Why aren't my uploaded photos displaying in the NRHP section?

I Uploaded 3 photos about two months ago and they are still not displaying Please Advise. MRobison (talk) 13:51, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

@MRobison: Hi, and welcome. Someone has to edit the appropriate NRHP section and add them using the instructions at en:H:PIC, and others have to accept the additions as better than what came before. The photos don't just organically appear there.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 14:18, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you. I have uploaded photos to the NHRP section before and it seemed the appeared very quickly. Thank you for this information. MRobison (talk) 23:35, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Can I create an alt account for batch uploading?

I want to do a batch upload using Flickr2Commons, but I don't want the batch upload to clog up my user uploads page. Am I allowed to make an alt account (LetmeEditit-BatchUploads) for this purpose? Also this account would need autopatrol rights because of the rate limit, could it automatically be granted because I have autopatrol on this account? Thanks. LetmeEditit (talk) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

You definitely can create such an account, as long as the user pages of the two accounts link to each other to make the situation clear, and you never involve both accounts in a single discussion.

As for rights, I have no experience with this particular issue, and I'm not sure how many other admins watch the help desk. If no one answers usefully soon, you might ask that question at COM:AN. - Jmabel ! talk 04:41, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

I've done a batch upload under this account now. Don't see any apparent issues. The upload - LetmeEditit - Batch Uploads (talk) 13:26, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

I think it's fine if you make clear these accounts are controlled by the same user. Some contributors also have one account for home and one when they are traveling (as mobile account). --PantheraLeo1359531 😺 (talk) 16:17, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Uploading a logo

When uploading a new logo of the organization what type of license should I choose in case if the logo belongs to the organization? NESEditor (talk) 13:03, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

@NESEditor, if the logo is below the threshold of originality in its country, you can add {{PD-logo}} license (public domain). If the logo is complex, then it depends on country, type of organization, etc. Please tell the name of the organization you are talking about. Deltaspace42 (talk) 13:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

I am talking about the New Economic School (Российская экономическая школа), Russian page: nes.ru, and here is the logo NESEditor (talk) 13:57, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

@NESEditor I think these logos are below the threshold of originality, because it's just text and two triangles. Deltaspace42 (talk) 20:00, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

Absolutely, these are fine for Commons. - Jmabel ! talk 04:53, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you, but I still don't quite get what license should I choose and what comments should I write when uploading the logo to Wikimedia Commons? If I'm not mistaken, I can't change the logo without uploading it to the Wikimedia? NESEditor (talk) 09:55, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

In Special:UploadWizard: This work was created by someone else and it is free to share. > This work is not protected by copyright law > Enter {{PD-textlogo}} in the textbox under Add a specific public domain tag, if applicable. HyperAnd [talk] 10:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you! NESEditor (talk) 13:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Questions!

I made a new account because I lost my old one but anyways, I have a question about uploading. I have an autopsy report and a preliminary hearing pdf and I am wondering if they are allowed to be uploaded the wikimedia commons. The autopsy report has no pictures nor the prelim hearing pdf.

Many Thanks Xsassx Xsassx (talk) 01:33, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

• @Xsassx: that is not the information that will tell us whether it is appropriate for Commons. Two possible issues here:
  1. If it relates to a notable matter, then it is probably in Commons' Scope. If it's just about the death of some random non-notable person, then it probably is not.
  2. Copyright: you say nothing here about when this dates from, by whom, etc. See COM:THIRD for an overview of the issues involved.

Jmabel ! talk 04:57, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

We also need to know in which country, and by which body, they were authored and published. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 20:06, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

United States, California, Los Angeles.

County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner for the autopsy.

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles for the prelim pdf.

the date for the autopsy is 9/10/25 and the autopsy is of celeste rivas hernandez

the date for the prelim pdf is 04/29/2026

the documents are from the d4vd case. Xsassx (talk) 06:24, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

OK, given that, a third issue: dignity of the victim, especially given that she was under age.

I don't have an answer here, but here's what seems to be at issue:

• Scope (en:Killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez) vs. possible dignity issues
• Copyright status: I think {{PD-CAGov}} would apply. - Jmabel ! talk 01:46, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Abuse Filter blocking legitimate author name correction

image of person: personality rights or consent template?

added personality rights template on File:Lefur Press Picture 2018.jpg and File:Bhuvanesh Jayaraman.jpg or template:consent is more appropriate? কল্কি (talk) 17:00, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

@কল্কি: {{Consent}} mostly gets used where the nature of the image is such that the subject's consent is likely to be in question, which does not appear to be the case here. - Jmabel ! talk 21:52, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

"{{Consent}} mostly gets used where the nature of the image is such that the subject's consent is likely to be in question" {{Consent}} is supposed to be used in cases the nature of the image is such that the subject's consent is likely to be in question would far more accurate Trade (talk) 23:47, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

