Putting my site into the public domain

I hereby put my website, www.timtimestim.com, under the Creative Commons 0 (CC0) license.

This means that you can use the content of this site for any purpose without permission from me. You can copy it, distribute it, remix it, reimagine it, sell it, quote it, reference it, translate it, build on it, share it, and even snorkel with it during a romantic three day stint in the Caribbeans.

Hell, you don't even need to credit me.

The CC0 license effectively puts a work or body of work into the public domain, meaning that there is literally no copyright on it. In my case this applies to the site's code, any stories / blog posts / other writings I've put here, any art (like my album art), or anything else on this site. Everything on here is made by me, so I have the right to put the whole thing under CC0 without any caveats or exceptions.

If that's all you wanted to know, than you can simply leave this blog post with the knowledge that you can do whatever you want with it. If you're interested in the why as well as the what, than strap yourself in.

HUH?!

Some of you out there are like, "That's insane. Why would anyone ever do this?"

And some of you out there are like, "Of course. I totally understand why someone would decide to do this."

But in reality, all of you out there are like, "..." because nobody actually visits this website. I'm talking into a void about how I'm giving the void permission to copy my insane ramblings and insipid stories.

If we ignore the absurd fruitlessness of this entire operation, we find several reasons:

1. I find copyright to be too restrictive, scary, and hindering to creative progress.
2. Allowing free copying of my work allows it to live longer.
3. Putting my money where my mouth is.

1. Copyright considered harmful

The role of copyright is to give a creative artist an exclusive monopoly over their creative works for a period of time, so that others do not immediately steal their hard work and profit from it without putting in the work themselves. This is supposed to incentivise creatives to create more cultural works, which is a very important part of society.

If copyright wasn't a thing, than huge corporations like Disney could just take things that are popular and profit from them without any recourse. The little guy, the creative, wouldn't have any tools to deal with the immense resources of the corporate machine, and so nobody would make artistic works.

I mean, nobody has ever made creative works without being motivated by profit, right?

...I digress. The idea of copyright, to protect the little guy and incentivise high quality cultural creative work, is a good one. In fact, if copyright worked as originally intended I wouldn't even be sitting here boycotting it.

The problem comes with how copyright is implemented. Originally, in the United States, copyright rights lasted 28 years (14 years by default, plus 14 more if you renewed it). Can you fucking imagine that? Something like, I don't know, Star Wars being put into the public domain? That anyone, even you, could use Star Wars and all its characters for whatever you want?

It would be amazing. The cultural explosion that would cause, considering the huge popularity of Star Wars, would be immense. To be able to use something culturally relevant in the public domain is the kind of pipe dream that's only really realized in very specific situations.

Sadly, copyright law in the USA (and by extension most of the rest of the world) is a farce. Let me tell you how long copyright last now:

120 years or the lifetime of the author plus 70 years.

What the hell? You read that right. 120 years. Or longer! The average lifespan of someone in the USA is 80 years, so 80 + 70 = 150 years of monopoly over creative works.

This bad joke masquerading as a law came about because a bunch of media companies banded together to protect the copyright on their shit, because they like money. Look up "The Mickey Mouse Protection Act" for more info on how this came about.

So copyright has become a tool to keep the small guy from using the corporation's hard work; the exact opposite of the original point. You can't really use anything in the public domain, since nearly none of it is culturally relevant anymore. Unless you're talking about really revolutionary things like Alice in Wonderland or Oliver Twist.

But it gets even better than that. Because for copyright to be relevant you need to inforce it.

Enter: The Internet.

Everything about the internet is either about making things, sharing things, or selling things.

Making things and sharing things leads to what I would politely refer to as a supernova of creativity and progress. Fanfiction, for example, existed before the internet, but it detonated in popularity due to people being able to more easily share their works, pushing the medium of writing to weird and absurd lengths. Video making pushes the medium of cinema. Audio platforms push the medium of music and sound. Even videogames have been pushed further than ever before.

Wether or not you think that the creative works of fanfiction authors or amateur video makers on YouTube can be considered "art", there's no denying that there's a cultural impact that these things have that would not have happened without the internet.

