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While Forward Biased Communications and the author retain copyright to all copyrightable materials found on this site, most materials are licensed for use by readers, without any need to contact me at all beforehand, in the following ways, denoted by the following markings:
1. Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA
This license lets [you] remix, tweak, and build upon [my] work even for commercial purposes, as long as [you] credit [me] and license [your] new creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and open source software licenses. All new works [by you] based on [mine] will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the license used by Wikipedia, and is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects. (From Creative Commons’ website, emphases & clarifications mine.)
Most schematic drawings and other diagrams by the author will be licensed in this way.
2. Attribution-NoDerivs CC BY-ND
This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to [me]. (From Creative Commons’ website, emphases & clarifications mine.)
Most text by the author will be licensed in this way.
Simply put, I want you to be free to let any of my drawings “fire your imagination,” and you may make changes which improve upon, or change the focus of, the original. All you must do is prominently and clearly credit me in the body of the drawing itself, and license your work in the same way as the original was licensed, allowing for commercial use. If this presents a problem from your perspective, it will likely be that you cannot be more restrictive than I was in the way you allow others to use your derivative work. On the other hand, of course, you are free to ask my permission to license your work under more restrictive terms, such as disallowing commercial use, and as I see things at present, I will probably be accommodating. Despair not--these license terms simply describe what you are free to do without having to ask permission or contact me at all, for that matter. In no way do they restrict what you and I are able to agree to.
I similarly want you to be able to benefit from, and pass along, any written material I have placed here, but without a clear understanding between us as to exactly what changes you want to make, I must retain control of the wording. You must pass it along unchanged and in whole, that is, you cannot republish a post unless it is the entire post, and it must carry the same license as the original text did, unless--unless--you contact me and we explicitly agree, in writing, as to exactly what changes you may make. Again, communication is the key. My general attitude, if you hadn't already figured this out, is to let others use these works in ways that may benefit the public, and chances are good that we can come to an understanding.
There is an important omission I have made from these license terms, namely, the usually-found non-commercial clause. As long as you comply with all other terms, you may use these works for commercial purposes with my blessing and encouragement. You must, of course, license your work in the same way I did (“share alike”), which means allowing others commercial use as well (unless we agree otherwise) and fully and prominently credit me within the work (“attribution”).
If you have any questions, or wish to request that I waive some of the demands these licenses make on you on a case-by-case basis, please feel free to contact me at obi-wanforwardbiasedcom (make the obvious changes). If you have questions about the details of the licenses themselves, visit creativecommons.org and attempt to find the answers there before contacting me, although I will be happy to help you find any answers that prove hard to find.
