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This help desk is a forum for questions and help on:

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Anyone, from newbie to experienced, can ask a question here. Questions will be replied to here as well. Any answers you receive are not legal advice and the responder cannot be held liable for them.

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In order to get quick answers consider the following points:

• Have you checked the frequently asked questions, help pages and the help desk archive?
• For help regarding the Wiki Loves Monuments 2025 contest, please use the WLM help desk
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Adult Content

Hi, there is adult content on the commons website. With the UK Safety Act in force now, shouldn’t this require age verification technology to access? 77.103.169.213 07:58, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

See for example [1]. My understanding is that the classification hasn't actually happened yet. If it does, WMF is likely to challenge it in court, and if that fails, UK may be restricted from WP to some extent. Time will tell, the classification may not happen. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 08:55, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

Some discussion on this at Wikipedia:Village_pump_(WMF)#WMF_loses_legal_challenge_to_UK_Online_Safety_Act_(OSA)_at_High_Court Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 09:10, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

Come to think of it, perhaps Commons doesn't have enough visitors to fall under the same legislation? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 09:13, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

Unhappily , there are not only the British legislation that bring to us this kind of questions.

I think for example to French legislation. As a Wikimedian and a French citizen , I think also to French legislation.

I think to others countries as well such Australia as a Wikimedian.

Never forget that legislations in the world can change. In the next years and decades , I think that legislations will certainly be more draconian. What to do for Commons and others projects containing these images ? Anatole-berthe (talk) 09:02, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

Videogame logo

I was trying to add Pokémon Duel logo to Spanish Wikipedia but I don't know how to proceed with the Copyright and all of this things, what I have to do here? MaestroDash (talk) 10:00, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

@MaestroDash please first check whether the logo is too simple to be protected by copyright; see Commons:Threshold of originality#Logos and flags. RoyZuo (talk) 06:17, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Image from news with credited use

I am trying to upload a image by the kansas reflector, on there site it says you must credit the author and if you publish online you must include the link to the story. Is this aloud to be posted on commons for my article? and how so if yes.

Full policy

You must give Kansas Reflector credit, including https://kansasreflector.com and author. If you publish online, include the links from the story, and a link to Kansas Reflector. Stories may be edited for in-house style or to shorten. More substantial changes should be noted as additional and conducted by your publication. You can publish our graphics and any photos that are credited to Kansas Reflector with the stories with which they originally appeared. For any other uses, you must seek permission from us at info@kansasreflector.com. If you share the story on social media, please mention @KansasReflector on Twitter and kansasreflector on Facebook. Don’t sell the story. Don’t sell ads against the story. Feel free, however, to publish it on a page with ads you’ve already sold. Content should not be published behind a paywall; please reach out to the editor-in-chief if you have questions about your particular paywall system.

There are no other free use images of what i want to use so i just want to know if there is a way i can use this sorry im very new and i have tried to look into it more but im not sure how to upload and i want to be safe and check. Gavin Gamble (talk) 04:49, 24 August 2025 (UTC)

@Gavin Gamble Unfortunately, this boils down to "We can't have this on Commons." They also state "Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.", compare that to Commons:Licensing#Well-known_licenses. For one of their pics (if it's actually their's, for example the pic at [2] is clearly marked that it's not) to be allowed here, you have to get them to mark it with one of the licenses Commons do accept.

In summary, copyright rules are a pain in the ass. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:38, 24 August 2025 (UTC)

You can email the address (info@kansasreflector.com) to ask if they'll release the image under a free license like CC-BY-SA 4.0, which includes a mandatory crediting clause. Aaron Liu (talk) 03:07, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

FYI, that is the "CONTACT US" address on their about page. My suggestion, more consistent with their CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, is CC BY 4.0. You may read about (and point them to) why we don't accept NC and ND licenses by themselves at COM:LJ.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 16:07, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

I think ND points towards restricting derivative works more, like SA does. Aaron Liu (talk) 14:45, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

I cannot publish new photos

Hello

I have tried now three times to publish with Microsoft Edge the photos I uploaded by Upload Wizard, and then I tried to change the browser and tried once more with Firefox. Still couldn't publish them. Is there some common problem, or is there something wrong with my laptop? Canarian (talk) 14:39, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

When you upload the pictures, can you please give the error that comes along if it doesn't upload an image? Alternatively you can also use the Commons Mobile App to upload the same too. Contributor2020^{Talk to me here!} 15:01, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

It does not say anything about error. I can upload them normally and fill the information (description, date, categories etc) in normally, but when I click "publish", it does not do anything. Canarian (talk) 15:06, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

You may need to scroll back up the page and look for error messages (usually shown in red). Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:22, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

There are no error messages, it's just like clicking "publish" just doesn't do a thing. This has never happened before, as I have saved many photos during years. I have started to wonder whether there's something wrong with my laptop then. I should try with another computer when I have a chance. Canarian (talk) 17:01, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

Or restart the one you're currently using; or the browser it's using; or simply log out and back in again; in reverse order. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 17:57, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

I logged out, shut the browser, restarted the laptop, logged back in and the situation is still the same. Canarian (talk) 08:10, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

At this point you may be better asking at COM:VPT. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:01, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

Ok, thank you. When I tried with another laptop, there was still the same problem, but when I chose "return to the old way of saving photos", I finally managed to publish! It's just slower because there I have to upload all the photos one by one. Canarian (talk) 18:39, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Now after using the old form for many photos, also Upload Wizard started to work again! So I think it should be good now. Canarian (talk) 19:27, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Uploading a portrait of somebody already listed on Wikipedia

I am trying to upload a photograph of my Great-grandfather Karl von Hornhardt on his wikipedia page de:Karl von Hornhardt- the image is part of his estate and is now owned by his great-grand daughters. Statisticiantrina (talk) 15:19, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

@Statisticiantrina Welcome! This can be done, but it will take a bit of effort on your part. First though, if this photo is in the public domain per the rules of whatever country it was taken in, COM:GERMANY might apply, you can upload it without any further licensing needed. Per the article you linked, we can not just assume that the photographer has been dead 70 years, though that is possible.

According to Commons, "Usually the copyright for a given work belongs to the author of the work for their lifetime, and then passes as part of their estate to a specific individual or entity either designated explicitly as heir to their intellectual property or inheriting that as part of the residuum of their estate."

You have to figure out who is the copyright holder now, then I recommend you point this person to the blue button here: Commons:Volunteer Response Team#Declaration of consent for all enquiries. Hope this helps some. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:54, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

Thanks for that - most of them are studio portraits of photographers I cannot find any more. One was taken by my late father and it passed to us with his estate, so I presume that I can fill in the declaration for that photo. 2A02:C7C:37BE:2300:F1FC:B30F:7C3D:8036 17:07, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

@Statisticiantrina You may find Commons:Uploading works by a third party useful. Worth at least a skim. - Jmabel ! talk 20:26, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

That's funny, I linked the same page ;-) Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 20:59, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

@Gråbergs Gråa Sång: Sorry, missed it because it was not overtly mentioned. - Jmabel ! talk 03:12, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

If I upload an image(that I have taken) on another website and then later upload it to commons, are there any special procedures I need to take?

