I just got a phone call and followup email today asking about how to upload a photo to be on a Wikipedia article.
This has got to be an incredibly common request. What's a standardised way to handle it?
Here's the text I wrote back with:
=== OK - the key point with contributing a picture to Wikipedia, or rather to Wikimedia Commons, is that you are contributing it to the world - under a free licence.
(You can't contribute a picture "for use in Wikipedia" - Wikipedia doesn't accept those. It needs pictures of living people to be under a licence where literally anyone can use it.)
So, you need the person or body who owns the copyright in the picture to contribute it under a free licence. This means you lose control over the picture, but it does contribute it to the world. This does not control unpleasant reuses - so be very sure you think this is a good idea.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Contributing_your_own_work
This works quite well in my experience for promotional photos. It will rapidly become *the* picture people use.
Creative Commons by-sa is a good licence, I think - anyone can use it, but anyone can reuse it.
Once a picture is uploaded to Commons, it can be used on Wikipedia articles. ===
- But there's got to be a better text and/or page I could refer them to ...
Assume the person this is for knows very little about Wikipedia or content freedom.
- d.
For this category of people we have OTRS: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/OTRS#Licensing_images:_when_do_I_contact_... :)
If you want to cut the queue, just contact a volunteer to have the ticket processed.
Strainu
2013/10/11 David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com:
I just got a phone call and followup email today asking about how to upload a photo to be on a Wikipedia article.
This has got to be an incredibly common request. What's a standardised way to handle it?
Here's the text I wrote back with:
=== OK - the key point with contributing a picture to Wikipedia, or rather to Wikimedia Commons, is that you are contributing it to the world - under a free licence.
(You can't contribute a picture "for use in Wikipedia" - Wikipedia doesn't accept those. It needs pictures of living people to be under a licence where literally anyone can use it.)
So, you need the person or body who owns the copyright in the picture to contribute it under a free licence. This means you lose control over the picture, but it does contribute it to the world. This does not control unpleasant reuses - so be very sure you think this is a good idea.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Contributing_your_own_work
This works quite well in my experience for promotional photos. It will rapidly become *the* picture people use.
Creative Commons by-sa is a good licence, I think - anyone can use it, but anyone can reuse it.
Once a picture is uploaded to Commons, it can be used on Wikipedia articles.
- But there's got to be a better text and/or page I could refer them to ...
Assume the person this is for knows very little about Wikipedia or content freedom.
- d.
Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
On 11 October 2013 20:49, Strainu strainu10@gmail.com wrote:
For this category of people we have OTRS: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/OTRS#Licensing_images:_when_do_I_contact_... :) If you want to cut the queue, just contact a volunteer to have the ticket processed.
Yes, there's that :-)
I suppose I'm wondering more about how to explain free content, in most of its frightening implications, to people who I strongly suspect have never even considered the concept of putting a work completely beyond their control. Something in less than several kilobytes.
- d.
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Donating_copyrighted_materials
On Fri, Oct 11, 2013 at 3:52 PM, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
On 11 October 2013 20:49, Strainu strainu10@gmail.com wrote:
For this category of people we have OTRS:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/OTRS#Licensing_images:_when_do_I_contact_...
:) If you want to cut the queue, just contact a volunteer to have the ticket processed.
Yes, there's that :-)
I suppose I'm wondering more about how to explain free content, in most of its frightening implications, to people who I strongly suspect have never even considered the concept of putting a work completely beyond their control. Something in less than several kilobytes.
- d.
Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
On 11 October 2013 20:56, John phoenixoverride@gmail.com wrote:
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Donating_copyrighted_materials
Oh, that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking of. Thank you!
- d.
2013/10/11 David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com:
On 11 October 2013 20:56, John phoenixoverride@gmail.com wrote:
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Donating_copyrighted_materials
Oh, that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking of. Thank you!
That's what I wanted to suggest initially, but couldn't find it ATM. Thanks John.
Strainu
On 11 Oct 2013, at 20:52, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
On 11 October 2013 20:49, Strainu strainu10@gmail.com wrote:
For this category of people we have OTRS: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/OTRS#Licensing_images:_when_do_I_contact_... :) If you want to cut the queue, just contact a volunteer to have the ticket processed.
Yes, there's that :-)
I suppose I'm wondering more about how to explain free content, in most of its frightening implications, to people who I strongly suspect have never even considered the concept of putting a work completely beyond their control. Something in less than several kilobytes.
Can't you point them towards: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_licenses to explain a lot of this?
Thanks, Mike
On 11 October 2013 20:58, Michael Peel email@mikepeel.net wrote:
Can't you point them towards: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_licenses to explain a lot of this?
I've just followed up with:
=== Here are useful pages to read on the topic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Donating_copyrighted_materials http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_licenses
To summarise: it's a bit of a big thing to release a picture for completely free reuse ... but in practice, it mostly works out OK. ===
If they don't get it from that, I suspect it's hopeless ;-)
- d.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requesting_copyright_permission is from the otherside of the table but might be useful
On Fri, Oct 11, 2013 at 3:49 PM, Strainu strainu10@gmail.com wrote:
For this category of people we have OTRS:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/OTRS#Licensing_images:_when_do_I_contact_... :)
If you want to cut the queue, just contact a volunteer to have the ticket processed.
