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<blockquote data-quote="PatrickLawinger" data-source="post: 674038" data-attributes="member: 2735">&lt;I clipped the quote a bit&gt;First, congrats on the new baby. My third child is almost 6 months old and is in my lap at the moment.Second, the OGL does not mean that a large company should take huge risks to give material away before they have a chance to publish it. The truth is, DnD is not OGC. The d20 STL allows us to use material from the system, and allows us to clearly state we are compatible with it. It is not a promise or guarantee of free material.Now, sure, they could just give it away. Then three months from now while they closed their doors and laid off everyone involved with DnD we would sit here and complain about their terrible business decisions.The DnD material is protected by specific trademarks, copyrights, etc. No company in the world is going to simply give away the Intellectual Property that they need to remain in business. WotC took huge risks, the d20 SRD is written a specific way for a reason. They are giving us the right to use their material in such a way that they don't lose it.Finally, distribution, storage, etc. is a mess. It was referred to above. It increases time ($ by your estimation) that print publishers put into a project as well. Personally, if I was making the decision (for WotC) it would be based on products put out, reputation of the individual, etc. I have to admit they chose a less time intensive (for them) decision making process. In any case, I respect what they are doing.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="PatrickLawinger, post: 674038, member: 2735"] First, congrats on the new baby. My third child is almost 6 months old and is in my lap at the moment. Second, the OGL does not mean that a large company should take huge risks to give material away before they have a chance to publish it. The truth is, DnD is not OGC. The d20 STL allows us to use material from the system, and allows us to clearly state we are compatible with it. It is not a promise or guarantee of free material. Now, sure, they could just give it away. Then three months from now while they closed their doors and laid off everyone involved with DnD we would sit here and complain about their terrible business decisions. The DnD material is protected by specific trademarks, copyrights, etc. No company in the world is going to simply give away the Intellectual Property that they need to remain in business. WotC took huge risks, the d20 SRD is written a specific way for a reason. They are giving us the right to use their material in such a way that they don't lose it. Finally, distribution, storage, etc. is a mess. It was referred to above. It increases time ($ by your estimation) that print publishers put into a project as well. Personally, if I was making the decision (for WotC) it would be based on products put out, reputation of the individual, etc. I have to admit they chose a less time intensive (for them) decision making process. In any case, I respect what they are doing. [/QUOTE]

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