copyright / open source
Copyright is the license applied to protect documentation or software from being copied, modified or put under someone else's name.
Copyleft lets the item in question be modified freely and shared with the public.
Open Source software (OSS) is software which has its source code open to be modified, copied, and improved upon.
What do these mean for authorship and interactivity? First the former becomes not a single author but a community of global users with access to the same information as the programmers and the people building the platforms for them (in the case of OSS and some copyleft elements). Therefore this increase in 'audience' pushes the boundaries and adds more requirements to the new platforms being built today. For example the platforms which want to expand to have these communities now need to expand into new technologies, building apps and smartphone applications, in order to reach those new users. Interactivity is what it all comes down to, it is what is being increased and it is that which is needed to create a relationship between the user and the tools they are being given to use. Since Web 2.0 interactivity has become something much more present in the internet and in the process of building platforms. As a user I want to know that the information I am providing goes somewhere where it will be appreciated and used for what I have been told it will be. Apart from the obvious security risks there is a lot users put at risk by sharing so much information so a safe environment is needed in which everyone can interact freely.