[Commons-l] Towards a Commons API

[Brianna Laugher]

On 18/08/07, Andrew Gray <shimgray at gmail.com> wrote:
> In many ways, the answer to "do we want to?" is pretty intertwined
> with "what's the point of Commons?" - are we primarily a service for
> Wikimedia projects, or for the internet at large?

We are not a service "for the internet". We are a service (if we are
even a service) for the people of the world.

IIRC almost all the projects started because they were decided to be
"not Wikipedia". That doesn't mean they are content to define
themselves with such a negative, small designation.

I find the answer to your questions easily here:
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission
"...to collect and develop educational content under a free license or
in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally."
I don't see how acting as if we only exist for Wikimedia is effective
for disseminating our content at all.
For one thing there are many similar efforts by different groups
around the world. If we act as if we only exist for Wikimedia, we are
going to create a lot of wasted unnecessary duplicate effort.

Encouraging people to realise that free content - the concept -
exists, as well as the material thing, and then giving them easy ways
to incorporate it into their own work - these are all small but
necesary steps in spreading understanding and knowledge of free
content and free culture.

Lastly: frankly, *if we don't do it, someone else will.* There is
nothing to stop them since all our stuff is freely licensed. So for
God's sake let us be the ones to do it and benefit from it. Lest we
see some whiz-bang Yahoo app that feeds directly from Commons with our
name in tiny tiny print somewhere in a disclaimer.

regards
Brianna

-- 
They've just been waiting in a mountain for the right moment:
http://modernthings.org/