[WikiEN-l] Fair use images on user pages and enforcement

Thu Jan 12 21:16:09 UTC 2006

Hi everyone,

I'm just curious whether we have a policy on the use of fair use images 
on user pages, rather than a guideline, and if so, what our procedure is 
for enforcement of that policy if it says no such images permitted. 
Obviously discussion is the first stepping stone, but if the user in 
question refuses to remove it, what actions should admins take in order 
to do so? I'm thinking of page protection and blocking here. I know 
someone has been indefinitely blocked in the past because he did not 
license his user page under the GFDL.

Also, is there a straightforward page which can be used to simply 
explain our rationale for not permitting fair use images in userspace? 
If not, might I recommend the creation of one as then it could be linked 
to. It may be the case that part of the reason that users are not 
removing fair use images on request is because some people are being 
heavy-handed with them in requesting removal. A page for this would be 
more friendly, and a message could be added something like "Hi, you have 
fair use images on your page, Image:X.png and Image:Y.jpg. These are not 
permitted to be used on user pages. Please read [[Wikipedia:Why fair use 
images are not permitted on user pages]] for more information on why 
this is the case."

Just a thought,

Chris

-- 
Chris Jenkinson
chris at starglade.org

"Mistrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful."
  -- Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra