Ubuntu Wiki

This page is used for drafting the email to be sent to prepare users and contributors for the implementation of the WikiLicensing spec. This is now the final version.

Dear Contributor to the Ubuntu Wiki,

You may recall we emailed all contributors to the Ubuntu wiki some time ago asking for views on a potential change of the Wiki copyright policy.

This email is sent to you to inform you of the outcome of that consultation process and the resulting change to the licensing policy on the documentation wiki.

NOTE: this change applies to the documentation wiki only, at https://help.ubuntu.com/community, and not to the Ubuntu development wiki at https://wiki.ubuntu.com. In the future we will be considering the scope for a similar change to be made to the Ubuntu development wiki.

= Decision =

After discussion among the Ubuntu Community Council and an initial consultation period, it has been decided  that new material on the documentation wiki should be licensed under a free license, CC-by-SA[1]. The documentation wiki will be changed to make this clear to those creating or editing pages, and of course external links from the Wiki to documentation under other licences will continue to be welcome.

This decision is not intended in any way to underestimate the value of contributions, but rather to ensure that the material on the documentation wiki complies with the same standards of openness as the Ubuntu project as a whole.

= Rationale =

The documentation wiki is a collaborative resource, and the product of the Ubuntu community as a whole. Its content, put together by many contributors with different knowledge and points of view, is immensely valuable to us all. Unfortunately, at the moment, there is no clear definition of what rights contributors to the documentation retain over the material that they post, or the extent to which other persons are entitled to copy or modify the material. For example, it would be very useful to ensure that community contributed documentation may be copied into documentation in the Ubuntu distribution without complex licensing issues, ensuring that those working on documentation can concentrate on producing the best documentation possible rather than legal negotiations.

= Feedback =

We would again like to make a good-faith attempt to ensure that contributors of existing material are happy with this change. We invite any contributors who have any questions or concerns about this plan to contact us at <community-council@lists.ubuntu.com>. Given the consultation that has already taken place in relation to this change, we hope that the vast majority of contributors will welcome it.

In the absence of substantial numbers of objections, this change will be made to the documentation wiki after approximately one month.

More details can be found here:

  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WikiLicensing

Many thanks for your contributions to the Ubuntu documentation, and we hope that you will continue to help!

[1] See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/