__/ [www.1-script.com] on Monday 17 October 2005 15:53 \__
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
>> It is fine to make money from OSS as far as support goes. It is wrong,
>> however, to /sell/ away certain values and, as in this case, take a
>> collaboratory content Encyclopedia and convert it into static pages,
>> which could wind up making profits... off people's contributions --
>> people who will receive nothing in return.
>
>
> Well, that is the part of their contribution: they did not want anything
> in return. If they did, they'd have done it the way you and me are doing.
> They'd setup a website, fill it with their contributions that would have
> otherwise go to WiKi and put their own ads on it.
I think you make a sound argument, but ask not what Wikipedia thinks, ask
what was in the minds of the huge number of contributers, some of whom were
'hit-and-run'ners.
> In my pragmatic old mind it is better to use their contributions and send
> some money back to WiKipedia than not to do anything at all. BTW, I have a
> very strong feeling that it would be Google's job to give original WiKi
> content higher SERPs than to that of mirror's. However, if it is not
> happenning, the original intent of WiKi contributors is still being
> fulfilled: their contribution DO get to people looking for that info!
Here is what made me raise a brow. Look again at the site's description,
which I explicitly cited in my blog:
"Wikimirror.com - Free encyclopedia search a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q
r s t u v w x y z _ · Google Web Encyclopedia."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Is Google doing with WikiPedia what it did with DMOZ, which in turn funded
the Mozilla Foundation? I may remind you that the Google Directory is fed
by DMOZ as links are periodically migrated from the latter to the former.
DMOZ reviewers/moderators are doing so voluntarily, probably in the name of
Firefox, which is Open Source. In this current situation, I doubt I would
ever volunteer to edit DMOZ listings, i.e. spend my free time organising
directories for Google.
> I have to add a disclaimer of my own: I have never contributed anything to
> WiKi nor used any part of their content on any of my sites. Also, I tend
> to (partially?) agree with you: I would feel much easier if I submitted
> something to them before I used their content in any way or form.
Roy
--
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