The closest to this that currently exists is the Wikipedia:Featured articles process, but even the articles listed there may have been mercilessly edited shortly before you view them.
This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 | Archive 4 |
Unless otherwise stated Wikipedia and Wiki sites are neither endorsed nor affiliated with any of the holders... That should say neither endorsed by nor affiliated with... Mr. Billion 15:54, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)
This page does not link to anywhere, if anyone thinks it is useful, perhaps it should be linked somewhere? I just drafted it and it is similar to Wiki: risk disclaimer though not so garish and scary (which is what you want from a risk disclaimer) and not as technical as the Wiki: legal advice disclaimer. Alex756 07:44 May 11, 2003 (UTC)
Copied from: WikiEN-L by User:Maveric149
Toby wrote: > The "international" (that is, non-English) Wikipedias > are also subject only to US and (I think) California law. > That's where they're located, after all. > (Although suggestions have been made in the past > to self-censor fr: and zh: > in order to prevent the governments of France and the PRC > from declaring it illegal to *view* them, > which isn't exactly the same thing.) IANAL Ahem. If it is illegal for user x to do a and b in the country they are contributing from, then that user should /not/ do that!
General comments to all:
If it is illegal in your nation to do something that would otherwise be legal in California, then you are still taking a personal risk if you break your own nation's laws. The simple fact that the server is in California does not shield you from the laws of your own nation.
But what is legal for Wikipedia to have on its server in San Diego is really only a matter of California/United States law (as Toby points out).
I don't think the first part of this point gets stressed often enough.
Of course, what is "appropriate" is a different matter and is largely dictated by consensus and standing policy (both Wikipedia wide and language specific).
It is here where an interesting question arises; should particular languages have /added/ restrictions across their own language version of Wikipedia that go beyond California/US law in order to make texts written in French, for example, legal to have on a server in France?
Wouldn't that make the texts more useful to French-speaking peoples (well, at least the French speakers in France)?
I would argue that this is a dangerous idea because then the laws of potentially every nation on earth could have veto power over what we have on Wikipedia just to make it theoretically possible to have our text usable as is and hosted on a server in each of those nations. The result of that would be massive censorship in order to meet the lowest common denominator.
IMO, we should keep things simple and only concern ourselves with these two things (as far as the legal issue goes):
1) What is legal for any one user to do in the nation they are submitting from. 2) What is legal to have on our server in California (this applies to everything we all submit; all text/media must be legal under California/US law).
Both of the above factors limit what we each can individually submit. So for example; a user writing from Germany has to respect restrictions set forth by German law and US law in what they submit while a user writing from Australia has to do the same in respect to Australian and US law.
Hm. This concept should be on a general disclaimer or something....
-- Daniel Mayer (aka mav) User:Maveric149 _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list [email protected] http://www.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
Found this on the talk page about libel Wiki: libel:
I think we should just have one disclaimer for everything... ehh I dunno. Evil saltine 08:48, 3 Jan 2004 (UTC)
Wiki: content disclaimer is still being linked to from a few places, I've delinked it as it is redundant with the general disclaimer now in place. — Alex756 18:27, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)
Perhaps we should add that links from Wikipedia to external websites do not constitute endorsement of those sites? -- The Anome 14:33, 6 Jan 2004 (UTC)
I suggest to exchange the first two sentences.
The currently second one: WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF VALIDITY expresses everything an average reader needs to know about the content of the page, and it's much easier to parse (for a tired foreigner like me, at least) than the currently first one: PLEASE CAREFULLY READ THE STATEMENT BELOW BEFORE LEAVING THIS PAGE which is void of actual content. And "WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF VALIDITY" makes for a better motivation for further reading the page. (Same remark on the other disclaimer pages...)
--FvdP 22:16, 8 Jan 2004 (UTC)
Actually I'd just suppress the "PLEASE READ CAREFULLY" like I did on Wiki_talk:Risk_disclaimer:
(BTW, english is not my native language and I'm puzzled by the 2 possibles (in my eye) meanings of "statement": is "statement below" just the next sentence ("WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO GUARANTEE..."), or the whole page ? This puzzlement is yet another obstacle to my reading this page, even though it's a small one, it's an unneccesary one too.)