@Trade: yes, but it's not actively wrong to use it elsewhere. - Jmabel ! talk 01:49, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

To verify the permission

Ive got permission from the photographer, but I am not good enough for volunteers to verify it. Thebaldball (talk) 06:30, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

COM:VRT/CONSENT (use the blue button) can probably work for you, or the photographer, if you point them to it. More at COM:THIRD. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Is it possible to forwarded volunteers to the photographer email? Thebaldball (talk) 20:29, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

@Thebaldball: Usually not acceptable, much better if it comes directly from the photographer. However, I believe you could email it, CC the photographer, and as them to confirm that the email you are forwarding is accurate. @Krd and MGA73: (or anyone else on the VRT) would that be acceptable? - Jmabel ! talk 01:53, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Personally I think that it could work if the photographer after that send a reply to all with a clear messags like "I'm the photographer and I confirm..." but I think it would be just as easy to to write back to the photographer: "Thank you very much. Could you be so kind to send the permission directly to <mail>?". --MGA73 (talk) 11:53, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

And if you do that latter approach, make sure they CC you so that you are in the loop. - Jmabel ! talk 20:25, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

how add photo

so i recently was editing something on wikipedia but i didnt quite know how to add a photo to that little box in pages about people Warhistorygamer (talk) 12:03, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

@Warhistorygamer It depends a lot on context and copyright on the pic you want to add. Is it here on Commons? Or just a nice one you saw online somewhere? The rule of thumb is that any random pic you see online is under copyright and can't be used on WP or Commons, but again, details matter. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:14, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

@Warhistorygamer: If it is a picture already on Commons, yes, and see en:Help:Pictures. Otherwise, if it is a picture you took yourself, Commons:UploadWizard should be pretty self-explanatory, and than you add it to the article the same way as a picture that was already on Commons. However, if it's not a picture already on Commons, and you are not the photographer, then things get complicated; if that is the case, I strongly recommend you read COM:THIRD and come back here if you still have questions. - Jmabel ! talk 01:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

so what about this? https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/fauvel_william_le_boutillier_12E.html#lg=1&slide=0 Warhistorygamer (talk) 16:08, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

@Warhistorygamer: upload to Commons. It gets two license templates: {{PD-old-assumed}} for Canada (and any other country where date of author's death is the basis for copyright) and {{PD-US-expired}} for the U.S. (because before 1978 the U.S. went entirely by publication date). I'm not sure the Upload Wizard lets you add both as part of upload, but you should be able to add the second one by editing the file page just like you are editing here. I'd appreciate if you get back to me once you think you have it right, so I can check to make sure you did it correctly and fix anything you missed. - Jmabel ! talk 19:48, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Permission to upload image

Hello!

May I use image from government's park site? If yes, I do I make sure it complies with regulations?

Thank you in advance for your help.

https://parks.lacounty.gov/ruben-f-salazar-park/ https://parks.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/RubenSalazarPark_Edited-8-of-20-1920x1280.jpg 2Springhope (talk) 12:03, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Possibly Template:PD-CAGov applies here, but I don't know. Hopefully someone else does. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:33, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

@2Springhope: Probably not. California puts "public records" in the public domain, but I don't see how that sign would be a public record, and it is certainly above the threshold of originality. If you want a more definitive answer, possibly someone at [COM:VP/C]] will know more than I do. - Jmabel ! talk 02:01, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Adding Album Covers To A Post: Village People Musicians Credits

Hi Wikipedia Help Desk, I hope this message finds you well. I've submitted a draft Wikipedia post for the Gypsy Lane Band. The band were the original musicians which created the music for the Village People, and recorded the first four albums. I would like to add references in the form of the four album covers (front & back) of their work, which is credited on each of the album covers. Will you provide direction as to how to incorporate these public and recognized references to be included in the post and to document their contributions? The four albums are: Village People 1977, Cruisin' 1978, Macho Man 1978, and Go West 1979. Thank you for your time and attention, I await your reply. Matthew Lee Jr Matthew Lee Jr (talk) 12:47, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

@Matthew Lee Jr If I understand you correctly, Template:Cite AV media notes is what you want. Check the Examples section, that should help. Btw, this is the Commons help desk, the WP one is at . Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 13:43, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Hello and welcome @Matthew Lee Jr, I assume you are asking about your draft article en:Draft:Gypsy Lane Band. You can request for help at this Wikipedia help desk instead: en:Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation/Help desk. Thanks. Tvpuppy (talk) 13:46, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

A Few Questions

1. I have a photo of a building (the Titanic Museum, Belfast) that I don't know if I am allowed to upload.
2. I have photos of unidentified flowers, what should I upload them as? (or should I even upload them?)

