[Foundation-l] PediaPress

[Robert S. Horning]

On 11/13/2010 03:17 PM, Ryan Kaldari wrote:
> On 11/13/10 12:25 PM, Robert S. Horning wrote:
>    
>> Much of what I was trying to get started was covered on this very
>> mailing list.  If you go into the archives and look up Wikijunior to see
>> some of the efforts that were made, including some initial publications
>> that were made through Lulu (that were also removed from Lulu at the
>> request of the WMF).  The organizing efforts were being done on
>> Wikibooks as much as could be done, and that was pretty much where it
>> ended too. The problem was that PediaPress offered money, which we didn't.
>>
>>      
> So you're saying that the Foundation should have partnered with a
> completely proprietary service (Lulu), that wasn't interested in
> donating any software or income back to the Foundation? That doesn't
> sound like a very appealing partnership, nor can I imagine the community
> supporting such a decision (especially considering how skeptical they've
> been of the PediaPress partnership).
>
> Ryan Kaldari
>    
No, I'm saying that a completely private effort that attempted to 
publish content through Lulu was thrwarted on the grounds of trademark 
infringement.  It was published under the title "Wikijunior Big Cats" 
and had some other problems that sort of implied that the WMF was more 
involved in the publication than was really the case.

Trademark usage guidelines never have really been spelled out very well 
and it still is mostly make an attempt and the WMF will bite back if 
they think you are wrong.

Lulu was selected mainly as a starting point as they did print on 
demand, one of the first such services that allowed you to upload PDF 
files over the internet instead of having to hand-carry your manuscript 
physically to a printer or using snail mail.  The relationship with Lulu 
was not exclusive either and they were used simply as a printer, not as 
a publisher.  Lulu give you lots of options on how you can do things, 
and as I pointed out, the whole issue about how money was going to be 
dealt with never really got squared away.  These books were being sold 
on Lulu at cost, so the editors involved with setting them up on that 
site weren't making a dime of profit.  As I also said, it was very 
preliminary but there were some books being offered at the time made up 
of content from the Wikijunior efforts.

Remember, the goal here was to distribute the content, not to make a 
profit.  That is the point I'm trying to drive home here.

Every effort was made to look at other options, and in terms of 
community consensus the general feeling was rather favorable to Lulu, 
knowing full well that other options could be found at a later time.

The difference between PediaPress and this other effort is that 
PediaPress came from the top down with money in hand, and the group I 
had was mostly grass roots with little money to start with in terms of 
getting things going.  That was precisely why we were using Lulu.  
Perhaps PediaPress was a better choice even in hindsight, but I am 
saying that they were selected over other efforts including ones 
emerging from the community that might possibly have turned out in a 
substantially different way than the current relationship between 
PediaPress and the WMF.

-- Robert Horning
____________________________________________________________
Moms Asked to Return to School
Grant Funding May Be Available to Those That Qualify.
http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3241/4cdf1ebdb3ee329542cst02vuc