From: WikipediaEditor Durin
[mailto:wikidurin@gmail.com]
If the people are on this mailing list are unable
to make decisions on
this, who should I take this matter to? I'm of the understanding that Jimbo
wanted this list to be the main source of business work, so to speak.
Yet, the support I've seen regarding fair use issues brought up in an
earlier thread is weak at best. Is there another place I should be taking this?
Yes, there probably is. Our public mailing lists are becoming progressively less
useful. Only a few participate and of those few only a small fraction have actual gravitas
in terms of the working of Wikipedia. Since you're talking about images, perhaps the
Commons community is where this issue should be fully considered and something done.
To address the issue, I fear we are accepting fair use for trivial purposes. Great public
issues are one thing, a fair use image of an entertainer is quite another. A fair use
image should be vital for understanding of a significant issue.
One needs to remember that anything published in the US before 1989 had
to include a copyright notice. If publicity shots of stars were being
sent to fans without copyright notices all that would be in the public
domain.
Ec