A Pilgrim's Journal

No permission is needed to copy, distribute, or modify any original content of this blog. Credit is appreciated but not required.

Quoted material is, of course, still copyrighted by its original author.

This uncopyrighted status is inspired by the following article by Leo Babauta, which is also uncopyrighted, and which I copy here in explanation.

As some might know, I'm not a fan of copyright. In fact, I've uncopyrighted this blog and my other blog, Zen Habits.

And while uncopyright and minimalism might seem at first glance to be unrelated, I believe they both stem from the same mindset.

Here's how.

Copyright stems from a protective mindset, one that believes the creator owns his work, and must protect that ownership in order to profit from said work. The creator will share his work with others, but only at a price, and anyone who takes without paying, or uses it as a basis for further creations, is stealing.

That's the copyright mindset.

The uncopyright mindset is that of someone who gives without any guarantee of profit, who lets go of ownership and believes the world owns his creation. He hopes to contribute to the world in a small way, and if others benefit from this contribution, that's a good thing. And if others use his contribution to create something new and beautiful, that's a wonderful thing.

The uncopyright creator lets go of ownership, because to hold on to ownership hurts the world, and to try to protect that ownership leads to unnecessary stress.

The minimalist also eschews ownership, at least to some degree, and believes owning things doesn't make him happy. Doing things makes him happy. Helping others makes him happy. Creating makes him happy.

It is from this place that the minimalist embraces uncopyright, and in doing so gives to the world and hopes that the world will be better for it, at least in a tiny measure.

I have a few points to add:

1. I don't believe that the world owns my creation. I believe that God owns my creation, because He is the source of every possibility of creating anything. Without God, nothing would exist.
2. I have experienced much internal stress, to varying degrees over the years, over copyright. The headache that the world adds to the average person is unnecessary. In the software world, it is even worse. The mass of busywork added just to manage software licenses is enormous. Now, there's not much software on this blog. This blog is about ideas and discoveries. And I generally use the GPL or explicit public domain for software, and I intend to continue to do so. But if anyone reads this blog (there's not too many at the moment), I want to lift the weight of adhering to copyright law from his shoulders. I do not want to inflict on others what has been a burden to me.
3. Jesus says in Matthew 10:8, "freely ye have received, freely give." That's a great attitude and policy to have. "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." (1 Tim. 6:7)
4. This is a small opportunity to put my beliefs into action. Instead of fearfully hanging onto my creation in the hopes of material benefit, I give it away freely, and look to God to meet my needs. I think that the world has proven the faithfulness of God, unwittingly, more than many Christians have. I should try to at least join such ranks in promoting freedom and love.