On 29/10/2007, Tracy Poff tracy.poff@gmail.com wrote:
On 10/29/07, Gwern Branwen gwern0@gmail.com wrote:
I've noticed people seem to hold photos and text to very different standards. For example, I don't think I've once seen anyone remove chunks of quoted text for being 'excessive fair use', and yet similar actions and rationale for images are too common for me to need to belabor the point.
In this case, 'excessive fair use' is probably secret code for 'so many photos we can't really claim fair use anymore'. Taken in that context, this happens all the time: for example, I often find myself removing song lyrics from articles about songs. In some cases the complete lyrics have been listed, in others a large part of them. It can certainly be appropriate to quote some of them for commentary, but quoting the whole song is 'excessive fair use'.
I've frequently removed excessive slabs of quotation. Mostly because it's bad editorially.
Note, though, that I'm not taking a position on the issue of where to give credit on photos. I think that it's a good idea to make sure people know where to find the credits/license, but I'm not sure that putting credits in the caption is necessarily a good way to go either. A lot of arguments for and against it were brought up last time we had this discussion, so I won't rehash them; suffice it to say that I wasn't convinced of either position. I hope we can come to a good conclusion this time through.
I tend to put them in if it's of editorial interest, e.g. if the photographer is of some note themselves.
As Greg points out, the letter of the license says putting it on the image page is fine. In a book, photo credits will often be in a big slab at the beginning or end.
- d.