[okfn-discuss] Art/Artist/Gallery/Show Datasets

Fri Dec 4 20:40:23 UTC 2009

Rob Myers wrote:
> There's the V&A API in the UK, but as ever it's noncommercial -
>
> http://collections.vam.ac.uk/information/information_apiterms

Anyone here happen to know if "for commercial purposes" includes
non-profit corporations?

8<---- OFF TOPIC ----

I wonder why so many licenses disallow commerce.

Maybe part of it is the continued confusion between the FSF's concepts
of 'commercial' and 'proprietary'.

Another part might be the Copyright holder's (I'm also imagining
individual artisans who chose CC-NC) somewhat justified but otherwise
ham-handed attempt to recover some of their operating costs.

Could we (the users) ever learn how to organize and 'host' the basic
physical needs of people that try to do this good work?

Developers of "Open Knowledge" have basic necessities such as food,
shelter, simple clothing, etc. that they are unable to meet when they
receive no compensation for their valuable results.

This causes many of them to lead a double life - where they must care
of their bodily needs through proprietary means (or in this example -
where they must disallow commerce) even while trying to lead a life of
"moral purity" [as Saint IGNUcius would say].

Patrick