the logos said:No. That's not what I'm saying at all, and you're really trying too hard to make these illogical inferences. Hijacking is forcibly seizing control of property with the full knowledge and absence of consent of the property owner. Quit trying to paint all these people as pirates/hijackers/child molesters/axes of evil. They're not.
What I'm saying *is* akin to saying that for 20 years, there have been lots of "unlicensed fan clubs" celebrating the works of Tolkien. For 20 years, the Tolkien estate has either tacitly allowed it or turned a blind eye to it. The Tolkien estate hasn't declared these games anathema. The Tolkien estate hasn't begged, pleaded, cajoled or threatened people to shut down their free Tolkien-inspired games. If they did so *today*, then I'd be right there with you, saying such games need to shut down. But they haven't so far, which makes the argument - in my opinion - rather moot insofar as Tolkien is specifically concerned.
It would be akin to piracy if these games, which the Tolkien estate must surely have heard of by now, had been ordered to shut down but didn't. It would be akin to piracy if, like Mercedes Lackey and Terry Goodkind, specific statements *against* such "homages" had been issued.
I agree it may be discourteous to create a game based on the Wheel of Time without asking Robert Jordan's permission. I disagree that it makes the MUD operator a *criminal* unless he's doing it for profit. There may well be a day I agree that borrowing a theme without express written permission is criminal, but that will be the day the courts - not Matt - specifically rule on the issue of MUDs and their influence on intellectual property rights. Until then, this is just so much chest pounding and navel gazing (interesting though it may sometimes be).
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