Commons talk:Map resources

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Nord-Trøndelag county maps[edit]

I see that you have listed Media:Nord-trøndelag.xcf as the source file for my Nord-Trøndelag county maps. It is not. It was the source file for an old and pretty ugly version of the maps. I hope it will be deleted. The real source is a SVG-file (that I am unable to upload cause it is SVG. I suppose I will publish the source file somewhere else. If you want it mail me and I'll send it. --Emuzesto 21:11, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

External sources[edit]

I've moved one of the sources to this page instead since ther eisn't enough information to support that images from it are indeed free. The pge does not explicitly mention commercial and derivative use and the phrase used on the page sounds more like a press license. To verify that these maps are indeed as free as Commons requires an e-mail should be sent to confirm this and the reply registered with OTRS. /Lokal_Profil 10:40, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The UC Atlas of Global Inequality permission is not vague. I am moving it back. A press license is commercial use. If you want further confirmation then you should email them. --Timeshifter (talk) 16:11, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Actually a press license is not comercial use as has been shown time and time again. Press licenses tend to rely heavlily on fair use. I.e. you can use the iamge for comercial purposes if it say illustrates an article about the subject, but not to put on a T-shirt that you sell. They tend to be even more restrictive when it comes to derivative works. This is why Commons:Email templates is so explicit with these details. Almost all places I've contacted with similar formulations have said no to free use as Commons defines it. I've therefore removed the entry again (but updated the text on this page for your last edits). Getting a clear answer via e-mail (logged at OTRS) is the solution. /Lokal_Profil 19:07, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You brought up the press license, not UC Atlas of Global Inequality. My understanding, and your understanding, of a press license, is therefore not relevant. You are creating a problem where there is no problem. It is not required to have an OTRS permission to reuse free images. That is your insistence. I am returning the link to the resources. You can't get much clearer than their permission statement on their map entry page. Have they ever complained about the reuse of their images? Why create a problem where there is none? The link has been here for many months without problems. --Timeshifter (talk) 00:44, 27 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Another one. /Lokal_Profil 10:42, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Free blank maps of countries and continents at geography.about.com: [2]
OK. I agree the about.com info is too vague. Someone might ask at the Geography forums at About.com: [3]. Guest entry to view forums: [4]
See also the overall map portal at about.com:
http://geography.about.com/od/findmaps/u/maps.htm --Timeshifter (talk) 16:22, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]


I won't move the links for now but instead ask for some opinions from others to make sure I'm not heading of in the wrong direction. The main problem however is that free doesn't always mean free in the sense that Commons means it. Also (reply to post on Category talk:Maps) I'm not removing any sources. I moved them to the talk page (thus retaining the information) so that their suitability could be discussed without. By moving them from the main page to the talk page there is no risk of anyone beliving that there is no problem with the source. Also for resource pages like this one it's even more important that we are sure about the sources since they are likely to involve many images and many different contributors. /Lokal_Profil 12:12, 27 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Commons_talk:Licensing#How_explicit_do_permissions_need_to_be, forgot the link to where I asked =) /Lokal_Profil 12:52, 27 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I think I clarified the resources section by creating some subsections. Feel free to edit for further clarification. This way people know of all the resources, and someone may followup on uploading images, and contacting the resources. --Timeshifter (talk) 15:38, 27 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I need some advice[edit]

I have a guy who wants to donate detailed map data for Afghanistan and he's asking me several questions about how to do it. I lack the expertise to help him.

"We have pdf, text, powerpoint, and doc files for Afghanistan provinces and districts in addition to some maps that could be in the form of pdf, kml, esri shape files, or jpegs. I would like to provide these via a centralized account of some sort vice various users and have very little idea of how to do that best. I would also like to provide complete updates on a periodic cycle (~every six weeks) to replace any prior input."

