This is actually one of the big reasons current DDI tools are the way they are -too many people were abusing the multiple-downloads-per-update of the old CB, and while originally it was intended that DDI be shareable among a group, someone at Wizards had the bright idea to ask "wait, why are we only making money on one account rather than five?" as their business model shifted from DDI being a peripheral thing to a core part of their marketing strategy.
The official answer is "one customer, one account." That said, if your login into just happened to fall into your players' hands... well...
This is actually one of the big reasons current DDI tools are the way they are -too many people were abusing the multiple-downloads-per-update of the old CB, and while originally it was intended that DDI be shareable among a group, someone at Wizards had the bright idea to ask "wait, why are we only making money on one account rather than five?" as their business model shifted from DDI being a peripheral thing to a core part of their marketing strategy.
DDi was never intendend to be shared among a group of individuals. So I do not know where you got that idea.
1. Eligibility. The Software is available only to individuals eighteen (18) years of age and older at the time of installation. If you are between the ages of thirteen (13) and eighteen (18), your parent or guardian must complete the registration process to create an account with Wizards through the Dungeons & Dragons website (“Account”) and take full responsibility for all obligations under this License. Certain components of the Software may be available only to current subscribers of D&D Insider, and will be subject to all terms associated therewith, located at www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/inside.... You may not transfer, sell or share your Account with anyone, unless you are a parent or guardian, in which case you may permit one child to use the Account instead of yourself. YOU ARE LIABLE FOR ALL ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED THROUGH THE ACCOUNT.
while it may be ok to track their characters it is a bad idea to handout passwords to a group of people and you dont want to learn what your friends may do with your bank account at their disposal
DISCLAIMER: Note the use of the word "might". I take no responsibility in the event that you actually are kidnapped by Hasbro Stormtroopers or any other paramilitary arm of Hasbro and/or WotC.
Like others have pointed out, the official answer is no. That said, the NSA is probably not checking to make sure that no one else logs into your account so that they can alert the Hasbro Stormtroopers to kick in your door and haul you off to Gitmo. However, if you do share it, be smart and login first and then step back to let your friends do their thing rather than just giving them your password, unless you really really trust them or you already canceled that card after paying for the account.
DISCLAIMER: Note the use of the word "might". I take no responsibility in the event that you actually are kidnapped by Hasbro Stormtroopers or any other paramilitary arm of Hasbro and/or WotC.
The only thing that is stopping them is that it would take more effort and cost more money than the combined subscriptions they would gain from it...
DDi was never intendend to be shared among a group of individuals. So I do not know where you got that idea.
LOL. Yeah, that assessment is pretty funny.
Explain five downloads a month, then.
I'm not arguing that it was ever stated anywhere, but the original intent of the CB download/update limit was clear: five downloads for five players. I know there's a rumor floating around that somebody scared Hasbro by googling the CB and didn't get the actual download page in the top five hits in favor of cracks and torrents and that's what spurred the changeover to an online system, but I've never heard anything to back that up (though granted, I did get a "further information not available here" when I actually asked).
My pet theory (and that's all this is) is that DDI was originally designed to be an "oh, that's nice" side-bonus to D&D and that the main bulk of the line's revenue was intended to come -as it always has- from the sales of books. Then someone looked at the numbers that subscription-based services (MMOs, I'd wager) were posting and decided that "side-bonus" could be turned into "primary revenue stream," and that's what actually caused the change.
My big issue with that is that the package is not currently better than free -I have no real use for Dungeon, Dragon and the VT; the Compendium is buggy, error-ridden and incomplete; and the the tools that I would use, CB and MB, lack the features that make them useful to me (and are also buggy and incomplete)
I understand that WotC is not a software development company, but I would have appreciated them doing the research before they dove unprepared into a very complicated endeavour. I want to like DDI and the Insider Tools (and I did like them -and subscribed to them- prior to last November), but at the moment the shortcomings of the offerings prevent me from seeing parity between cost and value.
Explain five downloads a month, then.
I don't need to. Read the EULA.
That having been said, I do "occasionally" allow people in my group to use my account to create characters, but only at my house from my computers and I never give them my password. It's nice because then as a DM I have access to their characters when I need them.
So in other words, I own their characters. MWHAHAHA!
So yeah, don't share your account. Get your friends to pony up for their own. They'll have more fun having access any time they want without worrying about sharing anyway.
Explain five downloads a month, then.
I'm not arguing that it was ever stated anywhere, but the original intent of the CB download/update limit was clear: five downloads for five players.
Ermmm, nope.
The original purpose of 5 downloads was the following:
They figured that people would install it once ontheir home computer, and another on their laptop that they bring with them to their games. Maybe another for their work computer, and then two more for when (not if) but when they do something to their computer and have to re-install it. WotC has been *very* clear that groups are not to share a subscription.
