chosaq

Some problems with CC’s Freedoms License Generator

I’ve been playing a bit with the Freedoms License Generator on the ccLabs site, and must say I’m not convinced of its usefulness. I’d even say I’m afraid it makes the process of choosing the right license more confusing. Let me explain.

Upon loading the page, you can see that two pieces of the Freedoms License Generator are already fit together, while the two red pieces are not part of the puzzle yet: this results in an Attribution (by) license. If you click on the red NonCommercial piece, you get an Attribution NonCommercial (by-nc) license, the ShareAlike piece adds a ShareAlike clausule: Attribution ShareAlike (by-sa). A combo of all three is also possible: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike (by-nc-sa). No problems so far.

However, the picture becomes much more complicated when you uncheck one of the green pieces of the puzzle. Take away the Share piece (and keep the Remix one), and a Sampling license is suggested. Select the Share piece (and unselect the Remix one), and —surprise— the Attribution NoDerivatives (by-nd) license pops up. Now, although all this is 100% correct, I felt (and still feel) a disconnect here — I don’t know what exactly is wrong, but it seems like the puzzle was built with a different mindset than the original licenses were: to me, NoDerivatives always seemed like an extra to the Attribution license (à la ShareAlike or NonCommercial), and not like Share + Remix – Remix. But maybe that’s just me…

A second problem I see is that whatever piece you click after the initial load, you are actually restricting freedoms, instead of increasing them. I know this is a bit a slippery slope — one might argue ShareAlike makes a work more “free” than just Attribution, but hey ;-)

Another gripe I have is the use of the puzzle metaphor: although I understand the pieces represent several compatible modules, it seems like all the puzzle pieces have to be used in order to be complete (resulting in an Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike license). This is further emphasized by the circular shape of the puzzle, which is in fact only there for aesthetic reasons.

Let’s hope future incarnations of the Freedoms License Generator take these problems into account and really simplify the process of choosing the right license. Just my 2¢.