Bits and Mortar

Bits and Mortar is an online organization of publishers who support brick and mortar game stores.

Background

Bits and Mortar was established in July 2010, alternately referred to as a publisher's alliance, initiative, or coalition, which advocates for support of brick and mortar games stores. Founding organizations include Arc Dream Publishing, Cellar Games, Cubicle 7, Evil Hat Productions, Pelgrane Press, and Rogue Games.[1][2]

Prior to their foundation, gaming publishers providing proprietary methods of supplying gaming documentation, such as PDFs, to retail customers of brick and mortar stores.[3] Fred Hicks, founder of Evil Hat Productions and other publishers agreed to establish a non-profit organization to centralize the release and distribution of documentation. The Bits and Mortar initiative was eventually announced at Gen Con 2010.[4]

Fred Hicks is quoted as making the following statement:

We love real, physical brick and mortar game stores, and we want to see them survive — and thrive — even as the digital content options for gaming become more prevalent. Today's game-buying customers want the best of both worlds: the portability of an e-book, and the lasting durability of one made out of paper, glue, and ink. They want to be able to support their favorite local game stores, and they want to be able to support their favorite publishers. The Bits and Mortar initiative is all about making sure they don’t have to choose one or the other. We want them to choose both, every time.[1]

gollark: Not the same thing as actual lax rules.
gollark: That would be strict rules but in the wrong areas.
gollark: There's no real standard for "right" we can use, which is harder.
gollark: Maybe a third factor governs rule strictness *and* people-intelligence.
gollark: Maybe smart-people-containing servers accrete fewer rules.

References
  1. "RPG Blog II: Zack's Gen Con Liveblog, Day 3". Rpgblog2.com. 2010-08-07. Archived from the original on 2013-10-02. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
  2. Michael “Stargazer” Wolf •. "Bits And Mortar". Stargazersworld.com. Retrieved 2013-09-28.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  3. "Pelgrane Press Ltd » Blog Archive » Retail customers get PDFs through the Bits and Mortar initiative". Pelgranepress.com. 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
  4. Fred Hicks (2013-08-13). "Bits & Mortar Begins". Deadly Fredly. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
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