Well, allow me to jump in here... Late to the party, but as a long-time
member of the W3C (and now - unaffiliated - as a member of this
Community Group) I feel the need to make my voice heard.
On 2013-10-09 15:55, Mark Watson wrote:
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 9, 2013, at 2:28 AM, cobaco <[email protected]> wrote:
On 2013-10-08 16:18 Mark Watson wrote:
Because something is successful does not mean it's reasonable to demand
that it be the only way. Other things can be successful too. All of the
above models are great - I hope they all flourish.
But I also hope we can agree we should defer to the general population to
decide what models they wish to patronize rather than proscribing from on
high which are and are not "acceptable".
funny, that's exactly what DRM does
Not at all. DRM-protected services are offered as products to the
general population and they can decide whether to accept them or not.
This is what I mean. What you are asking is for a committee of
unelected engineers to decide what is acceptable or not for the web.
It's not just "unelected engineers" who decide what's acceptable for the
web - and that has always been true at the W3C. Those who represent an
employer are not necessarily engineers, and "invited experts" (the way I
originally came in) are not necessarily engineers, either.
And that's a good thing, because the web is a medium for open exchange
of ideas and information by everyone - and 'everyone' should not leave
such decisions to only engineers (elected or not).
I jumped in here because I am deeply disturbed that the W3C has decided
that HTML should support DRM, and deeply saddened by the fact that TBL
(who *created* this thing called 'WWW' that was designed for open
exchange of information and ideas) has himself endorsed it.
A standard (HTML) that is designed for open exchange of information
fundamentally has no place for mechanisms like DRM that hinder that very
aim.
If companies want to offer DRM-protected services they can go ahead -
they are already doing so, after all. They do not need the support of
what was designed for the very opposite.
In fact it's imperative that we do encourage as many
different models as possible, because it is only through diversity and
experimentation that we discover what works .
DRM attempts to prevent that: preventing non-sanctioned use (i.e.
experimentation) is the explicit goal of DRM
The different models listed were all
different ways that the creators of content could offer it to the
public. Having technical solutions for DRM doesn't force any product
offer to use them. All the other models can still be used by those to
choose to. It is only you who is arguing that certain models should
not be supported by the technology, not even available to content
creators as an option on the web.
"Only you"? Sorry, Mark, but you are sadly mistaken. There are countless
people who are arguing that a standard that was designed for open
exchange of information should not be crippled by even the option to
hinder that very aim. Remember there was a petition when the W3C first
floated the idea of DRM support in HTML? I signed that petition.
I am one of them.
I work as an independent photographer now (one who *doesn't* want their
work locked away with crippling DRM), but I am still very engaged with
open standards, usability and accessibility (DRM can only be bad for
that), and open culture. In fact, culture forms the basis of my main theme.
The EFF has it wrong when they say:
"Static image creators such as photographers are eager for the W3C to
help lock down embedded images."
[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/10/lowering-your-standards] I'm sure
there are some...
But there are other photographers, other video makers, other visual
artists, other musicians, who are eager to see HTML remain DRM-free.
There are other ways to make money than by crippling culture. There are
musicians who share their work under Creative Commons licences - and
video makers, and artists, and photographers. There are photographers
who are members of the Creative Commons.
I am one of them.
--
Marjolein Katsma Photography
http://www.artflakes.com/en/shop/marjoleink
http://marjoleink.photoshelter.com/
http://marjoleink.redbubble.com/
