Wookiesmith

Image copyright problem with Image:Raposo joe.jpg

Image Copyright problem

Thank you for uploading Image:Raposo joe.jpg. However, it currently is missing information on its copyright status. Wikipedia takes copyright very seriously. It may be deleted soon, unless we can determine the license and the source of the image. If you know this information, then you can add a copyright tag to the image description page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thanks again for your cooperation. NOTE: once you correct this, please remove the tag from the image's page. STBotI 17:31, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi, Wookiesmith. I took the liberty of fixing the copyright tag. You should know that Wikipedia doesn't actually allow images to be uploaded "with permission"; according to Wikipedia's image use policy, images can be used either under a free license (that is, one which allows commercial re-use) or as "fair use" under our non-free content policy. The permission granted by Hal Leonard Publishing is, unfortunately, not suitable for Wikipedia's licensing requirements; however, I believe that the image can be used under fair use, with an appropriate fair use rationale (which I have provided). I know that all this is complicated and bureaucratic — it's probably my least favorite aspect of Wikipedia, but we're stuck with it, because of the complex legal interaction between U.S. copyright law and the free culture movement, to which Wikipedia belongs. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 18:11, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi guys, it's Wookiesmith. I'm a total n00b at Wikipedia, and I thank you deeply for helping me straighten out the photo on the Joe Raposo page. The Hal Leonard Corporation is actually giving me and Wikipedia permission to publish Joe's photo there. If it's not suitable, I do appreciate the fair use rationale you give it and hope that this will work out ok. If I find out from Hal Leonard Corp the license and source of the photo, will that clear it better for use? Joe deserves a photo by his biography entry, and I hope we can get it in there to stay. Thanks again. PS, I am also rubbish at doing this talk thing. Any advice on how to do that better would be appreciated! :D

No problem, Wookiesmith. One thing that's useful to do on talk pages is to sign your posts by typing four tildes, like this: ~~~~. That'll put your username and a timestamp at the end of your comment. There's more info on how to use talk pages here.

As for the photo, I think that the fair use rationale will cover things (I had to ask at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions myself). It's great that you contacted Hal Leonard Corp. for permission to use the image on Wikipedia, but unfortunately for Wikipedia to use that license it would have to cover not only use on Wikipedia, but use for any purpose by anyone down the line. This is part of Wikipedia's editorial stance promoting free content and libre knowledge — it's not enough for us alone to be allowed to use it. Wikipedia requires that copyrighted images either be used under fair use (in limited circumstances) or licensed under a free license. If you would like to see if Hal Leonard would be interested in licensing the Joe Raposo image under one of these licenses, there's some guidance about that here.

If that seems too complicated, or too much of a hassle, don't worry about it — the fair use rationale should be fine. (Although there are a few free content extremists on Wikipedia who don't want any fair use images at all — the German Wikipedia operates that way, and is, in my opinion, much the lesser for it. I'm sorry to say that image use is a bit of a political minefield on Wikipedia right now, but I think the Joe Raposo picture should be unaffected by wikipolitics.)

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask me on my talk page. Just start a new section by clicking on the little "+" tab at the top of the page, between "edit this page" and "history". I hope you enjoy working on Wikipedia! —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 21:57, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Welcome

This is just a boilerplate welcome for new users, but it's got some useful links in it. Ideally, someone would have dropped this or something like it on your user talk page before berating you about image use policy! Anyway, I hope that you do feel welcome here. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 21:57, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Welcome!

Hello, Wookiesmith, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions, especially what you did for Joe Raposo. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

• The five pillars of Wikipedia
• How to edit a page
• Help pages
• Tutorial
• How to write a great article
• Manual of Style

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question and then place {{helpme}} before the question on your talk page. Again, welcome!