Image templates and Image Policy FAQ

[rbarenblat]

Hi everyone! We've been hard at work on refining our proposed Image Policy FAQ, and at long last, here it is -- below the cut. We hope that it answers your questions about images on Fanlore (ranging from "How do I add an image to a Fanlore page?" to "What kinds of images on Fanlore can I expect to have warnings?") Along with this FAQ, we're debuting a set of image templates which we hope will make the uploading of images (along with their meta-data) easier.

We welcome questions, comments, and feedback on the FAQ and on the image templates. Members of the wiki committee and members of the Board will be keeping an eye on this post and we'll do our best to answer questions in a timely way. RL does occasionally keep one or another of us offline; thanks in advance for bearing with us.

With no further ado...



QUESTION: How do I add an image to a Fanlore page?

There are two steps which you can do in either order. You need to upload the image, using our image template and then you need to link it in the appropriate page. Probably the easiest way is to edit the page you want to include the image on and add the link first. It should look like this:

[[Name_for_your_image_with_no_spaces.jpg|thumb|This is a caption for my image!]]

When you save this edit, you will then see a red link for the image name. When you click on this, you will be taken to the upload form.

QUESTION: What information should I include when uploading an image?

When you are uploading an image, you will see a small form like this:



Please include as much information about the image as you can in the *Summary* field. Please edit the image page itself (i.e. access 'edit' on the page that you are on after uploading an image) to add the following information if you have it:

Creator: who made the image

Description: a text description of what's in the image (helpful for people using screenreaders or browsing without images)

Copyright: whether this image is in the public domain or if the copyright is owned by you or someone else.

Source: where you got the image from (eg, the URL if you found it online, "I scanned this from a zine I purchased in 1997 at Escapade," etc)

When you're editing the image page itself, please use the following template: http://fanlore.org/wiki/Template:ImageSummary

QUESTION: Do I need to add anything else, or can the image stand on its own?

When you upload an image, you'll be prompted to offer information which will go in the image's summary box (e.g. creator, description, copyright, source.) Images go on their own pages; article pages can link to those image pages, and that's how the image will come to appear alongside some text. Remember to use our image summary template to describe the image (it's here: http://fanlore.org/wiki/Template:ImageSummary)

If you're uploading an image for a specific article page, please include some text about the image you've uploaded within that article: explain why the image is important or interesting, tell readers what trends it illustrates or represents, write about why you wanted to preserve the image in the first place.

QUESTION: Can I upload copyrighted images on Fanlore without the permission of the creator?

Yes, as long as doing so would be a fair use! Here are some key aspects of fair use of images:

First, please make sure you give credit to the creator! (It’s also helpful for future editors if you make a note where you obtained the image.) Attribution is very important; we want to give honor to the fanartist(s) who created the work in the first place.

Second, the images should there to illustrate a point. Please consider whether putting the image on Fanlore adds new meaning or message. If you're going to upload an image, please also include some commentary on why the image is noteworthy. Fanlore is not an archive, so it's not appropriate to upload all of the artwork created by a given fan artist just to create a gallery of that artist’s work. Instead, we might upload a selection of images to illustrate that artist’s style or range, alongside some text about that artist and their work, and then link to the artist’s personal website instead. Or an image might be used to illustrate a particular fannnish trope, or a particular trend in fanart. Or, if the page is about the artwork itself, the article should make note what is interesting or important or beautiful about it.

Third, you should use the resolution/image quality you need to make that point. For instance, if you were working on a Fanlore article talking about illustrated borders on zine covers, or a particular artistic technique in icon-making, you might need a very high-resolution image to make your point. If you were writing a page about the details of a particular artwork, you’d want a good enough copy to be able to show those details. In other cases, a lower-resolution image will be enough.

QUESTION: How do I know what resolution is appropriate?

This is a very good question, and the answer is: use what resolution you need to make your point. Please use your best judgment! The OTW Legal team will review cases if a complaint is made.

QUESTION: What about images I've already uploaded? Do I have to go replace all of them with low-resolution versions?

