Our position was represented well, but hopefully we’ll find more outlets for the subtlety of our claims — our arguments are multi-faceted and far-reaching. They extend far beyond the logical statement that the RIAA does “bad business.” They represent a more progressive way of viewing intellectual property, with immediate practical consequences, but also with long-term consequences that will determine the future of fields like communication, politics, and public health.

1. The Media Server

Miles from SCCS came by to talk to us about the media server. It should be here within a week and we’ll talk with SCCS about the software. We’re going to try our best to get it running and hosting Olde Club recordings this semester.

2. The Recording Project

We decided that we definitely want to produce another Olde Club CD this semester in addition to the media server. In the next week or two we’ll be planning the details about that, so if you want to be recorded or help record/produce/make CDs, come to a meeting or send me an email.

3. FreeCulture: Free Movies

We’re showing public domain movies! The first movie will be this Friday in collaboration with the Film Dept. and possibly the Film Society.

4. Michener

I’m still working with the VP on getting a Michener novel under CreativeCommons. More news as it develops.

See everyone soon!

Ben.

Thursday seems to be a good day (again, please email me if you can’t make a meeting — even if you’ve never come to one(!) — so I know you’re interested). Some people thought 9pm was better, others liked 9.30. I’m going to try to set this meeting at 9pm this week: Thursday, Feb. 14 in Kohlberg Coffee Bar. I’ll bring (hopefully more improved) food.

1. Films

Free Culture is having a film series! We’re going to be showing “movies” rather than documentaries (though we may show one later in conjunction with an event) that are in public domain. We’re trying to pick movies that are good (rather than “schlock”), but that aren’t popular or shown in film classes. We brainstormed about movies like Charade, Dementia 13, Buckets of Blood, Santa Claus Battles the Martians, Ed Wood films, etc. There are lots of lists online, so please suggest movies!

Our first film will be Friday, Feb. 22 @ 4:30pm. We haven’t picked a film yet. We’re thinking about changing the day/time for each movie so different people can come.

We’ll hopefully be working with the film dept. and/or the Film Society. I was thinking of calling the series “Free Culture: Free Movies.”

2. Michener

I met with Maurice Eldridge about releasing a James Michener novel under CreativeCommons. We’re currently picking a novel and specific license, and then things should progress. This will be a major accomplishment for the Free Culture community.

3. ITS

I met with Gayle Barton, the new ITS director. The meeting went very well, and she’s a wonderful person with our interests in mind.

The most important thing we talked about was regular log rotation/deletion in order to protect students from RIAA attack. This is a complicated issue, but we talked with some other people in ITS and it seems a 30 day deletion is completely feasible. It will be Free Culture’s responsibility to promote knowledge about this change and gain student support (a petition?). More about this as it develops.

4. Media Server

I’m currently trying to figure the details out with SCCS about getting a media server together (the funding is there already).

Regarding software, we had previously thought about DSpace, but Gayle suggested we also look at Fedora Commons, which looks like a great choice! We’ll have to discuss these two possibilities.

This meeting was a general introductory one. Nick and I talked about FC
philosophy and plans in general. We went over our current projects (Music,
FC Labs, Tor, Films, etc.). Below I’ve just summarized the “new” stuff we
talked about.

1. Michener

I met with VP Eldridge about the Michener copyright. We’re on track to
publish a novel of our choice under CreativeCommons (probably a BY-NC
license). I’m currently deciding which novel. Feel free to suggest one
(South Pacific is not eligible).

2. ITS

I am meeting with the new ITS director this week. This will be a general
conversation about FC ideals and how we want to work with ITS. If you have
anything you’d like me to bring up, email me. I’m not going to hound her
about very specific things. I just want to introduce us.

3. Elections

We voted in the national Elections. Nick and I ran for the
board of directors. As approved by the rest of FC, we voted for ourselves. Neither of us ended up winning a position.

Minutes for 1/21

1. Music

FreeCulture has been recording student and independent bands for a year now. We put out a great compilation CD (free to the student body) last semester, and we hope to put at least one more out this semester, but higher quality and with more support.

We’ll also be making available the hundreds of recordings we have on a digital media server.

If you have any interest in helping out — with recording, playing, artwork, CD production, etc. — email me (bmazer1).

2. James Michener (the famous author of long books) left his copyrights to Swarthmore when he died. Previous FC members worked to have one of his books released under CreativeCommons. We are going to be making sure this project is completed.

3. We will be showing various films related to copyright (documentaries such as “Good Copy, Bad Copy” and “Steal This Film”, and some public domain movies such as “Charade”) this semester, hopefully in collaboration with the Film Dept.

4. TurnItIn.com is used by some departments on campus. Its required use in a class represents a violation of students’ intellectual property rights and is ideological against what both Free Culture and modern academia stand for. We are discussing whether or not is productive to pursue a fight against this policy.

5. Beginning last semester we’ve been working on bringing Tor — an internet anonymizing program — to Swarthmore. If implemented and used, it effectively protects the identity of an individual user within the network. It would help provide our students with a defense against the RIAA’s unsubstantiated legal attacks.

6. Nick has been running periodic hack-a-thons, targeting the Comp. Sci. elements of the school to encourage participation in open source software.

7. Nick is also considering starting a Linux Users Group (LUG) to help students install and manage the linux operating system.

8. We are voting for the Students for Free Culture national board of directors.

The purpose behind this symposium is to explore the new business of creativity in the digital age. When costs of distribution are insignificant, what kind of new creations and business models are made possible? Webcomics have led this exploration for years, since advertisements first started making their way onto the websites of online comics. On Friday, we will hold a full discussion panel starting at 7 PM, which will explore these questions — and leave plenty of time for a question-and-answer session afterwards.

On Saturday, we’ll break out of this model; starting at 1 PM, our guest artists will have the opportunity to host their own workshops on topics of their interest, from writing to running a business, and from drawing a comic to world-building.

Events will be held in the Swarthmore College Science Center, Room 199 (Cunniff Hall). We hope to see you there!

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