[WikiEN-l] Re: Images on user pages

Sat Sep 17 18:44:15 UTC 2005

I added a line in [[Wikipedia:Fair use]] which says:

"Fair use" images should only be used in the article namespace. They
should not be used on templates or on user pages. They should be only
linked to from talk pages when they are the topic of discussion.
Because "fair use" images are only not copyright infringement on
Wikipedia when used for strictly encyclopedic reasons, their use in
other contexts on Wikipedia is most likely copyright infringement.

Does this sound reasonable? I also plan to create a little template
which one can drop onto a user page (replacing an existing "fair use"
image), which will say something along the lines of the above, with
instructions as to how to link to the image if desired. The goal is to
be polite but explain that the use of copyrighted images on a user
page is probably copyright infringement and not allowed on Wikipedia.

Thoughts? Objections? 

FF

On 9/13/05, Fastfission <fastfission at gmail.com> wrote:
> Do we have an official policy on images on user pages? Correct me if I'm
> wrong, but wouldn't the use of copyrighted materials there in a way which
> did not qualify as "fair use" simply be copyright infringement, in the same
> way it would in the article namespace? Does the law make the namespace
> distinction? (That sounds like a silly question in a way, but I suppose I'm
> referencing "safe harbor" laws.) 
>  
>  In the end, I think this comes down to "should we allow copyright
> violations on user pages?" which sounds to me like the answer would be "of
> course not". 
>  
>  Boy, wouldn't it be fun to start enforcing this! Anybody in the mood to
> become "most hated user, especially among the young and brittle"? If the
> answer is definitely "no exceptions", it would be nice to have a quote from
> Jimbo Wales with his thoughts on this to use as a reference, since a lot of
> people have strong proprietary feelings about their user pages.
>  
>  FF
>