Strainu
2013/10/11 David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com:
I just got a phone call and followup email today asking about how to upload a photo to be on a Wikipedia article.
This has got to be an incredibly common request. What's a standardised way to handle it?
Here's the text I wrote back with:
=== OK - the key point with contributing a picture to Wikipedia, or rather to Wikimedia Commons, is that you are contributing it to the world - under a free licence.
(You can't contribute a picture "for use in Wikipedia" - Wikipedia doesn't accept those. It needs pictures of living people to be under a licence where literally anyone can use it.)
So, you need the person or body who owns the copyright in the picture to contribute it under a free licence. This means you lose control over the picture, but it does contribute it to the world. This does not control unpleasant reuses - so be very sure you think this is a good idea.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Contributing_your_own_work
This works quite well in my experience for promotional photos. It will rapidly become *the* picture people use.
Creative Commons by-sa is a good licence, I think - anyone can use it, but anyone can reuse it.
Once a picture is uploaded to Commons, it can be used on Wikipedia
articles.
===
- But there's got to be a better text and/or page I could refer them to
...
Assume the person this is for knows very little about Wikipedia or content freedom.
- d.
Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
The very nice https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Free_knowledge_based_on_Creative_Commons_licenses can also be used as final weapon to smash any remaining doubt about SA. (Please help translate: https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Translate&group=page-Free+knowledge+based+on+Creative+Commons+licenses&filter=&action=page.)
Nemo
There's also https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:UploadWizard, which features a cartoon puzzle-flower that tries to explain free content.
MZMcBride
On Fri, Oct 11, 2013 at 5:23 PM, MZMcBride z@mzmcbride.com wrote:
There's also https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:UploadWizard, which features a cartoon puzzle-flower that tries to explain free content.
It's not a flower, just a small person with a misshapen head. Although it would be neat to re-do a free licensing tutorial in the style of http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif
Erik
In the Netherlands, we have Wikiportret for promotional photos of living people It gets used pretty often
On Oct 11, 2013, at 9:44 PM, David Gerard wrote:
I just got a phone call and followup email today asking about how to upload a photo to be on a Wikipedia article.
This has got to be an incredibly common request. What's a standardised way to handle it?
Here's the text I wrote back with:
=== OK - the key point with contributing a picture to Wikipedia, or rather to Wikimedia Commons, is that you are contributing it to the world - under a free licence.
(You can't contribute a picture "for use in Wikipedia" - Wikipedia doesn't accept those. It needs pictures of living people to be under a licence where literally anyone can use it.)
So, you need the person or body who owns the copyright in the picture to contribute it under a free licence. This means you lose control over the picture, but it does contribute it to the world. This does not control unpleasant reuses - so be very sure you think this is a good idea.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Contributing_your_own_work
This works quite well in my experience for promotional photos. It will rapidly become *the* picture people use.
Creative Commons by-sa is a good licence, I think - anyone can use it, but anyone can reuse it.
Once a picture is uploaded to Commons, it can be used on Wikipedia articles.
- But there's got to be a better text and/or page I could refer them to ...
Assume the person this is for knows very little about Wikipedia or content freedom.
- d.
Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Yes, the first step is to tell them the picture needed to be donated as free-licensed material. Last time I get the same request from Taiwan's vice Legislator Leader I told her the same thing, then these's no more response (they are afraid their pictures will be abused by their opposition parties)....
Regards, Ted Chien -- Sent from my HTC New One 2013/10/12 上午3:45 於 "David Gerard" dgerard@gmail.com 寫道:
I just got a phone call and followup email today asking about how to upload a photo to be on a Wikipedia article.
This has got to be an incredibly common request. What's a standardised way to handle it?
Here's the text I wrote back with:
=== OK - the key point with contributing a picture to Wikipedia, or rather to Wikimedia Commons, is that you are contributing it to the world - under a free licence.
(You can't contribute a picture "for use in Wikipedia" - Wikipedia doesn't accept those. It needs pictures of living people to be under a licence where literally anyone can use it.)
So, you need the person or body who owns the copyright in the picture to contribute it under a free licence. This means you lose control over the picture, but it does contribute it to the world. This does not control unpleasant reuses - so be very sure you think this is a good idea.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Contributing_your_own_work
This works quite well in my experience for promotional photos. It will rapidly become *the* picture people use.
Creative Commons by-sa is a good licence, I think - anyone can use it, but anyone can reuse it.
Once a picture is uploaded to Commons, it can be used on Wikipedia articles. ===
- But there's got to be a better text and/or page I could refer them to ...
Assume the person this is for knows very little about Wikipedia or content freedom.
- d.
Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
I note also this page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Declaration_of_consent_for_all_enqui...
Most useful.
- d.
wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org