Wikimedia-l February 2008

wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org

117 participants
106 discussions

[Foundation-l] Board elections
by Florence Devouard 22 Feb '08

22 Feb '08

Hello, It seems quite early to start talking about future board elections, but members of the previous election committee have expressed the recommandation that more time would be the key for 2008 board elections. I have been wondering if we could not start launching a bit of discussion on the matter, and maybe already look for candidates for the next election committee. Please have a look at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Elections And start thinking about it. Perhaps interested volunteers are already ready to be Election Officials ? Anthere

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Re: [Foundation-l] WMF/EFF and Copyright extension
by daniwo59＠aol.com 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

In a message dated 2/20/2008 4:57:57 PM Eastern Standard Time, brian.mcneil(a)wikinewsie.org writes: You need to look up who wrote these songs, and when they died. You can, with a fair degree of certainty, say that anything written during the 20th century won't be available to us. If it was written more than a hundred years ago you're starting to look at it being available to us in the near future, but that's where the performer's (c) comes in and the proposed legislation impacts us. Long Way to Tipperary was cowritten by Jack Judge, who died in 1938, and Harry Williams who died in 1922. If it were solely Williams, the song would have entered the public domain in 2017, i.e., nine years from now. On the other hand, Vera Lynn, who recorded it in 1939, is still alive today. In other words, not in the lifetime of anyone actually reading this email. Danny **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-du… 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)

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[Foundation-l] Creative Commons identifies "Free Cultural Works" approved licenses
by Erik Moeller 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

Creative Commons has gone live with a new design for their two free content licenses: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ This design identifies the licenses as being compliant with the Definition for Free Cultural Works (and links to it). The DFCW is also the basis of Wikimedia's licensing policy, and has been linked to from the Free Software Foundation's definition of free software: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html It has also been endorsed by the Commonwealth of Learning for its large number of international educational initiatives. This support by Creative Commons should be welcome news to all Wikimedians, as it will make it easier for us to argue that all licenses are not, in fact, equal -- and that releases under licenses like CC-BY-NC or -ND simply do not work for us. We're continuing our dialog with CC, and their responsiveness has been amazing (thanks to any CCers reading this :-). The fact that our office is just a few blocks away now helps. :-) Best, Erik -- Erik Möller Deputy Director, Wikimedia Foundation Support Free Knowledge: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate

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Re: [Foundation-l] WMF/EFF and Copyright extension
by daniwo59＠aol.com 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

Thanks Brian If anyone is willing to translate it, we will be happy to post it in multiple languages. Danny **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-du… 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)

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[Foundation-l] First use/contribution by Canadians of Wikipedia
by Mike Godwin 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

Dear folks, In order to pursue our trademark registration in Canada, we would like to document the earliest uses of Wikipedia by Canadians. Our Canadian staff members (Sue Gardner and Jay Walsh) believe the first Canadian uses of Wikipedia date back near the origins of Wikipedia itself. Considering that Wikipedia started in early 2001, this should mean that by early 2002 there was significant Canadian use of the English-language Wikipedia project. I assume there was also early use of the French-language Wikipedia project by French Canadians -- that would also help us here. Does anyone here have any thoughts about how we might document the (likely) fact that Canadians were engaged with Wikipedia early on? --Mike Godwin General Counsel Wikimedia Foundation

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Re: [Foundation-l] Wikimania and the Muhammad pix
by daniwo59＠aol.com 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

In a message dated 2/20/2008 10:13:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, nawrich(a)gmail.com writes: Of note is the fact that while there has been Islamic terrorist activity in Egypt between 2004 and 2006, none of it seems to have occurred in Alexandria. Actually, this is not quite accurate. Alexandria, traditionally, was a cosmopolitan city, with large communities of Jews, Greeks, Copts, and many others. In fact, my Jewish grandmother, who grew up in Alexandria at the turn of the century, went to a Catholic school where the languages of instruction were Italian and French. But a lot has changed since then. Many of those minorities have left the country, while Coptic Christians have been subject to some animosity and even violence from Muslim fundamentalists. _http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4366232.stm_ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4366232.stm) is an example of that. As the article says, relations between the communities are generally peaceful, though there are tensions, and claims of discrimination. This blog post is also quite telling: _http://arabist.net/archives/2005/11/03/egyptian-blogger-arrested/_ (http://arabist.net/archives/2005/11/03/egyptian-blogger-arrested/) . Note that I am not claiming that Alexandria is dangerous. I am simply pointing to some recent events, hoping to show that the situation is neither black nor white, but an annoying shade of grey. Danny **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-du… 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)

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Re: [Foundation-l] Wikimania and the Muhammad pix
by daniwo59＠aol.com 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

In a message dated 2/20/2008 3:01:58 PM Eastern Standard Time, mohamed.m.k(a)gmail.com writes: Not sure if I should reply considering that I'm a muslim and might be biased, but here is a reply: Actually, Alnokta, you are probably one of the best people to answer this. You understand the religious issues intimately, and you are equally at home in the culture of Wikipedia. Thank you for chiming in. It was needed Shukran Danny **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-du… 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)

