A brief explanation of what the free culture movement is and the various factors that led to its fighting to preserve the commons, including corporations and special interests trying to restrict the commons to protect their interests, the development of the open source community, technological developments, such as the Internet and digital copying of media, the developmentof web 2.0 and its philosophies, current state of copyright law and youth culture.
It's by one "David W. Moody, California State University, San Jose School of Library and Information Science." Sad, then, that he makes no mention of Rebel Code in his bibliography about openness, since it pre-dates by far other sources that he does mention. But I'm not bitter.
Much.
Du bleicher Geselle!
I wonder if the article/paper was peer-reviewed. If so, then the omission of Rebel Code makes you laugh in a 'ha-ha', not funny kind of way. As a former college instructor, I remember the occasional student at a state school would leave out a key reference for one recurrent reason: they tended to plagiarize the omitted source!
ReplyDeleteFour things that set the real Moody's Rebel Code apart are: (1) It reads as if it were written last week because all the characters are still with us; (2) when reading texts and histories on openness and open source, it's the best place to start. The other dozen books you might read don't carry near the same punch; (3) Rebel Code can be approached and read through many angles -- as drama, documentary, history, business, computer science, or philosophy. If it were fiction, it'd still be an exciting story. Finally, (4) it's very well written. Despite its subject, there's not a dull page in the book, and you're the rare writer who can take a complex subject and clarify it concisely and memorably. (And you're still doing it every day.)
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I don't say that as compliment, Glyn, but as brute fact. I hope you realize the asset you are to so many of us around the world. We're grateful!
Do spare my blushes - but thanks for the kind words. Looks like I'll have to carry on blogging after all....
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