On Tue, 24 Jun 2014, Magnus Manske wrote:
2. It means other projects can use files form Commons.
Nowhere it states
that Commons has to take whatever Wikipedias feel like storing there.
That said, it does feel like some people are using the very fine toothbrush
to find and delete images that are not 100% obviously allowed.
The problem is that people from other projects are uploading files in
a good faith understanding that Commons will look after them, as they work
on the principle that unless something is provably unfree then it is
acceptable to host.
Unfortunately, Commons actually operates on the principle that if there a
possibility that someone somewhere may in future claim that a file is
unfree, with or without proof, and with or without merit to the claim,
then it cannot be held unless we have proof (of a higher standard than
required by professional copyright lawyers) that the file is completely
free in the US and the source country, now and at all conceivable future
times, then it must be deleted. There is also a great reluctance to engage
with anyone who has a lesser understanding of copyright than the
self-educated and self-appointed experts on Commons, and with anyone who
has a lesser grasp of English than they do. There is an equal reluctance
to let anyone using the images know that there are questions about a file.
Until this attitude changes, Commons is not and cannot be a reliable host
of media for other projects, and usage as such must be deprecated and an
alternative, reliable service project initiated.
----
Chris McKenna
cmckenna(a)sucs.org
www.sucs.org/~cmckenna
The essential things in life are seen not with the eyes,
but with the heart
Antoine de Saint Exupery