Expanded Documentation

Summary:

Project Hart is proposed as a community-based e-zine where authors can contribute stories and articles to be published to our website (currently on blogger) about their opinions and experiences with eBooks, books, literature or technology.

The purpose of the project will be two-fold:

1)To commemorate the legacy of Michael S. Hart, the founder of Project Gutenberg, and credited as the inventor of the eBook. To this end, half of the proceeds generated by the site (currently from ads and Amazon partnership) will be donated to the surviving members of the Hart family, to provide for:

A) A memorial service for Mr. Hart. This is to be in whatever manner the family deems fit, public or private. We will respect their wishes, and not impose. If they so choose to have a public ceremony, we would be grateful, otherwise, the money is theirs to use as they see fit.

B) To provide a small stipend to his survivors. If for some reason this does take off, we don't want to be in a position where we're contractually obligated to pay the family members an obscene or offensive stipend when the purpose of this venture is not profit.

C) To make a donation in their names to the charities of their choosing. At such point that we generate revenue deemed to be excessive by the Board of Trustees, the monies beyond the allotted stipend would be donated to the charity or charities chosen by the survivors.

2) To promote Mr. Hart's work in Project Gutenberg by:

A) Donating 50% of all revenue generated by the site to Project Gutenberg.

B) Promoting awareness of eBooks, and free knowledge sharing through the content we publish.

Structure

Currently we are not incorporated, although we would like to do so and register as a 501(c)3 under IRS code. I have done this for other organizations in the past, but I am looking for help right now. See the Needs Section for more info.

Our proposed structure after we incorporate will be a sort of bicameral organization wherein we have two groups.

1) The Board of Trustees will be responsible for setting the bylaws and maintaining the charter and other such rules that govern the organization. There will always be at least three Trustees on the Board, and new Trustees can be added at any time with a unanimous vote of the current Trustees.

The Trustees will be responsible for all business aspects, but will have no oversight on content. Content will be maintained by the second side of the house,

2) The Editorial Staff - The Editorial Staff will be an independent ad hoc organization of volunteer contributors divided into two subcategories.

A) Editors-Emeritus - These editors will be appointed for life by a universal vote of all existing Editors-Emeritus, and may only be removed by same.

B) Editors-at-Large - Editors-at-Large will be strictly voluntary, and no requirements may be set for the position. Anyone from anywhere is allowed and encouraged to submit material, suggest corrections, amendments, or generally voice their opinion.

Editorial Process
The editorial process will be described in two ways, first as it exists right now, 24 hours into this venture, and second how we would like it to exist in the future.

The current submission process is as follows:

1) Draft a submission and submit it fully formatted to ceo.jason.nichols@gmail.com
2) I will reshare it on Google+ with a circle comprised of all people who have asked to be editors and you, the author.
3) If changes are suggested, return to Step 1. Else, Publish.

To achieve a consensus, the current standard requires a written vote of "Yea" by at least two editors, and more "Yea"'s than "Nay"'s. Only documented votes in comments on the thread for the submission will be counted.

The author may not vote.

I will not vote.

In the case of multiple votes by a single editor, the most recent will be counted, up until the date of publication.

No post will ever be retracted unless we are so ordered by a court.

The ideal process will be similar except it should be on our own site, in a custom forum, with more formalized voting and vote tracking methodologies, better (preferably automatic) submission systems, and auto-publishing when the thresholds are reached.

Needs:

1. Contact information for the family of Mr. Hart.
2. Volunteers for both Editor roles and Trustees
3. An FAQ page
4. Submissions
5. Publicity

Wants:

1. Server space
2. Domain Name
3. Initial funding to incorporate and register with the IRS
4. Celebrity Evangelist

Goals:	Target Completion Date
Select Board of Trustees	9/10/11
Incorporate	9/10/11
FAQ	9/13/11
Nominate Editors-Emeritus	9/16/11

Please discuss. The whole point of this project is to be open to everyone. I can be reached here in the comment section, via the e-mail address above, or at Google+

Obituary of Michael S. Hart

INVENTOR OF THE E-BOOK, FOUNDER OF PROJECT GUTENBERG, DIES
Michael Stern Hart was born in Tacoma, Washington on March 8, 1947.
He died on September 6, 2011 in his home in Urbana, Illinois, at the
age of 64. His is survived by his mother, Alice, and brother,
Bennett. Michael was an Eagle Scout (Urbana Troop 6 and Explorer Post
12), and served in the Army in Korea during the Vietnam era.

Hart was best known for his 1971 invention of electronic books, or
eBooks. He founded Project Gutenberg, which is recognized as one of
the earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects. He often
told this story of how he had the idea for eBooks. He had been
granted access to significant computing power at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On July 4 1971, after being inspired by
a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he
decided to type the text into a computer, and to transmit it to other
users on the computer network. From this beginning, the digitization
and distribution of literature was to be Hart's life's work, spanning
over 40 years.

