On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 12:39:07 +0000 (UTC),
wikinews-l-request(a)wikimedia.org <wikinews-l-request(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. RE: Wikinews language creation rules modified (David Speakman)
> 2. Bulgarian Wikinews launched (Erik Moeller)
> 3. Poll on Chinese Wikinews launch (Erik Moeller)
> 4. Fair use on Wikinews; local uploads disabled (Erik Moeller)
> 5. Wikinews Design Contest Open for Submissions (Erik Moeller)
> 6. Intent to launch pt., pl., ro. Wikinews; further procedure
> (Erik Moeller)
> 7. Polish, Portuguese, Romanian Wikinews set up (Erik Moeller)
> 8. Credentials verification using VoIP set up (Erik Moeller)
> 9. Re: [Foundation-l] fr.wikinews logo (Erik Moeller)
> 10. Wikinews: New State of the Wiki report (Erik Moeller)
> 11. Polish Wikinews report (Dariusz Siedlecki)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 12:59:47 -0800
> From: "David Speakman" <david(a)speakman.com>
> Subject: RE: [Wikinews-l] Wikinews language creation rules modified
> To: "'Wikinews mailing list'" <wikinews-l(a)Wikimedia.org>
> Message-ID: <001301c50c8e$cae8a220$a905a8c0(a)beancomp.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Sounds good to me.
>
> --
> David Speakman
> http://www.DavidSpeakman.com
> 501 Moorpark Way #83
> Mountain View CA 94041
> Phone: 408-382-1459
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wikinews-l-bounces(a)Wikimedia.org
> [mailto:wikinews-l-bounces@Wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Erik Moeller
> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 10:56 AM
> To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List; wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Wikinews language creation rules modified
>
> I have modified the rules at
>
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews/Start_a_new_edition
>
> New: At least 3 signing users have to be Wikimedia regulars (>200 edits
> + 3 months participation in a project) in the language they vote on.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 23:28:36 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Bulgarian Wikinews launched
> To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <42069A14.5090901(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
>
> The Bulgarian edition of Wikinews is now set up at:
>
> http://bg.wikinews.org/
>
> An announcement has been posted on the Bulgarian Wikipedia Village Pump,
> as well as on the user talk pages of all interested users (all users who
> signed up had user pages on bg:, and several had far more than 200 edits).
>
> I'd like to ask the Board to discuss in the meeting tomorrow what steps
> are required to decide whether the Chinese Wikinews should be launched.
>
> Regards,
>
> Erik
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 08:40:21 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Poll on Chinese Wikinews launch
> To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <42071B65.7010102(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
>
> I've set up a poll at
>
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews/China
>
> to help decide whether we need a formal vote among the Chinese users or
> all users before launching the Chinese Wikinews edition (because of the
> risk of censorship). Please vote.
>
> Regards,
>
> Erik
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 04:17:40 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Fair use on Wikinews; local uploads disabled
> To: wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org, foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <420EC6D4.8070009(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
>
> Local uploads have been disabled on the English Wikinews from the start.
> Uploads are only possible through the Wikimedia Commons. This is meant
> to make the upload of "fair use" images as well as images under other
> non-free licenses impossible, and generally encourage use of the
> Commons. The decision to disable uploads on the English Wikinews was
> made in accord with Jimmy. Uploads on the other wikis were only enabled
> to begin with in order to allow them to replace the logo. Since that has
> now happened, local uploads are disabled there as well.
>
> In order to nicely integrate a link to the Commons into the sidebar, I
> suggest using [[MediaWiki:Currentevents]] as well as
> [[MediaWiki:Currentevents-url]], which are pointless in Wikinews anyway
> since the entire wiki is about Current Events. You can point those
> directly to [[Commons:Special:Upload]], which will then put users on the
> Commons upload form if they are logged in.
>
> The decision to disable uploads is not permanent and subject to change.
> The reasoning behind this decision is as follows. Wikinews is a project
> which directly competes with major news organizations, magazines and
> newspapers. It also allows and encourages commercial use of its content.
> Fair use of photos from a news agency, for example, is very difficult to
> justify under these circumstances. But regardless of the legal
> arguments, there is also the practical argument that Wikinews will soon
> be perceived as a threat, because most of its stories are based on
> reporting done by others -- and we give it away for free, while they
> charge money. These people will eventually try to stop us by all means
> necessary.
