Policy Talk:Images

Revision as of 06:55, 18 November 2010 by Frabby (talk | contribs) (resp)


Thumbnails

Speaking only for myself, I really hate having the thumbnail images that just float around part of the article. Drives me absolutely insane.--Mbear 11:54, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

I can live with that (your insanity). Personally, when well-done, I do like them. That's why I move some to better fit next to the item they visualize. And don't think I didn't notice that you brought this up minutes (minutes!) before I was announcing the new policy. --Revanche (talk|contribs) 12:00, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
Yeah, I figured you were OK with me going nuts. I tried to remove the floating thumbnails by encouraging the use of a gallery, but oh well.--Mbear 14:37, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
"If it weren't for those meddling kids..." Seriously, though, I'm gonna go live with the policy here shortly and if we had wanted (which this we doesn't) to cut out thumbnails, we should have said just that. But, with so many Wikipedians here, I think you'll find people who favor thumbnails as informative visuals. The gallerys seem like a good place for "Oh, by the way, here are some more images of a Warhammer". --Revanche (talk|contribs) 15:30, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
Those are all good points. Like the Capellans say, "You can't win them all." Smiley.gif--Mbear 15:39, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
Are you sure they say 'all' in that phrase?--Revanche (talk|contribs) 17:57, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Providing sources

I don't know if this belongs to this policy or not (please discuss), but we obviously need to stress it more that pictures need to have their source stated upon uploading (preferably in the comments section on the file page). This appears not to be the case for a great many pictures uploaded so far, and citing sources is very important for the credibility of this wiki - all the more considering that fan art is positively allowed here, so me must be extra cautious to provide full references. Frabby 17:31, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Nutshell #2 & Guideline #5 state just that. Maybe we need a user warning template aimed at the user who has uploaded images past the policy's unveiling. I'm loathe to hit every image uploaded in the last 3.5 years with a tag, especially as they wouldn't be seen as easily as {{cn}} is in an article.--Revanche (talk|contribs) 18:01, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
Should teach me to read before I write - plainly overlooked this at first glance. Well, as it turns out the entire image gallery was apparently ripped from an unsourced site that took its pics from various computer games (= apocrypha) and all over the internet otherwise (= default to Fanon). Putting aside the question whether or not having pretty pictures for no particular reason (and bar any BT-related information or context) is in itself desirable on BTW, I fear this just proves that we *do* have to tag each and every picture from the past 3.5 years. Quality over quantity... Frabby 18:08, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
Well, Wikipedia does it, so...
Ahem, [cough, cough]...will you be building the template? I'll be glad to assist however I can and can review the wording, if you like. --Revanche (talk|contribs) 18:24, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
Image files are a different animal from articles, because they are typically uploaded only once and never modified/edited by others. Past experience also shows that often a single editor will upload a load of images in a short timeframe as personal project of theirs. So the "right" way to address this would be a friendly reminder on the editor's talk page for all of "his" images together. Not sure if/how a template would be of use here.
My proposal is to change the Upload File special page in some way to the effect that a file will not be uploaded if you don't enter text into its "Summary" box, and make it clear in the text on the upload page that BTW wants (requires) a primary source to be stated with every image file upload. (I think we need NicJ to do that tough). Frabby 09:31, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
I think that is something that can actually done by Admins, with CSS. I'll pull Ebakunin into this. Oh, and I like this idea better than another template. --Revanche (talk|contribs) 11:07, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
What I can do is embed code for a template into the textarea of the upload page. That way, going forward, the uploader will need to fill out the template before uploading the image. The template will look something like the summary section of this page: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:Viper_probe_droid.jpg. However, I can't go back and apply the template to older pictures. --Ebakunin (talk|contribs) 14:46, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
Excellent, Ebakunin. Thanks!--Revanche (talk|contribs) 11:36, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
Done. You can see an example here. Go to the Upload a file page and you'll see the template in the textarea, ready to be filled out. If you have any questions or suggestions ask away. Thanks.--Ebakunin (talk|contribs) 21:22, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
It looks great and provides an easy format for the uploader. Great turnaround time, too. Thanks. Is there anyway to prevent uploading when the format is not used? --Revanche (talk|contribs) 23:27, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
Yes, but it will take a while to code. When I have some free time I'll take a look into it. --Ebakunin (talk|contribs) 00:49, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
Never mind. It was easier then I thought. Tongue.gif --Ebakunin (talk|contribs) 03:22, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
Sure? i just tested it and had no problems uploading it? Or did you not yet build in the code?--Revanche (talk|contribs) 06:09, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
As in I already added the code. If you try to upload a new image without using the image template you should get an error notice and be prevented from finishing the upload process. --Ebakunin (talk|contribs) 17:23, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
Got it. The template is required to be in there, but we can't make them fill it in. It 'inspires' them to provide the necessary information. Can we also put a statement into the template that says something like: "The uploader bears the responsibility of assuring the use of the image falls under the terms of Fair Use." Maybe have a link to the WP article on it? --Revanche (talk|contribs) 18:25, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

Clarification

I would like to suggest a clarification to the second clause in Guideline #2 regarding usage in articles. I would like to propose that text be added to clarify that an article that is simply a gallery of images does not qualify as "an article". I would submit:

BTW is not an image repository. Just as you write high quality article text, include high-quality images. Each uploaded image shall be used within at least one article (or its talk page). "Articles" consisting solely of images do not qualify.

--Scaletail 00:25, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Agree with your point, although I'm not sure if the policy really needs to be written any more clearly. Plus, brevity is also important in policies. I do suggest, however, to replace the "should"s with "must"s in the text just to be absolutely clear. Frabby 10:55, 18 November 2010 (UTC)