In earlier mail i complained that I don't like some of Metlay's TDR ideas.
Let me explain more clearly why...
What we're trying to do with TDR is Fix things...things we see as brokeand things we want to see done better. Ideally, we'll come up with a much
better set of rules that the current ones for what we're addressing.
This does us no good whatsoever if it ends up the 'internet version' of
Traveller. As long as we're keeping it quiet and not distributing it or info
about it, nobody else is going to find out about it, use it, or benefit from
our work. If 95% of the MT players/GM's never find out about our better rules,
we've wasted 95% of our effort.
Now, the BEST way to get our new rules out is a combination of the way
we're doing now (electronic) and the way the majority of people get their rules
and supplemental materials: through the people who make the game. GDW has
published a lot of expansion material that edges towards what we're doing, m
mostly in Challenge, and has licenced other people to do other things that they
thought were good. They've no reason to fear us as long as we're not trying to
take their game away. Which we aren't, we're just trying to make it better.
I say we tell them about it. Ask them for input. Ask them if they'll
either run some of the TDS stuff in Challenge or not object to running it
somewhere else. {Challenge will almost certainly leap at the idea...they're
starved for Traveller articles right now). That's how I see the best way to
spread the good word 8-)
And I have a proposed middle ground for the Public Domain issue: I'll
hereby allow free electronic redistribution w/o restriction of any of MY work
or anything that i help with, but I don't relinquish copyright. I think that's
the only balanced solution.
- - -george william herbert
[email removed]