[WikiEN-l] BetacommandBot, (currently) centralized discussion

[WJhonson at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/24/2008 12:17:23 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
geniice at gmail.com writes:


How  exactly would you defend that under the doctrine of fair use? I
really  can't see a way to do it.>>
--------------------
That might be because you don't have a fair grasp of what the doctrine  
states.





Our copyright policy was for the most part put together by  people who
have at least a passing knowledge of copyright law. So fair you  have
failed to show that you do.>>
This is a fallacy.  The copyright policy, like all others, was put  together 
by us all.  The copyright policy does not restrict fair use  photographs 
except as far as copyright law does as well.


>  The removal of all fair use photographs does nothing  useful for the  
project.

The project is to make a free  encyclopedia.>>

Fair Use can be used inside a free project.  Essentially you are  repeating 
what I've already been saying.  No fair use photographs are being  allowed, at 
all.  None.  All fair use photographs are being removed,  because certain 
people feel that any fair use photographs cannot be used within  a free 
encyclopedia.


>   It does however harm it, by removing useful  illustrations from  articles
>  that could use them,

So  far for your chosen example this does not  appear to be  true.>>>
Yes it's true in that the article would then have no photograph of Patti  
Smith at all.  That is not user-friendly.  In general we support the  addition of 
photographs to enhance the value of the project.


>replacing their removal with a vacancy filled by   nothing.
>  That isn't progress.
>
>  Will  Johnson

Experience suggests that nothing is more likely to be replaced  by a
free image than an image with a really really weak fair use  claim.




-----------
And I have never protested *when* a free use photograph is put into an  
article.  The problem is not however this.  But it is when a bot  removes all fair 
use photographs and there *are* no free use photographs.   Please address the 
problem which actually exists, instead of one which does  not.
 
Thanks.
Will Johnson



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