Commons:Help desk/Archive/2010/04

This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

exif geotags

Hi! Is the loader reads the data files of the properties geotags in EXIF?

User:DschwenBot handle coordinates from EXIF. Basically it converted to {{Location}}. --EugeneZelenko (talk) 14:04, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

Commons:EXIF might provide additional background information. --Teratornis (talk) 03:13, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Colour blindness

I have left a note at File talk:Form of government parliamentary.png about the unfortunate choice of colours used in the map, insofar as those colours are difficult for colour blind people (well, me at least) to distinguish. Is there some guidance or policy on the appropriate coulours to use in charts to improve accessibility for colour-blind people that I could link to from the talk page, for the information of the file creator? -- 05:37, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Accessibility#Color. --Teratornis (talk) 09:07, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

A good forum on Commons?

Hi. :) We've received a release via OTRS (Ticket:2010031410022872) from Frederick Noronha permitting the importing to Commons of any images placed at [1] on or before 31 March 2010 under the license Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. He does not wish to place this release on the images themselves or the website, but is pleased to permit Commons users to import what they please. (Though the images at the site are all tagged non-com, he understands that commercial reuse is possible.) I've placed notice of this at Free media resources, but I suspect it will not receive much attention there. Is there a good forum on Commons to publicize this kind of generous release so that contributors will have a chance to make use of these images? --Moonriddengirl (talk) 14:31, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Commons:Batch uploading ? -- User:Docu at 14:38, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

That's a tough question. The inconsistent licensing on Flickr will defeat Flickr search via {{Flickr free}} which cannot know that the photographer has circumvented the noncommercial restriction elsewhere. It is hard to insure that everyone who might like to use one of the images on a Wikimedia Foundation project will be aware of them - this is hard for image search generally. If you or anyone else uploaded some of these images to Commons, you might create a category and a template on Commons to document where they originated. See for example Category:Images from PLoS Genetics and the corresponding {{PLoS}}. That would slightly increase the chance that someone who stumbled across one of the images already here might know where to find related images. Also consider mentioning them on the talk pages of any related WikiProjects. There is an added difficulty that (probably) only a small fraction of Wikipedia users know how to upload images from Flickr to Commons. --Teratornis (talk) 21:13, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Fehler in deutscher Benutzeroberfläche

Auf der Seite Benutzerbeiträge (Special:Contributions) steht ganz unten ein Link Bearbeitungszähler (Edit count). Wenn ich als Sprache Deutsch eingestellt habe führt der Link zu:

http://stable.toolserver.org/editcount/result?username=...

Dort gibt es nur eine Fehlermeldung "The content you are looking for was hosted on the old stable Toolserver, which no longer exists. Sorry." Mit englischer Spracheinstellung funktioniert es:

http://toolserver.org/~vvv/yaec.php?user=

-- 92.230.101.211 07:25, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Hallo, danke für den Hinweis; habe den Link im deutschen Interface entsprechend angepasst. Grüße, -- ChrisiPK (Talk|Contribs) 08:09, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

?

создал статью и записал её в Черновик(?). Хочу дальше ее редактировать, но никак не могу ее найти в своем Личном кабинете. Подскажите, плиз! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deyanov Ramil' (talk • contribs) 13:03, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Your contributions show that you have uploaded several files to Wikimedia Commons, but the draft you mention in your question is not here. Did you edit something on the Russian Wikipedia? The file usage on some of your uploaded files shows a link to:

ru:Википедия:Проект:Инкубатор/Статьи/Линия фона экспериментальных данных

I don't read Russian, but Google translates it to English as Wikipedia: Project: Incubator / Articles / Line of the background of experimental data. Is that the page you are talking about? If you have a question about the Russian Wikipedia, you should ask on the Help desk there. Which oddly I don't see an obvious link to. Also:

You uploaded a mathematical equation to Commons as an image file - you should rather format it with math markup; see WP:MATH.
You uploaded several plots of functions or data as bitmap files; they would be much better as SVG files. Plotting software such as gnuplot can generate SVG files.

--Teratornis (talk) 18:00, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Video

I've uploaded a video File:Steinway piano - Duo-Art.ogg to use it at Wikipedia. When the video is not playing there is no picture, just a red cross and the text "File:Steinway piano - Duo-Art.ogg". Do somebody know what is wrong? Rerumirf (talk) 21:00, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

That appears to be the default behavior - but I'm not sure on that. --J.smith (talk) 22:26, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

It is not the default behavior. For some reason MediaWiki is not making a thumbnail for this video. --Yarnalgo (talk) 23:27, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

The file format should be ogv, as ogg is used for audio. Try reuploading under the ogv extension, which should give you a nice thumbnail. ZooFari 02:23, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Could someone turn a picture around for me please?

Hi, I uploaded a picture which I took with the camera sideways. Apparently some apps will ruin the picture if you turn it around with them. Maybe this is a myth I don't know. Could someone who does know turn this picture the right way up for me and tell me what the likelyhood is of ruining the detail in a picture by doing that? File:Vincent Wallace bust outside Theatre Royal Waterford.jpg Note:It's not the best compression anyway but I am just interested to know if anyone does. Many thanks ~ R.T.G 16:51, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Just mark images like this with {{Rotate}} with 90 or 270 degree depending on the side to turn to. Rotatebot will rotate image with lossless rotate-tools jpegtran --Justass (talk) 17:06, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

That's great thank you. ~ R.T.G 17:17, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Promotion

Where can I promote an image? And which possibilities are given in Commons-wiki?--A.Ceta (talk) 14:58, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

I think you may be interested in Commons:Quality images, Commons:Valued images, Commons:Featured pictures. --EugeneZelenko (talk) 15:07, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Many thanks! I must firstly figure out which evaluation system is appropriate. --A.Ceta (talk) 11:55, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

{{En}} messed up by URL

For some reason, external links such as http://www.westohioumc.org/church_detail.asp?pkvalue=1617 appear to be mangling the {{En}} template. See the description at this version of a file and compare it to the current version, which has no differences except the change in the street address and the removal of {{En}}. Any idea why this external link messes up the template? I know that many external links don't cause problems — File:Belle Center Church of Christ.jpg has an external link and everything displays properly, but a change of the URL to the westohioumc.org site displays improperly in preview — so I doubt that I'm doing something wrongly. Any ideas about what could be wrong here? Nyttend (talk) 21:45, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

= in the url. Use {{en|1=URL}}. --Martin H. (talk) 21:50, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Okay, thanks. What in the URL causes this problem? Nyttend (talk) 23:08, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Like Martin H. said, the = in the URL. This causes the part of the URL before the = to be interpreted as a parameter name and the part after it as a parameter value. --rimshot^talk 23:38, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Ah, I see; I thought Martin meant "the problem equals the URL", rather than "the problem is the equals sign in the URL". Nyttend (talk) 23:40, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Literal translation from German thinking to english words, Lol :) Sorry for the bad explanation. --Martin H. (talk) 00:01, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

See Help:Template#URL problems. --Teratornis (talk) 05:21, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

arkham horror

Is this "Arkham Horror" logo (just the words) within the threshold of originality? Thanks. chanchicto 08:26, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

If it is just the text, and only the text, then it is ineligible for copyright (even if it is a really fancy font). However, if you include the background banner or any of the surrounding illustrations/images, then it would be eligible for copyright protection in the US. See template:pd-textlogo.-Andrew c (talk) 14:13, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

AC Cobra (Shelby Cobra) - new files on en:wp transferable to Commons?

