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Shareware Overload Trio 2
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GUIDE.TXT
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1994-06-10
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125 lines
Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA)
c/o Doug Lowenstein
Robinson, Lake, Lereer & Montgomery
Strategic Communications
1667 K Street NW, Suite 900
Washington DC 20006
202/457-9270
These gentlemen sponsored the Video Game Rating Act of 1994 and have
expressed support for the IDSA ratings scheme:
Representative Tom Lantos
2182 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Voice: 202-225-3531
Fax: 202-225-3127
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman
316 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Voice: 202-224-4041
Senator Herbert H. Kohl
330 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Voice: 202-224-5653
Guidelines for writing letters:
1. Identify yourself as a citizen and (if applicable) business person.
Examples:
I am a woman who has operated a small business from my home for the
past ten years. I develop educational and entertainment software which
is sold through mail order and in retail stores such as Walmart. This
business has enabled me to support myself and my three children, and
to provide part-time employment for three other adults.
I am the parent of three school-aged children. I frequently purchase
low-cost educational software and games for them.
I am a physically handicapped computer programmer working for a small
software developer who produces computer games. Without this job, I
would be forced to apply for state disability payments.
I am a self-employed African-American Vietnam-era veteran. I write
software which is distributed as shareware, and which is also licensed
for sale in low-cost packages in retail stores.
2. Identify your concerns.
Examples:
I was shocked to learn that members of the Senate are promoting a
plan which would force me to spend 40 percent of my pre-tax income
to support a software rating system devised by Japanese-based cartridge
game manufacturers.
The IDSA ratings plan would force me to spend thousands of dollars on
video equipment which I neither need nor desire. Additionally, I would
have to pay an astonishing $500 -- or more -- per program to have my
software "rated" by a system designed for the benefit of billion-dollar
cartridge game manufacturers.
3. Add explanatory material, including facts, feelings and opinions.
Delaying the release of my software by the weeks or months it would
take such a panel to review the thousands of new software releases
would have a serious negative impact on my ability to do business.
The majority of independent developers do not write offensive
material. It is unfair to impose severe economic penalties on small,
struggling businesses because the excesses of a very few.
I do not want to see harm come to the small specialty companies and
shareware authors who have provided me with so many fine programs
over the years. I have faith in their ability to provide accurate
ratings without establishing a huge bureaucracy.
4. Suggest reasonable alternatives.
Examples:
In the interest of providing information to consumers, I would be
willing to label the contents of my software according to guidelines
established by the major shareware trade associations.
A content labelling system which permits the software author or
publisher to provide information about the product as part of the
development process would be the most efficient and accurate method
of conveying information to parents.
As a taxpayer, I do not want to be forced to pay for something that
software publishers are willing and able to do for free.
5. Conclude with a strong recommendation.
Examples:
I strongly urge you to reconsider your position.
I strongly urge you to investigate the motives of those who are promoting
this plan.
I hope you will support the needs of thousands of small businesses and
their customers by rejecting IDSA's scheme.
Comments:
Be forceful, but not insulting. It's okay to say "I am shocked by the
Senator's support of IDSA" but it's not okay to say "He must have been
bribed by these crooks". Try to appeal to them as if they were reasonable
people who simply need a few more facts in order to do the right thing.
Make your position clear near the top of the letter and again near the
bottom. "Pro" and "con" letters are counted by busy staffers who may not
take the time to read the entire letter.
It's okay to use sample letters as models, but make sure you change them
and phrase things in your own words as much as possible. Officials may
discount letters if they appear to be mass-produced form letters.