I have uploaded some of my own photos onto other websites in the past, of which I find the photos may be useful on commons and may possibly upload them here in the future, how do I prove the photo is taken by me? I have different account names depending on website; Do I need to go through any other procedures? Thehistorianisaac (talk) 17:10, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

@Thehistorianisaac Is it possible for you to add "This picture is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license" on that other website?

If not, you may "get away" with it anyway, but you could proactively use the Commons:Volunteer_Response_Team#Declaration_of_consent_for_all_enquiries route. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:27, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

Oh ok thank you Thehistorianisaac (talk) 23:36, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

Easiest way is definitely if the other site can indicate the correct license and, please, don't just try to "get away with it," go through VRT. Should be very easy if you've been credited by name on the other sites. - Jmabel ! talk 20:28, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

Czeka na przejrzenie

https://pl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zamek_w_Niemodlinie&stable=1

Jakiś czas temu wprowadziłam zmiany, ale nadal są niewidoczne, czy ktoś mógłby przejrzeć i zaakceptować? Lub pokierować mnie co z tym dalej zrobić? A.stanczykowska (talk) 12:00, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

@A.stanczykowska That's something you have to ask on Polish Wikipedia, perhaps try Wikipedia:Pytania nowicjuszy. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:15, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

Thank you! 194.88.245.198 06:43, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

Can you give me some list of them?

Are there any websites or and social medias have their copyright license permission to Wikimedia Commons? Thsharkeslayor8058 (talk) 12:17, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

I don't think there is a social media per se, but at least some of them allow users to mark vids/pics with a license Commons accepts. Of course, some of those may be marked wrongly. There may be some list(s) around here with "free stuff" websites, that's more than I know. This website [3] states "all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:12, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

Ah, Thank You sir. Thsharkeslayor8058 (talk) 08:40, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

Commons:Free media resources. MKFI (talk) 06:52, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

Logo for my non-profit

I am not the creator of my organization's new logo, but I work for a non-profit and this logo needs to be updated for its Wikipedia page. How do I do properly do that? Buensola (talk) 14:18, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

@Buensola More info please, what WP-article and what logo? There is a lot of devil in the details here. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:09, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

For an overview of the considerations see Commons:Uploading works by a third party (some of which will be an obvious skim-past, but much of which will be pertinent). - Jmabel ! talk 19:46, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

technical help with Template:Wdib

Can someone explain what I'm doing wrong with Template:Wdib? I've put an example of my current understanding at User:Marnanel/Sandbox. TIA. Marnanel (talk) 19:52, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

Copyright help regarding File:Escut dels vescomtes de Cabrera.png

Hello!

The drawer of this coat of arms give license to use freely their files for not commercial purposes quoting him (you can read this at the bottom of his web, where you can enter through the link I have posted: https://dibujoheraldico.blogspot.com/2014/10/cabrera.html), but he doesn't specify a concret Creative Commons license. Which would be? Might you add it?

Thank you very much! --Joaquim Link (talk) 21:12, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

@Joaquim Link: "non-commmercial" licenses are completely irrelevant for Commons. See COM:L. - Jmabel ! talk 04:32, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

I want to add a GIF but, it's not my own work--- the GIF I mean!

 Rykerl (talk) 23:50, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

It is this: C:/Users/rykerlot/Downloads/MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy!InputApp/EyeRollAnnoyedGIF.gif

@Rykerl: that is a link to a file on a storage device on your own computer, which is completely useless to anyone else. - Jmabel ! talk 04:33, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

how to upload my file

how to upload my file Dr.Krishna Mohan Pandey (talk) 05:32, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

@Dr.Krishna Mohan Pandey Does Upload Wizard help? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 05:53, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

My page

Hi, so happy to connect you. Well, would you please make my user page as public one? Suzanne Ibrahim (talk) 08:09, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

@Suzanne Ibrahim Assuming this is about Användare:Suzanne Ibrahim/sandlåda, that's something you have to discuss on Swedish Wikipedia. Wikipedia:Fikarummet might be a good place to start. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 09:03, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

how

how t o upload picture it wont let me 140.82.178.97 17:51, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

Hi, First create an account and then, please go to Special:UploadWizard. Please read all the instructions. Yann (talk) 18:01, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

Deleted image Request

hi everyone

I request to Rubýñ on her en talk to add image on Omar Mosque and Islamic Center of Costa Rica.

She say it was on commons but deleted due to FOP-Cuba issue.

My Question is "Is there anyway to recover it on enwiki, if possible?? 獅眠洞 (talk) 獅眠洞 (talk) 21:14, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

The file in question is File:Mezquita de Omar, Costa Rica (cropped).png. I've checked the original, small resolution for a 2019 upload, EXIF looks like it was done in a photo editor. Abzeronow (talk) 22:39, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

Rubýñ said to me it's her own work. 獅眠洞 (talk) 22:52, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

The original file was File:Mezquita de Omar, Costa Rica.png uploaded by User:Dereck Camacho. Abzeronow (talk) 23:11, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

I had misunderstood. 獅眠洞 (talk) 23:31, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

No, it's not my own work, I think you misunderstood me. I said that the file in question was deleted by my request and that I'll try to remember to take a picture of the building to upload as fair use to enwiki if I find myself close by. ⎯⎯⎯ Rubýñ 🇨🇷 ^(scold) 02:27, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

If you ever do take a picture of it, you could upload it as FOP-USOnly on enwiki which is not exactly the same as fair use (that sounds like a good solution to the problem until Costa Rica passes commercial FOP if they ever do). Abzeronow (talk) 02:34, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

@Rubýñ Sorry i had miss understood. 獅眠洞 (talk) 13:49, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

View pictures

I can't seem to bring up any pictures Southgamble (talk) 16:07, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

@Southgamble: meaning you cannot see any images anywhere on this site? If so...

1. Do you have the same problem on other sites?
2. What device are you using? (PC, some sort of phone, etc.; the more you can describe it the better)
3. What OS are you using?
4. What browser are you using?

