[MapServer-dev] Motion: upgrade documentation license version from CC BY-SA 3.0 to 4.0

[Howard Butler]

Mike,

Since I brought it up to you...

We can't retroactively apply CC BY-SA 4.0 to content that was previously contributed under 3.0 without asking those contributors for acknowledgement that they wish to allow that. The Fedora situation is a little different because people were signing a CLA that gave the project the right to retroactively do this. 

Given that the bulk of documentation contributors is voting +1 to this motion, I don't think this matters so much, but if there are large docs or tutorials that have authors that aren't represented here, we should reach out to cover our future selves from some headache. 

Howard

> On Feb 6, 2023, at 9:38 AM, Michael Smith <michael.smith.erdc at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I have been informed though that one change the default contribution of content GOING FORWARD, but you can't retroactively change the license of content ALREADY CONTRIBUTED without acknowledgment by the contributors of that change.
> 
> Do we plan to seek that from the contributors?
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
> -- 
> Michael Smith 
> US Army Corps of Engineers 
> Remote Sensing/GIS Center 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From: MapServer-dev <mapserver-dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org> on behalf of Steve Lime <sdlime at gmail.com>
> Date: Monday, February 6, 2023 at 9:49 AM
> To: Jeff McKenna <jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com>
> Cc: MapServer Dev Mailing List <mapserver-dev at lists.osgeo.org>
> Subject: Re: [MapServer-dev] Motion: upgrade documentation license version from CC BY-SA 3.0 to 4.0
> 
> +1 - thanks Jeff!
> 
> On Mon, Feb 6, 2023 at 8:31 AM Jeff McKenna <mailto:jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com> wrote:
> Dear PSC,
> 
> Background
> ----------
> 
> Through recent clarifications made for the MapServer-documentation 
> GitHub repository, as well as the visible 'copyright' page on 
> http://mapserver.org, it was pointed out that the documentation uses an old CC 
> BY-SA version, 3.0, that was released in 2007, whereas a more complete 
> license version 4.0 has been available since 2013.
> 
> The CC BY-SA 4.0 license was released to tackle some issues such as:
>   - international law / global scope
>   - prevent copyleft trolls
>     - to prevent: 
> https://doctorow.medium.com/a-bug-in-early-creative-commons-licenses-has-enabled-a-new-breed-of-superpredator-5f6360713299
>   - international translations of the license
>   - improved readability
>     - read more about "what's new" in the 4.0 series at 
> https://creativecommons.org/version4/
>     - read a short summary of the 4.0 license: 
> https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
> 
> I believe that this is a good time to upgrade the 
> MapServer-documentation license to version 4.0
> 
> The Fedora project also recently upgraded from CC BY-SA 3.0 to 4.0 :
>    - read about the benefits of upgrading, for the Fedora project: 
> https://communityblog.fedoraproject.org/policy-proposal-update-default-content-license-to-cc-by-sa-4-0/
>    - read about the Fedora announcement of the CC BY-SA 4.0 default 
> license: 
> https://communityblog.fedoraproject.org/fedoras-default-license-for-content-is-now-cc-by-sa-4-0/
> 
> Motion to the PSC
> -----------------
> 
> I therefore motion to the MapServer PSC that the MapServer-documentation 
> license should be upgraded from CC BY-SA 3.0 to CC BY-SA 4.0
> 
> Motion voting window
> --------------------
> 
> Will give 5 business days for responses.
> 
> Related Pull Request
> --------------------
> 
> https://github.com/MapServer/MapServer-documentation/pull/796
> 
> Comments
> --------
> 
> I believe this is good timing, to review the original documentation 
> license, before the imminent MapServer 8.0.1 release.
> 
> 
> Thank-you for your passion, to share,
> 
> -jeff
> 
> 
> 
> 
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