Preserving Languages, the Semantic Web and DRM

There is a project called the Open Language Archives Community (OLAC) whose aim is to create " a worldwide virtual library of language resources by: (i) developing consensus on best current practice for the digital archiving of language resources, and (ii) developing a network of interoperating repositories and services for housing and accessing such resources. ".

Basically, they want to keep a record of all the fast disappearing human languages on the planet. There are links to various articles about it here. They recognise there are many informal records and comments, and see the need to create a more structured approach - hence the use of XML.

One of the issues in making such information freely available on the web is that for some information, the culture concerned has rules about who should know certain things - eg, in Australian Aboriginal cultures, many have "secret men's business" and similarly "secret women's business". That is, not everyone is supposed to see or know the stuff (some words, some practices, presumably).

In an interview I heard on ABC Radio National this morning, with one of the key people in this intiative, Steven Bird, he noted that they are looking at using Digital Rights Management software to ensure only the right people can see the sensitive material in question.

This is an interesting idea - a non-commercial use of DRM - although I am not sure how this would work in practice. I presume I could still somehow pretend to be a woman and attempt to view the secret women's material?

This whole project embodies the issue of keeping the web free and open, yet balancing that with the need for restricting access in some cases, and keeping some of the advantages of a centralised database, by using distributed, but well structured data.