[FM Discuss] updated IBD

[Daniel James]

Hi Janet,
> What counts as getting "ripped off" for open content?

I would suggest: Making the content non-free, or diverting resources
from the free project.

> When I was involved in writing manuals for OpenOffice.org, "official"
> copies of the books were sold on Lulu, and proceeds went back to
> support the project. There was someone, not involved in the project,
> who copied the PDFs, posted them on Lulu under their own account, and
> kept the profits.

OpenOffice.org had a corporate parent though; not all projects have that
level of backing. Independents have the most to lose.

> The general response was: too bad they're not
> supporting the project, but at least people are buying the books and
> getting help.

I see your point, but that's an argument in favour of the public domain
and against free culture. Those people buying the non-free books don't
have the opportunity to participate in the free culture project, unless
they somehow discover it for themselves.

Cheers!

Daniel