Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/August 2010/Editorials

Editorial The Military history WikiProject Newsletter: Issue LIV (August 2010) Front page Project news Articles Members Editorial

I am not a member of the Military History WikiProject, though I've written a few articles that fall under your umbrella, but I am an admirer. I don't remember precisely when I first encountered your group, but I know the general context: it was a copyright problem. That's the general context in which I encounter many Wikipedians. For several years now, I've devoted most of my administerial time to addressing text-based copyright concerns on Wikipedia. Needless to say, I am often the harbinger of doom for an article, and I am not always warmly welcomed. My first experience with your group impressed me deeply: I found you collegial, focused, organized and ready to help.

The way we handle copyright problems has changed since then. That was before the Copyright Cleanup WikiProject, before the "contributor copyright investigation" noticeboard, before I personally had any idea how widespread a problem copyright might be. But my experience of your group has not altered. When I was asked if I might write something for your newsletter about copyright work on Wikipedia, I was more than happy to comply.

I've focused on text rather than images, because text is what I know.^[1] Because it's a complex subject, it's been divided into two parts. From the very basic (a definition of copyright violation for Wikipedia's purposes) to the more complex (instructions how to help with a CCI), I've tried to give an overview of copyright cleanup on Wikipedia. But there is far more to be said on the subject than I have said here or will say in the next instalment (Scout's Honor); if I have not covered something you'd like to discuss, I am always open to questions and conversation. Come by my talk page, any time.