Not actually. My Webpage is Runequest-related, but has nothing to do with Glorantha at all. So I'm most probably not affected in the first place (only in some secondary way, by all the pricks going D20) But that's not the point.
> Please go to http://www.glorantha.com/inc/fan_policy.html and, for the
> simplest method of all, go to point 6.a. If your site meets ALL the
> requirements in that short list then you will qualify to be an
> informal site. You will need to load two little sections onto your web
> site (which are on that page), notify us that you have done it so we
> can link to you. You're done.
I read it, some parts are very much strange, others absolutely, and totally in conflict with the authors own coprights.
"Anything that is slanderous, libelous, pornographic, or otherwise defaming to the reputation of the trademark."
I don't see how "pornographic" fits in? So you want to make it impossible for someone to write gloranthan pornography without your formal approval? That is, frankly, weird.
But anyway:
"Maps derived from Issaries maps."
Derived? Hello? If I redraw a gloranthan map myself, you most probably have not rights on it at all. So even then I would need no formal or informal license.
And further:
"Article Gathering Prohibited
Issaries, Inc. specifically prohibits the gathering together and
mirroring of third party Original Material on any Online Fan Source,
even if the site owner obtains permission from the copyright holder
and their agreement to the "Concept Use" statement. If an article,
write-up, or other material is available on the third party owner's
own (or authorized) web site, any other Online Fan Source must link
to it rather than mirroring and hosting the file as well."
Bummer, with that you're trying to violate any ones copyright on their own material.
And of course this continues for submitted material:
"All Original Material submitted to the Issaries, Inc. web site by fans is copyright by the fan who wrote and submitted it."
Certainly it is, you only get a _license_ from the author to republish it. But:
"You agree that the material will not be posted on any other web site, including your own personal site." "You agree that you will not authorize any translation of the material into any other language for a third party web site."
I have the copyright and you are going to tell me how I use it? Nice.
Besides, who is going to let himself cheated from his rights like that? I don't have any agreement with you, so why should I let you take away my rights with agreeing to your "informal license"?
> If you DON'T meet all the points in 6.a., read 6.b. You'll need to get
> a formal license from that site. To make it easy on us all we will
> temporarily "grandfather in" your site now, based on your compliance
> with the policy and your emailed letter stating you will bring it into
> compliance soon. We will check shortly afterwards to see if everything
> is correct, and if not, help determine what needs to be done.
Summed up: 6a specifies the following things on which Issaries Inc.
has a copyright upon:
* Runes created by Issaries other than those approved for general use.
* Modified versions of the approved runes (other than re-sizing or
recoloring).
* Maps created by Issaries. * Artwork from Issaries publications, other than the woodcuts listed here. * More than 250 words quoted directly from any Gloranthan publication from
Issaries, Inc.; Avalon Hill Publications; or Chaosium, Inc.; and their
authorized licensees; except as allowed below under "Allowed Proprietary
Material".
and trademarks:
* Any Issaries, Inc. trademark and logo, EXCEPT one used to identify links
to Issaries, Inc.'s own web site. (.) If you don't do anything like that, you're fine. You don't even need an "informal license".
and three arbitrary things:
* Anything that is slanderous, libelous, pornographic, or otherwise
defaming to the reputation of the trademark.
* Mirrored third party material (see "Article Gathering Prohibited").
* Maps derived from Issaries maps
These latter three are NOT a reason you would need a license legally
(apart from the permission/license of the third-party author). And
I also doubt Issaries will give you a license for slander ;))
> If you want some additional background and understanding about what
> this is about, then please read anything else on that page that will
> explain it to you. If all that fails contact me at greg_at_glorantha.com,
> with a subject line of Fan Policy License Question.
>
> We appreciate your cooperation in this. Just contact me if there seems
> to be a problem.
Something else: What happens if the said material underlies already the OP/L, this one: http://seegras.discordia.ch/About/opl.phtml The author could of course change it on HIS copy, but everyone else who already had a copy would have one underlying the OP/L...
You are on a very dangerous path here, and I don't think it will help anyone. Not you, not your fans. Not me who thinks there is already too much D20 out there. It most probably will bring people to abolish glorantha in the first place, and look for other, more free, worlds. As happens right now with operating systems, where people are fed up with windows and look for free, open source, alternatives like linux.
The policy sounds like its written by some freaked out trademarklawyer without the least bit of knowledge on how economy works (and not too much knowledge about copyright, either). So if you want to do Glorantha and its community some good, fire your lawyer and start looking at some more progressive licensing-models, like the ones on http://creativecommons.org/
Best wishes
Peter
-- Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Benjamin Franklin ------------------------------ End of Glorantha Digest, Vol 11, Issue 129 ******************************************
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