Is CC bashing a new fad?

Why do people like Dvorak and Orlowski care about Creative Commons Licensing that much? They both write pages upon pages on how evil CC is without ever actually bothering to read the license itself. This is pathetic! These guys would probably love to rag on GPL too but they are most likely scared shitless of the rhetorical retribution from RMS :P

Let me spell it out for them here:

1. CC is not about making money. People who publish under CC do not want to get rich selling their work. They are happy to give it away, as long as they can retain the bragging rights and whatnot.
2. CC is not about control - it's about sharing.
   
3. CC is not about artist's freedom to deny someone rights to his work. It is about enabling people to use this work without restrictions.

Is this that difficult to understand? Why do these people assume that everyone in the universe has to be clingy about their work, and has secret dreams of becoming the next superstar. This is dumb!

In his latest article Orlowski writes:

A Linux advocacy group emails me to ask permission for a reprint of an article, and I'm delighted to grant it. The Daily Express asks for permission, and I tell them where to shove it. Now that's a freedom I don't have by adding an unnecessary license to my work.

Ok, here is a clue: if you want to be clingy and selective about who you allow to publish your work, do not use CC. It is as simple as that. It is obvious that you do not want to share your work with everyone! You want to grant this doubtful privilege to the chosen few. And that's fine. No one is showing CC down your throat!

But I must tell you that you are mistaking freedom with control. What you want is total control over your work. It might seem like freedom to choose for you, but it is a restriction for everyone else.

When I publish under CC I do not care who users my work. I want everyone be able to benefit from it. Even my mortal enemy! As long as he attributes my work to me, and abides by the license - it's fine by me. I'm releasing work under CC to benefit everyone. On the other hand, Mr Orlowski would rather retain normal copyright to benefit himself.

But who on earth demands that culture be "Free"?

From two receive missions we conducted - purely for research purposes, of course - into Amoeba Records today and downtown midnight San Francisco last night revealed thousands of people willingly handing over their earnings to enjoy culture. Their only demand being that it be "Good Culture".

Apparently you grew up as a wealthy, spoiled brad Mr. Orlowski. Sure, there is nothing wrong with paying for "Culture" but not everyone can afford it. You do realize that there exist poor countries out there who also need this culture? Why should we prohibit access to "culture" to those people who cannot pay for it? The whole concept of "culture" is that we share this body of ideas, and notions across the whole spectrum of society.

Think about this - you might have die hard fans in some 3rd world countries. They however cannot afford to buy your work because it costs more than their monthly wage. No matter how they adore you, they can only afford to get illegal copies of your work.

If you had published under CC they can get it for free. Furthermore, they can translate your work into their native tongue and then spread it further. Maybe they can even sell it for a price that is reasonable for their economic situation, thus improving their lives a little bit. All thanks to your work. Naturally you will never see benefits from that.

Personally I would be honored if someone used my work this way. Even if I wanted to get rich, the people in 3rd world countries are not my potential clients. I would never see a cent out of them anyway. But if my work could help them find work, and improve their lives - then I would gladly give it to them for free. And I guess here is where me and Orlowski and Dworak differ.

They are both spoiled rich money grabbing whores. They simply cannot comprehend "free culture" because their parents never taught them about the value of sharing. But hey, who am I to judge them.

Tags: cc, creative commons, orlowski, dworak, orlowski and cc, orlowski and creative commons, dworak and cc, dworak and creative commons, dworak and orlowski, attacks on cc, attacks on creative commons, creative commons harmful