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Message: <blockquote data-quote="NemesisPress" data-source="post: 279219" data-attributes="member: 4532">Actually, I thought I had started a very tiny thread on an innocuous question!That is a nice, polite statement of the position (one that I wish we had had in the other thread). But there are several problems, even if you don't use the word "permission." One is that the WoTC OGL does not provide any way of tracking specific OGC through multiple generations of reuse - so there would be extreme difficuly in actually doing this.The second, more important one, is that even informal permission has the potential to open a number of ethical and (a lawyer would probably be able to answer it better than I) potential legal problems - ones that the OGL was specifically designed to avoid in the first place. What happens if permission is given but with certain conditions and then there is a disagreement over whether they are adhered to? What happens if permission is given, but then rescinded or modified? What happens if a publisher is willing to give permission, but only if he/she receives payment or some other consideration or concession?Even without the potential legal ramifications inherent in this process, larger and/or more influential publishers - if they did not receive their way in these "negotiations" - could retaliate in a number of ways using their influence in the industry.Finally, just what is the chance of negotiations like this working out? It seems that it is difficult enough to even have polite discussion on these kinds of topics.These are exactly the reasons the OGL was created. The OGL clearly puts the responsibility on the publisher of the OGC to use it responsibly and with forethought. Anything else just muddies the waters. (Clarifying Product Identity issues are a separate problem and a valid reason to correspond with the originator - as is thanking them - which would be polite.)One good thing did come out of that thread: take a moment and drop by the new site for the Association of OGL Publishers - a trade organization open to anyone interested in publishing OGL games.Be sure to click on Community and take part in the message board discussions. To post you have to register with EZBoard. (And let me know you have any any screen refresh problems after posting.) We need interested parties to volunteer for temporary officer positions until elections can be held.<a href="http://www.oglpublishers.org" target="_blank">www.oglpublishers.org</a></blockquote>

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