[odc-discuss] Postings and responses on ODbL from Jordan specifically

[Jordan S Hatcher]

After some thought, I've decided to post an overview on how I will try  
to approach both the comment period and direct questions. I hope you  
don't mind me being blunt, but as the co-creator of the ODbL (and the  
PDDL) I feel some personal pressure to respond frequently and in  
detail. This is very much about me being disciplined about my free  
time / pro bono work as much as it is about finding the right way to  
test the ODbL.  I find all this very interesting and wish I could  
spend more time on open data. But the reality is that I only have a  
limited amount of time to spend every week on this project and I'm  
trying to concentrate on where I can be most effective and where I  
_should_ contribute given my role in helping create it. Sometimes it's  
best to step back from something you've created and let others have a  
go.

===When and where I will answer questions:

-- I will generally not answer direct questions sent to my personal  
email (i.e., offlist). If you think you have a reason that something  
_really_ needs to be offlist, then feel free to contact me directly.

-- I am not going to monitor OSM Legal Talk (for those of you coming  
from there) any more because it's a major time sink because I'll get  
hooked on reading (and sometimes answering) ODbL issues. Plus the  
licence is a debate for that community and one that I feel I shouldn't  
get involved in directly.

-- I'm going to do a round of revision on the co-ment comments in 1-2  
weeks and then a round of comments before the comment period closes.  
Other than that, please comment on other people's comments if you see  
anything amiss.

-- I am going to try to answer questions here at ODC-Discuss ASAP, but  
generally within about 24-48 hours of posting, with weekends a bit  
longer. 

===What I will answer questions about:

I'm going to concentrate my comments on the bigger picture stuff as  
well as the technical legal details when I can.

Eben Moglen refers to the GPL as "the constitution of the free  
software movement". The key bit that he's getting at is that unlike  
other licences, free/open licences take on a life of their own, with  
the community behind them dictating their interpretation (within the  
scope of the written terms).  It's much like other written  
constitutions, such as the US Constitution, which gets constant life  
from interpretation and application to new settings.

Because I've been "in the weeds" going through all of the details of  
writing the ODbL, I need you to read and make the arguments for where  
it applies and where it doesn't; where the lines get drawn and where  
they stop; where the gaps are.

In order for this to be a community licence, the interpretation can't  
amount to one person (such as me) supplying the answer. The best way  
to test out the licence (IMO) is for potential users to work out how  
they would apply the ODbL in a certain situation.

So I'm going to refrain from getting into too much detail on questions  
such as "Does this licence apply in X situation". The licence is meant  
to be plain language and clear enough that non-lawyers (ie, the vast  
majority of users) can answer and debate those questions.

I hope that all this makes sense, and thanks in advance for your help.

~Jordan