Jmabel ! talk 18:10, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

It is my cell and is an android. It is the only app that I am having this issue. Above all the descriptions is blank. If I click on it it will bring up the word description but no pic. If I hit download then I can view it afterwards Southgamble (talk) 00:20, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

@HNordeen (WMF), ARamadan-WMF, and JTanner (WMF): , is there anywhere Southgamble can usefully report this? - Jmabel ! talk 05:40, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Copyright help about my friend's images' legal status

If I go out with friends, my friends have allowed me to use some of their photos which are nicer than photos I have taken to the same sceneries, and the allowance is done orally. Can I upload the photos? If I can, what name I should fill as the Author if they don't have wiki accounts and don't want to explore their real names? Liedward390 (talk) 20:07, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

@Liedward390: In that case, no, oral permission is not enough. We'd need evidence (in writing) that your friend(s) agree to release their photos under a specific free license. One way is to upload the photos, and have the friend(s) email a permission statement to the Volunteer Response Team (see Commons:Volunteer Response Team for more details, and the release generator that is helpful for creating a release). Alternatively, it's sometimes easier to just have your friends join Commons themselves and upload their photos as their own work. ~Kevin Payravi (talk) 20:45, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

Okay, thank you so much for the response! Liedward390 (talk) 01:12, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Upload wizard website upload

How do you upload from a non‐Flickr website in the Upload Wizard? I know you can do so in the standard upload form, so what about the default uploading tool? Anohthterwikipedian (talk) 02:27, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

@Anohthterwikipedian: You have to download to your own device, then upload to Commons. - Jmabel ! talk 05:44, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

So how come I can upload directly from a website using Special:Upload, but not Special:UploadWizard?

Anohthterwikipedian (talk) 05:52, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Good question. Maybe try asking at Commons:Village pump/Technical. -- Asclepias (talk) 13:48, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

@Anohthterwikipedian: If the website is reliable, and provide only free or public domain images, then it can be added to a white list. Then files can be uploaded directly with Special:Upload. Yann (talk) 17:11, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

My own page creation

How i can create my own page,how i become eligible 27.60.11.22 08:10, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

You have to use an account: Commons:First steps/Account. Read Commons:Welcome and observe Commons:What Commons is not. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 12:33, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Photo added to Commons deleted by bot

Hello, I am fairly new at modifying Wikipedia pages, and my first attempt at adding a photo (by adding it to Commons) resulted in the photo being automatically deleted. I believe I did not give appropriate answers on the form that was presented to me when adding the photo to Commons. The Wikipedia page in question is for Michael S. Glaser: Michael was a friend and neighbor of mine, and he died this past January. The photo I uploaded was titled Michael S. Glaser cropped.jpg. This was a cropped version of the photo on Michael's personal website: https://michaelsglaser.com/ There is no copyright of any kind on that website, and regardless of that, I have permission from Michael's surviving family (who now manage that website along with the rest of Michael's estate) to include a version of the photo from that page in his Wikipedia page. So what do I need to do to properly get that photo back into Commons and included in Michael's Wikipedia page? Specific instructions on how to fill out the permissions form would be appreciated. Thanks, Tom Caulkins

p.s. Will I be notified in some way when there is a reply to my question, or do i need to keep checking back here? Neptune919 (talk) 11:08, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

@Neptune919: You didn't provide a license, and the author is wrong. This is not a selfie, so not taken by Michael Glaser. Who is the photographer? Yann (talk) 17:08, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

I have asked Michael’s family as to who the photographer was, and also suggested they could alternatively provide a different photo with a known photographer. In either case I presume a written release from copyright is required from the photographer. Is there a form or template for that release? Can you point me to that along with instructions on how that release is to be transmitted to the Commons and where and when in the process of uploading the photo that occurs? Thanks for your help! Neptune919 (talk) 09:18, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

@Neptune919: COM:VRT includes forms and a form generator; I also recommend at least a quick pass through Commons:Uploading works by a third party for the broader context here. - Jmabel ! talk 16:12, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Thanks. I’ve identified the photographer and read through the material and looked at the email generator. Two further questions: the file I uploaded is a cropped version of the photo as it was on Michael’s website. Does this have implications for the photographer’s release? Also, I read (I believe in the email generator) that for a photo from a website the person granting the release must have a relationship with the website (https://michaelsglaser.com/). The photographer is the soon-to-be husband of Michael Glaser’s daughter. Is that sufficient? Thanks. Neptune919 (talk) 18:25, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

@Neptune919: I can't say what is and isn't sufficient for VRT; I'm not on the team. If they have doubts, they'll reply by email, and expect a reply in return. I believe that if you are cc'd on the original email, they will keep you in the loop, but I don't even know that for certain. It's a deliberately somewhat opaque process to preserve confidentiality for correspondents. - Jmabel ! talk 18:05, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

There is no copyright of any kind on that website: simply not true. For virtually any U.S. content created since March 1, 1989, anything copyrightable is copyrighted by default. The only exception I can think of is that the federal government and a few of the state and local governments have laws placing all work done by their employees (though usually not contractors) as part of their job into the public domain. Other than that, if a site says nothing about copyright, that means all rights are reserved. - 18:45, 29 August 2025 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jmabel (talk • contribs)

This media may be deleted

Hello. I received a notification that a license confirmation is required. The photo is from a family archive, taken in the 1990s, and it’s no longer possible to know exactly by whom. I would like to clarify—will a letter from an official email address be sufficient, or is something else needed? Leafrake (talk) 12:05, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

@Leafrake: Hi, Permission can be done online by the copyright holder, or on paper, then scanned, and send by you to permissions-commonswikimedia.org. Yann (talk) 17:06, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

The not knowing exactly by whom could be a problem. If that is because the person is no longer alive, though, and you know who the current heir would be, that would suffice. - Jmabel ! talk 18:49, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Declared Not A Real User?

I don't understand why my contributions have been eliminated. I am a real user, not a bot. MrNaturalX (talk) 16:26, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

@MrNaturalX: Hi, You have no deleted contributions. Do you have another account? Or do you mean on some Wikipedia project? Yann (talk) 17:03, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Apologies. The post and observation was made in error. I appreciate your response.

Thank you. MrNaturalX (talk) 17:18, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Translation: I am not a sock, and I want you to stop asking questions that may imply I am a sock. 75.99.166.226 16:53, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Hi

I want to edit page Sintest ahmad (talk) 16:59, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

@Sintest ahmad: Why do you want to delete User:احمد الكهيلي? Is this account also yours? If yes, please use only one account. Thanks, Yann (talk) 17:16, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

@Sintest ahmad: It seems you are not at ease writing in English. Please write in your mother tongue. There are certainly other people who know it, and can help you. Please use Commons:Sandbox for more testing. Thanks, Yann (talk) 17:45, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Update Image on Wikipedia Page

Hello,

I am trying to upload a more recent image of Emily Chang (journalist) on the wikipedia page. I uploaded the image to use into Wikimedia Commons. What is the correct way to upload an image in the infobox template? Rhinson3 (talk) 21:31, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Convenience link: Emily Chang (journalist)

@Rhinson3: Replace the name of the current image in the infobox with the name of the new image. Certainly do not delete the entire Infobox and replace it with the image. - Jmabel ! talk 21:54, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

use of images on commercial app, compliance

Hi, I am planning to use images from Wikicommons in an app I'm creating, it should be available to purchase on app stores next year. There is an app plus an accompanying website, both sharing the same name. On the website, the photographer, image source and licence information are provided underneath all images I'm using, for example: photo © WikiCommonsUser "Photo" is the link to the source and the copyright sign is the link to the license page.

