Commons:Help desk/Archive/2015/04

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Copyright help regarding File:Firmenlogo der Konditorei Andersen.gif

Das Firmenlogo stammt von der ehemaligen Webseite, welche über das archive.org abgerufen werden konnte (Link ist angegeben). Ich bin mir nicht sicher, welche Lizenz zu wählen ist bzw. ob das Bild überhaupt hochgeladen werden darf. Für Hilfe wäre ich sehr dankbar. Gruß — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tetra09 (talk • contribs)

Das hat sich wohl erledigt, Du hast ein besseres Logo für de:Café Andersen gefunden, das alte GIF hier wurde auf Deinen Wunsch von Fastily gelöscht, und die schräge dewiki-Löschdebatte geht hoffentlich gut aus.:-) –Be..anyone (talk) 19:46, 7 April 2015 (UTC)
This section was archived on a request by: –Be..anyone (talk) 19:46, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Uploading articles for a photographer

Hi,

I am working with a user on Wikipedia on an article about a seasoned photographer Bettina Cirone with someone who knows her and who had updated some images to Category:Bettina Cirone, but they were all deleted. I am used to uploading images in the public domain, so I haven't been much use to sort out the issues on the images.

Regarding the images removed, I'm not sure what needs to be done to prove that the photographer has given approval to use the images and/or ensure that they are properly documented and tagged when uploaded. Some examples from the wikipedia article revision history are:

  • Removing "Dustin_Hoffman_fedora.jpg", it has been deleted from Commons by Fastily because: No permission since 10 March 2015: If you are the copyright holder/author and/or have authorization to publish the file, pl
  • (Bot: Removing Commons:File:KardashianSisters@JillStuartShow 9 1110 by BettinaCirone42 (10).jpg (en). It was deleted on Commons by Fastily ([[Com...)

They don't seem to have the same user name here on commons as on Wikipedia, so I'll provide a link to this discussion from the user's talk page on Wikipedia to this article. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.--CaroleHenson (talk) 02:01, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Please have the photographer email permission to COM:OTRS (where there is a sample consent form), listing the filenames concerned; on verifying the licence they will issue a “ticket“ under which the files can be undeleted.—Odysseus1479 (talk) 04:32, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
Excellent, thank you!--CaroleHenson (talk) 16:38, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

I want to contact with someone existing contributor

Hello Motopark,

I want to touch with someone wiki contributor but did'nt know that how can i do so. It it anybody help me in this era. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Premnath321 (talk • contribs)

Just to add to the above, @Premnath321, when you would like to draw someone’s attention to a comment made elsewhere than his or her own talk page (like the one you posted on the Talk page of the now-deleted Google certificate), you can use the {{Reply to}} template (or one of its aliases, or otherwise include a link to the user‘s page}, prompting Echo (the notification system) to send an alert. Note that I’ve “pinged“ you in this message, using that template. One more thing: the template or link must be present when the message is first saved over your signature; adding it later won’t trigger a notification.—Odysseus1479 (talk) 00:26, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
I don't know how I can help, best way are to ask in coffeehouse--Motopark (talk) 04:34, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

Originals lack copyright

When I pay an artist for one of his works, for instance an oil painting. Then the painting is mine, isn't it ? Here seems to be a confusion with multiplied artifacts, or copyied stuffs like a vinyl LP, a motion picture on DVD etc. Original objects lackes copyright. Likewise if an opera house orders a wall painting from an artist, then the artist is making a payed work for the opera house, and is payed once. Once again an original. (What would else be the outcome, if the opera house burns down or decides they want an other painting after 50 years. Copyrights covers copies, not originals. This ought to be simple. Boeing720 (talk) 10:30, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

You might say that copyright is the right to make copies from the original. Buying the original does not necessarily mean that you bought the right to make copies of it as well. Actually, in most cases it doesn't. Even if you actually hire an artist to create something based on your requirements (your opera house example), your right to distribute copies of it depends on what is written in your contract with that artist. --El Grafo (talk) 11:30, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
  • Copyright rests with the creator of the work, not the owner. This remains true unless copyright is legally transferred (and would necessitate documentation or verifiability). Just because you own an original does not mean you own copyright; unless copyright has been explicitly transferred to you by the creator of the artwork it rests with them. ColonialGrid (talk) 13:43, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

how to view which of my uploads are in use in Wiki projects?

Is there a way to see, at a glance, all of the files I've uploaded that are in use on some Wikipedia, Wikibooks, etc., and where? I realize that any given individual file page shows all Wiki pages where that file is in use, but I am interested in visualizing, even if only roughly, the proportion of my total uploads that are in use, and where. Furthermore, are there ways to visualize external (non Wikimedia) sites that link to my uploads? This is purely for my own ego stroking and curiosity, and most of my uploads are not of my own creation, but I imagine an external usage tool might help copyright holders monitor usage and detect license violations. Thanks in advance, Animalparty (talk) 19:06, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

There should be a tab called usage of all files at the top of your user page for usage on Wikimedia sites. No such thing for non-Wikimedia sites, though. —LX (talk, contribs) 23:16, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
I don't think that tab exists by default, but the analogous URL should work for any account. - Jmabel ! talk 00:15, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
Much obliged, both of you. I can confirm that tab is not default (or at least is not present), but it is sure helpful!. Animalparty (talk) 01:15, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

Uploaded DjVu page needs purging

Uploaded a replacement copy of THIS BOOK because of pagination errors in the first upload. Everything was properly aligned in Wikisource, except a single page which is stuck in the upload cache. This is the old page to be replaced with this page. I followed all instructions and suggestions of the talk page in the Help:Purge, but so far nothing helped. Can someone please help? — Ineuw talk 19:14, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Downloading pictures of Dr. Wilhem Loeser - from my family archives. They are my property and would like to share them. Sincerely, Robert P. Loeser Sr. Grandson of Wilhelm

I would like authorization to download pictures. Your site is very confusing to me procedurally. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bbqgumby (talk • contribs) 13:04, 3 April 2015‎ (UTC)

I'm guessing you mean "upload" rather than "download." If the photographs are still protected by copyright (which is likely if they have not been published before, or if the photographer or photographers are alive or recently deceased), then you will need permission from the copyright holder to publish them on Commons under a free license. The fact that some photographic prints are part of your physical property does affect who is the copyright holder. —LX (talk, contribs) 13:41, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Rights managed?

I relatively new on Wikimedia and was wondering if could use this image in an infobox: [1] I don't know because it says RM, or "Rights managed". Is this allowed on Wikimedia or no? Thanks, (Utzdman55 (talk) 15:18, 3 April 2015 (UTC))

No. Please read Commons:Project scope/Summary#Must be freely licensed or public domain. —LX (talk, contribs) 15:40, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Attributing photos in documentary

Greetings,

I've found lots of helpful info about how to attribute photos from Wikimedia on a website, but I'm trying to find guidance on attributing photos in a documentary video. Most of my photos are from the Boston Public Library and are "orphans" so I'm attributing them in my video as follows: 

 Courtesy of Boston Public Library.

