Freeinfosociety - opinions?

[Mark Hammer]

I'm glad I posted this thread.  Much cogent debate and many important points raised.  To quote Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, "I'm glad for what I done.  You hear me?  I'm glad!" :wink:

This IS a forum for technical matters, but we would be remiss in ignoring that every technology brings with it the obligation to discuss the moral dilemas that arise in the use of the technology, whether it is in vitro fertilization, television, DVD-burners, or the web.  Whenever the technology is something pertinent to the entire world, and especially if the technology is information-related, there are certain to be implications one would never suspect, and a broader diversity of perspectives to consider.  Certainly, keep responding to the thread, but for the moment, I thank you all for your views and comments.

Mark

[Clipped]

This has been a very good thread. Excellent points by R.G., Mark and others.

I always wonder, out of the ones that complain the loudest about people "borrowing" ideas, making copies for profit, etc, how many of those same people have illegal software on their computer (Games, MS Office, Windows) or copied DVDs, gotten purchased ebooks from friends, yadda, yadda. I'm sure the most used comeback to that question by a guilty party is "That's different"

Nobody needs to reply to that statement with a "I don't do that" since I'm not speaking about a specific person or claiming I'm 100% angel - because I'm not. We'll just call this a NUMBER 5 person (Sorry R.G.).

I just find it pretty hypocritical that someone might say "Don't you dare copy my Cork Sniffer pedal or make one kinda like it" as they're listening to their burnt copy of SRV and playing a burnt copy of some playstation game with their "mod" chip.

Amongst the sinners on occasion,
Ron

[ExpAnonColin]

It's funny because the DIY archives (sig) is basically the same thing as FIS except that it includes the stipulations that you accuse FIS of not having... for example, the upload section, the categorization, and the active updating...  I also always always make sure to never post anything drawn up by someone in which they ask, on the site or on the schem, for it to not be reposted anywhere else, and, you can see in the disclaimer that I take absolutely no responsibility or claim to any of the schems, I am just providing a resource to make it easier for people to find th schem they want.  Much of it is commercial as it is, and, of course, I will take down anything anyone disagrees with.

-Colin

[onboard]

The Free Information Society uses mainly user-submitted content and attempts to verify that the information is available freely online legally before posting it.

?

Apparently their "Permission refused for posting/serving this from any site other than..." filter is on. Read the disclaimer, then find JD's LPB-2, for example.

I'm guilty of archiving "No permission for local copies" to have access to something without having to dial-up, but those files are certainly not going to end up re-served.

The whole thing seems rather superfluous to me when you consider the fact that FIS's content is already hosted elsewhere. Oh, wait - then you have to actualy make an effort to search for what you're looking for...I dunno. It is what it is.

Given enough space, they could end up with a carbon copy of the contents of the entire internet conveniently located on one server. :roll:

Anyone look into "Freely Distributable under the Gnu Public License"?

[Mark Hammer]

Well that's pretty much why I have chosen to stay clear of intellectual property debate in this thread.  I'm not so sure I am sin-free enough to cast stones.

On the other hand, I do feel "morally qualified" to note the practical/operational issues typified by an archive like FIS, and stand by them.  Incidentally, I imagine that many here may have found themselves at a site with huge listings of schems/projects, clicked on the link only to find the link took you to an error or not-available message.  While FIS may cross certain ethical or "quality control" lines, at least when there is a link to a 10w amplifier shown in the list, that link WILL call up the schem because the link is to the archive, not to someone else's site.  Of course, as noted repeatedly, having a link you can depend on doesn't imply a completely updated circuit you can depend on.

Another approach, which is considerably more honest and fair, as regards I.P. is something like Nuuj's link Depository (http://home.rochester.rr.com/nuuj/), which simply attempts to provide a fairly comprehensive directory of links to sites which contain schematics or projects or serviceas or information worth checking out (highly recommended in your favourites/bookmarks, incidentally).  This is not without its own flaws, namely the requirement to verify regularly that the people whose sites you've linked to have decided to stay with their current ISP or haven't changed the link address for some other more memorable or humorous or litigation-avoiding title.  On the other hand, if the *link* information isn't up to date, that just prevents me from finding stuff.  It does not deprive anyone of protection of their IP, and doesn't result in anyone starting to build something with erroneous and outdated info in hand.

[R.G.]

Nobody needs to reply to that statement with a "I don't do that" since I'm not speaking about a specific person or claiming I'm 100% angel - because I'm not. We'll just call this a NUMBER 5 person (Sorry R.G.).

...tee hee... missed that one.

There are 10 kinds of people in the world - people who understand binary and those who don't.

[Dragonfly]

There are 10 kinds of people in the world - people who understand binary and those who don't.

...are you sure thats not "01 kinds of people"  

[R.G.]

...are you sure thats not "01 kinds of people"

I am, yes...  

I am left justified!

:lol:

[Dragonfly]

...are you sure thats not "01 kinds of people"

I am, yes...  

I am left justified!

:lol: