Wikipedia:Moving files to Commons: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:11, 6 November 2016

Revision as of 01:46, 4 December 2016

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{{otheruses|Wikipedia:WikiProject Images and Media/Commons}}

{{Information page|WP:MTC|WP:MITC|WP:TOCOMMONS|WP:TRANSFER}}

[[File:To Commons.svg|200px|right|Off they go!]]

Many files have been uploaded to Wikipedia. A long-term project is underway to move [[free content|free-content]] files—including images and audio—to [[Wikipedia:Wikimedia Commons|Wikimedia Commons]]. Commons provides a central ___location for files for use on all [[Wikimedia Foundation]] projects, so when our local files are moved there, they become available to hundreds of other wikis, as well as remaining available to the English-speaking Wikipedia. Below are issues to consider when carrying out moves to the Commons.

<!-- {{{icon|[[File:Nuvola apps important.svg|50px|alt=Warning icon]]}}} <big> The CommonsHelper 2 upload bot is blocked on Wikimedia Commons </big>([[COMMONS:Special:Log/CommonsHelper2_Bot|verify — no recent edits]]) The new [http://tools.wmflabs.org/commonshelper/ CommonsHelper] works. -->

==Why move files to Commons?==

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==Instructions==

[[File:Move To Commons For English Wikipedia Flowchart.svg|center|700px|thumb|A simple flowchart to help determine whether a file should be moved to Commons]]

===What not to transfer===

Commons employs more restrictive policies on copyright issues than the English Wikipedia does; for instance, [[WP:FAIRUSE|fair use]] images such as most images of [[album]] [[cover art]] cannot be hosted on Commons. '''Commons accepts only [[free content]].''' Note that unlike Wikipedia, which only requires files to be free use in the United States, Commons requires files be free use in both the United States and the country where the file originated (so a French painting must be free use in both France and the United States).

=== Do not Transfer ===

* Do not transfer files without a clear and verifiable source.

* [[Wikipedia:Non-free content|Non-free content]]

* [[c:Commons:Derivative works|Derivatives of non-free content]]

* Photographs of 2D/3D works taken in countries where is <ins>no</ins> [[c:Commons:Freedom of panorama|Freedom of panorama]]

* Do not transfer filesFiles without a clear and verifiable source.

** "Own work" is an acceptable source, however you should be aware that ''a great deal of files labeled as own work, possibly as high as a quarter of those identified as such, are not actually the work of the uploader.'' Several things contribute to this, including a lack of familiarity with copyright and that "Own work" is an easily reachable default in the upload wizard.

*** The most common mistake involving claims of own work involves people photographing the artistic work of other people. Users think 'I took the photo of that painting, the photo is my own work', not knowing that the painting itself is also under copyright, and that said copyright also comes into play when they upload. If you come across such a situation, check to see if the piece of art's copyright has expired. If so, you can add a second template, usually PD-old-100, and mark which template applies to the painting and which applies to the photograph of the painting. [[:File:Beethoven_-_32_Variations_in_C_Minor,_WoO_80.ogg#Licensing|This file description page]] of a Featured Sound illustrates how to do this.

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** Other WMF projects cannot be used as sources. Track down the source from the upload on the other project, and use that instead.

** Sometimes you'll be able to look at a claim that something's someone's own work and know that it is false, or at least questionable. If your gut feeling says that something isn't right, there's a good chance that something isn't right.

* Do not transfer filesFiles with unclear or inaccurate copyright templates.

** If there's no copyright status template on the page, don't move it over, period. Much of the time, you'll be able to figure out what template should be used by reading the text on the file description page, in which case you can put in the proper template and ''then'' transfer it over. That's perfectly okay.

* Do not transfer [[fair use]] files. Fair use is not free use.

* '''DO NOT DELETE PROTECTED IMAGES'''. But you may add a copy at Commons so the image becomes available to other Wikimedia projects. Images are usually locally uploaded and protected here at Wikipedia since they are used in the interface or in some widely used template. Deleting the local copy of an image used in the interface does break things. [[Wikipedia talk:Cascade-protected items #High-risk images|More about high-risk images]].

* If you do not understand [[Commons:Freedom of panorama|freedom of panorama]], do not transfer images of buildings or sculptures to Commons.

* If you do not understand the terms of a license or cannot identify improper use of that license, you should not transfer over any files using that license.

* Finally, if a file is currently up for deletion, don't transfer it (unless the only reason for deletion is that the image is not currently in use on the English Wikipedia, but it is otherwise encyclopedic and unquestionably public ___domain or appropriately licensed). If you do move an image with a deletion template on it to Commons, make sure to remove the template from the Commons page once you move it.

* Do not transfer files when the uploader specifically requests that their files are not moved to Commons.

** Some users request that their work remain on Wikipedia, and does not move to Commons. Don't fight them over it; with tens of thousands of files to transfer, it's not worth it. There is no commonly used template to indicate a desire to keep one's files off Commons, however many users who wish to keep their work off Commons use custom templates or the {{tl|keeplocal}} or {{tl|Do not move to Commons}} templates, neither of which are designed for that purpose. The {{tl|esoteric file}} template can be used for files of no interest outside Wikipedia, for instance self-portraits uploaded purely for use on a Wikipedia userpage.

**Note that you may still copy files to Commons, without requesting deletion of local copies.

====Dealing with files that you cannot or should not transfer====