it may seem contrary to what im doing here, but i'm actually quite a big fan of intellectual property rights. it takes a lot of energy and effort to put together a piece of media. however, sometimes corporations' definitions of copyright run contrary to the best interests of creators, artists, educators, and the very idea of making media accessible for everyone.
that's not me claiming i know what those best interests are. instead, i'd like to suggest a distinction between accredation vs paywalls. i'm a staunch believer in giving people credit for their work. whenever possible, i identify the people responsible for making things- even when its supposedly just generated by a machine. when i can, i like to compensate and thank people for their work directly rather than going through a company that somehow holds control over the copyright and profitability for someone they manage.
i'm learning how to apply this to the internet and other places where we might not conventionally consider questions of labor and ideas of who made what. im in the process of updating this website to credit creators of web graphics and take down anything that the creator doesnt want republished. its a long process that i think is very worth it. however, with archiving old web materials, it can be hard to find this information.
the history of copyright is quite complicated. it has worked differently across geography and time, it has had different results for different people. its implications can run against my belief that, most of all, creation is a synthesis of ideas that is hardly an individual process. (for example, the ideas im summarizing here were inspired by the discussion of shanzai in chapter 5 of blockchain chicken farm by xiaowei wang). as someone who creates a lot of things, when i go through the work of publishing something, i hope it can reach a wide audience. i especially dont hope for what i made to be put behind a paywall to generate profits for shareholders! i almost never get paid for my art anyway!
tldr:support creators, rethink common ideas of what copyright is and who breaks it and who it benefits.