Commons:Help desk/Archive/2008/06

Name change request

I was creating vector versions of insignia for the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadet_grades_and_insignia_of_the_Civil_Air_Patrol article. It appears that someone has gotten to the Cadet First Lieutenant insignia before I did (Image:C1Lt.svg) and I cannot override their version because my account is too new. I've uploaded my version as Image:C1Lt_2.svg. Could someone please move my file over to replace the first one? MissMJ 01:20, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

On the image page there should be a link that says "Upload a new version of this file" it is best for you to upload using that link, as it puts the new image into the namespace. Then, mark the duplicate for deletion with {{correctname.ext}} so that the duplicate will be deleted during a maintenance session (or however that is accomplished). -- carol (tomes) 05:32, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

There is no link that says "Upload a new version of this file", all I get are "Search for duplicate files" and "Edit this file using an external application." =( MissMJ 18:04, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Now it's allowing me to upload a new version. Strange. Oh well, it's fixed. MissMJ 17:55, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Geograph photos

I've tried to upload this photo but I keep getting an error message. The template for the picture licence should be {{geograph|670187|Oxyman}} but it won't work, and I keep getting an error message about source and licence info. Geograph image are Creative Commons 2.0 licenced, but that is not an option on the list of licences. I'm going to try and add it to the English Wikipedia instead. Mjroots 16:43, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean this one which is already in Commons since January? -- Cecil 16:49, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

I did mean that one, but that doesn't answer my query about the non-availablity of the CC2.0 licence - need that for future pictures from Geograph. Mjroots 17:13, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Is there any problem with {{Cc-by-2.0}} and {{Cc-by-sa-2.0}}? --rimshot^talk 06:00, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Yes, the {{Geograph}} licence links directly to the image on geograph. Mjroots 19:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

If you add {{Geograph}} you automatically add the built in cc-by-sa 2.0 license, you don't need to add another. Why is it a problem that the template links directly to the source? Regards, Finn Rindahl 19:56, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

The problem isn't that the geograph licence links to the source. the problem is that the sa licences don't. Using the geograph licence automatically adds the image to Category:Geograph images too.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Mjroots (talk • contribs)

No... I'm not getting it. What is the problem??Images from the Geographproject should indeed be in category:Geograph images. The cc-by-sa license built into geograph template links where it should, to here ofr instance. Finn Rindahl 06:33, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Let me see if I can clear up the confusion. If you go to the photo Mjroots linked at the top of this thread, the licensing information does not immediately say "CC-by-sa 2.0", it just has the CC logo and "Some rights reserved". Mjroots seems to be looking for a {{Geograph}} tag that contains a "CC 2.0" license rather than one with a "CC-by-sa 2.0" license. (I realize the former doesn't exist, but perhaps Mjroots doesn't.) However, on that image page, if one clicks the "Creative Commons license" link, one sees that the license is in fact CC-by-sa 2.0 and thus the current {{Geograph}} tag is fine. Powers 14:48, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

chnages to contends

Hi,

Can I upload a file on a subject which I do not wish to be modified by others subjcet to copy wrights et? — Preceding unsigned comment added by MSSKMS (talk • contribs) 16:27, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

No. Commons only accepts works which may be used by anyone for any purpose, in modified or unmodified form. For example, {{Cc-by-nd}} is not an acceptable license here. See Commons:Licensing. —LX (talk, contribs) 16:38, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Licensing on World War Two photo

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/image_galleries/it_came_to_our_door_book_gallery.shtml?6 Can I upload it and if so what license should I give it? bsrboy 18:26, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

I would say no. The fact that it has an attribution tag in the top right means that whoever took it probably copyrighted it, in which case it won't become public domain until 70 years after the photographer dies. However, you could try emailing the BBC and asking about the copyright status of the image, or about getting in touch with the original source. -mattbuck (Talk) 21:02, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

The writting in top right hand corner is the author of the book. The image is used as the front cover of the book, which has 200 world war two pictures. bsrboy 22:12, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

In that case, the images are almost certainly copyright. -mattbuck (Talk) 22:38, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

How about image number 15 on here? (you need to scroll down about two thirds of the page). bsrboy 22:08, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Again, almost certainly copyright. -mattbuck (Talk) 22:38, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Dang! What would happen if I uploaded it and released it into the public domain? bsrboy 22:44, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

You cannot release something into the public domain if you are not the copyright holder. —LX (talk, contribs) 23:27, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

What about a Creative Commons license? bsrboy 23:58, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

If a photo is copyrighted, only the copyright holder can release it into the public domain or release it under a less restrictive license, such as a CC license or the GFDL. If you don't own the copyright, the only thing you can do is track down the copyright holder and request that they release it under a Commons-compatible license. – flamurai 04:21, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

deletion

Moin, i've just uploaded a high res photo [1] to replace the low res ones [2] and [3]. So, i think now these low res versions can be deleted, but i do not know how. If you can, please do it. thx-84.57.170.184 20:35, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

There isn't much reason to delete the low res versions. Having a transparent background on one, they could serve a purpose. --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 20:42, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Licensing on this photo

http://www.layouth.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issue&action=IssueArticle&aid=2244&nid=77 Can I upload this? I think I can, because of the "courtesy of the Wilson High newspaper Paw Prints Weekly" but I couldn't find anything about its copyright at the newspaper's website. http://www.pawprintsweekly.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.232.210.121 (talk • contribs) 02:04, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

There's a copyright notice on the lower left-hand side on that site, and there's nothing to indicate that its freely licensed, so I don't see what you base your assumption on. Commons only accepts works in the public domain and works under a free license. Please read Commons:Licensing. —LX (talk, contribs) 06:28, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Unknown license

Hi, I want to upload a screenshot picture of a software product which is a freeware, the picture is widely available on many blogs. I dont know whether it comes under free license or not. —Preceding unsigned comment added by JARiise (talk • contribs) 12:02, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Freeware is software that doesn't cost anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's available under a free license. Unless you have proof that the software is freely licensed (that is, free-as-in-speech rather than free-as-in-beer), you should not upload the screenshot. Powers 13:01, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

jpg files not accepted by upload form

When trying to upload a jpg file as "Ostindianische Kriegsdienste c1.jpg" with {{Ostindianische Kriegsdienste|b168|c2}} as a summary, the upload form (both the old and the new one) tells me "Files of this type cannot be uploaded.". What did I do wrong?--Schreiber 15:16, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I don't know. It doesn't do that for me. I can upload a file with this name and summary. Lupo 15:28, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Is this properly categorized as ART?

http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Image:Godwin%27s_Law.GIF Doug youvan 07:07, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I would categorize it as out of our scope. May I ask why you think this is useful to have on Commons? Rocket000 08:04, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

The image is an attempt to explain Godwin's Law in a situation where the law is problematic. The idea that an argument is lost when Hitler is mentioned is sometimes misused if the subject is related to Hitler. I believe that this image can be used by another editor in an article on Godwin's Law to point out that exception. I am most concerned when reference to Hitler is used to discredit an author or editor who is honestly concerned that certain writings carry an underlying message promoting genocide, eugenics, dysgenetics or other subjects that Neo-Nazis and others still to this day try to promote. I've now updated the description of the image to indicate this point and added a category of law. Suggestion of a category related to internet debates and debates in general would be appreciated. Doug youvan 16:28, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh, I'm familiar with the law, but it's kinda... um.. poor quality, don't you think? I found some related images¹²³ but no good categories. Rocket000 13:23, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

If it offends you, let's delete it. The !(POV) has been made. Doug youvan 01:32, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Replacing picture

I have print screened Image:Musical notes.svg and edited it to a realistic picture, with the barline to the left. The problem is that photoshop couldn't save in svg-format, so i saved it in GIF. Now I want to replace Image:Musical notes.svg to my own picture, but i guess i have to name it with the ending "Musical notes.gif", which means I'm not replacing it. What am I supposerd to do? Happy for help! Sakarie 17:26, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Photoshop does that, have you used a vector based editor yet like Inkscape? I found it difficult to use until I had a definite purpose to use it for. The other option is to upload the new images as gif. -- carol (tomes) 17:38, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi, Sakarie. GIF is a pixel-based format, meaning that the data in the image file describes the location and color of each pixel in the image. SVG, on the other hand, is a vector-based format, which means the image file describes the shape, position, and color of lines in the image. SVG files scale up and down very well, while GIF images do not. Because of this, we wouldn't want you to replace the current SVG file with a GIF file; the GIF file has disadvantages that the SVG file does not. Now, as a musician, I'm not sure what change you made. In traditional Western music notation, there is no barline to the left of a clef. If there's a reason to make such a change, let me know and I'll try to edit the SVG file in Inkscape to match your GIF. Powers 19:09, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

It is actually not possible (not without a deletion request) to replace an svg with a gif as they would not share the same namespace here. There is no reason to have one or the other even if one format does have many advantages over the other format. Here it is possible to have one and the other. -- carol (tomes) 07:41, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Carol: I'll try that! I don't know how much I'll use it normally, but if that's the best way...! Free for downloading from the web?

