Tim Berners-Lee ( @timbl) explains why he gave away the #WWW for free.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/28/why-i-gave-the-world-wide-web-away-for-free

"For the web to have everything on it, everyone had to be able to use it, and want to do so. This was already asking a lot. I couldn’t also ask that they pay for each search or upload they made. In order to succeed, therefore, it would have to be free. That’s why, in 1993, I convinced my #CERN managers to donate the intellectual property of the world wide web, putting it into the public domain. We gave the web away to everyone."

But he adds:

"Today, I look at my invention and I am forced to ask: is the web still free today? No, not all of it. We see a handful of large platforms harvesting users’ private data to share with commercial brokers or even repressive governments…Trading personal data for use certainly does not fit with my vision for a free web."

#PublicDomain #OpenInfrastructure #Solid #Web

🪟 #Windowfriday

Plein 19, Wassenaar

#Plein #Wassenaar #ZuidHolland #Holland #Nederland #Netherlands #Niederlande #Facade #Hond #Dog #Hund #Boom #Tree #Baum #Fotografie #Photography #Snapshot #PublicDomain #VensterVrijdag #FensterFreitag

📷 CC0 by @reinoudk

Tim Berners-Lee ( @timbl) explains why he gave away the #WWW for free.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/28/why-i-gave-the-world-wide-web-away-for-free

"For the web to have everything on it, everyone had to be able to use it, and want to do so. This was already asking a lot. I couldn’t also ask that they pay for each search or upload they made. In order to succeed, therefore, it would have to be free. That’s why, in 1993, I convinced my #CERN managers to donate the intellectual property of the world wide web, putting it into the public domain. We gave the web away to everyone."

But he adds:

"Today, I look at my invention and I am forced to ask: is the web still free today? No, not all of it. We see a handful of large platforms harvesting users’ private data to share with commercial brokers or even repressive governments…Trading personal data for use certainly does not fit with my vision for a free web."

#PublicDomain #OpenInfrastructure #Solid #Web

🪟 #Windowfriday

Plein 19, Wassenaar

#Plein #Wassenaar #ZuidHolland #Holland #Nederland #Netherlands #Niederlande #Facade #Hond #Dog #Hund #Boom #Tree #Baum #Fotografie #Photography #Snapshot #PublicDomain #VensterVrijdag #FensterFreitag

📷 CC0 by @reinoudk

RetroStrange TV is now streaming!

24/7 science fiction, educational, horror and ephemeral content from the public domain

#streaming #retro #movies #scifi #horror #tv #vintage #publicdomain #adfree

https://live.retrostrange.com

RetroStrange TV is now streaming!

24/7 science fiction, educational, horror and ephemeral content from the public domain

#streaming #retro #movies #scifi #horror #tv #vintage #publicdomain #adfree

https://live.retrostrange.com

My first contribution to @standardebooks went live today! The Road to Oz (Oz #5) by L. Frank Baum.

https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/l-frank-baum/the-road-to-oz

It was fun to dig through HTML again to get this ready, and I really like the way Standard Ebooks compliments the Project Gutenberg ethos of getting public domain stuff easily accessible to people.

#Bookstodon#PublicDomain#Oz

My first contribution to @standardebooks went live today! The Road to Oz (Oz #5) by L. Frank Baum.

https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/l-frank-baum/the-road-to-oz

It was fun to dig through HTML again to get this ready, and I really like the way Standard Ebooks compliments the Project Gutenberg ethos of getting public domain stuff easily accessible to people.

#Bookstodon#PublicDomain#Oz

While billionaires are working 50 hours a day to make the internet a surveillance shithole of slop, we have to remember that it can also be a beautiful place! #Freesound, for example, where real people upload samples that you can use for free. Some even into the #PublicDomain

https://freesound.org/search/?q=vibraslap

While billionaires are working 50 hours a day to make the internet a surveillance shithole of slop, we have to remember that it can also be a beautiful place! #Freesound, for example, where real people upload samples that you can use for free. Some even into the #PublicDomain

https://freesound.org/search/?q=vibraslap

Tom Lehrer (1928–2025) made musical satire sing…and sting. His songs were funny, outrageous, & often uncomfortably true.

He died recently at 97. Years earlier, he disclaimed copyright to all his lyrics and compositions; a gesture as radical as his songs.

We remember his life, his legacy, & what it means for the #digitalcommons ⤵️
https://blog.archive.org/2025/08/01/tom-lehrer-1928-2025-a-life-in-satire-a-legacy-in-the-commons/

#TomLehrer#Satire#PublicDomain#Copyright#InternetArchive

Tom Lehrer (1928–2025) made musical satire sing…and sting. His songs were funny, outrageous, & often uncomfortably true.

He died recently at 97. Years earlier, he disclaimed copyright to all his lyrics and compositions; a gesture as radical as his songs.

We remember his life, his legacy, & what it means for the #digitalcommons ⤵️
https://blog.archive.org/2025/08/01/tom-lehrer-1928-2025-a-life-in-satire-a-legacy-in-the-commons/

#TomLehrer#Satire#PublicDomain#Copyright#InternetArchive

3 years ago, he made all his songs #PublicDomain: https://tomlehrersongs.com/

(I still crack up every time I see the Aristotle version of "The Elements".)

RetroStrange TV is now streaming!

Star Man Movie Marathon! RFF Watch-a-long

#streaming #retro #movies #scifi #horror #tv #vintage #publicdomain #adfree

https://live.retrostrange.com

RetroStrange TV is now streaming!

Star Man Movie Marathon! RFF Watch-a-long

#streaming #retro #movies #scifi #horror #tv #vintage #publicdomain #adfree

https://live.retrostrange.com

Project Gutenberg turns 54!

On July 4, 1971, Michael Hart had the idea of using a computer to read and enjoy literature. This innovation led to the creation of Project Gutenberg, which continues to thrive today.
via @gbnewby

You can read more about the history of Project Gutenberg in our 50th anniversary writeup:

https://www.gutenberg.org/about/background/50years.html

#Ebooks#PublicDomain