Copyright Reflections

Choosing a Copyright for this Site

I discovered through this project that I never fully understood the idea of “copyrighting” something. I had always imagined it as something much more tangible. This project also helped me to understand the implications of following through on copyright. It was hard to decide where I would fall with regard to how comfortable I am with the work here being used or replicated. I was torn between protecting my ideas as my own and contributing to the greater well of resources that I also pull from. Ultimately, I decided that because my work on this domain is not profitable, and I am currently on a mission to be a more generous community member, I would proceed with the CC BY 4.0 license. As I understand it, 4.0 is the least restrictive Creative Commons license.

Ethical Use of Others’ Work

A large part of ethical use of others’ work is attribution. We call people’s creation work because it requires just that. The work that people share builds the pool of resources we share. When you are drawing from the pool of community resources, using someone else’s work to create your own, it is important to give back through attribution. By attributing the original creator, you are acknowledging the effort they put in. You may also be leading more eyes to their creations and aiding them monetarily, creatively, or otherwise.