Inkscape is free and online[4] -- carol (tomes) 07:37, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Powers: I'm basing it on my noteprogram en:Sibelius, where it is a line to the left of the clef, but if you say it isn't so, maybe it's just some setting I did. Sakarie 20:13, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Inkscape is indeed free to download. There is sometimes a line running down the left-hand side of a system of staves, but I've never seen it on an single staff. Powers 20:47, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Image of Land Letter

[5] needs an image of one in the same. Do we have a "want list" somewhere? Doug youvan 01:26, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

There really isn't a "want list" on commons. We take what we can get. Things like that letter will also be very hard to find, and questionable if it will be free. --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 05:12, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Images from geograph

I am trying to upload an image from Geograph. I used to be able to do this and add {{geograph|xxx|Author}} to the desctription page, which would generate the licence information. this now appears to be impossible, as I have to add the licence information before uploading, and the licence field doesn't seem to accept the geograph template. DuncanHill 21:40, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

OK, I've worked it out, I have to use a different upload form. DuncanHill 21:45, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

{{Geograph}} is now being recognized as a license template. (It transcludes {{Cc-by-2.0}}.) Any more of that kind? Lupo 18:58, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Uploads by new user

I've uploaded a few diagrams and plots, put them in a gallery (OK, that's French, but physical symbols are international...) and categorised them. Is it OK? Are there things I could improve?

Brachycerophilia 23:36, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

CJP-NHRecords

Dear Commons: I have tried to upload photos of my own professional image and those created with my image of which I paid good money to obtain releases from ALL photographers or agents representative of. I contracted these images thousands of times for my lifelong career. I have tried number of times to upload them here to Wikimedia but have been even BLOCKED from uploading or editing content. I wish ONLY to be allowed to continue to provide visual uploads of my own professional images for use online in support of the data provided to Wiki webpages. It's simple request to have the freedom to do this update and provide support media in jpeg photo forms which I am the sole owner of said rights.

My rights are being questioned in this regard even though I posted "I hereby assert that I am the creator of this contribution and/or it does not violate any third party rights. I agree to publish this text under the GNU Free Documentation License."

What more am I suppose to do now so I am not blocked from even editing the print data which I WISH ONLY THE TRUTH BE KNOWN and supported with backup proof in visual form (photos I own rights to give away if I want) to provide a simple visual validations to any data listed under my name? Is there something I am missing in this regard?

I am not so computer savy or online 24/7 as most who may work for wikimedia as a power to block my uploads, or my abilities to support the data, and therefore I need someone's helpful support who does know these things. Again: "I hereby assert that I am the creator of this contribution and/or it does not violate any third party rights." I Nikki Hornsby, do HOLD ALL THE RIGHTS TO MY PUBLIC IMAGES through documented contracts of performances/ appearances in public for my entire professional life and have the right / freedom to give these rights to FREE placement or not. Correct?

Thank you, Nikki Hornsby CJP-NHRecords --—Preceding unsigned comment added by GM Hornsby (talk • contribs) 2008-06-04 (UTC)

I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble. In order to upload photos of the nature you have mentioned, you will need to provider permission to the OTRS system. In short, you follow the directions on that page and send them an email - then any image you upload related to the permission you gave, tag with the proper OTRS tag (instructions on the linked page) and then they will be kept. Also, do keep in mind that commons is for Media only, not text work. Good luck. --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 01:45, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Here's two tips that will make life a lot simpler:

1. Use license tags. (e.g. {{GFDL}})
2. State on your website the material is released under the GFDL.

Simple as that. No email. No need to prove who you are. No undeletion requests. Nothing. Rocket000 14:08, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

I uploaded an image, how do I get it on the right page?

Hi,

I uploaded my own image, but want to put it on the right wiki-page. How do I do this? Or can't I do this??

Thanks!

Irina.vargas 08:08, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

You might check an existing wikipage to see how they did it. [[Image:imagename.ext|180px]] tells it to display that image with a width of 180 pixels. [[Image:imagename.ext|180px|thumb|Image description]] gives the image a little box and displays the description, there are other options as well. When I first started editing articles and displaying images, I found the url for "Editing help" which is displayed on the editing page to actually provide this. -- carol (tomes) 10:01, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Image issues

Heyo, I recently uploaded Image:Andrew Johnson House Greeneville year1886 153142pu.png but got a note that the image was over 12.5Mpix. I lowered it to 12Mpix but it still won't show the thumbnail.

p.s. someone suggested I try renaming and uploading again so I've made a duplicate[6] which should be deleted (the suggestion did not work).

Help please! Jaakobou 15:31, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

It's still 12.6MP. -mattbuck (Talk) 16:38, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

I see it now. Ok... going to fix that. Jaakobou 17:00, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Fixed. Jaakobou 18:02, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Very simple question: how do I turn my photo?

I uploaded a photo and it is sideways. How do I fix it? Thanks!

Can't change a photo at Commons. You can edit the copy you have, using en:GIMP or en:Picasa or other photo editing program and then upload the new version. Jim.henderson 05:03, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Actually you can. If you add {{Rotate}} to the image (with the proper specifications - read the template for directions) a bot will come by and rotate it. --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 05:11, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Ah. Splendid. And it leads to Category:Image cleanup templates which shows how to request a variety of tweaks. Very handy in case I forget to retouch my photos before uploading, or don't understand how to make the desired improvement. Thank you kindly. Jim.henderson 19:24, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks; this helps me as well, which is why I was here in the first place. I've uploaded a photo I'd taken in portrait format, unfortunately (1) my camera uploads pics as landscape and I don't think this can be overridden and (2) editing the image using Paint Shop Pro, whilst quickly fixing the orientation, would also erase the metadata, which I don't want to happen. I knew there must be a way to rotate images after upload. -- Korax1214 19:13, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

There is; you need a program that can edit, or at least preserve, the metadata. They do exist. See w:Exif#Viewing and editing Exif data. Powers 20:19, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Need help with license type

Hi,

I'd like to use this photo: [7] in Ayanna M. Howard, and the copyright holder has informed me (via email) that

"You are welcome to use the photo on Dr. Howard's Wikipedia page as long as it's credited to Georgia Tech: Copyright Georgia Institute of Technology 2008/Rob Felt".

