[Tuxread-dev] Fwd: Against W3C Patent Policy (RAND)

[Samuel Hart]

Sorry to send this via our mailing lists, but there is a new proposed patent 
policy in the W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium... the guys in charge of the 
web standards) which will probably affect everyone on these lists ;-). You 
can read about it here:
http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2001-09-30-001-20-NW-CY

Basically, the gist of it is that they are considering a patent-policy which 
will make the WWW a bit less Free (as in Freedom). The W3C could become very 
much like the BSA, except this time auditting web-sites and the like and 
imposing Fee-Based patents on web-standards (one example is the upcoming SVG, 
Scalable Vector Graphics, format which shows great promise as an addition to 
existing HTML).

Anyone against it (or even for it), should probably send comments to:
address@hidden

What follows is my letter sent to the above mailing list..,,

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
Subject: Against W3C Patent Policy (RAND)
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 18:26:08 -0700
From: Samuel Hart <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden
Cc: address@hidden, address@hidden, address@hidden


Others have already given many great points and issues against this new
proposed patent policy. I do not have anything to add to them other than a
simple reminder of the philosophical and ethical driving forces behind the
World Wide Web and the Internet thus far.

The WWW had its beginnings in openness and unencumbered standards. Originally
used by scientists and engineers as a way to disseminate knowledge and foster
education. Later, it became an excellent forum for personal communication and
social exploration, as persons took to the web and "homesteaded" web-sites
and domains. Soon, businesses began to see the web as a possible market, and
companies, corporations, store-fronts, even small business owners set up shop
on the web.

Now the web is a monsterous and glorious melting pot of ideas, commerce,
personality, politics, and entertainment. It is at once a lesson in history &
society, as well as an exploration of the absurd and useless. It can be a
place to exchange goods, ideologies, and concepts.

It is what it is today because of a /lack/ of patent-encumbered standards. If
it had been hindered by such fee-based devices, there is no doubt in my mind
that it would have grown to the proportions that it has.

Some may argue that the web as it is today is in need of patent and standards
regulation, but I would beg to differ. Doing so would kill the heart and soul
of this new medium we have created. And no single entity has "created" the
web. It has been "created" by every person who's placed content anywhere on
the web. Thus, no one can ethically claim ownership to it or its standards.

--
Sam "Criswell" Hart <address@hidden> AIM, Yahoo!: <criswell4069>
Homepage: < http://www.geekcomix.com/snh/ >
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