>
> There is a distinct possibility that we will face issues similar to SCO
> v. Linux, where a competitor accuses us of stealing content -- even if
> we didn't. Fair use, being so volatile in its definition, makes a
> successful attack more likely and opens us up to additional legal risks.
> That is why uploads will not be enabled until it is fully clear under
> what circumstances non-free licenses can be allowed.
>
> Work is currently being done on the English Wikinews to formulate a
> "fair use" policy. I encourage other Wikinews editions to do the same.
> Fair use on Wikinews could encompass things like logos, graphics,
> screenshots -- or photos that have not been produced by competing
> organizations and companies. Once that policy is written, we shall
> submit it to the Board for approval and possibly legal review. If it
> passes that review, uploads will be re-enabled. The same goes for all
> the other Wikinews editions.
>
> In the meantime, I ask you to only upload images under free licenses or
> in the public domain, directly to the Wikimedia Commons. Uploading them
> there does not affect the image syntax at all -- you can use them like
> you would use a local image. But they will not show up in Wikinews
> Recent Changes.
>
> If the Board would like this decision to be reverted, please let me
> know. Otherwise I will coordinate the next steps as described.
>
> All best,
>
> Erik
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:14:51 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Wikinews Design Contest Open for Submissions
> To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <4214446B.9010408(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
>
> Help us create a unique visual identity for the Wikinews project!
>
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews_design_contest
>
> The Wikinews design contest, which will run until April 17, 2005,
> consists of two components:
>
> * www.wikinews.org multilingual portal
> * site stylesheets
>
> You can also offer prizes for the best designs! If you can't contribute
> a design, please offer a prize, to increase the incentive to contribute.
>
> While the contest is running, please also feel free to edit the existing
> portal at:
>
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Www.wikinews.org_portal
>
> All best, and good luck to all participants,
>
> Erik Möller
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 07:33:11 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Intent to launch pt., pl., ro. Wikinews; further
> procedure
> To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <42158C27.4080805(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
>
> As per the procedure on
>
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews/Start_a_new_edition
>
> I'd like to launch three new editions later today or tomorrow:
> Portuguese, Polish, and Romanian. For Portuguese, I count Carlosar as a
> valid vote, because he has made 3000+ edits on the English Wikinews, and
> he is a native speaker.
>
> For future editions, I'd also like to suggest changing the language
> procedure in the following way:
>
> The "activity on existing Wikimedia projects" requirement can be
> dropped if a few support pages (FAQ, Mission Statement, etc.) are
> created on Meta for the project to be launched. These can be
> translations or original creations.
>
> Such an effort indicates a genuine interest in working on a Wikinews
> edition in a language. It also reduces the dependency of new projects on
> existing ones -- we already know that many key people working on
> Wikinews have not done substantial work on Wikipedia or other Wikimedia
> projects. There would still be a requirement of at least 5 signatures,
> so it's not just one person playing an overarching role.
>
> If this works out, perhaps we can substitute one procedure for another;
> I prefer the translation procedure, because it also makes sure that
> certain pages are in place before the wiki is set up (a problem on some
> new editions which were essentially blank for several days).
>
> I'd like to credit the Memory Alpha wiki for this procedure, which has
> successfully used it for setting up new languages.
>
> Regards,
>
> Erik
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 03:46:43 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Polish, Portuguese, Romanian Wikinews set up
> To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <4216A893.8070106(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
>
> As announced and in accordance with the existing language policy, three
> new Wikinews editions have been set up:
>
> http://pl.wikinews.org/ - Polish
> http://pt.wikinews.org/ - Portuguese
> http://ro.wikinews.org/ - Romanian
>
> I left messages for the users who have pledged to participate (and who
> could be located), and on the respective Wikipedia Village Pumps.
>
> Good luck to the new editions!
>
> Peace,
>
> Erik
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 13:01:12 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Credentials verification using VoIP set up
> To: wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <42187C08.2060306(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
>
> Ilya Haykinson has proposed a policy for requesting accreditation as a
> Wikinews reporter. This is not meant to be the only way to do original
> reporting, but a way to be recognized at events as a Wikinews reporter.