By the way, all these disclaimer pages are mostly redundant. It seems to me that Wiki_talk:Risk_disclaimer would be good enough for all purposes, and it puts the emphasis on the most important dangers.
--FvdP 22:41, 8 Jan 2004 (UTC)
The "Please Read" statement is gone. Our pro-bono lawyer Alex may object, and if so I encourage him to reinstate the line. --mav 07:37, 9 Jan 2004 (UTC)
I find very bothering having link to this disclaimer on top of every page. Can some jurist clarify whether we are obligated to have it or not? (on most sites there is small copyright notice at the bottom and it's normal) If we can, I think we should leave only the bottom one. And I suggest merging it with copyright into one short page that would say:
I think that this short page would answer all basic legal questions. Then there should be more links to particular 4 topics.
Please move this suggestion to its right place. ilya 10:44, 10 Jan 2004 (UTC)
Many sites now use Wikipedia for content. They do so happily, thanking their lucky stars that it is GFDL. However every day people submit copyrighted work without permission. We try very hard between us to remove it all but can't be sure we always succeed. So it is possible that someone will copy our material and by doing so actually (unwittingly) copy other people's copyrighted material. They could get in hot water for that and are naturally going to want to point the finger back at Wikipedia (and maybe at the original contributor). Do we need to do anything about this? Do we currently? Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 15:03, 27 Jan 2004 (UTC)
Any chance that after all of these warnings about the reliability of the information on wikipedia (e.g., "misuse of the information here has been known to cause your monitor to catch fire" - to steal a famous warning from the X Window System documentation), that some kind of positive statements could be added, say "the material here is provided because is believed to be useful, and the editors of Wikipedia request any errors found to be brought to their attention"? I believe I've seen this language used elsewhere in a similar disclaimer of reliability. -- llywrch 05:28, 17 Feb 2004 (UTC)
First, IANAL, and this is not legal advice.
This page says that Wikipedia is being maintained in reference to the protections afforded to all under the United States Constitution's First Amendment and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. The UDHR is a statement of principles and not a binding document; it provides no protections whatsoever. I'm therefore going to strike this clause from the sentence.
There is a treaty that implements the principles in the declaration, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is what the Human Rights Council uses as reference. The United States is a signatory, but doesn't consider the treaty as being "self-activating". That is, the principles in the ICCPR don't automatically apply, without supporting laws passed by the federal or state governments. So it's questionable whether there's any point in mentioning it, either.
It may be reasonable to replace the reference to the UDHR with a reference to the ICCPR. --ESP
It has been suggested at VfD that MediaWiki:Oscars should be deleted and a general trademark disclaimer should be placed here instead. Opinions? Tuf-Kat 03:47, Mar 23, 2004 (UTC)
I added the following:
Any comments, suggestions or changes welcome. — Alex756 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Alex756 talk] 15:15, 24 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Thanks for your reply, Alex.
I personally share your understanding of GFDL, that it has to only with copyright, and not other rights (IP rights or otherwise). Downstream users, for example, do not have the right to defame somebody by modifying an article of a person. GFDL does not explicitly prohibit it, but that does not mean it gives permission. (But the problem is I don't know have solid evidence for this interpretation.)
But I suppose some trademarks (like corporate logos) are also copyrighted works they are creative expressions of ideas fiexed in a tangible medium. If that is the case, things like uploading an image of a corporate logo might be in violation of copyright, when fair use defense can not be applied. So I suppose this disclaier would cover things like a name of a product (trademarked) apprearing in an article, or image including a trademark along with some object, but not an image which is nothing but a trademark. Is that right? Tomos 03:01, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Quote with emphasis added:
Their use here does not imply that you may use them for any other purpose other than for the same or a similar informational use as contemplated by the original authors of these Wikipedia articles under the GFDL licensing scheme.