In de:wp I would like to create / rework articles about the AC Cobra 260/289/427. On en:wp there are several new files from the Shelby American Museum and the Canadian International Autoshow here. All new files are not from Commons, just only on the en:wp. Is there a reason for this (concerning the licenses), I haven´t seen yet (or am I just the first to ask)? Are they transferable to Commons? If yes, it would be nice, if somebody could do this (sorry, my skills are rather writing articles than handling files and licenses). The right categories are: "Shelby vehicles" and "AC Cobra". You can answer in english or german as you like. Thanks. --Roland Rattfink (talk) 08:55, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

A file such as File:Shelby AC Cobra 289 FIA Roadster.JPG appears suitable for moving to Commons. See WP:MITC and WP:EIW#MoveToCommons. The original uploader should have uploaded the file to Commons instead of to the English Wikipedia. Many Wikipedia users upload files to their local Wikipedia even if the files are freely licensed or public domain. This is usually because they are not aware that they should upload to Commons. These projects are so complicated that hardly anyone knows everything about them. Maybe no single person knows every last trick. --Teratornis (talk) 09:16, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

I have some notes about this in User:Teratornis/Notes#Move some images to Commons if you want to read about my adventures. --Teratornis (talk) 09:18, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for the answers and the links. Up to now I have just categorized files and transferred some new files from Flickr. I´ve just tried to transfer File:Shelby AC Cobra, CSX2000.JPG, but it didn´t work right now. I seems that I had to read the instructions a little more detailed when I have time to. Maybe there is the opportunity to test it the next days. --Roland Rattfink (talk) 09:45, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Your talk page does not show that you have created a TUSC account which you will need to run CommonsHelper. My notes are detailed about all the steps. The first image you move is the hardest; further image moves will be easy. If you will move many images, you may want to create a template as a user subpage on the English Wikipedia to save typing by constructing the CommonsHelper URL with input fields prefilled, as I did with User:Teratornis/Notes/CommonsHelper. See for example my wikitext in User:Teratornis/Notes#Move more files, from Category:Wind turbines. --Teratornis (talk) 16:49, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

A small step for men, a great step to mankind ... . I think I´ve made it (five files right now). It seems rather simple, if you take the time, just to follow the instruction step by step. Thanks for your help. --Roland Rattfink (talk) 18:18, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Is this image OK to upload?

I took this photo[2] a while ago, probably last month, is it OK to upload? I am worried it might not be allowed for some reason like copyright. Matthew Paul Argall (talk) 05:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

EDIT, I forgot to mention it's a photo of a local store. It's not a chain-store to my knowledge, I think it's a local one owned privately. Would that mean nobody would have use for it? Matthew Paul Argall (talk) 05:02, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

It looks ok to me. The only parts of the image I see that are copyrighted are the "Pauls" logo or the Coke cans but I think they can be safely considered De minimis. --Yarnalgo (talk) 18:52, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

When you upload it, try to specify the location as accurately as possible in the image description. If you know the coordinates, put them into a {{Location}} template. Unfortunately it appears that your camera does not automatically geocode images, if we may correctly interpret the EXIF data from the File:Bridge in Victoria 11.JPG that you also uploaded. See COM:GEO and the links under COM:EIC#Geo. --Teratornis (talk) 19:56, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Maybe {{location dec|-37.848|145.3611|heading:SW}} could work. -- User:Docu at 20:07, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

OK, I'll upload it later today, if it helps I'll include the location in the descrition (Olinda which is in Mt Danendong Victoria, Australia, to be exact). Matthew Paul Argall (talk) 02:49, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

im completely new

How do I create a page which is a biography of myself? I have everything typed out in word already, but I don't know what to do from here. I basically want to create a page like the ones you see of other people in the public eye, and I'd also like to ad my picture. Please help MJ Bernstein (talk) 04:38, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Autobiography. --Teratornis (talk) 08:16, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

File:Cartesian Theater.jpg

File:Cartesian Theater.jpg should be replaced by File:Cartesian Theater.svg in all projects. Please add this request to the proper bot page. -- Marawe (talk) 07:00, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Replacing one filetype with another filetype is not possible for User:CommonsDelinker/commands. (also it is not Commons duty to assure, that projects reuse the best files ;) ). Replace must be done by hand. --Martin H. (talk) 13:38, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

You can add {{Vector version available}} to the bitmap version. Currently the bitmap version has a link to the vector version, but it does not explicitly say to use the vector version. Adding the template will tell Wikipedia users who click through to the bitmap version to put the vector version in their local projects. --Teratornis (talk) 18:11, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

I added the template. --Teratornis (talk) 02:39, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you! -- Marawe (talk) 03:40, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Trần Ngọc Châu hp cần giúp đỡ

Tôi muốn tải hình ảnh,clip của mình lên nhưng trên thanh công cụ bên trái không xuất hiện tải lên tập tin. vậy tôi phải làm thế nào đẻ tải lên được xin được giúp đỡ. xin chân thành cám ơn; 123.26.210.133 13:45, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Log in or create an account. Only logged-in users can upload files here. Lupo 07:41, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

adding category to newly uploaded pictures

Hi,

New to wikipedia edits & add-ons. Trying to work my way up to start my own contributions.

For now, I'm trying to categorize my pictures to place into relevent page as well.

The page i'm hoping to add these within: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Hill,_Mississippi

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:18760_100723619962630_100000749775279_20984_2527503_n.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:18760_100723613295964_100000749775279_20982_3012363_n.jpg

So, I went to image above (ending in .....3012363_n.jpg) followed to summary, "hit" edit, then entered:

|Category=Category:Churches by architectural style by country within the code page. This was the best category I could come up with as the page discusses this particular churches architectural style, etc....

but when saved the category did not show up within summary outline (i.e. description, source, etc...)

is there a delay for approval/ for editing because I am new or ???

Thanks for any help!

tatecraft—Preceding unsigned comment added by Tatecraft (talk • contribs) 05:30, April 10, 2010 (UTC)

See Commons:First steps. Categories are not added as a parameter to the {{Information}} template, they are added below it in the form [[Category:Example]]. Foroa changed your categories to this form here. Foroa also renamed your files; a string of numbers does not tell you what the image depicts like an descriptive title does (see Commons:File naming for more help). Also, make sure to sign your posts on discussion pages with four tildes (~~~~) which will automatically link to your userpage and put a timestamp. --Yarnalgo (talk) 02:00, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

A bug? Unable to update existing file

Since about a day ago I haven't been able to upload a new version of existing image file. Does anybody have the same problem? Know why? Any solutions?? 白拍子花子 (talk) 14:05, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Look 2 sections up. --Yarnalgo (talk) 16:36, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Picture of map clubdistretti.org

I have a question. I'm writing a special topic about the Italian Industrial Districts (distretti industriali) on the Dutch Wikipedia and would like to add an educational map to the topic. The source of the map is this website: http://www.clubdistretti.it/Distretti/Mappe-dei-distretti.htm.

I would love to add this map to my article but I am unsure if a can upload it on Wikimedia commons due to the licensing restriction. I would like to know if this is possible and if the answer is yes how I can get it on Wikimedia commons.

With regards, UU-ITA-NiKl (talk) 20:36, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

I didn't find any information about copyright. By default, we must assume that all rights are reserved, so you may not use the map. You can contact them, though, and ask them whether they would be willing to publish the map under a free license. --rimshot^talk 16:07, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

A finished map drawn by someone else has copyrightable design elements, but you are free to draw your own map by starting with a freely licenced or public domain blank map of Italy. See Idea-expression divide and this tutorial from the French Wikipedia graphic lab:

fr:Wikipédia:Atelier graphique/Didacticiels cartographiques/Didacticiel pour calquer une carte - translate to English with Google - Trace a pre-existing raster map onto a vector map

For example, if you find a map that shows political boundaries, and some symbols to mark various locations, you can get a free map with the same political boundaries, and draw your own symbols on it. The location of a symbol is probably not copyrightable, but the style of the symbol (its color, shape, etc.) is copyrightable. However, exactly what is copyrightable depends on the country of publication, so you would need to check your local laws. --Teratornis (talk) 17:30, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Graphic Lab/Resources/Tutorials - some of the French mapmaking tutorials translated to English. And see COM:EIC#Map and WP:EIW#Map. --Teratornis (talk) 05:32, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

PD video of JK Rowling reading a Harry Potter excerpt

I came across a White House video of JK Rowling reading an excerpt from the first Harry Potter book and am thinking of converting the video and/or audio and uploading it here. However as she's reading from her own copyrighted work, would that portion of the video or audio be fair use even though the source is PD? Thanks. BrokenSphere 01:02, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

It depends on how the portion is shown. If the main subject is JK Rowling and the video is not focused on the book, then there shouldn't be any problem. The audio, however, would have to be mute. ZooFari 03:46, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

The book is de minimis. I've prepared an .ogg conversion of the .mp3 which doesn't include the reading portion. BrokenSphere 19:34, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Can these image be posted using PD-OLD ?

