discuss: KWiki
Subject:
Re: KWiki
From:
David Lawyer ####@####.####
Date:
16 Sep 2003 05:30:54 -0000
Message-Id: <20030916052133.GA459@lafn.org>
On Thu, Aug 28, 2003 at 05:35:50PM +0000, Chris Karakas wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I need your advice in the following:
>
> I maintain the PHP-Nuke HOWTO. I have been asked if it is possible to
> transform it to a Wiki clone called KWiki for others to take as a
> basis and expand it on their own with whatever extra information they
> deem necessary. I have two questions / concerns on this:
>
> - Does GFDL allow this? For every Wiki? I think Wikis require their
> users to abandon their copyrights. I cannot do that. On the other
> side, I have seen GFDLed Wikis, like wikipedia.org. Do I have to
> impose the restriction that the KWiki be under GFDL, like Wikipedia
> imposes its users to put their contributions under the GFDL? What's
> LDP's answer on requests like this one?
Every copyright must have a copyright owner. So a wiki, if the
contributors are anonymous, has a problem. All the contributors are the
copyright owners, but who are they? One could just say copyright by
anonymous. But copyright law doesn't provide for anonymous copyright.
So if one states this, is is copyrighted? Perhaps not. If it's not
copyrighted, it's in the public domain and there is no point in having a
License since it's not valid.
So unless one can say: Copyright by <list of names>, then it's best that
it be in the public domain. Another approach would be to require that
"authors" who modify a wiki assign their copyright to you. But that's
giving their work to you and you could change the License and make it
non-free. So I think it would be setting the wrong tone to ask people
to do this.
So it seems there is no good solution to this question.
David Lawyer
