This morning, I did a survey of 100 image uploads. The sample size with relation to the overall quantity of image uploads per month is not statistically significant, but it is terrifying nonetheless. With that grain of salt in mind;
I found that 44% of images uploaded were tagged as being under a non-free license.
Let that sink in for a bit. 44%
That's nearly HALF our image uploads.
Reviewing five days worth of uploads, we are (at least this month) going to upload about 76 thousand images. Fully 33 thousand of them are or will be tagged as non-free content.
Let THAT sink in for a bit. 33 thousand per month. Over a year, assuming growth, we're looking at a whopping half million images uploaded over the next year under a non-free license.
We need a culture change. We need it now.
The English Wikipedia is no longer a free content encyclopedia and is not working towards our mission of providing neutral educational content under a free content license.
Either we need to drop the charade that we are a free content encyclopedia, or we need to harshly restrict image uploads until better tools are in place to handle the overwhelming deluge of non-free content we are being hit with on a daily basis, and the overwhelming mass of non-free images we are currently suffering under is reviewed.
If the people are on this mailing list are unable to make decisions on this, who should I take this matter to? I'm of the understanding that Jimbo wanted this list to be the main source of business work, so to speak. Yet, the support I've seen regarding fair use issues brought up in an earlier thread is weak at best. Is there another place I should be taking this?
-Durin