I appreciate your analysis.
>I can see where you and Nick are coming from with your concerns.
>What this really all seems to boil down to is:
>
>A. whether Issaries has learned from its mistakes and will
>become much better at crediting people.
Yes, Issaries record here is mixed. Granted, they are a small, part-time, always over-taxed operation. In the past they have partially corrected such situations through website addenda when alerted to breaches. The issue seems largely to be administrative inefficiency rather than bloody-mindedness. Heck, I publish to deadlines myself, I know what that can mean. My concern is that, given that the administrative pressures are likely to **increase** under the new Fan Policy, and the policy seems to want to overcome administrative shortcoming with a legal blowtorch, what incentive has Issaries to lift its game when they have required upfront that authors to sign away their rights to even credit for their work? And this is not just in 'official' publications. It's likely to apply to Unspoken Word, Tradetalk, and convention books as well as websites and wikis.
A sizeable number of people want to to write for Issaries, and to join in the tribe's exploration of Glorantha. These authors can put **incredible** amounts of time and energy into the work they submit. All involved already know the chances of seeing an actual product at the end of the day can be quite small. (or if they don't they should).
Why *is* it apparently so difficult to credit authors for their work, especially in an environment where cash payment (for good reason) is symbolic at best?
I believe you can protect your own rights in a way that doesn't have to tread completely over the rights of your supporters. But this present policy isn't it.
>The only ways forward that I see for each of us are to either
>make the best of the situation and start with a clean slate,
>walk away and retire, or fight back.
Well yes, since it does seem the policy has been presented fait accompli,
and the objections raised in the consultation process haven't been
addressed. Though I'd prefer 'meaningfully engage the issues and
implications' than 'fight back'. :)
I've seen little analysis or discussion about the implications of the new policy for Glorantha as a whole. How much does Issaries depend on fan publications to bolster the community and maintain interest? What will be the effect of potential authors having to sign away their rights to their own work before submitting even to a fan magazine? How much do publications like Moon Design (which is working largely with reprinted materials, and so less likely to suffer under the new policy) or Unspoken Word (which seems now likely to have to curtail much of its Gloranthan publications) work to bring new (or old) people to the community and so contribute to the long-term viability of Glorantha?
What happens when you're working on a convention freeform or a fundraiser book to finance a convention - both projects with tight and necessary deadlines, and the consultation process with Issaries, for whatever reason, is delayed or bogged down? Experience indicates that this does happen. Conventions need money up front to organise. Would their have been a Scotscon without those wonderful maps, a Gloranthacon without Moon Rites, RQ Down Unders without Questlines?
I suspect that because of the special provisions (limitations) directed at freeforms under the new policy, they will become rarer at cons. (You can still do a tabletop without bureaucracy, fortunately.)
These are the issues that concern me most of all. I may be wrong in some or all of the implications, but the concerns are very real.
We've yet to hear anything public from Issaries. I know that Rick and Jeff and others are doing lots of work to make the policy more understandable. And I look forward very much to the results. But the policy is the policy, it seems.
You're being asked to sign away all your rights upfront.
As I've said before, I don't believe this is an 'us vs them' situation. I'm very pleased that Issaries seem to be making considerable efforts to facilitate things like web site registration, and are approaching authors and at least privately addressing some of the concerns. I look forward to the coming FAQ, Idiot's Guide, and to some public statements from Issaries.
Here's Hoping.
When's the Moot?
John
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