Re: [WikiEducator] An Ethical Dilemma -- Feeling sad :-)- When publishers don't do what they say they intend to do

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 11:37:43 -0700

I agree that we live in an exciting time with lots of options for those who would be creators and sharers of knowledge.  It sounds as if you and the publisher have worked out a way to fix their error which is good.   I do think that issues of how OER (or whatever term we want to use) works with publishers is an important one.  As the _expression_ goes "the devil in in the details".    All of this is very exciting to me, but also a bit complicated because I seem to have a very hard time remembering what letters stand for so I often do not use the correct jargon...but my heart is with you and the efforts to make knowledge available.    Joyce

[email protected] wrote: -----
To: [email protected]
From: Wayne Mackintosh
Sent by: [email protected]
Date: 10/05/2010 01:22AM
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [WikiEducator] An Ethical Dilemma -- Feeling sad :-)- When publishers don't do what they say they intend to do

HI Joyce,

In this particular instance -- it was not a case of how a publisher would earn a living from the distribution of free (libre) content, but a breach of my copyright.

When I was asked to write the forward -- I communicated very clearly the conditions of my copyright. I requested that my text be released under a license meeting the free cultural works definition and through an administrative error the publisher inadvertently made a mistake in the licensing provisions.  To the publishers credit - -they fixed their mistake.

I have a number of ideas how the free culture can build sustainable models in parallel with the traditional publishing model. I'll post further thoughts to the list later. ... Must run for a prior engagement.

In short, the power of the open web and digital technologies is that the creators and authors of published knowledge have more options regarding how their published knowledge is distributed and this can be done in ways where the creators do not have to sign off their copyright. In other words, in a digital world, there is a shift in control and autonomy back to the creators of knowledge. That's a good thing for society imho.

more later ...

Cheers
Wayne



On Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 9:27 AM, <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Wayne:   I know I am late in inquiring about this, but I am a little confused about how the publisher will gain from offering this book under a free license.  The reason I am asking is that I am under contract to write a comprehensive community organizing textbook for Pearson/Allyn and Bacon a very large US publisher.   My editor has offered me her time and wonderful resources that I could not possibly have had were I doing this project on my own and I don't begrudge them their fair share of any proceeds, but I would like my work to be readily available especially in developing countries, so I am confused about how I might meet my publisher's needs to make a reasonable return on all they have invested in the book and in me as a writer while still being fair to indigent readers.    I hope this question makes sense.   Joyce McKnight SUNY/Empire State College, Member of the OER Foundation.  

-----[email protected] wrote: -----
To: [email protected]
From: Wayne Mackintosh
Sent by: [email protected]
Date: 09/14/2010 01:03AM
Subject: Re: [WikiEducator] An Ethical Dilemma -- Feeling sad :-)- When publishers don't do what they say they intend to do


Hi Gene,

Thanks for the note -- with every mistake (and I believe the publishers have made an honest mistake) there is a learning experience.

Together we can make the world a better place -- and the open web and free content licensing can help. There is a place for everyone in the sun -- even publishers who can earn a living through publishing free content.

The embarrassing point is that my name is now published under a non-commercial license :-(. However -- let's turn an honest mistake into a success for all involved. I have just received an email from the publisher requesting that we connect for a skype conversation later this evening. I will suggest that they drop the NC restriction and release the work under a CC-BY-SA license.

That would be a smart move for them imho --- the "free" advertising resulting from a move like that would push and promote sales.

We'll see what happens.

Cheers
Wayne

On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 4:55 PM, gene aronin <[email protected]> wrote:
Wayne,
This was an exceptional commentary of your dilemma, because it 1)demonstrated what "creative commons" was all about, and 2) demonstrated, through your honesty and forthrightness the importance of this idea. Demonstrate by example. Good for you, Wayne.

Gene


On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 11:28 PM, aprasad <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Dr. Wayne,
 
I can imagine how humiliating the situation to you. Hope the publishers will come out with an erratum.

On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 8:48 AM, Wayne Mackintosh <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi everyone,

Never a dull moment in the free culture world. Ordinarily -- I would not post public notifications around potential misunderstandings or oversights by a publisher. However, I find myself facing an ethical dilemma. Particularly since today I'm been commenting considerably on my personal ethics and views associated with the non-commercial restriction on our national New Zealand MLE list.

I was recently invited to write the forward for a new publication -- a book of tweets on open text books. Great idea, very cool and appropriate for our times. In response to the invite, my very first question was was:

"More than happy to provide a "tweet" -- what license will you be publishing the book under?"

Response:

"We will be doing this under Creative Commons - Attribution - Share Alike license- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
That is the current plan.  Any interest in co-authoring?"

My response:

"I always check that anything I write is published under a free cultural works approved license :-)  I would love to co-author"

So I do my bit, read the text, write a short forward and contribute a tweet.  I now see that the book has been published under a CC-BY-NC-SA license -- which is very unfortunate, because I think its a great text and it seems that there has been an oversight in attributing my contributions under a license which meets the free cultural works definition which was a condition of my contribution. (See:  http://www.happyabout.com/thinkaha/opentextbooktweet01.php). I've asked the publishes to print and distribute an erratum indicating that my personal contributions are licensed under CC-BY-SA on the basis of our original agreement. I'm confident that they will do the right thing.

When I submitted my tweet, I wrote:

"This is licensed under CC-BY which will enable a derivative under CC-BY-SA."  I did this work during official time, and my employers IP policy requires that I release my work under a default CC-BY license."

If there were any communications from the publisher in the interim about changing the license -- I missed these ;-(. Moreover, for the record, I would not have agreed to having anything I write published under an NC license. 

It's ironic that while the book carries a NC restriction -- the international public can purchase the texts, hard copy or ebook for a listed price of $19.95 or $14,95 and see that currently some discount applies.

Anway -- this is a public announcement that my forward is licensed under a CC-BY-SA license and my tweet - No 31 is openly licensed under a free cultural works approved license (CC-BY) in this case. The publisher was free to add an NC restriction on the tweet - -but has omitted to attribute the source :-(.  For the record, both versions of the texts I submitted are licensed under a CC-BY license. You are free to take these texts, reuse them, adapt them, modify them and if you like sell them :-)

Cheers
Wayne
 









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Wayne Mackintosh, Ph.D.
Director OER Foundation
Director, International Centre for Open Education,
Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand.
Founder and elected Community Council Member, Wikieducator
Mobile +64 21 2436 380
Skype: WGMNZ1
Twitter: OERFoundation, Mackiwg

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Warm regards

Anil

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With Best Wishes for an Even Better Day

Gene-loeb
Gene-loeb Aronin, Ph.D.

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--
Wayne Mackintosh, Ph.D.
Director OER Foundation
Director, International Centre for Open Education,
Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand.
Founder and elected Community Council Member, Wikieducator
Mobile +64 21 2436 380
Skype: WGMNZ1
Twitter: OERFoundation, Mackiwg

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You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
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To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org
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--
Wayne Mackintosh, Ph.D.
Director OER Foundation
Director, International Centre for Open Education,
Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand.
Founder and elected Community Council Member, Wikieducator
Mobile +64 21 2436 380
Skype: WGMNZ1
Twitter: OERFoundation, Mackiwg

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You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
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[email protected]

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