[Foundation-l] Re: license evolution

[Jean-Baptiste Soufron]

>
>> Also it would be very important for wikipedia to provide its own   
>> license and to allow it to evolve. As a policy matter, I don't   
>> believe it's really safe to leave your legal needs within the  
>> hands  of others like we did with the GNU/FDL (and it would be the  
>> same  problem with CC).
>>
>
> I'm not sure that a wholly new license, especially one unique to  
> Wikipedia, is such a good idea. In the software world, there are  
> already many complaints about the existence of too many "open  
> source" licenses. The problem may not be quite as great outside of  
> software, but even sorting through just the options available from  
> Creative Commons can be a little challenging, and they heard some  
> concerns about license proliferation when announcing their new CC- 
> Wiki license (Lessig says it's different "brand" rather than a  
> different license).
>
> I think it would be better for us to focus on figuring out how to  
> revise the GFDL, including working up draft proposals ourselves as  
> appropriate. While it's occasionally suggested that there are  
> ongoing talks with FSF and/or CC, perhaps we sometimes expect  
> there's more going on than there really is. Jimbo would hardly have  
> the time to be focusing on these issues constantly, and it's not  
> his field of expertise (the same is true of Richard Stallman, for  
> that matter). Actually generating ideas for them to consider might  
> yield more results.
>
> However, I think branching out completely on our own would require  
> too great an investment of resources. Achieving absolute  
> independence is an appealing sentiment, but the FSF and CC have  
> experience and understanding in this area that would be valuable  
> for us to draw upon. Working with other organizations on these  
> issues also contributes to being a responsible member of the larger  
> free-software/content community.

Well, I am not afraid of being faced with a great number of licenses,  
but I am afraid of poorly designed ones. Except that, I agree with  
you, there is no need to "fork" from other licensors but we should be  
really become more involved in the processes. Either with CC or with  
the FSF.