User:Moneytrees/Copyright blocks

This is an essay based on my experience and observations on when to apply blocks for copyright violations, how to appeal them, and how to respond to appeals as an administrator. This is meant to be a general overview of what to do with regards to these blocks, as there has historically been some confusion and difficulties around them. If I have blocked you, I want you to know that I have no hard feelings- copyright can be a real pain to deal with, it's natural there will be confusion over it. I'm always open to talking to you about the block- let's figure this out together.

Copying content from other sources into articles, or phrasing that is too close to an external source, is considered a copyright violation on Wikipedia. Wikipedia takes copyright violations more seriously than other mistakes one might make as an editor; text that overlaps with the source will be removed, and the contributor will usually receive a warning after that text is removed. The risk of the contributor being blocked becomes higher with each violation found. Cleaning up copyright violations can be very difficult and time consuming; Contributor copyright investigations exists as an area where coordinated cleanup of edits can occur. The backlog there currently goes back a decade. When an editor is blocked for copyright violations, it is best practice to file a report or open a case there.

Blocking needs to be handled with sensitivity; copyright violations are usually added in good faith, with the user adding them not intending harm. Simultaneously, great care needs to be taken in unblocking; hasty unblocking can lead to situations where copyright violations continue and the user is re-blocked, leading to further time-consuming cleanup. Second blocks for copyright violations are hard to come back from.

Appealing a block

First of all, make sure to follow the instructions in the block notice on your talk page (use the appeal template ({{unblock|reason=Your reason here ~~~~}}). Appealing copyright blocks can be very difficult and being subject to one can be a stressful situation. Most admins will ask you the questions listed at User:Yunshui/decline copyvio; studying the questions there and posting your answers in an appeal is a good way to get unblocked. Here is some more general advice for appealing:

• Do not copy any part of your appeal from anywhere else. Doing this will likely result in your talk page access being revoked, which will make future appeals significantly more difficult.
• Using another account to avoid your current block will just get you blocked again, don't do it.
• It is ok to be upset, but attacking or otherwise complaining about the blocking administrator tends to reflect poorly on an appeal; see WP:NOTTHEM. If you believe the blocking administrator made a mistake, such as missing that the copied text was under a compatible license, or that you didn't actually copy anything in the first place, please point this out- the blocking admin should be happy to unblock.
• Provide an explanation for why you thought it was acceptable to copy text in the first place. Being honest with your thought process will get you far.
• Explain in your own words what copyright is. A super detailed response isn't necessary, a sentence or two can suffice.
• Attempt to do a rewrite of the content that you had copied. You can do this on your talk page, or in a user space subpage (such as your Sandbox) if you are partially blocked. A successful rewrite can go a long way in proving you understand how to write without copying from sources.
• Wikipedia:Close_paraphrasing#How_to_write_acceptable_content has some advice on how to avoid close paraphrasing. My advice is to try and cut out unnecessary details and unneeded prose; try to summarize what the source is saying in a straightforward way, using your own words.
• Clearly commit to not copying from sources in the future, and detail how you will write in the future. Volunteering to rewrite or cleanup past issues is not necessary but is an appreciated gesture, although if you do offer you really should actually help out.
• Continue to engage with the blocking administrator, but not to the extent it may annoy them. If you have any questions about copyright or how to improve your writing, please ask them.

Coaching other users and mentorships are rare. I can only remember one group effort, which successfully got the mentored user unbanned; they greatly decreased their editing shortly afterwards, however.

If English is not your first language or you otherwise have difficulty writing in it, it may not be a good idea to appeal at this time. Editing at another language Wikipedia you are better at instead of the English Wikipedia or reading and learning more about writing in English may be a better idea before appealing again.

To be clear

• It is still a copyright violation if it is close paraphrasing.
• It is still a copyright violation if the source is cited.
• Machine/manual translations of copyrighted content are still usually copyright violations.
• Just because content is licensed under a creative commons license does not mean it can be copied into Wikipedia. Licenses marked with NC (non-commercial) or ND (no derivatives) cannot be copied in.
• It is still a copyright violation if you are the original author of the text, unless it is under a compatible license. If you want to allow Wikipedia to use the text, please follow the steps at WP:DONATETEXT.

When to block

If a user has three or four warnings, you should strongly consider blocking. If they have more than five or have otherwise received a "final warning", you should definitely consider blocking. If there are mitigating circumstances, such as confusion about acceptable licenses or misleading copyright notices, or if the violations are otherwise very minor, a block may not be needed- a warning or reminder can suffice.

• Please check if previous warnings are legitimate. Make sure you aren't blocking off of a history of false positives or otherwise irrelevant warnings.
• If the account is spamming promotional content that also happens to be violating copyright or vandalizing by spamming copyrighted song lyrics or the Bee Movie/Shrek/other meme movie script just block them for Spam/vandal reasons.
• It has been long standing practice that blocks for copyright violations are indefinite, or at least are long term ones. Shorter blocks have very inconsistent effectiveness and are not recommended.
• If you have reason to believe that it may be more productive to remind or warn the user about copyright violations, or otherwise discuss the matter with them, then go ahead. You'll need to be certain that this will prevent copyright violations in the future.
• If a user has not been warned at least three times but has made several recent copyright violating edits, a block or at least a final warning should still be applied. If the user has received no warnings, then they should not be blocked, but a final warning may be appropriate.
• If a user has the Autopatrolled or New page reviewer user rights, please revoke them. If they are an administrator or serve some other sort of advanced role, consider opening a report at the Administrators' Noticeboard detailing the issues if you are planning on blocking. From there, it may be necessary to file a request for arbitration on the user.
• If the user has a large number of edits (Over 50,000), or is otherwise well known to the community, it may be a good idea to note the block at the administrators' noticeboard.
• Try to be responsive to the user and try to point them in the right direction. Unfortunately, you'll sometimes have to accept that you can't really help them.
• I try to provide an additional rationale when blocking for copyright violations, in order to clarify the reason for my block. These rationales tend to produce more understanding and constructive conversations.
• I tend to issue partial blocks from the "(Article)" and "Draft:" namespaces, as copyright violations occurring elsewhere tend to be very unlikely. However, this is just my preference, and it is not based in any sort of policy.
• Keep in mind the user you are blocking may not be as proficient in English as you are. It may be a good idea to use less complicated terms when talking to users about these issues- of course, that does not give you a license to condescend to them or otherwise demean them. Copyright is a confusing subject for many people who have spoken English from birth; of course it is difficult to understand for people who do not speak it as a first language.
• And as with the majority of all other blocks, empathy and understanding is required. See the human in people. You also must do what you believe is right and be confident in whatever action you take.

When to unblock

If you believe a user has provided suitable understanding with regards to copyright violations and close paraphrasing, then you may unblock. Be very careful when unblocking, as mistakes can lead to hundreds of hours of work. Try to keep the following in mind:

• Like all unblocks, communication is important. Make sure the user understands what you are saying, and that you understand what they are saying. Language barriers often play a large role in these types of blocks. Make sure the user understands what they themselves are saying and aren't just doing lip service or saying whatever to get out of a situation.
• Make sure that the user understands that they cannot directly copy content from sources and they must be careful with how they phrase what they say, in order to avoid close paraphrasing.
• Do not unblock a user if you are friends with them or are on good terms, or if you are otherwise involved with regards to them. This has resulted in controversy for both the unblocking administrator and the unblocked user in the past.
• Be careful when attempting "plea deals" such as topic bans or requests to edit solely in one area when unblocking. These have historically had mixed results and can end up either putting the user through unnecessary hurdles or later create catastrophic issues.