>
> The cool part is that he has set up a voicemail account people can call
> in order to verify credentials:
>
> http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Credential_verification
>
> Any call made to that number is sent to an internal mailing list
> (subscription requires approval, currently all sysops will be approved):
>
> http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikinews-accreditation
>
> Anyone on that list can then take a verification request and respond to
> it. People can also simply check the list of accredited reporters on
> Wikinews itself.
>
> Regards,
>
> Erik
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 9
> Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 14:29:43 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Re: [Foundation-l] fr.wikinews logo
> To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List <foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org>,
> wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <421DD6C7.8030701(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> I suggest editing MediaWiki:Tagline and putting the "beta" there. That
> might be done for any Wikinews editions which does not yet have a
> sufficient level of activity. This is better than defacing the logo, in
> my opinion.
>
> It turns out that it is very difficult to predict that activity, and I
> don't think the current process on Meta is really anywhere close to
> doing that. The Swedish Wikinews is very active, for example, thanks in
> large part to a handful of dedicated editors -- but that might change
> any day. Of course, all the editions are suffering from the current
> slowness, and recent downtime.
>
> One notable difference in Wikinews to other projects is that a quick
> glance at the frontpage gives you an impression of the level of
> activity: if you only see old news, obviously the project is not very
> active. This is good if it is seen as an incentive to work on it, bad if
> it frustrates people and makes them give up on the project. Wikipedia,
> Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wiktionary in the different languages all have
> their phases of activity and inactivity, but nowhere are those phases
> more visible than on Wikinews.
>
> Switching the project into read-only whenever it enters such a phase
> seems like a bad and un-wiki idea; perhaps you could create a template
> like this for the frontpage instead:
>
> The French edition of Wikinews is currently not very active. Please
> participate in building this website into a useful resource! Ideas
> for increasing activity are collected at [[Wikinews:Building Wikinews]].
>
> Here are a few suggestions to increase activity:
>
> 1) Translate. It is much easier to translate a well-written article than
> to write a new one from scratch. Wikinews articles have to grow to
> publishable quality very fast, "stubs" aren't helpful, and references
> are a strict requirement. As such, writing them takes a lot of effort.
> But the English Wikinews, for example, is now publishing articles at a
> reasonable rate. As an author of that edition, I also get great
> satisfaction out of knowing that my work is going to be translated into
> languages I do not speak.
>
> 2) Prominently link the equivalent of
> http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Submit_a_story - this helps to
> attract people who do not know about the Wikinews process and just want
> to get their feet wet.
>
> 3) Have brief news items on the frontpage which aren't fully developed
> stories yet. This should only be done until real stories are being
> published regularly, so as to not conflict with the [[Current events]]
> pages on Wikipedia.
>
> 4) Edit MediaWiki:Sitenotice and point people to the IRC channel,
> mailing list and Village Pump. Building a community helps to create a
> feeling of identity and the desire to protect that community, which is
> an incentive to do work on the site.
>
> 5) Organize and participate in events like the design contest or the
> Wikinews chats. Point people on Wikipedia to these events to get them
> interested in the project.
>
> 6) If you are a software developer, help us to implement MediaWiki
> features like category RSS feeds and dynamic article display.
> http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1411 is the only code
> currently being actively worked on, to my knowledge.
>
> Please also join the international Wikinews channel at #wikinews -- a
> lot of good people are hanging out there who may help you to answer
> questions with the project.
>
> Regards,
>
> Erik
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 12:17:53 +0100
> From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Wikinews: New State of the Wiki report
> To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <42205AE1.7050705(a)gmx.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
>
> I've written a new, detailed report on the current state of the Wikinews
> project. If you haven't kept up, or want to read my opinions on where we
> are headed, the report is at:
>
> http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/User:Eloquence/State_of_the_Wiki
>
> Comments are welcome.
>
> All best,
>
> Erik
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 11
> Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 13:39:04 +0100
> From: Dariusz Siedlecki <datrio(a)gmail.com>
> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Polish Wikinews report
> To: wikinews-l(a)Wikimedia.org
> Message-ID: <283332d205022604391660e6df(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>
> Well, I decided to write a quick report on the state of our Wikinews project.
>
> You can view this report at
> http://pl.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikipedysta:Datrio/Polish_Wikinews_report_-_Feb…
>
> Everyone is open to ask question on the page's talk page, or edit this
> article and add his own thoughts on the project.