Hello, I was wondering if it was OK to post on Commons either [3] (from this site or [4]. Both are faithful reproductions of a 13th century map, thus I'm tempted to think it's OK per BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY, LTD. v. COREL CORP.. Yet I am not 100% sure, so I thought I'd ask here. Additionally, the map is currently owned by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and a reproduction (not sure which one exactly) was apparently published in a 1984 book, Les Portulans: cartes marines du XIIIe siècle (ref here). Thanks in advance for your help... --Alþykkr (talk) 02:09, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Commons does not give legal advice; for that you must consult an attorney. For a cautionary tale see Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2009-07-13/Copyright threat - the mere fact that a legal precedent exists in one country does not stop someone in another country from bringing suit. A conservative approach would be to ask the publisher for permission and follow the steps in COM:OTRS. --Teratornis (talk) 20:27, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I'd say it's okay to post on Commons, though the first one I cut out the logo first. Whether or not it's legal in your home country I can't say, but it's rather unlikely to rebound upon you.--Prosfilaes (talk) 14:07, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

BNF has signed a contract with Wikimedia France a few days ago, may be Wikimedia France could help to obtain an authorisation. Talk to user:Serein. --GaAs¹¹⁶⁷¹ 13:56, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Maps made from www.openstreetmap.org

Hi, I made maps of bounderies of natural parks in the netherlands with openstreetmap as background. How should I upload these files (License: OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.) => It is entirely my own work, or another upload possibility. --Black Orchid (talk) 10:57, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

No. Open streetmap is licensed, see http://www.openstreetmap.org/ - {{Cc-by-sa-2.0}}. The share alike requires, that you license your derivative work also under a cc-by-sa license and that you attribute the original authors. For that purpose we have {{Openstreetmap}}, that template is very simple, too simple I think, because more information is possible: It is possible to link to the open streetmap view directly (example: File:London OpenStreetMap.png) and it is possible to give a little more information about the authors with linking to the projects, see File:Spoorlijn26A.png for example. --Martin H. (talk) 12:06, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, at first I uploaded the files with the simple info. Will adjust the info later. Thanx for the help. I put the links of the files at my page. --Black Orchid (talk) 06:16, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

We could add a parameter to {{Openstreetmap}} for a direct link to the openstreetmap view *and* authors. --GaAs¹¹⁶⁷¹ 13:48, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Pictures of Food Items

If I have pictures of specific food items (products such as bags of snacks or cans of soda) that have copyright, along with pictures of the actual snacks themselves, under what category should such images be added? Can they? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Daveyac (talk • contribs) 19:41, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

COM:CB#Product packaging seems to be the relevant guideline with respect to permission. With respect to category, browse through the subcategories of Category:Food. There may also be other relevant categories, such as for companies or geographic locations. You can usually find categories by typing keywords into the Commons search box. Look at similar images in the search results, and scroll to the bottom of their image pages to see the categories they are in. --Teratornis (talk) 22:52, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Are highway markers I created based on real ones considered free/legal?

Because there are none whatsoever, I am creating route markers based on the real signs for Yukon Highway 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11. Even though I'm making them, I want to know if they should still be considered free or legal since I've seen copyright tags on many other route markers, even if they were made by the uploader. Cody⁵⁷⁴ 02:36, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Looks like we have a bunch for New Brunswick, so there's precedence I suppose. Wknight94 ^talk 03:22, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

So I can release mine into the public domain then? Cody⁵⁷⁴ 03:52, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

I'd say it depends on what's in them. The New Brunswick signs seem quite likely {{PD-ineligible}} to me — all they contain is an outline of the province, the letters "NB" and some numbers. Also, I suppose U.S. road signs might be {{PD-USGov-DOT}} even if they weren't otherwise ineligible for copyright, although again that can depend on subtle details. (For instance, while works by U.S. federal government employees are PD, works made by private contractors for the government may not be. Also, the federal law says nothing about the copyright status of state government works.) —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 19:33, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Concern over image ownership

Hi there,

Is there somewhere more appropriate I can go to ask about this question I've raised at the Village Pump (something like Commons:Questionable Flickr images but more general)? I'm fairly suspicious based on the reasons I've outlined there, but I don't particularly want to blunder into a deletion request without a few wiser opinions from some experienced editors.

Thanks in advance, Ranger Steve (talk) 16:48, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Some possibilities:

Look at the templates in Commons:Message templates#Copyright and other legal problems. Find a template that covers some or all of the cases you have found. Look at the backlinks for the template to see who has been placing it on image files lately. Then you will probably have found some users who energetically hunt down copyright violations on Commons. Leave messages on their user talk pages calling attention to your languishing Village pump question. Perhaps these copyvio hunters will take an interest.
Commons talk:Licensing seems to be another place to ask. Maybe the best place.

Good luck. --Teratornis (talk) 22:41, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Teratonis, I'll get moving on those ideas. Ranger Steve (talk) 20:09, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

I also re-stumbled across Commons:How to detect copyright violations which might provide something useful. For general background see the links under COM:EIC#Copyright. It's worth reading as many of the manuals as you have time for, because there's a lot about copyright that isn't easily guessable to the non-lawyer. Speaking generally, we have the Commons:Precautionary principle - if you cannot easily verify that something is not a copyright violation, then it probably is. In other words the burden of proof is on the uploader, so the "law" is probably on your side here. --Teratornis (talk) 21:09, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

File name normalization?

I am uploading tractor pictures from flickr. I name them "manufacturer model nr." i.e. John Deere 6120.jpg. Often, in those categories the manufactorer is written differently, i.e John-Deere 6420 S.jpg, John deere 8410.jpg, JohnDeere 1020S.jpg, 9630 Premium.JPG etc. Should/could I normalize these pictures into one standart? This means more work, renaming and changing links, but it helps if you try to find out in a quick glance if a certain model is already on commons. And what about obvious errors/misspellings? --Traktorenhandbuch (talk) 17:36, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

See Commons:File renaming. We don't generally rename existing files unless there's a good reason for it. Misspelled filenames are a borderline case — people do rename them sometimes, but if the file is widely used it may not be worth the trouble. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 18:00, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

As long as each file has a proper description= field in the {{Information}} template, a Commons visitor can search for the tractor model with the search box. You can also manually edit a gallery page to organize and caption the tractor photos any way you like. These methods are more comprehensive and controllable than trying to get the category pages to look nice through file renaming. Someone else could in the future upload more tractor photos with a different naming convention - you might go mad trying to control every person's filename choice. But you can easily edit the gallery page to arrange the photos regardless of their filenames. --Teratornis (talk) 17:54, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Replace files from other authors

Hello,

I made some svg files based on bitmap files that are in Commons, which were made by other people. Now I want to upload them to Commons, replacing the existing ones.

Is it permissible? Can I replace files from other authors? Which type of license is this? Do I have to put the name of these authors in some field? Please also note that I'm a newbie, so I don't know how to replace the files. Can anyone explain me?

Thanks in advance Alcides Pinto (talk) 22:57, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Upload your SVG files as new files, and add {{Vector version available}} to the old bitmap files, to put them into Category:Vector version available. Then it is up to the various editors on the Wikimedia Foundation project wikis (such as the English Wikipedia) to replace their uses of the bitmap files with the vector files. You do not directly replace a bitmap file with a vector file on Commons. The filename must end in the extension that matches the filetype; therefore, you cannot upload a vector file over a bitmap file here. See also COM:EIC#Inkscape. As for the license to use, when you vectorize an existing bitmap file, you create a derivative work, and thus you must follow the terms of the original work's license. See COM:REUSE and COM:DERIV. --Teratornis (talk) 06:46, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

In case the above is too abstract, if you give an example of a specific file you vectorized, we can walk you through the steps for that file. If you vectorize a lot of files, someone might eventually award you a {{Vectorizer's barnstar}}. --Teratornis (talk) 06:54, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Maybe another way to present it is to say, there are two aspects:

(1) uploading the SVG version with the correct license/description
(2) replacing an existing image at various WikiMedia projects.

For (1): on the upload form click on "It is a derivative work of a file from Commons" and you should get some additional information.

For (2): it depends on each project.

At least at Commons, files of one author don't systematically "Replace files from other authors". -- User:Docu at 10:39, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

First of all, thanks for your help.

I have uploaded a vector file (see http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iberia_Bronze.svg), but I'm not totally satisfied.

1. I copied the entire description from the original file. Is this correct? Can I use my own description?
2. I used the retouched picture template, but this is not a retouched picture. Right? So, which template can I use? Maybe none!

