[advocacy] Open/Free/Personal music licenses

[L Victor Marks]

Quoting Bacchus Thirteen:
"Open source and license movement arose from
programmers but I want to import it to media content
world as well for my own self-interest.  After Adam
Smith, this self-interest tends to be used only for
making money but it is not only making money that we
can enjoy.  I hope this open source and license
movement gives some of the joy of doing what we want
to do than of selling and buying back to this
consumerist world.  It should be simple, shouldn't it?"

If it were that simple, we wouldn't have elected or re-elected the people
that brought us the DMCA, and are writing the SSSCA. If it were that simple,
we'd have all voted Libertarian, and done away with so many of these
problems.

In the Douglas Adams book So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, a
giant robot emerges from a spaceship and demands, ``Take me to your
Lizard.'' The universe-wise galactic hitchhiker, Ford Prefect,
explains to his uncomprehending Earth friend, Arthur Dent, that the
robot comes from an ancient democracy controlled by lizards. The
people of that planet are not lizards. In fact, they hate lizards.

``But I thought you said it was a democracy!'' protests Arthur.

``It is,'' Ford explains. ``Since the people have all got the vote,
they figure that whoever gets in must represent them, more or less.''

``So why don't they elect people?'' Arthur persists.

``They use their vote to make sure that the wrong lizard doesn't get
in.'' Sound familiar?

You'd think that selling an idea based on the notion of freedom would be
easy- in fact, people are convinced that they have all the freedoms they
ought to have, and that anyone trying to give them more must be selling
snake-oil, or something illegal. Or, they buy into Bush's quote of 1999,
"There ought to be limits to freedom."

Has anyone noticed that the one of the primary functions of a Government is
to protect it's people? That US Govt., for all of it's surveillance and
three-letter agencies with billions of dollars in funding, failed to do
that? And that, instead of creating more distrust in government for failing
in it's duty, there's a resurgence of faith in the Government? Isn't this
like suddenly a renewed faith in the tooth fairy?

Apologies to non-Americans who subscribe to this list- but because we're
dealing with American laws that effect us all, I thought it was relevant to
raise those points. That, and I just wanted to say it.

In the words of L. Torvalds, "flame away, for I am full of love."

Victor Marks

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bacchus Thirteen" <bacchus_t at yahoo.com>
To: <advocacy at xiph.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 6:16 AM
Subject: Re: [advocacy] Open/Free/Personal music licenses

> --- Daniel James <daniel at mondodesigno.com> wrote:
> > The content industry has turned it into a
> > with-us-or-against-us
> > battle. If you don't restrict the use of your
> > player/encoder/format
> > on their terms, you are their enemy.
>
> I am afraid to say that this you-or-me thing rather
> likely limits our freedom.  I know that media and
> software contents industry are putting money on that
> SSSCA thing, which, I think, is completely absurd.  To
> some extent, Daniel is right.  However, what I want is
> variety of choices.  When programmers or artists are
> happy with their deal, we cannot do but buy their
> product as long as they are not releasing their works
> under open license.  However, if I think they are
> worth paying, I will pay.  And yet, at the same time,
> I want freedom of enjoying music on the net and with
> the portables as long as the musicians show the
> agreement.  They do not have to release all of their
> music under open license but, if they do on some of
> their music, we can, partially though, enjoy the
> freedom of sharing favourite music with the others
> while respecting the producers' freedom.
>
> Open source and license movement arose from
> programmers but I want to import it to media content
> world as well for my own self-interest.  After Adam
> Smith, this self-interest tends to be used only for
> making money but it is not only making money that we
> can enjoy.  I hope this open source and license
> movement gives some of the joy of doing what we want
> to do than of selling and buying back to this
> consumerist world.  It should be simple, shouldn't it?
>
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