Do we need the LibriVox disclaimer in every chapter?

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BrassRhino
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Post by BrassRhino »

I understand the need to claim the recordings as public domain so that people know they won't be sued for listening to and using the recordings. I think having the disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter is overkill, I'll outline a couple points below.
First: Every sound recording made in the US is technically copyrighted by default. As volunteers we already understand that we are doing this for free. To cover LibriVox better you should probably have a disclaimer on the upload page stating that we are waiving our rights to anything we upload so there is no danger of a volunteer thinking they have a claim to recordings they upload. (That disclaimer may already be on the site but I didn't see it in the TOS when signing up or when uploading).
Second: To make sure people can find where the file came from if they come across a lone chapter file somewhere we can start attaching a little metadata to the file. The person just has to right click the file and click properties, then details (or the equivalent on Mac) I'll include an example of what that looks like below.
It is pretty annoying to listen to the disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter. I understand having it at the beginning and end of the book, but listening to it every few minutes really takes me out of the book. I would love to hear your thoughts. Are there any other reasons every chapter has to have that disclaimer?
annise
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Post by annise »

If they are separate files, yes we do. Books can have 1 chapter per file, several chapters per file or part of a chapter per file.
Every file must have the disclaimer.

Anne
TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

First: Every sound recording made in the US is technically copyrighted by default.
I'm not sure what this has to do with anything. In the article you cited, there is this:

"Sure, there are always a few exceptions to every rule. The U.S. government cannot hold any copyrights, so sound recordings made by the federal government can potentially be in the public domain. Some individuals have made sound recordings and placed them in the public domain."

(That's what we do.)

I'll leave the rest of your post alone for now. I'll simply say that this has been hashed and re-hashed over the years, and the audio disclaimer is how LibriVox has decided to do it. Someday, one of the re-hashings might bring about a change of policy, but I wouldn't bet on it. :)
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Kangaroo692
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Post by Kangaroo692 »

Apparently this has been discussed over and over again.Here is a previous forum thread on the subject. (retrieved from the Interesting forum threads page on the wiki.)
carolb
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Post by carolb »

BrassRhino wrote:It is pretty annoying to listen to the disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter
With all due respect, no-one is forcing you to listen to our recordings. Our aim is to record, not insist that people listen.

I see you have been here a matter of weeks, and find it 'interesting' (I wouldn't dream of saying pretty annoying Image) how sometimes people come along and almost immediately start criticizing the way things are done here.

With group projects, the full disclaimer is used by each contributor, but a shorter version is used for each chapter of solo recordings, and yes, when we're new it does take some getting used to.

Many people are happy to listen to our recordings, disclaimer and all. If it's free books you're after here's a link to numerous sites - just ignore Librivox: https://www.google.co.uk/#q=free+audio+books+download

Carol
BrassRhino
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Post by BrassRhino »

carolb wrote:With all due respect, no-one is forcing you to listen to our recordings. Our aim is to record, not insist that people listen.

I see you have been here a matter of weeks, and find it 'interesting' (I wouldn't dream of saying pretty annoying Image) how sometimes people come along and almost immediately start criticizing the way things are done here.
Yeah yeah I know new guy stirring things up.

I really can't stand it though. I know the recordings are free, but after a couple chapters I ended up stopping and deleting the book. Like you said we can't make people listen, but I think more people might if it weren't there.
annise
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Post by annise »

I accept I'm weird - but I don't mind it at all. On group ones it gives me a chance to get used to the new voice especially if it is an accent I'm not used to.
and on all books it makes a break between chapters - which is after all what the writer intended, that you would pause, turn the page and read again - or put the book down till later or whatever.

Anne

At the moment we have had 363,752,750 downloads from Archive - I think most other people cope too :D
BrassRhino
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Post by BrassRhino »

annise wrote:If they are separate files, yes we do. Books can have 1 chapter per file, several chapters per file or part of a chapter per file.
Every file must have the disclaimer.

Anne
Would it be possible to have it in the metadata instead of recording it each time?
Availle
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Post by Availle »

It's always the newbies complaining about the disclaimer... :lol:

As for the number of people listening:

In the last (almost) 10 years, our (almost) 8700 books have been downloaded and (thus hopefully) listened to more than 360.000.000 times. That's the archive download figure alone, many of our recordings have additional sources of downloads.

I think we're doing just fine.
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BrassRhino
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Post by BrassRhino »

annise wrote:I accept I'm weird - but I don't mind it at all. On group ones it gives me a chance to get used to the new voice especially if it is an accent I'm not used to.
and on all books it makes a break between chapters - which is after all what the writer intended, that you would pause, turn the page and read again - or put the book down till later or whatever.

Anne
Yeah, it wouldn't be a big deal on paper. For me when I read I might read a few chapters then stop. When I listen to an audiobook it is for a period of time, like while I am cleaning the house or driving. Then when I am done with the activity I stop listening.
annise
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Post by annise »

Would it be possible to have it in the metadata instead of recording it each time?
No. Anyone can add it to the metadata anytime

Anne
BrassRhino
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Post by BrassRhino »

annise wrote:
No. Anyone can add it to the metadata anytime

Anne

They can edit the recording too and just as easily remove the disclaimer.
Last edited by BrassRhino on April 10th, 2015, 4:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
AdeledePignerolles
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Post by AdeledePignerolles »

Sometimes I download the book to my computer, open the file in audacity, then edit the disclaimer. Then I re-export as an mp3, and save it to whatever I use to listen. Then I can get rid of the disclaimer once it becomes annoying. :)
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annise
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Post by annise »

They can edit the recording too and just as easily remove the disclaimer.
you are missing the point - we need to know that the readers knows he/she/it are placing the recording in the public domain before we release it. What people do with it then is not our problem :D

It was originally done after legal advice was sought , it won't change because of this thread . There are a very few non negotiable things here - this is one

Anne
carolb
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Post by carolb »

I've had a quick look at your profile, BrassRhino, and see that you have concentrated on Dramatic Works.

Perhaps one of our lovely admins can tell you how many DWs there are for you to listen to without all those disclaimers that upset you so much!

Carol
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