[Clipart] were there any really great reasons for PD at openclipart?

[Greg Bulmash]

Nicu Buculei wrote:
> Greg Bulmash wrote:
>> After reading Jon's reply, I'm not sure that enforcement is really an
>> issue.  You don't have to enforce a non-PD license.  The author does.
> 
> Yeah, but that is shifting the responsibility on author's shoulders.

No, if you're going to enforce it, you have to legally shift 
responsibility *off* of their shoulders.  They are the owner of the 
work, it's not PD, and thus they are the only ones who can license it to 
others.  If you want to license it on their behalf and enforce that 
license, then you have to get them to legally assign you the authority 
to do both of those things (licensing and enforcement), even if the 
license is simply attribution.

It creates a heck of a lot more legal complexity than simply offering 
them their choice of licensing terms.  Furthermore, if you take on the 
ability to enforce the license, you may end up taking on the duty to 
enforce it, which could be costly.

>> On the other hand, you have to consider that a wider variety of licenses
>> opens you up to a wider variety of contributors, and not every consumer
>> of free content needs it to be PD.
> 
> But like any other project, we serve our niche: people who need PD.

True.  I've never been of the opinion that OCAL should offer a licensing 
menu.  I was addressing the topic in the abstract for someone who was at 
this particular crossroads.

>> The thing with PD is that it's drastically simple for users... no
>> licensing restrictions, no credit required, just use it and be happy.
>> It's the most end-user friendly option available.
> 
> And user friendliness was, IIRC, the main argument for going with PD.

No argument there.

>> But a lot of creators of free content need *something* in return, even
>> if they don't get money.  With CC-By, the end user has to credit the
>> creator, so they get that benefit.  With PD, all the creator is
>> guaranteed is a warm fuzzy feeling for having done something good.
> 
>  From my experience, our "less than perfect" website interface is the 
> main reason for keeping the number of contributions down, not the PD 
> license.

Perhaps it is the main reason, but it's not the only reason.

There have been works I considered donating and then didn't because I 
feel a little too personally attached to them and want credit for them 
when they're displayed.  For example, my suicidal giraffe was drawn in 
Inkscape, but it's something where I want credit, so no PD.

http://www.brainhandles.com/2008/07/14/suicidal-giraffe-cartoon/

There are others which I paid other artists to draw and which I believe 
have commercial value.  It'll be years before I relinquish them to the 
public domain.

On the other hand, CC licensing them with non-commercial and attribution 
properties could be good promo to help me get some valuable backlinks in 
the neverending SEO wars.

- Greg