WikiPedia:Image description page

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Each uploaded file has an associated image description page. This term is also applied in the case of other file types, notably sound files, e.g. Image:V1sound.ogg.

The image description page of any image on Wikipedia may be accessed by simply clicking on the image. The image description page of a sound file may be linked from an article; if not put 'Image:V1sound.ogg' in the search window and press Go.

To make a link to an image description page without including the actual image, use a link like: [[:Image:an_image.jpg]]. The leading colon prevents the image being embedded in the article, and instead makes an ordinary link.

The description page consists of four parts:

in the case of an image: the image itself
description of the image/sound
"Image history", see page history
"Image links", a list of pages that link to the image/sound (not including the rare case of an uploaded html file linking to it)

The description part has also an edit history; it is labelled, somewhat confusingly, Image:xxx Revision history. It should not be confused with the Image history.

What follows refers to the description part, and is in particular about images. For sound, see also Wikipedia:Sound.

Contents

1 What to include on an image description page

1.1 Source of image
1.2 Copyright status
1.3 Fair use rationale
1.4 Description of the image
1.5 Relevant links (internal)

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What to include on an image description page

In the description part of the page you can put text, which should ideally include all of the following information, but if you don't know something, just put whatever you can.

Note that this information should generally not go in articles that use the image, and not embedded as graphical text on the image itself. However, the image file may contain embedded comments - in particular a copyright notice and statement of license under the GFDL would be good to include.

Initially the description part automatically contains the upload summary supplied by the user when uploading the first version (this text also shows up in the Image history section at the first upload line). As opposed to an ordinary edit summary, double brackets in it produce working links, both in the description part of the image description file and in the upload log (but not in the image history, nor in the revision history of the image description).

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Source of image

See cite your sources

Eg: "Photograph taken on 3 March 2003", "Taken from the BBS News website", "Scanned from copy of 1911 encyclopedia". Also include the author of the image and any other credits. This is not just giving credit where credit is due, many licences including the GFDL require attribution to be given.

When using an image from a website, you should also include the address of the website. For example: "Taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4280841.stm". The wiki software makes well formed web addresses into links automatically.

When the original source differs from the source where you found the image you should mention both. For example "I found this image on http....., but it was originally created by the National Parks Service".

If you have created an image yourself, and you have a higher-quality source file in a format such as SVG, OpenOffice.org Draw, GIMP, Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe Photoshop, you may want to consider uploading that source file so that other Wikipedians can more easily modify it if the need arises. Link the source file from the image description page, and add a link to Wikipedia:Image source files. If the source file is too large to upload, you may be able to compress it using a utility such as WinZip or gzip.

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Copyright status

See Wikipedia:copyrights and the "Copyright" section of image use policy for more.

Adding explicit copyright information helps make Wikipedia more useful for third parties who wish to reuse our content, just as many people reuse our text. It also allows users to edit images in greater confidence that their work will not be wasted if we subsequently discover that an image is copyrighted and not licensed under the GFDL (or a similarly open license).

The easiest way to indicate the copyright status is with an image copyright tag.

Images with the following copyright status are acceptable:

GNU Free documention licence. The terms of use of wikipedia require that all eligible contributions are licenced in this way. That includes any image uploaded by the creator. The tag to use is {{GFDL}}.
public domain: copyright expired. A suitable tag might be {{PD-old}} for images where the creator has been dead for over 100 years. Images published in the USA before 1923 are generally in the public domain.
public domain: copyright disclaimed {{PD-release}}. You should also include evidence of the release. Works created by US federal employees carrying out their duties are in the public domain.
Other "Free" licences. These include the Creative Commons "By" and "Sharealike" licences. Use one of the Creative Commons tags such as {{cc-by-sa}}. Other images are informally released under this licence. For example a website may say "Take what you like!" in this case you can use the {{copyrightedFreeUse}} tag, but be sure to give details.
released under the GFDL - in response to the boilerplate request for permission, Fred Jones said "That'd be fine"

Some images on Wikipedia may show a copyright status similar to the following. These are more problematic, because their use may not qualify for the GFDL.

copyrighted image - may only be used under "fair use" rules use the {{fairuse}} tag (see below).

