On Tue, Mar 02, 1999 at 11:46:36AM -1000, Victor A. Wagner, Jr. wrote:
> Am I to understand that even though you don't intend to "make a profit' on
> this, that you have some objection to someone else making a profit?
Yes, I do.
> Why?
Because the mailing lists are partially my work (the labor of setting
them up, maintaining them, etc.) and partially the work of the subscribers
(all of the contributed material except for the articles that I write).
No individual subscriber has the authority to speak for the entire list;
and I, as the owner, lack the authority to speak for the individual
subscribers. There is thus nobody in a position to grant permission
for use of the materials beyond which that for which they were
originally intended. (And I think it is reasonable to assert
that the original intended use is transmission to fellow subscribers.)
In other words, had I included a statement along the lines of "...by joining
this list, you agree that any submissions you make may be later packaged
up with other submissions and used as a content in a profit-making
enterprise..." or something like that, then I could reasonably assert
that subscribers made an informed decision to contribute their materials
to a profit-making enterprise.
But I didn't include any such statement: in fact, I included one that
explicitly notes retention of the copyright on individual messages by
their authors and copyright on the compilation by me. I did that because
I felt it was the best way to assure subscribers that I wouldn't take
that which they freely gave and make a profit on it; and I felt it was
the best way to assure myself that unscrupulous profiteers would not be
able to make money off something to which they had contributed *nothing*.
> I understand that this question is off topic for the list, but there seems
> to be a lot of animosity towards the thought of anyone ELSE making money.
I don't have a problem with anyone making money. I have a major problem
when (a) they decide not to honor my intentions to keep a particular
project non-profit and/or (b) they decide to make a profit off my
work without my consent. I fully recognize that I may be passing up
an opportunity: however, that's *my* decision, and I expect to have that
decision honored by all concerned parties, regardless of what their
particular opinions on the matter may be.
---Rsk
Rich Kulawiec
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
