Rifter #0.1: Update and Inquiry

[Prysus]

Greetings and Salutations. Just sent out a bulk e-mail to contributors (those whose e-mail addresses I could find), giving an update and asking a few questions. Not sure what the final results will be, but will decide what to do next from there. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Josh Hilden]

Hey, mine was initially submitted at the beginning of the project and if it's still included I'd like it pulled.

Thanks.

[Prysus]

Hey, mine was initially submitted at the beginning of the project and if it's still included I'd like it pulled.

Thanks.

Greetings and Salutations. Indeed it was, your After the Bomb article. Don't think your e-mail address was in my list, but I had intended to contact you later (after I got the e-mails sorted out and figured out who I still had to contact). I kind of suspected that would be the case. Thanks for the response, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure it gets pulled (per your request). Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Spinachcat]

Here's my initial thoughts!

1) I believe there is value in the creation of a venue for fan creations based on PB games outside of the Rifter. I do not know if this should be the Rifter Zero or perhaps a wiki which is fan-moderated using PB's guidelines, just like the PB forums. I would be happy to contribute to either!

2) I believe there is value in free access to fan creations and I believe the "cream" will quickly rise in popularity as fans comment on how much Article X was really useful for the games. Also, I believe free access to fan stuff will not negatively affect sales of official products. In fact, many companies have seen an increase in sales because of the open access to free stuff.

3) Only PB has the piece of information that matters most in the Rifter Zero equation: how much effort did PB have to put into the first one before it was published online and how much profit have they made from the sale of that issue?

4) The impetus for the second RifterZero issue was AlexM's house fire coming relatively soon after the Crisis of Treachery and the fanbase wanting to do something to support PB. I don't know what the impetus would be now to finish the project. Perhaps there is more value in the project morphing into a launch of a free fan stuff section of the PB website.

5) As I told Prysus, I am always opening to editing suggestions and I would even consider collaborative writing. But on the subject of rewrites without author input, I offer you my favorite story about Larry Kasdan, the screenwriter of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Years ago, Larry was asked why he demands $1M per script (back when even big writers got a lot less). He famously said you pay $500k for his script and another $500k for the right to change it!

I am eager to hear everyone else's input!

[Prysus]

Here's my initial thoughts!

1) I believe there is value in the creation of a venue for fan creations based on PB games outside of the Rifter. I do not know if this should be the Rifter Zero or perhaps a wiki which is fan-moderated using PB's guidelines, just like the PB forums. I would be happy to contribute to either!

2) I believe there is value in free access to fan creations and I believe the "cream" will quickly rise in popularity as fans comment on how much Article X was really useful for the games. Also, I believe free access to fan stuff will not negatively affect sales of official products. In fact, many companies have seen an increase in sales because of the open access to free stuff.

3) Only PB has the piece of information that matters most in the Rifter Zero equation: how much effort did PB have to put into the first one before it was published online and how much profit have they made from the sale of that issue?

4) The impetus for the second RifterZero issue was AlexM's house fire coming relatively soon after the Crisis of Treachery and the fanbase wanting to do something to support PB. I don't know what the impetus would be now to finish the project. Perhaps there is more value in the project morphing into a launch of a free fan stuff section of the PB website.

5) As I told Prysus, I am always opening to editing suggestions and I would even consider collaborative writing. But on the subject of rewrites without author input, I offer you my favorite story about Larry Kasdan, the screenwriter of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Years ago, Larry was asked why he demands $1M per script (back when even big writers got a lot less). He famously said you pay $500k for his script and another $500k for the right to change it!

I am eager to hear everyone else's input!

Greetings and Salutations. I appreciate your feedback, and have been listening to the other responses as well. I have a few thoughts on how to proceed (based on responses and situations so far), and will be sending a second e-mail tomorrow. For note, in that e-mail, I'll also recommend coming here, and then maybe just sending another group e-mail in a week or two just to sum up discussions (for those who don't want to or can't come here).

As for the questions, just for the record, they were mostly asked so that when I do talk to Palladium again about it (and by no means do I have an authority on talking to them about it, and anyone else can feel free to approach them regarding the matter however they see fit), I can do so with a recommended plan based upon responses that (hopefully) everyone can live with. I have no actual plans for anyone to edit/rewrite anyone else's work.

Though in a quick summary of what I've gathered so far ... two people can no longer be contacted (for note, neither one were on the e-mail list and the method used previously to contact them is no longer valid), one article was already printed in a Rifter, one wishes to withdraw his article (see above in this thread), and another has already e-mailed Wayne about submitting his to the Rifter (mentioned in another thread on this sub-forum). Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Spinachcat]

Those results aren't surprising considering the passage of time.

Perhaps the more interesting conversation will become whether PB wants to develop an online repository of free stuff by fans for fans.

And thank you for taking the lead on this!

[Shawn Merrow]

I went over my Monsters of Japan article again for a light edit and submitted it to Wayne for use in the Rifter.

[Prysus]

Greetings and Salutations. I just realized I never updated this thread. While I sent out an e-mail to contributors (at least those I could contact), I should post the final results here as well. This is for anyone I may have missed and/or interested parties who didn't contribute themselves.

Greetings and Salutations to one and all.

For those of you still curious, I've received word regarding the final fate of the Rifter 0.1 project. As some of you have likely suspected, and perhaps to the disappointment of others, the project is cancelled. For transparency, I will include a few of the e-mails for others to review. A few segments will be edited (to remove names, private information including various e-mail addresses, a non-Rifter 0.1 topic, etc.).

Thank you all for you interest and participation. Though it saddens me to see this finally end, I also feel a great deal of relief. One way or the other, this is settled. For those still wanting to see you work published, I recommend resubmitting to the traditional Rifter. They're always looking for new talent and more good material. I will officially be resubmitting my Shadow Falls on the Night Sky to the Rifter and hope for the best. My Anthropology article will be going up on my website soon (maybe early December, because adding that will take some work), unless Palladium otherwise contacts me regarding it.

I wish you all the best. Farewell and safe journeys once again.

For the record, I have been reconsidering what I will do with my Anthropology article. While the end result will probably it going up on my site in the end, it might be longer than December. I've been brainstorming a few other ideas with it I might want to try first. We'll see how that goes. Until then, have fun everyone. Farewell and safe journeys.