[mb-users] New MetaBrainz policy (was: The SoundUnwound Links Fiasco)

[Robert Kaye]

On Aug 9, 2011, at 6:13 PM, Chad Wilson wrote:

> But I think even Rob would admit that in hindsight it might have  
> been better that this was "announced" to the Style community close  
> to when it was agreed (or pending lawyering); seeking for  
> appropriate implementation suggestions.


Well, had I had even the slightest clue that this was going to be  
controversial, I would've simply said no and not even bothered. I came  
from the perspective that since we shared id space, that we can easily  
make a pile of useful links with almost no effort. But, given that  
that thought has been compared to treason and selling out, I guess  
that is far from the case.

Mea culpa. Here is what I will do to make this situation right:

1. MetaBrainz will not enter into a contract that contains  
stipulations about what must be shown on the musicbrainz.org website,  
unless the concept passes a community review first.

2. When the Amazon contract comes up for renewal in December, I will:
   a. Start the community process to add an AR for SoundUnwound links,  
in hopes that this will pass before the contract expires.
   b. Renegotiate the contract to remove the cross linking clause,  
even if that causes us to lose income.

I hope this will set things right in due time and allow us to continue  
paying the people who work hard to keep MusicBrainz alive. Now, can we  
please put this issue to rest so I can focus on more constructive  
things?

--

--ruaok        The answer to whether or not something is a good idea  
should not be taken as an indication of whether I want to do it.

Robert Kaye     --     rob at eorbit.net     --    http://mayhem-chaos.net