Creative Commons, which supports multiple variations, recently linked to the discussion, adding the "Free Culture" label to help people choose, but wisely stopped short of endorsing the label as a uniform goal. As CC puts it,
"CC hopes to promote a more open culture than “all rights reserved”. Some creators want to allow very broad use of their works. Some wish to allow some uses but restrict others. We believe that all levels of openness are worth encouraging and supporting as an alternative to “all rights reserved.” While we hope that some creators will use the non-free licenses as a stepping stone to greater openness in the future, CC encourages sharing under any of its licenses as a way to create a more open culture."
The "free culture" licenses are CC0, CC-BY, and CC-SA (and combinations thereof). The "non-free" licenses are those with NC or ND mixed in.
ND, which prohibits derivative works, obviously limits cultural expansion (but allows you to use the work intact without the SA or NC restrictions). The NC version acts as a bridge to a more open community and it acts as a stopgap against commercial exploitation, which may enter a grey area with some kinds of projects. However, the SA license has its own problems that are not recognized by Freedom Defined.
