[DMCA-Activists] Shrinkwrapped books

[Matthew Caron]

Books encased in plastic with a "By opening this package you agree to
this license" on the front have been appearing.

http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/02/08/12/020812opgripe.xml

Imagine stuff like "You are not allowed to resell this book, read it
aloud, criticize the author, etc" in it?

Think I'm kidding? Proprietary software does it.

1.) Most proprietary software licenses are non-transferable, hence why
it is a violation of license contract to donate old PC's running older
versions of Windows to charities.

2.) Public exhibition is often a violation of license/copyright.

3.) MS Publisher has, in it's license, the provision that you may not
use the software to publish anything that is critical of Microsoft.

If you do any of these things, they can chase you down, stop you from
using the software, and (conceivably) sue you for it.

And now the same stuff is applied to books...

That is why my upcoming roleplaying games rules are being published
under the GNU Free Documentation License - I want a game that people can
enjoy. If someone wants to publish it and give me a cut, fine. But, I
think it more important that poor geek gamers all over the world can
modify, extend, translate, correct, fix, etc. the game than me making
money off it. 

Who knows, maybe O'Reilly would be interested in publishing it? And
people would buy it, because:

1.) You NEED hard copies of gaming books. Many of them
2.) It will cost at least $15-$20 to have it bound at your local copy
shop.
3.) If, for the same price (or even slightly more), I can get a nicely
bound hardcover book, maybe even with some art (done by fans of the
game, perhaps?), don't you think people would buy it?

Version 0.1 (core rules and modern weapons list will be out by the end
of the summer, probably), with other modules (it's done like a core app
with plugins based on time period and option rules) due out shortly
thereafter. Anyone interested is welcome to let me know, and I'll add
you to the notification list.

Basically, it is a themeless, timeless, RPG. Rules are very general (all
times/places have HTH weapons, projectile weapons, means of locomotion,
armor, etc) and so it tries to be simple, fun, easy to play, and
decently realistic (two words: hit locations). It is up to GM's to make
up worlds, and anyone is welcome to write additional rules. I know I'm
not perfect - that's why I'm applying the Open Source Development Model
to a rules book. At it's most fundamental level, it's just a software
game engine, with dice instead of rand()...
-- 
MS Windows is only cheaper than Linux if you
steal it.
                        - Matt and Liz
~~ Matt Caron ~~