[WikiEN-l] Re: April Fool's Day Lame-O-Rama

Sat Apr 2 03:57:20 UTC 2005

On Apr 1, 2005 9:54 PM, Richard Holton <richholton at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Apr 1, 2005 8:57 PM, Alphax <alphasigmax at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hang on, isn't the author still the copyright holder? I get the feeling
> > that User space pages are *not* treated as GFDL, but some mix of CC
> > licenses. Many userpages I have seen that say "Thanks to (other user)
> > for the layout of this page". Also, editing another user's User page
> > appears to be seen as vandalism where the 3RR doesn't apply.
> >
> > --
> 
> Well, yes. The author retains the copyright of the work. But by
> placing onto Wikipedia (even the User space), the author is releasing
> it under the terms of the GFDL. As I understand it, this means that
> you may still publish the work in another form and give to mention of
> Wikipedia. However, others may also use the submitted work so long as
> they meet the requirements of the GFDL.
> 
> This applies to anything posted to Wikipedia. You'll see the same
> notice about the GFDL below the edit box on a User page as anywhere
> else.
> 
> What seems to have at least some degree of consensus is that others
> should grant people a great deal of control over what they have in
> their user space. But this is a matter of courtesy, not a matter of
> copyright or Wikipedia policy (that I am aware of).
> 
> Many admins seem to treat unwanted changes to another's user pages as
> vandalism...and I do not wholly disagree.  But I don't know that it
> follows the letter of the policy.
> 
> -- Rich Holton
> 
> en.wikipedia:User:Rholton
> 

To fix my own typo that may be confusing: the second sentence in the
first paragraph should read: "As I understand it, this means that you
may still publish the work in another form and give no mention of
Wikipedia.

-- Rich Holton

en.wikipedia:User:Rholton