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"). _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
