Website with quotes by the Buddha

[sunyata_zero]

Hi all, first post here in this forum. I have been thinking of creating a website collecting quotes by the Buddha and display them in a nice way, maybe something like this (my first prototype):
http://quotes.ihavearrived.org/2017/01/05/attachment-to-views.html

This would be a FOSS (free open source software) project

1. Copyright

What i would like to ask is how i can get access to quotes that are not copyrighted, for example can i use parts of the english translations on this site? Does attribution have to be given even if it’s just a shorter text? How would attribution look on a site like the one i’m thinking of creating?

I’ve read this page on your site
https://suttacentral.net/copyright
and if i understand correctly it means that this page for example

English translation of AN 1.45–46, “A Pool of Water”

would not require any attribution if i were to copy part of the text?

2. General feedback

I’m also grateful if you can give me feedback on the prototype i’ve created. And if you are interested in helping out please contact me at tord (dot) dellsen (at) gmail (dot) com, whether with programming, selecting quotes, or something else

Grateful for help and with kind regards, Tord

[sujato]

Hi Tord,

It looks like a great idea, we’d love to support you. And the site looks really nice, i wish we could make SC like this!

As far as the usage of material on SC, the copyright page says this:

For certain of the material on SuttaCentral the copyright has been asserted by third parties. This includes most of the translated texts. In such cases the terms of the copyright are specified by the copyright asserter, who is usually the translator or original publisher. Such material is used in accord with the licence, or by permission. The relevant copyright notices as specified by the asserter of copyright are included with the material.

So in order to use translations, you must first check the copyright licences to confirm that they allow it. In most cases, it should be no problem, as long as the use is non-commercial. However, we have inherited a vast mass of text from multiple different sources with many different, sometimes unclear, licencing conditions. In some cases, for example, translators have given us personal permission to use material on SC, but it is not clear whether the permission extends beyond that. We can’t be any more clear than this, unfortunately.

Having said which, if you are only posting short snippets of text, I think this would be covered by fair use in any case.

The translations I am working on at the moment will be dedicated to the Public Domain via CC0, so they may be used in any way, with or without attribution. These should be released around Feb 2018.

I notice you’re linking to Diaspora. I haven’t been keeping up with news about that, how is it going?

[sunyata_zero]

Hi and thank you for your reply, it’s exciting to see a reply from you because for me you are a bit of a celebrity, having seen video Dharma talks online by you at BSWA

Thank you for your kind words about the design, i feel encouraged reading them. I did spend some time on the design, trying to find a font that i liked etc, but there’s still much to be done

I’d love to have your support with you on a project like this. I have a tech/computer background but still have much to learn about JavaScript/EcmaScript, CSS, etc, but am happy to learn. Also i know some other “Buddhist computer nerds” that may be interested in helping out

I’m working on setting up a github repo now, and have added this wiki page with some requirements and their priority: https://github.com/SunyataZero/buddha-quotes/wiki/Requirements
Please feel free to add and edit as you wish (i’ve opened the wiki so that anyone with a github login can edit)

I’m happy to continue this discussion openly her but if you need you can also reach me at tord(dot)dellsen(at)protonmail(dot)com

Diaspora: It’s going pretty well, i’ve been using it myself for a couple of years now, still has some features lacking compared with facebook, but i overall i like it and try to use it as my primary social media platform. I’d like to add sharing to twitter and facebook as well, hopefully with a nice preview so that part of the quote can be seen when sharing

Copyright: Okay this is good to know, i may need to read up on fair use some more though (i’m glad to hear you are using cc0 yourself)

Kind Regards (Swedish: Vänliga hälsningar),
Tord

SunyataZero (☮Tord☃)

PS
I really like the design of your website!
/Tord

[sujato]

you are a bit of a celebrity

At last! Now my work is done!

I’m working on setting up a github repo now

Okay, good.

Diaspora: It’s going pretty well, i’ve been using it myself for a couple of years now, still has some features lacking compared with facebook, but i overall i like it and try to use it as my primary social media platform.

Well that’s good to here. Hopefully as the community grows larger it might avoid the kinds of toxicity that have plagued the commercial networks.

I really like the design of your website!

Well, don’t get attached, we’re changing everything. Except the font, that stays!

[sunyata_zero]

Hi all, does anyone else have ideas for this project? Honestly i’m not even sure about the platform, it might be that it’s better suited for mobile phones or desktop OS:es than the web

EDIT: For example i’m currently working on a mindfulness application for desktop computers and maybe quotes could be part of that application

Kind Regards, Tord