Re: My Game

[ajr@ecs.soton.ac.uk]

On Tue, Sep 11, 2001 at 06:26:01PM -0500, Steve Baker wrote:
> Chris wrote:
> > 
> > Steve Baker wrote:
> > 
> > > I'd still like to see a voluntary version of the ESRB ratings
> > > that could be applied to OpenSource games.
> > 
> > I agree completely, a rating system would not only give guidelines to
> > parents but it would reflect well on the open source development community
> > as a whole.
> > 
> > If any list members want to know more about the ESRB rating system, some
> > (unfortunately not very detailed) information may be obtained from
> > www.esrb.org. In particular, http://www.esrb.org/esrb_about.asp lists the
> > various rating certificates with basic information on the criteria for
> > each.
> 
> Some years ago, I asked the ESRB about the possibility of them providing
> some guidance here.  However, since they get paid to do their ratings, they
> weren't too keen about doing it for free - and without them actually having
> tested the game, they obviously wouldn't hand out ratings.
> 
> So, what I'd suggest would be to simply duplicate their standard, generate
> a new logo with the same set of rating letters and have it link to a web page
> somewhere that says what the letters mean and (importantly) that this is
> a voluntary system and that we can't take responsibility if someone
> mis-represents their game by putting on the wrong rating.
> 

Sounds like a fabulous idea to me. I would fully support such a project,
and should be able to help out. If logos were devised, I would 
advocate their use on WorldForge games, the project I am involved with.

It is important to maintain clear status as a voluntary code, to
avoid legal liability, but in order to preserve some kind of value,
the logo could be registered with the USPTO as a certification mark,
which would give you the legal power to ask people to stop using it
if you think they are using it incorrectly. Needs careful thought, and
probably legal advice. It might be better to host the site off US
soil to make it less vulnerable to litigation.

I probably getting ahead of myself, but it does sound like a great idea.
Let me know what needs to be done.

One last important thing: Don't go public until something usable is in
place, ie an easily accessible website with good logos and rating
graphics available, with clear readable text explaining their use.

Al
--
Al Riddoch
WorldForge Developer