[Foundation-l] GFDL Q&A update and question

[Thomas Dalton]

2009/1/10 geni <geniice at gmail.com>:
> 2009/1/10 Anthony <wikimail at inbox.org>:
>
>>
>> The WMF is not just making and distributing verbatim copies of my works.
>> Not effectively, not even remotely close to it.  The only time they're even
>> arguably distributing verbatim copies of my works would be for articles
>> where I am the last author or for historical revisions.
>
> Yes I thought you'd try that argument. The problem with it that every
> modified version is first distributed by someone other than the
> foundation. That the foundation then produces a  verbatim copy of that
> rather than a modified version.

I'm not sure about that - the author of the derivative work just sends
it to the foundation, the foundation is the first to actually
distribute it. I'm not sure how it all works legally and with respect
to the license, but I'm not sure it's as simple as you make out. (I
know the foundation denies being a publisher for legal reasons, and
perhaps they are correct legally speaking, but by the standard meaning
of the word (one who makes something public) the foundation are quite
clearly the publisher of Wikipedia.)