[GNUz] Fwd: Academics Discuss MS vs. OSS
Richard Tindall
gnuz@inode.co.nz
Sat, 18 Jun 2005 22:00:45 +1200
Nick Rout wrote:
>>'Material published on a CC license may be dual-published on any other
>>license, except the GFDL.'
>>
>>
Looks to me now that _all_ other licensing of the same work is precluded..
>>I'm sure this is very clear.
>>
>>
>
>I think the problem, from my brief readings on the net, is with the
>GFDL. It seems to come in for a lot of flak, one comment was was to the
>effect that "just because the GPL is a useful license doesn't mean the
>GFDL is" - but I haven't entirely got to the bottom of it.
>
>
- Simply par for the GNU course, these days?
>The CC license OTOH seems to get a lot of praise for simplicity, ease of
>understanding and flexibility.
>
>There is no absolute barrier to dual licensing GFDL and CC, there are
>some tips in wikipedia. However a useful solution might be to forget the
>GFDL and adopt one of the CC alternatives.
>
>
..I think this must have been what Jim explained to me:
Wiki, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/legalcode
"*4. Restrictions.* The license granted in Section 3 above is expressly
made subject to and limited by the following restrictions:
a. You may distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly
digitally perform the Work only under the terms of this License, and You
must include a copy of, or the Uniform Resource Identifier for, this
License with every copy or phonorecord of the Work"
The GFDL webnotes recommends that you republish/host it alongside your
work, & not rely on GNU's URL.
http://www.infohelp.co.nz/gfdl.html
>Of course we are all being vain enough to think someone might actually
>find what we write useful in the future :)
>
>
Yep. A world awash with data, signal, messages.. noise. All the more
reason to work hard & contribute something worthwhile (to clarify the
flood? :)
>>>So my question was, what do you see as lacking in the CC license?
>>>
Nothing as yet. Fit for purpose. Unless the purpose is promoting GNU?
>>I am comfortable in continuing to use the GFDL: simply functional,
>>
>>
>
>>From my initial reading I am not so sure that it is "functional" - so
>many people seem to diss it. More reading is required.
>
>
- by that I was describing my user experience of the GFLD - satisfactory
for publishing on: easy to comprehend, employ, & feel supported by.
- all true of CC no doubt too.
>What can be a bad situation is not licensing at all. WLUG have a great
>wiki, but all the user input is copyrighted to the original author, and
>not specifically licensed. They have had a request for someone to copy
>it and use it as the basis of another doco project. Legally they cannot
>allow that, as all of the authors would have to agree.
>
>Practically it is unlikely that any of the contributors would ever some
>along and sue, but thats akin to saying "you might as well pirate
>windows because if you do it in your own home no-one is ever likely to
>catch you". That attitude is hypocritical in the extreme, because the
>enforcement of copyright is one of the strongest planks in the FOSS
>manifesto. In other words you can't affirm the GPL in one breath and say
>its ok to copy and change the WLUG wiki without the proper license in
>the next. We are fortunate that Jim was far sighted enough to get the
>CLUG wiki contributions on a licensed basis from (almost) the start.
>
>
All fair comment, & agreed. That's why I provide(d) no argument against
our Wiki going CC. It is just the excluding of GFDL co-licensing that
affects me, as a hopeful (gnu) author - not a problem for the LUG.
If I've got that wrong - & thanks for the input Martin (which mail is on
another machine just now) - I'm happy to be so assured.
Cheers, Rik
--
Richard Tindall, InfoHelp Services <http://www.infohelp.co.nz>
on free open source software:
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