What license does that fall under? What should I use in the upload? Thanks! --Jiuguang Wang 19:16, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately, that sort of permission is not acceptable at the Commons, because it is restricted to Wikipedia. Please see Commons:Licensing for a list of what must be allowed in order for Commons to accept an image. Powers 20:14, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Rename image

Please enter here: Image talk:Platina.png. --Ryudo 22:21, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Could you not alter the template to have an if-then statement so that if (platina) then (platinum.png)? -mattbuck (Talk) 22:39, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Turkish_battleship_Mesudiye.jpg

Does anyone know anything about a missing image Turkish_battleship_Mesudiye.jpg? On english wikipedia the image was called but is now a blank space. There is a note on the blank link saying:

18:56, 24 July 2007 Angusmclellan (Talk | contribs) deleted "Image:Turkish battleship Mesudiye.jpg" ‎ (CSD I8 - image on Commons)

From which I would think the file ought to have existed here already under the same name. Can anyone say whether it did exist and also been deleted, or where I would look for a searchable log of deleted images? Sandpiper 00:06, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Special:Log/delete is the deletion log; you can search on the image name. Doing so shows that it was indeed deleted from Commons, for lacking essential information. Powers 00:11, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Gallery problems

I uploaded Image:Altmark Incident.jpg at 00:18 and it's still not in my Gallery, how come? Have I done something incorrect? --Manxruler 01:10, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Never mind, it was delayed for some reason, I guess it was the new upload set-up that got me spooked. --Manxruler 01:29, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Technicolor camera

Resolved

I am having trouble loading an image of a Technicolor camera from flickr: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:3-strip_Technicolor_camera If you click on "source" you can see the original image. Please help this newbie! Thanks. — Walloon 10:05, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

I am guessing at the problem, but the file name does not have an extension like '.jpg'. I suggest reuploading the file and make certain that it has that at the end of the file name. And then request deletion of the existing page with {{Badname}}. -- carol (tomes) 10:26, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Uploaded to Image:3-strip Technicolor camera.jpg and old one deleted though it managed to crash my browser in the meantime. -mattbuck (Talk) 11:27, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

copyright for commercial publications

Are all images on this site FREE of copyright even for use in books produced and sold by commercial publishers? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.152.90.24 (talk • contribs) {{{2}}} (UTC)

Not exactly, but all images are free of significant restrictions on use -- including commercial use. If the image is here, it can be used by commercial publishers. Please see Commons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia for full details. Powers 18:12, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

signlanguage words and letters

For several articles about deaf signlanguages I'm missing the possibility to 'write in signlanguage'. For that I need pictures and those have to be copyright free. It's already a strange situation as 'spoken letters/ words' are free to use, but 'deaf letters/ words' are not(!?).

How should I deal with this situation? e.g.

• I have a Dutch Sign Alphabet that is also widely available on the internet. It's also used in several of my old studiebooks without any copyright mentioning. Can I put this on commons?
• Can I make words from existing alphabets and ad them to commons as a new image? Or is that forbidden?
• And how about other alphabets and word-pictures that are common and widely used? Can I consider these Fingerspelling as a free Font?
• Or am I making a fuzz about nothing, and should I just add these images?

--Eezie 12:00, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Not sure about the licensing issues but approaching it another way photographs of a hand in various positions would certainly be a valid way of doing it? Other views would be good too, thanks --Herby ^{talk thyme} 12:09, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

"Widely available on the internet" is not a free license, contrary to popular belief. Please do not upload images without knowing their source and copyright status. I agree with Herbythyme that making your own photographs would be a good (though certainly more time-consuming) option. Drawing diagrams may also be possible. Superm401 - Talk 21:33, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Well this answers half of my question. All that work for just a few different letters (the American T sign is a rude word in Dutch-sign). But can I use the commons signs and sign-alfhabets, make a word and/ or sentence and add that as a new image? As a series of images would be quite unworkable.--Eezie 14:05, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

I am trying to understand exactly what you want to do with these letters. A neighbour was connected to the UK Signalong group- so in the past, I have heard a great deal about signing and its complexities.

• Do you just want to illustrate each fingerspell letter in a particular language?
• Do you want to illustrate the difference between two alphabets?
• Do you just want one language? Which?
• Do you want line drawings?
• Do you want 26 photographs of hands? (This would be about an hours work)
• Do you want line drawings of words- or photographs? ( If so how many and do you already have a source)

Depending on what you want, the whole process could be very easy or very time consuming.

ClemRutter 14:58, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Creating an account

I'm w:en:User:Spencer, and I wish to create an account to upload files. However, the username "Spencer" is already taken. The "Spencer" here has no uploads, and I was wondering if I could usurp the username like w:en:WP:CHU/U. Preferebly I'd like to have the same username here and on wikipedia. Spencer 20:05, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

See COM:CHU. Spencer has no activity of any kind, so should be fine. -mattbuck (Talk) 20:08, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Okay, thanks. Spencer 20:17, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Junior Goofy

I've an image of the red head 1950's "Junior" Goofy from an old home VHS tape from the 80's with the end credits cut off. It has been uploaded to ImageShack here:

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/5496/junior0233yi4.png

I'm not sure what licensing to use with it.Woodenleg10 00:54, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Please don't upload that image to Commons. The cartoon is still under copyright. Powers 13:35, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Images importées de flickr

Comment fait-on pour les images issues de Flickr puisque dans le processus de téléchargement, il y a un formulaire consacré exclusivement à Flickr ?????? Pourquoi, ensuite, se retrouve-ton avec un "copyright violation" ?????

I will respond since I deleted the images. You can upload pictures from Flickr, but they must be "free" - please read COM:FLICKR and Commons:Licensing. The images you uploaded failed Flickr review as they were Copyright. --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 07:44, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

(Traduction automatisée) Je vais répondre car j'ai supprimé les images. Vous pouvez télécharger des images de Flickr, mais ils doivent être "libre" - s’il vous plaît lire COM:FLICKR et Commons:Licensing. Les images que vous avez téléchargé Flickr examen échoué car ils étaient le droit d'auteur. --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 07:44, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Image problem

I found Image:2007 23 April 183.jpg while searching for plants. As a photograph it needs a different name and to be rotated, I put those templates on the image. The subject of the photograph, shouldn't there be some permission somewhere for this? -- carol (tomes) 09:10, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Well I didn't see your rotate tag, so I added one. I also added {{Personality}} in regards to the "subject" of the image - though to my understanding, that is really only needed if the image is taken in a private location or of a private nature. --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 09:21, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

I forgot to save first. Thanks -- carol (tomes) 09:43, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Mushrooms

Hya i'm new as well....I have a collection of wild mushroom pics which could be useful. All scanned from 35mm slides which i retain..i have uploaded these to picasa image hosting site, can i also contribute to Wiki Commons? This site seems so complex compared with other image upload sites. I have uploaded one mushroom image to Commons to test the water (so to speak) but this image does not appear with the rest of the fungi..Why not? Do i have to build my own album on wiki commons....or what?..confused is the word.

over complicated....i'm off Mushypic 14:03, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi mushypic. First off, images will only appear on a non-category page if they are added manually, so the page Fungi would need to be updated to include your picture. Category pages, such as Category:Fungi, will automatically add images with that tag. As for the status of your pictures, they should be fine as long as YOU took the slides originally, though you should probably provide a link to the other site just so that no one thinks you uploaded it as a copyvio. -mattbuck (Talk) 20:21, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

what kind of license is a photo of a member of my family, as used in a certificate of citizenship from 1926?

Citing a picture from here

Hello, sorry If I sound stupid if this question has already been asked, but I understand that you can use most of these pictures for commercial websites, and I was wondering, how should I cite it on a website? What information should I use, and does it matter what format I cite it in?Stevv 23:37, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

See Commons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia. --EugeneZelenko 16:18, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, this is a very helpful page. Stevv 23:37, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Image delete

Hello I need help. If someone uploads an image to the site but then wants it deleted can this be done? If its not a copyright violation but the user just wants it deleted. How can this be done? Many thanks.

See Commons:Deletion requests. --EugeneZelenko 15:30, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Problem uploading .svg file

I keep uploading new versions of this image to try to see if it will work, but ever time it still has the black patch over it. I tried downloading it from commons and viewed it in Inkscape and there black bit wasn't there. Any thoughts? bsrboy 01:46, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Looks like a font issue of some sort. What font are you using for the text? Have you tried converting the text to paths and uploading it that way? Powers 13:56, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! It works now. bsrboy 19:22, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Replacing an image

At the moment there's a Image:Euro 2008.png wich was uploaded after en:Image:Euro_2008.png, the en: one is tagged with "The Wikimedia Commons has another file with the same name as this file. To include the Commons media file in Wikipedia, this locally stored file needs to be renamed.", though the picture here at commons is the "wrong" one, not in order with the old ones Image:Euro 2004.png, Image:Euro 2000.png etc.

