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Why hasn't Paizo released the full run of printed Dragon issues as either a searchable database or a monthly service?
Before I explain further, please note a quick disclaimer. I scanned the other threads in the General Discussion area for Dragon, and didn't see any threads/posts addressing what appears to be a pretty obvious idea. So apologies in advance if this idea has been posted and debated ad nauseum in other threads.
While it was being published, the annals of Dragon magazine largely captured the game's best thinking. And in some cases it's worst. Either way it formed the conversation for the D&D community at large. It's an incredibly rich, incredibly deep repository.
But for some reason, that repository of ideas, art, thinking, tweaking, etc. remains largely unavailable. To my knowledge, which going back to the disclaimer above is admittedly limited, Paizo has yet to "productize" Dragon as an archive. The only comprehensive efforts I'm aware of are the useful, but limited, CD-ROM release of the first 250 issues. Which had a search interface that would look laughable compared to what we're used to with Google. Or even the search functionality available on the Paizo web site. The other effort I'm aware of is the Best of Dragon Compendium Paizo released a few years ago. Which was inherently limited by the amount of material one could economically cram into a salable hard cover as well as what Erik Mona thought to be the "best" ideas, art, thinking, tweaking, etc. available.
I actually like the idea of someone with a polished palette for D&D game design, like Erik or anyone else on Paizo staff, searching the Dragon archive and adding value by extracting the best material available. But it's still an inherently limited view. Even the worst articles in Dragon have value to a GM or player just looking for inspiration. When I'm out culling the web for inspiration for my campaign or for work, I find a lot of crap. However, that crap sometimes has a tiny vein of brilliance that ends up being incredibly useful for other creative endeavors.
Paizo appears to have already invested significant effort in scanning the entire printed run of Dragon into .pdf's. Which they then sell for $5. What I'd propose is a release of a CD-ROM (or whatever distribution method makes sense for what is potentially hundreds of megs of data) of all 359 issues using a more contemporary search capability. Or ... a search service for $10 a month that grants the ability to search and download all the articles you'd want.
This probably implies that Paizo would have to index every article, illustration, and advertisement by keyword. As well as ensure a free text search be available against the entire archive. Which is work. But would seem to be recoverable through a business model of their choosing.
As former licensees of Dragon and Dungeon magazines we no longer have the legal right to reprint either periodical in this fashion. However, what it sounds like you're looking for does exist, in part. A several CD set compiling hundreds of PDFs of Dragon was released in the late '90s. You can still find copies floating about the interwebs, but they tend to cost a pretty penny.
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As former licensees of Dragon and Dungeon magazines we no longer have the legal right to reprint either periodical in this fashion. However, what it sounds like you're looking for does exist, in part. A several CD set compiling hundreds of PDFs of Dragon was released in the late '90s. You can still find copies floating about the interwebs, but they tend to cost a pretty penny.
Thanks much Wesley. Appreciate the prompt reply!
The OP may be interested in this online index.