To me this says anything Wikipedia does with trademarks, you can do too, almost granting permission to use trademarks in the same manner as any contributor, as though Wikipedia were the source of precedent on this issue. Obviously, a contributor could accidentally misuse a trademark, in which case Wikipedia does not in fact have the right to perpetuate this misuse, even under the licensing scheme. The use of trademarks on Wikipedia shouldn't imply anyone could use them for anything at all. Davilla 13:45, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
This will need to be changed when wikipedia:terms of use goes live. Martin 01:58, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)
The phrase "voluntary association" here may have some quite surprising copyright implications. Perhaps it should be reworded to something like:
What do you think? Martin 02:09, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I think that in addition to the medical disclaimer, Wikipedia should have a general disclaimer about description of chemical, physical etc... reactions. In the past, there has been a number of teenagers (as well as adults) who caused great bodily harm to themselves or to others by trying to make "home chemistry" reactions which they knew enough about to start, but not enough to know the precautions and dangers. For instance, the page on nitroglycerin describes an extremely risky reaction for preparing this explosive. You don't want an angry parent to sue Wikipedia because his 16 year-old son tried to prepare high explosives in the basement. I've just added to ice cream the description of a method of preparation using liquid nitrogen, which I think should be harmless under normal precautions, but which has potential issues. I don't want to risk legal trouble. David.Monniaux 10:29, 28 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I think WikiPedia not giving any form of financial advice is also a good idea--BozMotalk 10:58, 7 May 2004 (UTC) (moved from user talk:Angela)
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse is a joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, University of San Francisco, and University of Maine law school clinics. It covers a lot of trademark issues, intellectual property issues, online rights and more, with lots of citations and authoritative suggestions. Thought I'd mention it... Catherine - talk 21:26, 16 May 2004 (UTC)
In light of the recent AP news perhaps the link to the Disclaimer should be more prominent on every page and the main page should have it spelled out instead of all that gibberish that is currently there. --unsigned
I propose that all pages describing a potentially harmful activity that the reader may like to try (chemistry experiment, sport etc...) should carry a disclaimer linking to a long version such as this proposal. In the past, there has been a number of people, generally older teenagers, who have harmed themselves or others trying to do stuff they had read about in a book (like making explosives). Even if Wikipedia is not legally liable for this (and this even remains to be seen, depending on the jurisdiction and how courts rule), there's a definite risk of adverse publicity. The media can well blow such incidents out of proportion: "Online encyclopedia a cookbook for explosives", "Youngster experiments as described in online site, loses both arms", "Tolley, Voos, Chunkee and Bodkin trash Paulersbury in crazy TNT experment" etc... David.Monniaux 07:46, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)
For comparative purposes, selected disclaimers from sources often regarded as credible can be found at non-Wikipedia disclaimers.
I have noticed an increasing number of sites putting disclaimers on external links. I struggle to believe courts would be silly enough to make someone liable for the sites they link to but other people obviously think this risk is real? --BozMo|talk 14:23, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Since I can't edit the page, here's the typo: "note that that the" should be "note that the" — Bill 22:42, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)
This article was derived fully or in part from an article on Wiki English.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Presently the "General disclaimer" page contains following sentence (end of 6th paragraph):
There is a problem with this formulation, i.e. not with the fact that Wiki (or: the Wiki Foundation) takes no liability for possible offenses under foreign law (I completely agree with that) - the problem I see is that some countries that follow the UN charter are nonetheless forbidding the publication of certain statements (e.g. revisionist statements about the holocaust; openly racist messages, etc...). The interpretation of when a message is to be interpreted as "revisionist", "racist", etc... might also be slightly different, depending on country.
The argument whether such laws, giving in a way certain limits to free speech, would be a ..."less" broad protection of free speech as the laws of the United States,... etc is in my view futile, and not to the point (or at least: American POV).
The present formulation fails to make clear to the reader that he can be held responsible for infringements in certain countries that ...recognise as broad a protection of free speech as (...) the principles under the UN charter.
Then I don't even mention copyright limitations that might be different in certain non-US countries (e.g. did you know that the works of Erik Satie presently in the Mutopia Project are "Public Domain" under US law, but still copyrighted in France?).
I propose the sentence above would be replaced by:
--Francis Schonken 08:33, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
This discliamer is inadequate. It implies that it is no less than the disclaimer assoicated with a conventional encyclopedia such as Brittanica. It attempts to imply that its authority is therefore as good as other encyclopedia. This willfully deceives the public. There are repeated attempts throughout Wikipedia to trump up its authority and I consider this to be socially irresponsible and ultimately dangerous to the public.