For info, the images I'm using have not been changed by me, only resized to fit a 16:9 ratio I'm using for the images, which I've stated on the website.

In the app, the same images are used but the links above are not, mainly for styling reasons but also because I'd rather not have users leaving the app to open the links. In the app, under a legal section, I state: "The car images were obtained from Wikimedia Commons. The photographer, source and license information can be found on our website: www.my_page.com"

The main screen of the app contains the web address so that users can check the license information. — Preceding unsigned comment added by BerlinWilmer (talk • contribs) 09:01, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

So my question is, are the steps I've taken to be compliant acceptable?

Please let me know if there is any further you might need to help me.

Thanks in advance,

BerilWilmer BerlinWilmer (talk) 08:55, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

The intent is good, but the website, as described, will lack the license name which is mostly mandatory. Insert it after the licensor's name: photo © WikiCommonsUser CC-by-XY and make the CC thing the license link (assuming that you're using Creative-Commons-licensed stuff).

About the app: that's also not the best design. The intent of being license compliant is evident, but not the actual realisation IANAL. I see another option: start with watermarking the images with "licensor + license name" in a small but still legible font, that will fulfill the part of referencing the author. Then, do the same thing as already existing apps! If you check the licensing information on any Android smartphone (or in the handbook of a set-top box, a TV stick, a car...), you'll see that it is stated that the device makes use of software under the LGPL, MIT license, Apache licenses, GPL - there are always several known copyleft licenses named. This is due to them incorporating software libraries like the en:FFMPEG and others.

In your app, you could make a window with licensing information, where you state: "Imagery in this app is used under Creative Commons licenses and was sourced from Wikimedia Commons. The conditions of LICENSE A can be found at LINK A, of LICENSE B at LINK B (etc.)" Each "LICENSE #" is the name of one actually used Creative Commons offering: CC-By-SA 3.0, CC-By 4.0, etc. You get the gist? That way, you have all the parts needed for a valid CC-By-XY license in your app. The images themselves carry the licensor and the actual license name, the deeds and the explanation are grouped together on a customary information window. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 09:20, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Thank you, that's really helpful. Will come back to you with follow up questions, no doubt.

Ragards 2001:9E8:1448:3900:D6A2:DE6C:F3AF:2DC4 10:07, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Hello again, a quick follow up.

I have updated the website and app. On the website, under each image, I have this text:

photo © Wiki_User / CC BY 2.0

"photo" links to the wikimedia commons source and "CC BY 2.0" links to the license page.

In the app, I am adding legible watermarks to each image (not clickable):

© Wiki_User / CC BY 2.0

And this is in the legal section of the app:

Imagery in this app is used under Creative Commons licenses and sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

Some images have been adjusted to fit a 16:9 ratio

The photographer and license type is shown on each image. The link to the source and licenses are available on our website:

www.my_site.com

The licenses and their conditions:

CC BY 2.0 [link]

CC BY 2.0 DE [link]

CC BY 2.5 [link]

CC BY 3.0 [link]

CC BY 4.0 [link]

CC BY-SA 2.0 [link]

CC BY-SA 2.0 DE [link]

CC BY-SA 2.0 FR [link]

CC BY-SA 2.5 [link]

CC BY-SA 3.0 [link]

CC BY-SA 4.0 [link]

Free Art License 1.3 [link]

How do you think it is now with respect to full compliance?

Again, thank you for your time and help. BerlinWilmer (talk) 10:59, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

May we assume "Wiki_User" here is a placeholder for the requested attribution, not a literal string? For example, if you were to use File:Canalul Mila 35 - 09 - Egretta garzetta (cropped).jpg it would be "Joe Mabel", correct? - Jmabel ! talk 18:10, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for the reply.

To clarify, on the website the info underneath the images are clickable, except for the name of the person who uploaded the image to wikimedia i.e photo © username / CC BY-SA 4.0 --> the word photo is the link to the source image and the license name is the link to the license info page.

On the app, each image has a watermark showing the username of the person who uploaded the image and the license name, neither are clickable though, being just a watermark. And as mentioned before, the app has a legal section with clickable links to all of the relevant license pages.

I hope that helps! BerlinWilmer (talk) 19:55, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

@BerlinWilmer: sounds entirely reasonablee to me. - Jmabel ! talk 22:58, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Can I upload an photo I took myself of a piece of public art?

For example, this picture taken in Vancouver is ok, because it's 3D

I would like to upload an photo I took of a street cabinet that has artwork on it, which was commissioned by a canadian municipality and appears to be intended for public consumption (given that it is on the street). I do not think the artwork in question is over 150 years old, it is recent. My intention of uploading this is to use it as a `wikimedia_commons` tag for openstreetmap, so that the node is made more useful by having a photo of the artwork. Is this an acceptable upload? Malle Yeno (talk) 14:48, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

@Malle Yeno: You're saying that this object is situated in Canada, if I understood you correctly. Please read the guideline COM:Canada, specifically COM:FOP Canada, for such questions. The technical term for such a situation and question (artwork in public, photographs allowed or not?) is "en:freedom of panorama". If your street cabinet is painted, like a mural, then it's not permissible for Commons per Canadian law. A photograph would infringe upon the artist's copyrights. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 15:42, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Thanks very much for the in depth response! You have understood the situation correctly: this is an object in canada so those resources you linked are relevant (and thank you for linking them!)

The situation is indeed that it is painted, so it appears freedom of panorama is not applicable. Since I do not know that it is public domain and I am unable to easily determine who the copyright holder is, I will elect not to upload. The node is tagged as artwork on the map, so I do not think it subtracts from the local map significantly if such upload does not take place. Malle Yeno (talk) 18:18, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Hi, Who is the copyright owner of the artwork? When was it painted? Yann (talk) 10:52, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Hello. I will need to investigate more deeply to determine the copyright holder. I initially assumed the City of Regina was the holder as it is part of their public arts collection. However, reviewing their policy for the civic arts collection, they don't actually mandate a sublicensable copyright, just the right to exhibit the work. I do not know the age but it is certainly not old enough to qualify for public domain status.

I will elect not to upload as there does not appear to be enough evidence to show that it would be allowable to do so and it is not vital to the local map that such upload take place. Malle Yeno (talk) 18:16, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Profile picture

What is the process for uploading my photo to Wikipedia's page? Mykhailo Martyniouk (talk) 19:20, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

@Mykhailo Martyniouk Like 2021 Alberta Senate nominee election? Start with Wikipedia:A picture of you. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 19:52, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

@Mykhailo Martyniouk: please be aware that Commons is not a social network or a forum where a profile picture is needed or useful! See Commons:Project scope#User pages for details. Your question doesn't tell us which purpose your photo shall serve. Any upload has to conform to the project scope, otherwise, it is liable to deletion. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 23:18, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Best place/mechanism to mass report likely copyright issues?

