A little bit of newbie when it comes to Wikipedia so not sure the best way to discuss this ...
This text refers to the Calvin and Hobbes Wiki article and in particular, the list of Fan Sites.
Recently, a number of links to fan sites were removed from the Calvin and Hobbes page by Mjg0503 on the basis that they contained 'copyrighted comic strips'. Before I continue, please note this is NOT an attack on Mjg0503! He has been a fantastic contributor to the C&H page.
My issue with this particular edit is that I think the edits are unfair and unwarranted for the following reasons:
- Some sites were left untouched - yet these sites also contained scanned strips
- Don't forget that C&H quotes, scanned newspapers etc also consitute copyright infringement (technically)
- None of the sites are distributing huge numbers of strips, nor are they commercial in nature. I believe all of them are providing links back to the Official site and contain copyright disclaimers.
- Any Calvin and Hobbes site (including this very Wiki article) contains scanned images from the comic strip. Copyright law does not distinguish between a full comic strip or a single scanned image. If you are going to remove fan sites for containing strips, you need to remove all images from the Wiki article.
- For most of the fan sites, scanned strips forms a very small component of their site. Most contain a lot of original derivative fan art - not linking them lessens the value of the wiki article.
- A list of fan site is appropriate in this article given that most C&H sites found on Google are abandoned or not maintained. It makes sense for fans who read the wiki article to have a list of actively maintained sites where they can see fan art and original derivative works.
For this reason, I'm adding back a few of the links. I don't want to get into a 'add-delete' war so email me at tobtoh@gmail.com if you want to discuss this further.