Hi all,
Just a few thoughts that I'd like to share. (Second time of posting this, but I can't find the first post....apologies if I duplicate).
Firstly, copyright is copyright and the law is the law. There is really no point in discussing how upset I am because a wonderful service (the Deck Exchange) has been withdrawn. If it's a breach of copyright law, then, we all have to accept that and be thankful and feel lucky for the enjoyment we've had up until now.
The Orphalese Tarot Zone can now be accessed by anybody who has downloaded a copy of the Orphalese software, and, Richard recently made it possible so that guests could not only browse the forum topics, but they could also post if they wanted to. Guests were also able to view the Deck Exchange but were unable to download. Essentially, this is a public forum and everything we say and do here is open to scrutiny. And I'm thinking back now to the other internet forums in which I've posted news (and reviews) of this software where I've happily promoted access to the hundreds of decks, as a selling point. It seems inevitable and not surprising that we are now being called into account.
I think we all agree that Orphalese has been instrumental in exposing us to decks that we'd otherwise have not known about. As Ifeb said, the beauty has been, not only being able to see each card in the deck, but also being able to work with them with the idea of purchasing the physical deck if we felt a connection. This has been particularly important for me, because I live in a small town where there is only one shop and a pub (and neither of them sell Tarot decks). So, I am reduced to buying most of my decks from the internet which means that I don't even get to see the physical deck before ordering it. Even when I visit a larger town and go into a shop that does sell Tarot, the decks are sealed in plastic so I cannot look through them. I have decks in my cupboard gathering dust because I thought I wanted them. These are decks that I do not have a connection to and I purchased before registering the Orphalese software. Like others here, I have purchased physical decks for myself and for my family and friends, based on the connection I felt with them, after working with them with the Orphalese software. I hope that the Publisher spy/spies reads our messages and takes back this information to their marketing departments, as I feel they are largely ignorant about this positive aspect of sharing decks.
I think of Orphalese as a public library, where you can check out a deck (like you would a book). You read the book from the library, and if you really enjoy it, then you buy your own copy. If it has a strong message, you may even buy a copy for a friend. That's what I do, anyhow. The magic of Orphalese is in being able to road-test the deck. It's a pity there are not libraries where you can check out the physical deck, as this would satisfy one component that Orphalese has been able to provide up till now.
There are other ways of attaining graphic images of decks. Here is a link to a public section/thread in Aeclectic Tarot that posts the website addresses (URLs) where you can see pictures of entire decks. Some of them even have card notes/interpretations too.
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=17948
Given that a lot of images are available elsewhere, it would be to the publisher(s) benefit, if we have to pay for downloading decks here, that they allow the continuation of the viewing of the entire deck through the preview button and that it is only the downloading itself that attracts the charge.
I would also expect, that it is within copyright law to retain the electronic version of a deck that you physically own in the same way that it is legal to burn a copy of a cd that you physically own, for your own private use.
We need to look at this situation creatively and manifest a positive outcome. I can already hear your collective brains ticking....and some have already made suggestions.....after all, necessity is the mother of invention.
regards
purple_scorp