On Fri, May 30, 2003 at 12:09:00PM +0200, Erik Moeller wrote:
Tomasz-
No !!! Just delete all non-free images.
It would be silly not to allow the freedoms given to us by the law to the maximum possible extent. Obviously free images (PD/FDL) are always preferable to non-free ones, but so long as Wikipedia remains redistributable AND forkable, I see no problem with using fair use pictures or those under equivalent semi-free licenses. Keep in mind that the freedom to modify is, for images, not nearly as important as for text.[1] How do you propose acquiring a free photo of a prominent, recently deceased author or actor? A picture of an important historical event? This is unrealistic -- you won't, and with your attitude, we will simply have no image for that article, while Encarta et al. will sport a nice gallery of them. Unacceptable.
This reasoning is exactly the greatest danger to Wikipedia - you want us to give up important freedoms to get a little more content. People who think like that are much greater threat that all Helgas and Lirs project ever had.
Not only it is perfectly acceptable, it is THE ONLY RIGHT THING TO DO.
Fair use is acceptable as per the current consensus on [[Wikipedia:Image use policy]]. You may use any quasi-dictatorial powers you have on pl. to enforce your point of view, but this will not be possible on en.
There has never been any contensus about that. Upload page has always been saying that copyright status of uploaded files must be clear.
Having a status flag in the database would be very helpful for forkers, but we should not encourage uploading photos under licenses that limit redistribution. But a little more Linus Torvalds style pragmatism and a little less Richard Stallman style zealotry wouldn't hurt either.
What you call "pragmatism" is in fact short-sightedness.
What we should allow:
- public domain
- FDL
- fair use
- free for non-commercial use. This is similar to fair use, but less
vague. 5) Creative Commons licenses (e.g. Attribution) and FDL-equivalent open content licenses
Of course Wikipedia may be used commercially.