Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) c/o Doug Lowenstein Robinson, Lake, Lereer & Montgomery Strategic Communications 1667 K Street NW, Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 202/457-9270 These gentlemen sponsored the Video Game Rating Act of 1994 and have expressed support for the IDSA ratings scheme: Representative Tom Lantos 2182 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Voice: 202-225-3531 Fax: 202-225-3127 Senator Joseph I. Lieberman 316 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Voice: 202-224-4041 Senator Herbert H. Kohl 330 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Voice: 202-224-5653 Guidelines for writing letters: 1. Identify yourself as a citizen and (if applicable) business person. Examples: I am a woman who has operated a small business from my home for the past ten years. I develop educational and entertainment software which is sold through mail order and in retail stores such as Walmart. This business has enabled me to support myself and my three children, and to provide part-time employment for three other adults. I am the parent of three school-aged children. I frequently purchase low-cost educational software and games for them. I am a physically handicapped computer programmer working for a small software developer who produces computer games. Without this job, I would be forced to apply for state disability payments. I am a self-employed African-American Vietnam-era veteran. I write software which is distributed as shareware, and which is also licensed for sale in low-cost packages in retail stores. 2. Identify your concerns. Examples: I was shocked to learn that members of the Senate are promoting a plan which would force me to spend 40 percent of my pre-tax income to support a software rating system devised by Japanese-based cartridge game manufacturers. The IDSA ratings plan would force me to spend thousands of dollars on video equipment which I neither need nor desire. Additionally, I would have to pay an astonishing $500 -- or more -- per program to have my software "rated" by a system designed for the benefit of billion-dollar cartridge game manufacturers. 3. Add explanatory material, including facts, feelings and opinions. Delaying the release of my software by the weeks or months it would take such a panel to review the thousands of new software releases would have a serious negative impact on my ability to do business. The majority of independent developers do not write offensive material. It is unfair to impose severe economic penalties on small, struggling businesses because the excesses of a very few. I do not want to see harm come to the small specialty companies and shareware authors who have provided me with so many fine programs over the years. I have faith in their ability to provide accurate ratings without establishing a huge bureaucracy. 4. Suggest reasonable alternatives. Examples: In the interest of providing information to consumers, I would be willing to label the contents of my software according to guidelines established by the major shareware trade associations. A content labelling system which permits the software author or publisher to provide information about the product as part of the development process would be the most efficient and accurate method of conveying information to parents. As a taxpayer, I do not want to be forced to pay for something that software publishers are willing and able to do for free. 5. Conclude with a strong recommendation. Examples: I strongly urge you to reconsider your position. I strongly urge you to investigate the motives of those who are promoting this plan. I hope you will support the needs of thousands of small businesses and their customers by rejecting IDSA's scheme. Comments: Be forceful, but not insulting. It's okay to say "I am shocked by the Senator's support of IDSA" but it's not okay to say "He must have been bribed by these crooks". Try to appeal to them as if they were reasonable people who simply need a few more facts in order to do the right thing. Make your position clear near the top of the letter and again near the bottom. "Pro" and "con" letters are counted by busy staffers who may not take the time to read the entire letter. It's okay to use sample letters as models, but make sure you change them and phrase things in your own words as much as possible. Officials may discount letters if they appear to be mass-produced form letters.