Thanks, WalnutBloom (talk) 12:10, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

@WalnutBloom: Hi, and welcome. 1) Yes, per COM:FOP Ireland. 2) See en:WP:BOTANY.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 14:24, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

I don't see anything obviously helpful at en:WP:BOTANY. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:37, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Per Category:Unidentified plants, at least people do upload pics of unidentified plants. Perhaps some get deleted per COM:SCOPE, but that's me speculating. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:35, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Regarding use of Template:Derivative versions

Where is "Template:Derivative versions" placed? On the original file page or on the derived file page - or both? I have used on my derivative work: File:Cage antennas.svg and here File:Inverted-L cage antenna.svg --Glenn (talk) 15:04, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

@Glenn: It would be used on the original file page. See Template:Derivative versions/doc for details. {{Derived from}} would be for the derived file page.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 15:15, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for your answer. --Glenn (talk) 15:42, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

@Glenn: You're welcome.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 16:27, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Car number plates in photos

I have taken several photos of buildings and scenery since October 2025. There are several vehicles in some of my photos, which appeared as by-catch. Should I blank out the car number plates for privacy reasons? Andykatib (talk) 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

@Andykatib: You give no indication of what country, and this is entirely a matter of privacy laws in different countries. - Jmabel ! talk 20:27, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

@Jmabel: I am from New Zealand. One fellow Kiwi Wikipedia user did advise me to blank out the number plates in photos to avoid the risk of doxxing. I have edited and blanked out the number plates in several photos but have a lot of work to do. Wasn't sure if Wikimedia Commons had an official policy on the issue. Andykatib (talk) 20:32, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

No Commons policy, other than not to breach privacy laws of countries. I don't know a lot about New Zealand law, but I tend to think of New Zealand as "tighter than average" on privacy considerations, but not extreme. I'm unfamiliar with privacy laws there applying to license plates. Does your "fellow Kiwi Wikipedia user" have a citation for that? - Jmabel ! talk 22:59, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Thanks @Jmabel for the clarification. I did a Google search for New Zealand legislation around photographing and recording people and found some material from the Citizen's Advice Bureau and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. The Privacy Act allows the photographing or recoding of people in public spaces under most circumstances except in situations where it would be insensitive or offensive such as a someone being in an accident or partially undressed. I am not sure if NZ law has anything relating to vehicles. I could ask my friend @DrThneed: and the other New Zealand Wikipedians. Andykatib (talk) 02:52, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

I’m not aware of a legal requirement to blur when vehicles are in a public place, although I am not an expert or a lawyer. I’ve seen news stories where they do blur number plates for incidental vehicles, and not many where they don’t, but that was just a quick survey. But as we are openly licensing our images and they are going to be around longer than the average news story, it seems like a courtesy to blur if practicable. DrThneed (talk) 04:41, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Thanks @DrThneed: for your advice. Will go through the images I have uploaded and check if there are any with visible car number plates. Thanks for your advice. Will blur them where practicable. Andykatib (talk) 05:24, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

WLM down?

Hello! Sorry if is the wrong place for this enquiry, but the Wiki Loves Commons app that i use to determine listed buildings without Wikidata images is down for me. I get the following message when I try to log in: Internal server error <ExceptionInfo [Exception: Expected x-www-form-urlencoded response from MediaWiki, but got something else: 'Please set a user-agent and respect our robot policy https://w.wiki/4wJS. See also https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T400119.\n'] (11 frames, last=Callpoint('initiate', 93, 'mwoauth.functions', '/home/hatnote/virtualenvs/plinth/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/mwoauth/functions.py', 141, ' "{0}".format(repr(r.content)))'))> Error type: http://docs.python.org/2/library/exceptions.html#exceptions.Exception

Sorry once again if this is the wrong place for this message! No Swan So Fine (talk) 19:21, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

@No Swan So Fine: if this is still happening, COM:Village pump/Technical is a better bet. - Jmabel ! talk 20:28, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Delete all contribution

Can I ask for deletion of all my contribution to commons? Do I need to do it for every file? Ququ (talk) 03:52, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Hi Qugu. I'm not a Commons administrator and might be a bit wrong. Comments and other posts most likely can't be deleted due to Commons (Wikimedia Foundation) licensing requirements; you can, however, ask a COM:OVERSIGHTER or COM:ADMINISTRATOR to consider revision deleting or suppressing any posts that might reveal any personally identifying information about your or another person, or any posts that might really be inappropriate (really offensive or libelous).

