Let us know if you think it derails the thread too much.

But clearly this principle isn't obvious to everyone, so I figured it deserves a clear explanation.

No, I think it's relevant. It's just that ... if it isn't blindingly obvious to some people that a store has a responsibility for the products they are selling, I'm not sure what we can do help them tbh.

Who gets to decide what is an "inane discussion" or what isn't? *thinking emoji*

Well, in my opinion it's a inane discussion, being driven by a likely troll. I'm not stopping anyone though, who feels differently.

Tsk, isn't it obvious? It's the sweat-stained, pizza-encrusted, unshaven slob sitting in his Batcave with a bank of computers running downvoting scripts on GOG forums. ;)

Well, crap :-/

False again. If the 'condiment' DRM falls outside of the original contract, it is in your rights, as a store, to refuse to keep selling that product. The breach of contract lies with the supplier for supplying something harmful in their product, that is not part of that contract. ... But if you, as vendor, keep selling a product that contains a harmful condiment, then you are liable as well! You can't say: "Oh, but it was the supplier who put the glass shards into the condiment. I knew they were there, but I kept selling them. Still, it's not my fault!"

Or counter example: you operate a vegan restaurant, making a big point of being against the killing of animals and promising food that is free of animal products. Suddenly you start serving (meat) sausages and ham with your meals. You justify that by:
1) Hey! It's not as if the entire meal is made of meat. You can still get a full meal without eating meat. Just leave the sausages aside! ... So it's still vegan, right?
2) It wasn't us who killed those animals. It was some butcher. Not our responsibility. We are still totally against killing animals, we just sell the meat. We didn't produce it!

I repeat:
a) DRM-free means free of DRM. Not a 'low amount of DRM'. Not 'just a bit DRM'. It means completely free of DRM. Otherwise the term is a lie.
b) it is GOG's responsibility what they sell. Just like any other vendor is liable for what they sell.

When someone knowingly sells faulty wares, it is his decision and his fault. And that's what GOG does. They sell games now that are (in parts) defective by design.

And I suppose if a cookie supplier to Whole Foods was to suddenly start putting marijuana in their cookies and Whole Foods kept selling them after they became aware, then Whole Foods would be completely innocent of any blame? "Oh, woops! It wasn't our fault ... our supplier did it ... what can we do?" /shrug

Good lord, rofl! XD

Maybe they have changed the definition, so now it is "Free for DRM." :shrug:

Haven't followed this closely, but it still isn't a lot of games, I would hope?

Yes, maybe you should.

We're serious about DRM-free. After all, it is the core principle the GOG store was founded on and a large part of the reason it has been successful so far.

Just picked up this book in Skellige, while playing The Wild Hunt, don't know if it's aged that well. (see attached Pic)

You must be ultra oblivious to not understand that in such case it's the supplier that broke the contract by changing the specification of the product (properly made contract should include the exact specification of a product to-be-supplied).

NDAs don't apply to specific types of business-related court cases.
You can 100% still sue the supplier for unauthorised change in suppplied products' specifications even if you are under an NDA.

Or, you know, it shows that they (store) won't accept supplier getting away with unauthorised changes to a contract.
It shows that as a store owner you are well based and have some rules instead of letting your supplier be a hidden boss of your business by accepting "whatever your supplier does" "becuase he is the supplier".
You are the man in the middle.
As a store it's 100% your possibility to deny goods coming through.
If you wave your hands saying "my supplier changed the spec so there's nothing I can do" you are basically admitting to no longer being in control of your own store and the supplier being a "shadow boss" waving you around their fingers.

I'm sorry, but I just don't follow.
What "extra content not covered by contract" are you talking about?
If a truck (from your supplier) full of merchandise not falling under signed contract shows up at your warehouse, do you just "accept the extra merchandise"?
What are you? A mafia?

Well it would be certainly beyond idiotic if GOG would not have DRM related clauses in their contracts.
It would be a legendary level of satire.

Even as a lowest effort "lowest liability" kind of store - a dropshipping service - you remain the man in the middle, and you have 100% chances of a veto.
You ALWAYS have a choice as a store owner.

As a store owner you have full control over what you accept from the supplier.
End of the story.
You are not forced into a deal - and no - "supplier arfiticial monopoly" does not clasify as "being forced".
As an owner of a store you are 100% choice-enabled to deny the supplier shenanigans.
You just say no to it - it's that simple.
You always have a choice.
Not having some stock is a choice as well.
Having "everything what industry offers" isn't always the best one.
Ingesting any industry patologies isn't the best way to go either.
So, "you either accept the mainstream or you cease to exist" is not only a huge lie but also just plain comical.
There's plenty of examples of both projects and businessess that don't abide to that rule yet stay afloat.
GOG doesn't have to accept unauthorised changes (introducing a DRM in an product update for example) to a contract.
They have all the choices of saying "no".
You don't agree with the supplier?
Then you just don't take their stock.
You just don't offer the stock to your customers.
It's THAT SIMPLE.
That of course, assumes that as a store owner you are able to stay faithful to your own vows and principles.
If you go as far as publicly announcing your sworn principles, no, even as far as creating dedicated info-mercial website designed specificly to mock your competition on basis of how "above" the problem you are, and then you ditch your principles - your reputation is toast - and you become no different from a black market merchant, a "store mercenary", that goes where money lies and has no concept of a book definition of a 'principle' or 'vow'.

Everyone on GOG should take DRM-Free seriously. That's the whole point of GOG and if we lose that then it's no different from other stores, like EGS.