Disparition

[Günter Cornett]

I don't fear that players don't buy games, because they can play it online.
There wil be such players, but also there will be players who will buy them, because they know them from online play.
It's not the money (a game designer gets maybe about 0,50 Cent for a 20,- Euro game, more or less - there are big differences).
I already wrote that this is not the point, just brought an example that the FAQ is not right.

The main point is: it's the game designers decision, not self-service.
If the game designer is not asked before he must accept that everybody takes his game,
for example nazis could make a facist version and use it without permission.

Then it's the game designers job to let the webmasters remove it, if he got knowledge of a violation
(and to accept all violations he does not know).
And every webmaster can demand a proof from the gamemaster of a registered letter.
Otherwise he could smile: Id din't knew that's forbidden, even he got many emails to stop violations.
And it's not easy to sent a registered letter to just a nickname.
So sites without imprint with realnames are not serious.

And if there are 20 webmasters fooling the game designer he has no time to make new games.
For this reason big companies send lawyers out to do the job, without asking for details.
If I would accept the rule written in the FAQ I must think even more than now,
about how to get money for the time of searching violations and fighting against.
I had to take big money as license fee, just prevent for loosing time and money.

Today I lost a whole day to clear the situation. Nobody will pay me this time.
Moreover I lost concentration for inventing games. I wanted to search for a game theme today and couldn't do it.
Beside this the webmaster cannot know, if I am in negotations for selling online rights.
It may lead into conflicts when exclusive rights are violated by a third person.

So there will be no discussion about license with a webmaster, who has such copyright-FAQ and no imprint.
If this is changed, he can ask again, but not before a year is gone.
I don't want to think about, to discuss what should be selfunderstanding.
It's not the only legal trouble I have during the last years referring copyrights.
And from fan-projects I expect that they support copyright idea of games instead of attacking or ignoring.

[Zyklon5]

It is very sad the way publishers and game designer choose to handle the situation and the online (re)evolution. Probably there are reasonable issues with the way BGA handled the relationship with the game creators and the wording of the FAQ isn't the wisest but both publishers and game designers could and should work with this site and help it grow into a legal and valuable partner for the mutual benefit of all including board game enthusiasts.

[Günter Cornett]

I work together very well with yucata.de, and also with brettspielnetz.de.
Both asked me before they used the game. I was happy for their work.

I would have been to, if your webmaster asked me before. The shop would be a good possibility for cooperation.
I could have given a few games for free as a thanks to programmers and to the BGA shop.
When they do a few of my other games, too, which I publish in my small company bambusspiele.de,
it could have been a real help for my small business. BGA could sell these games rather exlusive in France because there are a very few shops selling my games.

But for all this I had to be contacted by BGA first. Now I had to find it, and this was not easy for me.
After a whole day of useless trouble there is still no imprint at this site but a copyright-rule which doesn't accept that a game designer has to be asked before using his game.

How long shall I beg for an acceptable behaviour? Do you pay me the lost time?
It would have been easy to sent me an email before, lastet after Hans im Glueck let removed his games.
But even now it's not important for the admin to ask the designers:

"we are contacting publishers one by one to make this website legal. ...
Originally, we intend to reach 100% licensed games before this summer,
but considering the audience and the difficulties we are going to accelerate this planning."

It shall last until summer, to ask the remaing up to 4 (less than 50% from 10 games) game designers for license?
Just sending a few emails is so difficulty? What an online (re)evolution ...

This site is not serious and will not change it for the next monthes.
And exactly this is the reason why game publishers and game designer handle the situation in this way.
Ask Kay Wilke (yucata.de) how it can be done in friendly mode without any trouble!

Go away ignorants!








What the reason for me to accept more trouble next weeks, monthes or years by negotating with an ignorant partner?

[Een]

Hello all,

As the developper for 'Hey! That's my fish' on BGA, I must take my part of the blame.

It was my first game, and I was concentrated on learning how to do it and getting it to work right in the best way possible. I'm from a technical background, and so I did it the easiest way for me. Get it to work nicely, and then think about the rest.
But the easiest way is not always the right way. It was naive to think that if we did a nice enough job it would make everyone happy.

I would like to state it clearly : we screwed up, and we got spanked for it. It's painful, but deserved. If anything, we should thank Mr Cornett for shaking us into a better behaviour. We were getting to do things the right way, but too late and not fast enough (or the site grew popular too fast, but the result is the same).
As for the timeframe, please remember we are amateurs, not professionals. Our work on BGA is mostly night labor. We are sending the remaining emails right now, but we can't know when we will get answers, hence the rather large timeframe (but we do hope that it will be swift). We also are not communication specialists and may not always use the good words, especially in english (and under stress !).

In any case Mr Cornett is completely right and very kind not to close the door completely, by declaring himself open to reconsidering in one year if we mature and get things fixed. I do apologise for my part in this screw up, and the subsequent loss of time.

I would like to add one thing about identities : the website domain is properly registered to it's owner, so we didn't think it needed another kind of identification. But again it was technical thinking, and as Mr Cornett points out we have to put a contact section in place in order to be easy to get to.

So now what ? We learn the lesson, we get things right, and we work harder to get more authorized games online to compensate for those that we lost by our carelessness.

And we will do it the best way we can, because we definitely do not want to be ill-considered by people we admire.

Een

PS : On the forum, most people use nicknames as is the general usage (except for public figures, or on Facebook), but my real identity is available through private message to anyone wanting to know it and returning the curtesy.

PPS : I would also like to ask people to refrain from further comments in this thread in order not to impose more upon Mr Cornett's time than we already did.

[Günter Cornett]

Thanks for this statement.
And thanks to sourisdudesert, who now changed copyright-text and contact-information.

Better late than never.

best, Guenter

[sourisdudesert]

Thank you everyone.

I will now close this thread as Een suggested: BGA is probably in a better shape today than it was yesterday, then let's move on, and play !