[PD-ot] Art: To GPL or not to GPL?

Hans-Christoph Steiner hans at eds.org
Mon Dec 15 11:21:52 CET 2003


So I now that I am getting deeper into coding art projects, I am  
beginning to think about how to make a living doing it.  To make in the  
art world, you need to make a name for yourself using your projects  
(ideally, of course, there is also a ton of bullshit involved).  Up til  
now, I have released all software that I have written under the GPL  
since I firmly believe that all software should be free.  But now I am  
thinking that there might need to be one minor caveat for some art  
projects: the credit clause.

I know all about the old BSD license and the problems with it, that is  
why I am in a quandary about this.  I am creating projects that anyone  
could download and set up and, if released under the GPL, claim  
complete credit for.  So I am thinking of releasing them under the  
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.

So my particular question lies is trying to figure out what harm will  
come of releasing art code with an Attribution clause.  I believe that  
some harm is inevitable, but I think it my be a necessary comprimise.

.hc

________________________________________________________________________ 
____

Man has survived hitherto because he was too ignorant to know how to  
realize his wishes.
Now that he can realize them, he must either change them, or perish.
		                                     -William Carlos Williams





More information about the PD-ot mailing list