[freeroleplay] Re: Descriptive vs. Proscriptive, frpgc.org vs. freeroleplay.org

  • From: Ricardo Gladwell <president@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: freeroleplay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:59:15 +0100

Hi Per,

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. You are correct, this seems like a ridiculous interpretation of the OGL and it seems to me that WotC are deliberately trying to misinterpret the OGL to come up with conclusions others would not read into it. I'm not at all sure I follow the reasoning of the WotC OGL FAQ:

Per I. Mathisen wrote: 
Yep. According to
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/oglfaq/20040123i :

  Q: How can the OGL be used with software?
  ...
  The key is that the user has to see everything that is Open Content that
  the program uses and be able to understand it without too much effort.
  The whole point of the OGL is that once information is declared Open
  everyone has free access to it under the OGL. Compiling that
  information into a program denies the user that access and violates the
  spirit of the Open Gaming License."

Violates the spirit of the OGL? I'm uncertain as to what legal standing violation of the spirit of licenses has. Surely the letter of the license takes precedence here?

I'm not sure if the "compilation" argument stands here: if you can distribute content in a locked PDF or as hard copy only under the OGL I see no reason you could not similarly distribute OGL content in compiled software. If the license writers expect you to scan or copy by hand OGC why would they not similarly expect you to crack open a binary in a hex editor and rip the content that way?

Also http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/oglfaq/20040123f :

  Q: I want to distribute computer software using the OGL. Is that
  possible?

  A: Yes, it's certainly possible. The most significant thing that will
  impact your effort is that you have to give all the recipients the right
  to extract and use any Open Game Content you've included in your
  application, and you have to clearly identify what part of the software
  is Open Game Content.

Downstream users are granted the right to use OGC, but as an upstream user the OGL makes no requirements on how I distribute a work or what restrictions I can place on my content to protect it.

The only real problem is that we have to "clearly identify" what part of the software is OGC. But, could I not easily and clearly indicate which part of a binary are OGC data using hexadecimal pointers and "clear" instructions on how to read them and satisfy the terms of the license?

  One way is to design your application so that all the Open Game Content
  resides in files that are human-readable (that is, in a format that can
  be opened and understood by a reasonable person). Another is to have
  all the data used by the program viewable somehow while the program
  runs.

Huh? Where does it specify that I must make the data used by the program viewable at the time it is running in the privacy of my own CPU? Should I put up flashcards of OGC when I'm thinking about it in my brain as well? I am only required to identify which parts of a OGL'd work (i.e. binary) are OGC.

  Distributing the source code not an acceptable method of compliance.
  First off, most programming languages are not easy to understand if the
  user hasn't studied the language. Second, the source code is a separate
  entity from the executable file. The user must have access to the
  actual Open Content used. "

Colour me stupid but why should we care whether the downstream user can or cannot understand a programming language? Should I also translate all my OGC into every single language in the world in case a downstream user cannot read that? What about the illiterate? I can't see anything in the OGL that requires OGC be supplied in a format easily understood by users or that is human readable.

I believe this is deliberate, since Wizards sole the exclusive right to
make games under D20 rules to Atari.


I would fully agree with your assessment here :)

IANAL but I would argue that you can clearly include OGC in the source of your code and distribute it as an executable binary. What is more, you can keep your code closed and you do not have to supply

Kind regards...

--
Ricardo Gladwell
President, Free Roleplaying Community
http://www.freeroleplay.org/
president@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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