On 11/26/05, Mike Finucane mike_finucane@yahoo.com wrote:
I was going to enrich Wikipedia with a whole bunch of my images, but quite frankly, i dont want someone getting rich off my work. As such, I was intending to add creative commons no commercial use tags.
Then I come across this note from you:
"All images which are for non-commercial only use and by permission only
are not acceptable for Wikipedia and _will be deleted_. We have tolerated them for some time..."
Well fear not; you wont have to tolerate any of my images.
I'm going to have to re-evaluate contributing to wikipedia if its based on providing source material for commercial companies.
Feel free to explain WHY you have this policy; but I have to say your explanation above wasnt very tactful or conducive to goodwill on my part.
Allowing commercial use is a big part of the engine that makes open source work. Wikipedia couldn't reach as many people without our commercial mirrors (who operate for profit). And our commercial mirrors bring in new business, make donations and have helped pay wages for Wikipedia employees. The GFDL explicitly makes room for commercial uses, while limiting them somewhat.
Also, Mike, when you license your images per the GFDL you still own them, and you can still use them for your own commercial purposes.
Finally, commercial re-use of Wikipedia isn't limited to certain people, you can take part too.