I've been working on supposedly free content projects for over three years, but it's only now that I can explain what that means. A new project at FreeContentDefinition.org aims to formally define the term.

Taking inspiration from the Free Software Definition, and feedback from Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation and Lawrence Lessig of Creative Commons, Erik Möller and Benjamin Mako Hill have created the first draft of the Free Content Definition.

In order to be recognized as "free" under this definition, a license must grant the following freedoms without limitation:

  • The freedom to study and apply the information:
  • The freedom to redistribute copies:
  • The freedom to distribute modified versions:

Along with Erik and Benjamin, Mia Garlick and I will be moderating the wiki and updating the definition in accordance with community consensus.

Find out which licenses meet the definition of "free" and help to draft the next version of the definition (the unstable draft is publicly editable).

I previously posted on my Ourmedia blog that I hoped this site would change its default license. It hasn't. The default for uploads is still a non-commercial Creative Commons license. As the definition shows, this is not free content.