So, how would you move the WP:EN picutre to commons when there's already a picture there. Xhandler 12:23, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Look for the "Upload a new version of this file" link on the Commons image description page. Then once the new version is uploaded, tag the en: version for deletion. Powers 13:52, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

But what about the talk page and other history? (Though it's not that much) Xhandler 16:05, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

That's a good question. I don't know the answer. I'd try asking on the Wikipedia help desk; it's more active and you'll probably get a clearer answer. Powers 13:00, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

I had a similar problem. I wanted to update a jpeg (Edo.jpeg and Borgu.jpeg) transferred from nl.wikipedia to Commons. There is no Upload a new ...etc option on the nl.wikipedia side anymore, and I couldn't overwrite the file on the Commons side because my registration here is too recent. Well, just wait a few days, I guess ?? Rollebon 22:39, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Latin Adapted Script

Hello, I wanted to upload an image, but I didn't know which license to use. I wrote a page of a screenplay in Latin for a future la.wiki page on screenwriting formating. I adapted the screenplay on The Aeneid, which is certainly too old to have a copyright, and then I took a screenshot of the page. Would this be considered entirely my own work? Or not? Which license should I use? Thank you! --Secundus Zephyrus 00:00, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

It's your work based on a public domain source, so you can license it any way you please. Powers 01:37, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Requisitioning another user name...

I've just been trying to set up my 'global user name' thingy and have discovered that someone else on commons also has the same user name that I use on the english wikipedia (Extraordinary). However the commons user hasn't made any contributions (i don't think). The 'global user name help' mentioned something about contacting the relevant bureacrat and they might be able sort this out / rename etc. Does anyone know who i should contact about this or if it's possible even?! 213.152.239.2 13:20, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Shouldn't be a big issue - the user only has a couple of deleted edits from 2006. The page you want is here but just check out the main page for info too, cheers --Herby ^{talk thyme} 13:25, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

OK will follow the links, many thanks 213.152.239.2 13:31, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Michaelangelo"s Pieta

Can you furnish the demensions (size) of Michaelangelo"s Pieta statue.

I suggest you ask on the Wikipedia reference desk. -mattbuck (Talk) 21:28, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Uploading a friend's work

Hi there.

I want to upload a few images made by a contributor to an internet forum. He has given his permission, and I have downloaded and saved the files. What information do I need to give so that should someone wish to check permissions, they may do so? Lewisskinner 13:34, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Upload the images under the license you two have agreed upon. Additionally, tag the images as {{OTRS pending}}. Then make your friend send an e-mail to permissions-commonswikimedia.org in which he confirms that he is the author and copyright owner on these images, and that he agrees to license them under the stated license. The e-mail should state clearly to which images the release applies. Once that e-mail has been received (and processed, which may take a few weeks), an admin will replace the OTRS pending tags by another tag containing a link to the archived permission. The archived permission is visible only for our OTRS volunteers, it's not made public. But the link allows future checks by OTRS volunteers. If no e-mail is received by OTRS, the images will be eventually deleted. Lupo 14:33, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Of course, it would be easier to just get him to upload it himself, thus avoiding any need for OTRS and stuff. -mattbuck (Talk) 15:52, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

If these images have been previously published elsewhere, as Lewis' message seems to imply, we'd still need an OTRS release. Lupo 21:13, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia logo usage

Hello, I've emailed press@wikimedia.org twice but so far have not heard any response. I'm hoping someone here can point me in the right direction. I'd like to use the Wikipedia logo to accompany a publication in a scientific journal. The logo would be used in a composite image (where the Wikipedia logo is combined with an image of a DNA molecule). The logo's license tab states that usage "is subject to the Wikimedia visual identity guidelines and requires permission", but Commons:Press states that "Usage in media and press reports about Wikimedia and its projects is allowed". I'm trying to, first, get confirmation that the latter notice is the permission that the former notice is referring to, and second, to clarify the use of the logo in a composite image. Any guidance or thoughts are appreciated. Cheers, AndrewGNF 16:21, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Received clarification from the press team. thanks... AndrewGNF 16:09, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Category:Retouched pictures

This category is all of a sudden a 'hidden category'. I am trying to come up with a good (or any even) reason for that and am failing. Can anyone help with this? -- carol (tomes) 01:32, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

You're right; this category definitely should not be hidden. I have unhidden it. Hesperian 03:16, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, I still have questions about what the reason was it changed, but it is good that it is back again. -- carol (tomes) 19:40, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

When do we start to say that an image was retouched or not? I assume this applied first for argentic photographs, but now, does this apply when you change settings like colors/light/darkness? Does it apply with stitched pictures (eg: panorama?) When do we start to consider that an image has been retouched? When the will to alter it partially or completely is present? In that case, even resizing and cropping might be considered as 'retouching'? Am I right to think this category could be sets to 50% of the common photograph according to this definition? Esby (talk) 13:11, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

There is a discussion about this at Template talk:RetouchedPicture. Images should go there only via the {{Retouched}} template. This template is kind of picky, but when used full, it points to an original. I like to use it when I have worked on photographs (and other images) that were created by another person. I don't think that original uploads which have had colors adjusted and stuff by the photographer, prior to uploading should get the template or be in that category.

I have recently just used the category because there was not a good category for storing images which have flaws circled and I couldn't come up with a good category heading for that.

Appreciation of editing is not evenly distributed among the natives here; perhaps I can be included in that summary. Having your name with the photograph/image that was improved via editing allows the users of the images to appreciate or even to think they can do a superior edit (pointing to the original is a really good and honest thing to do). -- carol (talk) 14:15, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Uploading images from flickr

I wanted to ask that you change the way you upload images from flickr. I'm finding it very confusing. Having to enter information into the separate boxes seems more complicated than what I did before, which was use the flinfo tool and then copy and paste the information. If you're going to change it, format it so that you simply enter the photo number from flickr and it uploads the photo and information automatically. That seems so much easier than entering it into different boxes, especially when the current format tells me I've done something wrong. If you could organize that, and combine the flinfo tool with the upload process, so that I didn't even have to download the photo to my hard drive, it would simplify things. Jonjames1986 (talk) 15:54, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

This sounds like exactly what you're looking for. Regards. Adambro (talk) 16:01, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

You can still copy/paste. See Commons:Upload: "Already have an {{Information}} template ready? (For instance, generated by the Flinfo tool?) Use the basic upload form." Lupo (talk) 17:19, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Removing EXIF data?

Hi! I'm a new Commons user and have accidentally uploaded a photo that has EXIF data I forgot to remove. I'd like to have it wiped/replaced with a non-exif one, chiefly because it contains my real name as a comment field. I believe that the old one is left in the version history if I do it myself. Would it be possible to have it removed somehow? Should I PM an admin or am I asking too much? Sorry for the potentially weird English, I'm not a native speaker. -88.114.194.87 10:18, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Upload a new version over the old, then ask an admin to delete the old version. Hesperian 11:32, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

License requirements for screenshots

Hallo

I am new the wikiworld, I have been commissioned to write a help manual for some software by the developers/owners of that software. We want to publish the manual on wikibooks so that it is freely available to users and can be easily updated. I want to use annotated screenshots to explain the features of the software but am struggling with how to do this. It is suggested in wikibooks that the images should be uploaded in wikimedia commons so here I am.... The software has a free version and two different licenced versions and I have been given both licenses... but I am very confused about how I should go about this. Can anyone give me any help or advice?

Hskeet (talk) 12:47, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

When you click on the Special:Upload link (located here now but also located somewhere on the wikipages you are viewing), the information before the upload section either answers your questions or provides links to where the choices are. The licenses which are allow images to be here all have templates that should be put on the image page (images without an acceptable template will probably be deleted). There is also an information template which when filled out reasonably well, assures that uploaded images have met most of the demands. The upload window, when used with a browser with javascript enabled has little boxes to put all of the details in. If you do not like that kind of interface, it is possible to have just a tidy little upload window by disabling javascript. That gives a pasteable template and needs the uploader to be able to fill in the text areas. If you are uploading a lot of similar images, disabling the javascript and having an acceptable template ready to paste upon upload is probably the next best thing to having an upload script.

Commons:Copyright tags has the list of acceptable license templates and that is the minimum requirement. There is a lot of information in that last paragraph, I am sorry that I did not have the time to make it shorter. -- carol (talk) 14:24, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Question

hello there,

this might be an obvious question, but is it right that I can use any photography that I find in wikimedia commons without special licensing, even for an official exhibition that is non-profit (free entrance)?

thanks anka

Basically, but pay attention to the license for any specific image; you may have to attribute the author and/or release derivative works under the same license. Powers (talk) 23:15, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Refering to a request of an air photo of Pearl Harbor On Dec 7, 1941 to be used in our upcoming article about the Origin of the "American Ex-Prisoners of War" Organization.

