via Crumb list (from Fee Plumley) open letter to JSTOR in memoriam of Aaron Swartz.
This email is FAO anyone who has been following the tragic suicide of Aaron Swartz (young advocate of open internet who helped create RSS, was an early technical code developer for Creative Commons licences & co-founder of reddit... amongst other things)... While it cannot totally be attributed to it, there can be little doubt that pressure from a serious copyright case had some bearing on his state of mind. Whatever your view on copyright law, it certainly shouldn't be responsible for a person's untimely death. JSTOR (a digital academic library and the alleged victim) had decided not to pursue this matter, but this did not stop the US Attorney's Office from prosecuting. You can read more on the circumstances around the case and Aaron's death here: http://elliottbledsoe.com/2013/01/rip-aaron-swartz. My friend Elliott Bledsoe and I have today *published an open letter to propose that JSTOR rename their new free access accounts program** **in his memory*. What would be a simple thing to implement for them would have powerful resonance in a community coming to terms with this tragic loss. *Please sign/comment/share if you agree with this suggestion: * https://www.facebook.com/reallybigroadtrip/posts/456156304432261 or http://www.reallybigroadtrip.com/jstor-open-letter or RT this tweet: *we would love to see @jstor's new free accounts commemorate #aaronswartz. sign/share if you agree: http://rbrt.cc/VW7PTF * Warmest thanks from your fellow open culture geeks, Fee (@feesable <http://twitter.com/feesable>) & Elliott (@elliottbledsoe<http://twitter.com/elliottbledsoe> ) -- ---> A living - breathing - thriving networked neighbourhood - proud of free culture - claiming it with others ;) Other reviews,articles,interviews http://www.furtherfield.org/reviews.php Furtherfield – online arts community, platforms for creating, viewing, discussing and learning about experimental practices at the intersections of art, technology and social change. http://www.furtherfield.org Furtherfield Gallery – Finsbury Park (London). http://www.furtherfield.org/gallery Netbehaviour - Networked Artists List Community. http://www.netbehaviour.org http://identi.ca/furtherfield http://twitter.com/furtherfield _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
