User:Pathoschild/Inclusion policy

This is a draft. For the current policy, see Wikisource:What Wikisource includes.

Allowed content

Works created before 1924

Any written work (or transcript of original audio or visual content) created before 1924 is accepted on Wikisource, so long as it is verifiable through online sources. Valid sources include uploaded scans, but not sources with no content controls (including blogs, forums, and other wikis).

Copyright warnings: before adding a work, ensure that it complies with the copyright policy.

• Translations are considered new works, with their own copyrights and dates of creation and first publication.
• Works created before 1924 but published after that date may be copyrighted.
• Works created after 1904 without publication are copyrighted for 120 years from the date of creation.

Works created after 1924

Written documents (including transcriptions of audio or visual content) created after 1924 must:

• conform to the copyright policy;
• be distributed in a physical form such as books, magazines, or pamphlets;
• be distributed in at least 500 copies, excluding Internet-based viewing or downloads.

Transcriptions of audio or visual media published after 1924 are only permitted for works diffused to over one million persons (including rebroadcasting, but excluding Internet-based viewing).

Copyright warnings: before adding a work, ensure that it complies with the copyright policy.

• Speeches and other public broadcasts may be automatically copyrighted in the United States, even if publicly broadcast. Ensure that the work is licensed under a compatible license or released into the public domain in compliance with the copyright policy.

Content created by contributors

Although Wikisource is not a place for editors to contribute new and original works (Wikibooks might be), there are several ways to make original contributions by adding value to existing publications.

Translations

The English Wikisource only collects texts written in the English language. Texts in other languages should be placed in the appropriate language subdomain, or at the general multi-language website. However, English Wikisource does collect English translations of non-English texts, as well as bilingual editions in which the target language of the translation is English.

For translations, the first priority at Wikisource is the contribution of previously published, public domain translations. However, in light of the fact that there are countless source texts published in other languages that might never be translated otherwise, plus the fact that new, complementary translations can improve on existing ones in many ways, Wikisource also allows user-created wiki translations.

For more information regarding translations, see Wikisource:Translations. Also see Wikisource:Copyright for copyright information pertaining to translated works.

Annotations

Previously published versions of texts with annotations are the first priority here, but these may be unavailable for copyright reasons, out-of-date, or in need of improvement. This is often especially the case for pre-modern texts (such as ancient and classical texts, and medieval texts).

Annotations may include critical data about the source text itself, footnoted commentaries about words or passages, references, sectioning and section titles, introductions, summaries, indices, pictures, et cetera. In all cases, annotations by contributors must be added in such a way that an undisturbed, "clean" source text is available, either through a technical means or by providing a parallel copy.

For more information regarding annonations, see Wikisource:Annotations.

Note that annotations of an instructional nature designed to facilitate classroom study, especially in preparation for a test, belong at Wikibooks rather than Wikisource (see Wikibooks policy on annotated texts).

Multimedia

Multimedia content added to texts can greatly improve the quality and presentation. Such content includes not only published illustrations or photographs from or about the book itself which are out of copyright, but also original contributions of audio recordings, diagrams, or other content.

Non-text media is subject to Wikisource:Image use guidelines.

Prohibited content

The subsections below describe content which the community has decided to exclude from Wikisource. These types of works will not be accepted by the community without a major shift in consensus and are eligible for speedy deletion. Largely similar works are likely to be nominated for deletion. Everything here is meant to be based on common sense interpretations of the policy outlined above.

Original contributions

Works created by Wikisource users or otherwise not published in a verifiable, usually peer-reviewed forum do not belong at Wikisource. Wikisource is not a method for an author to get his or her works published and make them available to other people, nor is it a site to discover "new talent".

There are a few exceptions to this rule, as detailed under Content created by contributors above.

Advertisements

Wikisource does not collect advertisements concerning any type of work that are not publications themselves. This includes information about works that have just recently been published, or are protected by copyright, or even those that are in the public domain. Advertisements can take on a number of forms, but the most common ones are written comments or external links.

Anonymous texts

Determining copyright status generally requires knowing detailed authorship information. Most source texts have an identifiable author (individuals, groups, governments), but there are texts where this information has been lost. Historical anonymous texts are appropriate at Wikisource, and some are even quite important. However, most anonymous texts should not be added to Wikisource unless they have some historical value and have no ambiguity under the copyright policy.

Evolving works

Wikisource's mission is to collect and preserve works in their published form. In light of this, works whose content is expected to constantly change over time for the purpose of keeping the work updated, to improve the content matter of what has already been published, or to make the text more comprehensive, are excluded from Wikisource's scope. (This does not include published editions.)

A few examples include

1. Open-ended texts where the author relies upon cooperative efforts by many contributors to finish and improve the work;
2. Compilations where there are many sources of a particular text, and/or the text is to be constantly updated as more relevant information is found and added;
3. Lists (see also below).

Reference material

Wikisource does not collect reference material unless it is published as part of a complete source text. Such information has not been previously published, is often user-compiled and unverified, and does not fit the goals of Wikisource.

Some examples of these include

1. Lists;
2. Mathematical constants (such as digits of pi);
3. Tables of data or results;
4. Cryptographic material;
5. Source code.

Note: Reference data that is provided as part of larger publication (tables, appendices, etc.) is perfectly acceptable.

See also

• What is Wikisource?
• Copyright policy
• Wikisource:Deletion policy