Gentlemen:

I'm Editor (Volunteer)for "Military Ex-Prisoners of War Foundation Times," published three times a year by Military Ex-pPrisoners of War Foundation *501(C)(3)Tax-xempt #75-2722738. The publication is a tabloid size newspaper mailed to over 6000 Ex-POWS and NOK at no cost to our readers.

Roy Livingstone, Editor (contact info removed by mattbuck)

Hi Roy. If you wish to use a wikimedia commons photo, I suggest you read Commons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia. Also, please don't post your contact info here as it could easily be picked up by spambots. Thanks. -mattbuck (Talk) 12:42, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Categories for beginners

I'm afraid that I don't have the patience to work out how to use 'categories' when uploading an image. The instructions seem to have lots of detail, but no basics: i.e. how do you start, where/how do you select categories etc - the absolute basic stuff. Maybe the basics are there somewhere, if so then too hard to find. Sorry, I gave up. Whilst not claiming to be an expert, I don't consider myself a total stranger to using wikipedia. If I cant work it out after looking for a while, then I think that many potential newbies will find it even more mystifying than I did, and they'll take one look and give up.

cheers PB

You are not making it easy to help you! If you can sign the post by typing ~~~~ I can look at your contributions and see where you are coming from. My technique is that I have three tabs open on my browser. One is open at Wikipedia, one at commons watchlist, and one the upload form. If I am uploading photographs of Pont du Gard- I use the upload form, the Category field in the new upload form will try and find some cats for you. But I go to Wikipedia, find the article on the Pont du Gard, click on a similar photo, click through to Commons description and look at what cats have been used there! At the same time I use the watch list page to type in a guess for instance Category:Aqueduct, and see what I find. Either a Category- or a list of photos, so I click on a similar one...

• Note to experts- I know there are better ways- but this is simple and usually works
• Note if you are trying to do something more complicated this may not work, do tell us how you solve it!

(So I forgot to sign it! :) ClemRutter (talk) 14:10, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Anonymous newbies can be a nuisance, but sometimes they're right. On the upload form, clicking on the blue link for Category brings up the article Commons:Categories which is a nice general introduction to making and using categories. 'Way down below the middle there's a section Commons:Categories#Find_an_appropriate_category on finding categories. This is poor planning for the upload menu. The link should lead to an introductory article about finding categories, similar to this section, but twice or thrice as long, so it can include the advice you give. Creating, structuring and other advanced cat topics should be handled in a linked general introduction rather than in the one which the upload menu uses to explain what to do when it asks for a category.

This was all pretty easy for me because last year I did a bunch of cat rearrangements on Wikipedia and I'm a newbie only to Commons, but many people can do pretty good work on articles without noticing they have categories, so when they come over here it's a mystery. Jim.henderson (talk) 13:11, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Dangerous - "categories for beginners" :) Thanks for helping anyway, there is always plenty to do. Jim's words make sense here. I guess the odds of getting the "wrong" category to start with are pretty high. I've been here a while & done an increasing amount of cat work & I am just getting into how complex it is.

Advice? Really look around relevant categories first. Work in an area you know as much about as possible to start with. Ask if you need help. Worth every cent you paid for it ;) Thanks --Herby ^{talk thyme} 13:23, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

The preview can be really helpful. It can tell you if the category exists or not. When the category doesn't exist (which happened recently to me with a photograph of an insect on a flower which should be in both the flower and insect categories) I used search to find the lowest category in the taxonomy classification that exists and put it there. I had the option of building the category tree from that family (as it is named in taxonomy) to the species, but I left that for the actual 'bug' people here. Lately, I am fairly competent with the plant category and I would have made the species category for it if it hadn't existed. Familiarity will breed contempt as well as eh, familiarity with the system and the other systems that are attempted to be worked with -- do stick with it.... -- carol (talk) 13:56, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Modifying (Cropping) an uploaded image

There are a few uploaded images that would work much better in an article on Wikipedia if they were cropped to eliminate background. First of all - can I do this? And secondly, if I do this, do I upload the cropped version to replace the original, or do I upload it separately? Thanks! Leafschik1967 (talk) 22:40, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

If you are removing significant parts of the image, upload them as a new file (preferably with the same or similar filename with "cropped" appended). Example: If you're cropping Leafschik1967.gif, upload it as Leafschik1967 cropped.gif. Powers (talk) 23:14, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

That makes sense. I was sure there was a common way of doing this, I just wasn't sure what it was. Do I leave the licensing info as the photographer, or do I change it to reflect the changes I've made? Leafschik1967 (talk) 23:22, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

You should probably keep as much the same as possible, just adding your name. Powers (talk) 01:05, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

What I usally do when I modify an image is note that the original image has xx license, reproducing that license exactly, and then separately license the crop or modification, since it was work I did myself. This is an example, although I did more than crop: Image:Hardy_Dam_Photo_locator_map.svg ++Lar: t/c 18:10, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

A simple crop will most likely not attract any new copyright. This means that there is neither a need nor even the possibility to add a new license. --rimshot^talk 19:49, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Image:Darren_Helm_with_Stanley_Cup_Cropped.jpg - Is how I did things there OK? Or how should I do it in the future? Thanks for all the help so far! Leafschik1967 (talk) 15:58, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Looks good to me, although I'd link Image:Darren Helm with Stanley Cup.jpg rather than just listing it unlinked. Powers (talk) 17:43, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Former Soviet statue on permanent display in China - which FOP laws apply?

There is a statue called "Casting Sword to Plow" on display at the Minsk World theme park in Shenzhen. According to the info presented, it was made by Uchetech, a People's Artist from the USSR, and won a prize at the Brussels International Expo in 1958. There are likely some issues with translation here though, as there was a Brussels World Fair in 1958, not an international expo, and I can't find any mention of this statue using the term it was given nor the artist's name. However I'm wondering which FOP laws apply - China's or say Russia's? Which state this Uchetech was originally from isn't listed. BrokenSphere 03:44, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

• You apply the law where the photograph is taken. -Nard 03:46, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

License for orienteering championships logo

I want to upload several logos of orienteering championships (1962-2008). What license I should use? Images of logos can be found here

Dnikitin (talk) 16:07, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

The logos are copyrighted by their respective creators, so unless you get the copyright holders to release the images under a free license, you may not upload them here. If the copyright holders did release the images already, please reply here with a link, so that we can say whether that release is sufficient. --rimshot^talk 17:39, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Starting out, after a little guidance

I've started adding some of my own images to Commons, and I'm hoping to get a bit of guidance on how to make my images more useful. I'd also be interested to know how to get feedback on the quality of my images, or if there's any guidance on the preferred type or format of images. Many thanks for your help! Gazimoff 19:41, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Looking pretty good so far. You're uploading high-resolution images with nicely completed {{Information}} templates and the EXIF data intact. Geocoding, which you've done on at least some of them, is very helpful. Don't forget to sort and categorise your images so that others can find them. Also make something of that redlink of a user page so we know a bit about you. :) For feedback specifically on photographical aspects, you might want to put up a couple of photos for comments at Commons:Photography critiques. —LX (talk, contribs) 20:18, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice! I've spent some time categorising my images (less time now that I'm using HotCat), and I've added a bit about myself on my userpage. I'll think about adding some pictures to the critiques page once I've finished uploading some more work of mine. Many thanks! Gazimoff (talk) 13:08, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Nice work, high quality images like this are just what we need. Keep them coming! By the way, it's fine to create new categories such as Category:Nash Point, if you find you need a cat that's missing. To link that in to the main structure, click on the red link, and in the text box that opens up type [[Category:Higherlevelcat]] where Higherlevelcat is the name of an existing cat that your new cat fits into. That will get rid of the red link and add your new cat to the tree structure. --MichaelMaggs (talk) 17:22, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Image:Sutil, Fisi and Bourdais Canada 2008.jpg

This file has not been uploaded properly, and was later uploaded under a different name (Image:Fisi, Sutil and Bourdais Canada 2008.jpg). Because there is no file history the automated "nominate for deletion" link does not work for me, and I'm not sure how speedy deletion works on the Commons. Please can someone delete this file?--Diniz (talk) 20:03, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

 Done -mattbuck (Talk) 20:26, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Picture from a friend

I have four pictures of National Historic Landmark ships that were taken by a friend. She gave them to me to use in Wikipedia. I have scanned and cropped them appropriately. I know I have to have her send a permission, but I'm not sure of some deatils.

