Talk:Intellectual rights to magic methods
Patents
Shouldn't this page discuss patents, which specifically can describe processes, such as industrial processes and computer algorithms? It's not clear to me at all whether patent law applies to magic methods, but it seems it might. Deco 05:09, 28 July 2005 (UTC)
- Seems someone did update it. Looks good, thanks. Deco 21:36, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
Industry standard and praxis
This subject is a bit tricky, because there are intellectual rights to magic methods - it's just that those rights are not yet defined by law (just as it once was for a number of other fields).
So when it comes to revelation of magic methods, I suggest that Wikipedia adapt and comply to the standards that are used by the respected publishers of magic technical litterature around the world. Those are the people who on a regular basis has to decide what is ethical to publish, and have evolved a set of rules that are quite clear and simple to follow.
I'm a publisher of magic litterature myself, and I can contact "Hermetic Press", "L & L Publishing", "Kaufman and Company" and then put together a guideline for the Wikipedia that are in agreement with the industry standard. If this is interesting, where should I post it? --TStone 14:29, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
- I've put together a proposal for Policy for magic methods. Take a look --TStone 17:14, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
Controversial edits?
I don't know if my edits are controversial, but now the page reflects a reality which is valid and accurate.
The discussions so far seem to be about whether magic "secrets" should be revealed or not - but not a single one of the people involved in those discussions have stopped for a second and thought a bit about what one of the people behind the "secrets" might want.
I'm a creator of magical effects. I'm also a pacifist who have never lifted a finger at anyone - but if anyone suggests that my take on my art is less serious or less valid than a playwright's take on his art... then my pacifism becomes more strained.
I don't agree to the "magic must be secret always"-crowd. I care nothing for "secrets", I don't like them. I'm proud of my work, just as proud as a playwright might be. And I desire immortality.. no, I crave it! I want people to know about the devious covert choreography within my best pieces of work - so I can share my joy with them. You want magic to be secret? Fine. Create your own pieces and keep them secret, I will not protest. I want people to know about mine.
..but I can not act like that. Because my name will immediately be stripped from my work. The people who doesn't yet understand the finer nuances that will kick in first in the performances, will cut out those nunaces, to make it easier and quicker to transmit when posting it to all kinds of rip-off sites. Get to the meat quicker, not realizing that it is the meat they're cutting away - dragging it down from devious to ordinary... so I will not only be bereft immortality, I will also suffer the discomfort of watching my proudest work degenerate into nothing. What protect my work? Nothing!
The "information wants to be free"-crowd.. I'm not too keen about them. Sure, I have downloaded movies from the net three times. But I have never cut away the end credits, and passed it on without the credits. I'm a performer too. I'm rather creative, and each piece takes a long while to rehearse, because the covert choreography is rather tricky and counter-inituive. I might create 8 new pieces in a month. One single piece takes between 1-3 months of practice before I can perform it in front of an audience. About 10 % of my creations find their way in my repertoire. So I give away 90% of my work - good pieces. The remaining 10% I want to keep for myself for a while. Enjoy that end of the spectrum too - performing an original act, of which there are no clones of nowhere in the world.
But there's nothing that protect my work there either. It's quite possible to videotape a show, reverse-engineer a simpler piece, strip my name from my piece, then spread it all over the net - and sooner or later, some new beginner who want to impress me and get my approval will try to perform a botched version of my own work, refering to it as a "cool thing he found on the net" - and will be hurt and surprised when I instead throw him out and have him excommunicated - because that is the only protection that exists. To show strong disapproval towards anyone who steals material - when, infact, I would prefer to welcome anyone interested enough to actually learn the stuff. But I can't do that. Because there are no protection - and those thefts are supported and condoned by "info wants..."
I understand the idea somewhat. Photoshop is expensive as hell, and skills in that software is necessary for any hopeful beginner in computer graphics. Using a pirated copy to practice on, and then (hopefully) use the first money he earns on the skills to buy a real copy. That's a quicker route than mine (as mentioned in a shareware ebook I made on self publishing).
But applying the same concepts on magic? Come on. There are no monetary stumbleblocks here. I was raised on a farm in the middle of nowhere, and had no money at all for many years. That's the good thing with magic, you need nothing at all to create - just think really hard, and that's it. I've never understood why so few do that. If the information should be free, why then the reluctance to include the information that a certain piece is created by a certain person? If you want to give away something anonymously, then create your own piece and give away - I will not protest.
Hmm... I lost control there. Sorry --TStone 05:08, 25 January 2006 (UTC)