On the subject of the recent introduction of Wikimedia's visual identity guidelines [1], I came across several images (one of which I apparently created myself, though I don't remember doing so) which contravene these guidelines. Angela has made a list of these on Meta [2]. Most of these don't seem to be intrinsically harmful to the Foundation's copyright or give the impression that the Foundation endorses any concept or group that it in fact does not.
However, there are some images that do concern me. There are two images created by Cool Cat [3] for a group named the "Counter Vandalism Unit" [4], a group that aims to facilitate and improve vandal fighting. The images are logos for the group. One [5] incorporates the WMF logo, the other [6] the Wikipedia logo.
Cool Cat was given provisional permission by Anthere to use these images before the above guidelines were created. [7]
However, the Counter Vandalism Unit does have some opposition within the community. I would note that I myself am in disagreement with much of its structure and attitudes, particularly some comments that imply that the Unit is the only way in which to fight vandalism. However, just to avoid any undue comments, I am sending this post not to request removal but just _reappraisal_ of the situation, which I see as potentially harmful.
The logos give the impression that the Unit is Foundation-sanctioned. This idea is encouraged by the proliferation of the Foundation logo attached to Unit-related matters (most notably the infamous userboxes).
With this in mind, may I suggest that the provisional permission granted to Cool Cat be at least reconsidered in light of the new guidelines.
Happy Wikipedia Day!
[1] http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Wikimedia_visual_identity_guidelines [2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Uses_of_logo_derivatives [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Cool_Cat [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Counter_Vandalism_Unit [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CVU2.PNG [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CVU2.5.PNG [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CVU2.5.PNG
-- Sam