I'm a little confused as to why the Image Team is going through and removing pictures… I get if someone complains about a picture, but they took down a fairly generic picture from 161… What's the point? I get if an artist doesn't want us using their work, but what does the rest of it matter? I feel like the image team should not on an SCP if it's not a CC picture, leave it up to the writer if they want to look for a different picture.
Admin, SCP Wiki
It's not just that the image only wasn't CC, in which it would probably be ok to leave up until we affirm that the creator is ok with it.
However, 161's image is copyrighted by Amazon, and it's from this product article. The image team's volunteers are trying to contact them, since it states that permission can be obtained by contacting them. Otherwise, it says here that they are only to be used with permission, and unauthorized usage can result in legal action. I can understand its bothersome that images are being taken down (hell, SCP-428 was one of my favorite old articles and it's image usage required a fee), but just because the image's owner doesn't know we're using it doesn't make it any less illegal.
I'd personally like to see a bit more information than just 'image taken down…' I've seen image removals where I was left wondering what the problem was.
We keep track of that info on a sandbox page, which can be accessed from the latest image team report.
Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!
Yeah, I just found that. Never mind. ;)
For those wondering: ye olde sandbox
I'm not aware of any illegality in using an image from the internet for a not profit use.
Admin, SCP Wiki
That's not how image licensing works. We're not a nonprofit and we are using a Creative Commons license, something that can only be done by being the copyright holder or having their direct, explicit permission. We are basically giving everyone who ever comes across the site the ability to use the image for free, something that we don't have the right to do.
If you want a more thorough explanation of how Creative Commons, we can go over it. As an Administrator, you really ought to already know this stuff.
Edit: To clarify, we are not a nonprofit by legal definition, which is an organization with nonprofit status from the government. Even if we were, we would still have to follow licensing laws. We cannot claim fair use, either, because we are redistributing content under a Creative Commons license.
It's already open to free use, it's in circulation on the internet… This is really just stupidity, considering we're based on non creative commons images… Again, if someone doesn't want us to use their image, cool, but otherwise, it's no big deal.
Admin, SCP Wiki
That's not how the Internet works, and what you're saying amounts to people saying, "It's a free country!" when attempting to justify blatant racism or sexism. There are clear violation of copyright and license law going on, and while I realize that you don't understand the professional ethics involved in this, that doesn't give you free reign to ignore them.
Sure it does. We're not professionals. Again, if someone has a problem with it, I get taking a picture down. I don't understand going out looking for trouble, on things that aren't a huge issue.
Admin, SCP Wiki
Bright, she's right. Let's not have silly discussion like this here. Whether or not we're professional, it's dishonest to use images like this.
As an aside, comparing this to 'free country' whatever, while not inaccurate, is a tad hyperbolic.
Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!
Why is it dishonest? We're not making a profit, we're not stealing anything… Really confused by this. In the original, I was under the impression image team was to let people know if their image wasn't cc, so the author could do something, if they wanted. I feel That going out and removing pictures from articles is just silly. As long as we go along with 'please don't use' requests, we're doing nothing wrong.
Admin, SCP Wiki
On review, ignore me on this. Apparently I'm just having an argumentative day, and this is where it slipped out.
Admin, SCP Wiki
Just jotting down some notes for the record:
@Bright — I do have to agree with the removal of the images. Unfortunately, just being generic isn't enough; in order to be fully legal under the terms of our license, we must be the copyright holders or have the direct permission of the copyright holders to release the images under Creative Commons. If the image is a copyright image attached to a commercial product, then we stand to be in a lot of trouble if we let it remain up.
@Image Team — That said, I've gotten several complaints and/or concerns from the Technical side. A lot of people are confused about what's going on, the vagueness of the removal notices, and the people who are doing it. I've already talked to weizhong directly on IRC, but I thought I'd make note of it here as well:
Made a post on the announcement zone, so people should know now.
We've also had this thread up for a couple of days.
Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!
