[FM Discuss] wikimania presentation

[Andy Oram]

Good luck, Adam. The notes are wonderful, and much too much already, I'm sure. I bet you'd need half a day to explain it (unless the audience is already super-sophisticated.

Nonetheless, I can't resist offering some more.

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  * THE Author
  * THE Publisher
  * Copyright

AO: Something doesn't look right, does it? One of those doesn't
fit. Why focus on copyright when it's just a legal vehicle for so many
deeper concepts, such as distribution and the relationship to the
public?

One way to improve your triad, I think, is to substitute "THE Public"
or "THE Readers" for "Copyright." Another approach is to substitute
"Means of distribution" and mention that copyright is subsumed under
that. Either change will lead you in interesting directions.

The public (or readers) are a critical factor not just because they
buy (or click on ads) but because they endorse the publication by
talking it up and making the publications they like central to their
culture. (Example: O'Reilly's Camel book.)

Can the public (or readers) be a barrier? Sure, if they aren't willing
to pay or somehow support the other two parties.

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  # the Ubuntu Handbook published under a cc license by McGraw Hill with a
  '(c) - all rights reserved' notice right next to the 'CC-SA-BY' notice

AO: Yes, it looks absurd. Actually, it's rational. The content is
free, but the layout is controlled. Reprinting the text as another
book is legal. Photocopying the McGraw Hill book and redistributing it
is not. But still, the example is good to show the weird platypus-like
condition the publishing industry is passing through.

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  slide 5

AO: I strongly urge you to add another item under this: shared
responsibility. Readers are no longer merely consumers. It's up to
them to correct, edit, challenge, update, and add to the publications.
That's what FLOSS Manuals is all about. You also need to say this to
support your claim under slide 6 that "cult of the Author dissipates."

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  //What is an Open Publisher?//

AO: Does the publisher also motivate people to write? Conventional
publishers do, and sometimes FLOSS Manuals does too.