1)When I upload it, what do I put in "Source"? I put her name in "Author", I think.

2)Do I copy the permission template into a Word file? Or exactly how do I use the template?

2) On the permission form it says "Insert Link"

   a)How do I insert a link?
   b)Can I use the same permission for all four images?

3) For the type of permission, it seems that I should be able to click and choose the license, but I can't seem to make it work.

Please pardon my stupidity in this area. I'm pretty sure I'm just missing some basics. Lvklock (talk) 20:11, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

The template is kind of a one size fits all thing, so for your situation, the source and the author are redundant. A situation that I had today where the source and the author were not the same thing was where the source was NASA and the author was a satellite. It should be sufficient to use the author name in author and in source or put your own name in the source since you are doing all of this work to get the image here. -- carol (talk) 21:17, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Simple guide to uploading needed

Would it be possible to have a simple guide to how upload an image which is self-created? I've struggled for half an hour to upload an image and still do not seem to have succeeded. For example: a message at the end asks for a license tag and gives some options but I don't understand them and none of them look as if they mean: self created therefore I release into public domain. And which box is meant by the "summary box above"? A straight forward: "type this, then that" would be wonderful. Hikitsurisan (talk) 20:21, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

What kind of use do you prefer? Do you want to be mentioned as creator of the work or do you just want to donate it and be done with it? It is the main difference in the license. If you just want to donate it {{PD-self}} should work or {{cc-by-3.0}} will get you the most recent license the lawyers have articulated. {{cc-by-sa-3.0}} should require that you receive mention when the image is used. It is a pain to work through the licenses -- I think there is a quote from Shakespeare about a way to deal with the larger problem but until then, it takes a little determining your own preferences and finding the license that best reflects those. -- carol (talk) 20:49, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

very happy no problem#REDIRECT [[]] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.28.242.237 (talk • contribs) 10:45, 16 Jun 2008 (UTC)

How is a hand knitted item, such as a scarf, get finished off??

While this question might best be asked at one of the encyclopedia help desks, I happen to know that a crochet hook is (often) used and the loopy ends are completed with something much akin to the crochet chain stitch. -- carol (talk) 16:00, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Translation assistance

Do we have a means here by which I can request translation help from someone else fluent in another language? I have several pics I took on a recent trip where I took photos of the name of the object/place, but can't read them since they're in Chinese. BrokenSphere 17:03, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Sure. Bring it over. OhanaUnited^{Talk page} 06:22, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

User JavaScript for {{Information}}?

Is there a user JavaScript that helps add the skeleton of {{Information}}? Right now I am copying and pasting from the template page, which seems like a waste of time. – flamurai 22:20, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Take a look at user:Jarekt/monobook.js, might be what your looking for. Regards, Finn Rindahl (talk) 22:37, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

A discussion of options here. The last I knew, there was a new upload dialog with several little boxes that had to be filled out and the cursor needed to be manually placed from each little box to the next one either via tab button or mouse clicks. That archived discussion is where a few of us learned some of the options and how the different .js files work with the different skins. And what Finn Rindahl said.... -- carol (talk) 22:43, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I'm looking to use it to refactor older descriptions into the template, not for new uploads, so the Jarekt code is perfect. – flamurai 23:58, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

graphics village pump - help bell?

I posted a question for help on the graphics village pump page about more than a week ago and still have got NO feedback. Is there some sort of way to bring attention to my request for help there so that someone will finally give me some feedback? Cheers, Nesnad (talk) 16:00, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Personally, I think I read your request but my video editing tools are in disrepair on my computer. The editing of video files is not separate from the editing of image files, it is additional -- meaning, all of the image editing understanding is needed and then added to that is the understanding of those things that make a series of images into video. How did you get the video files into ogg format to begin with? -- carol (talk) 16:08, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Using command line tools, editing and lots of conversion and headaches, that's why I want to see if they play for other people and if they don't I need to find out why. Also do they play when downloaded off Wikipedia? Because I think that it might be a fault in the player. Cheers Nesnad (talk) 16:42, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

See, now you make me want to build that software again -- and I feel the need to build it myself because my distribution played some tricks on me the last time I updated the player I was using. The suggested software (in its place) I had a bad experience with that last year when I downloaded the source for it and found a makefile which installed a binary which is not the reason I 'build software' here; seriously, what a waste of a dual processor. Your movies look interesting and also, since I have used smaller computers, perhaps making smaller versions of them is an option that should be considered. -- carol (talk) 16:58, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Greenlawn LIRR Station

Would somebody help me fix the alternate versions of Image:Greenlawn LIRR Station-1.JPG and Image:Greenlawn LIRR Station-3.jpg? I'm not having as much success with them as I did with the Sea Cliff LIRR station images. ----DanTD (talk) 16:09, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Replace LowRes photo with HiRes: NBSFirstScanImage.jpg

I have uploaded a higer resolution version of NBSFirstScanImage.jpg but I was unable to replace the existing file becuase my account is too new. Instead I had to upload with a new filename (NBSFirstScanImageLarge.jpg). Can someone else please overwrite the LowRes version with the higher res version? Thanks! JRaber 06:55, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Look on the image page, there should be a url for uploading a new version of the image. It has nothing to do with user newness. Then mark the recent upload with {{Badname}}, after you apply that template, review the image page with the Preview option and it gives further instructions (not too many for that template). In my experience, there is no restrictions applied to new users; the natives can be harsh with their judgements and very suggestive with how they would like to see things work here -- I recommend using your best judgement on that and not judging the natives back too harshly. -- carol (tomes) 07:47, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

No, actually JRaber is correct. Users with accounts less than 4 days old can not upload new versions of an existing file. --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 07:55, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

I did not know that, and the success of similar (not the same) advice given here recently did not lend well to understanding this. Sorry. -- carol (tomes) 08:20, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

That advice was to use Preferences to change to the Classic skin. Due to recent experience, I suggest to (in your browsers preferences) turn the javascript option off if the first advice doesn't succeed. -- carol (tomes) 08:25, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Yea, the last two times it came up I told them the same thing you did. Until I was finally informed that until users become auto confirmed (after 4 days) they can't upload over existing files. Now you know - and knowing is half the battle ^_^ --ShakataGaNai ^Talk 20:06, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

You should perhaps not go through the trouble to inform me, instead, tell the new user who did successfully upload an image into an existing namespace. Obviously, the message failed somewhere in that chain of command.... -- carol (tomes) 20:42, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the help. I have replaced the original picture and marked the old picture with {{Badname}} JRaber (talk) 03:46, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Image:St Margarets FN grave.jpg

I have tried to add a category to Image:St Margarets FN grave.jpg, but find that the image has its file tab in red and no edit tab. When I try to use the find category tab the search fails. The image is used in Florence Nightingale article in Wikipedia. What is happening? Patche99z (talk) 15:10, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

For some reason, the image page was never created. I've fixed this, but also tagged the image as lacking permissions, so unless this is fixed it will be deleted a week from now. -mattbuck (Talk) 16:00, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Picture name problem

Image:Main street Powell WY.jpg was being used (quite well; it's a good picture) to illustrate en:Powell, Wyoming. Recently, an IP changed it to say that it was a different community, but wrote in a rather "unlikely" way, so I reverted. Before I noticed this, User:See Jay removed the picture, and after I restored it, left the following note on my talk page:

Thanks for keeping an eye on the Powell, Wyoming page. However, in this case, I can assure you that my edit was sound. The image of Lovell's Hyart Theatre is not located in Powell. I don't know how the uploader came to the conclusion that the Hyart Theater is on Coulter Avenue in Powell. It's not. If I were a more skilled Wikipedian, I would put the image on the Lovell, Wyoming page. For reference: here. See Jay (talk) 03:59, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