Hart was an ardent technologist and futurist. A lifetime tinkerer, he
acquired hands-on expertise with the technologies of the day: radio,
hi-fi stereo, video equipment, and of course computers. He constantly
looked into the future, to anticipate technological advances. One of
his favorite speculations was that someday, everyone would be able to
have their own copy of the Project Gutenberg collection or whatever
subset desired. This vision came true, thanks to the advent of large
inexpensive computer disk drives, and to the ubiquity of portable
mobile devices, such as cell phones.

Hart also predicted the enhancement of automatic translation, which
would provide all of the world's literature in over a hundred
languages. While this goal has not yet been reached, by the time of
his death Project Gutenberg hosted eBooks in 60 different languages,
and was frequently highlighted as one of the best Internet-based
resources.

A lifetime intellectual, Hart was inspired by his parents, both
professors at the University of Illinois, to seek truth and to
question authority. One of his favorite recent quotes, credited to
George Bernard Shaw, is characteristic of his approach to life:

"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable
people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress,
therefore, depends on unreasonable people."

Michael prided himself on being unreasonable, and only in the later
years of life did he mellow sufficiently to occasionally refrain from
debate. Yet, his passion for life, and all the things in it, never
abated.

Frugal to a fault, Michael glided through life with many possessions
and friends, but very few expenses. He used home remedies rather than
seeing doctors. He fixed his own house and car. He built many
computers, stereos, and other gear, often from discarded components.

Michael S. Hart left a major mark on the world. The invention of
eBooks was not simply a technological innovation or precursor to the
modern information environment. A more correct understanding is that
eBooks are an efficient and effective way of unlimited free
distribution of literature. Access to eBooks can thus provide
opportunity for increased literacy. Literacy, the ideas contained in
literature, creates opportunity.

In July 2011, Michael wrote these words, which summarize his goals and
his lasting legacy: "One thing about eBooks that most people haven't
thought much is that eBooks are the very first thing that we're all
able to have as much as we want other than air. Think about that for
a moment and you realize we are in the right job." He had this
advice for those seeking to make literature available to all people,
especially children: "Learning is its own reward. Nothing I can
say is better than that."

Michael is remembered as a dear friend, who sacrificed personal luxury
to fight for literacy, and for preservation of public domain rights
and resources, towards the greater good.

This obituary is granted to the public domain by its author,
Dr. Gregory B. Newby.

PS If anyone can please forward me Dr. Newby's contact info, I would like to confirm permission to share this.

A Fitting Memorial

So I'd like to start off by saying, I've started this site by myself. It is in no way endorsed by or related to anyone at Project Gutenberg, or any member of the Hart family.

It is meant as a tribute to someone who inspired me when I was younger.

I will never forget being 13, in my mother's basement (like a true hacker) and coming across Thus Spake Zarathustra for the first time.

I devoured these early e-books like some insatiable literary Galactus. I consumed universe after universe of classic books and stories, eventually reading almost the entire English collection on Project Gutenberg.

Now at the time the project wasn't even five years in, and most people I told about it thought the whole notion was just a passing fad. But when Google announced they were scanning and digitizing the Library of Congress, the idea of bringing the collected great works of humanity to a digital media didn't seem so ridiculous.

I will admit that I am a tremendous fan of Google's work in this arena, and that every night for the last several months, I have read a chapter from one of Frank L. Baum's Oz novels to my daughter off the screen of my Android phone as she drifts off to sleep.

That is not to say that there is no place in our 21st century home for real books. Everyday she and I read Ten Apples Up on Top by Theodore Geisel, whom you probably know better as Dr. Seuss. That's a physical book, she takes it, she looks at the pictures, we point out the animals together. She loves her Elmo books, and she even has her Dora books with the little push buttons that make noise, but I have never in my life come across a physical copy of Ozma of Oz. And certainly not one I would entrust to a two-year-old. So even though it's through the Google Books App, I feel that my family's nightly ritual is still a tribute to the pioneering work of Mr. Hart.

And that is why I started this blog.

Every week, I will post a screen cap of the revenue tabs to provide a transparent accounting system, and as I promised in the Project Hart Tab, I will donate half of the proceeds from this blog to the surviving family members of Mr. Hart, and the other half to Project Gutenberg.

Again, this is just me, and it's all subject to change. I hope to establish a foundation to take ownership of this blog, and host it on a proper server as a regular e-zine. I hope it generates tremendous revenue for Project Gutenberg, and I hope to allow for direct donations, but all of that will come with time. For now I simply hope that it will be a place where people can come and pay tribute to one of those rare men who really did change the world.

Here's to you Mr. Hart.