[sword-devel] Here's Our Chance: Copyright Negotations

[Jerry Hastings]

>...I believe I have seen the Online Bible become more and more a commercial
>bible software package than it was ever intended to be because of this very
>thing.
>
> > I strongly recommend that we not get into the ordeal of handling money nor
> > distributing texts for sale.  This is not a moral issue (at least I don't
>want
> > to go there again), but a shear matter of focus.  ...


Those are good points. And along those lines, it would be good to keep some 
distance between people writing code and people involved in money based 
business transactions. Because, the exchange of money has a way of 
raising  expectations, demanding service and creating obligations that may 
be hard to fulfill. Let the coders be free to labor in love and not of 
obligation.

And you will lose the help and support of people that don't want to be 
connected to those that demand money for their Bible versions and Bible 
helps. I don't want to get into how people should feel, or who would be 
right or wrong, but people feel the way they do and some tend to feel that 
way. Some will feel taken advantaged of it they worked for free and gave of 
their free time so others could make money off their work. With open source 
others can take it and do what they want, even make tons of money. But, it 
feels different when people over there do it, than when people right here 
with us do it.

As to controlling the price. Do we really want to go there? How much is too 
much? Is one price too much for one copyright holder but not too much for 
another? If you can't get a "good" price do you let a copyright holder get 
too much or do you just refuse to do business? Take those as rhetorical 
questions. I am just trying to make clear how hard these kind of issues 
would be for an open source community to handle.

Perhaps the best way to handle this would be to find some people that have 
little to do with the SWORD Project now, perhaps some lurkers, and turn it 
over to them, and let them take it to start something new, with no ties to 
the SWORD Project. Or perhaps you know some people outside of the SWORD 
Project that you can give it to.

Just my 2cents.

Jerry