Week 11 Understanding Wikipedia Images and other media (Topic a)——JIN CHUYUE

1. Summary

This week, we mainly learned how to use and manage media materials such as images, videos, and audio on Wikipedia. Unlike text content, these visual and audio materials have more complex copyright requirements and stricter upload standards. The course mentioned that all media files on Wikipedia, including those on Wikivoyage pages, must have legal authorization, and the source and copyright proof must be clearly stated to avoid infringement. It also noted that good media materials can make articles richer and easier to read, helping us understand difficult knowledge; however, using unqualified or unauthorized materials may not only be illegal but also make Wikipedia entries untrustworthy, so such content is usually deleted quickly.

2. Interesting Learning Point

Through this week’s study, I have a clearer understanding that Wikipedia strictly prohibits image theft and uploading unauthorized photos. I used to think that as an editor, I could just find a picture online or take a random photo and upload it, without considering copyright at all. In fact, most of the photos I uploaded to Wikivoyage pages last semester were deleted, and I was quite confused at that time. It wasn’t until I learned the relevant content this week that I realized Wikipedia absolutely does not allow such simple image piracy. This rule is not only to protect the copyright of original creators but also to respect their hard work. We editors cannot randomly copy or use images from the Internet; we can only use legally compliant materials, such as public-domain images, openly usable works, or images and materials we take or create ourselves. This also shows that Wikipedia attaches great importance to originality and intellectual property protection, just to ensure that all image content on the platform is legal and credible.

3. Question for Discussion

What I’m confused about now is how to balance the quality of media materials and copyright restrictions. Because the copyright regulations are too strict, many high-definition and valuable images cannot be used, resulting in some Wikipedia entries and Wikivoyage pages either having poor-quality images or too few images, which makes the reading experience not very good. Moreover, although the images we take ourselves meet the copyright requirements and are original materials, sometimes the effect is not good, which cannot meet the needs of entry images, nor can it meet the reading expectations of readers. I’m wondering if Wikipedia can provide more free-to-use media materials for us ordinary volunteer editors, or create a simpler copyright check tool? This way, we can more easily find legal and high-quality images, which can make up for the shortcomings of the images we take ourselves, make the entries better, and at the same time always abide by the rules of respecting originality and protecting intellectual property rights.