Also, if they intended it to be one subscription per group, 6 downloads would make a whole lot more sense: 1 DM, 5 PCs.
The user agreement clearly says:
1. Eligibility. The Software is available only to individuals eighteen (18) years of age and older at the time of installation. [ ... ] You may not transfer, sell or share your Account with anyone, unless you are a parent or guardian, in which case you may permit one child to use the Account instead of yourself. YOU ARE LIABLE FOR ALL ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED THROUGH THE ACCOUNT.
So, the account is valid for ONE individual and cannot be shared.
Now, under American law, a corporation counts as an individual. This started waaay back as a way for corporations (groups of people united for a single task) to qualify for things such as loans or entry into contracts. But, since the Emancipation Proclimation applied to individuals, corporations suddenly gained the full human rights of any other individual (oops).
Now, if your group unites as a corporation, they can sign-up collectively as a single individual. They'll need to elect a Chief Financial Officer to make payments on behalf of the corporation, and divide shares (amount of stock owned in the company, i.e. percentage of the DDI subscription the person owns). Some states may have additional legal requirements for formally creating a corporation (articles of incorporation).
It's a big giant hurdle and time sink, but for the average 6 person group can save you $50 a month or $120 every three months. Minus any fees related to incorporation, or Staple fees for printing out really cool shares.
Not likely, and would not apply here. Besides, you will have to wait for that corporation (individual) to turn 18 years of age, if you want to play the semantical game.
Also, the "corporation as individual" thing is really a very recent idea legally and I'm sure it wouldn't apply here (though I'm not a lawyer so don't take this as some kind of legal advice).
I was going to reply with "but an adult can share with a child" and then I realized there's no such thing as a corporate child.
Also, the "corporation as individual" thing is really a very recent idea legally and I'm sure it wouldn't apply here (though I'm not a lawyer so don't take this as some kind of legal advice).
Yeah, there is the "spirit of the law" and there is the "letter of the law." That's why we have a court of law.
If it's really that big of a deal to anyone, they should contact a lawyer, not a message board.
Also, the "corporation as individual" thing is really a very recent idea legally and I'm sure it wouldn't apply here (though I'm not a lawyer so don't take this as some kind of legal advice).
If by "recent" you mean 125 years.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_County...
Given the whole point of a newly formed corporation was to sign contracts, I believe the standard aging would not apply. Otherwise, not being legal adults, any contracts they sign would be void.
The case is most notable for the obiter dictum statement that corporations are entitled to protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Please lets not turn this into a legal debate but do you know what obiter dictum means? It's not a legal statement and should never have been used as prescident for anything. In fact, it is my understanding that it should never have been entered into the record at all.
The EULA that has been quoted is pretty clear. If you aren't the purchaser you can't use it...
Off topic, I know, but:
DDi was never intendend to be shared among a group of individuals. So I do not know where you got that idea.LOL. Yeah, that assessment is pretty funny.
Explain five downloads a month, then.
I'm not arguing that it was ever stated anywhere, but the original intent of the CB download/update limit was clear: five downloads for five players. I know there's a rumor floating around that somebody scared Hasbro by googling the CB and didn't get the actual download page in the top five hits in favor of cracks and torrents and that's what spurred the changeover to an online system, but I've never heard anything to back that up (though granted, I did get a "further information not available here" when I actually asked).
My pet theory (and that's all this is) is that DDI was originally designed to be an "oh, that's nice" side-bonus to D&D and that the main bulk of the line's revenue was intended to come -as it always has- from the sales of books. Then someone looked at the numbers that subscription-based services (MMOs, I'd wager) were posting and decided that "side-bonus" could be turned into "primary revenue stream," and that's what actually caused the change.
My big issue with that is that the package is not currently better than free -I have no real use for Dungeon, Dragon and the VT; the Compendium is buggy, error-ridden and incomplete; and the the tools that I would use, CB and MB, lack the features that make them useful to me (and are also buggy and incomplete)
I understand that WotC is not a software development company, but I would have appreciated them doing the research before they dove unprepared into a very complicated endeavour. I want to like DDI and the Insider Tools (and I did like them -and subscribed to them- prior to last November), but at the moment the shortcomings of the offerings prevent me from seeing parity between cost and value.
Actually, the five download limit was officially meant to make sure that if your computer crashed and you needed one or more reinstalls to get it right, you had a couple in store before bugging CustServ. WoTC always took a stand by saying: "We can't watch what you do with these, but they're not made for sharing"
That, and if you have two or more computers, it allowed you to access your CB from almost anywhere (though it'd be stupid, unless you carried your character files on a memory stick, external HD or Dropbox folder).