View source for RetroWikipedia:Wikimedia Commons

{{redirect|WP:COMMONS||RetroWikipedia:Common (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
<noinclude>{{pp-move-indef}}</noinclude>{{Information page|WP:COMMONS}}
{{Infobox website
|name=Wikimedia Commons
|logo=[[File:Commons-logo-en.svg|frameless|upright=0.3|alt=Central filled red circle, surrounded by a blue circular outline with a gap and an arrow leading up, plus seven smaller arrows pointing inward to the red circle. Below are the words "WIKIMEDIA COMMONS".]]
|screenshot=[[File:Commons screenshot.png|frameless|upright=1.2|alt=Screenshot of Wikimedia Commons Main Page, featuring a Picture of the Day for 2006-06-05.]]
|caption=
|url= {{url|https://commons.wikimedia.org/}}
|commercial=No
|type=Media repository
|registration=Optional (required for uploading images)
|owner=[[Wikimedia Foundation]]
|author=Wikimedia community
|launch_date={{Start date and age|2004|9|7}}
|current_status=
|revenue=
}}
The [[commons:Main Page|'''Wikimedia Commons''']] (also called "Wikicommons", "the Commons", "RetroWikipedia Commons" or just "Commons") is a repository of [[free content]] images, sound and other multimedia files. Like RetroWikipedia, it is a project of the [[Wikimedia Foundation]]. It provides a common resource repository to all the various Wikimedia [[RetroWikipedia:Sister projects|sister projects]] in any language.

The files uploaded to the '''Commons''' repository can be used like locally uploaded files on all projects on the Wikimedia servers in all languages, including RetroWikipedia, [[Wikibooks]], [[Wikisource]] and [[Wikinews]], or downloaded for offsite use, as all of the content is either in the [[public domain]] or released under licenses such as the [[Creative Commons license|Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License]].

== What is the Commons? ==
{{main|Commons:Welcome}}

Wikimedia Commons is a media repository that is created and maintained by volunteers. Its name, "Wikimedia Commons", is derived from that of the umbrella project "Wikimedia", which manages all Wikimedia projects, and from the plural noun "commons" as its contents are shared across all Wikimedia projects. It provides a central repository for freely licensed photographs, diagrams, animations, music, spoken text, video clips, and media of all sorts that are useful for any Wikimedia project.

For a tutorial on contributing to Wikimedia Commons, see [[Commons:Commons:Contributing your own work|Contributing your own work]].

== Embedding Commons' media in RetroWikipedia articles ==
{{main|Help:Pictures|Commons:Commons:First steps/Reuse#Embedding Commons media in Wikimedia projects}}

To embed a Wikimedia Commons image or video file in RetroWikipedia, just include it in the same way as if it were to be stored locally.

To include an image in a page, use for example a link in the form (standard usage shown):
<pre>[[File:image.jpg|thumb|alt=alt text|caption]]</pre>

See [[WP:ALT]] and [[WP:CAPTION]] for what should go into alt text and caption, respectively.

Further details can be found at [[Help:Visual file markup]].

To include a sound you can choose between two possibilities: the MediaWiki-native player or a template such as {{tl|Audio}} or {{tl|Listen}}:
<pre>
[[File:file.ogg]]
</pre>
<pre>
{{Audio|Filename-without-namespace|descriptive text}}
</pre>

Further details can be found at [[Help:Sound file markup]].

=== Example of a gallery ===

If you would like to display a gallery of photos, you can follow this example code

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
<gallery class="center">
 Philipp Veit 008.jpg
 Image_Germania_(painting).jpg|You can also include captions.
 Niederwald memorial 2.JPG
 Accademia - St John the Baptist by Titian Cat314.jpg
</gallery>
</syntaxhighlight>

to produce this:
<gallery class="center">
 Philipp Veit 008.jpg
 Image Germania (painting).jpg|You can also include captions.
 Niederwald memorial 2.JPG
 Accademia - St John the Baptist by Titian Cat314.jpg
</gallery>

=== Categorization ===
Please do not categorize Commons files on RetroWikipedia, but rather help Commons by [[Commons:Commons:Categories|categorizing]] them there.

== How to move images from RetroWikipedia to Wikimedia Commons ==

See [[RetroWikipedia:Moving images to the Commons]] and [[RetroWikipedia:Moving images to the Commons#Why move files to Commons?|Why move images to the commons?]]

