Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="humble minion" data-source="post: 1590722" data-attributes="member: 5948">Well, my completely insignificant opinion.&nbsp;&nbsp;I won't be buying any DRM material.&nbsp; I may end up downloading some of their free stuff (I already use a hotmail account for MSN messenger, so the horse has well and truly bolted on the keeping-my-computer-secure-from-.NET-passport front) and doing my best to hunt up a DRM-cracker online, but frankly I'm not sure if I can be bothered.&nbsp; However, I won't be boycotting any of the print products of DTRPGs vendors either.&nbsp; I'm making the choice because I don't think a DRM product is worth my money.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp;&nbsp;-&nbsp; Accessibility.&nbsp; When buying pdfs, I pay and download from work (using the broadband connection), then burn to CD and bring them home in that medium.&nbsp; Work either a) uses Linux or b) frowns on registring Acrobat for personal tasks like this.&nbsp; &nbsp;- Longevity.&nbsp; From what I've read here and on rpg.net (yes, I read all 84 pages of the thread there) there is as yet no clear answer as to how many computers you can register.&nbsp; I'm hardly a cutting-edge hardware type, but I upgrade my computer every three years or so, and the wonders of Windows pretty much mandates a hard drive format and reinstall once a year.&nbsp; As such, a limited number of registrations will mean the product becomes inaccessible in a few years.&nbsp;- Obsolescence.&nbsp; I have Dark Sun material in my gaming drawer that I bought around ten years ago.&nbsp; I intend to use this to run an epic campign when my current Star Wars game has wound up, and my mate S has run his dark fantasy campaign.&nbsp; By the time i get to use this material, it will be pushing 15 years old and, because I have taken care of it, will still be as usable as the day I bought it.&nbsp; If I buy a pdf from DTRPG, can anyone guarantee that I will still be able to use it in 15 years and that I will not, through no fault of my own, lose access to it at some stage?&nbsp; If DTRPG and/or Adobe disappear (don't laugh - whose software were you using 15 years ago?), or stop supporting the current version of Acrobat/DRM (I keep OS installations up to date as part of my job, and I know that this sort of thing happens a LOT), or otherwise change the rules, then my product is worthless.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;I'm a moderate customer of pdfs at best - about $100 over the last couple of years.&nbsp; I've bought a bunch of SVGames' old AD&amp;D ESDs, plus a handful of D20 supplements from rpgnow and Cryptosnark, and one from the White Wolf online store.&nbsp; My refusal to buy DRM stuff isn't going to drive anyone broke, but hey, it's my money and I decide what to do with it, and buying/renting something so poorly suited to what I want isn't on the list.&nbsp; Case in point - last week I was idly considering buying the Book of Hallowed Might, to see how it compared to Complete Divine.&nbsp; I'd never bought a Malhavoc product before, but I had just about decided to give it a go.&nbsp; Not any more.&nbsp; Witness the power of the free market (and my $5 or so) in action!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="humble minion, post: 1590722, member: 5948"] Well, my completely insignificant opinion. I won't be buying any DRM material. I may end up downloading some of their free stuff (I already use a hotmail account for MSN messenger, so the horse has well and truly bolted on the keeping-my-computer-secure-from-.NET-passport front) and doing my best to hunt up a DRM-cracker online, but frankly I'm not sure if I can be bothered. However, I won't be boycotting any of the print products of DTRPGs vendors either. I'm making the choice because I don't think a DRM product is worth my money. Why? - Accessibility. When buying pdfs, I pay and download from work (using the broadband connection), then burn to CD and bring them home in that medium. Work either a) uses Linux or b) frowns on registring Acrobat for personal tasks like this. - Longevity. From what I've read here and on rpg.net (yes, I read all 84 pages of the thread there) there is as yet no clear answer as to how many computers you can register. I'm hardly a cutting-edge hardware type, but I upgrade my computer every three years or so, and the wonders of Windows pretty much mandates a hard drive format and reinstall once a year. As such, a limited number of registrations will mean the product becomes inaccessible in a few years. - Obsolescence. I have Dark Sun material in my gaming drawer that I bought around ten years ago. I intend to use this to run an epic campign when my current Star Wars game has wound up, and my mate S has run his dark fantasy campaign. By the time i get to use this material, it will be pushing 15 years old and, because I have taken care of it, will still be as usable as the day I bought it. If I buy a pdf from DTRPG, can anyone guarantee that I will still be able to use it in 15 years and that I will not, through no fault of my own, lose access to it at some stage? If DTRPG and/or Adobe disappear (don't laugh - whose software were [i]you[/i] using 15 years ago?), or stop supporting the current version of Acrobat/DRM (I keep OS installations up to date as part of my job, and I know that this sort of thing happens a LOT), or otherwise change the rules, then my product is worthless. I'm a moderate customer of pdfs at best - about $100 over the last couple of years. I've bought a bunch of SVGames' old AD&D ESDs, plus a handful of D20 supplements from rpgnow and Cryptosnark, and one from the White Wolf online store. My refusal to buy DRM stuff isn't going to drive anyone broke, but hey, it's my money and I decide what to do with it, and buying/renting something so poorly suited to what I want isn't on the list. Case in point - last week I was idly considering buying the Book of Hallowed Might, to see how it compared to Complete Divine. I'd never bought a Malhavoc product before, but I had just about decided to give it a go. Not any more. Witness the power of the free market (and my $5 or so) in action! [/QUOTE]

Verification