You do not! If a complaint arises, and a review by the Legal team concludes that a lower resolution image would be more appropriate in a given case, it can be replaced then.

QUESTION: I am a fan artist and low-resolution images of my work are posted on Fanlore. They look bad! I want my work displayed in better quality.

If you give permission, we will be happy to upload higher-resolution images of your work to replace the low-resolution ones as quickly as our editing resources allow. (You are also welcome to do this yourself, of course, but we will make an effort to do it for you if you are unfamiliar with wiki editing.) We can also arrange to make sure that low-image versions are linked to higher-resolution versions on your site or elsewhere, if you provide us with the links.

QUESTION: I am a fan artist and I don't want any of my work displayed on Fanlore. Will you take it down?

As described above, some uses of images without permission are fair use, and as such we don't remove images automatically on request by the creator. Protecting fair use rights is hugely important for the benefit of all fan creators -- these are what give fan artists the right to make their work in the first place.

However, we are all fans here and want to respect your concerns as well. We will gladly work with you to ensure that your work is being used according to fair use rules. We will also make sure that your work is credited appropriately, link back to your own site, and if you wish use higher resolution versions of your work.

QUESTION: Wait! Someone uploaded my image without permission and it's not being used in any article. What should I do?

You have options! One option is to add text which contextualizes the image, or to ask the person who uploaded the image to do so. Another option is to leave a note on the talk page asking for the image to be deleted because its use doesn't fit fair use parameters.

QUESTION: What kinds of images on Fanlore can I expect to have warnings?

Images that are sexually explicit, depict rape or sexual assault, or depict people or characters who are underage engaging in sexual activity should have warnings on Fanlore. Users are responsible for reading and heeding the warnings provided by the person who loaded in the image. Risk-averse users should keep in mind that not all content will carry full warnings and consider whether they should set up filters for viewing images, as described below. If you think an image should have a warning, feel free to add the warning; bear in mind that other users may edit the page.

QUESTION: I just saw a disturbing image with no warning! How do I add a warning?

We have templates for Sexually Explicit Images, Images Depicting Non-con and Sexual Assault, and Underage Persons in Image. They can be found in the Templates section of the wiki, and here are direct links:

http://fanlore.org/wiki/Template:SexuallyExplicitImage

http://fanlore.org/wiki/Template:ImageDepictingNon-conOrSexualAssault

http://fanlore.org/wiki/Templates:UnderagePersonsInImage

You can add a warning by editing the page and adding the appropriate template.

QUESTION: Can I filter out all images when I am browsing on Fanlore?

Yes, you can. We have detailed instructions for how to filter out all images when browsing Fanlore. You can find them here: http://fanlore.org/wiki/Help:Filtering_images

QUESTION: I have other questions about images which aren't covered here.

Contact us and ask, and we'll do our best to answer promptly!

Comments

[madgirl]

I left a broader (and a bit rambling) response to some of the general points here to facetofcathy below, but I did want to make a note about the fanfic/fanart comparison. One issue is that it usually is possible to talk about fanfic pretty clearly just by describing and quoting it - whereas "quoting" art is almost always going to involve showing it, just because the way we understand visual images is different than the way we understand text. If we're talking about preserving the meaning behind a discussion of a work, then if a piece of fanfic disappears from where it is linked to, then the quoting/discussion will probably still make sense, whereas with art it is much less likely that a description can do justice to the commentary. Unfortunately it's just a difference in the medium. As far as how much of the art is appropriate in order to maintain that meaning, that's why we consider issues like resolution, size, etc.

[ratcreature]

It is quite possible to describe artists and art, and talk about it without showing it, much like authors can be covered without quotations. Most of the fic author pages I've come across on fanlore (like for example the DS author profiles) don't quote anything from the fic but rather quote reviews and feedback to the fic, yet almost all artist pages show a whole gallery of art without talking about any of the pieces. I assume that is because quotations aren't pretty but pictures are and it's no almost work to include the images you grabbed, but it is effort to say something about an artist.

