Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2016 January 2

= January 2 =

Mysterious public logs
Can anyone tell me what the "public log" entries on this page are for? I understand the logs of pages I have moved, but the earlier logs are mysterious - what do all the logs in 2012 mean, describing something connected with me as "unhelpful"? According to my contributions at that time I haven't done any of these acts. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 14:20, 2 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Log entries are generated by the software each time they are viewed. If log-producing features are removed from our software then old log entries can display incorrectly. You probably used the feature at Article Feedback/Feedback response guidelines. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:49, 2 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes, thankyou, that seems to explain it. I remember I did indeed mark lots of feedback as "unhelpful", plus this answer explains the sudden cessation of those particular log entries, presumably coinciding with the removal of the feedback feature. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 14:58, 2 January 2016 (UTC)

Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text
— Preceding unsigned comment added by The Wordsmith at Work (talk • contribs) 19:31, 2 January 2016‎ (UTC)


 * In the error messages, the word "help page" is in blue each time, indicating that in each case it is a wikilink to a help page on that specific error. - David Biddulph (talk) 19:48, 2 January 2016 (UTC)


 * I presume this is about Jean Hewitt FBATD? I have reverted some changes that have inserted broken references, and have broken some of the existing tags.  In any event, http://www.elainespires.co.uk/journal/2013/08/tribute-to-jean-hewitt/ appears to be a blog of some sort, and is not a WP:Reliable source (WP:USERG).  Rwessel (talk) 19:52, 2 January 2016 (UTC)

How do I upload a photograph onto a Wikipedia Reference Desk page?
I want to use the Wikipedia Reference Desk to ask a question about a photo. How do I upload (is that the right word?) a copy of that photo onto the Reference Desk, so that I may ask my question about it? And does it matter what type of file the photo is (JPEG, Word document, etc.)? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 21:58, 2 January 2016 (UTC)


 * Hello, . To display an image anywhere in Wikipedia, you must first upload it to Wikipedia or (preferably) to Wikimedia commons: in either case, you need to sort out the copyright properly (and a picture on the Reference Desk can never meet the non free content criteria, so you can only use it if the photo is in the public domain or released under a suitable Creative Commons Licence, in which case it can be uploaded to Commons). See WP:Upload wizard.
 * An alternative approach for the Reference Desk is to upload the picture to some other site, such as Flickr, and link to it from your question: it isn't possible to display the picture in the Reference Desk, but you can explain your question and people can follow the link to view the picture. --ColinFine (talk) 23:09, 2 January 2016 (UTC)


 * Thanks. Sheesh.  More complicated than I thought.  Here is a somewhat related question.  Let's say that a photo is posted on the Internet (on some site, somewhere).  Does that make it "public domain"?  Given the fact that it is published to the public on a website?  Or no?  Just curious.   Thanks.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 23:30, 2 January 2016 (UTC)
 * If the photo does not explicitly say that it is published in the public domain the copyright is still held by the person that took the photo. Basically, if you don't see a specific notice saying you can use it assume you can't. --Majora (talk) 23:44, 2 January 2016 (UTC)


 * Then why is it the case that when people post things on Facebook, for example, then those photos are re-posted all over the place? For example, let's say that someone gets charged with a high-profile crime.  The next thing you know, all of their Facebook photos are posted all over the place (in news sites, etc.).  How does that happen?   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:30, 3 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Copyright law is complex and I don't know the details of it to really say a whole lot but most of those stories have credit notices below the pictures. That is usually fine for their purposes. For Wikipedia's purposes all images must be able to be reproduced and edited. That requires a different license. For more information on all the things we need see the bullets in this section on Commons. So since a Facebook photo is not specifically released under a license that allow us to do all the things in that list we cannot use it. --Majora (talk) 00:45, 3 January 2016 (UTC)

Thanks, all. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 01:49, 3 January 2016 (UTC)