Scott Leslie tweeted about something I’ve thought about myself many times… Flickr’s lack of a public domain license option.
I wrote this message to the Flickr team. If you share the desire to have a PD license option, drop them a note.
“I love Flickr. And I love open licensing.
I am very happy that Flickr offers users an option to CC license photos.This has provided the world with over 100 million open-licensed photos, which is a beautiful thing.
I’m wondering, though, for those of us who are willing to share even more, would you consider adding a public domain license option?
Thanks, and keep up the great work!”
PD as the “most open” and Flickr
So it appears there is quite a vigorous discussion on this topic: http://www.flickr.com/groups/flickrideas/discuss/72157606337352693/
My comments:
– All the legal arguments against this (you can’t reverse it, etc.) apply to CC as well.
– You have to actively select an alternative license. No one is suggesting PD or CC be the default.
– Noting a PD license in the notes is fine, but that doesn’t help other people find it. That’s the great thing about Flickr after all.
I don’t like seeing fear and people’s ignorance being an obstacle to doing the right thing.