[cc-licenses] Need clarification: What is "commercial"?

Jake McKee jake at countersinkdg.com
Thu May 3 20:27:16 EDT 2007


Hey all,

Thanks so much for the great conversation. Rather than reply inline to a 
lot of the points raised, I'll just summarize my response.

Generally I don't understand the fear of "branching". As someone 
mentioned, the more options with something like CC, the more clarity. 
Again, CC is about helping people "express intent". Offering more 
options/attributes is a fantastic way to do that. (Of course there's 
absolutely a point of diminishing returns, but two flavors of NC doesn't 
begin to come close to that point)

Additionally, doesn't the mere fact that this discussion of the NC has 
been an acknowledgment that many people are simply bending the license 
to their purpose/assumptions speak volumes about it's success? Certainly 
there's going to be grey area issues, but NC currently seems to be one 
large grey area.

Someone mentioned that if I have to ask, it's commercial. I guess maybe 
that's true, but I'd find massive problems with a line of thinking that 
says anything "commercial" being treated equal. That's as silly as 
saying there's only one "non-commercial" option. Commerce activity and 
business activity simply aren't the same, although I kinda get the vibe 
that some list members are equating the two.

I still stand by my request to add a "NC-no resell" attribute. Of all 
the discussion outlined here, I've not yet read anything that convinces 
me that this is a bad idea.

Jake



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