Clear and bold disclaimers need to be visible on every page of Wikipedia and in bold friendly "Don't Panic" letters on the front page.
Have fun with Wikipedia - don't take it so seriously and don't mislead the public.
Steven Zenith 05:58, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)
On noticing that answers.com links to this page from every one of /its/ pages, I refcatored the page. New template header, section headings, removal of some redundancy and collection of like paragraphs one after another. Another regular monitor of this page, and a legal eye, should look over it. +sj +
Under the sub-header "Jurisdiction and legality of content," there is the sentence "The Wikipedia database is stored on a server in the State of Florida in the United States of America, and is maintained in reference to the protections afforded under local and federal law." The word "Wiki general Disclaimer/Archive 1" should be italicized. ‡ Jarlaxle 19:53, July 29, 2005 (UTC)
(Moved here as I felt it best place to archive, move it on if not. Hiding talk 20:17, 2 September 2005 (UTC))
I was very surprised to learn recently that wikipedia was NOT an encyclopedia like those we are all used to using. Most people will not check for your disclaimers before looking for information, and they presume that what they find are well-researched facts. I only discovered this myself when I came across some information listed for a topic that was clearly opinion and was, in fact, gossip. You are therefore responsible for contributing to the spread of gossip and false data. Despite your disclaimer, you ARE presenting yourself as an ecyclopedia website, knowing that people will be deceived.
The very least that you can do is to have a heading on EACH page that appears, which says, "Wikipedia Makes No Guarantee of Validity." It would also be more correct of you, and certainly more ethical, if you called yourself, "Wikipedia, the user-created encyclopedia."
Linda Estabrook User talk:66.159.201.20 11:54, 2005 July 15
RESPONSE: Linda, would you cite the article that contains opinion and needs clean-up? We are collecting examples to support a proposal to make a disclaimer more evident at Wiki: Proposed_update_of_MediaWiki:Tagline Thank you for your help! -- Sitearm | Talk 13:22, 2005 August 8 (UTC)
A newcomer's response. While objecting to the escalation from, "I found one item of gossip" to "you are deceiving the world", I have been surprised by the ubiquity of wiki hits on Google. Since so many more people will now be accessing wiki material, perhaps Estabrook is correct in advocating a little navel gazing. Megatron's defence that wiki is a better class of crap than that served up by other internet sources is hardly reassuring and we should all recognise that most users will never trouble themselves to check the references against the possibility of vandalism. So perhaps the answer is that there should be a roving commission to survey material and, when it finds articles that are sound, it should lock them. If a future editor believes any of the locked articles to require revision, let that be argued before editorial access is allowed. In this way, there is a slow accretion of core material that can justify the label of encyclopedia. Peripheral and evanescent material can be allowed to come and go as fashions change, with or without warning notices. -David91 18:01, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
But, on two occasions, when I attempted to change pages (in my opinion for the better) I was met with hostility and abuse. I rapidly withdrew. Those pages remain unacceptable (in my opinion). So, please, let us not assume that placing warning messages as headers will resolve inherent behavioural and content problems. -David91 07:11, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
I am not touting for a campaign of "Be nice to the old guy." Everywhere, I see reports of edit wars, sometimes over really meaningful issues such as what to call English counties or disputes over puncutation which get blown out of proportion by those with a non-consensual approach to life. "Looking into my editing history" is not going to add significantly to a pattern of behaviour that is well-documented and clearly inhibiting the growth of encyclopedic standards. The reason why I have not become involved in comparable disputes is that, at the first sign of abuse, I walk away. A plague on the causes of all those who will not iterate through reasonable debate towards some generally accepted point of view. -David91 05:47, 18 July 2005 (UTC)
I believe that Wikipedia should include some type of disclaimer on every article page. I really like Wikipedia and try to contribute when I can. However, as a person involved in research, I would not advocate using Wikipedia per se as a reference; but, I would certainly recommend starting with Wikipedia in performing research. Wikipedia is a wonderful resource with many advantages over traditional reference works. Wikipedia is also very up-front about how it is created and its limitations. Unfortunately, most people will not realize the difference between Wikipedia and a traditional encyclopedia. Of course, no matter what you do, there will always be a few people who don't read the disclaimer. That said, I think it would be good to include a disclaimer anyway so that the majority of readers will get the idea. --Wyatts 18:19, 21 July 2005 (UTC)
Besides Wikipedia having an (existing) overall disclaimer, each contributer (including me) should have a disclaimer on her contribution to an article, and each article should have a disclaimer acknowledging where information may have other interpretations (e.g., scientific principles, evaluations of an artist's work quality and "themes", etc.). My son reads Wikipedia a LOT to study science and math and this led me to get an account. Fortunately he knows you can't believe everything you read on the internet. Fortunately many of the articles list references so that information can be checked. I have discovered inaccuracies (e.g., ranking of largest ports in the world out of date). To be rigorous you have to look stuff up and compare, which process Wikipedia helps. But Wikipedia certainly is not a definitive authority on any of its articles. Nor is any other encyclopedia or online references.