So can I use something similar for Wikimedia as follows: 

  Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

OR 

  Photo by Joe Smith, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

If I need to specify the type of Creative Commons license, can I put it in the credits, or does it have to appear on the same page as the photo? Please advise

Thanks

Merrill — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mhatlen (talk • contribs) 15:49, 3 April 2015‎ (UTC)

If you need legal advice on how to comply with a copyright license, you need to talk to a legal professional. No one here can give such advice. That said, here's a bit of guidance from a layman's perspective. Unless the photos are in the public domain, you must comply with the terms of the copyright license specified on the file description page. Do follow the links and read the full terms of the license, especially if you are using the content for anything serious. Most licenses will require you to attribute the author. You pretty much never have to mention Wikimedia Commons. You usually have to mention the license. Having such attributions as part of the end credits would most likely be considered a "reasonable manner based on the medium" – the phrase used in the terms of the Creative Commons family of licenses. Again, do read the full terms. Some licenses require all adaptations of a work to be released under the same free license as the original; in other words, you may have to release the video as a whole under the same free license. Did I mention that you should read the full terms of the license? —LX (talk, contribs) 16:07, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
I'm not a lawyer, but here's my take based on experience; do take this in conjunction with what LX wrote.
  • Wikimedia Commons has nothing to do with the matter. Legally, Wikimedia Commons is just a re-user of the image, as you would be.
  • Complying with most CC licenses in a documentary is a bit tricky:
  • - You must attribute each photo as specified. If there is nothing specific about attribution, then the user's Wikimedia Commons account name is all you've got, but many uploaders are more specific.
  • - At the very least, you must indicate what CC license was used and comply with the terms of the license. Typically, the latter means at least naming the license, providing a URL, and indicating if you have made any alterations to the image (that includes cropping). For CC-BY-SA licenses, your altered version is inherently available for others to reuse under CC-BY-SA or equivalent.
  • Because of that complexity, many makers of documentaries find it simpler to contact individual rights-holders (typically the photographers who uploaded their own work) and negotiate an individual license separate from the publicly available CC license posted here on Commons. The alternative license might or might not involve compensation. I personally strongly recommend that if you don't intend to compensate the photographers then at the very least provide them something simple that (1) makes it clear that they will be credited, (2) doesn't ask them to waive any more rights than they need to (e.g. don't ask them to indemnify you, doesn't give you any special rights to reuse the image for different projects) and (3) keeps things simple by allowing them to agree by just sending an email rather than needing a separate physical signature; also, provide them with bibliographical information about where their image will be used. - Jmabel ! talk 16:23, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Adding a photo

I am writing an article on Wink, the smart home platform. Am I allowed to add images from their press assets in the article? Here is their press page: http://www.wink.com/press/. The brand assets are at the bottom the page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Daylenca (talk • contribs) 17:53, 3 April 2015‎ (UTC)

I don't see any reason to believe that they are in the public domain (except for the logotype, which is probably ineligible for copyright protection) or published under a free license. Since you ask, do you? —LX (talk, contribs) 18:29, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Using {{Search box}} for searching a category instead of a set of user pages

I've discovered that {{Search box}} works very well for making my photograph galleries more searchable and generally accessible. Now I'm curious if there is any way to adapt the template to search in a category instead of a root name for a series of subpages; namely, I'd love it if I could get it to search Category:Photographs by Michael Barera. Technically, it seems like it should be possible, but perhaps I'll need to create a new template designed to search categories instead of (user) pages. Any help or advice you can offer would be much appreciated. Thanks! Michael Barera (talk) 02:35, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

It looks like {{search box}} uses mw:Extension:InputBox for its functionality. If I'm reading the documentation correctly, the way this is implemented, it only supports a small, pre-defined set of modifications to the search string (like adding prefix:something/), and there does not seem to be any way to add arbitrary stuff to the beginning or end of the entered search string (like incategory:something). The closest one could get is to use the default= parameter, but then that text is actually shown in the input box. —LX (talk, contribs) 09:31, 4 April 2015 (UTC)
Thanks, LX. Maybe I'll play around in my sandbox and see if I can create a search widget on my own. All the best! Michael Barera (talk) 17:46, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Lead time on permissions?

I've sent in a number of permissions emails recently. What's the current lead time? Maury Markowitz (talk) 15:19, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

The current lead time is mentioned in the introduction at Commons:OTRS. —LX (talk, contribs) 15:47, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

"Bad token"?

I keep being told that photos I'm trying to upload are "Bad token" and it's listed as an internal problem. What is this and how can I fix it? --Steverci (talk) 20:21, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Commons:FAQ#Internal error: bad token. -- Asclepias (talk) 23:49, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Images silently removed?

Only by accident I noticed that two images I uploaded recently were removed from the enwiki article on Waveform graphics. I cannot find them in my uploads page, and they have been robot delinked from the article. The argument was that no ORTS was filed, but both had been filed. Neither my account on enwiki or here received any notification that this was about to happen. Any explanations? Maury Markowitz (talk) 10:55, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

After OTRS is received the images will be restored. So, do not worry. You can ask one of OTRS agents to check the OTRS queue for you. Ruslik (talk) 19:04, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
I'm guessing this is about File:VT105 graph.jpg and File:VT105 histogram.jpg. Looking at Google's cached copy of the latter, it looks like they were tagged with {{OTRS received}}, indicating that what you sent in wasn't sufficient proof of the copyright holder releasing the work into the public domain. Any follow-up that would serve as notification would probably have taken place via e-mail. —LX (talk, contribs) 19:06, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
Thanks, this are the images in question. But going through my mail I don't see any replies, and given that the person very clearly released them as PD I'm not sure what more they could ask for. Maury Markowitz (talk) 19:47, 27 March 2015 (UTC)
You can ask a volunteer with access to the correspondence to look into it at the OTRS noticeboard. —LX (talk, contribs) 00:14, 28 March 2015 (UTC)
It is Ticket:2015020510013409 processed by Sphilbrick. It is a forwarded mail in informal form: "I, Martin Wölz, agree to release the two images of VT105 graphics sent to Maury Markowitz into the public domain." Please ask the author to use a formal format and mail directly to permissions mentioning this ticket number in subject line. Also give attention to Commons:Email_templates#Note #1. Jee 02:38, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

That's not the right email, he sent another that contained all the items in the formal release. I forwarded it on 7 February, there has been no response. The fact that you see the older email is precisely the problem I am trying to address.Maury Markowitz (talk) 12:17, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

A to tag suspected copyvio?

Is there a way to tag suspected copyright violations, such w:Template:Cv-unsure offers? If not, where would I get help in determining a copyvio? Jerodlycett (talk) 08:48, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

poems?

Respected sir/madam Can I upload my poems here? — Preceding unsigned comment added by August9Dev (talk • contribs) 12:26, 5 April 2015‎ (UTC)

No, that would almost certainly be outside of our project scope. —LX (talk, contribs) 13:10, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

How to sort Category:Breweries in the United States?

At first glance, everything appears in order. But upon close inspection, you'll see that California appears after Wisconsin, and poor Tennessee‎ is all on its own subheading. How can I fix this? Picardin (talk) 01:06, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

This section was archived on a request by: ColonialGrid (talk) 10:51, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

Is there a way to add audio metadata through the site?

There are a lot of audio files on Commons that don't have embedded metadata. For example File:Der Hoelle Rache.ogg - it doesn't have any Vorbis comments for artist, title, etc.

I can download it to my machine, add the data, and upload an updated version back, but when I think of it, this sounds like a very simple operation that could be done through a form right on the site.

Is there such a thing already? I couldn't find anything.

Thanks! --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 19:08, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

... I guess there isn't. Reported: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T95217. --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 20:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Any help?

