DIY Wiki copyright

Dec 24, 2006 3 Replies

I'm concerned that if we wait until the wiki contains many substantial articles and then try to impose a copyright license it may cause friction with existing contributors if they disagree with the specific license chosen. OTOH I don't think we should rush into choosing a specific license, so may I suggest that we (==Grunff as sysadmin :-)) configure our mediawiki to put in a placeholder copyright notice, under the edit box on edit pages.



Maybe we could say something like "Contents of this Wiki will be subject to a license yet to be determined but possibly like GFDL or Creative Commons. If you are unhappy with the license eventually chosen you will be able to edit your content out of the current article but it may not be practicable to remove it from the system (i.e. it may still be accessible under the page 'history'). Please consider this when deciding whether to contribute content."



[Sorry, this is a drive-by posting: I'm going to be away from the Internet (gasp!) for a few days.]

Is something happening in your life then?

Whatver, I hope you enjoy/ed it!

Mary

>

Belated Solstice celebrations :-)

I hope so too :-)

I would not be possible to apply a retrospective copyright licence to any contributor. That person retains the copyright to the work and would have to agree the licence, or the work would have to be removed completely. If that would not be possible, articles should not be accepted until a licence is in place and an agreement to that licence is a condition of work being accepted.

Colin Bignell

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required