Be creative. Celebrities are people too, and they love Wikipedia. Have you
tried asking them for a free image?
On 2/9/07, Rich Holton <richholton(a)gmail.com> wrote:
J.L.W.S. The Special One wrote:
Sometimes, getting a "free" photograph
may be difficult, dangerous, or
even illegal. For example, getting a "free" photograph of some living
celebrities may entail Wikipedians becoming the paparazzi.
If I were a celebrity, I would not release my photo under a free
license. If I were a professional photographer or artist, I would not
release my work under a free license either.
Why? Imagine Fiona Xie releasing her photo under a free license to let
Wikipedia use it, and a nasty vandal creating a derivative work by
enlarging the size of her boobs, and publishing the derivative photo.
If I were a professional photographer or artist, and I released my
work under a free license, I wouldn't be able to earn a living.
Wikipedia is over-emphasising freedom, compromising quality in the
process. While I believe in freedom, I believe quality is more
important. The main reason why I don't support free software is that I
find it too ideological, and not pragmatic.
Honestly trying not to write a flame, or be overly dismissive of your
views, I still would suggest that your beliefs in this regard are not
consistent with the dominant ethos on Wikipedia and Wikimedia. You truly
may be more comfortable working on a different sort of project.
It's also true that the ethos of Wikipedia/Wikimedia is quite different
from the ethos of capitalism and much of the (at least western) world.
It is clear that, in many ways, Wikipedia is about changing a part of
the dominant ethos.
For me, the quality of Wikipedia is directly related to the freeness of
it. If John Q. Celeb does not want to have any free photograph of him on
Wikipedia, then I'd much rather not have any photo of him. Even if he
wins 10 Academy Awards. (Of course, if he wins 10 Academy Awards,
chances are there's some free photo of him somewhere). We want to change
the ethos such that John Q. Celeb *wants* to release a free image.
Certainly part of celebrity is being made fun of.
-Rich
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Brad Patrick
General Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
bradp.wmf(a)gmail.com
727-231-0101