Jake Nelson wrote:
Ray Saintonge wrote:
It would probably be impractical for us to take anything but the definitions from thes works, but I do note that the quoted comments say "we do not allow anyone to alter our material". The GFDL does allow alterations, but also allows invariable sections. We allow the downstream user to do what he will with the material, with no declaration of invariant sections. Wouldn't it make more sense to have all quotations declared invariant.
Can't do it. Invariant Sections are a subset of Secondary Sections under the GFDL: see definitions below. Basically, it's for acknowledgements, legal disclaimers, etc. If, say, the quotations were all in a separate appendix, never in an entry page itself, and were considered not to "fall directly within" "the Document's overall subject" - highly unlikely for any Wikimedia project I can think of - then it could be declared Invariant. However, this would require every downstream user to republish the quotations appendix in full in every derivative work, no matter what it is.
From the GFDL's definitions section: (see [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License]])
A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.
The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. If a section does not fit the above definition of Secondary then it is not allowed to be designated as Invariant. The Document may contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document does not identify any Invariant Sections then there are none.
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The quotations do hava a historical connection with the subject matter. Non-distortion of quoted material could also be viewed as an ethical position.. The "Secondary Section" part of the above could be read such that a relationshio is only required for front matter. (The verb is "deals" not "deal".) It may be a little awkward but each quote could be arganized so as to be a separate appendix.
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