Forum:At Special:Upload the Licensing: input field defaults to None selected

As you know, the Special:Upload UI has a field labeled Licensing which presents the uploader with a dropdown input field. The default/initial selection is None selected and the remainder of those entries can be specified at MediaWiki:Licenses. For each entry in that MediaWiki message the software looks for a corresponding template of the same name and uses that template to brand the page for the uploaded file with some form of license notice.
 * That same template is often used to categorize uploaded files and in my case I also use each template to annotate a semantic property with the value of the filename extension.

Thinking laterally I designed the template None selected trusting/hoping that the default selection would transclude that template and thereby remind the uploader of their oversight. viz.  '''The user who uploaded this file did not select a licensing notice. If that is you then this may have been an oversight. Do a little research to '''
 * 1) locate the name of the original author and/or organization and 
 * 2) try your best to see what license they may have stipulated. 
 * If that is not you then please review the comments in File history for further information and edit this page to correct any omission or error found.
 * See also: w:c:vsk:Virtual Skipper Wiki:Licensing guide

Subtle as a brick, right!

The trouble is the default value of "None selected" does not invoke this particular template.


 * Request for help
 * 1) Is there some other template trick to try? An abbreviation maybe?
 * 2) * I tried the same process with the template No license but ... no joy!
 * 3) Is there some entry I can make in the MediaWiki message to flag a different entry as the default/initial selection?
 * 4) * mw:Manual:Image_Administration seems to suggest using the subst: prefix but my trials of that produced no different result
 * 5) is the default entry able to be disabled via some Special:Contact request of Wikia staff?

Over at Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Upload they use an interim page to effectively stop users from uploading a file without first researching the original author, source and copyright status. I prefer the lighter weight Wikia solution ... all except for this problem.

I find it hard to believe that this SNAFU has not been discussed and solved before now. My searches turned up nothing useful but that is partly due to the common nature of the words "None" and "selected" and "Licensing"

--najevi 06:02, November 9, 2009 (UTC)