![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Test_Template_Info-Icon_-_Version_%282%29.svg/50px-Test_Template_Info-Icon_-_Version_%282%29.svg.png)
This template is for use on the talk pages of articles where there may be potential for confusion about the copyright status of parts of the text due to its re-use in a mainstream news article or publication. Editors often tend to see copyright violation as a one-way street, with all violations being on behalf of Wikipedia - however, there have been several demonstrable instances of news organisations or websites copying substantial portions of Wikipedia content for articles without providing attribution. There are also cases where Wikipedia content is reused and properly licensed, but the attribution is unclear. For additional advice see the section WP:BACKWARDSCOPY in the Wikipedia page Wikipedia:Copyright problems
This template aims to prevent editors from mistakenly tagging valid Wikipedia content as copyvio when the Wikipedia article is the original, not the copy.
Usage
This template should be placed in the header section of the talk page of an article where backwards copying has occurred. Please fill in the basic, applicable parameters (borrowed from the {{citation}} tag) as this helps to ensure rapid verification that the material was indeed taken from Wikipedia.
{{Backwards copy | title = | year = | author = | display-authors = | url = | org = | monthday = | id = | title2 = | year2 = | author2 = | display-authors2 = | url2 = | org2 = | monthday2 = }}
Parameters
title
(required): title of the work being referred to. Do not link; neither with a wikilink nor a link to an external site.year
(required): year of publication of the work being referred to.author
: author of the work being referred to. When there are multiple authors, set|author=
to the name of the first or primary author and set|display-authors=etal
. This template supports only one author name; the names of second and subsequent authors are not supporteddisplay-authors
: renders '; et al.' after the name supplied in|author=
.url
: URL, if any, of an external site showing or providing additional identifying material for the work being referred to.org
: publisher or other source of the work being referred to.monthday
: month and day-of-month that, when combined with theyear
parameter, yields a date that complies with MOS:DATEFORMAT.id
: the version number of a particular version that predates publication of the referenced work. The text generated by the template will link to the specified version. For assistance with determining the version number of a particular version, see here.comments
: any additional comments that may be helpful to explain the basis for using the template.
Each of these parameters may be reused by appending a suffix 2-5 (e.g. title2
, title3
, title4
, title5
) to identify up to five works. See examples.
Examples
Basic template:
- {{Backwards copy|title=Title|url=http://www.example.com|year=2000}}
Complete template, year only:
- {{Backwards copy|title=Title|url=http://www.example.com|author=John Doe|year=2000|org=Publisher or source|comments=The author acknowledges Wikipedia in a tiny footnote on page 27.}}
Complete template, month and day included, version number, and an auto-hidden comment:
- {{Backwards copy|id=295134989|title=Title|url=http://www.example.com|author=John Doe|year=2000|monthday=1 January|org=publisher or source|comments=The subsequent history is confused as both the blog and the Wikipedia article have been updated.}}
Multiple cites (up to 5):
- {{Backwards copy|title=Title|url=http://www.example.com|author=John Doe|year=2000|title2=A different article|author2=Jane Doe|year2=2003|url2=http://www.foo.com|comments=The subsequent history is confused as both the blog and the Wikipedia article have been updated.}}
Complete template, multiple authors (first author only), month and day included, version number, and an auto-hidden comment:
- {{Backwards copy|id=295134989|title=Title|url=http://www.example.com|author=Jane Doe |display-authors=etal |date=1 January 2000 |org=publisher or source|comments=The subsequent history is confused as both the blog and the Wikipedia article have been updated.}}
Categories
Errors and warnings about template usage are tracked using the following tracking categories:
- Category:Pages with backwards copy errors (0)
- Category:Pages with backwards copy warnings (131)
- Category:Pages using backwards copy with unknown parameters (68)
This template also includes a hidden category for all uses:
For purpose of demonstration set |demo=yes
to subdue the hidden category.
See also
- {{Press}}
Deprecated redirects to this template: {{Backwardscopyvio}}, {{Notacopyvio}}, {{Reverse copyvio}}, {{Reversecopyvio}}. Please use {{Backwardscopy}} instead.
This template is for use on the talk pages of articles where there may be potential for confusion about the copyright status of parts of the text due to its re-use in a mainstream news article or publication.
Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-copy version | id | The version number of a particular version that predates publication of the referenced work. The text generated by the template will link to the specified version. For assistance with determining the version number of a particular version, see "Help:Page history#Linking to a specific version of a page". | Unknown | suggested |
Second title | title2 | Title of the work being referred to. Do not link; neither with a wikilink nor a link to an external site. | Unknown | optional |
Comments | comments | Any additional comments that may be helpful to explain the basis for using the template | Unknown | suggested |
Author | author | Author of the work being referred to. When work has multiple authors, this parameter gets the first, or primary author; set |display-authors=etal; second and subsequent author names not supported. | Unknown | required |
Display authors | display-authors | Whether or not to display the authors of the work. | Unknown | suggested |
Month and day | monthday | Month and day-of-month that, when combined with the year parameter, yields a date that complies with MOS:DATEFORMAT. | Unknown | suggested |
Year | year | Year of publication of the work being referred to. | Unknown | suggested |
date | date | no description | Unknown | optional |
URL | url | URL, if any, of an external site showing or providing additional identifying material for the work being referred to. | Unknown | suggested |
articlename | articlename | no description | Unknown | optional |
Title | title | Title of the work being referred to. Do not link; neither with a wikilink nor a link to an external site. | Unknown | suggested |
Publisher | org | Publisher or other source of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
Second author | author2 | Author of the work being referred to. When work has multiple authors, this parameter gets the first, or primary author; set |display-authors=etal; second and subsequent author names not supported. | Unknown | optional |
Display second authors | display-authors2 | Whether or not to display the authors of the work. | Unknown | optional |
Second month and day | monthday2 | Month and day-of-month that, when combined with the year parameter, yields a date that complies with MOS:DATEFORMAT. | Unknown | optional |
Second year | year2 | Year of publication of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
date2 | date2 | no description | Unknown | optional |
Second URL | url2 | URL, if any, of an external site showing or providing additional identifying material for the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
articlename2 | articlename2 | no description | Unknown | optional |
Second publisher | org2 | Publisher or other source of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
Third title | title3 | Title of the work being referred to. Do not link; neither with a wikilink nor a link to an external site. | Unknown | optional |
Third author | author3 | Author of the work being referred to. When work has multiple authors, this parameter gets the first, or primary author; set |display-authors=etal; second and subsequent author names not supported. | Unknown | optional |
Display third authors | display-authors3 | Whether or not to display the authors of the work. | Unknown | optional |
Third month and day | monthday3 | Month and day-of-month that, when combined with the year parameter, yields a date that complies with MOS:DATEFORMAT. | Unknown | optional |
Third year | year3 | Year of publication of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
date3 | date3 | no description | Unknown | optional |
Third URL | url3 | URL, if any, of an external site showing or providing additional identifying material for the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
articlename3 | articlename3 | no description | Unknown | optional |
Third publisher | org3 | Publisher or other source of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
Fourth title | title4 | Title of the work being referred to. Do not link; neither with a wikilink nor a link to an external site. | Unknown | optional |
Fourth author | author4 | Author of the work being referred to. When work has multiple authors, this parameter gets the first, or primary author; set |display-authors=etal; second and subsequent author names not supported. | Unknown | suggested |
Display fourth authors | display-authors4 | Whether or not to display the authors of the work. | Unknown | optional |
Fourth month and day | monthday4 | Month and day-of-month that, when combined with the year parameter, yields a date that complies with MOS:DATEFORMAT. | Unknown | optional |
Fourth year | year4 | Year of publication of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
date4 | date4 | no description | Unknown | optional |
Fourth URL | url4 | URL, if any, of an external site showing or providing additional identifying material for the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
articlename4 | articlename4 | no description | Unknown | optional |
Fourth publisher | org4 | Publisher or other source of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
Fifth title | title5 | Title of the work being referred to. Do not link; neither with a wikilink nor a link to an external site. | Unknown | optional |
Fifth author | author5 | Author of the work being referred to. When work has multiple authors, this parameter gets the first, or primary author; set |display-authors=etal; second and subsequent author names not supported. | Unknown | optional |
Display fifth authors | display-authors5 | Whether or not to display the authors of the work. | Unknown | optional |
Fifth month or day | monthday5 | Month and day-of-month that, when combined with the year parameter, yields a date that complies with MOS:DATEFORMAT. | Unknown | optional |
Fifth year | year5 | Year of publication of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
date5 | date5 | no description | Unknown | optional |
Fifth URL | url5 | URL, if any, of an external site showing or providing additional identifying material for the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
articlename5 | articlename5 | no description | Unknown | optional |
Fifth publisher | org5 | Publisher or other source of the work being referred to. | Unknown | optional |
Demo mode | demo | If set to yes, subdues the hidden category. | Boolean | optional |