[Foundation-l] Licensing transition: opposing points of view

[Robert Rohde]

Some people on this list have had a negative reaction to the licensing
proposal.  Sometimes this arises from different understandings of what
the new license will mean (i.e. issues of interpretation).  More often
it seems the core issues are different opinions about whether the
change is desirable (i.e. issues of personal preference).  For
example, if you believe the license text ought to appear alongside
every copy, then you have a personal preference for the GFDL.

The licensing update FAQ [1] has largely been written in the voice of
the Foundation.  It explains what is going on, what the advantages of
the transition are, and what some of the implications are.  However,
it does not generally speak for the opposition, nor does it explain
why anyone would prefer the GFDL, even though some people on this list
clearly do.

Previous authors on this listserve have made at least two prior calls
for opponents of this process to express their views in writing by
producing some form of complementary summary document.  Thus far that
has not happened.  The draft timeline for the licensing update [2]
calls for the documentation to be finalized (or nearly so) this week
so that translation efforts can proceed in earnest.  At a
philosophical level I believe that opponents of this measure deserve
the opportunity to present their reasons why, but that doesn't mean
the whole process can be delayed indefinitely.  So if anyone does want
to write an opposition viewpoint, I think they would be well served to
do so soon.

-Robert Rohde

[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Licensing_update/Questions_and_Answers
[2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Licensing_update/Timeline