corpsband Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 (edited) The DCI office is responsive and will sell you the DCI Rule Book for $35 plus shipping - as the original poster found out back in post #28. There is a bigger issue at play here - one of intellectual property rights. The rule book, the judging system and many other things that DCI as an organization has created over the years is their intellectual property. I do not understand the concept of why some people think they should have access to that material for free. As an example, DCI has spent large sums of money on developing the judging system and training hundreds (thousands?) of judges in its application. That system has been adopted, borrowed, co-opted and often directly ripped off over the years by various band and color guard circuits, one-off band shows and even some other unrelated activities with no compensation going back to DCI or the corps. I have no problem with the idea that DCI should be monetizing their intellectual property rights through licensing or other similar arrangements. A $35 ask for a copy of the rule book is not an unreasonable expectation. IMO. Publishing the rules on their website would not invalidate any of DCI's rights nor would it stop them from pursuing licensing arrangements. And $35 is not really a barrier to adopting, borrowing, co-opting or ripping off on the part of anyone who'd want to do that. As for it being DCI's intellectual property, I'd wager that large portions of DCI's "property" were "borrowed" in the first place :-) So the decision has little to do with any of that. Maybe someone somewhere thinks the income stream is worth it? Maybe it's part of the culture of closed doors and "insiders" that many on DCP have commented on. Don't know. But protecting their IP? kthxlulz IMO. Edited February 20, 2011 by corpsband Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Here's a suggestion: If The DCI office won't respond to your request, contact one of the corps. They all have copies of the rulebook. Offer a donation to the corps for a copy of the rulebook and I'll bet they'll respond. Especially in this economy. And an observation. Knowing some of the top 12 designers, I can tell you that if anyone, let alone a judge, tried to rewrite anyone's show, it would probably be their last show as a judge. The first rule in judging is "Don't rewrite the shows." You can tell them what is working and what is not and why it's not as best you can, but that's about the extent. Listen to some of the tapes. I've read this whole thread and wonder what some of the opinions are of 9-11. agree. rank, rate, and don't rewrite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd Glasgow BB Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 DCI have probably spent a lot of time and therefore $$$ on their rule book over the years. I don't mind paying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Knowing some of the top 12 designers, I can tell you that if anyone, let alone a judge, tried to rewrite anyone's show, it would probably be their last show as a judge. The first rule in judging is "Don't rewrite the shows." You can tell them what is working and what is not and why it's not as best you can, but that's about the extent. Agree. Rank, rate, and don't rewrite. This reminds me of some oft-quoted comments on movie criticism by John Simon: What is film criticism all about? Praise for our product, says the industry. Recognition, or failing that, constructive suggestions, say the film-makers. Reliable guidance, says the public. All of those things, say the reviewers, except, of course, praise only for good products. None of these things principally, say critics. Critics are after something harder and more elusive: pursuing their own reactions down to the rock bottom of their subjectivity and expressing them with the utmost artistry, so that what will always elude the test of objective truth will at least become a kind of art: the art of illumination, persuasion, and good thinking and writing. The industry is not to be indulged, any more than the film-maker is to be told how he should make movies: the one would be dishonest, the other presumptuous. The public, to be sure, is to be guided, but not in the simplistic way it hopes for.It is not for the critic to do the reader’s thinking for him; it is for the critic merely to do his own thinking for the reader’s benefit. This may seem like a slight difference, but it is in fact tremendous. Emphasis mine. One difference with drum corps is that the critic, i.e. judge, answers not only to his own taste but to the rules. Another is that the public almost never gets to learn the specifics of the critic/judge's expert opinion, and so misses out on the "illumination" that Simon mentions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmdigmon Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 FYI, the rule book that I ordered for $35 is nothing more than the 2010 Contest Rules. I don't need to know that performers can cross the sidelines or that World Class caption awards are averaged across all three nights. I knew that. I want the sheets. I want the rubrics. Hopefully, DCI will respond to rectify the situation, either through sending me something actually worth $35 or giving my money back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Murray Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 FYI, the rule book that I ordered for $35 is nothing more than the 2010 Contest Rules. I don't need to know that performers can cross the sidelines or that World Class caption awards are averaged across all three nights. I knew that. I want the sheets. I want the rubrics. Hopefully, DCI will respond to rectify the situation, either through sending me something actually worth $35 or giving my money back. Good luck with that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmdigmon Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Thanks! I thought I made it clear to the sales rep what I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 FYI, the rule book that I ordered for $35 is nothing more than the 2010 Contest Rules. I don't need to know that performers can cross the sidelines or that World Class caption awards are averaged across all three nights. I knew that. I want the sheets. I want the rubrics. Hopefully, DCI will respond to rectify the situation, either through sending me something actually worth $35 or giving my money back. what a joke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRacer Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Maybe Wikileaks has a copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 FYI, the rule book that I ordered for $35 is nothing more than the 2010 Contest Rules. I don't need to know that performers can cross the sidelines or that World Class caption awards are averaged across all three nights. I knew that. I want the sheets. I want the rubrics. Hopefully, DCI will respond to rectify the situation, either through sending me something actually worth $35 or giving my money back. I want to say I'm surprised..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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