I want to be added to the list of Photographers on the wiki commons page. Any help on how I can go about it? Thank you.--Kwameghana (talk) 22:38, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

Which page did you have in mind? —LX (talk, contribs) 22:51, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Meet_our_photographers. How can I have my name there and share get my photos featured?--Kwameghana (talk) 23:02, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

I believe you need to have uploaded at least ten Featured Pictures to be profiled there. Detailed criteria for nominating pictures are at COM:I.—Odysseus1479 (talk) 00:15, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. so mean I can categorize my images under "featured pictures" right? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kwameghana (talk • contribs) 05:50, 7 April 2015‎ (UTC)

No, it's not just a matter of adding a category. It's a nomination and community voting process. Please read Commons:Featured picture candidates and Commons:Image guidelines. —LX (talk, contribs) 06:18, 7 April 2015 (UTC)
(Edit conflict) Is there an echo in here? Not yourself; you may nominate your own (best) work for consideration, but all Featured Pictures must undergo peer review by the community to receive the designation (Quality and Valued images likewise). Please read the pages linked above for a description of the process and the criteria by which images are evaluated; the actual nomination page (with detailed instructions) is at COM:FPC.—Odysseus1479 (talk) 06:21, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Template:Fallback

Which i18n category for templates handles templates using {{Fallback}} with various /xx-subpages for xx-language codes and a /layout-subpage? –Be..anyone (talk) 21:29, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Image marked for deletion

Hi I've received a message that the file Brandon Trust Logo.jpg is missing essential source/licencing information. I need to give the author and source of the file name or the file will be deleted. Can you please explain exactly what I need to enter and where I put it? Brandon Trust owns the copyright. I work for Brandon Trust and have the authority to use the image. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bex martin (talk • contribs) 08:58, 7 April 2015‎ (UTC)

You're going to need to follow the process described here. You may also wish to read Commons:Guidance for paid editors. —LX (talk, contribs) 10:23, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Procedure to upload works of others, when they agree to it

I collect art, I write about art and I know lots of artists. If i upload work, I do ask them first if they are ok to give something out with a free wiki licence. Now some works were deleted because some user (not the artist) pretended there was no copyright. What is the procedure to put pictures up of the art work of others, when they are ok, with a free licence. a) In the case that I take the pic of that work. B) In the case sombody else took it, who is as well willing to give the pic out unter free licence. thanks a lot for your help or a hint where I find advice to the subject--Haemmerli (talk) 11:42, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

@Haemmerli: Hi,
Send a permission following the procedure at COM:OTRS and add a {{OTRS pending}} template in the description of your files. Regards, Yann (talk) 14:12, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

No subject

I want to upload a photograph of an actor that I have found on the internet. The source of the photo is below:

March 28, 2015 - Source: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images Europe

I was informed that photographs from the Getty library are free to copy and share as they are public. Can you confirm that this is true? If so, am I free to upload it into Wiki commons, sourcing the photo? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mariaprolph (talk • contribs) 19:29, 7 April 2015‎ (UTC)

No, that is not true, and you should not upload it. Where did you get that misinformation from? Getty Images is a stock photo agency. They make money by charging people for the right to use their photos. They do not release their copyrighted content into the public domain, they do not publish it under a free license, and they do not allow sublicensing. Their copyrighted content is as non-free as content can be, and they are known to aggressively litigate against people and organisations who use their content without a license. —LX (talk, contribs) 20:34, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Work stored in a public archive

I located a photograph that is stored in a gov't archive and want to know if it can be uploaded to the commons, as it is listed as public domain? Collection FDR-PHOCO: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library Public Domain Photographs, 1882 - 1962 image; http://research.archives.gov/description/195641 BeeCeePhoto (talk) 13:52, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

No need to – it's already here. —LX (talk, contribs) 14:43, 8 April 2015 (UTC)
What about those stored in a state archive that I want to use in gallery form rather than links? eg: https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/137372?cid=20&pc=General%20(unprinted)%20Collection — Preceding unsigned comment added by BeeCeePhoto (talk • contribs) 15:33, 8 April 2015‎ (UTC)
There is not enough information on that site to determine whether that photo could be uploaded to Commons (and without that, the assumption is that it can't). While their "Disclaimer and Copyright Information" doesn't actually say much about copyright, their FAQ states that "Some materials may be protected by copyright." —LX (talk, contribs) 16:07, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, 'k BeeCeePhoto (talk) 17:22, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Filtering by file size

Please can someone tell me if it is possible to filter images in a category by file size? When adding an image to a Wikipedia article I prefer not to use small images. Some heavily populated categories have numerous geograph.org.uk images with less than 100KB file size. It would be handy to make an initial choice from files of a certain size. If there is the capability already, great. If not, and a custom size sort would be difficult to implement, then a limited step filter of say 80KB, 240KB, 720KB and 2200KB would work well. Thank you for your attention. SovalValtos (talk) 18:44, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

No, there is no such possibility at the moment. The feature request for it is marked as lowest priority, so don't hold your breath. :-( —LX (talk, contribs) 18:59, 8 April 2015 (UTC)
Thank you for the swift and helpful response. SovalValtos (talk) 19:07, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Public Domain Mark 1.0

Hi everyone, I just spent some time looking on Wikimedia Commons for information about Public Domain Mark 1.0 (i.e. http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/) without any success. The information that I am specifically seeking is what needs to be cited when uploading a file. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Regards Cowdy001 (talk) 06:51, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

The Creative Commons Public Domain Mark simply means that someone asserts that something is in the public domain somewhere, for some unspecified reason. You won't find that as a PD tag here at Commons, because files hosted here must be verifiably free both in the source country and in the United States with a clear rationale for both. So if you find content with the Public Domain Mark, it's a good start and a good chance that the content will be eligible for hosting on Commons, but you'll still need to do more research to identify an appropriate PD tag (such as {{PD-old-auto-1923}} or {{PD-USGov-Military-Navy}}). —LX (talk, contribs) 13:38, 8 April 2015 (UTC)
Thanks for the reply. Regards Cowdy001 (talk) 06:17, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Additional query

I wanted to use a statement from an interview held by the FDR Library. Can it be considered public domain and usable?

Smith also wanted to teach “workers’ education”, a term that had a strong communist association. She related years later, “I hardly dared mention it because it was so unpopular.”

Workers'education was ... "unusual because it involved three groups virtually ignored at the time: women, blue collar workers, and blacks.. --Priscilla Van Tassel, New York Times, June 24, 1984, NJ5. (Caption for HWSmith picture)

And what is workers' education? I think the first thing is to say what workers' education is and what it is not. I'd like to say, first, it is not vocational education. Many people think that that is what it is; it's not trade training for workers. That's entirely separate, should supplement workers' education and go along with it. But it is not the same thing. Workers' education is a specialized branch of adult education. It covers in general the economic and labor problems related to the experience of industrial workers, office workers, farmers, anything that touches the economic field. It is also and usually supplemented with much work in English, with elementary science, social psychology, with history, with a background of life in the United States. It touches: employers' problems, trade union problems, the worker in the community as citizen, the government's relation to industry and to the labor movement.

