Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Sascha Pabst <Sascha.Pabst@****.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de>
Subject: Index/Indices (?)
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 1995 08:31:52 +0100 (MET)
Hi.

Just want to know who is interested in the Indexes (? Indices?? ???)
of sourcebooks, esp. SRII, Grim, Cybertech, NAN1&2,...
set as text with tabs?

I was sick running through several books just to find all entries
so stuffed most of them into a database...

Sascha
--
+---___---------+-----------------------------------------+------------------+
| / / _______ | Jhary-a-Conel aka Sascha Pabst | The one does not |
| / /_/ ____/ |Sascha.Pabst@**********.Uni-Oldenburg.de |learn from history|
| \___ __/ | or | is bound to live |
|==== \_/ ======| Westerstr. 20 / 26121 Oldenburg | through it again.|
|LOGOUT FASCISM!| *Wearing hats is just a way of live* | |
+---------------+-----------------------------------------+------------------+
Message no. 2
From: "A Halliwell" <u5a77@**.keele.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Index/Indices (?)
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 1995 17:02:03 +0000 (GMT)
>
> Hi.
>
> Just want to know who is interested in the Indexes (? Indices?? ???)
> of sourcebooks, esp. SRII, Grim, Cybertech, NAN1&2,...
> set as text with tabs?
>
> I was sick running through several books just to find all entries
> so stuffed most of them into a database...
>
> Sascha

I'd be careful if I were you. You might be breaking the copyright.
Ask FASA for permission first! (Just to be on the safe side)

--
______________________________________________________________________________
| |What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crackin |
|u5a77@**.keele.ac.uk |the ground beneath a giant bolder, which you can't |
| |move, with no hope of rescue. |
|Andrew Halliwell |Consider how lucky you are that life has been good |
|Principal in:- |to you so far... |
|Comp Sci & Visual Arts | -The BOOK, Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 3
From: kelly@*******.bloomington.in.us (Kelly Martin)
Subject: Re: Index/Indices (?)
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 95 13:19:07 EST5
"A" == A Halliwell <u5a77@**.keele.ac.uk> writes:

>> Just want to know who is interested in the Indexes (? Indices??
>> ???) of sourcebooks, esp. SRII, Grim, Cybertech, NAN1&2,... set
>> as text with tabs?

A> I'd be careful if I were you. You might be breaking the copyright.
A> Ask FASA for permission first! (Just to be on the safe side)

i doubt it. an index is probably in the class of what is called
"directory information" and thus not copyrightable in its content, but
only its form. also, Sascha's effort in compiling the joint index
represents a considerable amount of original effort. as such, eir
work, even if it is derivative, is obviously distinct. as far as fair
use goes, it's doubtful that compiling a joint index to a collection
of works in any way compromises the "heart" of any of the protected
works.

my opinion is that it's a legitimate derived work, and any
infringement is defensible under the fair use doctrine. the fact that
Sascha is not attempting to profit from any perceived infringement
further substantiantes a finding of fair use.

the above opinion is based on copyright law as it exists in the United
States. your milage may vary, and should be taken with large grains
of alkali halide. i am not a lawyer.

k.
--
kelly martin <kelly@*******.bloomington.in.us>

I have been told that when a large group of people believe in a
fantasy, it is called a culture. When a small group believes, it is
called a cult. When two people believe in a fantasy, it is called
love; and when one person believes, it is called psychosis.
Message no. 4
From: "Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu>
Subject: Re: Index/Indices (?)
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 1995 12:42:21 -0600 (CST)
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

As a rule, it is better to always ask permission. FASA has gone on
record as being fairly kool about things as long as you include specific
language in the documents.

Fair Use is not a good thing to rely on as a defense, it is better to get
an okie dokie from FASA.


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2
Comment: PGP Signed with PineSign 2.2

iQCVAwUBMM8CVjokqlyVGmCFAQGNFQQAiMb21cDfAEe7dwic8CL6x6lUUxK0Nh6H
OLH+5pfUJqylDH4hjmyUvaRlDwhxW3XmCLQYMZE4Fo5A7yxx089gr2zXhCTOONpg
6fWCFZcs2npH6RJ/kktIloysjXxJ+ZyTNRwJJRrWNHpeNfGCy7lwKrPumcHFu8Qr
p+6BNY7l6A0=
=min5
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ Finger for Geek Code Info <=> Finger for PGP Public Key
\/ / -=-=-=-=-=- -=-=-=-=-=-
\/ http://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~hayden/Welcome.html

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GED/J d-- s:++>: a-- C++(++++)$ ULUO++ P+>+++ L++ !E---- W+(---) N+++ o+
K+++ w+(---) O- M+$>++ V-- PS++(+++)>$ PE++(+)>$ Y++ PGP++ t- 5+++ X++
R+++>$ tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++ G+++++>$ e++$>++++ h r-- y+**
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
Message no. 5
From: kelly@*******.bloomington.in.us (Kelly Martin)
Subject: Re: Index/Indices (?)
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 95 22:48:33 EST5
"Robert" == Robert A Hayden <hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu> writes:

Robert> As a rule, it is better to always ask permission. FASA has
Robert> gone on record as being fairly kool about things as long as
Robert> you include specific language in the documents.

Robert> Fair Use is not a good thing to rely on as a defense, it is
Robert> better to get an okie dokie from FASA.

i should have made my comments clearer. my comments were not intended
to imply that obtaining permission is a bad idea. my comments were
merely intended to express my opinion that the work in question is not
an unlawful infringement of FASA's copyrights. while i am not a
lawyer, i have studied the topic considerably closer than most
non-lawyers have, including reading the complete text of quite a
number of judicial opinions in various copyright cases over the last
few months. i stand by my opinion (and note that nothing in the
recently posted "copyright guidelines" contradicts it).

in any case, obtaining prior permission helps to protect you from
being sued. being sued is a pain; _any_ copyright litigation is going
to drag out for months and is going to cost you lots to defend, even
if you prevail. from what i've read, getting an award of costs is
unlikely, since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure generally require
that the plaintiff's case be entirely without merit in order to grant
an award of fees, and most cases involving fair use will not generally
be considered to be "without merit".

not that it has much to do with this list, but personally i think this
is a sign of the one of the major flaws in our legal system: you can
do something that is entirely legal, and yet easily still be forced to
pay out the nose to prove it.

k.
--
kelly martin <kelly@*******.bloomington.in.us>

Miss Manners has come to believe that the basic political division in
the society is not between liberals and conservatives, but between
those who believe that they should have a say in the love lives of
strangers, and those who do not. -- "Miss Manners" (Judith Martin).
Message no. 6
From: "A Halliwell" <u5a77@**.keele.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Index/Indices (?)
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 09:51:05 +0000 (GMT)
>
> not that it has much to do with this list, but personally i think this
> is a sign of the one of the major flaws in our legal system: you can
> do something that is entirely legal, and yet easily still be forced to
> pay out the nose to prove it.
>
That depends. I think in Britain the loser pays ALL the costs! I'm not
entirely sure, but I think that's how it works.
--
______________________________________________________________________________
| |What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crackin |
|u5a77@**.keele.ac.uk |the ground beneath a giant bolder, which you can't |
| |move, with no hope of rescue. |
|Andrew Halliwell |Consider how lucky you are that life has been good |
|Principal in:- |to you so far... |
|Comp Sci & Visual Arts | -The BOOK, Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Index/Indices (?), you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!