For files, you can request any images you've uploaded within the past seven days be deleted per COM:G7; this will probably be non-contentious as long as the images aren't be widely used. Any files uploaded more than seven days ago are going to need to be deleted per COM:DR; you can do this on a per file basis or make one big DR for all your files. However, there's no guarantee this request will be granted, absent a really good policy-based reason, because the types of licensing Commons accepts are, in principle, non-revocable. For files that have been hosted by Commons for a long period of time and which might be widely used both by the various WMF projects (e.g. the different language Wikipedias) or by other third-parties out in the real world, it can be hard to establish a consensus in favor of deletion without a pretty good reason (usually a copyright-related reason) for doing so. Commons allows uploaders a bit of a grace period (about seven days) to perhaps change their minds, mainly because people often make mistakes and such files don't often get widely used (particularly out in the real world) within the first seven days after being uploaded; however, the longer a file has been hosted the harder it tends to become to get deleted.

All of your uploads look to be graphs or mathematical diagrams. Why do you want them to be deleted? Just asking out of curiosity. -- Marchjuly (talk) 05:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Pictures

I’m looking for pictures of black females working in the cotton fields during slavery First Lady Legacy2026 (talk) 05:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

@First Lady Legacy2026 Here's a couple I found searching slaves in cotton fields on this website:. If you check the categories for those pics you might find more. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 05:57, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Book cover

Is File:Trick Mirror (Jia Tolentino).png acceptable on Commons per COM:TOO? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:31, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

@Gråbergs Gråa Sång: Probably over TOO; Penguin Random House makes their money from publishing, so it's hard to imagine they didn't copyright and renew it timely.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 16:27, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Ok, thanks. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 16:54, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Not able to upload a logo

i am facing a issu while uplaoding a logo image in this StudyFromUAE Editor (talk) 09:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

@StudyFromUAE Editor: Hi, and welcome. I see that you were able to upload File:Study From UAE Logo.webp as own work, but in truth it was a copyright violation.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 14:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Nintendo DS Video

Can i use the 2009 Tomodachi Collection As just for like a 33 second video? CanYouCallMeANerd (talk) 14:27, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

@CanYouCallMeANerd: If you can follow the license(s).   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 14:33, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

About images

The manual says "you can't upload most of the images from internet" which type of images can we upload from internet? Wiki.cowboy (talk) 16:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

@Wiki.cowboy: Hi, and welcome. You may upload free ones only. See COM:L and COM:FS for details.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 16:36, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Most images from the internet are protected by copyright; therefore, we cannot upload them to Commons with permission, e.g. © John Doe. But if it is:

1. In public domain. The reasons include but not limited: 1. it is old enough (example: works of Da Vinci). 2. made by employee of the US federal government. 3. too simple to be protected (COM:TOO), like the McDonald's logo.
2. Images using CC, e.g. CC BY-SA 4.0 International, and without NC.

We may upload it (with consideration on other legal problems or COM:SCOPE). Kaap bij Sneeuw (talk) 17:00, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

if any image on internet is so casual that it can be taken by anyone and has no copyright, then what? Wiki.cowboy (talk) 17:18, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

@Wiki.cowboy: still, "don't upload it. Your sentence part "has no copyright" hints at you having not delved deep enough into these matters. As a fact, for starters you must assume that anything has a copyright, even without clear mention of an author or a © sign. This is the legal standard for dozens of years now, there's no need to actually register a copyright to enjoy it.

If an image is indeed "so casual that it can be taken by anyone", you're looking at a quagmire of sometimes conflicting national rules and standards, namely those found in COM:TOO - you would have to reconcile any local law and the US law to grab such an image anyway.

Furthermore, from the project's standpoint, if something is so trivial that anyone could take it, then it's best to avoid any hassle by reproducing the motif yourself and do not bother with grabbing from somewhere else, per COM:PS.

Always remember: COM:CARES! Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 17:33, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

without ND too; see COM:LJ.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 19:24, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Jeff G. I pasted the same signature prompt here which I have for my signature in the main English Wikipedia. That prompts was not able to generate my signature here (wikimedia commons) what could be the problem behind this? Wiki.cowboy (talk) 19:31, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

@Wiki.cowboy: if you plan to upload images that are not entirely your own work, I strongly recommend reading Commons:Uploading works by a third party, which is an introduction to precisely this subject. It's probably about a 10-15 minute read, though its text also links to pages that let you go deeper on many of the topics it touches upon. As the piece says in its first paragraph, "adding third-party work to Commons is one of the trickiest things a user can do here: it raises every issue that might come up in uploading your own work, plus a slew of additional issues." - Jmabel ! talk 19:53, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

@Wiki.cowboy: While I use the same signature enablement text (four tildes "~~~~") on each wiki, my signature itself is different on some wikis than others. On most wikis I use, I customize it with the "Signature" section of Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-personal (about halfway down). I like to check the box "Treat signature as wikitext (without an automatic link to your user page)", but you may not like to; that is a matter of personal preference.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 20:40, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Jeff G. Is there is any problem in this code? [[User:Wiki.cowboy|𝙒𝙞𝙠𝙞.𝙘𝙤𝙬𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙮𝙮] [[User talk:Wiki.cowboy|🦬], this code is working in english wikipedia but not in the prefrences here. I removed this ( ] ) in order to show you the code. Wiki.cowboy (talk) 10:36, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

By the way, you can surround text with <nowiki></nowiki> so it only shows the code. HyperAnd [talk] 12:14, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

Ok but I want help with my signature more, I want to make my siganture look like this:- 𝙒𝙞𝙠𝙞.𝙘𝙤𝙬𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙮𝙮 🦬 can you help me with the code here? Wiki.cowboy (talk) 12:20, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

Structured data about buses and bus stops

A few days ago, I added some structured data to File:London Buses route 222 073.jpg. I added some depicts (P180) statements for the things you can see in the image, and I added some qualifiers to indicate some things that you can see on the bus and the bus stop.

