On Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 12:43 PM, Jim Adcock <jimad@msn.com> wrote:
I'm not sure if you understand what "Public Domain" means. I certainly understand what it means. I volunteer my not-for-profit efforts to make public domain works. Those works IN PRACTICE enter the public domain when PG makes them available to the public, not before then. When books get stuck on DP queues "forever" then for-profits pick them up from SR and distribute them under DRM at which point in time the book still IN PRACTICE fails to enter the public domain. This makes me unhappy, not principally because a for-profit has picked up the book but rather because DP continues to fail to recognize that their current queuing system and work rules are busted, such that effectively one third of the effort contributed to DP never in practice reaches the public domain, which in turn wastes my time and effort when I volunteer there -- not to mention more importantly the time and effort of 1000's of others who volunteer there. But, instead of recognizing that the current system is busted and that people there need to fix it what happens instead is that DP'ers insult the intelligence of people who try to point out to them that the current system is in fact busted. Again, under the current DP system for every three books started two books get released. This means that about 1/3 of the DP volunteers efforts are effectively being wasted.
Copyright works have to be in the public domain before any at DP touches it. It's still in the public domain while at DP, and it is in the public domain when it leaves DP for PG. We can try[1] to restrict access to intermediate stages by technical means, but we do NOT have any legal means to prevent redistribution short of trying something with contract law (a EULA or such).[2] You also seem to believe there is a black hole at DP where 1 out of 3 books fall into, never to emerge. This is a patent fallacy. Some books DO get shortstopped in the middle of the process (for missing pages and other issues) but it is nowhere near 1 in 3 and there is significant effort (the project hospital) to push these back into the active process. The closest thing to a black hole is PP: Available, where books can indeed sit indefinitely... but most don't. I'm not going to argue this any further with you, though. People have long been aware of the problem, and it is clear that nothing I say will influence you. R C [1] It would be a bad idea IMO, but it has been tried in the past. [2] Which would be both impractical, and against the principles of trying to get public domain works accessible, again IMO.