Interview with Hilda Worthington Smith, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY, October 17, 1963 Robco311 17:13, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure I understand the question. We host media files here on Commons. What type of media file did you want to use the statement in? An audio recording? An image? Something else? —LX (talk, contribs) 18:46, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

I was asking about the statement, not a media file. The statement was reproduced above. It was referenced to the FDR Library. I was asking if it is in the public domain and can it be used... I'm a bit gun shy, I keep getting ©infractions... BeeCeePhoto (talk) 20:56, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, you did answer, I'm asking this in the wrong forum... BeeCeePhoto (talk) 21:01, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Transmitting copyright permission to Wikipedia

I have a document granting unrestricted permission for the AoB PLANTS cover image that I've uploaded to Wikipedia. How can I get this document to you? GailRice (talk) 17:21, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Please see Commons:OTRS. —LX (talk, contribs) 18:43, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Image modified, but the old version kept showing up

Earlier today, I noticed some mistakes in the text in File:Maslows Behovspyramide.svg: a missing comma, a repeated element on a list and a space that shouldn't be there. I tried to upload a version with the text corrected, but the old text showed up, so I thought I had somehow uploaded the copy of the image I made before editing the text. I made sure I had edited the file, renamed the edited file on my computer, uploaded again and... in the bottom of the page I saw three versions of the image, and now the correct one was the one in the middle. Finally, I pressed control-f5 and that seemed to change the image to the right version. But now there are three versions rather than two. Those two times I had made other “unfixable” mistakes whilst modifying an article on Wikipedia, I left corrections on their talk pages. However, it could be edit summaries for uploads may have different rules about what to do if they are wrong. So is this mistake to be “fixed” anyhow, and, if so, how? Pretended leer (talk) 15:45, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

I noticed a mistake in one of the corrections, so now there are four versions. So if the numbers above are incorrect, that's because I've changed something after writing them. Pretended leer (talk) 16:00, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

Spamming in the edit summary

I am fairly sure there is a better place to report this, but I dont have time to look for it right now.

A user appears to be spamming by putting links in edit summaries. I have no idea how to deal with this.

See https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Raymond

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:HGG-Alpspitzbahn.JPG ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:Korea-Bukhansan-14.jpg ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:Breitenberg Rotspitze Entschenkopf.jpg ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:Kanzelwand und Fellhorn 7.JPG ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:Seilpark Gantrisch - 03.jpg ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:Hannes D5 IMG 2449.jpg ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:Nebelhorn-bahn.JPG ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:ReitenmitHandpferd.JPG ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:A girl in a swimming pool - underwater.jpg ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+391)‎ . . File talk:Luge Schlucht.jpg ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

17:38, 18 April 2015 (diff | hist) . . (+404)‎ . . N File talk:Bodetal Wanderweg.jpg ‎ (http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm) (current)

Cheers, · · · Peter (Southwood) (talk): 20:47, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

This seems to be a misunderstanding. Raymond records external re-uses of his images on the respective talkpages, as do I and many other contributers. See File talk:Potsdam - Schloss Sanssouci.jpg for example. --Túrelio (talk) 20:52, 18 April 2015 (UTC)
@Pbsouthwood: Thanks for your question. As User:Túrelio already said, I have documented the external usage of Commons images only. As you can see, my own File:Tegelbergbahn - Kabine und Talstation (3225).jpg‎ is used on http://www.joaser.de/sport-freizeit-schwangau-neuschwanstein-muehlberg.htm and as service for other Commons users I have added the usage notice on their file talk pages too. Raymond 21:41, 18 April 2015 (UTC)
OK, no problem. I got a e-mail change notification from my watchlist, and when I clicked on the editor's summary I got a somewhat unexpected result. Perhaps you could add the words "External use on" (in the language of your choice) before the link, which would make things considerably clearer. Cheers, · · · Peter (Southwood) (talk): 14:00, 19 April 2015 (UTC)
This section was archived on a request by: · · · Peter (Southwood) (talk): 14:00, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

Help

Lets say I take snapshot of a bird and I don't know its scientific name or the common name for it and I want to upload it on commons, What do I do?--Kwameghana (talk) 08:08, 14 April 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kwameghana (talk • contribs)

Calculating Formula Inline?

Recently the system urged me (with my name in red) to add a portrait. I did. Now I’d like to add my current age – a number changig with time and the Grace of God. Is there a way to add a "life" formula into the text to calculate my age at the moment of page access, please? Kindly reply directly to me as well. Fritz Jörn (talk)

Art glass photos

I have a question, just to make sure. I am writing a few articles on Wikipedia of defunct glass companies, mostly carnival glass manufacturers. I would like to add photos of some of the glass they made. I own the glass objects I am taking photos of, and of course I will be taking the photos. So just to be sure, would the photos violate any of the restrictions? I plan on using the Free Art License. AlbinoFerret (talk) 23:37, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

That may be a problem depending on the age of those objects, whether they are "useful articles" or primarily decorative, and the jurisdiction in question. The companies may no longer exist, and you may own the physical objects, but copyright is an immaterial right that doesn't follow ownership of the object. If those objects are eligible for copyright protection, that right may have been transferred from the companies to some other entity before they ceased operations. It's also possible that the individual glass artists or their heirs are copyright holders. You may wish to read Commons:Derivative works, which has more information on this topic. —LX (talk, contribs) 18:08, 11 April 2015 (UTC)
@AlbinoFerret: , it also matters what country they were from. If they were U.S., pre-1978, and lacked a copyright notice, then they are public domain. - Jmabel ! talk 18:23, 11 April 2015 (UTC)
In that case, I've got two images of a fake dinosaur statue in Spring Hill, Florida that are falsely tagged as a copyright violation. ----DanTD (talk) 18:33, 11 April 2015 (UTC)
These works pieces of glass were from companies that closed in 1931 (Northwood) and 1925 (Dugan), there are no copyright markings on them. In fact even modern pieces from Fenton art glass dont carry copyright notices, but I think it would be safer if I ever took photos of pieces of Fenton, I would stick to items before they were marked with the Fenton logo and so date them to before 1970. AlbinoFerret (talk) 18:53, 11 April 2015 (UTC)
It's probably a good idea to mention this on the file description page. We don't really have good templates for indicating the copyright status of depicted objects, but free text is fine for this purpose. —LX (talk, contribs) 18:59, 11 April 2015 (UTC)
Thanks, I forgot to mention that they are both bowls, one was part of a berry set meant to serve berries/deserts in. AlbinoFerret (talk) 19:01, 11 April 2015 (UTC)
I just uploaded the photos here and here. I hope the language added to the description is good enough. If not please let me know where to place the suggested language. Is there a way to change the license? I really dont care about attribution, and the Free Art License seems like a good fit. AlbinoFerret (talk) 21:20, 11 April 2015 (UTC)
I think that should be fine. - Jmabel ! talk 22:58, 11 April 2015 (UTC)
You do realize that the attribution requirements of the Free Art License and the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License are basically the same, right? —LX (talk, contribs) 17:24, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
I had not thought about it, and what I would like is not to deal with attribution. I just want the freedom to modify, share, ect to pass forward. I want to remain anonymous, and attribution to AlbinoFerret doesnt make much sense. Since I have already said they are from my own collection, and I plan on adding many more, I dont want to advertise where they are located. Is there a free license that the commons accepts that doesnt include attribution but keeps the media free? I would have used the GPL, I am a linux user and believe in the GPL, but it isnt the best for photos since its about code. AlbinoFerret 19:39, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Sure, assuming the depicted works are PD, there are {{PD-user}} and {{CC-0}}.—Odysseus1479 (talk) 03:11, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
One thing to note about that option is that you'd waive all copyright, meaning anyone can do whatever they want with it, including creating non-free derivative works. CC-by-sa and the FAL are both copyleft licenses, meaning if someone modifies your work, they have to release the resulting work under the same free license, so that others can use that too. Perhaps that's not an issue for you, and in that case, releasing it into the public domain instead of using a copyleft license is a good option. After all, the requirements of any license may be difficult to enforce if you wish to remain anonymous. —LX (talk, contribs) 05:53, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
Thank you LX I went looking for the CC-by-sa and found it, its perfect for what I want. I would hope that whoever wanted to use something I place on the commons would follow the license, it may not happen, and it may be hard to enforce if I am anonymous. But I would like to limit exposure, and if further steps are needed they will likely be less public than on the commons. AlbinoFerret 12:29, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

My files were refused, can someone help me to get them accepted?

Hi!

