User talk:David Howden

A Cypherpunk's Manifesto

Thanks very much for adding the text. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be in public domain or released under a free license, and so Wikisource will probably not be able to accept it. For details see Help:Public domain. --Jan Kameníček (talk) 15:35, 27 March 2023 (UTC)

In response to the concern that the text of "A Cypherpunk's Manifesto" may not be accepted due to the absence of public domain status or a free license, I present the following counter argument.

Firstly, it is important to consider the historical context and cultural significance of "A Cypherpunk's Manifesto." As a foundational document for the cypherpunk movement, the manifesto has played a vital role in shaping the development of privacy-enhancing technologies and the discourse on digital privacy rights. Its inclusion in an academic repository would serve to facilitate scholarly understanding of the movement and its impact on contemporary society.

Secondly, while the text may not explicitly be in the public domain or released under a free license, its ethos of promoting the free flow of information and the importance of privacy may implicitly support its dissemination for educational purposes. Additionally, it is crucial to examine the original intent of the author, Eric Hughes, and his potential openness to the academic sharing of his work. David Howden (talk) 15:43, 27 March 2023 (UTC)

First I have to apologize for the fact that one of your edits was caught by our abuse filter. It was a mistake which had nothing to do with the previous discussion, and the filter has been corrected.

As four your arguments for adding the work to Wikisource: I am afraid that current Wikisource policy does not allow any exceptions from the general rule just because a document is widely considered important, or because of its ethos. Unfortunately, it is only explicit release into the public domain which counts. Besides that, even if the author released the work for educational purposes (which he did not), Wikisource also does not accept materials whose usage is limited in such a way. Our policy is that all the materials have to be released under a licence that allows general usage of the work, even for commercial purposes.

I am very sorry, but I have to delete the work for these reasons. I do hope that this misunderstanding will not discourage you from further contributing, and if you need any advice or help, feel free to ask either me or at WS:Scriptorium any time. --Jan Kameníček (talk) 19:53, 27 March 2023 (UTC)

The statement appears at the end of the manifesto and reads as follows: "Cypherpunks write code. We know that someone has to write software to defend privacy, and since we can't get privacy unless we all do, we're going to write it. We publish our code so that our fellow Cypherpunks may practice and play with it. Our code is free for all to use, worldwide. We don't much care if you don't approve of the software we write. We know that software can't be destroyed and that a widely dispersed system can't be shut down."

This statement can be interpreted as a declaration that the code written by Cypherpunks, such as the manifesto itself, is free for all to use, worldwide. The statement also suggests that the Cypherpunks do not care if others do not approve of their software, indicating a willingness to release the code and ideas into the public domain for anyone to use. David Howden (talk) 20:11, 27 March 2023 (UTC)

Well, the "code" seems to mean instructions for a computer, written in a programming language, not the text of the manifesto. Besides that, Wikisource accepts texts either completely in the public domain, or at least under CC-BY-SA licence, and both of these possibilities admit that others may not only "use" of the work, but also "remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially." It is really not clear whether the authors of the manifesto meant that they agree with such conditions. However, I admit that the case is not as clear as I originally thought, and so I have started a copyright discussion at Wikisource:Copyright_discussions#A Cypherpunk's Manifesto, which you may join too. --Jan Kameníček (talk) 20:34, 27 March 2023 (UTC)