The general guidance on what is or isn't likely to be fair use in Wikipedia is described in the article Wikipedia:Fair use. When possible, it is strongly preferred to use licensed, GFDL or public domain images instead of fair use images. If you do use an image but are not sure if it qualifies for use under the GFDL, consider indicating the status in the image caption somehow, so those who read the article will know that we are looking for an image which is easier for others to use. Document everything you know about the copyright status of the image on its image description page. This will help others know if we should look for an alternative image.

If the copyright status is unknown it's particularly important that you include all possible source information about the image, both to help others use the image and to reduce the chance of it being deleted as a possible copyright infringement. Such images are generally problematic, so please try to determine the copyright status or the year the image was originally created if at all possible, since you're likely to know more about the image and subject than those who end up having to try to work out if it's infringing with little or no information about it. If the image is a photograph or scan of a work of art, building, statue, illustration, old book or something else which predated the image, please give some information about the subject as well, since the effective date of copyright is often that of the subject, not of the image itself.

The more information you can provide, the easier it will be for others to determine whether it is safe for them to use the image.

Please do not upload images with the following copyright status except under fair use.

copyrighted image - the author has given Wikipedia permission to use this image, but third parties may not use it without permission
copyright status unknown - I have no reason to believe that this image is copyrighted, but I've not checked.
Non commercial use only or No modifications permitted. This includes certain creative commons licences and many images from educational institutions.

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Fair use rationale

Not all inclusions of fair use material may violate the GFDL; if there is a significant reason to include the image and no permission can be obtained it may still be allowable under the GFDL — a justification may be necessary. If you are claiming "fair use" it will help later users under the GFDL to determine if the "fair use" is broad (for further encyclopedia use) or perhaps not even applicable to Wikipedia. It will help if the basis of the "fair use" is explained (briefly). See the Wikipedia article on fair use for an explanation of the topic.

This should be done in two places. Firstly, add the following hidden text in the article:

Secondly, add rationale text to the image description page, beyond the information mentioned above. This fair use rationale text can be in the following format (the following are just basic examples, you must write your own specific text, do not copy this text for that purpose):

== Fair use for [[ARTICLE NAME]] ==

The image picture-fair-use.jpg is being linked here; though the picture is originally copyright I (~~~~) feel it is covered by fair use because:

#it is a low resolution copy of a CD album cover;

#it does not limit the copyright owners rights to sell the CD album in any way;

#copies could not be used to make illegal copies of the album artwork on another CD;

# the image on the cover is significant because it was made by a famous artist, [[name]].

== Fair use for [[ARTICLE NAME]] ==

The image linked here is claimed to be used under fair use as:

# it is a historically significant photo of a famous individual;

# it is of much lower resolution than the original (copies made from it will be of very inferior quality)

# the photo is only being used for informational purposes.

# Its inclusion in the article adds significantly to the article because it shows the subject of this article and how the event depicted was very historically significant to the general public. ~~~~

The above are only general examples; for what information to be included in this entry you can review the description of fair use and access the ten-point review process used in making a decision about whether it could possibly be applied in Wikimedia here. The information should be as specific as possible, i.e. why you need to use the image as part of the article. Remember to put any information about the copyright owner on the image page after you upload the image and mark it "fair use." The rationale text should be mentioned in the actual article so that it is part of the article and anyone editing the article can see it but it is in the text not the talk page. It can also be mentioned on the talk page for a discussion with other Wikipedia contributors). Adding this information is no guarantee that the image will not be later removed, but it will demonstrate a rationale to others that you may have a valid justification for including "fair use" materials that can be used under the GFDL.

Remember there is no "general rule" about fair use, each "fair use" must be explained and a rationale must be established for that specific use (i.e. every page that uses the image will have a distinct rationale for using the image on that page even though fair use is claimed on the image page).

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Description of the image

Eg: "Image of a goldfish in a small tank". This should not be alternate text (see alternate text for images), but rather a description. This is useful for users who do not have direct access to the image.

You can include any of the following :

Description of what the image shows.
Capture date .
Location.
Image text: An image that includes text should repeat the text on the description page.
Camera type.
Resolution and image size and color space.
Post-production modifications (adjustments to color, contrast etc.)
Intended purpose of the image.
Any other details.

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