Forum Name Changes?

[alex_greene]

I have a thought.

Now Legend has shipped, and the RuneQuest license has sunsetted, does it now make sense to change the name of this forum to Legend/RuneQuest II, and perhaps ultimately just to Legend?

 

[mwsasser]

That would appear to abandon existing published materials.

 

[PhilHibbs]

That would appear to abandon existing published materials.

How does changing a forum name abandon anything? If the name was printed in any RQ2 stuff, it would be "RuneQuest II" not "RuneQuest II/Legend", so changing it to "Legend (formerly RuneQuest II)" or some such would not "abandon" anything. Mongoose no longer have the trademark, there's not much they can do about that, and products sadly do get abandoned due to commercial factors.

 

[alex_greene]

I did mention the sunsetting of the RQ license.

That means it's expired or expiring, which means that Mongoose will no longer be legally able to support RQ in any official capacity - particularly when the next publisher takes up the RuneQuest banner.

So sooner or later, they'll legally have to change the name of this forum to Legend.

And it's not so much "abandoning" the old license and products, more "being forced to relinquish control over" the products.

Your RuneQuest books won't be obsolete, by any means. But you'll not see references to them appearing in any future Mongoose products. So in the fullness of time, we'll all have to get used to the name "RuneQuest" quietly disappearing from the forum title.

I was just curious to see if the Mongoose staff had any plans for this to happen any day soon.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Pretty much when we get round to it It will be this week.

As for abandoning products, we have maintained 100% compatibility with the RQII range in Legend, so if they are in your collection, they will remain useable!

 

[alex_greene]

On a personal note, I seriously want to get my hands on the new core rulebook, so I can see this game get used without the old RuneQuest trappings holding it back. Legend by name, and I hope, Legend by nature.

 

[mwsasser]

I was merely suggesting the appearance of abandonment and not actual abandonment which I cannot imagine happening.

I do find it surprising that legally they wouldn't be able to keep the name somewhere in the forum title as a signal to forum searchers. For example: Legend (Formerly Runequest). Is this a UK publishing law perhaps?

 

[alex_greene]

It's a clean break, by the sounds of it. Someone else has the RuneQuest license, so while RQ might crop up as a topic in the forum, which is acceptable considering Legend was once RuneQuest, it just makes sense to cease associating Mongoose' name with a non-Mongoose product line.

 

[sdavies2720]

Just take a page from 'Prince' in the period where his record label had the rights to marketing under the 'Prince' name...thus the creation of a symbol for his name, and the media adopting the word-around of "The artist formerly known as Prince"

 

[RangerDan]

Just take a page from 'Prince' in the period where his record label had the rights to marketing under the 'Prince' name...thus the creation of a symbol for his name, and the media adopting the word-around of "The artist formerly known as Prince"

The Game Formerly Known as Runequest

I don't think the RQ6 guys (Design Mechanism?) would be OK with that!

 

[mwsasser]

Yea but as only a sub-heading in a forum they might not give a hoot. Don't they often read and post on this forum in fact? It might be a nice way to bridge between.

 

[Loz]

Yea but as only a sub-heading in a forum they might not give a hoot. Don't they often read and post on this forum in fact? It might be a nice way to bridge between.

Even though the RQ name is sunsetting for Mongoose, it doesn't take away from the fact that there are two Mongoose-published games in use called RuneQuest. People who have those rulebooks and come to this board with questions may not be completely aware of the change to Legend. So, I have no problem with the forum's name becoming 'Legend and Mongoose RuneQuest' (which covers all bases and is factually correct). Its fair use and helps out the fan base. In time I can see the name just becoming Legend as the new title gets established.

Likewise Design Mechanism may also get questions specifically about RQII/Legend on its boards and want to set up a reciprocating forum with the same title. That way people who visit either site can post in the appropriate place and have their questions answered.

Either way, its not something we'd split hairs over or get all lawyerly about!

 

[mwsasser]

Awesome Loz, thanks for responding!