I was reading Tim Bray’s brief notes on Wikipedia, which end with this observation about one possible fund-raising option.
They are also considering book-publishing as a source of income; imagine the Wikipedia History of Rock & Roll or Wikipedia Compendium of TV SciFi Lore.
Two thoughts erupted. First, talk about putting copyright and the collaborative editing process to a crucial legal test… who’s responsible if the version grabbed for rendering on paper includes some copyrighted material? Second, would the Wikipedians complain if Google Print scanned their book and made it searchable online?
I hope it happens, to further explorations of copyright, if nothing more.
If you need background on why this is an amusing thought experiment, try some background here.