PDF "Friendliness"

[Cecil]

I've read through many of these sorts of posts recently and wanted to raise a different issue--I think overall customer service and support is also a consideration here.

I am a fairly healthy supporter of PDFs. They allow me to feed my RPG addiction without cluttering up my home--this is particularly critical since gaming material could easily take over my basement as it is. I am one of the minority who would rather purchase a PDF than a print product.

I have moved around quite frequently, and may be on the road using numerous different computers. But, OK, I could find a way around the DRM restrictions. I currently save most of my PDFs onto an external hard drive and carry them with me. I don't think it would be that hard to put the DRM accredidation on the same external drive (I may be wrong, tho--but I probably won't try to find out).

One of the considerations that turned me off of drive-thru is that DRM looks like it prevents Drive Thru from providing one particularly valuable piece of customer service. If I ever lose my files (if my PC shorts out and crashes at the same time my external drive is run over by a 18-wheeler) RPGnow has indicated that they will replace anything I have purchased from them. It looks like DRM prevents Drive-Thru of being able to do the same thing.

I've used this service twice from RPGnow. I've gone back and re-downloaded a product which I had earlier purchased and lost through my own fault. It is convenient, and an unprecedented bit of customer service.

Am I correct in understanding the DRM prevents this sort of support?

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

I've read through many of these sorts of posts recently and wanted to raise a different issue--I think overall customer service and support is also a consideration here.

I am a fairly healthy supporter of PDFs. They allow me to feed my RPG addiction without cluttering up my home--this is particularly critical since gaming material could easily take over my basement as it is. I am one of the minority who would rather purchase a PDF than a print product.

I have moved around quite frequently, and may be on the road using numerous different computers. But, OK, I could find a way around the DRM restrictions. I currently save most of my PDFs onto an external hard drive and carry them with me. I don't think it would be that hard to put the DRM accredidation on the same external drive (I may be wrong, tho--but I probably won't try to find out).

One of the considerations that turned me off of drive-thru is that DRM looks like it prevents Drive Thru from providing one particularly valuable piece of customer service. If I ever lose my files (if my PC shorts out and crashes at the same time my external drive is run over by a 18-wheeler) RPGnow has indicated that they will replace anything I have purchased from them. It looks like DRM prevents Drive-Thru of being able to do the same thing.

I've used this service twice from RPGnow. I've gone back and re-downloaded a product which I had earlier purchased and lost through my own fault. It is convenient, and an unprecedented bit of customer service.

Am I correct in understanding the DRM prevents this sort of support?

By all accounts, there's no real reason for DRM to prevent this. However, the process of restoration is such a time-consuming hassle that most retail outlets using Adobe's DRM deny their customers the ability to replace lost files. Personally, I think it was foolish of Adobe to make the process so complicated, and even more foolish for retailers to refuse it. They like to claim "if you had a fire, a bookstore isn't going to replace the books that burned", to which I counter, "no, my insurance policy covers the cost of replacing those books, however, it does not cover the cost of products I never received a physical copy of". In other words, they'll replace the computer, but they won't replace he OS unless I had an installation CD...