Who owns this site?
It’s a good question. Someone else had a concept, roped me in and the site grows and changes with the input of many, many individuals. So my sense would be at first that no one “owns” the site. On the other hand, I do pay for the hosting, the WordPress theme, etc. Yet much of the data that goes on the site has either been made by others or contributed to by others or edited and presented by others. It’s truly a group effort.
This led me to think of a good way to license the site, though I do wonder if any sort of license is necessary. I used the Creative Commons (the goal of the Downfall video we saw!) license, selecting the option that allows full use of the site as long as it is attributed. See creativecommons.org for options and info.
January 12th, 2012
I think it’s a really great idea to state this upfront on a website. I’ve often asked the same question in regard to my own blog: http://www.wondersandmarvels.com
Here’s what I wonder about Creative Commons though. Wonders & Marvels is composed of many, many posts by other people. Not all of whom would have been told that their work will become public domain. I’ve been operating under a “one use” idea. That is, the contributors offer their pieces to W&M for a one-time use. Now, they know that it’s all going to be on the internet, and I would assume, know that there is a possibility someone could take their work from the site. But for me, I just don’t know that I would feel comfortable doing a guest post on someone’s site (which I’ve done several times) knowing that it could be used in any old way.
but I know that I’m thinking narrowing about things in the blog sense…
January 12th, 2012
I think Creative Commons is just responding to the realities of digital media. The most restrictive license won’t let others sell your work– only non-commercial, or change it in any way. Just download and share, which is pretty much inevitable with a blog (and likely desirable, I would think).
So basically, when you tweet your contributors’ stuff you would be covered, and so would they.
January 12th, 2012
This is an attempt to test the DISCUS comment approval system.
January 12th, 2012
With all this gray area, I know I’m looking forward to learning more about the ins and outs of digital “ownership” during next week’s seminar!
January 14th, 2012
I’m a fan of Creative Commons. For my online work I tend to go with the BY-NC license, which requires those reusing my work to attribute it to me and seek my permission before using it for commercial purposes. Not that I expect anyone to make a lot of money off my blog posts or Flickr posts, but if someone does, I’d like to get a cut!