OT: Copyright and sick society

[David K. Trudgett]

On Sunday 2002-05-19 at 19:42:22 -0700, Dean Goodmanson wrote:

> Now I've blown it.  Shouldn't have posted after skimming, but after
> digesting.
> 
> According the the copyright section it should have been reproduced in
> it's entirety, and my quote of the Python section may have consisted
> of "condensing."
> 
> I apologize.
> 
> Now onto remedy.. 
> 
> I can either:
> a. Post the entire text here.
> b. ???

When people start to think twice about sharing information by quoting
material, in full or in whole, it's a sign of a sick society.

Think for a moment about it. Is our solidarity with one another as
normal human beings going to decay to such an extent that we cannot
share information with those who need it?

I believe the Chinese have a concept about this, that has to do with
the term "xing ge", which translates (badly, probably) as "character".
Australians call it "mateship".

To bring in a bit of relevance to an otherwise OT post, the Python
community's spirit of sharing and mutual assistance, is one of the
highlights in what can be a rather dreary field (in terms of freedoms
and openness, and the ability to benefit from mutual sharing). The
open source Python licence itself, and no doubt Guido et al, strongly
encourage this environment.

Sharing not only has utilitarian benefits, it's also the human thing
to do.

David Trudgett