If this upload wasn't correct, what can I do? Delete it and make a fresh upload? Please tell me what to do.

Alcides Pinto (talk) 22:21, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Put {{Vector version available|Iberia Bronze.svg}} on File:Iberia Bronze.gif. Anyone can edit the description on any Commons file, so add any description you like. Maybe someone will edit it later, or add other languages. Look at other files in Category:Vector version available to see how other users label the raster and vector versions of an image. It looks like you don't need to add a template to the vector version; instead add a link to the raster version in the |other_versions= field of the {{Information}} template on the vector file page. I don't see anything obviously incorrect about your upload, but if you made a mistake and want to delete the file and start over, see COM:D. --Teratornis (talk) 07:12, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

License for os map

I have (scans of photocopies) of some old os maps (1928 and before). I think the copyright has expired since more than 50 (or 75) years has expired since publication.

Can I use a public domain license for these?Shortfatlad (talk) 08:51, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

You mean Ordnance Survey? It seems that {{PD-UKGov}} would apply? "Ordnance Survey is an executive agency of the United Kingdom government." Not sure. --GaAs¹¹⁶⁷¹ 09:25, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Found Template:oldOS — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.102.20.111 (talk • contribs) 11:30, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

See Ordnance Survey#Access to data and criticisms and Ordnance Survey#Historical material. --Teratornis (talk) 06:59, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

Redlinks take you to upload form

I don't remember this always being the case. And I just checked it isn't the case on en-wiki. So what gives? How come redlinks take you to the upload form, instead to a page like [5]? I made a list of 14 files that I need to undelete, User:Andrew c/temp, but the links are entirely useless.... (not to mention AWB doesn't have an "undelete" button, but that's another issue). Guess I'll be doing this the long way for now. -Andrew c (talk) 16:05, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

File:Test2.png [[:File:Test2.png]]

Its the ':' before the File:. Hopes that answers it? --Martin H. (talk) 16:55, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, I thought I had placed the colon in front of the file name, but I had only done that with one, so that was the cause of my confusion. Thanks!-Andrew c (talk) 17:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Movie Poster Image

Hi,

I just created an article for a documentary and want to know how to upload the movie poster for the article. How do I do this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kgarcia99 (talk • contribs) 23:41, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Usually you cannot, because most movie posters are not free content. See COM:CB#Posters. You may be able to upload a low-resolution version of a copyrighted poster to the English Wikipedia under a fair-use criterion. --Teratornis (talk) 00:41, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

I do not know how to ad this picture

I tried to upload this Logo of the Garant-Möbel-Groupbut I always get the warning that "You must give the original source of the file, the author of the work, and a license." even if I filled out the whole form. Thanks for help--Thinkbeta (talk) 08:02, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

See COM:CB#Trademarks. The logo in question looks complex enough to maybe exceed the threshold of originality to be under copyright. If you want to upload this logo to Commons, you must first obtain permission from the copyright holder to release the logo under a free license (such as {{Cc-by-sa-3.0}}), and then follow the procedure in COM:OTRS. --Teratornis (talk) 17:04, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

upload new file over old one

Hi. I am trying to upload a new file over an old one ( [File:Winnnipesaukee Ice Out.JPG] if it matters) because when i first added it i did not realize there was a little pup up that i accidently saved in the file. When i try to upload the file without this, i get the normal "A file with this name already exists..." warning, but when i click "Submit Modified File Description," it just loops me right back to the Upload File page with the same warning. Help?--Found5dollar (talk) 14:23, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

You are doing right, there seems to be a temporary technical problem with reupload, COM:VP#Ugh.2C_what.27s_the_problem_now.3F. --Martin H. (talk) 14:25, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

Ok good. how will i know when it is fixed?--Found5dollar (talk) 14:27, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

It will work. :) --J.smith (talk) 16:30, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

(undent) Don't know if it's still not working but if it's not you can check the "ignore warnings" box and it will work fine. --Yarnalgo (talk) 17:34, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

Slightly different problem with uploading file: I was trying to do the same thing (upload a new version), ran into some problems using the form, tried to do a new upload, and still problems. Specifically, I do not get the usual form with all the separate boxes, but one that wants me to complete a template. In doing this several times I see that the usual form comes up, but is then is replaced by the summary form. There is also an error message at the top:

TypeError: optionsTable.children is undefined

http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/upload.js?268z50 (56)

Hopefully that helps to sort out the problem. - J. Johnson (talk) 21:56, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

Still broken. Is this likely to be fixed soon? I'd rather have all my images on Commons, but this is getting to be a bit of a hassle. - J. Johnson (talk) 23:01, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

This should probably be reported on bugzilla, seeing as it's a bug in MediaWiki itself. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 19:19, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Sure. But I don't have (and don't really want) a bugzilla account (and it does not seem to be included in the unified login), so someone else needs to do that. - J. Johnson (talk) 21:12, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

OK, fair enough. I can file one for you if you want. However, a little more information would be useful, like the name and version of your browser and any gadgets you might be using (particularly mwEmbed and "Use the old-style upload form layout"). Also, it would be great if you could give instructions for consistently reproducing the bug, ideally with a direct link to a form demonstrating it. As it stands, it's not going to be easy for anyone to fix the bug if they can't reproduce it. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 22:05, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

The error wasn't hard to replicate – just click on "upload file", and the error message was right at the top of the page. (Who would ever think of looking for it there?!) But: past tense. Things now seem to be working as they should. I even did a replacement upload just fine. - J. Johnson (talk) 22:50, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

I am not sure what is going, but by coincidence happened at same time as the bodged login security fix that took out commonist. See Commons talk:Tools/Commonist where I have been posting debug information. It appears that if a file name has been created, even in a failed upload then no file of that name can be uploaded. The fix for a single file is to rename it- but in a commonist mulitiple file upload, one error stops the rest of the batch but renders all the file names in the batch unusable. I am mentioning it here as it may help achieve a rollback, or let the coders locate the bug. --ClemRutter (talk) 08:23, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

False accusations

I recently left a message on the talk page of one of the admins here at Commons. They unjustifiably accused me of being impolite and lacking in good faith. They then said I was "not welcome on [their] talk page anymore". When I left a further note, explaining that I thought they had misunderstood my words, I find that comment deleted without explanation or comment. Whilst they can manage their talk page however they wish, I find their behavoir unacceptable, especially for an administrator and a bureaucat here. Is there somewhere I can complain about their attitude. Thanks. Astronaut (talk) 19:06, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

To be honest, I would just forget about it and move on. There are more important things to do.--ukexpat (talk) 19:35, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

If such a place exists, we should list it in COM:EIC#Admin. But I agree with Ukexpat - what's the big deal? There are a million interesting things to do on Commons. --Teratornis (talk) 19:38, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

If Astronaut wished to complaint or have a second opinion from some other admins I think that COM:AN/UP would be the best place we have. Personally I do not think that comments like that should be removed because it was relevant and polite. But I do not think it is as "bad" as what we normally see on AN/UP. Normally issues like that i handled by a note on the users talk page. --MGA73 (talk) 07:06, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Cecil seems to have a... rather short temper sometimes, at least when it comes to her talk page. I don't think I'm on her "not welcome" list myself, but after a couple of interactions with her there I've concluded that I might as well not bother.

One thing you notice after a while here (or on wikis in general) is that different editors have different preferences about personal interaction: some would prefer you to discuss issues relating to them on their talk page, others would rather do it on your talk page, or even on both alternately, some would be most comfortable discussing things over e-mail or IRC, and some would just prefer if you took any disagreements to the community and left their talk page / e-mail / etc. alone. Cecil appears to definitely fall in the last category, and probably on the far end of it at that.

The best approach with such editors, IMO, is just to do ask they ask. The tricky part, of course, is that some other editors can get upset if you don't discuss things on their talk page first. But if you've been once told to go away, well, why not just follow the advice? —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 19:14, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Honestly this concerns me because I think administrators should be prepared to help any user on the site if they can. To give a hypothetical example, a polite question such as "What template should I use for a CC-BY-SA license?" should not be removed because you're on an admin's personal "no talk" list. Assisting users is among their specific responsibilities. Dcoetzee (talk) 21:27, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for your comments. I would like the chance to set the record straight, maybe even offer an apology of sorts to Cecil, but she seems adamant to delete my comments without even reading. Makes me wonder what would happen if I needed to ask her something else at some time in the future. Would she refuse to help, just because it was me doing the asking? Astronaut (talk) 20:28, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

Using the article "Shoe"

Hello!

