[DGD] Commercial question

[Stephen Schmidt]

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006, Jesse Garrison wrote:
> Interesting topic. I'm certainly not a lawyer so my interpretation is
> meaningless, but the way I understand the DGD license it's pretty
> simple:
> Receiving any form of income as a result of using the DGD program is
> breaking the non-commercial license. Period.
> The way I understand it, this isn't just limited to charging players
> to play the game. Note the last line of the first paragraph: Use of
> the source and executables made therefrom to promote or support a
> commercial venture is included in this restriction.

I think the argument that was made in the LP world was that
having people help pay your server costs did not constitute
"income" for you. Therefore, it was not in violation of the
prohibition on earning income from using LPMud to take
donations as long as they were used to cover server costs.

I presume Dworkin would not accept that argument. But there
are some sticky cases.

Example: Two people start a mud. The server host charges
$50 per month. Each one gets a bill from the host for $25
and pays $25 of his own money. Clearly legal.

Example: Two people start a mud. The server host charges
$50 per month. One gets a bill from the host for $50. That
one pays $50 of his own money. The other gives $25 of his
own money to the first to cover half the bill. I think this
is legal.

Example: Ten people start a mud. The server host charges
$50 per month. One gets the bill and pays it - the other
nine each give $5 to the one who pays it. This seems
legal, but it's getting tenuous.

Example: One person starts a mud and nine people play it.
Each of the nine players gives the one who started it
$5 to cover the server costs. This is not legal.

What distinguishes the last two examples? Or if the third
example is also illegal, what distinguishes the second
and the third?

> I would take that line to mean that obvious work arounds to the
> no-donations rule such as selling t-shirts or other merchandise with
> your MUD's name on it to help cover server costs is also illegal
> without a commercial license.

I think those are more illegal than taking donations, since
those are more obviously forms of income.

Steve