[okfn-discuss] Re: OpenShakespeare.com

Fri Nov 17 13:14:04 UTC 2006

Ron Severdia wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> Your site was just posted to HLAS and I just read about your plans  and 
> ideas. I fully support them!
> 
> I started working on a Shakespeare site (PlayShakespeare.com) just  over 
> a year ago and finally got things going about 6 months ago. Our  
> philosophy is the same: to provide a free and open resource for  
> Shakespeare's works. The problem of certain versions of his works not  
> being in the public domain is a serious one because it affects the  
> quality of the texts, which is a crucial tool for actors and  directors. 

Interesting point. I'd love to know more about this issue.

> We decided to overcome this by taking the most  authoritative of the 
> open versions (the Globe) and are in the process  of creating the 
> "PlayShakespeare.com Edition" of the works.  We're  about 80% complete 
> in this arduous task, but when it's complete (in  the first quarter of 
> 2007), we'll  have a QUALITY set of texts which  will be posted on the 
> website and free for any usage whatsoever. We  only ask kindly that we
> be credited wherever they are used or  printed. In keeping with this 
> open philosophy, we registered the  domain openshakespeare.com at the time.

That's fantastic and it sounds like a creative commons attribution 
license would be suitable for you. I wondered who had registered 
openshakespeare.com as it seemed to be running CMS but didn't have any 
content.

> I'd like to extend the same offer to you as well. If you are looking  
> for the best quality texts of the plays & sonnets freely available,  
> then we'd be happy to work with you guys to promote your project.  
> Unfortunately, our site is based on a CMS that isn't as "portable" as  
> your setup, but if there's a way we can find to cooperate together,  I'm 
> open to discussion.

Well the best way to share here would be share those source copies of 
the text that your are working on. Perhaps we could put in them a 
repository of some kind with shared access?

> Cheers,
> 
> Ron Severdia

Good to hear from you. And I look forward to seeing how we can 
collaborate further.

Regards,

Rufus Pollock