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From: erkyrath@netcom.com (Andrew Plotkin)
Subject: Re: Producing the IF CD
Message-ID: <erkyrathDw2Atz.94o@netcom.com>
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Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 05:49:11 GMT
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Nulldogma (nulldogma@aol.com) wrote:
> > -----Format:

> If we can include Apple II/Amiga/etc. partitions without too much trouble
> (i.e., keeping the disc in the format we want it), I think we should go
> for it -- not only for the inherent justice of it, but also because out CD
> will look that much better to people with computers for which there's so
> little new software.

Certainly. I'm not sure how far this multi-partitioning thing can go. 
I'll try to find out. 

> I'd feel funny about including anything by authors we can't contact. Even
> if it's freeware, that shouldn't give us the right to use it on our
> for-profit product. (See section on "Profit," below.)

I see your point.

> There's another question here: Do we sit back and wait for game authors to
> volunteer their works? Or is someone prepared to go through GMD and search
> out contact addresses for everyone we can find?

I am.

> > -----Packaging:
> >
> > The initial push will be mail-order, although it certainly would be
> > cool if it eventually appeared on store shelves. Packaging is
> > therefore non-critical. No reason to do it badly, of course.

> There's one other reason for nice packaging (in addition to that it makes
> for happy customers): It'll go a long way in impressing the targets of our
> massive PR onslaught.

True. I had forgotten about that.

> > -----Profits:
> >
> > First, I get paid back for my cash investment. I put in $X, I have
> > dibs on the first $X. (Not X+percentage. That's covered by the next
> > paragraph.)

> This should go without saying.

Nothing goes without saying where money is concerned. It goes *with* 
saying. :)
  
> > Contributors means those who have produced things which are on the
> > disc, but were not produced specifically for the disc. This
> > definitely includes games and e-zines, but what about interpreters,
> > compilers, hint files, the maintainers of ftp.gmd.de, ...?

> I'd lean towards including them all. It really isn't that many people -- a
> lot of us qualify in more than one category, after all.

But would therefore count as multiple shares. And there are certain
things we can't get along without -- notably the interpreters and their 
various ports. I doubt we can contact them all, particularly the TADS 
porters.

> > Or we can [2] allow the money to accumulate and use it for further
> > printings, more advertisements, other projects, etc. One possible
> > side effect of this: I think we could include games for which the
> > author is uncontactable. Yes?

> While this is a nice idea, I can think of at least two problems with it:

> 1) It means that game authors get bupkis for their efforts.

When you write freeware, you often receive bupkis for it. (I say this as 
a counterpoint, not because I favor [2] over [1].)

> 2) When it's all over, we will have the potential for a massive brawl over
> how to spend our newfound capital.

True. Money is energy, and unallocated money is kinetic energy. Messy.

--Z

-- 

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the
borogoves..."