However, some of the qualifiers I have added are giving warnings, saying that some of these properties are not meant to be used on MediaInfo entities. Am I supposed to add this information in a different way, or do I just need to change the property constraints to allow these properties to be used on MediaInfo entities (which I do know how to do, by the way)? I'm not sure whether it was intentional for the constraints to be like this.

Also, the bus stop says "towards West Drayton"; I'm not sure if we should include this as well, and if so, how we should include it. We can't use destination point (P1444) for this, because West Drayton isn't the final destination; it's just where buses from this bus stop generally go towards. TTWIDEE (talk) 21:01, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

re: the warnings, unless there were changes on the Wikidata side, I believe the only way you could avoid warnings is to make a Wikidata item for this particular bus stop and bus, and add these qualifiers there, rather than use the generic bus stop (Q953806) and single-decker bus (Q7523708). - Jmabel ! talk 21:15, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

gen Max Pfeffer photo

Im preparing article about general Max Pfeffer and i found his photo. Taken between 1941 and 1943 (unkown author). Probably this photo is in Bundesarchiv or something, but i cant find signature. I found photo on some websites (example, last photo on this website: https://dr-guillotin.livejournal.com/196800.html) and i want to make sure it is allow to upload photo on wikimedia and what type of licence it would be. OzzyFromTheOuterSpace (talk) 22:30, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

@OzzyFromTheOuterSpace: Hi, and welcome. If you mean https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/dr_guillotin/4193625/258032/258032_original.jpg, Google Lens AI identifies the subject as Walther Schroth (1882–1944), a German General der Infanterie (General of Infantry) who served in the Wehrmacht during World War II, and finds a larger version https://cdn.ilvivyanyn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/05/17063912/image2.png thumbnailed near the middle of https://ilvivyanyn.com/uk/eternal-tankovyj-pogrom-u-radehova (among others). See COM:NETC.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 06:15, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

That's definitely not Walther Schroth (Google AI tried to convince me there is Arthur Schmidt on the photo :P ). This is another photo of gen Pfeffer, same nose, jaw and checkbones, even uniform ;) https://au.pinterest.com/pin/658158933040937927/ OzzyFromTheOuterSpace (talk) 13:52, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

Google AI is making Walter Schroth determination based on this eBay photo, which was a postcard of that general from a similar angle and I guess he looks somewhat similar, but is a different person. Maybe it was a similar postcard for the Pfeffer one, in which case publication and government ownership is not in doubt. Carl Lindberg (talk) 14:00, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

Yep, its look like typical official photo made after awarding an order or promotion to a higher rank. And then it was printed in newspaper, on postcards and sometimes in obituary, so it should be owned by government. OzzyFromTheOuterSpace (talk) 19:45, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

Hi OzzyFromTheOuterSpace. A photo of a German general taken during WWII by a member of the German Army could, I think, be considered to have entered into the public domain depending on who confiscated the photo at the end of the war. For photos confiscated by the US military, the en:Office of Alien Property Custodian took over their control, and I believe they would no longer be under copyright protection and could be treated {{PD-US-alien property}} under US copyright law, with COM:Germany (specifically COM:Germany#Anonymous and pseudonymous works) being used to assess their copyright under German copyright law. If photo is an anonymous work, it's possible it could have entered into the public domain on January 1, 2016 (1945 + 1 year + 70 years): {{PD-EU-no author disclosure}} under German copyright law. This could mean the image is OK for Commons. The UK and the USSR, however, might've treated such confiscated works differently than the US. The blog provided as the source for the image looks to be written in Russian, but the blog writer doesn't say where they got the photo; in fact, they don't attribute any of the photos they're using. The blog writer obviously had to have gotten them from somewhere, but figuring out where that is the problem. -- Marchjuly (talk) 07:19, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