I am new to this site and I don't seem to find the answer to my question.

I represent a company from Romania, that sells work shoes. I am interested in the article "Shoe" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe). I would like to post this article on the site of the company.

Please let me know if I can do that and to whom do I have to ask permission to use this article.

Thank you very much!

Have a sunny day, olivia.dima

You are not at the good place, but don't mind.

In short: yes you can (and you don't need to ask anyone), you need only to put near the text (1) a link to the license CC-BY-SA-3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ (2) a link to the list of authors http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shoe&action=history

For the long explanation, there is a link to complete terms of use at the bottom of each page of Wikipedia.

--GaAs¹¹⁶⁷¹ 10:18, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

See WP:REUSE. --Teratornis (talk) 19:25, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Confused about which upload form to use

Hello. I am trying to upload an image here and link to it from an article on the English Wikipedia. I have cropped, re-sized, and pasted two different works together. Both original works (from http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable/precipitation.html) are published by the United States Federal government and are public domain if I understand correctly. But which upload form should I use here on Commons? I think this qualifies as a derivative work (I would release it in the public domain), but it's not from commons. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks. TimeClock871 (talk) 20:06, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

See Commons:Derivative works and Commons:Collages. Examples are in Category:Collages. --Teratornis (talk) 19:27, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

And see Category:Montages and Category:Photomontages. --Teratornis (talk) 20:09, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

If both original works are public domain from the US Federal government, you can license your derivative work as {{PD-self}} and list the sources as {{PD-USgov}}. You may have to use the basic upload form and manually format the {{Information}} template. There is probably no upload form specifically for the combination of licenses you end up with. The easiest method is to find a similar image already on Commons and copy and edit the markup from that image page for your image. If you are having trouble, just try uploading the image any way you can and come back here to ask for help to edit the image page. --Teratornis (talk) 20:17, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Here is a high-quality example of a complex collage showing how to make all the source attributions:

File:Biological and technological scales compared-en.svg

Also, you could upload both source files from the US government to Commons separately, as {{PD-USgov}}, so your source files would exist as files on Commons. That would simplify the editing on your derivative work image page, since you would only have to link to the respective source files on Commons to satisfy the source attributions. --Teratornis (talk) 20:28, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the links. After reading them and the instructions on (http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Upload&uselang=ownwork) I have realized that I should use the upload form "It is entirely my own work". I already uploaded the file (at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oregon_Average_Annual_Precipitation_%281961-1990%29_Map.png) before I read your last two posts. Bad timing for me. This is the first file I've uploaded to Commons. Is the way I did it going to be okay? TimeClock871 (talk) 20:55, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

I changed the licensing of File:Oregon Average Annual Precipitation (1961-1990) Map.png to something I would suggest to use in that case. If you dont like please revert my change. --Martin H. (talk) 01:03, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

Is it going to be okay to use it? I want to make sure it's okay before I link to it. I don't mind the licensing change. TimeClock871 (talk) 01:34, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

For me it looks fine, it was ok already before my change, I just wanted to show 1) the pd status of the sources in a template, you already did that with your text 2) show what part is your work and what you release into the public domain. So yeah, both sources not indicate for any copyright except the gov agencies, so this is public domain and fine to use. --Martin H. (talk) 01:45, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

Great! Thanks (both of you) for the help. TimeClock871 (talk) 01:57, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

My recent username change

I changed my username recently from Shannonchan to Shannon1, but my userpage wasn't moved along with the username change and I can't move it because there is already the redirect from Shannon1 to Shannonchan ... Help? Shannon1 (talk) 00:44, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

Done, sorry. –Juliancolton | ^Talk

Le_bateau_ivre_par_mv

I am concerned that the file http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Le_bateau_ivre_par_mv_2010.jpg, initially containing a description in english, german and french now only contains the english version. in the same category, but more problematic, you have taken away the (vital) descriptive (EDUCATIVE!) comment:

"this historically 'immoral' relationship between young paul verlaine (1844-1896) and very young arthur RIMBAUD (1854-1891), the scandal of paris (leading to a note in the local press, unfortunately PARIS...), is exemplary until today - "the rest of homophobie at its best!" 3 questions: would we know RIMBAUD without verlaine? would both have written what they wrote without each other? what moral is provided by an immoral acting church (for whom)?"

please re-establish my upload version (without the photograph of RIMBAUD of which i parted which is n o t an other version of LE BATEAU IVRE by myself) since it helps to understand the work and is educative - this kind of censure should be avoided. many thanks and best regards mischa vetere

I restored the mistakenly removed fr descritpion. The further description does not belong here, thats more an personal opinion. Regarding the other version: A collage on Commons must always indicate for every source and every author. This is a derivative, so it must indicate the works is bases on. Thats a matter of 1) licensing to make sure, that all files are free content (free to use by everyone, anywhere, any time for any purpose inclduinging commercial purposes without violating anyones copyrights) 2) accuracy to make sure who created what, thats essential for an educational project. --Martin H. (talk) 12:59, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Pictures with same file name in both Wikipedia and Commons

I am trying to add Image:James Wright.jpg to James Wright's article on Wikipedia, but another image titled James Wright.jpg that was uploaded to English Wikipedia seems to take precedence. How do I work around this? Thanks. Orlandkurtenbach (talk) 23:36, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Thats image on en.wikipedia.org is called a shadow image, see en:Template:ShadowsCommons. To resolve the problem I renamed the Commons image (which was not used in any project) to File:Vancouver Giants forward James Wright, April 2009.jpg. --Martin H. (talk) 23:52, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Print Screen from NGA - National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

I made and uploaded a print screen File:NGA-List of lights.jpg from NGA site Pub. 110 List of Lights. As there is no specific license to NGA y used Template:PD-USGov, but NGA site is in the public domain as stated in Copyright Notice. Is this ok?, or should I create a template license to NGA?--JotaCartas (talk) 01:39, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Sorry! later I found Template:PD-USGov-Military-NGA and I used it. I Hope everithing is ok now?--JotaCartas (talk) 01:39, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

The upload looks fine but remember that non-photographic images should generally be uploaded as a png. I've uploaded a png version at File:NGA-List of lights.png. --Yarnalgo (talk) 02:23, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Help me; I'm colourblind

Could someone please place File:Ferrell-Holt House front door.jpg into the proper subcategory of Category:Doors by colour? I can't be sure whether it's brown or green or something that's not quite either of those; I think it's brown, but I'm nowhere near being confident that I'm correct. Nyttend (talk) 03:55, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

It looks to me like the door is the same color as the frame, just in shadow. Of the choices currently listed in the category, I'd classify that as green. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 04:11, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Okay, thanks for the help. Nyttend (talk) 11:49, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Copyright

I am writing to ask for your permission, for using a image found on your website. It is an image of a traditional black and white chinese dragon. I would like to use the image for my ict DIDA GCSE, coursework. The only people that would be veiwing your image is myself, my teachers, other class pupils and eventually my examinor at the end of my course when my work is marked. Thank you for your time, niesha eldridge, World community school student.

Could you give us the name of the image? In general, you can reuse images of Commons by just citing the author and the license given below the image. If it is an old one which is "public domain" you just can do what you want. --GaAs¹¹⁶⁷¹ 14:08, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

E.g. like the example on the right for File:Nine-Dragon Screen-1.JPG. --GaAs¹¹⁶⁷¹ 14:24, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

How to get my photo actually onto a certain Wikipedia page; please point me in right direction.

The Wikipedia biography of my late friend Ronnie Dyson does not contain a photo, just a placeholder with a request for someone to submit one. I wanted to submit a picture I personally took, but when I clicked as instructed, got this message: "The action you have requested is limited to users in one of the groups: Autoconfirmed users, Administrators, Confirmed users." So clicked on those group-name links and it was impossible for me to figure out what to do (and I went to grad school!). An emailed question was not answered. So I found this "Commons" site, and my question is this: should I first upload my photo to Commons, and then will there be a way for me to get it onto Ronnie Dyson's biography page? If that's the proper way to go, then I'll be happy to take as many hours as required to study how to do it. I just want to be pointed into the right direction, so that I'm not "studying up the wrong alley" before wasting too much more time. What is the simplest way to get my own picture onto a Wikipedia page? Many thanks.