I had uploaded files but they were rejected because I didn't have the permission to use them. I read many things about the subject but it is still very vague for me. The podcast I had uploaded is from this website http://www.wpr.org/preserving-comic-books-long-term , do I have to email them to get their permission to use it? The photos I had uploaded were sent to me by their owner, does he also have to send me a permission paper or something?

Thanks in advance, CyrilG4 (talk) 15:24, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

  • Commons can only host media released under a free licence. That means that if people upload media and we cannot prove it to be freely licenced, we must delete it. However, sometimes if there is uncertainty about the licence status it will be tagged with a permissions template, giving the uploader an opportunity to prove the media to be free; if this doesn't happen within seven days, the media is deleted per the precautionary principle. If you know that the copyright holder wants the media released under a free licence, you should follow the procedures outlined in COM:OTRS and have them email the permissions through, so we can verify the licence. Once the media is verified to be freely licenced, it will be undeleted. I hope this helps explain the situation, and what you need to do to get the files restored. ColonialGrid (talk) 15:32, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
  • (Edit conflict) Hello CyrilG4, the copyright holder has to send a permission via e-mail to permissions-commons@wikimedia.org. Please read COM:OTRS for details and have them use the e-mail template provided there. You may want to read COM:Licensing as well in case they have questions regarding the licensing options Commons offers. Hope that helps? --El Grafo (talk) 15:35, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Photograph to add to Peter Bingham Hinchcliffe page

I have come across a Wikipedia page about my Ecclesiastical History professor The Rev Dr Peter Bingham Hinchcliffe. I attended his lectures at Rhodes University Grahamstown in South Africa in 1965 and have a photograph of the Livingstone Fellowship for that year. The Fellowship was of theological students and staff at the University.. I was the "klokker" or Chairperson of the fellowship that year. I see that Prof Hinchcliffe's entry has no photo graph and wondered if I might upload a clip from the photo graph so that it could be added to the page. How should I go about doing that?

  • You say "I have a photograph". Are you the copyright holder of the photo? If not, you'd need that copyright holder's permission. You'd have to identify that person and have them go through the process described at COM:OTRS (or upload the photo themselves). If you are the photographer, and hence the copyright holder, you would upload like any other photo, the add to an article like any other photo on Commons. - Jmabel ! talk 03:28, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Microtome machine

Is this type of micro tome machine still available. is it strong enough to cut thin slices of timber because the micro tome machine that we have available in Fiji is for cutting soft tissues materials only.We would like to purchase one for our research project that would commence sometimes this year.We are researching into few local species and we would like to study the cells of this species and we do need this micro tome machine to cut out thin slides slices to be able to observe the slides under microscopic. If you have it available how could we purchase it. LOOKING FORWARD TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON.

Can I add to the description of an image from an online archive?

Often when I am categorizing images, I find an old image from an online archive that does not have a good narrative description. Here is an example: File:Auditorium (13904214817).jpg. This is a good image of an auditorium that is set up for an orchestra concert before the orchestra members have arrived. Can I add that kind of text to the description, or does Commons want to keep the description exactly as it is in the archive? Downtowngal (talk) 01:34, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

  • In this case, clearly yes. There is more of an issue with things like HABS, where we use the {{Photograph}} template (or similar) and try to take their descriptions intact from the source; even there, we have a "notes" field for our own additional remarks. - Jmabel ! talk

Can someone help me extract an image from a PDF?

I have uploaded an extract from a PDF that has a map, but when I try to export this in a more natural format like JPG or PNG it comes out all pixellated when I zoom in. Can someone have a go at it? Maury Markowitz (talk) 12:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

This section was archived on a request by: Map image has been extracted.—Odysseus1479 (talk) 02:28, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Editing a misleading/false description

We have a page about changing the file's name, which explains that any user can request a rename when the file's name is misleading or false. But I couldn't find anything about whether it's okay to edit the description if it's misleading or false. Another problem is that while I know the description is false, I don't know what is really depicted in the image, so I wouldn't be able to write anything more than "unknown tool" or something like that. What should I do? JudgeDeadd (talk) 09:36, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

  • A key tenet of all Wiki projects is being bold. If you see a mistake, fix it; if someone else disagrees they can easily revert you. File names are a little different, they affect file use on other Wikimedia projects, and can break external links. This is why the file-moving right is restricted. Which image are you specifically referring to? ColonialGrid (talk) 10:01, 17 April 2015 (UTC)
{{Fact disputed}} or {{Inaccurate description}} might have been appropriate here. There's also a list of related templates in the "See also" section of the documentation for those templates. —LX (talk, contribs) 11:47, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

A few files failing to transfer with flickr2commons

This section was archived on a request by: Jmabel ! talk 23:27, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

A few files are failing to transfer with http://tools.wmflabs.org/flickr2commons/. It's giving bogus errors such as "Transfer failed [1] : Warning/duplicate" even though clearly it is not on Commons. Any suggestions?

The files that aren't copying, all in Flickr album/set number 72157652002734562:

(If someone else wants to do the transfer, please include the descriptions from Flickr and use categories Category:Chastity Belt (band) Category:Pop Conference 2015 Category:Photographs taken on 2015-04-17, and please let me know when it's done.) - Jmabel ! talk 05:04, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

  • Section resolved, managed to get it all worked out myself. Apparently the images made it over, but not the content. Odd, because they were part of a large batch that otherwise made it just fine. - Jmabel ! talk 23:27, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
This section was archived on a request by: Jmabel ! talk 23:27, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Missing fonts in SVG

I just uploaded image I made in SVG. It looks fine in this wikimedia link: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Flag_of_Levi.svg

But the Wikimedia commons link is using a different font (probably since this font is missing): https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%91%D7%A5:Flag_of_Levi.svg

Is it fixable?

Shavitco (talk) 20:51, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Help:SVG#Fonts / text has information on which fonts are supported for Mediawiki's thumbnail rendering of SVG files. —LX (talk, contribs) 18:40, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

If you use Inkscape for SVG files, then simply convert the text to path, and everything will be OK, only the text will not be editable. Kaboldy (talk) 17:36, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Thank you! Shavitco (talk) 20:18, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm clueless about videos

How does one remove the audio from OGV files? What's the recommended software for Linux and Windows? --Michaeldsuarez (talk) 13:12, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

@Michaeldsuarez: I would use the -an option of ffmpeg or avconv. There are also builds for Windows. -- Rillke(q?) 21:02, 17 April 2015 (UTC)
I think a bot acting upon adding a template like {{Remove audio}} would be neat (analogous to what {{Rotate}} triggers). -- Rillke(q?) 21:07, 17 April 2015 (UTC)
Thank you for the instructions, and extra thanks for removing the audio from those videos yourself. You saved three videos from deletion, and I appreciate it very much. --Michaeldsuarez (talk) 13:54, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Want to make a post

Dear Sir/Madam, I'm having difficulties in posting John Young & Associates' profile on Wikipedia. Kindly help me in posting the profile. Thanks Samuel Accra - Ghana. — Preceding unsigned comment added by John Young & Associates (talk • contribs) 18:47, 15 April 2015‎ (UTC)

You should ask at this board. Ruslik (talk) 19:59, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Samuel you need to come and join Wikimedia Ghana group. Where we have other group with massive experience to guide you through any form of problem you might have.--Kwameghana (talk) 19:18, 18 April 2015 (UTC). feel free to send me a message.

