Commons:Turning off local uploads

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Jump to: navigation, search

This is a short guide on what steps are necessary in between setting up a Wikimedia wiki, and moving to Commons-only uploads, and advice on what is necessary to ensure a smooth transition. "Project" here refers to a language version of a larger project such as "Latvian Wikipedia" or "German Wikisource" or "Tibetan Wiktionary".

Ideally, all projects would turn off local uploads and use Commons only, and Commons would be inundated with helpers. We can make progress on the first point, but not without progress on the second as well.

[edit] Projects that have turned off local uploads

[edit] Advice

  • Firstly, develop an image use policy. It should contain general advice and also specific advice on the countries that most editors are from. Have it approved by the community. Ideally it will match Commons:Licensing. ie no fair use, no logos, files must be sourced and licensed.
  • If they don't exist, create translations and help pages for the language used by your project. See Commons:Help page maintenance.
  • Write material on your project encouraging editors to upload free media to Commons with a friendly guide, and links to users who can help them if they have trouble.
  • Get a CommonsTicker!
  • Create a formal or informal working group (eg a WikiProject) to systematically check uploads on your project, possibly transfer suitable media to Commons, check on the CommonsTicker, and generally encourage the use of Commons.
  • Encourage users from this working group to seek adminship on Commons after gaining some experience here. These users can act as a "bridge" between the project and Commons, especially if there are no other admins who speak the language used by the project.
  • If the image use policy does not already match Commons:Licensing, seek community approval to change it to match this, with the express intent of turning off local uploads and only uploading to Commons.
  • If this request seems likely to succeed, inform the Commons community by posting to commons-l or the Commons:Administrators' noticeboard. Advertise yourself as someone to be contacted with any problems arising from new uploaders from your project.
  • Depending on the size of the wiki and the language used, more people to be nominated for adminship may be encouraged. If the project is small and there are already some active admins who speak the language, none may be necessary. If the language has no active admins in Commons already, at least two will be wanted (otherwise it is a big burden for one person). If the project is also large, then definitely more will be wanted. While the community will be happy to "wash its hands" of the boring task of dealing with uploads, it is important to realise that this responsibility is simply being transferred to Commons. If some of the helpers are not also transferred, then the experience will be frustrating for both the existing Commons community as well as the new uploaders here (who may not understand what is expected of them, or why).

[edit] Useful examples

Here are some examples of things people have done to help educate their project's users and make them feel more comfortable using the Commons.

Retrieved from "http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Turning_off_local_uploads"