Indiestry creating a new "Class" of hobbyist?

[daMoose_Neo]

Are these the 'reading the rules is actual play' people that the sim essay notes? Since enjoying the causal networks described in the rules is something to enjoy.

Splats aren't neccesarily "rule books" though, so I don't know if that applies too well.
For example, I have a copy of Star Wars d20 on my shelf not because I dig d20, but because this book has oodles of stuff on Star Wars thats interesting and some of it is stuff I didn't catch because I haven't read all of the novels (I'm calling it a Splat for the example because of the d20- the system itself is everywhere, so this is "d20...but Star Wars" as a splat might be "Vampire...but as Cyberpyres!").
Splats detail more about "Sub Race X" or "Organization Y", so people who pick those up mindlessly are less apt to read the game info as they are to read setting, background etc etc as I might read a novel.

[Keith Senkowski]

I think there is something to what Andy is saying.  It isn't so much that there hasn't always been a strong fan support of material for RPGs, but rather it has never been such a big part of things as it is now.  With the advent of the internet, forums like RPG.net and the Forge, designers adn fans are much more closely connected.  There is instanct access and fan materials get deceminated to a wider audience.  I mean, back in the day when we (me and my friends) played DnD, we had little or no contact with other fan published (be it print of web) material.  Only in the last few years has there been a boom of such stuff.

Keith

[pete_darby]

Well, dare I say it, but outside the Indiestry, D20 and the OGL definitely had an effect of lowering the barrier of entry for fan / supplemental support for the 800 lb gorilla of the industry.

As with comments as regards Judges Guild, FASA as they began, etc. fan supplements have always been part of the hobby, but until TSR / WotC reversed previous policy, it was seen by many D&D supporters (which, lets face it, is what we mean by mainstream) as in a legal limbo.

Now, I think that for the Indiestry, the effects were less direct, but they did make efforts like RPGnow higher profile, and they changed the ethos of the mainstream from "Back off man, we're professionals" to "Everybody pitch in".