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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Corinth" data-source="post: 1175105" data-attributes="member: 497">If a club or convention allows the use of pirated materials, then it leaves itself open for legal action should such materials be found by the authorities.  It's in the club/convention's best interests to ensure that members don't endanger it by using illegal materials.  In the main, this policy would remove the use of illegal PDFs and bootleg photocopies from spaces under club/convention control; this is an entirely reasonable expectation.  If you want a cheat sheet for rules reference, then make your own; ten minutes with a word processor and a printer (or a pencil and a pad of paper) is cheaper than two minutes at the copy machine.  Couple this with the reporting of violators to the police--piracy is a crime--and the problem will go away swiftly.This policy is to get rid of spongers, freeloaders and others leeches that can't be bothered to make the appropriate commitment to the hobby that they say that they like but--by their actions--treat with contempt.  $30-$50 for one book is not too much to ask; these same people pay that much for a videogame for their PC or console system, which they use far less for a shorter period of time.  Tabletop RPGs are not a casual hobby; they require that everyone make a commitment of time, money and energy to get much of anything out of it.  If a would-be player can't commit the money, then chances are that he's not that likely to commit the time or the energy to make his presence worthwhile.  Get rid of him; you'll be better off if you do.I'm attributing a great deal to the concept that too many players can't be bothered to spend the minimum amount necessary to get the minimum gear to play the game: a set of dice and a rulebook.  The investment of money often equals the investment of time and energy required to make participation worth the effort.Save for demostration events--where it's counter-productive--yes, you'd need to have your own rulebook.  That would demonstrate to the GM that you know enough about the game to avoid asking questions better suited for a demo; this saves time that is in short supply at conventions.  If you want to try a new game, then go to the demo; that what demostration events are for.And if you gather with your friends into an informal partnership to jointly own a library, then you are a part-owner of the library and thus own all of the contents of that library.  Go figure.Players that don't own the rulebook often don't know enough about the game to participate in a meaningful manner.  Buying their own copy is often enough to fix the problem; buying a copy of the rules usually precedes the actual learning of the rules, because spending the money creates a feeling of obligation in most players that results in them reading the rules and thus learning the game.  This makes the player into someone that doesn't drag the game down by asking the questions best answered by "Read The Manual", and instead becomes someone that is able to participate meaningfully to the game for the benefit of all at the table.  It's not obvious, but I've seen the effect happen so often for so long that I must conclude that this is true.It's a first attempt.  Fine-tuning in the field is inevitable.  That said, this sort of reformation of the gamer subculture is long overdue.  The expectations placed upon people in mainstream daily life don't extend here; they should, and those that don't measure up must be made to pay the consequences.</blockquote>

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