What advice should I give him? Should he post here to continue the conversation? (I will send him a link to this.)--Jimbo Wales (talk) 16:26, 18 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

What comes to my mind is to convert those formats to PDF or DJVU (as only possible formats are png, gif, jpg, jpeg, xcf, mid, ogg, ogv, svg, djvu, tif, tiff, oga and pdf) and upload them in here using e.g. Commonist. When uploading PDFes, it is important to notice local administrators what PDFes are about and from which account they will come.--Juan de Vojníkov (talk) 16:40, 18 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
People (like User:Multichill) have written bots to automatically upload batches of files like this as well. That would probably be preferable. Wknight94 talk 16:46, 18 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I guess having him post here directly would be the easiest. And generally speaking, I would say the biggest concern for this kind of imports is proper naming conventions and categorization; there is not much point importing thousands of files if no one can find them. So starting with a few imports so that the details can be worked out before the massive uploads seems the best way to go. –Tryphon☂ 17:30, 18 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Here are some categories and pages that may be useful:
See the other pages linked from Commons:Map resources. The map workshops, projects, etc. probably have had to deal with the problem of where to store the working formats. Maybe ask there, and on their talk pages. There are some very talented people there. --Timeshifter (talk) 06:07, 23 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Sound like work for the batch uploading department. Any way we can get into contact with this guy? Multichill (talk) 18:29, 30 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The category pages are passive pages. Just need to categorize the uploads made. My advices is to contact the talkpages of any active communities such:

If the user is not used to Commons upload tool, a good idea may be to:

  1. put all his files on his own website
  2. State on this website that the files are free : CC-by-sa License may be the best
  3. We [wikipedians] can then manage the following steps, using bots to upload, or contributors.

Regards~ Yug (talk) 04:36, 13 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Individual Engagement Grant Notification[edit]

Hello! I have posted a draft of an Individual Engagement Grant titled GIS and Cartography in Wikimedia. The grant calls for increased contributions of map content to Wikimedia projects through outreach to GIS and cartography communities that are currently not exposed to the idea and practice of contributing content to Wikimedia. This will be led by Darin Jensen, the Department Cartographer and a Continuing Lecturer in UC Berkeley’s geography department and Evelyn Hammid (myself), a UC Berkeley geography student and Wikipedia editor. We will recruit GIS and cartography courses in colleges, universities and possibly high schools into the US Education Program and assist these classes in contributing their projects to Wikimedia. We will also conduct outreach to GIS and cartography communities outside of schools to encourage freely licensed map contributions. If you are interested in this project or have any questions or concerns, please take a look at the draft and comment on the discussion page. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you. EHammid (talk) 04:49, 16 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Best practice and Commons:Map resources#Create maps online for free[edit]

I am looking for help!
Ask your question below. You can also look at the Contents, ask at the Help desk, or ask users on the #wikimedia-commons webchat IRC channel.
Note to helpers: Once you have offered help, please replace this template with {{Helped}}

I'm looking to improve this page.

1. I see this section (#Create maps online for free) is prominent (near the top), but the tools are rarely used. More info like this (which I just compiled) would be useful, yes?:

2. Plus info on whether the resulting maps are user-editable would be helpful to guide potential users.

3. Also, perhaps File_talk:Template_map_of_U.S._states_and_District_of_Columbia.svg/Instructions should be linked to from this page? from the Commons. User-editable maps section?

3.1 Seems to me a link to a set of instructions like that that is NOT limited to a US map would merit being prominent on the page. If it's there, I missed it when skimming. The maps I most often see on Wikipedia are such maps. I suppose going through them may lead to what I'm looking for.

4. Perhaps most useful would be the results of a data query showing which SVGs are the parent of the most other SVGs.

I've done 3 - sort of - it was there but hard to find, I boldly clarified and editorialized. Want feedback before doing 1, and help on the rest.

-RudolfoMD (talk) 20:53, 14 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Feel free to reorganize, add more info, add links, etc. to the page.
Here is another user-editable map:
File talk:Template map of U.S. states and District of Columbia.svg#Using JavaScript or .xlsx files instead of Google Sheets
--Timeshifter (talk) 23:40, 16 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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