Thread:Are WE ready to move forward with a draft motion in favour of embedded 3rd party links on WE? (1)

Not yet.

All the non-trivial pedagogical reasons for permitting "embedded 3rd party links" apply to embedding locally hosted multi-media resources. These may include appropriately licensed resources copied from other sites and converted into free file formats. So, rather streamline this process via technical innovations and help for wikieducators.

Most of the processes mentioned for embedding 3rd party links apply to embedding locally hosted resources.

There is also an overlap in technical requirements.

Requiring Wikieducators to search/filter by license, download, reference and (optionally) adapt the WE-hosted resource, has pedagogical merit (the first step of localisation), and avoids or reduces many of the risks associated with "embedded 3rd party links".

The local resource is:


 * appropriately licensed (automatically where possible and via user supplied meta-data on download/upload)
 * in a free file format, ready for viewing and editing with free software
 * adverts may be removed
 * ready for further (multiple) localisation(s)
 * my browser (Firefox) will not say "Additional plugins are required to view this page" - and then lead me to proprietary software to process patent-encumbered codecs
 * not affected by changes to or removal of the original media file on the third party site
 * the local copy is easily monitored if it is changed (e.g. new version uploaded) via (watch lists or by people monitoring media files)
 * e.g. substituted with material at a different educational level or otherwise undesirable
 * the risk of undesirable content finding its way onto WE pages (potentially with legal implications) is reduced
 * free of privacy risks associated with some 3rd party sites (e.g. the user may need to be logged in to the 3rd party site to view a resource)
 * ... Please add ...

If we get the guidelines and processes for embedding 3rd party links "right", they will be equivalent to downloading and converting to free file formats on WE (and/or Wikimedia Commons). In which case, why not just start with that goal? - Kim Tucker 01:50, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

CC: Guidelines page