tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181153683994775767.post7300862611292322635..comments2024-01-28T20:15:30.773-05:00Comments on The Core Mechanic: Now Chomp on This...Jonathan Jacobshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06133232985480734844noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181153683994775767.post-1132268008661547512008-08-02T18:25:00.000-04:002008-08-02T18:25:00.000-04:00Ok, a few of major problems in you project.1) Scie...Ok, a few of major problems in you project.<BR/><BR/>1) Science and RPG are different in many ways. One of them is that science magazines do not sponsor scientific research (mostly sponsored by universities and such) so a science magazine works on stuff already researched with other's money.<BR/>RPG fan creations do not benefit of such money, so talented writers goes to the professional magazines (or such) and not-so-talented writers goes to the free area.<BR/>A possible solution is to allow in the free magazine of yours to publish excerpt of professional independent material. <BR/>An example: Publishers can be interested to publish a free preview, as log you magazine clearly states how to buy the complete version of their supplement. Just to make an example, if it's a monster supplement an author/editor can be willing to publish 1 complete free monster out of 8/10 monsters of the complete version.<BR/><BR/>2) A monthly magazine is a very demanding work. You need not only lots of authors of quality material, but a lot of people who does the dirty work (reading, correcting, editing, do the graphics). You have this kind of people? A magazine like yours need professional quality to live. You need not only quality writing and new ideas but also good fantasy art, a catchy graphic, precision in the scheduling and respect of the publishing dates. These things rarely comes for free.<BR/><BR/>Remember that in a successful volunteer association, volunteers are always managed by paid professionals by a good reason...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181153683994775767.post-70087741684496368932008-08-01T13:23:00.000-04:002008-08-01T13:23:00.000-04:00Oh, and i forgot, you mentionedUnfortunate, but ti...Oh, and i forgot, you mentioned<BR/><BR/><I>Unfortunate, but time is money. It's the american way.</I><BR/><BR/>All start ups start with sweat equity.Jonathan Jacobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06133232985480734844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181153683994775767.post-24347932315196218842008-08-01T13:21:00.000-04:002008-08-01T13:21:00.000-04:00Revenue streams1) website ads (Adsense, CJ.com, et...Revenue streams<BR/>1) website ads (Adsense, CJ.com, etc)<BR/>2) ad spots in the printed journal itself (for WotC, 3rd Party, etc)<BR/>3) sponsors (as in individual donors and companies)<BR/>5) Author Fees (later on once the "street cred" of said eZine is established). Yes, authors will pay to publish if the cost is nominal.<BR/><BR/>These are just some ideas. But of course, the whole thing would have to get started first - without any operating budget. Fortunately, much of the costs associated with developing a zine like this would be TIME, not real money. Web space, bandwidth, tools, etc can all be obtained on the cheap (free from Google, for example). The whole site could be set up using Google Pages, and a domain name just $10/year. Comments?Jonathan Jacobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06133232985480734844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181153683994775767.post-49142382843746948382008-08-01T12:55:00.000-04:002008-08-01T12:55:00.000-04:00Two words: Fair UseThere is a lot that can be don...Two words: Fair Use<BR/><BR/>There is a lot that can be done inside the looser constraints of a fair use clause.<BR/><BR/>As to the project, it sounds like a great idea, but there HAS to be a revenue stream, even if it is T-shirts or road maps. People don't do stuff for free (for long) our time is too precious.<BR/><BR/>As proof, I would point to the findings that the pool of volunteers in america has been steadily shrinking for years, and that most people who DO volunteer, don't come back the next year.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunate, but time is money. It's the american way.Donny_the_DMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05679820663329606114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181153683994775767.post-41321011445547884512008-08-01T09:27:00.000-04:002008-08-01T09:27:00.000-04:00Yeah, possibly. It's located HERE. I sort of homed...Yeah, possibly. <A HREF="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/welcome" REL="nofollow">It's located HERE</A>. I sort of homed in on a particular clause of the GSL:<BR/><I>5.5 Licensed Products. This License applies solely to Licensed Products as defined in Section 3 and to the specified uses set forth in Section 4. For the avoidance of doubt, and by way of example only, no Licensed Product will <BR/>(a) include web sites, interactive products, miniatures, or character creators;<BR/>(b) describe a process for creating a character or applying the effects of experience to a character; <BR/>(c) use the terms “Core Rules” or “Core Rulebook” or variations thereof on its cover or title, in self-reference <BR/>or in advertising or marketing thereof;<BR/>(d) refer to any artwork, imagery or other depiction contained in a <BR/>Core Rulebook;<BR/>(e) reprint any material contained in a Core Rulebook except as explicitly provided in <BR/>Section 4; or <BR/>(f) be incorporated into another product that is itself not a Licensed Product (such as, by way of example only, a magazine or book compilation). </I><BR/>And the rest of GSL basically outlines which terms you can use (e.g. Goblins, Fey step, etc) and that, if you refer to anything in the core books it cannot be reprinted in detail in your licensed product - you must refer the reader to the corebooks themselves. So, for example if you wrote an adventure that involved hordes of orcs - you could only list the orcs, their type, and the the number of them. Stats for the orcs could only be given if there was some change to what was printed in the core book; and then.. only the changed stats/new abilities you assigned. Anyway, I don't think the GSL would necessarily get in the way of a D&D eZine - but I'm not a lawyer: that's your department. Maybe you could take a look at it and lemme know your professional opinion.Jonathan Jacobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06133232985480734844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181153683994775767.post-51617837643056448192008-08-01T08:54:00.000-04:002008-08-01T08:54:00.000-04:00I haven't read the GSL, but I imagine there would ...I haven't read the GSL, but I imagine there would serious difficulties in doing this without running into some copyright infringement problems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com