Mark Gallagher wrote:
When we say "that's policy", what we're *really* saying is "because
I
and a few other people said so". Learning the *reason* why we do
things, so that a) we can do them properly, and b) we can explain them
to others, is vital.
The image use policy page said all that three years ago when I
started at WP, and it still does; I didn't have any trouble
understanding it after working on WP for a couple weeks. The
upload page has all manner of links and warnings, which link
to even further explanations, eventually going back to first
principles for those that want to learn all about copyright law.
While I want to assume good faith in all of this, in actually
looking through a random swath of recent untagged uploads, the
explanations that come to mind are either that we have many
editors with the IQ of a turnip, or they are deliberately
ignoring the policy and explanations we're putting in front
of them. Whichever the case, their uploads are not helping
build the encyclopedia, and we need to stop making excuses
for them.
Stan