On 6/11/07, David Mestel david.mestel@gmail.com wrote:
However, there is another interpretation: that every version of an
article
is independently published as an *original* GFDL document, and therefore there is no need for a history section at all
OK, in that case, what stops me from "independently publishing" it as an *original* Public Domain work?
If you're not the sole author, then you can't release someone else's work into the public domain.
Think of it this way: if 2
people worked together on a book and published it under the GFDL, they wouldn't need a history section outlining every single change each of
them
made to the work in progress (even if they happened to publish the works
in
progress).
Um... no, but they (or rather anyone reproducing a modified version) would have to include a history section listing the authors (i.e. themselves).
Why? Let me get this straight. Say my friend and I write a book called "Big Cats" which we intend to publish under the GFDL. I write some sections, my friend writes some sections, some sections I write and then he modifies, some sections he writes and then I modify, etc. Then we start printing copies. We attach the GFDL, print, bind, whatever. Do we include a history section? What would the history section look like?
I agree we should include a title page with the text "Big Cats, by Anthony DiPierro and Whoever". But I don't see the purpose of a history section.
Let's say we used a wiki to write this book. Does that change anything? Let's say we allowed the public access to the wiki. Does *that* change anything? Let's say instead of 2 of us there were 50 of us. Does *that* change anything?