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

Fri Jan 13 05:53:47 UTC 2006

Chris Jenkinson wrote:

> 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
>
IANAL and this is just my opinion, but if the page discusses the topic 
of the image in a manner that an article would ordinarily qualify for 
fair use, I think fair use images should be permissible. For instance, 
[[User:Johnleemk/A History of Malay Special Rights Post-World War II]] 
discusses Malay privileges in Malaysia, and therefore a fair use image 
used on our relevant articles (i.e. [[Ketuanan Melayu]], [[Article 153 
of the Constitution of Malaysia]]) is probably fair use.

For userpages in general (i.e. [[User:Johnleemk]]), though, I think it 
is insufficient to claim fair use, unless a substantial portion of the 
page discusses the image's topic in a manner that would qualify for fair 
use.

John Lee
([[User:Johnleemk]])