>On Thu, 14 Jun 2001, woodelf (lists) wrote:
>
> > "8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must
> > clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing
> > are Open Game Content."
> >
> > Ryan himself has pointed out that he's not a lawyer or other expert
> > in this matter, other than being more-or-less in charge of it. so
> > where did this concept of "wherever used" come from? i see nothing
> > in the WOGL (the only legally-binding document on this matter) or
> > even the FAQ accompanying it (merely advisory, in any case) that
> > indicates that the OGC must be "identified" "wherever used". it only
> > says that it must be "clearly *indicated*" [emphasis mine], and says
> > nothing about where such indication must occur, other than the
> > "reasonable person" test for general compliance with the WOGL.
>
>Please re-read section 8 (which you included). No where does it say that
>"it" (I'm assuming you mean OGC with this "it") must be identified. I've
>already addressed your questions in the numerous responses I sent after
>this week old post you're quoting, so I'm going to assume you've read
>them.
yes, i have. and they (to my ears) only reiterated the same
unsupported claim, rather than adding further clarification or
support.
>I'm only responding to this topic again because I'm really starting
>to think that the problem people are having is not with the law but with
>the English langauge. The license requires you to clearly indicate
>PORTIONS (emphasis mine) of the work which are OGC. (I've also already
>explained why this legally makes a difference and is required.) Since the
>language doesn't include qualifiers about only indicating some portions
>and not others, the plain English (and not surprisingly the legal)
>understanding of such a sentence is that ALL PORTIONS which are OGC must
>be indicated. Which is essentially the same as saying that wherever OGC
>is used it must be clearly indicated. So the concept comes directly from
>section 8 of the OGL.
i know i'm probably wearing thin on your patience, but please bear
twith me. i'm not trying to be obstinate, i'm really trying to
figure this out. so just pretend i'm really slow (which, apparently,
i am), and help me with this part. the part that reads as a leap of
logic to me is between "ALL PORTIONS which are OGC must be indicated"
and "the same as saying that wherever OGC is used it must be clearly
indicated".
let me take a very concrete example: Relics & Rituals. have you seen
this book? do you think it complies with section 8 of the WOGL?
because it does *not* indicate OGC "wherever used". the actual
indication of OGC (that is, the info that is necessary for the reader
to identify which portions of the work are OGC and which are not)
occurs on the title page, while the OGC itself is scattered
throughout the book. so, do you think that R&R is in violation of
section 8 of the WOGL, or do we simply have a different
interpretation of section 8? [for that matter, IIRC, none of the
published D20 books that i've looked at so far (Diomin leaps
immediately to mind) indicate the OGC at the point of said OGC. they
all seem to use some sort of graphical, organizational, or
typographical technique to distinguish OGC, and then indicate in the
introduction that said graphical, organizational, or typographical
technique designates OGC. for every D20 book that i've actually
looked at (a very small subset of the whole, mind you), you would be
unable to identify OGC without referencing the title page, TOC page,
or introduction (depending on the work in question), yet none of
those has any OGC in said locations, so the indication is not in the
same place as the OGC itself.]
>As I've said, I'm tired of this topic. If you don't want to take my
>advice (someone with a law degree) that's fine with me.
the question isn't whether or not i'll take your advice. i have no
intention of using the WOGL (or the D20STL) for anything, ever. i'm
philosophically inclined to use the OOGL if i don't want to keep a
work of mine closed. please don't take this discussion
personally--i'm not. i'm just trying to get to the root of this.
woodelf <*>
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.home.net/woodelph/
The Laws of Anime <http://www.abcb.com/laws/index.htm>:
#21 Law of Tactical Unreliability
Tactical geniuses aren't....
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