Hi,

As per the title really, I've been looking into a user's uploads after a possible suspected copyright issue (derivative of copyrighted work) was highlighted in a discussion at the English Wikipedia. I have since found what I believe to be at least half a dozen further instances of essentially tracing or using a copyrighted image as a reference for drawings they claim to hold the copyright for that they've uploaded here which would therefore breach the copyright of the original works which I've individually nominated for deletion. As a result I suspect all of their works are tainted by this (and I merely haven't found the exact image/footage copied from), so wish to know the best place to deal with this rather than manually report each one in turn.

Regards, Rambling Rambler (talk) 22:50, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Hello @Rambling Rambler, if you suspect all of their uploads have copyright issues, then I think the best way to do this is with a mass DR, see Commons:Deletion requests/Mass deletion request. Thanks. Tvpuppy (talk) 23:11, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Refer to Commons:Deletion requests/Mass deletion request for this endeavour. Please prepare the most detailed reasoning that is possible! You may have to use the VisualFileChange tool for that. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 23:11, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

@Tvpuppy @Grand-Duc thanks for the information. Given several of them already have individual nominations I've separated out those with specific evidence and those suspected, rather than refile the evidence of every single one again. I don't know if that's enough or not but don't want to spend too much time Commons:Deletion requests/Drawn Portraits Uploaded by JoeBugMan Rambling Rambler (talk) 00:18, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Nymphaea tetragona Georgi images - mass deleting redirects

Hello,
due to the mass uploading of mislabelled images from one user, the search for images of Nymphaea tetragona Georgi has been made absolutely impossible on Wikimedia Commons.
Any person not familiar with this plant will see all these false images and will get a false impression of what this species looks like.
There are very few images of the true species available on Wikimedia Commons, and more than 90% of the search results display plants that are not Nymphaea tetragona Georgi. This is not good, because I believe this impacts the educational use of Wikimedia Commons in this specific case.
A while ago I already got some help with mass renaming the files, but redirects were left in place, and these files still pollute the search results, obscuring the actual subject of the search.
Is there anything that can be done about this issue?
Greetings, Conan Wolff (talk) 09:15, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

@Conan Wolff: Without you even mentioning what user, or linking to any of the problematic files, you are making anyone who wants to comment re-do your research. Please, spell it out if you actually want help here. - Jmabel ! talk 20:37, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Request by Yvelaine Armstrong

How do I upload a page from my iPad Yvelaine Armstrong (talk) 09:50, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

@Yvelaine Armstrong: Hi, What do you want to upload exactly? Did you read COM:SCOPE? Did you use Special:UploadWizard? Yann (talk) 10:44, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

I want to upload my idea , but I have a lot to learn . A n image plus an article of explanation . 2A00:23CC:E108:D01:58A1:BCF4:A51D:4DCC 06:40, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

@Yvelaine Armstrong: you triggered an automated filter that prevents new users from uploading PDF files. While I don't know what the PDF is about please note that you can't create a Wikipedia page by uploading a PDF. MKFI (talk) 06:37, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

What file ending shall I use 2A00:23CC:E108:D01:58A1:BCF4:A51D:4DCC 06:41, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

@Yvelaine Armstrong: Wikipedia articles are created using Wikipedia text editor. There is no automatic conversion from any other existing file. You will need to re-create your article, but before you do that please consider the following:

• Creating a new article can be difficult; you should familiarize yourself with Wikipedia editing first.
• Your article topic must be about something that already exists and on which others have written about; new or original research is not allowed. And you must cite sources.
• You can upload the image separately (as JPG/PNG/SVG) but only if it is your own work (you held the camera in your hands or created a drawing using a graphic editor etc.) Taking an image from the web is (mostly) not allowed. MKFI (talk) 07:11, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

La photo n'est pas téléversée

Bonjour, J'ai téléversé une photo de l'église de Saint-Colomban et celle-ci n'apparait pas dans la liste des "églises de la Loire-Atlantique". Je ne comprends pas pourquoi. J'ai suivi toutes les étapes : File:Église de Saint-Colomban en Loire-Atlantique.jpg merci de votre aide Candie Soler (talk) 10:37, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

@Candie Soler: Bonjour, Votre image apparait dans Category:Église Saint-Colomban de Saint-Colomban, qui par ailleurs devrait être renommée Category:Church Saint-Colomban of Saint-Colomban. Cordialement, Yann (talk) 10:46, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

@Candie Soler: Bonjour, Si vous voulez parler de l'article de Wikipédia intitulé "Liste des églises de la Loire-Atlantique", il suffirait qu'un utilisateur de Wikipédia, vous ou quelqu'un d'autre, insère le nom du fichier dans cet article de Wikipédia. Les fichiers enregistrés sur Commons ne s'insèrent pas d'eux-mêmes dans des articles de Wikipédia. Vous pouvez regarder comment l'article de Wikipédia est structuré et insérer le nom du fichier, Église de Saint-Colomban en Loire-Atlantique.jpg, sur la ligne du paramètre "image=" dans la partie prévue pour cette église. Si vous avez besoin d'aide supplémentaire sur Wikipédia, vous pouvez utiliser la page Wikipédia:Forum des nouveaux. -- Asclepias (talk) 16:56, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Logo de un medio de comunicación

Buenos días,

Querría enlazar en wikipedia el logo de un medio de comunicación español (Motor16). Obviamente, no es de mi autoría pero sí está disponible libre de derechos en las redes para la difusión del mismo. ¿cómo podría hacerlo? Gracias

Good morning,

I would like to link to the logo of a Spanish media outlet (Motor16) on Wikipedia. Obviously, it's not my work, but it is available royalty-free on social media for distribution. How could I do this? Thank you. JorgeVBis (talk) 12:04, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

@JorgeVBis Is it the logo I see at the top of https://www.motor16.com/? If so, you can upload it here on Commons, for an example, see the licensing section at File:Ncyc logo.jpg. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 16:12, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Muchas gracias! JorgeVBis (talk) 08:56, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

sand boc

how do i locate my sand box to begin writing articles? ProfZacchaeus (talk) 14:20, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

@ProfZacchaeus Assuming this is about English Wikipedia, if you go to User talk:ProfZacchaeus, you should find a link to (creating) it in the "Personal settings" drop-down on the top right. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:18, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Free unfree licenses