You can make the argument that any government-owned photo was PD-US-alien_property given the wording of the law -- pretty much all German copyrights were technically "owned" by the U.S. government as they were confiscated (at least the rights inside the U.S.); private copyrights were given back after the war. Not sure they had to be physically administered. The UK simply extinguished German copyrights of that era, though again private copyrights were restored. Germany has the 70 years from making available to the public term for anonymous works -- though older German laws, if something was a "work" and not just a snapshot or documentation-like photo, say maybe a studio portrait, really didn't specify a term for anonymous works so some think those are 70pma even if you don't know the identity of the author. And even the 70 years thing depended on publication, or at least making available to the public, which if we don't know the provenance may be difficult to determine. I do see the photo at https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/02/daftar-general-der-artillerie-heer.html (along with a couple others of him), but again no provenance. If we think this was an official portrait, it's probably fine under PD-EU-no author disclosure and PD-US-alien_property . If it was a personal photo, it's harder, though on balance I'd probably lean towards them being OK under similar rationales. Lots of theoretical doubts, and without knowing a source it's hard to say for sure. But it does generally look like an official photo, which would make it OK to upload I think. Carl Lindberg (talk) 14:00, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

it looks like typical official photo made after awarding an order or promotion to a higher rank. And then it was printed in newspaper, on postcards and sometimes in obituary, so it should be owned by government. Photo for personal purposes would have some landscape on the background and pose would not be so stark :P OzzyFromTheOuterSpace (talk) 19:52, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

Images that have disappeared with no apparent deletion request

Dear Wiki Team, Two images I uploaded have disappeared. Here are the links: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euro-Bioimaging-vertical-RGB.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maps_Facilities_Updated_as_December_2025.png

I've checked the history and cannot find a deletion request on either of these, so I could not figure out how to ask to undelete. They just disappeared. Before re-uploading my images, maybe you can help me to understand why my images disappeared and how I can get them back?

Many thanks!

Euro-BioImaging Communications. EurobioimagingCommunications (talk) 11:05, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

@EurobioimagingCommunications As you can see in both links, they say "No ticket permission since 27 February 2026". This means that they were marked as needing confirmation that the stated licenses actually had been added by the copyright holder. When this didn't appear for a month, they were deleted.

File:Technologies-3.png may have survived per COM:TOO, idk, but it has no link to where the image appears, and we have only your word that the license applies. If you can provide a link that clearly shows that the image is marked Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, that solves the problem, but most org-websites don't mark their work like that. You can also use mail for this purpose, see COM:VRT/CONSENT. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:46, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

Oh thanks so much for your quick answer! I represent the organisation that owns the images and wants to share them. And according to my legal department, the images are not protected by copyright. I am happy to fill in the form you shared (COM:VRT/CONSENT). I hope they will be re-instaured following this. EurobioimagingCommunications (talk) 12:02, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

Well that was quick! Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:24, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

can't upload newer version

hi, I can't upload newer version of this file File:Ms E IV 3.djvu. It is a manuscript, it was missing 2 pages, I found them, added to the file, i managed to stay below 100mb yet I'm not able to upload the newer version. All I get is a "wikimedia error page". G.Musso (talk) 19:25, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

@G.Musso: Hi, and welcome. Please try User:Rillke/bigChunkedUpload.js (doc at User talk:Rillke/bigChunkedUpload.js).   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 19:29, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

thanks, it worked beautifully! Now I should clean after my mess by deleting 2 duplicates of that file "Brignole - i due anelli simili.djvu" and "Brignoe - I due anelli simili.djvu": how do I procede? Cheers! G.Musso (talk) 06:40, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

@G.Musso: You're welcome. Your best bets are tagging as g7 or filing DR (as appropriate).   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 17:15, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

how to easily/quickly reorder image files in a category

Example (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Through_the_leaves_(1919) ) this category is individual images of pages of a book instead of a pdf. The automatic numbering makes it go from 1 to 10 to 100 rather than 1 to 2 to 3. Is there a way to easily reorder/rename/default sort all these so the images are in the correct page order of the book? St. Andrews Drive (talk) 00:25, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

I think the page numbers should be renamed to add padding zeros, like 1 becomes 001, 57 becomes 057, etc. so sorting by name becomes ordered. HyperAnd [talk] 00:56, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

Commons:Categories#Sorting_categories. Unsure there is a bulk way to do it quickly. Enabling the HotCat gadget in preferences would let you enter the sort key when on the image page, for a quick one step. But you'd still have to go page by page, or at least the ones < 100 to change where they get sorted by padding the numbers out with leading zeros. There may be other tools I'm unaware of. Carl Lindberg (talk) 00:57, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

You could do two mass renames using a regex, handling "page \d\)" and "page \d\d\)" differently, and leaving alone the ones that are already three digits. The first then becomes "page 00$1)", the second "page 0$1)". - Jmabel ! talk 02:45, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

@St. Andrews Drive: The upshot of the discussion at Commons talk:Categories#Sorting by arbitrary number is to use a gallery instead.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 16:54, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

