Articles (fwd)

[Doug Tooley]

Hi all-

The following message is a reply to a question about 'rights' over a
donation to our 'public domain' website.

***************

Your question is a good one.  If something is given to the public domain
then it is in the public domain and it is no longer your property, right?
However in the real world there are quite a number of people who make
their living off, more or less, controlling public assets.  

It is often the case that these individuals make their claims through
being able to chase off anyone who might make a statement regarding the
appropriate use of any given public asset.  This is endemic in Seattle,
and in my opinion, a big problem with lots of ramifications.

This particular incidence may well one of those ramifications, where
that behavior is copied to the 'benefit' of the ego of the perpetrator.  
(Actually the copying probably goes both ways with our civic elite copying
the primadonnas and vice versa).

Though it may well be legal to attack the reputation and effort of the
donor while making full use of the result of the donor endeavors it is
also reprehensible.  Donations to the public domain are generally made,
not to generate attacks against oneself, but rather to do a good turn and
to build one's 'positive' reputation.

Frankly I think this does deserve some codification as the current legal
situation really only supports those who build their reputations through
'negative' means.

-Douglas Tooley



* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  From the Listowner  * * * * * * * * * * * *
.	To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to:
majordomo at scn.org		In the body of the message, type:
unsubscribe scn
END