Further, there almost no articles about individual pieces of fanart that discuss that piece of fanart specifically, while there are some pieces about individual vids and stories. Actually I can't think of a single one article about a single fanart picture. Individual pieces are rarely even discussed in any way in other articles. Fanart is used to show a zine (often many, many art pieces from a single zine), to show a trope, or in galleries gathering everything from an artist that found its way onto fanlore.

I have started several articles covering art genres on Fanlore (like the Still life or documentation/ephemera article) and managed to be fairly comprehensible (I hope) without including images, and even if an image was needed to cover a whole genre it is unlikely that you absolutely need the fanart of an artist who objects, and couldn't use art from an artist who is fine with it.

[madgirl]

You're right in that it is possible to describe art without showing it; it's just the case that many people will prefer to. As I noted to frogspace below, part of the point of this policy is to clarify that Fanlore isn't an archive, and to encourage people to think about why/how they're using an image if they choose to. And it may well be that someone will choose to use text to describe something instead, as you did. We just don't want to suggest that people can't use images when appropriate. And if conflicts with artists come up then those will be handled using the principles discussed below.

[frogspace.livejournal.com]

One issue is that it usually is possible to talk about fanfic pretty clearly just by describing and quoting it - whereas "quoting" art is almost always going to involve showing it, just because the way we understand visual images is different than the way we understand text.

That's one reason why I want art (and other images that are far less controversial, like for example screenshots, banners, icons, promo pictures, etc.) on the article pages, also because it looks much better with art than without. However, documenting art by describing it is no more difficult that documenting a story by describing it, and showing doesn't have to mean showing the whole image. When I want to talk about Spock's alien genitalia I could show a thumbnail of his double-ridged penis from one of Gayle F's works, I wouldn't have to show the whole image. Showing just the penis? That would be quoting a piece of art.

If I want more (and I do! I want so much more! I LOVE fanart!!!), I need to consider that by uploading an image to Fanlore the wiki is archiving that image. Uploading a piece of fanart I copied from another page (That's a different situation than taking a photo or making a scan of something you own; creating the digital file to begin with) is uploading a piece of fanart to an archive. And Fanlore functions in this regard like most archives. You can browse the wiki by fandom categories and just click on the images you like to see the full-size version of. From there you can follow a link to a page where the image is used, but you don't have to. You can just admire the art, maybe save it to your computer, then return to the fandom category and pick the next image to watch, all that without ever clicking on any text pages. If it works like an archive, it should follow the fannish norms about archiving someone's work (in most cases that means getting permission when you use the digital file the artist created on another archive).

Fanart isn't just something you can grab to illustrate a point (any point, apparently it's okay as long as it's not completely pointless), it's also a fanwork. And as such it should be treated like a fanwork.

[madgirl]

These are really good points. And distinguishing Fanlore's function from that of an archive is one of the reasons that this image policy has come into being. What we're trying to encourage is the serious use of the wiki for commentary, and for people to think about why they're uploading an image, and whether the use would be just as appropriate with a thumbnail or low-resolution image and a link to the full version. Fanlore isn't an archive, but we also don't want people to think that they can't use images of fanart when appropriate. I totally get why you think it is problematic for someone to just throw up an image casually, but our hope is that this policy will actually make editors think more about how and why they're using it.

[frogspace.livejournal.com]

Fanlore isn't an archive

I hear you, but saying so doesn't make it true. Fanlore currently hosts 14,801 images. That are circa 1,400 images more than there are article pages. If someone asked me where they could find some good K/S art, I would point them to this link: http://fanlore.org/wiki/Category:Star_Trek_TOS_K/S_Art

The wiki is freaking amazing and such a treasure trove that I don't even know what to say. However, to keep it this way and to build on what we have, I think it's vitally important to look at what the wiki actually is not just at what it's supposed to be. Writing something like "I've seen a piece of fanart in another archive that would be perfect for a page I'm working on. Can I use it?" and then give instructions that are in compliance with fannish norms for that kind of situation *and* fit the general fair use idea shouldn't be that difficult.