This paper will discuss the issues that have arisen from the creation of a on-line historical simulation for wars and diplomacy, called the Masterstroke Project. The project is currently copyrighted, trademarked, and ready for licensing.

To get to this end, however, I have had to pass through many administrative, legal, and scholarly obstacles and questions, which I would like to share with others who may be considering developing their own educational technologies. Questions that we will consider includes: how to retain ownership, partner with external companies or grant providers, legally protect your work, what options exist for disseminating your work, what ethical questions arise from marketing on-line technologies, how to organize beta tests, and what Universities will/can and will not/cannot do to support your work.

A special section will cover ethical questions that the project has brought with it. From content-specific concerns, i.e the use of propaganda, channeling aggression, the balance between war and diplomacy; to more broadly conceived concerns, i.e. the value of on-line simulations for higher education, the promotion of cross-cultural communication, opposition within the humanities to projects such as this one, and the special problems of assessment. Finally, there is the question of the value of such projects for scholarly development.