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[Foundation-l] Document Freedom Day announced for 26 March 2008
by Brianna Laugher 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org> Date: 21 Feb 2008 02:52 Subject: [Icommons] Document Freedom Day announced for 26 March 2008 To: icommons(a)lists.ibiblio.org FYI - the following went out today. [ http://documentfreedom.org/News/20080220 ] Introducing Document Freedom Day 26 March: A global day for document liberation Sign up your DFD team today! The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation with grassroots action for promotion of Free Document Formats and Open Standards in general. The DFD was initiated and is supported by a group of organisations and companies, including, but not limited to, the Free Software Foundation Europe, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, IBM, Red Hat and Sun Microsystems, Inc. On 26 March 2008, the Document Freedom Day will provide a global rallying point for Document Liberation and Open Standards. It will literally give teams around the world the chance to "hoist the flag": A "DFD Starter Pack" containing a flag, t-shirt, leaflets and stickers is in preparation and is planned to be sent out in the first weeks of March to the first 100 teams that sign up. Sixteen teams already signed up during the preparation phase of the DFD prior to this release. Sign your team up now! "We're proud to support this global effort to encourage open and inclusive information exchange," said Marino Marcich, Managing Director, OpenDocument Format Alliance. "Document freedom means creating, exchanging, and preserving your electronic documents without having to buy software from a particular vendor." "Data lock-in and subsequent vendor lock-in are some of the most severe issues users are facing today," says FSFE president Georg Greve. "Yet most people only realise this connection when it is too late and they have effectively lost control over their own data. We are supporting the Document Freedom Day to help raise awareness for this issue by starting with something that affects pretty much all users of computers: text documents, spreadsheets and presentations." "Free document formats and open standards are important elements in the continued expansion of the global open source community," said Tom Rabon, executive vice president, Corporate Affairs at Red Hat. "Red Hat strongly supports Document Freedom Day and encourages participation by all who look forward to the day when documents are controlled by those who own them, not necessarily by those who create the technology to access those documents." Simon Phipps, Chief Open Source Officer, Sun Microsystems stated, "As I explained in my paper "Freedom to Leave" [*], it's fundamental in the emerging market for people to be free to use any software they desire to handle their data. I fully support the goals of Document Freedom." [*] http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dhb29vwq_3dzb2cs Alexandre Oliva of the Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA) comments: "When you save your documents using a Free Open Standard format such as ODF, you're also saving your own future, ensuring your continued ability to access, decode and convert their contents." Graham Taylor Director of OpenForum Europe: "OpenForum Europe applauds the announcement of Document Freedom Day. The whole essence of 'openness' is captured by the right of users, citizens, governments... to be able to freely access and exchange documents today and in the future. Nothing gives greater meaning to the prevalent danger of lock-in to proprietary solutions, and for the need for Government to act now." About the Document Freedom Day: The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation. It is a day of grassroots effort around the world to promote and build awareness for the relevance of Free Document Formats in particular and Open Standards in general. The DFD is supported by a large group of organisations and individuals, including, but not limited to Ars Aperta, COSS, Esoma, Free Software Foundations Europe and Latin America, IBM, NLnet, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, OSL, iMatix, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, Inc., The Open Learning Centre, Opentia, Estandares Abiertos. The list of DFD supporting groups can be found at http://documentfreedom.org/Who The list of DFD teams is available at http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams Further information: http://documentfreedom.org Contact: contact(a)documentfreedom.org Graham Taylor graham(a)openforumeurope.org Ivan Jelic jelic(a)fsfeurope.org Kerri Catallozzi kcatallo(a)redhat.com Marino Marcich mmarcich(a)odfalliance.org Marko Milenovic milenovic(a)fsfeurope.org Terri Molini terri.molini(a)sun.com FSFLA info(a)fsfla.org -- Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org> Free Software Foundation Europe (http://fsfeurope.org) Join the Fellowship and protect your freedom! (http://www.fsfe.org) _______________________________________________ Icommons mailing list Icommons(a)lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/icommons -- They've just been waiting in a mountain for the right moment: http://modernthings.org/

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Re: [Foundation-l] WMF/EFF and Copyright extension
by daniwo59＠aol.com 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

In a message dated 2/20/2008 4:57:57 PM Eastern Standard Time, brian.mcneil(a)wikinewsie.org writes: You've hit on a good case there, I assume Mussorgsky died more than 95 years ago, so the composer's copyright has expired. In fact, it'd likely expired by the time ELP recorded the stuff. Even if it hadn't, all you need to do is get a "mechanical license" to allow you to do your own recording. So, much to my surprise - and delight - there may be some ELP stuff could go on Commons in the next few years if this measure is beaten. Actually, it is an interesting case. Mussorgsky died in 1881, while they recorded Pictures in 1971. No 95 years. **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-du… 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)

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Re: [Foundation-l] WMF/EFF and Copyright extension
by daniwo59＠aol.com 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

In a message dated 2/20/2008 4:05:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, brian.mcneil(a)wikinewsie.org writes: Composer's have life+95 (IIRC) which means that ELP and the like won't be appearing on WMF servers anytime soon (I met Greg Lake in London a few years back, so he's still around). Where this impacts the foundation is stuff done late 19th century and the composer is long dead. A performance recorded in the 50s or 60s of the work would be impacted, in some cases it'd be withdrawn from the public domain. My point was more on ELP's adaptation of works. For instance, ELP's Pictures at an Exhibition came out in 1971. Mussorgsky wrote it in 1874, so it would have made the mark, however, it was only first published (by Rimsky-Korsakov) in 1886. Would ELP, by recording the piece, potentially have been violating copyright. I am also curious as to how this would impact songs like Vera Lynn's recording of "We'll Meet Again" (1939). Or more so, any classic recordings of "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" from World War I. Just wondering--the implications go far beyond Cliff Richard's pension fund. Danny **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-du… 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)

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Wikimedia-l February 2008