Open Attribute, a free add-on for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers, was recently launched as part of a Mozilla Drumbeat collaborative project. The project aims to make open content more accessible, according to a Library Journal article.
According to Molly Kleinman, Special Assistant to Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan Library and an Open Attribute project manager, the add-on works by searching a web page for Creative Commons (CC) licensing information - specifically embedded CC REL metadata - and creates properly formatted attributions from that information, in plain text and HTML code, that users can simply cut and paste.
Open Attribute started at a workshop at the Mozilla-sponsored Drumbeat Festival in Barcelona in November 2010, where attendees talked about what was holding back more widespread usage of open content. A small group at the Drumbeat Festival was inspired by the idea of citation generators in academic databases, which supply correct, formatted citations at the click of a button. Correct attribution could be supplied in a similar fashion, they reasoned, and soon they were outlining what would become Open Attribute.
Team members on the project included Kleinman, Creative Commons CTO Nathan Yergler, University of Nottingham e-learning developer Pat Lockley, web developers Laura Hilliger and Hans Lemuet, and Matt Thompson and Ben Moskowitz of Mozilla. Mozilla Drumbeat provided guidance, some communications infrastructure, and help with spreading the word about Open Attribute.
Open Attribute add-ons have already been downloaded hundreds of times. It will be available as an Opera browser add-on shortly. WordPress and Drupal plug-ins are also in the works, which could allow open content publishers to add 'Attribute This' buttons on websites.
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