Can't log in

I can't log in. Every page load I see a box in the corner that says "Central login You are centrally logged in. Reload this page to apply your user settings." However reloading does nothing but give the same warning. Trying to go to the Log in page doesn't work as it dumps me back on the orignal page before I can type anything - with the same notice. (I have just started using Firefox) 2602:304:B296:DBE0:2129:8CF2:C6B5:9909 19:29, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

What is your username? Ruslik (talk) 20:04, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
Not important. I have had a unified account since April 12, 2008. 2602:304:B296:DBE0:2129:8CF2:C6B5:9909 20:46, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
Still can't log in correctly. I can log out on Wikipedia, come to Commons and log in - but get thrown back to the same error message, yet if I go to any other Wikimedia site and I am correctly logged in (after only logging in on Commons) Why won't Commons let me in? 2602:304:B296:DBE0:45F9:20AD:8D10:8609 01:21, 18 April 2015 (UTC)
If you've just started using Firefox, check your cookie policy. Green Giant (talk) 15:09, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

Uploading a Image of a Politician

I am interested in uploading an politician. I did not take the picture but the photo was taken by the State as their official portrait when they started. Can I upload these pictures to Wikimedia Commons? If I can't what will I have to do to post them on Wikimedia Commons? --JaredPM (talk) 02:16, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

  • Maybe, some governments release content on their websites under free licences, some have a restriction on holding copyright, but, some do not and hold copyright on all of their works. Can you link to the page that hosts the image? ColonialGrid (talk) 04:01, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Redirect problem

Hi, I had to change a redirect because it created hundreds of mistakes on all the wikipedias. Granted, the Third Reich's flag from 1933 to 1935 was this one (the svastika flag only became the national flag in 1935) but the nazi period is so associated with 1933 that Flag of Germany 1933.svg is used in hundreds of pages (battles of world war II, Wehrmarcht and SS units, flags, tanks, etc). I don't know how this problem can be fixed (maybe there should be some transwiki modification to replace Flag of Germany 1933.svg with Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg everywhere) but the previous redirect, even though it was correct in absolute, created too many problems. Maybe you can find a solution, but for now we must stick to the redirect as I just corrected it... Jean-Jacques Georges (talk) 14:56, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Well, I corrected the file usage on commons. Ruslik (talk) 17:37, 18 April 2015 (UTC)
All other wikis require manual review as well. Unfortunately there is no other way around. Ruslik (talk) 19:23, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

undeleting images

Several weeks ago I emailed a request that three images uploaded in Dec 2014 be undeleted but as yet I have received no reply.

I have corrected the permissions I initially used but this seems to have no effect either.

Please advise how I can insert these images for which I have the owner's permission to upload and use freely? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Trowbridge Aikikai (talk • contribs)

lebororo is very old Lebororo is not me

Since internet is operational I uUsed lebororo, easy to check I am lebororo since 1995.

En français, je suis lebororo mais pas Lebororo... Qui a un problème? mettez lebororo sur internet et vous verrez qui je suis Merci lebororo — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.241.26.98 (talk • contribs) 04:47, 21 April 2015‎ (UTC)

This is the Wikimedia Commons help desk. Do you have a question about using Wikimedia Commons? If so, what is your question? —LX (talk, contribs) 06:02, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Rhum_Charrette

Bonjour, J'ai publié sur Wikipédia une adjonction à l’article sur le RHUM CHARRETTE : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhum_Charrette Cela pour indiquer l’auteur du concept et de l’étiquette originale. Et je voulais en apporter la preuve avec les fichiers-images de ses travaux et correspondance de l’époque qu’il m’avait lui-même confiés. Mais, peu familier de vos procédures, je n’ai pas réussi à insérer ces fichiers dans l’article, ou plutôt, ils ont été effacés. Votre message d’aujourd’hui me dit que j’ai un problème de licence ( ?). Pouvez-vous m’indiquer ce que je dois faire pour obtenir la publication de ces images qui prouvent la paternité du concept et de l’étiquette originale ? Cordialement. Bernard ROUQUET. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ‎Cairo~commonswiki (talk • contribs)

  • You did not indicate any license, so they were deleted. Given your description, I assume they will be {{PD-old-100}} or some such. Now that they've been deleted, though, you'll need to take them to Commons:Undeletion requests.
  • Would someone with better French than mine please take this one over and help him out? I read French pretty well, but cannot write it. - Jmabel ! talk 15:57, 21 April 2015 (UTC)
@Cairo~commonswiki: Merci à l'avenir de poser vos questions en français sur la page francophone Commons:Service d'aide, ici c'est la page anglophone. D'après Jmabel, il semblerait que vous ayez oublié d'ajouter une licence sur vos fichiers et les fichiers ont donc été supprimés. Pour que nous pussions mieux vous aider, merci de reposer votre question sur Commons:Service d'aide ou répondez ici mais en anglais. Cordialement, Thibaut120094 (talk) 16:38, 21 April 2015 (UTC)
Bonjour, Les messages, vous notifiant du problème de licence au sujet des images, datent de l'année 2012, après que vous avez téléversé ces images et, vu l'absence de réaction, les fichiers de ces images ont été supprimés peu après, toujours en 2012. L'autre message, que vous avez reçu aujourd'hui, est à propos d'un tout autre sujet, c'est-à-dire un changement de la politique des noms des comptes d'utilisateurs, sans rapport avec les images. En ce qui concerne les images, il s'agit d'insérer, dans la page de description de chaque image, un modèle qui énonce la raison précise pour laquelle cette image est libre. Selon le cas, cela pourrait être, par exemple, une licence libre accordée par le propriétaire des droits d'auteur, ou un modèle énonçant que les droits d'auteur patrimoniaux ont expiré par l'effet de la loi. Si vous précisez les faits relatifs à ces images et si elles sont libres, on pourra peut-être vous orienter vers les modèles à utiliser. Si elles sont libres, il est possible pour Commons de remettre en ligne les fichiers qui avaient été supprimés en 2012, sans que vous en téléversiez de nouveaux exemplaires. Pour ce faire, il vous faudra faire une demande sur la page Commons:Undeletion requests. -- Asclepias (talk) 17:10, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Delayedchoice

Hello, I just created a user account, and I have been working in the sandbox. I want to try uploading a file and I could not do so. How can I upload the file? Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Delayedchoice (talk • contribs)

@Delayedchoice: Hi,
See here: Special:UploadWizard. Please note that you can only upload your own pictures. For other works, you need a permission from the photographer. Regards, Yann (talk) 08:43, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Copyright Issue

Hello, I work in the marketing department at Juniata College and was asked to upload photos to our Wikipedia page. The photos that I want to upload were taken by a paid professional of the school. To make sure that we could share his photos, we sent him an email. He replied saying that we could "share them with the world." When I go to upload the photos, however, I'm not sure which copyright option to use. If you have any suggestions, that would be great. Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by ‎Shalenmae (talk • contribs)

  • Because you are not the copyright holder, you'll need to hae him send email as described at COM:OTRS to specify a license. You can have him send a single email saying that you'll be uploading on his behalf, and that your uploads of his photos are all authorized. He'll need to specify a particular license: I recommend either CC-BY or CC-BY-SA, either of which means his work can be shared, modified, etc. but must be credited. You can add {{OTRS pending}} to the uploads, as well as the relevant license.
  • If any of that is unclear after you read COM:OTRS, feel free to as follow-up questions here or to contact me for further help. - Jmabel ! talk 15:51, 21 April 2015 (UTC)
It is not clear what "paid professional of the school" means. If the photographer is an employee then the school own the copyright. Ruslik (talk) 16:39, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Uploading a File

An admin at Wikipedia said that asking here would be more helpful. Problem is I tried uploading a file. I took some time to fill the bar (that it is being uploaded) and few minutes later. It went to zero! Agh! Then it look so much time filling the bar. And at lest message came Bad Token. What should I do? It occurred twice. Is it a bug or something?
It is a .jpg file and size is more than 6 MB.
aGastya  ✉ Message Me! (: 11:10, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Did you try to upload image here (Commons) or on your project? Ruslik (talk) 16:36, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
@Ruslik0: I tried to upload here at Commons.
aGastya  ✉ Message Me! (: 17:09, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Damaged files

Hi there. These two files seem to be damaged: [2], [3]. Thanks. Magnolia677 (talk) 03:45, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi, Right, I reuploaded them. Thanks for reporting. Yann (talk) 08:29, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Inquiry regarding the hosting of IS/ISIS/ISIL Videos for the purposes of referencing said works in an academic article.

