There are a series of articles transcribed by Dr. David R. Wilkins (dwilkins@maths.tcd.ie)
School of Mathematics Trinity College, Dublin
at
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/
They all start with a line:
From `A Short Account of the History of Mathematics' (4th edition, 1908) by W. W. Rouse Ball.
Are they fair game to grab as source material for our wikipedia?
I know we are scarfing stuff from the 1911 encyclopedia, this is from 1908, so it should be under the same lack of restrictions....
It's not that simple, actually. the 1911 encyclopedia is
known to be in the public domain; but the 1908 text might not be. It depends on how long the author lived, whether the copyright was transferred and when; if it falls under one or several of the various acts extending copyright, etc. Please do not add anything from it unless you can find out for certain that it is in the public domain. Many wikipedians have discussed this on
wikipedia-L and come to the conclusion that we probably need a lawyer's help--or the help of
Project Gutenberg--to find out.
As far as searching the copyright website goes, good luck. You'll need it. ;-) --KQ
Damn- You weren't kidding!!! That copyright db was useless. OK, how about an email to Dr. Wilkins. If he's willing to undertake the task of transcribing these Histories, he may either own the rights, or know who does. --
Eventi
It seems that W. W. Rouse Ball died in 1925, so the work is almost certainly out of copyright. Of course, it would be a good idea to further verify this before using the material.
Zundark, 2001-08-20
I think an e-mail to Dr. Wilkins is probably a good idea. --
KQ
Since I'm a lousy letter writer (but a not-half-bad editor;) how about a collaborative email?
/Open letter --
Eventi
Sure, here's a rough draft for you. --
KQ
Hell, maybe we should suggest it get considered for submission into Project Gutenberg, if it's Public Domain! It's obviously useful! And I believe we might be able to get Project Gutenberg to help us out here (and take the legal blame, too...) I believe they want a photocopy (not a scan) of the title page and inside-title-page for 'Title Page and Verso' or TPV, to be sent in a vividly coloured envelope. Try
http://www.promo.net/pg/vol/pd.html for more info.
I think we should be helping ALL Open Source / Public Domain sources here... especially when it helps us! But if that makes it complex, then...
Just my two small pieces of worthless metal ... Dave McKee
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