So it's caveat lector!
Sitearm 03:37, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
No encyclopedia is perfectly accurate, of course. I am not suggesting that Wikipedia needs a disclaimer because it is somehow not as good as other encyclopedias. (I believe Wikipedia is superior is many ways.) Instead, I am suggesting that Wikipedia needs a disclaimer because it is different from traditional encyclopedias. I think the disclaimer should inform people of the difference, not be an apology for any inaccuracies (since all encyclopedias have inaccuracies.) Articles published in traditional encyclopedias represent the "official" output of the organization, and have gone through some kind of formal review for accuracy and style. This does not guarantee perfection, but readers know that the publisher has made some attempt to utilize knowledgeable experts, carefully reviews any changes/updates, and stands behind its work. People quickly learn which publishers do this well (or not) and hence establish the reputation of the publisher. People can then confidently reference such traditional encyclopedias in their research. Wikipedia is different. Articles can be written by anyone, editors are not selected according to their credentials, articles can be changed often, and there is no formal approval process. On the other hand, Wikipedia relies on collaboration to improve the accuracy of articles (which is generally very good), content is more relevant and up-to-date, there is tremendous breadth, and it's free. I might not reference Wikipedia directly, but I would certainly start there for research. So, with all that said, if there is ever going to be a disclaimer, then we need to start throwing out suggestions. It should be fairly short and emphasize the difference in Wikipedia, not an out for any inaccuracies. Here is something to chew on:
I'm sure this could be improved (in a collaborative manner.) --Wyatts 22:10, 2 August 2005 (UTC)
Well, I found the Wiki: General disclaimer, and it is blunt and comprehensive. No doubt here: "Wikipedia Makes No Guarantee Of Validity." So that leaves saying something about why Wikipedia is special and why it's a good encyclopedia to use (Wiki: Why Wikipedia is so great) or saying nothing at all and letting the work and its use speak for themselves. I'm sure this disclaimer issue will come up in the near future, say, when someone blames something on an article read here. The short disclaimer suggested by Wyatts is a good size to put on every page (is that what we're aiming for?), but its gist is covered in the existing full-size disclaimer page. How about "caveat lector et scriptor" ("let the reader and writer be cautious") to keep it short and add class? Hey, it might just work. Sitearm 06:23, 3 August 2005 (UTC)
Mamawrites, I am OK with not using the Latin. It's a play on "caveat emptor" ("buyer beware"), but yes, it would just confuse things. Main point is, I agree with Wyatts to put something at the top of every page in addition to the tiny disclaimer link at the bottom. I feel uneasy at the statement about "not subject to formal approval..." and it's covered in the full page anyway. How about:
Sitearm 06:56, 4 August 2005 (UTC) P.S. How do we submit what we agree on as a proposal to be added?