To whom it may concern,

I am writing an academic research paper on the recruiting tactics of Islamic State (IS). Part of the report includes an analysis of the video productions published by IS.

These videos are often only found on obscure, spammy, disreputable, or unsafe websites or forums. I have managed to attain copies of three IS videos that I will be analyzing in my report.

The videos created by IS were published into the public domain and no copyright claim exists on the materials. The purpose of uploading them to Wikimedia Commons is so that a static link exists to which I can reference in the citations of my research paper - thus a purely educational purpose.

However, the biggest hurdle is that the content in question is obviously quite violent and brutal in nature, which many may find objectionable.

Please advise on how I should proceed. I will not attempt to upload the content until this inquiry is resolved.

Thanks,

TheNolanK — Preceding unsigned comment added by TheNolanK (talk • contribs) 12:50, 16 April 2015‎ (UTC)

  • The violence isn't an issue (Commons is not censored) and they are certainly newsworthy enough to be in scope, but what is your basis for saying that they are not copyrighted? Under the Berne convention, copyright doesn't have to be "claimed": it exists by default and would have to be actively reassigned or renounced. Or am I missing something? - Jmabel ! talk 14:50, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
Copyright is still owned by the creators of the films (we cannot assume they are all made by a single individual); just releasing propaganda films doesn't release copyright. Ellin Beltz (talk) 16:21, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
Please contact ISIS and have their public relations representative agree to send an email as described at Commons:Email_templates#Declaration_of_consent_for_all_inquiries. They will have to prove that they represent the organization and own the copyright. In the future, please advise them to include the text "Creative Commons 0" in their videos with a link to the Creative Commons page giving the agreement. Hosting the videos here is not a problem if copyright is in order. Blue Rasberry (talk) 17:18, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
  • Cute, Mr. R. But that is indeed the problem. There must be some reputable site that would host these for academic purposes under fair use, though. Can anyone help this person? - Jmabel ! talk 18:08, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
  • UPDATE: Iraq is not a signatory of the Berne convention, and the makers of videos claim to be nationals of the 'Islamic State' which is also not a Berne member. Additionally, on their website - (Which is dubious for security reasons and probably put me on a government list) - the videos are available for free download and their FAQ page (once translated) clearly states that transmission and reproduction of the video is allowed and, in fact, says to "be sure you diligent in published everywhere". ( https://isdarat.org/instructions ) That website is the official Islamic State website and the source of the videos I have attained. However, being that the website is run by a terrorist organization, their domain may be shut down and/or blown to bits and is thus unreliable. --TheNolanK (talk) 20:35, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
I'm not sure that Iraq signing the Berne convention or not is relevant to Commons, since Commons requires the work to be free in its source country as well as the United States. Iraq does have a copyright law. In this case, the source country may be Iraq or Syria (even if ISIS controls the area, it won't be recognised as a state by anybody else), and it may have been first published elsewhere. Permission for free distribution isn't sufficient for Commons: there must also be permission for modification and commercial use. --ghouston (talk) 22:52, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
Exactly. See COM:Licensing and Commons cares about copyright even when a copyright owner does not. I wouldn't feel comfortable hosting files like that without an "official" exception rule approved by both WMF legal and a community vote. --El Grafo (talk) 11:50, 17 April 2015 (UTC)
So, emailing the Islamic State it is!--TheNolanK (talk) 21:48, 17 April 2015 (UTC)
TheNolanK I have spammed your request in local wikis [4], [5] ...--Alexmar983 (talk) 00:14, 19 April 2015 (UTC)
The Berne Convention protects works if the work was first published in a Berne Convention country (or published within a Berne Convention country within 30 days after publication in Iraq) or if the author is a citizen or resident of a Berne Convention country. As lots of Islamic State material is distributed worldwide, the material would often be copyrighted in Berne Convention countries per the 30-day rule. Also, there are lots of reports in the media of people from Europe and elsewhere joining the Islamic State, so the material will sometimes be protected in Berne Convention countries due to the citizenship rule. The citizenship rule applies even if the author is anonymous. --Stefan4 (talk) 21:20, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

To avoid the copyright issue, perhaps it would be better to use an web archiving service such as the Internet Archive or Perma.cc. Note that Perma.cc even has a "Dark Archive" for archiving materials that cannot be made publicly viewable, for example, because of copyright issues, a "no archive" tag or a valid DMCA takedown request. — SMUconlaw (talk) 16:46, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

two different persons with same portrait

Not sure where I should put this notification...

As reported at en:Wikipedia:Help desk#Identification (again) – now in archives: en:Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2015 April 20#Identification (again) – images

File:Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon.jpg

and

File:Arthur Godley in later life.jpg

are versions of the same photograph. --CiaPan (talk) 11:43, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

I uploaded Mr Godley, but the source appears to be sitting behind a paywall these days. I've got Letters from early New Zealand by his mother on my bookshelf but that does not contain a portrait of Arthur Godley as an adult; it has a painting of him as a four-year old. So that's of no help. Maybe somebody with a subscription to the Oxford DNB could have a look whether they've changed their mind with regards to the portrait. Schwede66 21:03, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
The photo of Godley on the Oxford DNB is the same as the above photos. Paora (talk) 02:09, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Help uploading an image

Greetings. I need help uploading an image. I had successfully uploaded it previously, but was confused about how to properly licence it. (When not confused I've successfully uploaded several dozen images, both of my own and the work of others with appropriate licenses.) So I picked "I don't know". I thought that was enough, and if there was any question either someone who understood the nuances of licensing would just fix it or contact me and request more information. Instead, someone went and deleted it, and now I cannot try again to upload it with a better effort to appropriately license it. Pleas help! Thank you. Yours, Wikiuser100 (talk) 16:53, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

You should not try to reupload it. Instead, you can request undeletion. Be sure to mention the name of the file and provide evidence of the copyright holder publishing it under a free license (or a PD rationale with supporting evidence). —LX (talk, contribs) 18:22, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Copyright help regarding Azur Air Logo.svg

I have a problem that I took the reference, but which exactly license it has, I have no idea --MikleffCoolX (talk) 05:57, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

What to do with the old account after finaly getting a SUL here?

I'm happy to finaly have an account with the name Shlomo here, which for some administrative reason couldn't be created earlier and which is now connected via SUL to my identity on other Wiki projects, where I'm more active. However, on Commons, all my contributions, uploads etc. up to now have been made under the account Šlomo. Is there some way to merge these two accounts to the Shlomo? I ask, while this one is still brand new, without any edits, uploads or even setting changes. If this is not possible, I will have to regretfully abandon the old account and start anew :( --Shlomo (talk) 07:07, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Yes, it is possible to rename your account with zero edits to some other name and then to rename the local account Šlomo to Shlomo. You will be able to merge it into your global account. See m:Steward_requests/Username_changes. Ruslik (talk) 09:42, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
Thanks for the link; since both accounts of mine are already global, I'll have to wait for the merging tool and the right place for requests like this is the subpage m:Steward requests/Username changes/Pending. --Shlomo (talk) 07:57, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

How do I get to the actual media content?

