Re: Slightly Off Topic: GPL'ed Encyclopedia ?

[Soren Harward <soren cinternet net>]

Phew, that's a helluva idea.  Unfortunately, the GNU/OSS/FSF movement
if not a "free information" movement, it's a "free software" movement.
There's a huge difference: if you don't like your mail client or there
isn't a program that does something you want, you can just write one of
your own from scratch.  However, you can't just make up factual
information.  The research effort would be enormous, as would the entrophy
level.  You'd end up with stuff like supercomplex descriptions of quantum
particle physics while the "18th-century British Literature" article
forgets to mention Pope's _The Rape of the Lock_.

Can you imagine the FUD?

--
 Soren Harward <soren@cinternet.net> | Windows DOES come with a tool
 http://www.soren.cinternet.net/     | to restore a corrupt Registry.
 Internet Information Systems Admin  |
 Cinternet, Inc.  (513) 891-1228     | It's called FDISK.

On Thu, 12 Nov 1998, Robert Soros wrote:

)I know this isn't the place to post a question like this, but its the
)only mailing list I can post to :) Has any discussion or thought come
)of building a GPL'ed/GNU Encylopedia similar to Microsoft's Encarta ?
)Its a huge task and all sorts of problems would face it, in
)particular, copywrites and ownership questions (regarding the content)
).. but what sort of ideas have been passed around about it ?
)
)RMS would certainly love this, Information gpl'ed, free to use, share
)and distribute, and modifiable by the users to some degree. It would
)certainly look nice with a gnome interface on it too :) ( i had to
)make this relevant to the mailing list somehow, even if it is purely
)hypothetical)..
)
)140 million mexican school kids will be using gnome in the next few
)years, it would be nice if a project like this got started early...