Topic on Help talk:Extension:FileImporter

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T198584 Resolved

This is a great tool! However, I notice that when moving a file (example: File:Mary A Boren.jpg), the original uploader's name -- which in some cases is significant for attribution, i.e. with a CC BY or CC BY-SA license -- is originally linked to the user page on the origin wiki, but after file transfer it is linked to the user page on COMMONS (which may not exist). A simple change would avoid legal problems: change the link [[User:Name]] to [[languagecode:originwiki:User:Name]].

-Pete Forsyth (talk) 19:10, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

Since the SUL finalisation (T37707) got resolved in 2015, the user pages on all Wikimedia wikis are guaranteed to the refer to the same legal person. So I have to ask. Can you please explain what exactly you mean when this "breaks", and what the "some cases" are that you are referring to?

Hi Thiemo, from the Creative Commons attribution license (v. 4.0):

If You Share the Licensed Material (including in modified form), You must: retain the following if it is supplied by the Licensor with the Licensed Material: identification of the creator(s) of the Licensed Material and any others designated to receive attribution, in any reasonable manner requested by the Licensor (including by pseudonym if designated);

I would point specifically to the words "retain" and "reasonable." Take a look at the following example:

• File on English Wikipedia:
  • Username attributed on the Wikipedia page prior to move (blue link leading to genuine information):
• File after move to Commons:
  • Username attributed on Commons after move, but before manual repair (redlink):

The photographer uploaded the file to English Wikipedia, and in so doing, defined the way he wanted to be attributed. In addition to his username, the method of attribution included a link to a page that has his username, and further information about himself, including links to blog and website.

After a move by this tool, that information is not retained. The blue link becomes a red link, which leads to a blank page inviting the reader to "create" it. It matters not to any reader who lacks intimate familiarity with the inner workings of wiki sites that there is some link between that blank page with the word "create" and some page on a different website which has the information they may have been seeking. To expect most users to get from the page they land on to the page originally linked as attribution would not be reasonable.

The solution to this problem, I think, is technically very simple: Simply have the tool insert the proper code in any relevant userpage links to retain the original link, as I did manually here.

-Pete Forsyth (talk) 19:18, 4 February 2019 (UTC)

To be clear, my primary concern is about the licensing requirement for attribution and the "author" field, not about provenance and the upload log. In this similar case, I don't see a major problem, even though this tool does result in the loss of some information (the user page of the original uploader). In an ideal world, moving the page would not result in the loss of that information; however, it is less important that the upload log be retained, because information about the author and about the uploader is kept separately, and authorship is more important (both legally and in practice). -Pete Forsyth (talk) 19:33, 4 February 2019 (UTC)

Thanks a lot for the additional information, this is super helpful! I believe this can be solved together with what we already collected in T198584.