Commons:Deletion requests/File:B.F. Skinner at Harvard circa 1950.jpg

‎File:B.F. Skinner at Harvard circa 1950.jpg: ce
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Revision as of 21:33, 23 March 2013
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:I am more than a little displeased at being dragged out of retirement over such a trivial matter. Do we now look for reasons to delete uploaded photographs based on what seem to be gut instincts? We trawl through contribution histories looking for reasons to be [[meta:Don't be a dick|dicks]]? Shame on you! What in the world could have possibly provoked this unwanted intrusion? It's easy to delete content but hard to build it, and the culture of deletionism is part of the reason I quit Wikipedia: worthwhile content isn't to be cleared away like so much brush, rather it needs to be nurtured carefully. In many cases (such as this), it's a very personal matter. And now you want my personal details? No thanks.
 
:I am more than a little displeased at being dragged out of retirement over such a trivial matter. Do we now look for reasons to delete uploaded photographs based on what seem to be gut instincts? We trawl through contribution histories looking for reasons to be [[meta:Don't be a dick|dicks]]? Shame on you! What in the world could have possibly provoked this unwanted intrusion? It's easy to delete content but hard to build it, and the culture of deletionism is part of the reason I quit Wikipedia: worthwhile content isn't to be cleared away like so much brush, rather it needs to be nurtured carefully. In many cases (such as this), it's a very personal matter. And now you want my personal details? No thanks.
 

 

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:I do not understand the deletion rationale whatsoever. It's true that based on my contributions, you would rightly conclude that I am a mathematician and a humanist. Is it the contention of the nominator that there might not have been mathematicians and humanists at Harvard in the 1950's? Is it his contention that I must be of an age that would have been unable to take such a photograph? The reason is not specified, and either of the these possibilities are clearly mere speculation on the part of an individual user. I will address the only clear thing in the rationale that seems to be said: that there is nothing in my contribution history that would suggest that I would have been in a position to take such a picture. This is a blatant falsehood. During [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Silly_rabbit my contribution history], which includes over 15,000 live edits to the main English Wikipedia project, I not only contributed this image of B.F. Skinner, but I also edited the article on radical behaviorism and a number of related articles, as well as submitted images of Skinner's original teaching machine, which I also own—not just the image, but the actual machine. I can easily submit further documentation to prove this if necessary. I am not a psychologist, but I knew B.F. Skinner and his family personally. I still correspond occasionally with his daughter, Julie Vargas.
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:I do not understand the deletion rationale whatsoever. It's true that based on my contributions, you would rightly conclude that I am a mathematician and a humanist. Is it the contention of the nominator that there might not have been mathematicians and humanists at Harvard in the 1950's? Is it his contention that I must be of an age that would have been unable to take such a photograph? The reason is not specified, and either of the these possibilities is clearly mere speculation on the part of an individual user. I will address the only clear thing in the rationale that seems to be said: that there is nothing in my contribution history that would suggest that I would have been in a position to take such a picture. This is a blatant falsehood. During [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Silly_rabbit my contribution history], which includes over 15,000 live edits to the main English Wikipedia project, I not only contributed this image of B.F. Skinner, but I also edited the article on radical behaviorism and a number of related articles, as well as submitted images of Skinner's original teaching machine, which I also own—not just the image, but the actual machine. I can easily submit further documentation to prove this if necessary. I am not a psychologist, but I knew B.F. Skinner and his family personally. I still correspond occasionally with his daughter, Julie Vargas.
 

 

 
:Moreover, during my tenure at Wikipedia, I participated in many aspects of editing, including a certain amount of ''actual'' copyright cleanup (earning, for instance, a barnstar by [[User:Moonriddengirl]] herself, if that means anything). I am quite familiar with the foundation's policies on free and non-free content. Even if I did not own the photo as I claim, there are yet two more things to consider before entertaining deletion. First, Wikipedia's servers are located in the United States where the safe harbor provision of the DMCA prevails. If [[User:Dcoetzee]], the Wikimedia Foundation, or anyone else associated with the project were presented with a claim against my exclusive ownership of this image, then the correct course of action would of course be to remove the image (but possibly restore it at a later time via OTRS should the complaint prove frivolous, etc.) But all we have here is the ''gut feeling by another editor'' who cannot even provide a source to the image that he or she believes the item under discussion infringes upon! Second, even if the image were owned by another entity, it would clearly fall under provisions of fair use that are amply covered at WP:NFC: There is no possibility of obtaining a photo of B.F. Skinner c. 1950 (with which the image is clearly captioned), when he was at the height of his influence over the development of psychology, nor indeed ''any'' image of B.F. Skinner since he passed on shortly after his APA address in Tampa in 1990—which I attended and had dinner with him afterwards. I assert, furthermore, that this image does not deprive anyone of profit: how could it since I've already released it under the C.C.? Obviously the onus is on the individual nominating the image for deletion to provide some clear explanation of ''who'' this image deprives of profit, or even ''that'' this image deprives someone of profit, if he or she thinks that the image is non-free or not fair use. That is clearly not the case here.
 
:Moreover, during my tenure at Wikipedia, I participated in many aspects of editing, including a certain amount of ''actual'' copyright cleanup (earning, for instance, a barnstar by [[User:Moonriddengirl]] herself, if that means anything). I am quite familiar with the foundation's policies on free and non-free content. Even if I did not own the photo as I claim, there are yet two more things to consider before entertaining deletion. First, Wikipedia's servers are located in the United States where the safe harbor provision of the DMCA prevails. If [[User:Dcoetzee]], the Wikimedia Foundation, or anyone else associated with the project were presented with a claim against my exclusive ownership of this image, then the correct course of action would of course be to remove the image (but possibly restore it at a later time via OTRS should the complaint prove frivolous, etc.) But all we have here is the ''gut feeling by another editor'' who cannot even provide a source to the image that he or she believes the item under discussion infringes upon! Second, even if the image were owned by another entity, it would clearly fall under provisions of fair use that are amply covered at WP:NFC: There is no possibility of obtaining a photo of B.F. Skinner c. 1950 (with which the image is clearly captioned), when he was at the height of his influence over the development of psychology, nor indeed ''any'' image of B.F. Skinner since he passed on shortly after his APA address in Tampa in 1990—which I attended and had dinner with him afterwards. I assert, furthermore, that this image does not deprive anyone of profit: how could it since I've already released it under the C.C.? Obviously the onus is on the individual nominating the image for deletion to provide some clear explanation of ''who'' this image deprives of profit, or even ''that'' this image deprives someone of profit, if he or she thinks that the image is non-free or not fair use. That is clearly not the case here.

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