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If the dataset comes from the Gov't (e.g., Freedom of Info Act), one might argue that its public domain data. If its public domain, then slapping a license on i
by teachingaway 12y ago
If the dataset comes from the Gov't (e.g., Freedom of Info Act), one might argue that its public domain data. If its public domain, then slapping a license on it doesn't change anything.
If its not public domain, and you want people to use it fairly freely, Apache seems like a good license.
Disclaimer: i haven't thought about this very carefully before posting. Could be wrong.
One thing I do know is that @copiesofcopies is a former EFF guy that knows open source licensing. Ask him!
- thewopr 12y agoYeah, I would tend to agree with this. These data are derived from work originally done by the U.S. federal government. If they had chosen to make it freely available without a FOIA, public domain would have applied. I don't think having it being a result of a FOIA changes anything.
- anigbrowl 12y agoCorrect. If it comes from the government it's automatically public domain, and according to the repo description the NYT is just sharing what the government provided. NYT is getting very good at the digital journalism approach, I'm pleasantly surprised to see them using Github for this.