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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenjib" data-source="post: 144683" data-attributes="member: 530">Thanks for all of the great replies thus far.  I think it's very interesting and love to hear everyone's input on the matter.  It's a great thing for the consumer so long as it doesn't adversely impact the industry.The two quotes above are more examples of what I mean by saying that the production and distribution channels are becoming the primary revenue streams.  Combined with the Green Ronin books, each of these four channels can have the same content but distribute in different format.On a theoretical level the end user does not differentiate so much based on content here since it is all the same.  He choses his preferred method of production/distribution and buys product based on their advantages:1.  From Author/Original Publisher:  This source has the advantage of getting the content first.  To take advantage of this strong advantage they must compensate the author, thus obtaining first "dibs" to his material.2.  Information Collection and Organization:  This is the service that Green Ronin is providing.  Green Ronin gathers disparate information and collects it in a convenient, encyclopedic, format which makes it easy to reference, locate, and collect.3.  Freely Copyable Distribution:  The internet netbook phenomenon allows people to provide one of the strongest incentives in the capitalist market - it's free!  The biggest drawback is that this format has arguably the worst production value - not only is it most likely amateur, but many people strongly prefer real books.  Personally, if I want to actually read something, let alone use it for gaming, I want a print copy.  Printing it myself is potentially costly and extremely poor quality.4.  New, Limited Availability, Collectable, or Novel Format:  I don't fully understand what "Spelldecks" will entail, but it sounds like a novel format that will provide utility and a new way at looking at/using the same data.  If I understand correctly the key asset here is in presentation and production value.Now, where this breaks down is that since the OGL does not require 100% open content, additional power is given to #1 since he can withhold some of the content.  However, since the publisher usually gets all of the rights to material once again, it's not the author that has the power here, except for how he can leverage his services against the publisher.  As seems apparent from this thread, however, there seems to be a lot of room for legal wrangling over the definition of derivative material.  Now think about what would happen if the OGL did require 100% open content?I think this book is one of the first signs that the information wars have hit this segment of the market at a fundamental level and that's why I think it's fascinating.  The only other issues I can think of as significant to some degree (no value judgement implied - just significance) are the proliferation of pirated materials on peer-to-peer and the rise of PDF publication/ESD.  I think that the battle over intellectual property rights are one of the most important things going on in the industrialized world right now.  Information is power and everyone wants to own the bottleneck.  It'll shape the future for years to come.How can the industry evolve and adapt to this changing landscape?  What are some other ways that data can be tailored to the user so as to generate revenue streams?One example:  There is a huge amount of material out there and not enough time for most gamers to adequately evaluate it all.  Imagine a subscription service that can take into account a specific user's preferences, buying habits, and game style, and provide for him a compendium of all game material that will be of interest to him?  Filtered data is a very valuable asset if done well.  It's one of the reasons (and only one) that communities like this are so popular.Again, it's all in distribution and production, so where is the author's place in this?  He must find a place or the quality of data will degrade in a terrible way.  He can have the advantage of first-run access, of user feedback and communication with customers, of streaming content, of updates/errata, of data integrity verification, etc.  These are services that nobody else can provide at the same level of quality.  Think subscription - possibly advertiser subsodized.I strongly believe that the very nature of media publishing is going to look very, very, different in 10 years, and that we will hit some big growing pains soon now, but what do I know?  I'm just a peon.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Again, very interesting stuff.  It's hard for me to have a strong opinion because it's all so much in flux right now, but I love hearing what everyone else thinks.  I'm still not sure what my ideal situation is, but I do know for sure that the DMCA is not a part of it.</blockquote>

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