>
> --
> Best regards,
> Dariusz Siedlecki
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wikinews-l mailing list
> Wikinews-l(a)Wikimedia.org
> http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikinews-l
>
> End of Wikinews-l Digest, Vol 2, Issue 2
> ****************************************
>
Well, I decided to write a quick report on the state of our Wikinews project.
You can view this report at
http://pl.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikipedysta:Datrio/Polish_Wikinews_report_-_Feb…
Everyone is open to ask question on the page's talk page, or edit this
article and add his own thoughts on the project.
--
Best regards,
Dariusz Siedlecki
I've written a new, detailed report on the current state of the Wikinews
project. If you haven't kept up, or want to read my opinions on where we
are headed, the report is at:
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/User:Eloquence/State_of_the_Wiki
Comments are welcome.
All best,
Erik
I suggest editing MediaWiki:Tagline and putting the "beta" there. That
might be done for any Wikinews editions which does not yet have a
sufficient level of activity. This is better than defacing the logo, in
my opinion.
It turns out that it is very difficult to predict that activity, and I
don't think the current process on Meta is really anywhere close to
doing that. The Swedish Wikinews is very active, for example, thanks in
large part to a handful of dedicated editors -- but that might change
any day. Of course, all the editions are suffering from the current
slowness, and recent downtime.
One notable difference in Wikinews to other projects is that a quick
glance at the frontpage gives you an impression of the level of
activity: if you only see old news, obviously the project is not very
active. This is good if it is seen as an incentive to work on it, bad if
it frustrates people and makes them give up on the project. Wikipedia,
Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wiktionary in the different languages all have
their phases of activity and inactivity, but nowhere are those phases
more visible than on Wikinews.
Switching the project into read-only whenever it enters such a phase
seems like a bad and un-wiki idea; perhaps you could create a template
like this for the frontpage instead:
The French edition of Wikinews is currently not very active. Please
participate in building this website into a useful resource! Ideas
for increasing activity are collected at [[Wikinews:Building Wikinews]].
Here are a few suggestions to increase activity:
1) Translate. It is much easier to translate a well-written article than
to write a new one from scratch. Wikinews articles have to grow to
publishable quality very fast, "stubs" aren't helpful, and references
are a strict requirement. As such, writing them takes a lot of effort.
But the English Wikinews, for example, is now publishing articles at a
reasonable rate. As an author of that edition, I also get great
satisfaction out of knowing that my work is going to be translated into
languages I do not speak.
2) Prominently link the equivalent of
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Submit_a_story - this helps to
attract people who do not know about the Wikinews process and just want
to get their feet wet.
3) Have brief news items on the frontpage which aren't fully developed
stories yet. This should only be done until real stories are being
published regularly, so as to not conflict with the [[Current events]]
pages on Wikipedia.
4) Edit MediaWiki:Sitenotice and point people to the IRC channel,
mailing list and Village Pump. Building a community helps to create a
feeling of identity and the desire to protect that community, which is
an incentive to do work on the site.
5) Organize and participate in events like the design contest or the
Wikinews chats. Point people on Wikipedia to these events to get them
interested in the project.
6) If you are a software developer, help us to implement MediaWiki
features like category RSS feeds and dynamic article display.
http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1411 is the only code
currently being actively worked on, to my knowledge.
Please also join the international Wikinews channel at #wikinews -- a
lot of good people are hanging out there who may help you to answer
questions with the project.
Regards,
Erik
Ilya Haykinson has proposed a policy for requesting accreditation as a
Wikinews reporter. This is not meant to be the only way to do original
reporting, but a way to be recognized at events as a Wikinews reporter.
The cool part is that he has set up a voicemail account people can call
in order to verify credentials:
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Credential_verification
Any call made to that number is sent to an internal mailing list
(subscription requires approval, currently all sysops will be approved):
http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikinews-accreditation
Anyone on that list can then take a verification request and respond to
it. People can also simply check the list of accredited reporters on
Wikinews itself.
Regards,
Erik
As announced and in accordance with the existing language policy, three
new Wikinews editions have been set up:
http://pl.wikinews.org/ - Polish
http://pt.wikinews.org/ - Portuguese
http://ro.wikinews.org/ - Romanian
I left messages for the users who have pledged to participate (and who
could be located), and on the respective Wikipedia Village Pumps.
