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[FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle

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Hello all,

some of you might have noticed already that, as I indicated recently [0],
this weekend I have migrated the code repository for the “FAQ for 
comp.lang.javascript” (“the FAQ”) from SVN to Git, and published it on 
GitHub:

  <https://github.com/PointedEars/faq-cljs>

It is my intention (as explained in the README there), in addition to 
considering FAQ contributions via the already known channels [1], to review 
Pull Requests for the “dev” branch of that repository (as it is customary, 
“master” is the name of the stable branch on which the live version is 
based).  I will continue to post here a summary of the suggestions for the 
FAQ that I have and receive from you via those channels, and other *direct* 
channels (like social media), for public discussion.

The FAQ will continue to be hosted at my Web site under

  <http://PointedEars.de/faq> 

and it will only be modified there via Git (pull).  (This distinguishes my 
approach from a similar one by others from a few years ago where a FAQ would 
have been publicly edited via Markdown on GitHub, and not necessarily after 
consultation of the subscribers of the newsgroup.  AIUI, that approach was 
frowned upon, and the proposal was eventually unsuccessful, also for that 
reason. [2])

The links in the FAQ to the changelog and the repository browser have been 
updated accordingly.


To make contributions even easier, I intend to publish the FAQ content under 
the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International 
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License.  AIUI, this change would only codify the existing 
informal agreement, and it had some support [3].

Why that license?

  - Although it contains code examples, the FAQ content is more like a book
    than a piece of software; so a software license is not the appropriate
    type of license for it.  Creative Commons fill that gap by providing
    free *content* licenses.

  - It allows contributions to the FAQ content, and contributors have to be
    named.

    Historically, it was not clear who contributed what to the
    “comp.lang.javascript FAQ” which has resulted in the aforementioned
    agreement.  The list of contributors that can already be found at the
    bottom of the main document of the FAQ, in addition to mentions in the
    FAQ Notes, and the commit history, provide that information.

  - Nobody can use the FAQ content for commercial purposes, i.e. primarily
    to make money from it.

    Knowledge that has been provided for free in free time should remain
    free; not only “free” as in “free speech”, but also as in “free beer”.
    IMHO this is different with software, where modified versions can
    add significantly to the value of the original software, and there
    should be a way for the developers making the modifications to be
    compensated for their efforts.

  - Anyone can fork the FAQ, but only redistribute the content under the
    same terms.

    The FAQ is a community effort and its general availability should not
    depend on the availability of one individual and their technical
    infrastructure.  Historically, before I launched the “FAQ for 
    comp.lang.javascript” in 2012-12 CE, that was one reason why the 
    original “comp.lang.javascript FAQ” was frequently offline for longer
    periods of time, and it is the reason why it had not and has not been
    updated for more than two years (since 2010-10-08).

    Finally, nobody can limit or take away the freedoms, or lift the
    non-commercial restriction, through redistribution, that are granted
    by the license (copyleft).

See <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/> for details.


From now on, I am going to consider your comments *here* on FAQ postings 
(including this one) for the duration of 7 standard days after each FAQ 
posting.  If there are no substantial objections or counter-proposals within 
that time, the proposed changes will be implemented afterwards.

It is my sincere hope that with the changes proposed here the number of 
substantial contributions can be increased, and we can have an up-to-date 
FAQ more quickly.


\\//, Live long and prosper

PointedEars, ed.
________________
[0] <news:3122029.1v30ixl5SL@PointedEars.de> or, e.g.,
    <https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.lang.javascript/DVTDYjqTm5c/X9U2T19e7tUJ>
[1] see <news:2715826.m0UDekTA75@PointedEars.de> or, e.g.,
    <https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.lang.javascript/yvxh6sd5deU/OVlYGsRKIIYJ>
[2] <news:+idJTVMLvgzQFwH3@invalid.uk.co.demon.merlyn.invalid> or e.g.,
    <https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.lang.javascript/yvxh6sd5deU/LYOVtEEMlIgJ>
    pp.
[3] <news:af10987b-7993-44a3-ac51-1f3edac4ceb5@u13g2000vbc.googlegroups.com>
    or, e.g., 
    <https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.lang.javascript/yvxh6sd5deU/XujmE1qk2ekJ>
-- 
FAQ: <http://PointedEars.de/faq> | SVN: <http://PointedEars.de/wsvn/>
Twitter: @PointedEars2 | ES Matrix: <http://PointedEars.de/es-matrix>

Please do not cc me. / Bitte keine Kopien per E-Mail.

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[FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2015-12-13 18:02 +0100
  Re: [FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle "danca (Daniele Campagna)" <cyberdanny@tiscalinet.it> - 2015-12-13 21:04 +0100
    Re: [FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2015-12-15 09:46 +0100
  Re: [FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle Joao Rodrigues <groups_jr-1@yahoo.com.br> - 2015-12-14 15:22 -0200
    Re: [FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle John Harris <niam@jghnorth.org.uk.invalid> - 2015-12-20 11:49 +0000
  Re: [FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle Asen Bozhilov <asen.bozhilov@gmail.com> - 2015-12-16 22:35 +0200
    Re: [FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle Cezary Tomczyk <cezary.tomczyk@gmail.com> - 2015-12-17 00:05 +0100
    Re: [FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2015-12-17 00:41 +0100
  [FAQ] Updates (was: [FAQ] Repository on GitHub, license, review cycle) Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2016-02-09 01:30 +0100

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