Mike,
As you are doubtless aware, the Foundation passed a resolution which is
aimed at reducing - if not altogether eliminating - the use of non-free
images on WMF projects. I would greatly appreciate your considered opinion
on my concerns that this is to some extent incompatible with the project
goals of Wikinews, and that projects other than Wikipedia were not taken
into account when the resolution was drafted.
The resolution is to be applied retroactively, and one particular
contributor on Wikinews has taken it upon himself to apply this without
community consensus, or what I would have considered fair and reasonable
consultation. Yet, on Wikinews, we have a policy to fully protect and
archive our articles. Like Wikinews' license change to CC-BY-2.5, our
project would have greatly benefited from the resolution having a date it
was effective from - even if this was only specific to us - or any other
project that aims to provide a historical record. My personal opinion is
that what people see when an article is on the front page is what they
should see if they come back to it in a year's time, unless there are
serious copyright concerns with an image - as opposed to an overly
idealistic stance.
Is there any way you can see an additional clause being appended to the
image licensing policy? One that takes into account the special needs of
Wikinews? When the policy/directive was announced, I amended the copyright
message on Wikinews, adding the clause "Copyright terms on images may vary,
please check individual image pages prior to duplication." This seems
sensible, and as Wikipedia also allows fair use something they should likely
specify.
Brian McNeil
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