In my mind, the link that SJ provides is enough to demonstrate that the picture really isn't in Powell at all. But what can/should be done about it? Should it simply be reuploaded under a different name? What does this do (if anything) to the Creative Commons and GFDL on the image? I'm sorry that I can't do anything about it myself, but I really don't know what to do with this picture. Nyttend (talk) 05:03, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Events like this are what make me wish cameras that can geocode internally weren't expensive. Anyway with my cheap camera I made a picture that I uploaded as Image:Hrivpkchelseajeh.JPG under the impression that I was looking at Chelsea, Manhattan. Later study revealed my mistake, so I edited the description and the Wikipedia caption but left it under the original, mistaken name. This error was only by half a mile, but I don't see why it would be a problem if I had mislabelled it as Yokohama or some other harbor. The picture file name is supposed to be descriptive, but only us editors ever see that name. The captions describe it to readers, and the Commons description can also describe the circumstance that caused the picture to be wrongly named if it matters. Jim.henderson (talk) 05:31, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

There is a template {{Rename}}, if you should happen to decide that the image should be renamed. It is best used: {{rename|a suggested name.ext}} and the template displays the suggested name so it is easy to see if the name is being used already or not (the link is red if the name is available). -- carol (talk) 06:02, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks; this will help in future. I only started this week giving my pix long, non cryptic names, seeing the light after examining various categories and seeing the releative ease of finding someone else's relevant pix. With short cryptic names it doesn't matter but when they're supposed to mean something they can make trouble by being wrong. Jim.henderson (talk) 00:11, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Cropped versions of files already posted here

Hi, folks. I'm snagging some photos of plants and animals uploaded here on commons, and cropping them for use on the English Wikibooks. Would those cropped duplicates be considered unwanted clutter here? Should I just leave them local?

(If you're wondering: This is for use in a thumbnail gallery in a field guide. The purpose is to show a large number of related species to help users narrow down the specific species they're looking for and then consult the detail page(s) for the most likely candidate(s). The more detailed the thumbnail is, the more useful it is. So when pastures and fence posts and whatnot consume over half the image real estate, I crop it.)

Thanks. Snakesteuben (talk) 16:52, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Putting the cropped version on Commons is fine. It might be useful for other wikis as well. You can follow the advice given some threads above. --rimshot^talk 17:12, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks much. I have a boatload of these, so if I did anything wrong with this one please tell me now. ;-) Thanks again. Snakesteuben (talk) 17:51, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Maybe you could make the image mentioned under "Other versions" a clickable link? --Kjetil_r 18:02, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Sure. Done. Snakesteuben (talk) 23:26, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Misc

please tell me what C C C P means? Ip user 67.165.199.104

Response: Union of Socialist Soviet Republics written in Russian using Cyrillic Script.ClemRutter (talk) 22:16, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

See also w:CCCP (disambiguation) (my vote is for "Combined Community Codec Pack") --ShakataGaNai ^{^_^} 03:32, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Renaming Image

Hello, I am looking for a tutorial for renaming an image. I want to use an image of mine on the English wikipedia, but an existing file was uploaded there. Therefore I need to rename my current file. If anyone knowns how to rename a file, I would love to hear it!Massimo Catarinella (talk) 01:48, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Here there is {{Rename}} use is {{rename|new name.ext}}, sometimes that can take a while though. You have the option to upload it using a different name and check the links where it is used on English Wikipedia and simply change the name. They have a how-to for moving images there. -- carol (talk) 02:20, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

en:Wikipedia:Moving images to the Commons, it tells how to tell the bot to delete it there; that bot is not that stupid either.... -- carol (talk) 02:22, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Include all pictures in an overview article or just the good (read: not really bad) ones?

Quick question: Should an overview article like Procyon lotor contain all available images or is it okay to remove the ones considered to be too bad to add anything of value to the understanding of the topic? --Novil Ariandis (talk) 13:37, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Categories should include all images, gallerypages (aka overview articles) should contain a representative and organised collection of most relevant pictures. Finn Rindahl (talk) 13:39, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Is it possible to translate diagrams ?

Is there any way that diagrams can be translated i.e the text labelling the axis in economic diagrams? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Solbris (talk • contribs) 15:17, June 23, 2008 (UTC)

Anything is possible, but some formats are easier to translate that others. .SVG files are for example normally easy to adapt for different language versions. What spesific files where you thinking about? Finn Rindahl (talk) 13:37, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

I would like to know how I can get listed under the category of American Photographer. I tried the help sections but none of it makes sense. I did sign up and am a member and I want to get into the high resolution category.

can´t see my uploaded image

hi i uploaded a picture yesterday, but it´s not displayed. I tried it again with a smaller Version of the picture but nothing happens? What might be the reason for this? can somebody help me??

Ich hab gestern ein Bild hochgeladen, aber es wird mir nicht angezeigt. Ich bekomme lediglich das fehlerzeichen angezeigt. hab es dann nochmals mit einer kleineren Version versucht aber es ist noch immer nix zu sehen. Kann mir jemand helfen??

Image:Logo STW Gruppe.jpg

Thanks/Danke

It looks fine to me. However, I'm not sure it's within the project scope. Logos are presumed to be under copyright unless they contain no copyrightable elements, and I'm not sure the polygons on either side of the text aren't copyrightable. Powers (talk) 12:22, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

Das Bild war da, wurde jetzt aber als Urheberrechtsverletzung geloescht. --rimshot^talk 21:40, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

logo of my school

Do I have to ask anyone for permisson to publish the logo of my school? Thanks --Cles (talk) 13:16, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

I think so. Please ask school director or school district legal department. --EugeneZelenko (talk) 14:55, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

Putting my wrestling history online.

I was a pro wrestler from 1970-1988. I started wrestling in Aragon Ga who is now a judge in Calhoun Ga {Buddy Fuller}. My last match was at the Boutwell Auditorium where Nightmare (Ted Allen} and I wrestled and lost to Tommy {wildfire}Rich and Johnny Rich. I would like to know how to insert my photo of 1960 and the story. Please give me this info. Thank You

Well in terms of writing an article, you will want to go over to Wikipedia for that. Additionally you should probably read their policy on Autobiographies. As for your photo, well you'd need permission from the copyright holder (pro photographer, etc - whom ever actually took the picture). I hope this helps. --ShakataGaNai ^{^_^} 04:52, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

User page "orphans" link produces error

I get the following error when I click on the "orphans" tab link on my user page:

Database Error: User 'daniel_www' has exceeded the 'max_user_connections' resource (current value: 80) (sql) - failed to connect to log database - failed to log script start!

Database Error: User 'daniel_www' has exceeded the 'max_user_connections' resource (current value: 80) (sql) - failed to connect to WikiList database

failed to connect to WikiList database - script start not logged! logging end anyway.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by TunaSushi (talk • contribs) 10:09, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

That indicates that there are too many concurrent access attempts to a particular resource on the tool server. It is a temporary problem. —LX (talk, contribs) 10:30, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Image of Babe Ruth's signature

Would I be able to upload an image of Babe Ruth's signature under pd-ineligible? J.delanoy^gabs_adds 14:19, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Question re Image and Signature

Folks, I am trying to figure out whether the image of John Russo and his signature at this website are free use. I cannot find a copyright notice anywhere on that site so is it safe to assume they are free-use? Thanks.Ukexpat (talk) 14:54, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

By "free use", do you mean fair use? All copyrightable works are copyrighted by default. There is no need for a copyright notice. Please read Commons:Licensing. —LX (talk, contribs) 15:06, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Trouble uploading an image

Every time I try to upload an image I made of California's State Assembly districts:

“

Upload warning The file is corrupt or has an incorrect extension. Please check the file and upload again.

