRPG--so you could probably test out what you can do with a DRM PDF by playing with the file.

 

[V_Shane]

Apparently as funny as it is that Corperations are made up of individuals, they blatently ignore the common sense marketing of the freedom of the consumer, to restrict any further (as DriveThru) is to commit certain Commercial death. I despise signing in everywhere I go on the net. There are products so rediculous with thier security that they are nightmares to install. I will certainly stick with RPGnow in both a client and consumer. If I buy a book and I need references, I feel I have the right for my own uses.

Its paranoia, to restrict is to create tension with your customers and they will stop buying. It doesn't take a marketing team to figure that out, its jsut a matter of common freedoms people like to enjoy.

 

[kingpaul]

It's not necessary. You can get by with having an Adobe account. Though they don't make that exceedingly clear.

Do you know if Adobe Acrobat 5.0 will work? I have the full blown 5.0, and don't really feel like shelling out the upgrade cost for 6.0 just to use the product.

 

[Grazzt]

Do you know if Adobe Acrobat 5.0 will work? I have the full blown 5.0, and don't really feel like shelling out the upgrade cost for 6.0 just to use the product.

You dont have to upgrade to Acrobat 6. You can use Acrobat Reader 6 which is free. (And yes, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader will run on the same PC....I've done it many times.)

 

[DClingman]

I certainly don't think those high price points will help anything, but I definitely understand the piracy issue. Sure DRM can be broken, but the typical guy who isn't computer savvy (i.e. possibly the 80% of the world that isn't on EnWorld and doesn't know computers too awful well) will just deal with it.

Personally, I sit on the fence with this one. I don't want to limit the rights of my customers, but at the same time, there are some customers who really don't respect my effort no matter what they paid/didn't pay. I think I have a workaround for this, but its still in beta and needs work.

Dustin

 

[francisca]

It's not necessary. You can get by with having an Adobe account. Though they don't make that exceedingly clear.

That's no comfort to me. I don't feel that I should have to cough up private information and access to my computer to a company just to get an RPG title in pdf format. When I buy something, I understand I need to give personal info to the retailer or producer, I get that.

However, in the case of MS-Passport and DRM, you have to grant access to your machine to an outside party, not the retailer or producer, and despite assurances, I do not trust them to treat the data in a manner that respects my privacy.

 

[Psion]

However, in the case of MS-Passport and DRM, you have to grant access to your machine to an outside party, not the retailer or producer, and despite assurances, I do not trust them to treat the data in a manner that respects my privacy.

After the Amazon incident, and after another company (I forget which) that promised privacy was purchased by a company that proceeded to flout the policy the personal info was acquired under, I don't either.

 

[msd]

Perhaps a slightly different angle on this...

It would be (from an academic perspective) really interesting to me to:

• See an example contract between a publisher and drivethrurpg.com in order to specifically examine the terms governing the "exclusive" nature of the relationship
• Hear from some of the publishers why they consented to the "exclusive" nature of the business relationship

Here's what I am getting at...

Ultimately, this whole dynamic boils down to an economic relationship between publisher and purchaser. Both publisher and purchaser have very clear concerns and needs which need to be met for the relationship to be successful.

The publisher needs to be able to produce material which satisfies his purchaser base and must do so in a profitable manner, eliminating or avoiding the effects of any elements which tend to reduce profitability (like piracy).

For their part, consumers simply want their demands (in terms of content, format, etc.) met and want to reinforce the notion that the publisher who ignores the demands of the marketplace does so at its own risk.

The ideal middleman therefore would seem to understand both sets of concerns and strive to meet them.

The exclusive nature of a contract (potentially...I have not seen the contract) turns this model on its head, altering the way economic actors are forced to react to free market requirements. In other words, if I am Middleman B and can do a better job than Middleman A but can't lure Publisher A because of the exclusive nature of the contract between Publisher A and Middleman A, my incentive to develop and invest in technology that caters to the concerns of all actors involved has been (it would appear) dealt a fairly serious blow. In the end, by stalling or at least slowing development of a better delivery mechanism, it seems that the exclusive nature of the contract has the potential to serve neither the long term needs of either the publisher or the purchaser.

Again, for the record, I have not seen a contract and have not made up my mind about drivethrurpg.com and will give them and their technology the benefit of the doubt until personal experience proves otherwise. I am just throwing a "hmmm...that's interesting...I wonder why" type of question into the air.

Hope this added to the discussion