[WikiEN-l] defining Free Encyclopedia

Sun Aug 22 03:19:48 UTC 2004

> Anthony DiPierro wrote:
> >  The root of the problem is that we haven't decided what it means to
> > be a *free* encyclopedia.

> I don't have any idea why you think this.  There has never been any
> question about this at all.

>  --Jimbo

Apparently you could clear it up for me then.  Should a free encyclopedia be
redistributable by anyone in every country, or only the United States, or
need it not be redistributable at all?  Should it be free for commercial
redistribution?  Does the entire encyclopedia need to be editable?  What
types of edits must be allowed?  Can there be centralized control, for
instance linkback requirements?

All this talk of whether or not things are "free enough" led me to believe
that there was a lot of grey area.  Maybe I'm wrong, and we do agree on what
it means to be a free encyclopedia, we just haven't agreed that we want to
be a free encyclopedia.

Anthony