Ray Saintonge wrote:
That, and to what extent do we want to monitor a wide
range of laws in
many countries. It's just not practical. Consideration of the host
country's laws and major international treaties makes sense, but if a
downstream user is going to republish material he must accept some
responsibility for his actions.
Generally, I agree, we can't monitor and judge every single law in
every single jurisdiction. But we can pick and choose, and do our
best.
But Britain and the other developed countries are not
where the
distribution would be most useful.
I'm not so sure about that. Distribution in developed countries is
important, because as we maximize our audience in those countries, we
gain access to the hearts and minds of people who can fund our
distribution in developing countries.
Imagine a free Wikipedia dvd mailed to millions of households in the
UK, along with a letter from me explaining who we are and what we are
doing, and asking for money to distribute our work in Africa. If we
found a way to do that cheaply enough (for example, by working with
popular magazines), the results would likely be amazing.
With the British laws under discussion, more than one
interpretation
is possible. How do we determine which of two conflicting
interpretations is the right one?
Well, the fact that interpretation may be difficult surely doesn't
mean that we can just throw up our hands and ignore the issue. We
have to do _something_, so we should consult with people who are
likely to know, and just do our best.
--Jimbo