On 6/29/06, GerardM gerard.meijssen@gmail.com wrote:
If you want to be nice, you have to listen to the arguments of others.
Absolutely. But being nice is a matter of cooperation as well :-). I cannot praise Duesentrieb enough for his work on CommonsTicker, which is really an excellent tool for Commons and local wikis to work together. Magnus' tools are also great in bringing the projects closer together.
Certainly, if there is a strong argument that Commons should use e-mail confirmation from people outside Commons, that should be heard and given considerable weight.
It is also true, in general, that there are a lot of people who get pissed when we delete images they upload to Commons, whether or not we notify them. And of course they're right to be pissed when: - we delete an image that is 20 years old and has no commercial value - we delete a scan from a scientific journal, or a taxpayer-funded report - we have to delete some images in accordance with peculiar national copyright laws.
They are right to be angry and frustrated by the extent to which our culture has become monopolized and commoditized. And while it is understandable that they turn their anger and frustration against the project where these unjust laws are enforced, we need to work together in turning it against the lawmakers and the lobbyists that have passed them in the first place. To what extent Wikimedia can become political in these matters, I do not know. But it certainly should facilitate political change and direct its tremendous community to the right organizations.
I think a lot of tension we have is not the result of anything done by Commons, but a result of the fundamental unfairness and imbalance in international copyright law.
Erik