[WikiEN-l] Uploading images should be a privilige, not a right

[Steve Bennett]

On 7/21/06, Mark Wagner <carnildo at gmail.com> wrote:
> There are two problems with letting just anybody upload images:
> 1) Copyright law is very complex.  Most people don't understand it.
> 2) Most people *aren't aware* that they don't understand it.
>
> By letting everyone upload images to Wikipedia, we're telling them
> that we trust them to understand what is and is not allowed.  Then, we
> turn around and bite them by deleting their images when, inevitably,
> they make mistakes.  It confuses people no end to be told that they
> both are and aren't able to upload images correctly.

Suggestion: Make the default level of privilege "you can upload into
the waiting bin". Then privileged users can retrieve from the waiting
bin and make them publicly accessible, or delete them, at their
discretion. Periodically purge files that have been sitting there more
than a month or two.

The privilege to make files publicly accessible should be granted
liberally, but revoked when needed, perhaps on a "3 strikes" basis.

Steve