Wikipedia:Copyright problems/Clerks

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The copyright clerks are editors who assist in maintaining the copyright boards, perform housekeeping tasks, and assessing requests. They work at both copyright problems and Contributor copyright investigations. They are chosen by administrators and current copyright clerks. Please request to become a clerk at Wikipedia talk:Copyright problems/Clerks.

Copyright problems

At copyright problems, they perform the following tasks:

Assessing and cleaning articles tagged with {{copyvio}}, including the removal of templates
Determining the copyright status of listed articles
- Articles may be evaluated as copyright violations, public domain, compatibly licensed, or reverse copying
Referring editors to contributor copyright investigations as needed
Addressing articles tagged {{close paraphrasing}} or {{copy-paste}}
Marking listings as complete and flagging required usage of administrator tools.

List of clerks

The following is the list of all copyright clerks, currently active or inactive; they are listed here for ease of contact and coordination.

Active clerks

Inactive clerks

Thine Antique Pen (talk · contribs · email)
DannyS712 (talk · contribs · email)
Crow (talk · contribs · email)
Callitropsis (talk · contribs · email)

Clerks at large

Copyright clerks have the following qualities:

They are users who are in good standing within the community, and are experienced with Wikipedia's copyright cleanup processes.
They have a good working knowledge of Wikipedia policy, especially in the area of copyright.
They have a good history of being civil, especially during disagreement.
They are trusted by the administrators who volunteer in copyright cleanup in their knowledge and judgment, and the administrators should not feel that they must continually check over their work.

Clerks do not have any special authority over the general community; if a handling is in dispute, review by uninvolved administrators may be requested. Clerks are expected to remain civil in communicating with other users about issues. They are not expected to be experts in copyright law and should seek feedback when encountering copyright situations outside of their experience.

Trainee clerks

A good first step in obtaining experience to become a clerk is volunteering at CopyPatrol. The tasks are slightly different, however CopyPatrol allows for hands-on checking for copyright violations in a special interface. Furthermore, having worked a contributor copyright investigation may also provide good experience for clerking. Anyone may request to become a trainee clerk. New clerks are selected based on prior experience; a person may be experienced elsewhere in Wikipedia but unfamiliar with copyright cleanup, and not achieve consensus from the current clerks and active admins.

Trainee clerks perform any roles delegated by the clerk's trainer, including the removal of {{Copyvio}} templates and the opening of CCIs. Training is intended to help new clerks understand how CP and CCI function, rather than how to clean up copyright violations in the first place.

Clerk review

To ensure that clerks are operating within expected parameters, their work may be subjected to periodic review by administrators experienced in copyright. Perfection is not expected; what is being evaluated is whether or not the clerk is still demonstrating the requisite qualities. Clerks who are not may be mentored. Clerks who persistently make problematic closures of listings or otherwise violate decorum may be asked to cease contributing here.

Admin patrollers

Administrators are still required to interact with copyright problems where clerks have marked a need for administrator action, including deletion and revision deletion. Administrators are not required to follow clerk recommendations, but should engage clerks in conversation before unilaterally restoring content that a clerk has judged to be problematic (unless new information has come to light). While there is always some subjectivity in copyright work, clerks are experienced in Wikipedia's copyright handling, and in our goal to create free content we may sometimes have to reach informed consensus on disputes or (in particularly complex matters) consult with the Wikimedia Foundation's attorneys.

Please see Wikipedia:Copyright problems/Advice for admins for general instructions for administrators on how to handle copyright problems.

Below are some admins that are skilled in copyright issues:

Advice for clerks

A detailed document setting out recommended practices for clerks is available at Wikipedia:Copyright problems/Advice for clerks.

Userbox

Wikitext

userbox

where used

{{User:Isochrone/User copyright clerk}}

This user is a copyright clerk on the English Wikipedia. (verify)

linked pages

For a topicon, add {{CCI Clerk topicon}} to your userpage.