[dq-rules] Re: [[Open_Gaming] Busy day!]

["Rodger Thorm" <dqn@ntsource.com>]

Doug Meerschaert <PlanesdragonDM@netscape.net> wrote:

> IMNSHO, the biggest fault with the open-source concept is the lack of
> perpetual income; perhaps a "substantial change" clause, where you have to
> change a certain ammount of the text, would be in order?  This would be a nice
> safeguard against someone publishing someone else's work verbatium and saying
> it's legal under the OGL.

The DRAFT Open Gaming License 
(http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/ogl.html) paragraph 3.2 
requires that "You represent that You believe Your Contributions 
are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant 
the rights conveyed by this License."  This covers anyone taking 
another person's material without proper permission and attempting 
to add it in to the OGL.  

On the other hand, I think the phrase "You believe" weakens that 
paragraph, and it should instead merely state "You represent that 
Your Contributions are Your original creation..."

Part of the beauty of Open Source is that minor tweaks and 
adjustments are constantly taking place.  Forcing everyone to do 
major rewrites in order to publish their improvements kills the whole 
benefit of Open Source.  As the programmers say, "Many eyes 
makes bugs shallow."  Lots of people working on a project will 
make it better faster.


--Rodger Thorm