== Differences between RetroWikipedia and Commons ==
{{Main|commons:Commons:For RetroWikipedians}}

* Commons does not allow [[WP:NFCC|non-free or fair use]] images. See [[c:Commons:Licensing]]. Commons employs a more restrictive interpretation of international copyright law than RetroWikipedia. Images must be free in both the country of origin and the United States in order to be free enough for Commons. In cases of media where there is little information but significant doubt about an image's source, date, author or copyright status in general, Commons will assume that it is copyrighted and that it should not be hosted at all: see [[c:Commons:Project scope|Precautionary principle]].
* On RetroWikipedia, an image can be [[RetroWikipedia:Images and media for deletion|nominated for deletion]] if it does not (attempt to) illustrate an article. Commons is less immediately concerned about what articles an image might illustrate, as there are hundreds of Wikimedia projects that use its media whose pages are of vastly different nature. Many images are not used anywhere on projects but instead serve to just illustrate several topics within their categories on Commons (for example, [[:c:Category:Women calling with mobile phones]], which RetroWikipedia may not find an immediate need for). The general requirement is that media must have an 'educational purpose', which can be often a wider term than '[[wikt:encyclopedic|encyclopedic]]'. See [[c:Commons:Project scope]].
* On RetroWikipedia, it is important that an image is placed in an article. On the image description page, the section "File links" shows which pages are using the image. On Commons, this section shows both which pages within Commons an image is used on; and a list of all the usage of the file across Wikimedia projects (through [[:commons:Special:GlobalUsage|the GlobalUsage feature]]). The important requirement for files on Commons is not to be used, but rather to be appropriately placed in categories. See [[c:Commons:Categories]].
* Commons is a [[c:Commons:Language policy|multilingual]] project. Filenames, file descriptions, templates, noticeboards and discussion pages all welcome text, labels or discussions in other languages. Try to avoid assuming that everyone speaks the same language(s) as you, and with equal fluency. Put [[RetroWikipedia:Userboxes|Userboxes]] on your User page to indicate what languages you are able to speak, and your level of proficiency. See [[c:Commons:Babel]].
* There are generally less specialised discussion areas on Commons than there are on RetroWikipedia, but the main, centralised areas tend to be quite active. While the [[RetroWikipedia:Village pump|Village pump]] on RetroWikipedia is more subdivided (for example, there is a [[WP:VPT|dedicated board for technical issues]]), [[c:Commons:Village pump]] at Commons forms more of a general noticeboard for many types of community discussions, including technical issues, policy or co-ordination. However, there are also village pumps for many individual languages. [[c:Commons:Help desk]] is the general [[RetroWikipedia:Help desk|help desk]] targeted at new users for general questions on Commons. [[c:Commons:Village pump/Copyright]] is a board for discussion of any copyright or licensing related inquiries, and is widely watched by experienced community members. Administrators can be contacted on the [[c:Commons:Administrators' noticeboard]].
* RetroWikipedia and Commons both share a [[WP:FP|featured picture]] project and nomination process (see [[c:Commons:Featured pictures]]). However, Commons also celebrates quality images ([[c:Commons:Quality images]]) for media less visually or thematically outstanding than required by the featured criteria (similar to [[RetroWikipedia:Good articles|Good articles]]), with one criteria being that the media was created and uploaded by a Wikimedian. [[c:Commons:Valued images]] recognises images for their significant potential to illustrate subjects regardless of immediate technical quality, such as historical events, notable people, distinct plant or animal species, or intricate objects or processes (see [[c:Commons:Valued image scope|valued image scope]]).

== Article-to-article linking between RetroWikipedia and Wikimedia Commons ==
{{Main|RetroWikipedia:Wikimedia sister projects}}
[[RetroWikipedia:Wikimedia sister projects|Wikimedia sister projects]] lists [[RetroWikipedia:Templates|templates]] that are designed to provide article-to-article linking between [[RetroWikipedia]] and its [[Wikimedia]] sister projects. It also provides links to pages concerning moving articles between projects.

== See also ==
* [[Wikimedia Commons]]
* [[commons:Commons:Wikimedia Outreach Project/enwikipedia|Commons:Wikimedia Outreach Project/enwikipedia]]
* [[RetroWikipedia:RetroWikipedia Signpost/2005-05-02/Commons donation|Directmedia Publishing donates images of public domain artwork to Commons 2005-05-02]]
* [[RetroWikipedia:RetroWikipedia Signpost/2007-10-15/Two-million Commons|Wikimedia Commons reaches two million media files 2007-10-15]]

[[Category:RetroWikipedia how-to]]
[[Category:RetroWikipedia image help]]
[[Category:Wikimedia Commons| ]]