Commons:Walcome tae Commons brochure/text
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Illustratin Wikipædia
Ae guide tae contreebutin content tae Wikimedia Commons
Ah tuik this braw pictur that Ah can uise oan Wikipædia! That means Ah’l need tae uplaid it ontae Wikimedia Commons.
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Haein tens o millions o files, Wikimedia Commons is yin o the mucklest online storehooses o media files. Biggit fae the waurks shaired bi thoosands o generoos fawk, Commons hosts educational eemages, videos, n soond files that ar uised bi Wikipædia n the ither waurks o the nonprofit Wikimedia Foondation.
Aw o the waurks on Commons ar unner ae “free license.” That means that thay can be uised n shaired bi oniebodie, fer nocht, juist bi follaein the license rules – fer ordinair bi giein creedit tae the maker n preservin the license sae that ithers can re-shair the waurk n aw.
Why contreebute tae Wikimedia Commons?
Imagine ae world whaur in ilka single bodie can freelie shair in the sum o aw knawledge. Yer contreebutions can be ae pairt o that. Whan ye shair yer eemages n ither files on Commons n illustrate Wikipædia airticles wi thaim, yer waurk micht be seen bi thoosands – or een hunners o thoosanns – o fawk aw ower the yird. N ye'r helpin tae big ae common resoorce that reaches aen een wider audience; media fae Commons ar uised bi educational wabsteids, news media, bloggers, airtists, filmmakers, students, teachers, n monie ither fawk.
Neophron percnopterus - 01 / Kadellar / CC BY-SA 3.0
In ae swither ower whather sommit is alloued on Commons? Type Commons:Help Desk intae the rake baur on Commons. The wiki communitie helps tae keep an ee on the files on Commons, remuivs files that'r no alloued, n can answer speirins lik "is this pairticulair file in the publeec domain".
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Contreebutin tae Commons
Whan ye shair yer wairk oan Wikimedia Commons wi ae free license, ye graunt oniebodie permeession tae uise, capie, modifie, n sell it (aes lang aes thay follae the rules o the license).
Whit's alloued oan Commons
Ye micht uplaid waurks that ye creautit entirelie yersel. This incluids photæs n videos o:
• natural launscapes, beasts, plants
• publeec feegurs n fawk photægrapht in publeec places (yinlie wi consent in some cases, dependin oan local laws)
• uisefu or no-airteestic objects
Mairower, ye can uplaid oreegonal graphs, maps, diagrams, n audio.
What's no alloued oan Commons
Commons canna accept waurk creautit bi or based oan the waurk o ithers – incluidin photægraphs o it. Bi defaut, ye canna uplaid some ither bodie’s waurk. This incluids material lik:
• logos
• CD/DVD covers
• promotional photæs
• screenshots o TV shaws, movies, DVDs, n saffware
• drawins o chairacters fae comics, TV, or movies – een gif ye drew thaim
• maist picturs published oan the internet
Houever, thaur's some exceptions:
• Ye can uplaid some ither bodie’s waurk gif the creauter gave permeession fer oniebodie tae uise, capie, modifie, n sell it – bi releasin it unner ae free license. (Be siccar that ye gie aen airtin tae the soorce, whau the license is stated.)
• Ye can uplaid some ither bodie’s waurk gif it's in the public domain (uissuallie verra auld waurks).
• Ye can uplaid yer photægraphs o publeec domain waurks, lik auld bigins, statues, n art.
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To contribute to Commons, you’ll need a user account. If you already have a Wikipedia account, you can use that to log in; otherwise, you can create a new account (which you can also use on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects).
Accepted file formats
Commons only accepts files in formats that are not restricted by patents. These include:
For photos: .jpg
For graphics: .svg, .png
For animation: .gif
For audio: .ogg (or .oga), .flac
For video: .ogg (or .ogv), .webm
For printouts: .pdf
For more detail on what kinds of files Commons can accept, type Commons:File types into the search bar on Commons.
How to upload a file
Go to commons.wikimedia.org, and click “Upload file.”
(Be sure you are logged in.)
Cabo Espichel, Portugal, 2012-08-18, DD 08 / Poco a poco / CC BY-SA 3.0
Click “Next” at the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
Select a file on your computer to upload.
Select whether the file is your own work or someone else’s.
If it is someone else’s, enter the author and the source, then select the applicable copyright status.
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Enter a unique title that describes the file and a detailed description of it.
Add one or more categories that specify the subject of the file.
Adding categories
Wikimedia Commons has a category feature for collecting related files. For example, Category:Bonsai collects photos of bonsai trees that have been uploaded to Commons. You can add categories during the upload process (the upload page suggests category names while you type), or afterward by editing a file page and adding code like this to the end:
[[Category:Bonsai]]
The search bar on Commons returns both files and categories of files with your keyword; files similar to yours are likely to have the categories you need. It is important to categorize all the files you upload so that others can find them when browsing for media on the subject.