@Jeff G.: I wouldn't call that an "upshot". This order isn't "arbitrary", and there is plenty of disagreement in that ongoing discussion. - Jmabel ! talk 19:17, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

indefinitely suspended

if i am blocked indefinitely because i posted something to promote about my channel and brand unintentionaly which i didn't know and i didn't read the rules. what will happen to my account how do i delete my account? ~2026-29132-07 (talk) 12:19, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

@~2026-29132-07: Hi, and welcome. You may not delete your account, but you may visit m:RTV#How to request a vanishing and read carefully.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 16:56, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

~2026-29132-07: Also: if you are currently blocked and wish to return, the right way to do it is to appeal the block, on your user talk page. Be clear that you understand what you did wrong, and describe what (legitimate) activity you would want to do on Commons if you are allowed to return. Coming back with a different account is liable to be seen as block evasion (technically, posting here from a temporary account was block evasion, but I'm not going to push it). If the account name was inapproriate (inherently promotional) acknowledge that in your unblock request and commit to changing your username (do read what I just linked there) once you are unblocked. - Jmabel ! talk 19:22, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

how do i use a company's logo in an article about them?

im trying to write an article about a company. And i cannot figure out how to use the company's logo usign wikipedia. need help Darkmattersmy (talk) 18:48, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

@Darkmattersmy: a useful answer will require some specifics.

• Wikipedia in what language? They each have their own rules.
• Some logos can be copyrighted, others can only be trademarked; the issue of whether it can be copyrighted affects how you should do this.
  • What country is the company based in? (That will affect copyright status of some logos.)
  • Could you please link (with a URL) a web page that shows the logo in question so we can judge it relative to the relevant [[COM:TOO|threshold of originality?

Jmabel ! talk 19:27, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

@Jmabel: The only page that qualifies is en:Draft:Pou Chong; https://pouchongfoods.com/ has no free license in sight; but logo https://i0.wp.com/pouchongfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/pou-chong-logo-290x103-1.png?fit=290%2C103&ssl=1 might be under COM:TOO India or usable via en:WP:F.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 21:22, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

i think you now know what im talking about, as you know about the company. Is there any way i can use the logo???? Darkmattersmy (talk) 21:35, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

@Darkmattersmy: yes, but it's a little tricky. I think it is just a bit to complex for India's low threshold of originality, which basically says that any "spark of creativity" is enough for a copyright, and it would be hard to say that there is none in this logo. As a result it cannot go on Commons. Your route is going to be en:WP:F, linked by Jeff above, but that is where it gets tricky.

You can't use any non-free content in a draft article on the English-language Wikipedia. However, if and when the article is accepted, you'll be able to upload this non-free logo to the English-language Wikipedia (not involving Commons at all) for use in the article. See en:ADX (file format) and en:File:ADX logo.png for a good example of using a logo this way. Note the template used on the file page for that PNG, which includes a justification for hosting and using this non-free logo. - Jmabel ! talk 21:51, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

oh okay understood. i'll refine the article for now and wait for it to get approved. thank you Darkmattersmy (talk) 22:09, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

Copyright help regarding File:British Standards Institution metrication logo.gif

This is the old metric board logo. It is in common use across the UK and is used as a reference to the metrication board in 1965.

What do I need do to show it is in fair public domain?

"The Key to Britain's Future" refers to a famous publicity and educational slogan used by the British Standards Institution (BSI) in the late 1960s. It heralded the nation’s transition from the imperial system to the international metric system, a standardization process formally adopted by the UK in 1965. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Better2together (talk • contribs) 21:20, 15 May 2026 (UTC)

@Better2together: the file was tagged by a bot because you didn't include any template asserting any grounds on which it is in the public domain (or even asserting that it is in the public domain). What is the basis on which you believe this is in the public domain? (Not saying you are wrong, but not immediately obvious. - Jmabel ! talk 01:52, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Hey thanks for the response. I will update it Better2together (talk) 06:23, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

@Better2together: it still has two separate {{Information}} templates, with two different sources (which I can't fix because I can't guess your intention); permission explanation was also in the wrong place, but I've fixed that. Also, it looks like User:DeFacto still thinks it should be speedy-deleted as a copyright violation; I presume you will want to challenge that. - Jmabel ! talk 16:41, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Thanks i dont think i can challenge it. I would have been nice to use, but i can't seem to find the copyright, which allows it. I noticed it is used on other sites.

