PUBLIUS FreeLore Tract II. Who Needs FreeLore
John Goodwin
who does not yet have access to a computer.
======= FreeLore II. Who Needs FreeLore? =======
In my previous article, I wrote of FreeLore,
useful information that in an electronic format,
and available at little or no cost to the user.
Now it might seem, in an age when an electronic
connection to anywhere on earth is inexpensive,
when it is less expensive to print a book on a
laser printer than to buy it from a publisher, if
the book contains the slightest degree of
technical information, that is to say, if it is at
all useful; or when newspaper articles could as
easily be faxed and viewed on a computer as pur-
chased at the local kiosk, that there would be a
great deal of high quality information available
in the public domain, and that if one wanted, say,
a textbook on French, it would be available more
or less for free.
And yet, my friend, this is not the case. Now it
will no doubt seem reasonable to you that some men
and women wish to be paid for their work. And no
doubt it is reasonable. Yet there may be some,
perhaps even yourself, who wish to make some
contribution to the good of humanity. And can
there be any doubt that humanity would be served
if some of us were to reduce to electronic form
the knowledge that we already possess? And even
more, if we made it possible to easily view this
information, not to mention find it in the first
place?
Yet think of the magnitude of such a task; what a
thankless job it would be to, say, type in all the
extant works of Aristotle in your own translation,
or all of Milton. Or would you write from scratch
a textbook on Computer Science, and receive no
compensation for it? Who would do such things?
And for that matter, how useful would it be if it
was merely an ASCII transcript without page
numbers, footnotes, marginalia, indexing,
diacritical marks or a guarantee that it could be
read by any program other than a text editor?
Here, my friend, we come to the nub of the issue:
What sorts of information should there be in the
electronic public domain that isn't there now and
What format should it be stored in? Of these issues
there has been much discussion. And befitting our
type we have most frequently mentioned the kinds of
FreeLore that would most benefit us directly,
namely
o Computer system documentation; and
o Traditional School subjects at the college or
graduate level.
But to these we could add many others, things that
ought to be in the electronic public domain, yet
for one reason or another are not:
o Traditional School subjects at the pre-college
level;
o Survey of current knowlege (encyclopedia);
o Language dictionaries;
o Text of pre-1900 public domain world literature,
marked up so as to be useful; and
o Public-domain electronic newsletters, formatted
so they can be printed, and subsequently xeroxed,
faxed, pinned to bulletin boards, and be otherwise
mistreated, and still look nice independent
of the user's system.
When, a few centuries ago, books became so
inexpensive that nearly anyone, certainly any
school or library, could own one, the whole world
became a university. Now the price of information
has dropped again. Anyone with access to a public
terminal and a little knowlege can get the
information they need at 10 cents a page, not just
the information that book publishers decide is
profitable given market rates, but (and here is
where you come in) they can get it only *if we
make it available to them in the electronic public
domain*. We can empower poor school systems that
cannot afford the latest textbooks; we can empower
people who live miles from the nearest university
library.
Now do not get me wrong. I do not disparage those
who sell information for a price. They serve a
useful purpose, one that could not be accomplished
by volunteers or well-wishers. And even you,
kind-hearted soul that you are, I am sure that you
ask to be given your daily bread for your day's
labor. How else could you eat? Yet, how much
greater glory is there in doing for free what
others demand payment for? For such a person will
gain the thanks of all the world, not merely a
day's pay.
There is but one minor detail we must confront:
that there are some who would take the fruit of
our labour, and sell it for profit; they would, as
it were, reap where they have not sown. But such
men are easily confounded: Do you not have, as
author of your works, a copyright? Then keep that
copyright, but allow others the freedom to copy
your materials, saving only that they respect your
copyright and steal not your works for their own
profit.
Let us agree to say that such works, copylefted as
some have called it, are in the `quasi-public
domain,' that is, it is as if they are in the
public domain for all purposes except those of
theives and profiteers.
The tasks before us are staggering; they are the
great task of bringing to humanity the promise of
free information; and they must be done by us or
persons very much like us, since no one else has
the knowledge needed and no one else will do them
for us. WE AND NO OTHERS. Yes, the market will
see to it that there is fancy software for viewing
information and fancy printers for printing it.
We do not have to worry about that. But the
information will never be more than is already
available for free at the public library, given
that an even more restricted market will purchase
it. What sort of promise of freedom is this? I
can assure you, if you want to buy a scholarly
edition of Milton, or an electronic textbook on
French, or a subscription to your favourite
journal, you will pay your last farthing.
Yet we do not have to accomplish all these things
for our efforts to be worthwhile. Others will
write the textbooks; others will edit the
newsletters. If we but show the way, others will
follow, secure that they are part of a great
movement to win for the quasi-public domain the
riches of the past and present. We have only to
show them the way. You and I are on the vanguard.
We will lead; others will follow. Therefore,
friend, to the grindstone. Let us fashion tools
that will ease the burden; but let us not tarry
too long, for the task beckons:
We have the World to serve.
PUBLIUS
=========================================================
John Goodwin (in propria persona, nec pro Fermilab)
JGOO...@ADCALC.FNAL.GOV
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Future and Past Numbers of the FreeLore Tracts:
FreeLore I. What Is FreeLore? [Publius]
FreeLore II. Who Needs FreeLore? [Publius]
FreeLore III. What Is to Be Done? [Publius]
FreeLore IV. Public Domain Markup and the Public Good [Publius]
The purpose of the FreeLore Tract series is to
promote discussion of the direction of free
information resources, especially those used for
educational purposes, and to encourage the
production of useful, free software and
educational materials.
If you wish to contribute to this series, send
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Copyright (c) 1992 John E. Goodwin
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