ChicagoLarry (talk) 17:27, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

See Commons:First steps for instructions on how to upload an image to Commons, and Wikipedia:Picture tutorial for instructions on how to put the image into a Wikipedia article after you upload it to Commons. Grad school is only relevant if you studied something that is closely related to the skills specific to Wikipedia and Commons, and I haven't heard of any majors like that. Going to grad school doesn't make a person a better brain surgeon either, unless that is what they study. --Teratornis (talk) 21:19, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

I think by mentioning the grad school bit they were just stating how steep the learning curve is for wikis, which I happen to agree with. Killiondude (talk) 22:32, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

That's correct, Killiondude. The biography pages seem to be soliciting photos from the general public, but when you "Click Here," you're denied, without a hint as to what you can do to proceed. All of this is truly daunting to someone who is not a computer geek (or Wiki-geek), and I suppose it was my own misunderstanding when I assumed ordinary people were being asked to participate. Thanks to all 3 who responded, for your help and advice. I'll study some more and eventually learn my way around. ChicagoLarry (talk) 02:46, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

Autoconfirmation could document itself better. It leads to confusion when features in Wikipedia's user interface tell a new user to do something that they aren't allowed to do yet. This probably never gets fixed because all the experienced users were confirmed long ago and thus never see the inconsistency we present to the new user. Just to keep things extra confusing, non-autoconfirmed users have different rights on the English Wikipedia and on Commons. See:

WP:AUTOCONFIRM - autoconfirmation on the English Wikipedia
Commons:Autoconfirmed users - and on Commons

The main difference that matters for the current question is that on Commons you don't have to be autoconfirmed to upload a new image, and on the English Wikipedia you do have to be. You can thank the vandals for making Wikipedia more difficult for the honest users, since autoconfirmation is an attempt to deter casual vandals. --Teratornis (talk) 05:16, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

I agree totally with that analysis. So how are we as a community going to affect change to a system that is broken, but a broken system that never appears on out watch list?--ClemRutter (talk) 07:46, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

If we delete the placeholder image, people would have to use the standard upload link ;) -- User:Docu at 09:24, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

If we had a magic word that returned the user's autoconfirmed status, we could write templates that would adjust their messages accordingly, thus instructing the new user differently than the autoconfirmed user when it matters. Unfortunately I don't see such in mw:Help:Magic_words. Possibly time for a feature request? --Teratornis (talk) 18:03, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

This question could make me look totally dumb, but is it possible to do something with an ##if thing? If special:listuser for that username returns X, then do Y. I don't know if that's at all possible, but I do see the merit of a magic word specifically for autoconfirmed (or any user right). Killiondude (talk) 17:42, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

I played around a little on a sandbox page and I did not see a way to return the user's confirmed status. I can't even see a way to return the current user's name. We would probably need separate magic words to determine each user right, because mw:Extension:StringFunctions is not installed on Commons, and thus it might be difficult to parse out specific substrings from a returned string. We do have a mw:Extension:NewUserMessage installed here, but I don't know if that would help with this problem of adjusting the user interface so as to avoid misleading the non-confirmed users. --Teratornis (talk) 18:44, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

black/white pics from Category:Hohe_Schneide

Hallo! Are the licenses for the black/white pics from Category:Hohe_Schneide correct? I think they are not, because the author is only "unknown/?" and NOT anonymous. Could be the case, that the author is not already 70 years dead. Cheers --Saibo (Δ) 14:39, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

I found something in Commons_talk:Licensing/Archive_13#Anonymous.3F. Seems that these pics should be deleted because the author is only unknown and not surely anonymous. Going to ask for deletion ... --Saibo (Δ) 21:13, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

File:Allenby Bridge LOC Matson 22904.jpg

Did I tag this correctly? Is this photo acceptable for Commons, give that it was taken after 1950 so that PD-Old does not apply? Comments would be appreciated. If the image has to be deleted because it does not qualify, I would have no problem with that.

It is useful to answer this question because a large group of similar color slides scanned in high resolution has been made available by LOC and it would be great to upload most of them, if they fit Commons criteria.balcer (talk) 15:24, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Oh, and if there is a more appropriate page to discuss this, please point me to it. balcer (talk) 15:29, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Commons talk:Licensing is more suited to this sort of questions; however, there's nothing wrong with posting questions here. I'd advise you to use {{PD-because}}; for the rationale, say something such as "the Library of Congress says that there are no known restrictions on publication". I seriously doubt that there would be a problem with using any image about which the LOC says that there are no known restrictions. Nyttend (talk) 16:18, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

{{PD-Matson}}, see also Commons:Copyright_tags#US_Library_of_Congress_public_domain_collections. --Martin H. (talk) 16:22, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

PD Matson says no restrictions apply except for "color lantern slides". Is this image one of those? I would say not because the word "lantern" does not occur in the descriptions and image descriptions states there are no restriction on publications. Am I wrong in my reasoning here? balcer (talk) 16:33, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Put simply, is this image a "lantern slide"? If it is, does the restriction eliminate it from being viable on Commons? balcer (talk) 16:35, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

On second thought, given the doubts, the image should probably be deleted. Fortunately, there is a higher resolution black and white photo form which this hand-colored slide was made, and it is probably even better. balcer (talk) 16:43, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Unsure. See e.g. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mpc2005003036/PP/ which is clearly marked as 'format: Lantern slides--Hand-colored' and 'Rights Advisory: Publication may be restricted', and that one is indeed restricted per http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/258_mats.html linked from Template:PD-Matson. Normaly the LoC not offeres the .tif file for downlod if the use is or is maybe restricted, also with my example http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mpc2005003036/PP/ they have the download of high res versions switched off. So my opinion 1) suffers from my lack of knowledge what they realy mean with 'lantern slides' and 2) not follows the LoCs terms making any rights assessment the reusers responsibility - albeit I trust in the LoC that they will indicate non-free images. In doubt create a deletion request and ask them if this is a lantern slides, maybe they will answer. --Martin H. (talk) 17:55, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks a lot. The first example you gave clearly shows a "lantern slide" label, and also clearly states that publication may be restricted. This photo does not have that label, and states there are no restrictions. So, I think we are in the clear here, and I was just being paranoid :). balcer (talk) 19:17, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Time lag for Commons images to be available on Wikipedia?

I uploaded images about 36 hours ago onto commons but I'm unable to link to them from Wikipedia (such as Boarded wall kura.jpg and Festival kura.jpg). Am I doing something wrong or is there a lag between them becoming available to use on Wikipedia? Any help would be appreciated.Kenchikuben (talk) 21:42, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

There shouldn't be any. Try inserting [[File:Boarded wall kura.JPG|thumb]] in an article at Wikipedia. -- User:Docu at 22:27, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Your images uploaded to commons are available immediately in all Wikipedia projects. You can see the list of all pictures uploaded by you Special:Contributions/Kenchikuben (filter by namespace file to get only uploads). I've added one of your pictures (hopefully the right one) at w:en:Kura (storehouse) as an example for you. Have a look at the edit mode of the article there. --Saibo (Δ) 23:30, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Note that filenames are case-sensitive, so File:Boarded wall kura.jpg does not work but File:Boarded wall kura.JPG does. --Teratornis (talk) 04:27, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

When adding images to articles, it's more reliable to copy and paste the file name from Commons rather than retyping it extemporaneously. To find the actual name of a file, type the name you think it has in the search box on Commons. For example, searching for "File:Boarded wall kura.jpg" resolves to the case-correct File:Boarded wall kura.JPG. But when you use the incorrect filename in an image tag, the MediaWiki software does not forgive the error. --Teratornis (talk) 04:31, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

The search index does lag though. -- User:Docu at 11:16, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for all of your help. In the end it was the case sensitivity on the JPG that did it!!Kenchikuben (talk) 16:55, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

Comment on deletions

I have received a message indicating that an image is under review for deletion. This is the message: File:Condomsex.jpg has been listed at Commons:Deletion requests so that the community can discuss whether it should be kept or not. We would appreciate it if you could go to voice your opinion about this at its entry.

How do I comment.

