Development of Creative Commons licenses

["Andres Guadamuz" <a.guadamuz AT ed.ac.uk>]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries

No comment. 

-----Original Message-----
From: cc-licenses-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:cc-licenses-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Greg London
Sent: 26 April 2007 15:24
To: cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [cc-licenses] Free as in Gru

Well, after yesterday's discussion,
I think it's abundantly clear that
there will always be folks who would
rather wrap themselves up in a flag,
call it Freedom, and to hell with what
actual actions their "Freedom" actually
allows.
 
These people are using the word "Freedom" 
to have completely unrelated meanings just so they can cast  themselves as
fighting for "Freedom". Wrap themselves in some meaningless flag. So their
actions become irrelevant.
 
And so, I think it's gotten to the point that thanks to these people that
the word "Freedom" has become completely useless.
 
Free as in Speech?
Free as in Beer?

You might as well say
Free as in Gru.
 
"Free" has become a completely nonsensicle word for people dealing with
copyright and licenses.
 
You might as well start using the word "Patriotic"
or something. That's got a LONG history of being applied to completely
arbitrary definitions.
 
"Whatever I'm doing is patriotic,
whatever you're doing is not".
 
I suppose it is too much to expect people to use words in a responsible way,
to use "Freedom" 
to mean what all the software folks have worked out in the years past. But
that's just not as fun I guess.
 
And so in ignoring the all the work done by all the organizations in the
past, poeple using Creative Commons licenses get to throw out a more
restrictive definition. They get to use the most restrictive licenses such
as CC-NC-ND-BY, and they get to say they're doign something about freedom.
 
It has become a joke.
 
One might as well wrap themselves in a flag, call themselves a patriot, and
condemn anyone who looks at their actions. It's the self applied label of
"Patriot" and "Freedom" that has become important. If a person says they're
a patriot or that they're for Freedom, then you cannot question that label
based on their actions.  Apparently.
 
And so, the term Freedom has become useless.
Oh, sure, it's great for propaganda purposes.
 
"Join CC and fight for FREEDOM!"
 
But it doesn't actually MEAN anything consistent.
It doesn't mean that the works are actually free for a community to use as
they wish. It doesn't mean that the author and the community are equals to
the work. It doesn't mean anything.
 
It has become a warm fuzzy that simply means you BELONG to some organization
and what actions you take have become irrelevant.
 
It has become purely political. And you can simply look at the Democrat and
Republican parties.
They are both self-described patriots. and they both describe the others as
unpatriotic.
Their defintions have become so arbitrary that about the only thing that you
can really say the word "Patriot" means to them is that you must belong to
their party to be a patriot.
 
And so, with all the twisting and turning, with all the dictionary games
being played to find some connotation of the word "Freedom"
and some connotation of the word "Commons", I think it is safe to say that
the words are becoming diluted to the point that the only really objective
measurable thing they mean is membership to a group.
 
You are fighting for Freedom and building some kind of Commons if you are a
member of CC.
If you use their licenses. What the license actually does and does not allow
the public to do has become irrelevant. The words don't mean anything.
The actions of the license don't mean anything.
 
The only thing that is important is that you are a member, that you use a CC
license. Do that and you're doing something for freedom, for a commons.
 
Is it free as in speech? No clue.
Is it free as in beer? Who knows.
 
"Free" has become so meaningless that you might as well say 
 
Free as in Gru.