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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steve Conan Trustrum" data-source="post: 3147197" data-attributes="member: 1620">Check the 1999 case against Microsoft. Yes, there were actual competitors, but Microsoft's influence was such that it was ruled to be a monopoly.I imagine Microsoft's lawyers thought the same.Let's be clear here about something: I'm not saying that James and Steve are up to anything underhanded. Both have been great for the PDF market and have done more to grow it than any other two people I can think of. I've more experience dealing with James, and he's been fantastic in every respect, even those where I found myself wholly and loudly opposed to his position. The guy is a true gent in my books. However, that doesn't change the fact that the merger creates a focus of market share that creates a monopoly. This is not subjective but an objective result of the merger. Do I think James and STeve will purposely use this fact to underhanded purposes? No. Do I, as someoen operating a business in this industry realize that something can still happen as a result? Is there the very real possibility that OBS could affect pricing and market dynamics in the RPG industry were it to attempt doing so? Absolutely.I thought my great uncle was a fantastic guy, and so did my grandfather. Indeed, my grandfather trusted him so much that he gave great uncle John, his accountant, signing rights for many of his businesses. Great uncle John remained beloved by most of the family right up until he stole a few million from my grandfather. The moral? Just because someone hasn't done something to earn one's distrust doesn't mean that a businessman is doing something wrong by admitting that there is more to just trust in protecting one's own business when a vulnerability or concern is exposed. The possibility for influence via an effective monopoly remains true and must be considered in business models even if it never bears fruit. That's not a reflection on James or Steve, or what they've built and are now building--it's a matter of publishers showing concern for what they have themselves built.</blockquote>

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