Although I wanted something about "not subject to formal approval", I must admit that it sounds too negative, and I could not find a good way to word it. I agree with the version from Mamawrites:
It has the following points in its favor: It is short enough to include at the top of every page; it emphasizes the difference between Wikipedia and traditional encyclopedias; it is a positive statement; it provides enough information to inform the user that the articles are not formally vetted; and it puts the link to the full disclaimer in a prominent place where people are more likely to check it out. As to how to submit, I looked at Wiki: How to create policy. The more I look, the more it seems that this discussion should be transferred to Wiki: Village Pump (proposals). A policy is more like what to do in certain situations. This is a specific proposal to modify the general article template (but not a bug). But, even if it is moved, I'm not sure how to get it out of the proposal stage to be implemented. Perhaps we can set up a separate page like Wikipedia:Disclaimer proposal? I think we will need to recruit one or more administrators to eventually set up a vote and then get it to those who can actually implement the change. --Wyatts 14:25, 4 August 2005 (UTC)
I made a new proposal page at Proposed update of MediaWiki:Tagline and posted notices here and here. -- Sitearm | Talk 04:29, 2005 August 5 (UTC)
That looks like a good way to go. I'll start posting discussion at Proposed update of MediaWiki:Tagline. --Wyatts 17:01, 5 August 2005 (UTC)
The primary proposal has been updated. Contributer's comments and support still requested here. -- Sitearm | Talk 19:48, 2005 August 11 (UTC)
I think there are issues behind the tagline discussion that need some closer examination. My comments are rather lengthy, and so I have deviated from the usual procedure and created a separate subsection for them. I hope no one is too terribly offended. (By the way, there seem to be many discussions on this topic. If there is a better place for my comments, could someone please point me to it. — Nowhither)
I note that people are speaking in terms of a "disclaimer". Disclaimers are legal devices. The idea is to cut through the PR nonsense and (using legal nonsense) indicate precisely what is being claimed. Usually contractual issues and protection from lawsuits are the relevant concerns. I think this is an issue for Wikipedia, and it needs some serious thought; however, this does not seem to be what is driving this discussion.
What is driving the discussion is the problem that people come to Wikipedia, read it, use it, maybe even edit it, without a clear understanding of what it is. Some of them end up using information from Wikipedia in inappropriate ways due to these misunderstandings. Others, when they discover what Wikipedia really is, feel deceived and angry. Others get angry due to their misunderstandings. Quite rightly, we want to address these issues.
So, first, I want to point out that we cannot be responsible for other people's actions. Many, many people are in the habit of grabbing some source, getting info from it, and leaving, without considering reliability or other important issues. Many of these people use Wiki English. What can we do about them? Nothing. If someone does not want to give any thought to the source of his information, then all the explanatory text in the world will not help. Let us remember then, that some things are the reader's responsibility, not ours.
Second, Wikipedia is a new thing; the world has never seen its like before. We call it an "encyclopedia", and it is, I suppose. However, it is clear that many ideas that people associate with encyclopedias are not applicable to Wiki English. But there is no word or phrase in any language that will concisely and thoroughly indicate to newcomers what Wikipedia is. So: how can we quickly give people a clear understanding of all the principles and process behind Wikipedia? We cannot. It is a waste of time to try.
Third, there is an annoying tradition, especially in the U.S., that every time there is an issue with some product, we tack on a notice in its documentation somewhere. I bought a soldering torch. It came with pages & pages of lists of things I should be careful of. And I read and thoughtfully considered every one, of course, wouldn't you? This approach was invented by corporate lawyers as a way of stopping lawsuits. It is not about communicating information, and so it is not going to help us here. In short, don't think that tacking on gobs of little notices is going to eliminate everyone's misunderstandings about Wiki English.
Fourth, there are people who are interested in checking their sources. Many of them do not understand Wikipedia, and could make better use of it if they did. Taglines & such are not going to help them. What might help is a short essay about who writes Wikipedia, and what approval processes an article needs to go through to be published in it. (Yes, I know, the short answer is "none", but we should still talk about the approval process, since that is what people want to know about.) The hard part is helping people find this explanation.
And that is what I think it is important to address. So, how about an actual concrete proposal: Instead of a tagline intended to communicate what Wikipedia is all about, how about a tagline that tells people where they can find such information, aimed at newcomers. Here's an off-the-top-of-my-head line: "Who writes Wikipedia?" Then make this a link to that short essay I mentioned earlier (or to a list of bullet points, or whatever). I'm sure someone can improve on this idea. Please do.
