>I must say that when I first saw the book version of [the] C FAQ, I was
>taken aback and wasn't sure it was a good idea, for two reasons:
>
>1. Many users have contributed in some way or other to my own FAQs, and
>the FAQs would be much less useful without their help. Obviously, I
>worked on the FAQs more than anyone else, but I still couldn't have
>written them alone.
>
>Other users helped me for free, and I think that there's an implied
>understanding that I'd pass on their help to other users for free. I'm
>not at all sure that they would have been as willing to help me if I
>had said that I wanted their help for a book I was writing for profit.
>If I later turn the FAQ into a book, I feel like I'm profiting from the
>work of others.
I wrote the comp.graphics.apps.paint-shop-pro FAQ - in it I include
a lot of information on image file formats, and how they relate to
Paint Shop Pro. A little while ago, Greg Roelofs, the maintainer of the
official PNG page, asked me for information about PSP's handling of
PNG image files, for his forthcoming book. His PNG pages are FAQ-like -
they're a free resource with plenty of information about the topic.
He's also producing a book as a direct outgrowth of those pages (and his
participation in creating the PNG format). His book will include
information from my FAQ. In exchange, I'm being compensated (free
books - the one being written and others from the publisher).
If you turn your FAQ into something profitable (like a book), you
probably owe the major contributors something. If their contributions
are copyright, then you have to work out something. If not, then
your obligation is moral instead of legal.
Anthony Argyriou
comp.graphics.apps.paint-shop-pro FAQ developer
http://www.alphageo.com/psp/faq.html
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