Everything on Wikimedia Commons is free. For my understanding, this means that a creative work is distributable, modifiable, and sellable. It doesn’t matter what license(s) I use, as long as they allow those three things. Now, to license under CC BY‐NC is to restrict saleability, meaning that it is considered non‐free. To license under CC BY‐ND is to restrict modifiability, meaning that it is also considered non‐free. However, if you multilicense under both of these, from my understanding, the licensed work would become free again. How? Well, when a work is licensed this way, you may sell it under the CC BY‐ND license, and modify it under the CC BY‐NC license. Those derivatives can also be sold, as there is no ShareAlike clause forcing them to have the same license. So, if I’m correct, why is there no multilicense template for that on Commons? Anohthterwikipedian (talk) 22:48, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

@Anohthterwikipedian: A CC BY-NC work doesn't lose its NC component just because you modified it. ShareAlike is a mechanism to ensure that free works stay free. The absence of ShareAlike just means that your derivative work can carry the same or a more restrictive license (or a lack of license entirely). But you can't strip away restrictions like the NC condition. Any use of the original or its derivatives must still comply with it. From the CC FAQ, "if you want to use a remix for commercial purposes, you cannot incorporate material released under one of the NonCommercial licenses." ~Kevin Payravi (talk) 23:13, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Thank you!

Anohthterwikipedian (talk) 01:16, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Map icon bug

A few hours ago I created a data map showcasing earthquakes in Afghanistan (Data:Earthquakes in Afghanistan 1900-.map). I found no issues with the map on the data proper and it works perfectly there. However, when I put the template on the "List of earthquakes in Afghanistan" article on Wikipedia, it's just a blank map without any of the icons I added to indicate the featured earthquakes. When I did the same thing for earthquakes in other countries (Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, etc.) it works just fine, though. Using the inspect tool, I found "jQuery.Deferred exception: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'data') TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'data')" in the article's javascript. Quake1234 (talk) 08:34, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Fixed. Apparently it was due to the inclusion of the "Data:" prefix in w:Template:Maplink. (The exception was unrelated.) — Alien  3
3 3 08:42, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Create a new Template:TOO-UK (United Kingdom)

Hi,any admin or a user please create a new Template:TOO-UK (United Kingdom),the user:Yayan550 (Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Doctor Who (1963) logos) requested says:I think we need to create TOO-United Kingdom tag as Commons template to emphasize it. (google translator) AbchyZa22 (talk) 11:00, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

@AbchyZa22, I have created it, see {{TOO-UK}}. Feel free to add any changes to the text shown in the template. Thanks. Tvpuppy (talk) 02:23, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

Image filename correction

I just uploaded File:Charles Bierbauer.jpg to replace the current low-rez image on Mr. Bierbauer's wiki page with a cleaner shot provided by his family. It would appear that assigning a filename of "Charles Bierbauer.jpg" was the same name as the prior image. I would like the description that appears on the page to remain Charles Bierbauer, but change the filename itself to something unique, like "Charles Bierbauer portrait.jpg" but I do not see how to do that. Could somebody give me a hand? Thanks!! Turransky2399 (talk) 17:37, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

There's a help page; COM:File renaming and a template: {{Rename}}. But I can take charge of the rename, as I am a filemover. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 17:52, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

you are my hero!! Thank you Turransky2399 (talk) 17:55, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

You're welcome @Turransky2399, see File:Charles Bierbauer portrait.jpg. But there's a bit of formalities remaining to take care of: please provide the licensing agreement to the COM:VRT, following the procedure described at Commons:Volunteer Response Team#Licensing images: when do I contact VRT?. We need evidence that the licensor (whoever of the family is the actual partner for that) agreed to the CC-By-SA 4.0. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 17:59, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

will do. I have the linked page open and will follow the directions. I so appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Turransky2399 (talk) 18:02, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

@Turransky2399: Assuming this is not the only time you will upload a media file that you did not create yourself, you should probably at least skim Commons:Uploading works by a third party. It may save you a lot of grief. - Jmabel ! talk 04:57, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Minor edit request for an image

Could anyone add white background to File:Wildfires in Turkey by year.svg? I am unable to do because I don't have autopatrolled rights. Just change the first line to below, adding 'style="background-color: white;"'.

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="925" height="750" style="background-color: white;">

Karacehennem (talk) 20:35, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Looks like doesn't work. I tried this when uploading File:Wildfires in Turkey by year tr.svg but didn't work. We should try another method. Karacehennem (talk) 20:46, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Image upload query

Is someone about to double check if a screenshot of an image of a historic house (sourced from an ebook on internet archive) is able to be uploaded to wiki commons without breaching any copyright?

The article it would be uploaded to is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennings_Park

Image info below (ChatGPT has created)

Gennings Park, Kent – 1923 plate (anonymous)

• Purpose: Historical plate for the article on Gennings Park (Kent). Shows the house as it appeared in the late 19th/early 20th century .
• Source: Internet Archive item ID: lifeofrighthonsi01spenuoft — plate on p. 209. (Direct item link is fine: https://archive.org/details/lifeofrighthonsi01spenuoft)
• Publication: John A. Spender, The Life of the Right Hon. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, G.C.B., Vol. 1 (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1923).
• Credit line: “Unknown photographer; published by Hodder & Stoughton (1923)”.
• Licensing (please apply on Commons):

 - {{PD-UK-unknown}} — no photographer is named in the plate caption or list of illustrations; first published 1923 (>70y). 
 - {{PD-US-expired}} — published in 1923, public domain in the United States.

• Suggested filename: Gennings_Park_Kent_Campbell-Bannerman_1923_plate.jpg
• Notes: Happy to provide exact plate caption text if needed.

Amateur History Luke 24 (talk) 23:40, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

@Amateur History Luke 24: Sounds like that should be fine. - Jmabel ! talk 04:59, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

House pictured without consent

Hello Commons.

I was looking online and found my house uploaded here. I don't feel comfortable with my house being on the internet. This is not a deletion request. Is there any way any of you could, like, crop it out? Thanks in advance. JLima10 (talk) 01:46, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

@JLima10: You don't say what country you are in, but in most countries if your house is visible from a public place, people have a right to photograph it and publish those photographs. (The only common exception is in a country like France that does not provide Freedom of Panorama for architecture; in those countries, if the house is still copyrighted, then even the owner can't legally publish such photos, just the architect!)

That said: I'm an admin here. Feel free to email me the URL of the file page (so as to avoid the Streisand effect of linking it here); if there is more than one building in the photo, please be clear about what you'd want suppressed; and I'll see if it looks like something we can reasonably do as a courtesy. - Jmabel ! talk 05:04, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Czeka na akceptację

pl:Zamek w Niemodlinie

Proszę o przejrzenie i akceptację Zamku w Niemodlinie. A.stanczykowska (talk) 09:21, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

@A.stanczykowska: Again, questions about the Polish Wikipedia need to be asked on the Polish Wikipedia. This is Wikimedia Commons, one of several hundred sister projects.

za pośrednictwem Tłumacza Google: Ponownie, pytania o polską Wikipedię należy zadawać na polskiej Wikipedii. To Wikimedia Commons, jeden z kilkuset projektów siostrzanych.- Jmabel ! talk 23:02, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

इनाम क्या मिलेगा

जितने के बाद इनाम क्या मिलेगा मौर्या444 (talk) 09:55, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

इनाम क्या मिलेगा मौर्या444 (talk) 09:57, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

@मौर्या444: after winning what?

