Hblog

Free Culture takes on many forms

Alek Tarkowski, a PhD student in Poland, has started a group translation of Lessig's 'Free Culture'. They are using wiki software to develop the collaborative Polish translation (English introduction to the project here) - in the same way that Aaron Swartz has enabled users to adapt the book and add new chapters if they wish using wiki software.

This response has been incredible - by enabling users to adapt and transform the work, Lessig's work has been able to find vast new audiences who may never have learned about the ideas in the book. By enabling people to get into the machine, take it apart and build it anew, we have been able to understand it more clearly than any book that we have merely ingested as a passive reader.

How about a cc-translation wiki that people can go to to work on translations of cc-licensed works?

We'll be talking more about this on the cc-translation list. Please join.

Creative Commons translation license

I'm going to be moderating the Creative Commons translation license over the next few weeks.

The aim of this discussion is to get advice from users about:

a) what the translation license should look like i.e. a standalone license that allows licensors to retain all rights to their work, except those that allow others to develop a derivative translation of the work?

b) any new conditions of use by licensee e.g. requirement to send notice to licensor when new translation is published, any conditions that may respond to the licensor's concerns about maintaining control over the integrity of the translation?

c) any new conditions of use by licensor e.g. stipulate or suggest formats that make translation easier?

d) suggestions of authors and/or texts that we might target for the launch of the license?

e) translation and language diversity issues within Creative Commons itself - practical suggestions about how can we make the Creative Commons website, as well as other iCommons sites, more language diverse

f) any other issues that might be relevant.

Go here to join.

Something that does not make mistakes

My friend, Adam, sent me this great post on the localisation of open source software, including a project in Rwanda to translate OpenOffice into Kinyarwanda, the language spoken by most Rwandans. After discovering that Kinyarwanda has no word for "computer", the group settled on "mudasobwa," which roughly translates to "something or someone that does not make mistakes." I can't say that I would agree - but it's a great article nonetheless.