On 6/28/06, Kat Walsh mindspillage@gmail.com wrote:
One of the big problems with checking and tagging images is that we often cannot contact the uploaders -- they register an account, maybe only to upload, and then they never log in again, never check their talk page, didn't provide an email address, and you have no way to contact them.
I would support this measure for wikis which permit fair use (such as en.wp), and oppose it for Commons. As [[en:Wikipedia:Fair use]] explains, tracking down the sources of fair use uploads is good practice -- it strengthens our own position, and makes it easier for third parties to decide whether fair use applies to them. Having e-mail addresses on file would help with that.
Given that there's currently not central user database, having to confirm an e-mail address again for Commons strikes me as an unnecessary barrier to entry, particularly since our practice is generally to simply delete files without a clear source. On Commons, I'd rather wish for special processes to educate new users about the meaning of "free content" (see the discussion on commons-l about a licensing tutorial as a mandatory sign-up step).
Erik