~sircmpwn/writefreesoftware.org

Improve 'non-software assets' and 'choosing a license' v1 APPLIED

Hello

On Thu Jun 1, 2023 at 12:52 PM CEST, Drew DeVault wrote:
> Hey Piotr, thanks for the feedback! Can you prepare a patch(es)?
>
> On Sat May 20, 2023 at 7:29 AM CEST, Piotr Masłowski wrote:
>> The "Licensing non-software assets" page could include a section on
>> OpenStreetMap-like initiatives. The license there is ODbL – copyleft,
>> suited for databases and compilations of data.
>> <https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/>
>>
>> The same page – in the "Hardware" section – could also link to the Open
>> Source Hardware Association website. It has some high quality guides,
>> explanations and similar resources.
>> <https://www.oshwa.org/definition/>
>
> +1, +1

This is done by patches 1 and 3 respectively. These descriptions could
probably be somehow improved – especially the one about OSHWA.

I also wasn't sure where to put links, where should they point and what
the 'non-free' mark exactly entails. (For the record, Open Data Commons
has the website source code under the MIT license and it's available at
<https://github.com/okfn/opendatacommons.org>.
The content is supposedly licensed under CC BY 4.0 International:
<https://okfn.org/ip-policy/>.
It is specified here: <https://opendatacommons.org/about/>.)

>> Isn't Open Source software more about benefits like code re-use and
>> other advantages of sharing | collaboration? The "About Free Software"
>> page makes it seem like it's about commercial endevours instead.
>
> Eh, I'd say that attractiveness to commercial use is the defining trait
> of open source, in fact it was part of the original mandate of the
> movement

Hmm, I'm not sure OSS people would agree with this description, but I
guess how it's worded right now can stay.
Still, the way copyleft disadvanteges (for commercial players) were
described didn't sit right with me, so I re-wrote it in the 5th patch.

>> Maybe mentioning SPDX license identifiers would be a good idea?
>
> Yeah, not sure where but feel free to look for a place. We mention REUSE
> a lot, maybe we could combine it with SPDX to make a page about handling
> complex scenarios and integrating free software into a broader ecosystem

The best location would be some 'Appplying a license' section or page.
'Choosing a license' is already pretty long so creating an entirely new
page after that would probably the better option.
That's a significantly bigger endeavor so I'm leaving that for later.

> Patches for the underlying theme would be much appreciated, they're
> beyond the scope of what I can deal with right now

I don't have much experience with CSS (and web stuff in general).


Rest of the patches are random improvements I've come up when writing
the other changes. I'm not married to any of them and especially the
fourth one (making links more uniform) could likely be replaced by
something better thought out.

Finally, when mentioning Creative Commons, to stay in line with the
official website I went with a space between CC and the modifiers. Later
on I've noticed a PR | patch on the mailing list which corrects that
accross the entire codebase. Could you apply it?
<mid:107b883c-0531-0e16-eab6-6fd34f72921e@freakspot.net>

Cheers,
Piotr Masłowski

---
Piotr Masłowski (6):
  Add section on open data and ODbL
  Mention different variants of CERN OHL
  Mention OSHWA in section on hardware projects
  Replace numerical tag with named one in Creative Commons link
  Clarify copyleft disadvantages
  Switch to plural forms in license comparison lists

 content/learn/participate/assets.md           | 26 ++++++++++++++++---
 content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md | 17 ++++++------
 2 files changed, 32 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

--
2.41.0
Too vague. I'm more in favor of the previous wording.
+1 but conflicts with rejected 5/6
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[PATCH 1/6] Add section on open data and ODbL Export this patch

---
 content/learn/participate/assets.md | 13 +++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+)

diff --git a/content/learn/participate/assets.md b/content/learn/participate/assets.md
index 4acce18..dcd8165 100644
--- a/content/learn/participate/assets.md
+++ b/content/learn/participate/assets.md
@@ -21,6 +21,19 @@ utility of your project within the free software ecosystem.

[0]: https://creativecommons.org/

## Open Data Commons

Databases can be licensed under the Open Database License. The most prominent
project using it is OpenStreetMap -- which in 2012 underwent a move from CC&nbsp;BY-SA.
The new license was needed in part because in certain jurisdictions, databases
may have additional protections in parallel to (or instead of) copyright.

Similarly to Creative Commons, [Open Data Commons][odc] publishes a collection
of licenses designed for different needs: copyleft, attribution and public
domain dedication.