SuckTarzan

Click on the text in blue-and-bold in the message, or on this one : Commons:Deletion requests/File:Condomsex.jpg. Then in this page click on "modify" and add your comment at the end. --GaAs¹¹⁶⁷¹ 13:09, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

Template:Hidden not working in the Classic skin

At least in the search result page, which uses MediaWiki:Searchmenu-exists and/or MediaWiki:Searchmenu-new where template:hidden is used.

template talk:hidden says that some js or css is needed, and that could be the reason why it is not working.

I am wondering if it would not be better either not to use this template anymore, or to rewrite it using a different code.

The collapsible tables used in Creator templates (template:creator) work perfectly in the classic skin. So perhaps a similar code should be used in template:hidden too. Teofilo (talk) 16:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Commons:Village pump might be a better place to discuss this. Or you could look at the histories of the templates you mention, identify some users who made heavy edits to them, and ask on their user talk pages. The Help desk may not reach the few users who have an interest in this specific issue. --Teratornis (talk) 17:12, 24 April 2010 (UTC)

SVG not rendering

I tried to fix a black square in this image but now it wont render at all. Can someone take a look at it? // Sertion 12:56, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

in inkscape: Menu File cleaned up defs, saved as "normal svg". Seems to fix the problem. Cheers --Saibo (Δ) 16:00, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you! I'll remeber this for the future. // Sertion 18:00, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Category:Random?

What's Category:Random all about? Just a bunch of random images? -- OlEnglish (talk) 17:17, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

I will delete that category. No value, not random at all. (images are fixed in that category and not random. All images are added to that category by hand, describing that as random is illogical. Even if the files where selected with Special:Random/File they are not random because the function is not random and the category is redundant to - exactly - Special:Random/File.) --Martin H. (talk) 17:21, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

May be this was for files categorized with Special:Random/Category tool...

--GaAs¹¹⁶⁷¹ 14:14, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

How do I upload a photograph

How do I upload a photograph. What permission do I need to upload the photo. what license do i need to upload an image of agyenim boateng http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/diaspora/artikel.php?ID=82699&mode=enlarge

Legaleagle101 (talk) 21:53, 25 April 2010 (UTC) Legal Eagle101

Hello and welcome Legal Eagle! You have already uploaded a photo. It is here: File:Image of agyenim boateng 2010.jpg. Have a look at you personal talk page: User talk:Legaleagle101 - all you need is there!
Regarding the photo of agyenim boateng you've already uploaded: Have you made the photo using a photo camera? Or did you just scan it? --Saibo (Δ) 22:28, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Permissions

What are IMAP, POP3, and where can I find them on the computer? Thanks Sp33dyphil 06:29, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

They are settings for an e-mail client or e-mail web application. What are you trying to do when you are prompted for them?--ukexpat (talk) 13:39, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

I was trying to send some permissions for the images which I have uploaded. Click this and you will see. Thanks Sp33dyphil 06:38, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

He's supplied more info over at Wikipedia:Help desk, I believe what he is doing is clicking on the link in all the deletion warning notices that invites one to email in one'spermission, and he does not have a properly set up mail client on his computer.

Here's how to do it the easy way. Open whatever program you normally use to send and receive email. Open a new mail message. Type permissions-commons@wikimedia.org in the Mail To: box. Type or paste the name of the image into the Subject: line. In the body of the text, add whatever it is that you have that makes you believe you can free license the image. Send. Elen of the Roads (talk) 15:12, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

To clarify (since you've asked), most email clients give you a box into which you can type the subject of the email. If you put the name of the file in the subject line, it makes it easier for the person looking in the mailbox to know what you are emailing about.Elen of the Roads (talk) 21:11, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

My watchlist has disappeared

The title of this paragraph pretty much sums up the problem. When I click on My Watchlist, the response says that I have no items, but I do indeed have some. After I posted this request, it comes up on the Watchlist, but all of my other Watchlisted pages are still not being found. Stwiso (talk) 22:32, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Go to Special:Watchlist/edit and check how many pages are shown there. If the list seems shorter than you expected, then you may have indeed somehow wiped out your watchlist by accident. Did you perhaps go to Special:Watchlist/raw, empty the text box there and submit? That could explain it. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 22:43, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the prompt response. I request Watchlist to show "all" but I get get none before this current discussion. I've never been to Special:Watchlist/raw, as far as I know, and I certainly did not go there today, except after reading your reply, and that page does not look at all familiar. If Help cannot restore it, I supposes that I can repopulate it.

You are editing with your account Stwiso (talk · contribs) - an account you created on 22:05, 26 April 2010. Maybe you created it by accident while maybe working on Wikipedia witch your old name and switching to Commons with SUL and automatic account creation and login here. However, your account on Commons was renamed as you reqeusted yourself to Stephen Sommerhalter (talk · contribs). All your contributions and your watchlist where moved to this account. That account is now not SUL'ed [6], you have to login here on Commons to your new account by hand. --Martin H. (talk) 23:05, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

OK, I got all my stuff when I logged in using the revised name. But the revised name is not associated with any of my photos. When I open one, the Details page's "author" line does not show the revised name - it continues to show my pre-revision name. Stephen Sommerhalter (talk) 23:20, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Nothing's going to automatically change your name on all those image pages. You're either going to have to do it by hand, or find someone with a bot to do it.--Prosfilaes (talk) 23:25, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

It looks like I do not know how to do it by hand. I opened a photo, went to the Details page, clicked on my old name in the Details page, revised the old name to be my new name, saved the page, exited the photo, searched for it, went back to the photo's Detail page, and the old name was still there. Also, searching for any photo using my new name as the search term retrieves nothing. But using my old name as the search term retrieves all my photos. Stephen Sommerhalter (talk) 23:36, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

You not did such an edit. This edit changed the author information on File:DeYoung cafe.jpg. --Martin H. (talk) 00:11, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

My conversation with a Bureaucrat has disappeared

from this page. He (or she) was about to solve a problem for me, but this page no longer includes any of that conversation. Should I start all over again? I discovered in that now-missing conversation that the issue is quite simple, so starting over would not be the end of the world. Stephen Sommerhalter (talk) 23:16, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

this issue has been resolved Stephen Sommerhalter (talk) 23:16, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Why is the "Shane McCutcheon" TV Screenshot Allowed on Wikimedia Commons?

I noticed that there is a file called Kate_1.jpg‎ that is listed as being "an author's original work," when actuality, it is a screenshot from the Showtime program, "The L Word." The character in the image is "Shane Mccutcheon," played by actress Kate Moennig. The picture is being used on several Wikipedia pages as a visual of Kate Moennig, not of her L Word character. The author admits that the image is a screenshot, but for some reason the author has also been able to claim copyright over the image. The file has been licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. How is that possible? I thought that screenshots of television programs could not be uploaded onto Wikimedia Commons since fair use images (which seems like a more appropriate way to describe the Kate_1.jpg file) are not permitted. Please advise. Joy299 (talk) 15:36, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

What you say is correct, fair use is not allowed. And screenshots without source cannot be claimed as own work. However, since I can't seem find the source 'shot'. I will not delete it right away but mark it as a ' no source since '. If the uploader does not come up witih a viable source within 7 days the image will be deleted. Thanks for your notice Joy299 –Krinkle^talk 15:42, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for your quick reply, Krinkle! So just for clarification: if one includes the source of a screenshot ("from X web series" or "from X television show," etc.) you can consider the screenshot to be your "own work" AND you can put some sort of creative commons license on it? Joy299 (talk) 17:47, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

No... unless we get permission from the copyright holder. A good page about this on Commons is COM:SS. Killiondude (talk) 17:58, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

youtube video

How do you upload a youtube video?

I recommend following the instructions on http://upload.youtube.com/my_videos_upload. Regards, -- ChrisiPK (Talk|Contribs) 20:48, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

If at all possible, get original sources. Since YouTube didn't have clear CC licensing last time I checked, you may have to communicate with the original user anyway, see if they have originals. Otherwise, you can convert a YouTube video to OGG Theora with http://www.mirovideoconverter.com/ .--Prosfilaes (talk) 23:30, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Renaming image file?

I just uploaded File:365E71EC577E49FB8E5EB28F072A9F24.jpg which I wanted to be called ErnestHemingwayHadley1922. Can somebody rename for me, or tell me how to move the file. Thanks. Truthkeeper88 (talk) 01:49, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

Done –Juliancolton | ^Talk 02:19, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! Truthkeeper88 (talk) 02:32, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

multiple language support?