Good luck to the new editions!
Peace,
Erik
As per the procedure on
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews/Start_a_new_edition
I'd like to launch three new editions later today or tomorrow:
Portuguese, Polish, and Romanian. For Portuguese, I count Carlosar as a
valid vote, because he has made 3000+ edits on the English Wikinews, and
he is a native speaker.
For future editions, I'd also like to suggest changing the language
procedure in the following way:
The "activity on existing Wikimedia projects" requirement can be
dropped if a few support pages (FAQ, Mission Statement, etc.) are
created on Meta for the project to be launched. These can be
translations or original creations.
Such an effort indicates a genuine interest in working on a Wikinews
edition in a language. It also reduces the dependency of new projects on
existing ones -- we already know that many key people working on
Wikinews have not done substantial work on Wikipedia or other Wikimedia
projects. There would still be a requirement of at least 5 signatures,
so it's not just one person playing an overarching role.
If this works out, perhaps we can substitute one procedure for another;
I prefer the translation procedure, because it also makes sure that
certain pages are in place before the wiki is set up (a problem on some
new editions which were essentially blank for several days).
I'd like to credit the Memory Alpha wiki for this procedure, which has
successfully used it for setting up new languages.
Regards,
Erik
Help us create a unique visual identity for the Wikinews project!
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews_design_contest
The Wikinews design contest, which will run until April 17, 2005,
consists of two components:
* www.wikinews.org multilingual portal
* site stylesheets
You can also offer prizes for the best designs! If you can't contribute
a design, please offer a prize, to increase the incentive to contribute.
While the contest is running, please also feel free to edit the existing
portal at:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Www.wikinews.org_portal
All best, and good luck to all participants,
Erik Möller
Local uploads have been disabled on the English Wikinews from the start.
Uploads are only possible through the Wikimedia Commons. This is meant
to make the upload of "fair use" images as well as images under other
non-free licenses impossible, and generally encourage use of the
Commons. The decision to disable uploads on the English Wikinews was
made in accord with Jimmy. Uploads on the other wikis were only enabled
to begin with in order to allow them to replace the logo. Since that has
now happened, local uploads are disabled there as well.
In order to nicely integrate a link to the Commons into the sidebar, I
suggest using [[MediaWiki:Currentevents]] as well as
[[MediaWiki:Currentevents-url]], which are pointless in Wikinews anyway
since the entire wiki is about Current Events. You can point those
directly to [[Commons:Special:Upload]], which will then put users on the
Commons upload form if they are logged in.
The decision to disable uploads is not permanent and subject to change.
The reasoning behind this decision is as follows. Wikinews is a project
which directly competes with major news organizations, magazines and
newspapers. It also allows and encourages commercial use of its content.
Fair use of photos from a news agency, for example, is very difficult to
justify under these circumstances. But regardless of the legal
arguments, there is also the practical argument that Wikinews will soon
be perceived as a threat, because most of its stories are based on
reporting done by others -- and we give it away for free, while they
charge money. These people will eventually try to stop us by all means
necessary.
There is a distinct possibility that we will face issues similar to SCO
v. Linux, where a competitor accuses us of stealing content -- even if
we didn't. Fair use, being so volatile in its definition, makes a
successful attack more likely and opens us up to additional legal risks.
That is why uploads will not be enabled until it is fully clear under
what circumstances non-free licenses can be allowed.
Work is currently being done on the English Wikinews to formulate a
"fair use" policy. I encourage other Wikinews editions to do the same.
Fair use on Wikinews could encompass things like logos, graphics,
screenshots -- or photos that have not been produced by competing
organizations and companies. Once that policy is written, we shall
submit it to the Board for approval and possibly legal review. If it
passes that review, uploads will be re-enabled. The same goes for all
the other Wikinews editions.
In the meantime, I ask you to only upload images under free licenses or
in the public domain, directly to the Wikimedia Commons. Uploading them
there does not affect the image syntax at all -- you can use them like
you would use a local image. But they will not show up in Wikinews
Recent Changes.
If the Board would like this decision to be reverted, please let me
know. Otherwise I will coordinate the next steps as described.
All best,
Erik