DRM and the Social Contract
If DRM is necessary (or just unstoppable), what's a fair way to do it? DLB looks for inspiration in an example of a successful compromise between publishers and users.
I didn’t want to dwell on DRM anymore, but after responding to a comment on Tuesday’s post, I felt the need to play devil’s advocate—to prove that we’re not just idealists, but seriously thinking about this stuff.
My original suggestion was to remove all protection, embrace the effects of copying and change the pay structure. Ideally, the net result would be fewer pirates, thus more revenue. But maybe that’s just as radical as putting DRM on everything—who knows if it would really work?
The truth is: this stuff is still evolving. There isn’t a perfect model of DRM out there that works in the best interests of both the publisher and the user.
However, rather than be defeatist, I’d like to share with you one that does a fairly decent job by taking the middle path.
| Tagged with: | Design Ethics, DRM, Fun, Piracy, Social Contract, Steam, Valve, Video Games |