[odc]: https://opendatacommons.org/

## Hardware

Hardware projects (schematics, HDL sources, etc) are encouraged to use the 
--
2.41.0

[PATCH 2/6] Mention different variants of CERN OHL Export this patch

---
 content/learn/participate/assets.md | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/content/learn/participate/assets.md b/content/learn/participate/assets.md
index dcd8165..baebcdf 100644
--- a/content/learn/participate/assets.md
+++ b/content/learn/participate/assets.md
@@ -36,8 +36,9 @@ domain dedication.

## Hardware

Hardware projects (schematics, HDL sources, etc) are encouraged to use the 
Hardware projects (schematics, HDL sources, etc) are encouraged to use the
<a href="https://cern-ohl.web.cern.ch/home" class="non-free" title="This link will take you to a non-free website">CERN Open Hardware License</a>.
It comes in several variants: strongly and weakly reciprocal, as well as permissive.

## Fonts

--
2.41.0

[PATCH 3/6] Mention OSHWA in section on hardware projects Export this patch

---
 content/learn/participate/assets.md | 6 ++++++
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+)

diff --git a/content/learn/participate/assets.md b/content/learn/participate/assets.md
index baebcdf..b8d8952 100644
--- a/content/learn/participate/assets.md
+++ b/content/learn/participate/assets.md
@@ -40,6 +40,12 @@ Hardware projects (schematics, HDL sources, etc) are encouraged to use the
<a href="https://cern-ohl.web.cern.ch/home" class="non-free" title="This link will take you to a non-free website">CERN Open Hardware License</a>.
It comes in several variants: strongly and weakly reciprocal, as well as permissive.

The [Open Source Hardware Association][oshwa] provides a number of resources
such as guides, FAQs or logos. It also maintains a directory of existing Open
Hardware projects and issues OSHW certifications for them.

[oshwa]: https://www.oshwa.org/

## Fonts

The
--
2.41.0

[PATCH 4/6] Replace numerical tag with named one in Creative Commons link Export this patch

---
 content/learn/participate/assets.md | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/content/learn/participate/assets.md b/content/learn/participate/assets.md
index b8d8952..7a09f30 100644
--- a/content/learn/participate/assets.md
+++ b/content/learn/participate/assets.md
@@ -13,13 +13,13 @@ are compatible with free software licenses.
## Creative Commons

Most multimedia assets -- images, audio, videos, writing, and so on -- are
suitable for use with [Creative Commons][0] licenses, which include configurable
suitable for use with [Creative Commons][cc] licenses, which include configurable
options for traits such as copyleft and attribution. Note, however, that the -ND
(no derivatives) and -NC (non-commercial) variants of Creative Commons licenses
are incompatible with free software, and the use of these assets will limit the
utility of your project within the free software ecosystem.

[0]: https://creativecommons.org/
[cc]: https://creativecommons.org/

## Open Data Commons

--
2.41.0

[PATCH 5/6] Clarify copyleft disadvantages Export this patch

---
 content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md b/content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md
index 15de87e..bf53102 100644
--- a/content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md
+++ b/content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md
@@ -46,8 +46,9 @@ incorporate their improvements back into your version. For more details, see

### Disadvantages

* Less attractive to businesses
* Must consider license compatibility for reuse
* Some people and organizations are wary of it
* Conflicts with certain business models

{{< /column >}}

--
2.41.0
Too vague. I'm more in favor of the previous wording.

[PATCH 6/6] Switch to plural forms in license comparison lists Export this patch

"[Copyleft licenses] ensure your software remains free" – singular tense
didn't really fit here.
---
 content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md | 18 +++++++++---------
 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md b/content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md
index bf53102..c728175 100644
--- a/content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md
+++ b/content/learn/participate/choose-a-license.md
@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@ incorporate their improvements back into your version. For more details, see

### Advantages

* Ensures your software remains free
* Encourages community contributions
* Promotes free software generally
* Ensure your software remains free
* Encourage community contributions
* Promote free software generally

{{< /column >}}

@@ -46,9 +46,9 @@ incorporate their improvements back into your version. For more details, see

### Disadvantages

* Must consider license compatibility for reuse
* Conflicts with certain business models
* Some people are wary of it
* Can be incompatible with other licenses
* Conflict with certain business models
* Some people are wary of them

{{< /column >}}

@@ -81,8 +81,8 @@ for projects which target commercial use or widespread adoption.

### Advantages

* Permits easy re-use
* Encourages widespread adoption
* Permit easy re-use
* Encourage widespread adoption
* Attractive to business users

{{< /column >}}
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ for projects which target commercial use or widespread adoption.
### Disadvantages

* Can be incorporated into non-free works
* Discourages community contributions
* Discourage community contributions

{{< /column >}}

--
2.41.0
+1 but conflicts with rejected 5/6