After your upload is complete, you’ll find instructions for using it on wiki pages and elsewhere on the web.
You can visit the permanent wiki page for your file by clicking its title.
The title you entered along with the file extension become the name of the file page.
... on display at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum
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Placing files into Wikipedia articles
Once you’ve uploaded your file to Wikimedia Commons, you can use the VisualEditor to add it to a Wikipedia article without having to use wiki markup. Just follow these steps.
Click “Edit”, "More" and then click the media icon
“Bonsai” / Wikipedia contributors / CC BY-SA 3.0
Bonsai IMG 6397 / Dake / CC BY-SA 2.5
Do a search, and click the image you want.
BonsaiTridentMaple / Peggy Greb, USDA / public domain
All others / Sage Ross / CC BY-SA 3.0
To caption an image, select it and click the media icon.
Drag the image to reposition it.
Save page.
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Placing files using wiki markup
If you’re trying to add an image or media file to a wiki page without using the VisualEditor, you’ll need to use wiki markup. The basic wiki markup format for putting images in looks like this:
two opening square brackets
pipes: each option (called a parameter) is separated by one of these
by default, photos are aligned right; left and center are the alternatives
two closing square brackets
File:John Naka’s Goshin, October 10, 2008.jpg | thumb | 260px | right | The bonsai masterpiece “Goshin”
the file name: from Commons begins with “File:” and ends with the file extension (such as “.jpg”)
thumb: adding this word means to use the standard thumbnail format
size: to make the picture a specific pixel width, you can add that here, or leave it out for the standard size
a caption: the text after the last pipe is the caption
You can copy the basic code for the file from the last page of the Upload Wizard or from the Use this file link on the file page. Insert the code into any wiki page by placing it within the text, wherever you want it to appear.
“Washington, D.C./Northeast” / Wikivoyage contributors / CC BY-SA 3.0
Once you’ve added the wiki markup, click Save page. Your image will now accompany the text.
John Naka’s Goshin, October 10, 2008 / Sage Ross / CC BY-SA 3.0
Near Northeast map / Peter Fitzgerald / CC BY-SA 3.0
Let’s see ... I’ll add my photo right here. Copy the code. Paste it in the article. Add the caption. And ... save page!
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Using files on other sites
The works on Commons are available for anyone to use on other websites. The file page for a work will indicate its copyright status. For some works, there are no copyright restrictions at all (although some non-copyright restrictions, such as publicity rights for recognizable images of people, may still apply). For works with free licenses, you must follow the terms of the license – typically by providing attribution to the author and preserving the license. In either case, it’s good practice to provide a link to original file on Commons as well.
The best way to use a Commons file on another website is with a credit line like this:
Pair of Merops apiaster feeding, Pierre Dalous, CC BY-SA 3.0
Title of work as given by its creator
Creator’s name
License that the creator has assigned to this work
With link to the file page so that others can find and use the original version
With link to their profile page or website, if available
With link to the specific Creative Commons license
If you want to embed an image file directly from Commons, you can use the code provided by the Use this file link on the file page.
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How to upload from a mobile device
If you have a smartphone or other mobile device with a camera, you can upload your photos right from your device, using either the Wikimedia Commons app for Android or iOS, or the mobile version of a Wikimedia site.
Mobile apps
With the Wikimedia Commons app for Android or iOS, you can:
• Upload, describe, and categorize your photos
• View all your uploads
To get the free app, search for “Wikimedia Commons” in the app store of your choice, or scan this QR code.
Mobile web
If you are using the mobile version of Wikipedia or other Wikimedia sites, you can log in and:
• Upload and add original images directly to unillustrated articles
• Share any educational image you have created to Commons
• View your most recent uploads
See where an image would help.
Upload and describe your image.
See the result.
“Bonsai styles” / Wikipedia contributors / CC BY-SA 3.0
Small-leaved Elm Ulmus minor bonsai 257, December 24, 2008 / Sage Ross / CC BY-SA 3.0
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Misconceptions about copyright licenses
“I released my photo under a free license. That means I gave up my copyright.”
“I own a copy of a photo, therefore I am the copyright holder.”
“I took the photo of this copyrighted work myself, so it’s not covered by anyone else’s copyright.”
“I scanned and modified this work, so I own the sole copyright for this version.”
Wikimedia Commons can’t accept works licensed with a NonCommercial (NC) restriction. The purpose of Commons and Wikipedia is to share our educational works as widely as possible. Authors, publishers, filmmakers, artists, and others build upon freely licensed works to create their own, and the freedom to sell what they make is essential. (The ShareAlike restriction prevents commercial exploitation by those who are unwilling to share what they make in the same way.)
What is a free license?
The person who creates a work is the owner of the work’s copyright – which literally means “the right to copy” – unless they produced it for their employer or legally transferred the right to somebody else. People use copyright licenses to give others permission to use their works.
