Key Questions of the Debate:
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After "So Much for Freedom" and various articles questioning TSR's ethics, the
debate concerning TSR's Net-Policy began to coalesce around certain key
questions which became recurring themes until more extensive legal research was
produced.

   (1) Copyright: Scalable or Boolean? TSR asserts that it is an infringement
if I distribute a module via ftp. Is it then also an infringement if I
distribute it to my personal friends? Where does one draw the line, or can a
firm line even be drawn? For the record, TSR's representative never responded
to queries regarding this question.

   (2) List of Forbidden Terms. TSR's spokesperson wrote: "We generally ask
that you do not publish materials which incorporate our trademarks and
copyrights."
      (2a) What precisely are TSR's trademarks and copyrights? Is there a list
of game terms which fans are forbidden the use of? If so, then where can we
find such a list? For the record, TSR's representative failed to produce such a
list, though he was asked for one repeatedly by the debate participants.
      (2b) Does TSR even have such a list? Many assert that it does not. See
"The Curious Origin of the Drow" for an explanation.

   (3) Game Rules vs Add-Ons. Is there any distinction, for intellectual
property purposes, between (a) game system rules and terms such as "Hit Points"
and "Armor Class", (b) monsters, spells, and magic items such as "Burning
Hands", "Umber Hulks" and "Staff of the Magi", and (c) specific non-player
characters and game settings such as "Elmister" and "Waterdeep"? Various
netters immersed in the debate began seeking legal advice, and their lawyer-
friends told them without exception that game rules cannot be copyrighted (you
can copyright a book on how to play chess, but you can't copyright the game
itself). However, since roleplaying games are so new, and since there are so
many aspects to the game, how does the law treat them? For the record, TSR
never delineated its policy with respect to this issue.

   (4) Censorship. Does TSR intend to censor submissions to MPGN with respect
to content, and if so, is it's policy a violation of the 1st Amendment? TSR did
speak on this issue:

     TSR specifically chooses not to endorse any self-destructive behavior,
     whatever it may be. So, if you insist on having a creation that does,
     for reasons of creative necessity, draw on these themes please be doubly
     certain to include our disclaimer. With that included, TSR is not
     responsible for the contents, and disclaims it as a sanctioned product.
     Items which are a calculatedly offensive deliberate test of this policy
     will be dealt with on an individual basis (although this should be
     exceptionally rare).

   MPGN also spoke on this issue. Back on 25-Feb-94, when Rob Miracle was
making his announcements regarding MPG-Net and his copying of the greyhawk
archive, he also asked for more online material, but with certain stipulations:

     Materials that are not permitted or not appropriate will be deleted,
     no questions asked. After the first violation, the uploader will be
     notified by electronic mail. After the second offense, the site that
     the material originated from will be banned from access. A third
     offense will cause the entire domain to be banned.