I see a lot of links to "what is public domain" "rules of the site" and "how to upload media." But I see nothing about how to actually access the media which has been uploaded.

1) I would especially like to see poems which are in the public domain.

2) Also, I would like to know if it is all right to copy and paste elsewhere (i.e. Duolingo--a language learning site, for translation into Spanish) poems which are in the public domain, listed here. 208.106.44.217 16:29, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

You could start at Category:Poetry or by using the search function. But poems, being essentially text-only content is generally outside our project scope. You might have more luck finding such content at Wikisource. As for your second question, the answer is yes. Do note that some of the content hosted is not in the public domain, but copyrighted and published under a free license, which means you can still use it, but you must comply with the licensing requirements. See Commons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia for more information. —LX (talk, contribs) 16:58, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

Reusing a Gandhi picture for a german magazine which is public domain in India

Hello,

I want to use this picture of Gandhi for a magazine: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_at_Dandi_5_April_1930.jpg

It is in the Public Domain in India but I am not sure if I can use it in Germany as well. I also found the same picture at trhe archive of several photo agencies.

Can you provide me with some information about it?

Thanks a lot and kind regards

Laurin Schmid — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.246.239.130 (talk • contribs) 08:30, 27 April 2015‎ (UTC)

Hello Laurin, it seems that the picture was taken from this book. The author is German, so it might be worth a try contacting him. --El Grafo (talk) 09:08, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
I know Peter Rühe, and he just republished pictures of Gandhi, and wrongfully claims copyright about them. So no, being published in this book has no effect on its copyright status. This picture was certainly published in India before that. I think there is little doubt that the picture is in the public domain in Germany, either because of the rule of the shorter term, or by German law of an anonymous picture published more than 70 years ago. Regards, Yann (talk) 10:32, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
If the photographer was a citizen of a European Union country (which might be the case with pictures from German books), then EU rules state that the rule of the shorter term can't be used. However, if (as Yann suggests) the picture was taken from some old Indian source, then the photographer is presumably not a citizen of the European Union. --Stefan4 (talk) 15:59, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Deletion requests

I would like to ask this: how much time does it take for deletion requests to be addressed, or, at least, closed by an administrator? I personally find this a little embarrassing. I was certain that Commons was almost as active as enwiki.--The Theosophist (talk) 12:20, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

It depends. ;oD It usually takes a week, but it can be much longer. Which DRs are you talking about? Regards, Yann (talk) 12:22, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
@Yann: Take Commons:Deletion requests/2015/04/07 as an example. 20 days have passed and, from the 58 requests, only two have been closed and more than twenty are completely unaddressed.--The Theosophist (talk) 13:55, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
Right, we usually have a backlog of DRs. We need more active admins. Regards, Yann (talk) 15:46, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
User:The Theosophist: Enwiki still has unclosed file discussions from last year, which is more than 20 days. On the other hand, Commons still has unclosed "categories for discussion" from 2011. --Stefan4 (talk) 16:02, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
There were many more than 58 for that day, as one can see from the list before the closed requests were removed from it. That said, you can get an idea of the situation in the section Current requests. Currently, there are about 20 daily lists with a certain number of requests that could be closed. But, as the above example for 2015/04/07 shows, the majority of the requests for some of those days have already been closed. Of the remaining requests, some may be still open because are more difficult to judge or because they could require more discussion or because they require admins with a knowledge of some languages. Backlogs are not good, but It's been worse. -- Asclepias (talk) 17:43, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Using pictures from Commons to help users map on OSM

Is it allowed for people like me to use Commons pictures to help map on OpenStreetMap? --AmaryllisGardener talk 14:26, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

@Jmabel: Like if I were to add data about the number of floors a building has based on a Commons picture, or map a bench that can be seen in a city center, etc. --AmaryllisGardener talk 19:25, 28 April 2015 (UTC)
Any images you geolocate will appear when the Commons layer is displayed on OSM, so you can make the information available by taking care to include an accurate Location parameter on file pages. Whether or not OSM editors make use of this feature I have no idea—but others might.—Odysseus1479 (talk) 06:23, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

A new problem using InstantCommons

I am using InstantCommons for a long period in many different wiki sites accross different platforms in order to embed wiki commons files in those sites. In the last days all of those sited manifest the same issue, not showing the pictures and displayinh the broken file path category. This issue is probably due to some kind of policy change in wiki commons. How should I handle this? You can see the missing image in this page for example: http://edu.wiki.org.il — Preceding unsigned comment added by 5.29.28.32 (talk • contribs)

  • I see an image there, and I don't see any broken image there. Could you indicate what image isn't working for you (the large photo, or something subtler?) The URL of the image that you are not seeing would be helpful. - Jmabel ! talk 00:04, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

Apparently it was somehow fixed and the sites are again displaying the images. I don't think I can say which images disappeared, but I guess it has to do with some connection problem of wiki commons that was resolved. Thanks.

What is this?

Does anyone have any idea what this is a picture of?

I want to rename this to something more descriptive, but to me it just looks like some junk with bolts in it. BD2412 T 00:08, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

It’s linked to an Indonesian Wiktionary article called er. But if Google Translate is correct, the definition there is “a name of the letter r”, little help to identifying the subject. Maybe the uploader thought the arrangement of slabs/segments/whatever, as figure or ground, resembles the letter. (Do we have categories for accidental letterforms?) Does anyone here read Bahasa Indonesian?
According to the geolocation, the photo is from near the shore of an inlet on the Baltimore (MD, USA) harbour. FWIW my WAG is that the objects are components of a breakwater, boat-ramp, floodgate, or some such structure.—Odysseus1479 (talk) 06:14, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

When an image has been used in by an external article...

Hi, what's the typical way to denote that an image has been used (fairly) by others? For instance, if an image has been used (with credit) as part of an article in a newspaper or online article? Are there any specialized templates that can be added, or a relevant section of the Help I could read? Jason Quinn (talk) 11:58, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi, You can use the template Published. -- Asclepias (talk) 13:47, 26 April 2015 (UTC)
… which goes on the talk page, not the main file page. - Jmabel ! talk 15:43, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
Thank you, Asclepias and Jmabel. Jason Quinn (talk) 19:38, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

Musée-Arles-Mosaïques-Orphée.jpg

On the Bistro, a user asks about a problem with one file he uploaded: File:Musée-Arles-Mosaïques-Orphée.jpg. The file is there and it can be viewed by clicking the link to the full image, but the thumbnails do not display. It does not seem to be a problem with the size. And the user uploaded other similar files without problem. Is that fixable? -- Asclepias (talk) 15:16, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

✓ Fixed by Túrelio. Thanks to him. Regards, Yann (talk) 08:22, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

Usernames became new names in 2015 (as seen below). (thats my understanding)

The MESSAGE: ( This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: Special:GlobalRenameRequest. -- Keegan (WMF) (talk)

03:25, 21 April 2015 (UTC) )

How can i find the user now?? I just have his old USERNAME : Horst Frank — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2a02:8070:d281:c100:5c25:3acb:f6c3:26f7 (talk • contribs) 19:44, 24 April 2020‎ (UTC)

Perhaps you're looking for User:Horst Frank~commonswiki? Ahmadtalk 19:52, 24 April 2020 (UTC)
@IP: Nonetheless you should not expect any reaction. Horst Frank~commonswiki was last active in May 2010. Horst Frank in dewiki made his last edit in January 2015, Horst Frank in Commons was never active. — Speravir – 23:37, 26 April 2020 (UTC)
Retrieved from "https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Help_desk/Archive/2015/04&oldid=510015499"