But don't forget the last rotten leg of the stool: selling things.

I don't reject profit seeking. Money is absurdly useful for getting things done, and has been a general boon to the human race. I personally dislike money because my values don't align with the way people tend to obtain it, but that isn't to detract from the huge benefits that a world economy has brought to us.

...With that said, it has some hairy edges. If I want to make something I can never be sure if that thing might have some hidden copyright from 60 years ago that I just never knew about. And since these giant media companies need to keep their copyright under control, less they lose their rights (and money), they aggressively shut down things related to their property.

The main deterrent here is fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I'm afraid of what will happen if I mess up, I'm uncertain when or how I can mess up, and I'm doubtful that I'm not going to retroactively mess up when a Disney executive decides that something I made 10 years ago is not acceptable in some future cultural climate.

There's small loop holes, like Fair Use, but even then it's just more uncertainty and doubt. Will something I made with Fair Use still be Fair Use 20 years from now? Will media companies lobby to get rid of this pesky bug in the copyright system? I don't know!

So the act of using someone else's creative work went from being dead simple (is this thing more than 28 years old?) to so complex and prickly that it's actively limiting the things I can make without being bogged down in legalise and stress.

I hate seeing something I like, especially if it's something that's older than my parents, and knowing that I can't do jack shit about it. I can't expand on that thing, I can't use it in ways that are truly interesting, I can't do anything without being afraid. It's really sad.

So that's a big part of why I'm putting my site into the public domain. I don't want other people to feel like they can't use the things I make, if my some miracle they decide they actually like it. And if by an even larger miracle something I make becomes culturally relevant, than hopefully this will help us all have more creative freedom.

I could have done this in 28 years, simulating the old copyright days, but a boycott like this requires immediate action. My point would be harder to make, and my works less useful to others, if I waited that long. Even though I wouldn't be doing this if the original intent of the law was still being enacted.

This doesn't mean I won't be able to sell my works -- you could sell my works, if you wished -- it just means that it's all going to be public domain. Obviously, it would make sense to just release the stuff for free, but some time in the future I may want to self publish or whatever. Just know that I'll keep my word on keeping it CC0.

This is my way of trying to give back to all those other people who CC0 their work, and all those people who make open source software, and all those people who appreciate the art of using past works to create new things.

2. Long term content

You might know I have a bit of a thing about things lasting into the long future. See here and here.

This is basically just an extension of that value. If there are more copies of something, than there's a higher chance of that something existing into the further future.

Allowing (and even encouraging) local backups is already pretty good. Taking another step into allowing and encouraging you to distribute the content of this website is that same idea, but super charged.

So, I'll say it right here, I want you to distribute this website. Do whatever you want. Go wild. There are no rules, and no limitations. Thus is the magic of public domain.

I want the things I've made to last for as long as possible. If I felt it was important enough to put online, than it's important enough to preserve for the future.

Huh. That section was a lot shorter.

3. Living by my values

Otherwise known as: putting my money where my mouth is.

I've criticised copyright on multiple occasions, both to myself and to others. Yet when I made a website to share my stuff I failed to actually release it under CC0. I can make a bunch of excuses, but the cold truth is that I forgot.

It's easy to forget to follow your values. Akrasia is a real thing, and it consumes all. There are so many different things to worry about and think about and do that you can't really apply all your values all the time.

So this is me taking another step into the direction that I want my life to go. I sometimes forget to follow my values, but when I remember and still fail than that's just folly.

Conclusion: Do what you want! :D

Seriously. Do what you want. That's the whole point.

This is the part where I tell you things like, "I know you don't have to, but please link back to this site if you use my shit." Or at least it's what everyone always says when they do this kind of thing. Fuck that. If you don't want to credit me, than don't fucking credit me. I've considered that possibility, and I'm comfortable with it.

What I will ask you for is: if you remix or remake something I've done, or expanded on it, or even was inspired by it, please contact me and tell me about what you've made. This isn't obligatory, but I would love to see it.

That's it.

Isn't it a weird feeling? Being free?

-Tim