Redvers @ the Wikipedia wrote:
I'm pretty sure it would mostly find IPs, which would be meaningless for most pre-planned blocking, as we would be unable to assess which were static and which were dynamic in the same way we generally are now.
Thankfully "IPs" lack the technical ability to upload images, regardless of copyright status. Permitting them to do so would be sheer madness.
On a similar note I've heard talk about requiring e-mail address confirmation prior to image uploading. This might be a safeguard for those casual editors who check their e-mail inbox more frequently than their talk page, and might help prevent a legitimate image from being deleted due to failure to properly tag it (fringe cases). I do not know whether this has been implimented or shot down for being too "unwiki-like", but I think the "you have Wikipedia e-mail from OrphanBot" idea is a good one. It would give the uploaders one less excuse, anyway.
However the point is probably moot now that image uploads are now stored for fucking ever and can now be undeleted at will.
--f.o.n.