How to handle sentences with licensing issues
This article explains what to do, as an admin, when you notice sentences with licensing issues.
Basic process
- Block the contributor from creating new sentences by setting their level to -1.
- Send a private message to the contributor and to TatoebaAdmins to explain to the user why they have been blocked (see template message below).
- Set the license of the sentences to "Licensing issue". Alternatively, if there are too many sentences to deal with, you can use the button "Mark as unreliable" from the contributor's sentences page. This is not ideal if the sentences are correct and only have a licensing issue, but it is better than leaving them unattended.
- If the contributor provides evidence that their sentence are actually compatible with CC BY, then revert the changes on the sentences and unblock the user.
- If the contributor understands and agrees that the sentences are not compatible with CC BY, then delete the sentences.
Licensing issue
It is up to your personal judgement to decide when to set the license to "Licensing issue". You can do it as soon as you've sent the private message to the contributor or you can give them a few days to reply first. In general, sooner is better but it depends on your level of confidence that the sentences are indeed legally problematic.
Setting the license to "Licensing issue" ensures the following:
- The sentence will no longer be translatable and therefore the licensing issue won't spread onto more sentences.
- The sentence will not be exported in the Downloads files.
Some inconvenience:
- There is currently no way to change the license in bulk. This has to be done on each sentence individually.
- If you notice that a sentence with "Licensing issue" has been translated, you will have to set "Licensing issue" on these translations.
Template for private message
Dear {username},
It has come to our attention that you are copy-pasting sentences from:
- {source_1}
- {source_2}
- ...
- {source_N}
Please understand that sentences you submit to Tatoeba must be compatible with the license CC BY 2.0 FR.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/fr/
We have blocked your account for the time being.
If you consider that this is a mistake and your sentences are compatible with CC BY 2.0 FR, please let us know why.
If you are not sure what is allowed and what is not, as a rule of thumb, do not copy-paste sentences from other content.
https://en.wiki.tatoeba.org/articles/show/avoid-copy-pasting-sentences
We can unblock you once you have confirmed that you understand these rules.
Thank you for your cooperation.