Birgitte SB wrote:
You certainly may do your best to restrict "access" to the end product as you are planning. This is what many libraries do regarding rare PD texts. However if *one* person who is given access decides for any reason to make a copy public, the cat is out of the bag. For example a library may have strong restrictions on access. They do not allow their material scanned or photocopied you are only allowed to read it within one room. However I could type a transcription on a laptop over the course of several weeks and put it on Wikisource. Assuming this material is in the public domain, the library can do nothing in such in event as they only own the particular book not the copyright.
This could one day happen to the Ute's works. Once it is made public in part or whole, it can be treated in any way allowed under the GFDL. The foundation has no control over it, however respectful they wish to be. I am not trying to encourage action of this sort. But everyone involved needs to be aware of the ramifications of using copyleft material. This may seem an unlikely possibilty at the moment, but over time it more likely than not this material will become public. Although it may be a hundred years till that happens. I respect what you are trying to do and the Ute as well. I would hate for something like this to happen and the Ute to feel blindsided by such a turn of events.
That's the Ute's issue to manage, not mine or the Foundations. I am here to promote the pervasiveness of WP content and bring to the Native Peoples. What thye do with it is their own affair. I expect it will become public at some point, but that's not my call.
I am not trying to miscontrue your comments, please correct me where I have. I believe it is too easy to say "the Wikipedia way is alien to the culture of X and they will not be able to work under it's policies." Because X can be filled with many things which *have* adapted to WP culture. As I said above WP is very contrary to capitalist and academic cultures. Although there are always individuals who cannot adapt, I do not like to see this generalized to an entire culture. However, I always found it easy to work within the policies here, so it I may be completely wrong in this.
Wikipedia has been around for 6 years, Native Cultures have been around for about 12,000 years. I expect we will still be here 1,000 years from now. Hopefully so will WP, but I expect it will evolve over time and little resemble what we have today in 1,000 years. Our people (and most tribes) have a very long term view of things, and those views are not easily influenced by next years internet fad. :-)
That being said, the fact that several Native Tribes is willing to support such a projects with WP content is a huge endorsement of the project and the site. The Foundation should be very proud of itself.
Jeff