User talk:Spagnballz

Welcome![edit]

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Welcome!

Hello, Spagnballz, and welcome to Wikipedia! I have noticed that you are fairly new! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. I also see that some of your recent edits, such as the ones to the page 2024 Blackpool South by-election, show an interest in the use of images and/or photos on Wikipedia.

Did you know that ...

...Wikipedia has a very stringent image use policy?
...most images from Flickr, online news websites, and other web sources are copyrighted?
...Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously?
...freely-licensed images should be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, a central location for images where they can be used on all Wikipedia projects?
...we recommend that new users use our "files for upload" process – at least until you get the hang of things?

If you are stuck, and looking for help, please come to the New contributors' help page, where experienced Wikipedians can answer any queries you have! Or, you can just type {{Help me}} on your talk page, and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Here are a few other good links for newcomers:

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 have any questions, check out Wikipedia:Questions or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome! Cakelot1 ☞️ talk 10:47, 3 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Cakelot1.

The images were added so people know what their politicians look like. From my perspective, this is important for a democracy.

They are from the politicians or party's official Twitter page. I really don't think they care. If anything the politicians will be happy as more people will recognise them.

I noticed you reversed my edits on the Blackpool by-election page. I don't appreciate that. Please don't do this again.

– Spagnballz — Preceding unsigned comment added by Spagnballz (talk • contribs) 12:37, 3 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately Wikipedia (and Wikimedia Commons where you uploaded these) has very stringent licencing rules, which require explicit licences (see C:Commons:Licensing). As you have admitted you didn't get these licences these should therefore be speedy deleted as lacking permissions. And as to the copyright owners not caring, see C:Commons:Project scope/Precautionary principle, for why we don't except it. Cakelot1 ☞️ talk 13:51, 3 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

These rules are too extreme. Many news sites don't say what their image licencing is. I hope these rules get changed in the future to be more reasonable.

- Spagnballz Spagnballz (talk) 16:22, 3 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It's really unlikely that any change will be made, as they're based on one of our core five pillars which goes back in some form to the beginning of the site (getting on for 23 years ago!). If you see a photo on a news site you can assume, with 99% certainty, that they have got permission (and probably licenced it), as to avoid the possibility that the copyright owner turns around and sues them later. The same goes for us, and our downstream reusers,as we are trying to create a free to reuse (even commercialy) encyclopedia. All of which is to say, copyright (along with WP:BLP) is the thing that Wikipedia is the most extreme about.

The good news is that as a new MP Webb will get (in the next couple of months) a high quality, professional, parliamentary photograph taken which the parliament release under a free licence, which we will be able to use (like these) Cakelot1 ☞️ talk 18:08, 3 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]