For most Swahili users online, this dictionary(http://www.yale.edu/swahili) was very useful. I wish a solution to this problem is found soon.
The Internet Living Swahili Dictionary has been taken offline.
The project has been ordered to remove all links to the sites that the project has relied on to raise revenue for project maintenance and improvement. Without these links, the project has no income source and cannot function; the project will have a negative account balance after outstanding debts are paid.
We sincerely regret this interruption. The Kamusi Project usually serves over one million pages per month to users around the world.
We are working to resolve the situation. However, the site will remain offline until the following issues have been resolved:
- can the Kamusi Project raise funds through the sale of clocks and other merchandise?
- can the Kamusi Project acknowledge gifts from major supporters?
- can the Kamusi Project include passive advertising alongside search results and other pages?
The relevant section of University policy is the following:
ITS Appropriate Use Policy 1607.C.2 Use that is inconsistent with Yale's non-profit status. The University is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization and, as such, is subject to specific federal, state, and local laws regarding sources of income, political activities, use of property, and similar matters. As a result, commercial use of IT Systems for non-Yale purposes is generally prohibited, except if specifically authorized and permitted under University conflict-of-interest, outside employment, and other related policies. Prohibited commercial use does not include communications and exchange of data that furthers the University's educational, administrative, research, clinical, and other roles, regardless of whether it has an incidental financial or other benefit to an external organization.
The Kamusi Project was in the past granted authorization to raise funds through certain merchandising links. However, documentation for that authorization is no longer available. Therefore, the site must remain offline until all questions about whether the project has authorization to raise funds through passive revenue generation on the site have been resolved.
With sincere apologies,
The Editor
5 September, 2007