A free license is a kind of copyright license that says the creator will allow anyone to use their work, for any purpose, without asking prior permission. Using a free license makes it easier to share your work with others.
The Wikimedia Commons default is the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license (CC BY-SA), which sets out that
for a work released under the license, anyone may:
• use it, copy it, and share it; or
• modify it and share the new work
as long as the person using it:
• provides credit (Attribution) to the original author and notes the license; and
• releases any derivative works under the same license (ShareAlike, also known as copyleft).
CC BY-SA
The Attribution mark and ShareAlike mark are provided by Creative Commons to indicate you want to be credited for your work, and that any derivatives must be shared under the same terms.
CC BY
If you want to get credit when people use your work, but you don’t mind if someone modifies or remixes it without sharing their new derivative work under the same terms, you can use the Creative Commons Attribution license.
CC ZERO
To release your work with no restrictions at all without requiring people to credit you for your work, you can use the CC Zero public domain dedication to waive all your rights to it.
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Finding free photos
There are many places to find freely licensed or public domain photos that could be uploaded to Commons and used in Wikipedia articles. Flickr is a great place for any subject that can be readily photographed, if the subject itself isn’t copyrighted. Freely licensed open-access scientific journals, such as the Public Library of Science journals, have many useful scientific and medical illustrations.
When you upload them to Wikimedia Commons, just select “This file is not my own work” and enter the author, a link to the source, and the correct free license. Try using Creative Commons Search to find freely licensed files:
Be sure to check both options: “I want something that I can ... use for commercial purposes; modify, adapt, or build upon.”
Is it public domain?
A work in the public domain is not covered by anyone’s copyright. For some public domain works, the copyright term has expired. How and when that happens is complicated, and varies by country and by the type of work. Other works are not eligible for copyright in the first place. And in some cases, the author has voluntarily given up their copyright.
You can upload a work to Wikimedia Commons if it is public domain in both the United States and the work’s country of origin.
Here are a few rules of thumb. A work is usually public domain if:
• it was published in the United States before 1923
• it was published outside of the United States and the author has been dead for more than 70 years
• it is a work of the United States Federal Government
• the author explicitly released it to the public domain
For more details on what is and is not public domain, see the page Help:Public domain on Wikimedia Commons.
Have fun!
Modifying existing Commons photos
You may upload modified versions (such as crops or digital restorations) of other Commons photos. For anything except very minor changes, you should upload the modified version with a new file name and link back to the original version.
Misconceptions about public domain
“Content without a copyright notice is not protected by copyright.”
“Content from before the Internet existed is too old to be protected by copyright.”
“The author has died, so the copyright has expired.”
“I didn’t have to pay to access this, so it’s free of copyright restrictions.”
“This work is displayed publicly, so it is public domain.”
“This is a publicity shot, so it is public domain.”
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Glossary
copyright
The exclusive right to copy and utilize a creative work. By default, any creative work is covered by the author’s copyright as soon as it is created (even if there is no explicit copyright notice).
copyright license
Formal agreement from a copyright owner that gives others permission to use a copyrighted work under certain conditions.
Creative Commons
A nonprofit organization that distributes the Creative Commons copyright licenses to allow people to share their works. Creative Commons licenses include the Attribution license and the Attribution-ShareAlike license, which are the two major free licenses accepted by Wikimedia Commons. Other Creative Commons licenses include those with “No Derivatives” or “Non-commercial” clauses, which may not be used on Wikimedia Commons because they are too restrictive.
free license
A public copyright license that ensures the freedom to use and study a work, to make and redistribute copies of it, to make changes and improvements, and to distribute derivative works, by any person for any purpose. The most common free licenses are the Creative Commons Attribution and Attribution-ShareAlike licenses (but not the No Derivatives or Non-commercial versions), the Free Art License, and the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). For the full definition of a free license, see freedomdefined.org.
public domain
Works in the public domain are free of any copyright restrictions whatsoever. With a few exceptions, a work only enters the public domain once its copyrights expire (which happens many decades after publication).
Wikimedia Foundation
The nonprofit charitable organization that hosts Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia, and other educational projects. Wikimedia Foundation is based in San Francisco, California. Its mission is “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally.”
All images from Wikimedia Commons are under a CC BY-SA license or public domain unless otherwise stated. The content contained within is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v.3.0 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:CC-BY-SA) or any later version.
The trademarks and logos of the Wikimedia Foundation and any other organization are not included under the terms of this Creative Commons license. Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, MediaWiki, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, Wikidata, Wikisource, Wikinews, Wikiquote, Wikiversity, Wikivoyage, Wikispecies, and Meta-Wiki are pending trademark registration or are registered trademarks of Wikimedia Foundation.
For more information, please see our Trademark Policy page, http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Trademark_Policy.
For other questions about our licensing terms or trademark policy, please email legal@wikimedia.org
Text by Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Commons contributors
Design by EXBROOK, San Francisco
Puzzly and illustrations by Michael Bartalos