”

How to I get rid of that warning to upload this picture, since the pictures of other Assembly districts and all the Senate districts I uploaded on Wikipedia, that have the exact same extension, uploaded just fine with no problems? Using PNG, JPG, and GIF did nothing to correct the problem. Socal gal at heart (talk) 13:14, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

The message is saying the checker used the program appropriate to the filename's extention to open it, and failed. You need to find out what the filename extension is, to start determining what's wrong with the file. Are your computers able to open the file correctly? With what viewing programs? Jim.henderson (talk) 17:19, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

I have no idea what the correct filename extension is, since I tried every single extension appropriate for an image, and it still failed to upload. In addition, this whole situation doesn't make sense, since I was able to upload images with PNG just fine before. I have no idea what is up now. Socal gal at heart (talk) 00:05, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Presumably the other images had a correct extension, and were not internally corrupted. If you don't have a program that can view the picture, or cannot identify the program that does that or the way in which that program identifies it, then I don't see how you can get a start on making the Commons computers decode, view and show it. Jim.henderson (talk) 02:51, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

I can view the images on my computer just fine without any problems, and I still can't upload them here. And the extension on the images I was able to upload were exactly the same as the problem images, so I still don't understand why the problem images will not upload. Socal gal at heart (talk) 03:07, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Renaming an image

How may I do so? (Pertains to Image:Mapo of USA with state names haw.svg). —Kal ^(talk) 08:10, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Oh, I see that you can't. Okay, question answered. —Kal ^(talk) 08:16, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

There are a few options. One of those is to download the image and reupload it with the correct name. Then on the original image use the {{Badname}} template to have it deleted as a duplicate. Another option, the one I take now since I got sick of doing this in the category of images that need renaming, is to use the {{Rename}} template. Both of those templates give instructions of how to use them if you put them on the image page and use preview to read what is there. -- carol (talk) 08:19, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Permission from the creator

User:Aviceda has a large photographic website of bird images from many contributors. Some of the contributors have kindly given permission for a few selected images to be used on the wiki. These are images which I specially asked to be used on the wiki, because they fill in some spaces here. I would like know how the commons receives permission and how to label the images. Please contact User Aviceda, if necessary. Snowmanradio (talk) 10:07, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

See Commons:Email templates and Commons:OTRS. Do note that permission limited to Wikimedia projects is not sufficient per Commons:Licensing. —LX (talk, contribs) 11:11, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Deleted image user upload query

Is there a way to discover who uploaded the deleted image Image:ABCI.jpg? SriMesh | talk 22:30, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Look at Image:ABCI.jpg and even though the page "has not been created" yet or whatever it says, there should be a url to the log of the old page. On occasion I have seen the deletion log present there.... -- carol (talk) 22:57, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Yes, there's a link to the deletion log on that screen, but the deletion log is empty for that filename. Powers (talk) 01:43, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

That particular file has never been uploaded here. It has, however, existed on English Wikipedia.[8] Actually, the deletion log will only tell you which administrator deleted the file, not who uploaded it. You can sometimes get a hint about it from looking at what pages link to it if the uploader has been notified about a problem, but to verify that information, you'd have to ask an administrator. —LX (talk, contribs) 05:17, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

en:User:Vyllym was. User:Zscout370 ^{(Return fire)} 06:03, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. I will go out and re-take the picture of our high school with the same initials, and re-name it something else. I was wondering if I had missed the deletion notice.SriMesh | talk 02:47, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

I am a new user and just created a page Nuance (Singapore). However, when I google the name, it does not show.

It takes a while for google to find things; it should appear in the wiki search findings within a few hours or so -- you will have to spell it correctly for that search engine, however. -- carol (talk) 06:52, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

I own the painting and the web site, I made the photos, so why can't I publish them here?

[9] is a site I own. I also own the 500 years old painting pictured there. And I took the photos and processed them. So why am I not allowed to publish them under a Commons license? Thanks for your help! FMF —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hotmifi (talk • contribs) 16:38, 28 Jun 2008 (UTC)

Because there's no such thing as a Commons license. It doesn't matter who owns anything, it matters who made the work. The paintings are old enough to be public domain. Depending on your country of residence you may be entitled to photographer's rights, but usually, you can not claim ownership for someone else's work (in this case, the painter's) if it's a faithful 2D reproduction. But in either case, I would say you should have no problem uploading them here (as long as you choose a free license or tag it with {{PD-Art}}, if you, say, live in the US). Rocket000 (talk) 17:13, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, uploaded: [10] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hotmifi (talk • contribs) 18:10, 28 Jun 2008 (UTC)

No problem. See, that wasn't so hard. :) And thank very much for your contribution. Rocket000 (talk) 01:10, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

A French sign against regional languages from lalibreblogs.be

I am trying to improve the article en:Vergonha, which suffers from POV problems.

It links to this image:

http://bretagne.lalibreblogs.be/media/01/00/3d75e7dbef78f875f7cc337be5138241.jpg

It would be useful to put it straight into the article, but i am not sure about the license. It looks like a pretty old work by the French government, which would probably make it free, but i can't be sure. It could be even a fake photoshop, and then it is, of course, not useful. Could anyone help with that?

Thanks in advance. --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 20:26, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Greenlawn LIRR issues still unresolved

Once again, would somebody help me fix the alternate version images for Image:Greenlawn LIRR Station-1.JPG and Image:Greenlawn LIRR Station-3.jpg? I was trying to do the same things with them as I did with the Sea Cliff LIRR station images, and it's not working there. ----DanTD (talk) 13:35, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

What are you trying to do? Dhaluza (talk) 17:04, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

Move the alternate versions inside the summaries. Isn't the Sea Cliff Station image enough of an example of what I'm talking about? ----DanTD (talk) 22:12, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

UPDATE: I've just fixed them both. ----DanTD (talk) 22:40, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

Picture uploads

I would like to upload some pictures for Wikipedia articles, and am having trouble understanding your complicated licensing procedures. I have JPG images of photos, and have permission from the families to post them on Wikipedia. They are not artwork and have never been copyrighted. Should I put them in Wikipedia Commons, free use, or something else? I seek a SIMPLE, step-by-step answer. Thank you.

Greg Volk — Preceding unsigned comment added by GregVolk (talk • contribs) 00:29, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

As long as the photographer has remembered to take the lens cap off, pretty much all photographs are considered artworks as far as copyright laws are concerned, and all such works are protected by copyright. So you do need to provide evidence that the photographer has agreed to put his or her works under a free license or into the public domain.

Unfortunately, copyright laws are somewhat complex. Commons:Licensing isn't that long just because we like to make life difficult for people. If we could figure out a way to make it simpler, we would. You really do need to read it (at the very least the introduction). Then, see Commons:Email templates for how to request an appropriate permission from the copyright holder and Commons:OTRS for how to get the permission properly archived. —LX (talk, contribs) 00:41, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

You know, considering some "art", even photographs taken with the lens cap on might be considered art and protected by copyright, much depends on what the artist considers to be their work or not.... -- carol (talk) 08:08, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

Images for video game articles

See, I'm just curious if it's appropriate to upload images on Commons for video game articles - for instance, a box art, so that it can be used on the Simple English encyclopedia. - 96.2.27.65 17:23, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately the answer is No. The regular English Wikipedia can use these images under "Fair Use", but Commons does not accept Fair Use images. --ShakataGaNai ^{^_^} 08:01, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

Help needed with transfer of image from german to english WE

I took an image from the German wikipedia (Bild:Katalysator-Innenleben.JPG) and ineptly tried to transfer it to English WE. The process entailed transfer to my desktop followed by uploading at Commons. I did not implement the permissions correctly (I couldnt figure out the upload instructions). I would really appreciate any help in clearing this image so, which had been released to the German side with full GNU permissions.--Smokefoot (talk) 13:08, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

Try it again with the classic skin (change via preferences). -- carol (talk) 13:16, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

And use the Commons-Helper. When you give this tool the project code and the picture name it creates the text (including licence and version history) for you. Then you just have to copy/paste it in the upload-textbox here. -- Cecil (talk) 13:58, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

What is a "project code"? -- carol (talk) 20:47, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

The language code, I guess - de in this case. --rimshot^talk 21:24, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

A project code is an identifier for a specific Wikimedia project, consisting of a language code (de, en, fr, es, and so on) and project name or shortcut (apparently, the only valid ones for Commons Helper are wikipedia, wikibooks, and wikisource). These can be combined to create cross-project links like wikisource:de:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. —LX (talk, contribs) 21:28, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, I have been thinking about how software could improve the speed of a users dialup connection for uploads and this project code stuff actually starts to help it all to make more sense now. Once again, thank you for the explanations of the process which you post here. -- carol (talk) 22:39, 30 June 2008 (UTC)