19 Mar

User:Colin/AppropriatelyLicensed/FAQ

←Created page with '* '''Q What is Commons current policy on GFDL and other licences inappropriate for images?''' * A Commons strongly discourages this licence for new images: :{{Q...'
New page* '''Q What is Commons current policy on GFDL and other licences inappropriate for images?'''
* A Commons strongly discourages this licence for new images:
:{{Quotation|left|'''Note''': The GFDL is not practical for photos and short texts, especially for printed media, because it requires that they be published along with the full text of the license. Thus, it is preferable to publish the work with a dual license, adding to the GFDL a license that permits use of the photo or text easily; a Creative Commons license, for example. Also, do not use the GPL and LGPL licenses as the only license for your own works if it can be avoided, as they are not really suitable for anything but software.|[[Commons:Licensing]]||width=100%}}
:{{Quotation|left|'''Please note''': The GFDL is rather impractical for images and short texts, because it requires the full text of the GFDL to be published along with the image. This is '''prohibitive for print media''': in order to use a single image in a newspaper, a full page containing the GFDL would have to be printed. To resolve this, please '''dual-license''' your work under GFDL and an equivalent Creative Commons license like '''CC-by-sa-3.0''' (see below). This helps to make your work usable not only freely, but also easily.|[[Commons:Copyright tags#GNU Licenses]]||width=100%}}
:{{Quotation|left|Wikimedia Commons also strongly disfavors content offered under licenses that impose impractical restrictions. For example, the [[w:GFDL|GFDL]] technically requires that the complete license, a many-page document, be included with every copy of a work - even if the work is much smaller than the license! This type of restriction limits the scope of practical reuse. The [[w:Creative Commons|Creative Commons]] licenses that Wikimedia Commons promotes help to balance the needs of content reusers, who want the attribution and license statement to be concise and practical, with the desires of the author, who often wish to be credited for their work.|[[Commons:Licensing/Justifications]]||width=100%}}
*{{Quotation|left|The GFDL includes some potentially onerous provisions, such as the requirement to include the full license text with each copy. These requirements impede re-use of both text and multimedia (spoken or printed versions of articles, prints of images, etc.). Wikimedia is committed to the widest possible dissemination of free knowledge. While our terms of use have always allowed for lower barriers to re-use, their inconsistency with the license text leads to fear, uncertainty, and doubt about what is legal and what is not. It advantages those re-users who can afford legal advice and research over those who cannot. This is counter to Wikimedia's mission.|[[Commons:License Migration Task Force/Licensing change by uploader]]||width=100%}}

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