As I said earlier, I think disclaimers should be discussed as well, but that is a separate issue. Disclaimers are about contracts and lawsuits, not introducing newcomers and explaining things.
— Nowhither 07:50, 17 August 2005 (UTC)
I am wondering if it would be a good idea to add something along the lines of:
"Wikipedia articles often contain external links. These links are not downloaded.So It's difficult for people who have no much time to watch provided information.I'd like to download all usefulinformation and look up them at home in spare time.It would be a conveient way
... to Wiki: Who writes Wiki? Thanks in advance. Mamawrites 08:47, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
"connected with Wikipedia in any way whatsoever" is typical over-the-top laywerspeak. Why not simply say "connected with Wiki general Disclaimer/Archive 1"? It is strictly equivalent. Wiki should be mentioned though, to cover the board.
Shouldn't "can be responsible" better read "can be held responsible" or "is responsible"? I'm not pretty, but I can be pretty.
Also, I disagree with the whole statement as written: surely an author who knowingly adds false information to Wikipedia is and can be held and should be held responsible for their actions. Our disclaimer cannot override basic tort law.
So here's my attempt:
AxelBoldt 02:59, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
Below is a direct quote from the project page for this discussion page
---start quote---
---end quote---
I had a look at the linked terms of use page and could not see the quoted sentence. Can someone tell me where it is? I note that this is a protected page ... does this mean that the content is more "true" or more "verified than other pages. I am extremely interested in these issues because my students are currently editing wiki on "emerging learning environments" and we are grappling with these issues while deciding whether to open our wiki for public reading and or writing. --Peter 05:42, 20 December 2005 (UTC) Please respond here with indented text
Around this statement: Even articles that have been vetted by informal peer review or featured article processes may later have been edited inappropriately, just before you view them. you should mention MediaWiki's page history feature. - Yuhong 06:02, 5 January 2006 (UTC)
Can some sysop add Chinese interwiki "Wiki:免责声明" here? Thanks! --Samuel 20:28, 6 Jan 2004 (UTC)~
Some sysop please add these interwiki links to the page: da:Wikipedia:Generelle forbehold no:Wikipedia:Generelle forbehold thanks. -- Christian 17:59, 7 Jan 2004 (UTC)
Could You add a interwiki link to Polish Wikipedia (pl:Wikipedia:Zrzeczenie się odpowiedzialności), please.
please can any one add "ca:Viquipèdia:Avís legal" to the page Plàcid 22:59, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Please add
[[sv:Wikipedia:Allmänt förbehåll]]
as a link to the General disclaimer at Swedish Wiki English. Den fjättrade ankan 18:50, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Please add hu:Wikipédia:Jogi_nyilatkozat. --grin 16:32, 2004 Mar 11 (UTC)
This looks like the Japanese edition. A-giau 23:45, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC)
Please insert a interlanguage link for ro: to ro:Wikipedia:General disclaimer
Please add more interwiki-links to the "project page":
Please, add pt:Wikipedia:Aviso Geral.
And fr:Wikipédia:Avertissements généraux too. -Gabriel Beecham/Kwekubo 18:16, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Please add a link to the ongoing Vietnamese translation too. Please use the following code, since this wiki doesn't yet support Unicode:
[[vi:Wikipedia:Ph%E1%BB%A7 nh%E1%BA%ADn chung]]
Thanks! – Minh Nguyễn (talk, contribs, blog) 05:46, 1 Mar 2005 (UTC)
please add el:Βικιπαίδεια:Αποποίηση ευθυνών.—Geraki 2005-05-17 T 08:03 Z
please add
el:Βικιπαίδεια:Αποποίηση ευθυνών ko:위키백과:유의사항
ceb:Wikipedya:Mga pagpasabot is the Cebuano translation of this page. Please add the appropriate link. Thanks! --Bentong Isles 13:12, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
Could you please add the Finnish interwiki link fi:Wikipedia:Vastuuvapaus? Thank you. – Zeal 20:13, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
A German article has been started, can be found under de:Wikipedia:Haftungsausschluss. Add it, if you protect the section. -- Amtiss, SNAFU ? 13:21, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
Please add this one too: tr:Vikipedi:Genel sorumluluk reddi
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