[OS:N:] Student "rights" thread

The proposition by James Michael DuPont (JMD) that all students
have certain "rights" which should not be violated is generating a lot
of action here.  Most of it from JMD.

First we need to be clear that these are not "Rights" in the
constitutional sense. Labeling them as "Rights" is an un-subtle
rhetorical trick intended to get the audience to automatically agree
with the proposal.

Instead what we really have here is a sets of rules or proposed ethics
which JMD wants certain organizations to follow.  Following these rules
will give the students better and cheaper access to the educational
content.

The privileges JMD proposes giving students are "A Fine Ideal"(TM) which
the education domain should try to work toward and use.  I restate
them here in a form which I think is more adaptable and likely to be
more successful:

Notice that I substititute "Open Source" for "free software" since tools
like flash are "free software" but are not "Open".  Notice also that
this is directed at the educational organization, not the student.

#1. Students will be able to use Open Source Software(OSS) for all school
related tasks.   (this achieves JMD's #1 but allows the school to use
and provide proprietary software as long as the student can still use
OSS.)

#2.  Content shall be provided in a format whose specification/standard
is freely published and whose design/standard is open to public
participation (Eliminates Java till SUN opens the standard.)

#3.  You may not restrict students from publishing their work except in
cases where such work is based on the intellectual property(IP) of others
who do not wish to release their ownership of the IP.
(very often graduate students do research on IP which was created and
owned by their faculty advisor's and which is in the process of being
made into a commercial product.  This process must be respected).

#4, You may restrict anyone who recieves or views your educational
content from reproducing or redistributing it.  It is your IP and 
you should be compensated for it at a rate which you have set.
(Ahh - but how do we enforce this if the content is in a public format?)
(recent polls have already shown that two thirds of of the folks on the
internet do not respect copyright ownership and routinely redistribute
copyrighted material without any concern for the illegality of the
act.)

-- 
Jeff Kinz, Open-PC, Emergent Research,  Hudson, MA.  [email protected]
copyright 2003.  Use is restricted. Any use is an 
acceptance of the offer at http://www.kinz.org/policy.html.
Don't forget to change your password often.


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