RetroTechCollection:Service manual reproduction
 | This page is a RetroTechCollection policy. All editors should follow it. Propose changes on the Village Pump before making them. |
This policy covers service manuals, schematics, datasheets and other manufacturer documentation on RetroTechCollection: uploading them, reproducing them in articles and citing them. Most repair pages on the wiki are cited to documents of this kind.
Uploading manuals
[edit source]Complete manuals, schematics and other documents may be uploaded, including ones still under copyright, as long as they are cited. The file page must give:
- the source: where the copy came from, such as a URL and the date it was retrieved, or who scanned it and from what
- the author or publisher, with the title, part number and date or revision where the document has them
- the copyright holder, or "copyright holder unknown" where it cannot be established
Each hosted document also gets a document page saying what it is, what it contains, what it does not contain and which pages cite it. Help:Uploading service manuals explains how to prepare, upload and describe a document.
A scan stays under the manufacturer's copyright. Uploading it does not place it under the wiki's licence.
Using manual content in articles
[edit source]Articles may reproduce procedures, tables, diagrams, specifications and pages from manuals. Cite the manual at each use: title, part number, publisher, date or revision, and the page, table or section. Link the hosted copy where there is one.
<ref>Apple Computer, ''Macintosh Plus'' Service Source, Adjustments, Voltage. Copyright Apple Computer, Inc. Hosted as [[:File:Macintosh Plus.pdf]].</ref>
Mark text copied word for word as a quotation, or say that it is reproduced from the manual. A redrawn or annotated diagram credits the original and says what was added. See RetroTechCollection:Citing sources.
Removal on request
[edit source]A copyright holder who does not want a document hosted can ask for it to be removed; see Copyright violations. Removed documents are not uploaded again. Articles may still cite the manual as a publication.
Manuals hosted elsewhere
[edit source]Linking to manuals hosted on other sites is fine; cite them like any other source. Do not post instructions for getting round access controls on digital archives.