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Reinventing the Wheel
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<blockquote data-quote="Epic Meepo" data-source="post: 9416755" data-attributes="member: 57073"><p>I remember reading a comment from someone who was working at WotC when they first released the OGL. To paraphrase, they thought the OGL would create an environment where thousands of developers built upon each on others' contributions. Instead, the OGL created an environment where developers in silos built upon material found in primary sources and ignored other developers' innovations. The WotC staffer was surprised by this development.</p><p></p><p>I was not surprised at all. If I want to contribute to an open software project, I can view the end result of all the work other developers have contributed to that open software for free. If I want to design OGL content, I have no idea what exists, because there's no free, central repository of all OGL content. Sure, the OGL allows people to use open content, but nothing in the license encourages anyone to create a central library of open content.</p><p></p><p>So one reason for reinventing the wheel is purely economic. Why pay for someone else's preexisting wheel, which may of may not fit your vehicle, when you can just invent your own wheel for free? Obviously, this isn't as big a concern to people who can afford to stock a personal library with dozens or hundreds of games, but it's certainly a limiting factor for folks on tight budgets.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Epic Meepo, post: 9416755, member: 57073"] I remember reading a comment from someone who was working at WotC when they first released the OGL. To paraphrase, they thought the OGL would create an environment where thousands of developers built upon each on others' contributions. Instead, the OGL created an environment where developers in silos built upon material found in primary sources and ignored other developers' innovations. The WotC staffer was surprised by this development. I was not surprised at all. If I want to contribute to an open software project, I can view the end result of all the work other developers have contributed to that open software for free. If I want to design OGL content, I have no idea what exists, because there's no free, central repository of all OGL content. Sure, the OGL allows people to use open content, but nothing in the license encourages anyone to create a central library of open content. So one reason for reinventing the wheel is purely economic. Why pay for someone else's preexisting wheel, which may of may not fit your vehicle, when you can just invent your own wheel for free? Obviously, this isn't as big a concern to people who can afford to stock a personal library with dozens or hundreds of games, but it's certainly a limiting factor for folks on tight budgets. [/QUOTE]
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