गूगल अनुवाद के माध्यम से: जीतने के बाद क्या? - Jmabel ! talk 23:06, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

@Jmabel I think he means the Wiki Loves Monuments thing going on in September. DoctorWhoFan91 (talk) 06:24, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

@मौर्या444, आप क्या जीतने की बात कर रहे हैं? आपकी बात समझ नहीं आ रही। कृपया पूरी बात समझाएँ। _signed, Aafi ^(talk) 07:42, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Daniele Pieroni foto.jpg

Goodmoring Commons, I'm writing to you regarding the photograph in question, which I recently uploaded. I received a message warning that the photo might be a possible copyright infringement. Since I uploaded the photo for the Wikipedia profile on the author, which I wrote for the recently deceased poet's estate, I'd like to understand why this might be a violation. Furthermore, we own the original print of this image, so I was wondering if perhaps scanning the photographic print directly would avoid the need for copyright tags. Thank you in advance for your time. Alessarlo (talk) 10:49, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

• @Alessarlo: who is "we"? You and who else?
• Owning a physical copy of a photo is not the same as owning the copyright. You will probably want to read Commons:Uploading works by a third party, then come back with any questions that you find are not answered there. - Jmabel ! talk 23:12, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Issue in uploading, may be due to a bad connection

Hello,

I'd like to add a UNS image to our collection. It's source is https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/80-G-50000/80-G-50221.html , but the TIFF won't upload, neither by using the classical form nor with the upload wizard. Maybe my internet connection is too buggy ATM. Could someone take over, please?

I suggest the filename Aftermath battle of the Komandorski Islands - turret 3 guns of USS Salt Lake City (CA-25).tiff and here's the Info template I would have used:

{{Information
|Description={{en|1={{w|8-inch/55-caliber gun|8"/55 guns|en}} of turret #3, {{w|USS Salt Lake City (CA-25)|USS Salt Lake City (CA-25)|en}}, showing heat scale on the tubes from extensive firing during the action, taken after the {{w|Battle of the Komandorski Islands|battle of the Komandorski Islands|en}} at Dutch Harbor, 30 March 1943. Note snow flakes falling.}}
|Source=https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/80-G-50000/80-G-50221.html
|Date=1943-03-30
|Author=US Navy
|Permission=
|other_versions=
}}

[[Category:USS Salt Lake City (CA-25)]]
[[Category:Battle of the Komandorski Islands - US forces]]

Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 14:02, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Resolved

I think that this question was replied to adequately based on the supplied information. If you have anything to add or a follow-up question please feel free to replace this box with your comment. This section will be archived after two days. Was temporary, I think. I succeeded. Grand-Duc (talk) 16:14, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Best scan resolution?

Sometimes I scan images from books and postcards etc., but I'm never quite sure what resolution to scan in. My current monitor has a highest resolution of 1920 x 1080, which is pretty average by modern standards, so an image that might look huge on my monitor might look quite small on somebody else's. Is there a preferred resolution for Commons? Gatoclass (talk) 14:10, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Use the highest quality that your scanner is able to produce please. Your monitor is irrelevant for deciding the resolution (think about people viewing our imagery on modern smartphones, for instance, their screens easily have a resolution beyond 2k or even 4k). Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 14:17, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Oh golly no, that would be highly impractical, the scans would take forever and the files would be huge. Perhaps then I will upload at the highest resolution that results in a reasonable file size (I don't want to be uploading everything by chunked upload, for one thing).

But honestly, almost every file I see on Wikipedia is much smaller than even a moderate-sized scan from my scanner. It does kind of make me reluctant to go for much bigger scans. Gatoclass (talk) 14:27, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Typically for scanning a book or postcard 300 dpi is appropriate.

1920 x 1080 would be considered quite a somewhat low resolution, slightly below the bare minimum for featured pictures. - Jmabel ! talk 23:23, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

• As Jmabel implied, the resolution will depend on what you want to scan. A book, magazine, or postcard (basically, anything with halftoning) will have diminishing returns at higher resolutions. 300 ppi will be enough for most uses in that regard. If you have access to old photographs, however, 600 ppi could potentially be useful; for example, the extra resolution allows us to see the individual buttons on the cheongsam in File:Lies Noor, c 1956, three-quarter portrait, (Djakartawood, Semarang).jpg. High-quality printed materials (art books etc.) might be worth doing at 600 ppi too, as they use smaller dots for their halftoning. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 23:35, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Well, I am already scanning most of my images at somewhere between 300 and 600 dpi, so it sounds as if I've got it about right. Thanks guys for your input! BTW, after starting this thread, I already decided it's past time that I upgraded my monitor to a 4k, so that should help me get up to speed - thanks once again :) Gatoclass (talk) 08:07, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Donation to Wikimedia

Monthly 5.50 is being taken out of my checking account for wikimedia, but it is supposed to be for Wikipedia, not Wikimedia. I need to change this. Have no idea how this happened.

I will block the donation. ivey mccray, <redacted> 2600:382:6021:526D:2BAD:4DFA:22DE:A7E3 14:37, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Hi, You can't make a donation to Wikipedia, as there is no organization called like that. Your donation goes to the Wikimedia Foundation, which is the organization which supports Wikipedia. Anyway, it is your right to stop it anytime. Also please do not publish your email online, for your own security. Regards, Yann (talk) 14:45, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

This is the page you need to change or cancel your donation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ww2censor (talk • contribs) 21:17, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

მარიკა გერგედავა

გვერდი მარიკა გერგედავა პულმნოლოგი წაშლილია ვიკიპიდიიდან , გთხოვთ დამეხმაროთ აღდგენაში მარიკა გერგედავა (talk) 18:29, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

@მარიკა გერგედავა, if this happened on the Georgian-language Wikipedia, you have to discuss it there. If it happened on some other language Wikipedia, you have to discuss it there. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 20:32, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

When to remove deletion template

I nominated File:IAFHELICOPTER in Sathram Airstrip.jpg for deletion after the uploader removed the speedy deletion tag. In the deletion discussion, the uploader then said they were the copyright holder. I suggested they follow the release steps. It has been a few days & the uploader removed the deletion template. I restored it because it doesn't look like the VRT has updated the copyright status on the image. While I've tagged files with speedy deletion before, this is the first time I've nominated a file for a deletion discussion so I just want to verify that the discussion stays open (with the template on the file page) until the copyright status is confirmed. Sariel Xilo (talk) 19:58, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

@Sariel Xilo Yes, you are correct. As mentioned on the template itself, the DR template should stay on the file page until the DR is closed. Tvpuppy (talk) 20:30, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Which licensing template is?