Hello, I just added an additional description in cyrillic letters to an existing image in order to make it findable in russian language. It is about a german poet and translator born in Russia, so both the german and the russian spelling of his name are to be considered 'original' and should be trackable here. Using the very cyrillic phrase in 'search Wikimedia Commons' wouldn't look up the image. What should I do in order to make it findable both? Can anybody help, please? Example: Александр Ницберг --> no result Alexander Nitzberg --> 1 image Both spellings are used in the description field allready. --92.201.52.174 12:58, 28 April 2010 (UTC) P.S.: Is a redirect necessery for this? --92.201.52.174 13:03, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

The Wikimedia Commons search index may lag your recent edits. Try the search again tomorrow. This problem should fix itself eventually. --Teratornis (talk) 01:19, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

You are right. This one fixed itself after some additional hours. I thought I had waited long enough to give servers time to syncronize but actually I didn't wait long enough after editing. Thank you very much. --92.201.69.70 09:49, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Licensing

Hi, while uploading a picture, I made a mistake and chose for the license "Own work, cc-by-sa", when it's really "Not self made, cc-by-sa". Anyone knows how to correct it? Thanks. chanchicto 14:48, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

This is a wiki which means (almost) every page is editable. All you have to do is hit the edit button either at the top of the page or next to the "Licensing" header. --Yarnalgo (talk) 04:37, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

How to search for a picture

I'm looking for a specific kind of picture. Your system doesn't allow me to search by topic. If it is designed that way then this is a poor design. Sorry, but this is the most difficult time I've had to date in attempting to find a picture of a certain subject. I'll be hsitant next time in using your site. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.229.36.171 (talk • contribs) 16:47, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

Since we are not mind readers, you will have to tell us what you mean by "specific kind", if you want some help with searching. Pictures on Wikimedia Commons should contain text descriptions that make them straightforward to find by topic. However, some kinds of image searches are extremely difficult, if for example you are searching for images having graphical properties that would not be in their text descriptions. But that problem exists on every image search site, since nobody knows how to write software that generally recognizes what image files depict the way a human can. Yet. Also be aware that we have "only" about five million images, which is not actually very many in relation to the many arbitrary searches that visitors may want to do. There are many topic areas outside of our project scope. Maybe you searched for something we don't cover. --Teratornis (talk) 01:34, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Also note that Wikimedia Commons is a repository of free content media files for use in the various language Wikipedias and other projects of the Wikimedia Foundation. Commons is not really meant to be a general-purpose image repository for the general public, although members of the public are welcome to search here and try their luck. This site is primarily intended to support people who want to write encyclopedia articles on Wikipedia, or pages on the other WMF project sites. --Teratornis (talk) 04:52, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Edit Count status

Yet another edit counter gives a status table on the left. WTH ist that (and what is the significance of an s4-warning)? Regards, --G-41614 (talk) 11:36, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

I don't understand your questions. Please give links to the pages you are asking about. Some general information is at Wikipedia:Edit count. If you don't find what you need to know in that page or the pages it links to, please clarify what you need. --Teratornis (talk) 01:25, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

See here [7], on the left. Warning still showed a minute ago. --G-41614 (talk) 10:37, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

I believe the confusion is because you did not capitalize the proper noun "Yet Another Edit Counter". I thought you meant "yet another edit counter, among several that also gave status tables on the left." =) Powers (talk) 15:55, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Yep - sorry 'bout that. But still - ...? --G-41614 (talk) 06:17, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Public Works of Art Project and Smithsonian American Art Museum licensing

Could someone help me out with a licensing question please ? I uploaded an image of a painting 'Ray Strong - Golden Gate Bridge - 1934.jpg'. The painting was produced in 1934 by Ray Strong as part of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and is currently held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum having been transferred from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

"Artists were paid a minimum wage for completed art works that then became property of the government. The project was intended as a way to provide relief to artists and to bring art into public buildings. The PWAP lasted only seven months. Yet within that short period it employed 3,749 artists who were paid a total of $1,184,748.32 for 15,663 works of art."[8]

So, I uploaded it on the basis that it's public domain and licensed it as PD-USGov. However, while looking for a less saturated image I found the Smithsonian flickr site for their works produced as part of PWAP. That states that the image is CC Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic. Questions

What is the correct license ?
Can this work (and all of the similar works produced under the PWAP) be uploaded to commons or should the image(s) be uploaded to wikipedia instead ?

Obviously this has implications for quite a few potential uploads. There are currently 56 paintings available on the Smithsonian's flickr site and there could be hundreds of images out there of works produced under the Public Works of Art Project. Sean.hoyland (talk) 01:44, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

You may need an attorney to figure this out. See:

Smithsonian Institution#Strong Copyright Restrictions - even though "The Smithsonian Institution is ... functionally and legally a body of the federal government", it seems the Smithsonian is less generous with intellectual property than most of the US federal government. Which would seem to contradict the founding principle of the Smithsonian for the "increase and diffusion" of knowledge - but what do I know?
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/rights/
http://americanart.si.edu/copyright/
http://www.si.edu/termsofuse/ - fair use seems to be OK, so read the following carefully:
- Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria and COM:FAIRUSE

--Teratornis (talk) 03:34, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

D'OH! Okay, thanks, I'll have a look through them. I'm wondering about the 'CC Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic' license they assign to these images. It states 'Public Domain — Where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.' Does that help...probably not ? The work, the painting, is clearly in the public domain but I guess this is about the image. Fair use would require users to provide a rationale everytime an image is used. If there's a way to avoid that it would better. Any idea how to ask a commons attorney about it ? Sean.hoyland (talk) 04:01, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

This previous discussion appears to be pertinent although the PD-Art license doesn't apply in this case. Sean.hoyland (talk) 03:27, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

A couple more links:

Commons:Project scope#Non-allowable licence terms says we can't upload works to Commons that have non-commercial restrictions. So the question is whether the Smithsonian has legal standing to assert such a restriction. Good luck with determining that one.
Commons:Hirtle chart is interesting generally, but probably offers no magic bullet for this case.

--Teratornis (talk) 03:42, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

As I understand from your description, it seems that Ray Strong (and presumably the other artists in the PWAP as well) was working as a contractor rather than as a federal employee? In that case, {{PD-USGov}} won't apply. If the PWAP contract included a transfer of copyright, then the Smithsonian may indeed hold the copyright now. However, without knowing the specifics, I can't rule out the possibility that the contract might only have applied to the physical copy of the painting, in which case the copyright would still belong to the painter. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 03:51, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

There has been some past discussion about Smithsonian copyright policy on the English Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 03:59, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Oh, and also, {{PD-US-no-notice}} or {{PD-US-not-renewed}} might possibly apply too. However, the definition of "publication" for paintings is a bit tricky: simply selling or exhibiting the original does not count. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 04:03, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

<- Thanks for all the responses. So, it seems that if we accept that the 'Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives' 'cc by-nc-nd' the Smithsonian assign to the image might possibly be valid then I guess I need to get the image deleted from here, upload it to wikipedia and go for fair use ? Alternatively there needs to be a protracted discussions involving lawyers about the nuances of the PWAP contracts, the nature of the transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior to the Smithsonian, the name of the person who took the photo and where they get their paycheck from etc etc. I suppose leaving the image here and forcing the Smithsonian to try to assert their copyright claim, if they can be bothered, isn't an viable option. Sean.hoyland (talk) 04:56, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

We don't generally do that unless we have pretty good reason to believe the image is actually PD. The precautionary principle says that, if the freeness of the image is uncertain, we should delete it from Commons. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 06:50, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Okay, I'll tag it for speedy deletion. Sean.hoyland (talk) 08:07, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Please restore

Hi there, can some please restore the image File:Aboard a Boeing 777 during Frankfurt flight .jpg? Since I have uploaded the permission from the photo's photographer onto WikiCommons, with the subject being the same name as the photo?

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sp33dyphil (talk • contribs) 07:14, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

You wrote [...]permits me to upload it onto Wikipedia. Permission must be given so that EVERYONE, not only you and not only Wikipedia can reuse the image for everything, including e.g. modification or commercial reuse. Did the photographer agreed to that kind of free reuse? --Martin H. (talk) 17:05, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

The links under COM:EIC#Permreq tell how to request permission from copyright holders. Also see COM:OTRS. --Teratornis (talk) 18:39, 30 April 2010 (UTC)