License Discussion at Wikipedia
The Wikipedia community is currently in the process of deciding whether the site’s contents should also be regulated under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike license.
Wikipedia’s contents are currently distributed according to the GFDL (Gnu Free Documentation License). As a result of this arrangement, a few issues have arisen in the past. One such issue comes from the fact that this license deals with text documents primarily and only covers images and music on limited basis. Another shortcoming is the requirement that users have to integrate the full license text into the document. This requirement is not particularly convenient nor practical in relation to image use.
The distributors of the license are apparently in agreement. A passage in
Version 1.3 of the GFDL
allows the GFDL contents to be subject to the
CC-BY-SA
and specifies that this provision applies particularly to Wikipedia material.
The Wikipedia distributors would like this dual license to allow them the ability to exchange Wikipedia material with various projects they place under the CC; an option not previously possibly under the limitations of the GFDL. The CC-BY-SA is to therefore become the favored license while the options availabe under the GFDL would remain on the backburner as a possibility if needed.
All Wikipedia users who have contributed at least 25 entries to the site may take part in the voting process to decide for or against this proposed licensing arrangement. Voting ends on May 3, 2009, and pertinent specifics may be found
here.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.