I'm so nervous uploading files right now, but my uploaded screenshots are removed like Cliff Edward webm., Bernband.jpg, Fistful of Frags jpg., Half-Life 2 demo jpg, and also The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall screenshot too is requested for speedy deletion. But most peoples when uploading files didn't get copyright violation well because they are skilled in noticing copyright policies on wikimedia commons, but what licensing template should i use? CC-BY-4.0 or Non free rationale images? most are in a public domain. Kuyalanz (talk) 13:27, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Kuyalanz, you seem to operate on a misunderstanding. You have to become aware of some fundamentals that aren't apparently known to you. You can't make a copyright violation undone or non-existent by some license choice, so it's not about a template you can or can't use.

• Imagery and data available on websites is (in nearly all cases - exceptions apply, but you have to be knowledgeable about intellectual property rights to spot those) unfit to get copied to Commons. Don't go around and grab images, videos or texts from other sites to upload here, that'll get you blocked.
• Licenses are a usage authorisation that you can grant, but only when you're owning the intellectual property rights to do so. A picture of a flower or zoo animal that was taken by YOURSELF with your own camera is fine, a picture of an advertisement billboard or a modern sculpture that you took yourself in the US isn't.
• The concept of public domain is a legal term that has a distinct definition, your use of it above doesn't conform to it. Screenshots from video games aren't in the public domain, for instance (unless you're speaking about something like en:Pong, which is IANAL too simple for a copyright protection).
• We have several help pages: COM:Licensing, COM:Copyright rules by subject matter (and its subpages!!), COM:Copyright rules by territory (and the subpages available through the navigation box!!) that are a must-read if you want to learn important knowledge on how to contribute to Commons. Furthermore non-free content is not allowed here.
  • Sure, you can get along without this knowledge, but then you're restricted in uploading pictures of nature, without people, that you took yourself. Everything else entails imperatively the appropriation of some more knowledge, available on those pages linked above.

Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 14:16, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Adding to what Grand-Duc said, take File:Daggerfall2.png as an example. Read the Licensing section carefully. It's not PD, not CC-BY-4.0, and it's not on Commons, it's uploaded locally on English Wikipedia, which does accepted a very limited use of non-free stuff. Commons accepts no non-free stuff. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:22, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

I would also recommend reading Commons:Uploading works by a third party which is intended as an overall introduction to the subject of uploading works that are not entirely your own creations. - Jmabel ! talk 18:52, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Guitar Solo Page Help

Hi, my name is Garrett. I am a professional guitar player. I do not know anything about editing Wikipedia, but I went to the page on guitar solos and I found the example provided to be rather lackluster. It contains several technical errors (poor rhythmic sense, out-of-tune bends, etc.) and is unaccompanied. This may give people the false impression that a "guitar solo" (as used by the average musician and listener) must be unaccompanied. Because the rock guitar solo is, as acknowledged by the article, the most obvious use case for the overall term "guitar solo" (and I happen to be alright at rock guitar) I have made a 40 second guitar solo with full instrumental backing that I believe would much better exemplify the typical guitar solo. Sorry I'm saying guitar solo so much. Anyways, when I tried to upload it, it was flagged as "unconstructive". I have been informed that I don't have the necessary permissions to personally upload the MP3 and update the page, so I was wondering if maybe I could just send it to someone here and they could upload it for me? I will do anything to improve this article, as guitar solos are extremely important to me and the current example is just really, really rough. If you would like to hear the file in question, I could put it on youtube or something so you can listen to it. I made the file entirely by myself and did not use any copyrighted materials. I do not need to be credited or anything, and I am perfectly okay with people doing whatever they want with the file; I just want to make that page better. Leechfoot (talk) 18:50, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

I'm sorry you're experiencing these difficulties, and thank you or offering to contribute.

I'm happy to help you get it uploaded.

Can you say where it was flagged as "unconstructive", please? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 19:10, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Sounds like an abuse filter message. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 19:18, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Yes, I think you are correct, it appears they were referring to this abuse filter message, Mediawiki:Abusefilter-disallowed. Tvpuppy (talk) 19:20, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

@Leechfoot: This should be welcome content, as long as you can license it appropriately. And it is entirely OK to require attribution, the overwhelming number of uploaders of our own work do so.

You didn't mention which uploading tool you are using. Were you trying a cross-wiki upload from one of the Wikipedias, or were you using Commons:UploadWizard here on Commons? The latter is generally less restrictive on the content it allows, so if that is not what you were using it might be a better choice to get past the immediate technical issue. In the worst case, you can upload to YouTube or some comparable site, with an indication of the license you are offering, and someone with a higher level of rights on Commons can transfer the file here on your behalf, citing that as a source.

One thing I would recommend after upload: in the "permission" section of the {{Information}} template on the resulting file page, it would help if you would add an explicit statement that you hold all of the relevant copyrights—composition, performance, recording—and that the license you are offering covers this all. - Jmabel ! talk 19:30, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Yeah, I tried using the uploadwizard and it keeps giving me that same abuse filter message- I don't even get to the part where I specify release rights, the message happens immediately when I try to upload. How could I find someone with a higher level of rights? I already have it on google drive so I could just share it with someone that way. Leechfoot (talk) 21:34, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

It’s because you have to be Autopatrolled in order to upload a MP3 file. If you want to upload an audio file, you have to first convert it into an allowed audio file, e.g. .ogg or .oga. Use Video2commons for this.

Anohthterwikipedian (talk) 23:29, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Why my account get permanent blocked?

Why my account ip got permant block woth no expiary? Anikmolla786 (talk) 21:37, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

That’s a question that you should ask on the English Wikipedia. I’ll tell you anyway though, and it’s because you were editing disruptively and unconstructively. Keep it up, and you’ll be blocked from here too. If you want to be unblocked, I suggest you read this.

Anohthterwikipedian (talk) 22:39, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

This is not a help page for other wikis, only Commons. Please do not post extraneous material here or else you will be blocked on this wiki as well. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 22:49, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Resolved

I think that this question was replied to adequately based on the supplied information. If you have anything to add or a follow-up question please feel free to replace this box with your comment. This section will be archived after two days. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 22:49, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

jpg used with permission

I uploaded a jpg grabbed from a video. The video is owned by a non-profit organization. The president of the organization has given me written permission to use this jpg for the Wikipedia edit. The only request is to ID the source of the jpg. How do I communicate this information and upload the email from the president and CEO? 3MCsubm1tt3r (talk) 03:42, 4 September 2025 (UTC)