jkelly@fas.harvard.edu wrote:
Quoting Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.com:
Shouldn't the image be deleted if it's orphaned? A fair use rationale is only for a particular use, as this image isn't being used, the rationale is nonsense.
I agree with this, of course. But en: treats unfree content as deserving of many of the same protections from deletion as free content, and deleting a "fair use" image that we're not actually using will provoke people into accusations of ignoring process, abuse of admin tools, and may even wind up at Deletion Review.
The point of giving the original uploader a few days to respond is to verify that it really is the case that it's a fair-use image no longer being used. If we zap things instantly, we can't distinguish, for example, a case where it's a perfectly legitimate fair-use image but momentarily not being used because somebody vandalized the page it was used in. I don't see what's wrong with proposing it for deletion, waiting a week or so, and deleting it if the allegation turns out to be correct.
-Mark