Wikipedia talk:Non-free use rationale guideline

This project page is part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Fair use, a project that aims to monitor and improve the use of non-free content on Wikipedia, prevent copyright infringement, and further our free content mission. If you would like to help, please see the project page for more information.

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Low resolution

What is the motivation for the low resolution clause? It's ridiculous.

Also, what was considered low resolution five years ago is now considered too poor quality to view. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.111.184.8 (talk) 09:10, 13 June 2011 (UTC)

In the case of images, limiting their resolution to only that which is necessary for the context of the article is a necessary part of rationalizing fair use. For logos, that typically means not keeping an image any larger than an infobox or floating thumbnail would provide. For photos, that means not keeping an image any larger than necessary to serve whatever purpose laid out in its articles' fair use rationale(s). Remember, Wikipedia is not a media repository. Free media without specific article context belong only in Commons. Non-free media without specific article context are illegal. In all fairness, this should be clearer than it is. Hope this helps. --LinkTiger (talk) 19:52, 18 July 2011 (UTC)

Expand the guideline

Could we perhaps expand this to clearly and specifically address all 10 criteria at WP:NFCC#Policy? I would appreciate that. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 06:11, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

See my comments on the copyright questions page. If you mean that we should add the instruction that uploaders must explicitly address each of the 10 criteria in their rationales, I'd be opposed. This would be counter-productive, as it would push people even further into the fallacy of thinking fair use rationales are just mindless pieces of trivial paperwork. We want people to get their minds off the trivial formalities and focus on those parts of the rationale that really need individual, non-trivial thought. There are things that typically don't need to be stated in a rationale. Of course, an image needs to be used only in articles, have a description page etc., but if it does these things, it's utterly trivial to recognize the fact; there's no need to state the obvious. What is usually not trivial is purpose/significance, replaceability, and in some cases commercial opportunities and minimality. That's what we need to tell people to address. Fut.Perf. ☼ 06:20, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

• Concur with Fut.Perf. In fact, when I'm doing NFCC checks, the primary thing I focus on is the purpose of use expressed in the rationale. Sooooo many people treat that as just mindless paperwork, but it's the critical piece in most non-album cover, non-book cover non-free use rationales. --Hammersoft (talk) 13:12, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

The problem is that WP:NFCC#Enforcement clearly says

"it is the duty of users seeking to include or retain content to provide a valid rationale; those seeking to remove or delete it are not required to show that one cannot be created"

I am currently working through a list of non-free files violating 10c. So what exactly am I supposed to do? What I currently do is, I remove the file from the article and leave the person adding the file a detailed talkpage notice (see User:Toshio Yamaguchi/NFC Notification template). Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 13:27, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

And I agree that is in fact a very valid thing to do. Yes, rationales must meet criterion 10c, insofar as they must be "presented in clear, plain language and is relevant to each use". What we of course don't need – and I'm sorry if I misunderstood what you meant by "expanding" above – would be a requirement that a rationale must not only meet this criterion but also (recursively, as it were) describe that it meets it along with the others. Just to clarify, by "address all 10 criteria", did you mean that this guideline should be restructured to address the criteria in turn, or that rationales should be required to address them? Fut.Perf. ☼ 13:37, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

• What I typically do is remove it, using a detailed edit summary (example), and if someone restores the image without providing a rationale, I place my own version of your template on their talk page (see User:Hammersoft/10c). So, what you're doing is great. --Hammersoft (talk) 13:39, 29 August 2011 (UTC)
• If the intent is that we want rationales to have effectively 10 bullet points to say how each of the NFCC is met, this is excessive and we'd get into endless arguments about what is needed, or if missing one is sufficient cause to tag for deletion, etc. The absolutely minimum requirements is 10c (name of the article it is used in), and some statements towards 8 about why the image is being used. It would be nice if the uploaded addressed all the other points, but some of them are trivially satisfied (a 300x200 screenshot, for example, is clearly low resolution; a album cover from a recent work is clearly not going to have a free alternative, etc.) I'd rather have uploaders focus energy on a strong rationale than to weakly fill out excessive points and ignore the rationale side. --MASEM (t) 14:13, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

• I'm very glad to see this pragmatic approach, focusing on the core of the rationale rather than the peripheral formalities. As Masem said, it's going to be obvious whether some of the criteria are satisfied, and I'd go further to say that it would simply be disruptive and even WP:POINTy to remove, for example, a low res image for the uploader's failure to state in a NFUR that "the image is low resolution." So I hope no one is dong that sort of thing. postdlf (talk) 15:16, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Template instructions

Could someone more experienced than me add instructions to the Template section on how to use this template? My guess is that one highlights and copies the template to the clipboard, then clicks "edit" next to the "Summary" or "Licensing" section in the "File" page for the image or other media, pastes from the clipboard, then enters text after each equals sign. Presumably a major audience for this guideline is novice users. For many of us, this may the first time we've used a template. Or perhaps there's an instruction elsewhere on using templates, which can be linked. The fact that the File:help page does not even mention the "Licensing" section is a further barrier. Numbersinstitute (talk) 17:40, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

Covers of books and CDs

Seeking guidance. Can one put an image of the cover of a book in the author's article (with a FUR)? And of a CD in the musician's article?

[Assuming that the text does not discuss the cover itself (which I understand is an exception}.]

And if one cannot do so generally, can we do so if the book or CD does not have a separate article, but is mentioned only in the author's/musician's article? This question stems from discussion here. Thanks.--Epeefleche (talk) 17:48, 15 December 2011 (UTC)

{{Software screenshot rationale}} nominated for deletion.

Just wanted to give you a heads up that {{Software screenshot rationale}} has been nominated for deletion. Dread Lord CyberSkull ✎☠ 18:12, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

Doubt on use of Rationale image in other articles

I have a doubt on any rationale provided image. Example i would like to use is 'File:Amol Palekar with Zarina Wahab, Master Raju, Vijayendra Ghatge, singing Aaj Se Pele, in Chitchor, 1976.jpg. This screenshot image has a Non-free rationale from 2008 and is used in the article for 1976's Bollywood film Chitchor, of whose it is a screenshot. The guidelines do not allow a non-free rationale for images of Living people to be used in the infobox of these people. But can we use this image in the article about that person? I intend to use it for the BLP article of Vijayendra Ghatge whose Free picture is not available for use. -Animeshkulkarni (talk) 15:41, 24 February 2012 (UTC)