Keith Andersen.com

In my stumbling around looking for new and interesting things I came across this great site.  Protagonize.com is an online writers’ community dedicated to various forms of collaborative, interactive fiction. Once an author writes a story, others can post branches or chapters to that story in different directions.  With Protagonize.com you not only have the chance to choose in what direction the story goes but you can write it as you go as well.  Want hero dude to fight monster A rather than B?  Nothings stopping you from making that happen.

You don’t have to be an author to enjoy the community here – you can just read and enjoy the stories submitted by others. Stories offer an RSS feed, so you can follow your favorites in your PC’s feed reader or on any device that has an internet connection, like your mobile phone.

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Check it out.

The US Orphan Works Act has seen it’s demise… or has it?

S. 2913: Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008

The Orphan Works Act has a goal of reducing copyright infringement of so-called “orphaned” works as long as there was a “diligent” effort to locate the copyright owner. Orphaned creative works are those in which the copyright holder cannot be promptly located.

Many groups see this as a “problem” because the default response of many is to disregard copyrighted works unless they are definitively in the public domain, orphan works are often not made available to the public due to uncertainty over their ownership.

My question has always been why is not being able to use a piece of art, text, etc. a problem.  Without permission it is copyright infringement… period.  What is the effort involved in making a “diligent effort”? More often than not the passing of this act would encourage infringement by providing a safety net for large organizations, or any for that matter,  to reap benefits from material that they need not compansate the creator for.

Digital rights groups like Public Knowledge hailed the measure. The group said “it would restore much needed balance to copyright law.”

“Orphan works relief was vigorously opposed by visual artists… And while we have thought some of their concerns misguided, they did a fine job of organizing and getting their voices heard.”

That was the rueful conclusion Monday from the President of Public Knowledge. She was conducting a postmortem on her blog to explain why their last minute efforts to pass the Orphan Works Act failed last week. (more…)

Take Action: Don’t Let Congress Orphan Your Work

The next great work taken for others benefit may be your own.

As of late I’ve become quite involved with work and life. My goal of designing and developing a great new site has been put off for so long I can’t even remember where I was headed. As a way to keep things fresh once again I’ve gone ahead and started this blog. I’m currently using a theme designed elsewhere and only tweaked by me. Perhaps in the near future I can work up a template design that is more original to my style. Until then this will do.
I hope to post about many of the interests I have, as well as, web design and development tip, tricks, etc. Check back soon.