[Foundation-l] Upload wizard: the different attribution mechanisms and spirits of GFDL and Creative Commons

[Teofilo]

Upload wizard: the different attribution mechanisms and spirits of
GFDL and Creative Commons

Two small words make a big difference in the attribution mechanism of
CC-BY-SA : "if supplied" in
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode 4(c).

Put together with "designate another party or parties (...) for
attribution", this enables sharks to rob the small fishes'
attribution.

Actually they don't have to rob it. They can use an inequal power
relationship in their favor to persuade the small fish to waive their
attribution and to designate the sharks as the "attribution party".

The sharks can also add "You agree to be credited, at minimum, through
a hyperlink or URL when your contributions are reused in any form" on
edit boxes, or perhaps, even on upload wizards.

To the contrary, the sharks don't have such a possibility with the
GFDL. Because the GFDL requires to keep the license notice and the
history, sharks cannot rewrite history in their favor and erase the
small fishes' names.

Creative Commons is shark-friendly. GFDL is small-fish-friendly. This
is why they don't have the same spirit.


The upload wizard must guarantee that the uploader will be fully
attributed and MUST NOT require uploaders to waive their attribution
rights.


See also "If the sharks were people" by Bertholt Brecht at
http://everything2.com/title/If+the+Sharks+Were+People (and just add
"free" before "culture").