On 11/12/11 9:46 AM, Jay Ashworth wrote:
I concur with WASs appraisal of the situation, and agree that the policy sounds like it needs to be formalized -- or if it already exists and was merely flouted, that that situation needs to be cleared up.
I specifically concur that a complaint ought to be necessary.
Thank you.
I've done a bit of research today, and the formal complaint process specifies "Sue Gardner, Designated Agent Wikimedia Foundation".
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:General_disclaimer
The deletion policy process is buried in the box at the bottom of the "Disclaimer" page. You'd have to know to look for it.
Moreover, there is a "permissions-commons@wikimedia.org" (mentioned nowhere in the deletion request itself nor deletion policy) for granting permissions via the "Open-source Ticket Request System" (OTRS). That has a many months backlog.
We've got to stop administrators pretending to (quoting Yann) "protect the authors' interests." In this case, protecting the photographer against the picture's owner. The administrators *MUST* stop acting as self-appointed legal agents.
That way lies madness, and significant legal liability. It is not an administrator's responsibility. If you take that position, the Foundation could be liable for any failures to detect violations.