The User:DeFacto is trying to keep the lead photo on Metrication in the United Kingdom, which i believe isn't really suitable for Metrication in the United Kingdom. Better2together (talk) 17:00, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

@Better2together: i can't seem to find the copyright You claimed on the page that it is COM:TOO. Have you changed your mind? If not, then that is the basis for a challenge. (FWIW, I'm about to head off traveling, and while I will be somewhat on Commons, this is my last comment on this thread.) - Jmabel ! talk 17:28, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Images I Also Used on My Website and Instagram can't be Uploaded

I am a photographer. I enjoy uploading my images to Wikipedia, but I also must upload them to my Instagram and portfolio. How can I prove that they're my photos? My portfolio is shotacalzone.com, and my Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/shotacalzone/. Please let me know what I can do. Kurexer (talk) 17:04, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

On those accounts, indicate that this Commons account is also you. Then link from your user page to those statements, so they can easily be found. - Jmabel ! talk 17:29, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

(Edit conflict) :@Kurexer: If your original pictures with EXIF data are uploaded on Commons before being uploaded to Instagram or to your website, I don't see any issue. If they were published anywhere else before being uploaded to Commons, please confirm the license via COM:VRT. If you are a professional photographer, I think you should verify your account via COM:VRT to avoid any misunderstanding. Please be aware that images you upload on Commons can be used by anyone for any purpose, including commercial ones. The only requirement would be to credit you as the author. Thanks for your contributions, Yann (talk) 17:29, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

@Kurexer You can do your Instagram like this File:Instagram licencing permission example.jpg then link that as source in your Commons upload. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 20:30, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Cómo subir una imagen

que aprender Rusiacraft (talk) 23:06, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

@Rusiacraft: COM:Primeros pasos. - Jmabel ! talk 20:50, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Ascertaining copyright status in the USA

Hi there,

I have uploaded the following file to Wikimedia Commons: File:Bulletin de la Société des amis de Marcel Proust et des amis de Combray, No. 7, 1957.pdf. The source of the file, the National Library of France, indicates that the original file is in the public domain (see the "Rights" field under the "About" tab: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k14767b ). The file I have uploaded here differs from the original primarily in that I have cropped the white space out of the document scan, and made the text searchable via OCR.

I was wondering if I could receive some guidance on whether the file is public domain in the USA? How would one ordinarily determine this?

Thank you! NeuroJasper (talk) 03:44, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

It is still under copyright in France (70 years have not passed since publication, soonest that would actually enter French public domain would be in 2028 if it's a collective work, later if not, 70 years from the death of the last author) and the United States (all works in 1938 or later had their US copyrights restored in 1996, France had wartime extensions for all authors at the time). US copyright expires in 2053. Gallica is notoriously unreliable as far as rights statements. @Yann: @Racconish: Abzeronow (talk) 04:51, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Oh, I see! I didn't know that Gallica was unreliable for rights statements. In that case, I would like to request that the file I uploaded be removed. Thank you. NeuroJasper (talk) 05:25, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

I have now added the "speedydelete" template to the file, and I believe it qualifies for speedy deletion under COM:GCSD criterion G7. NeuroJasper (talk) 06:25, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

OK, deleted. Yann (talk) 08:05, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you very much! NeuroJasper (talk) 15:25, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

NZ Crown License

Hi, I was looking to upload an image from this report, which was released under a New Zealand Crown Copyright license (see page 2):

The material contained in this report is subject to Crown copyright protection unless otherwise indicated. The Crown copyright protected material may be reproduced free of charge in any format or media without requiring specific permission. This is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and not being used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. Where the material is being published or issued to others, the source and copyright status should be acknowledged. The permission to reproduce Crown copyright protected material does not extend to any material in this report that is identified as being the copyright of a third party. Authorisation to reproduce such material should be obtained from the copyright holders.

What license would be appropriate for this? It seems similar to {{CC-BY}}, but with an additional clause about not being used in a derogatory or misleading manner.

Thanks, CommonsKiwi (talk) 06:29, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

@CommonsKiwi: I don't think that is acceptable to Commons. The problem is This is subject to the material being reproduced accurately which is similar to CC-ND license which is not allowed. Note that {{Crown copyright UK}} is already a redirect to {{Nonderivative}}. MKFI (talk) 07:52, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

That makes sense, thanks for your response. CommonsKiwi (talk) 08:38, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Artwork GTA VC Tommy Vercetti.webp

I using the image and i do not copyright Manh2107 (talk) 07:01, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Artwork GTA SA Carl Johnson.webp

I take to create my page and I do not copyright Manh2107 (talk) 07:02, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

@Manh2107: Yes, these files are still under a copyright. You were requested not to upload copyright violations, and already blocked for that. Please read COM:L, or in any other language available. Yann (talk) 08:04, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Cleaning up descriptions?

Does a page with a description section like this need cleaning up? (File:St. Nicholas (serial) (1873) (14597542849).jpg) Do you keep the text that appeared after the image, which is sometimes nonsensensical? Any tips on these kind of pages is appreciated! Stampdragon (talk) 14:45, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

@Stampdragon: Hi, and welcome. That is how it appears on Flickr; you can leave it well enough alone. Also, you did not need to categorize this page.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 16:21, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

@Jeff G.: you did not need to categorize this page: Stampdragon just removed the cat check template, presumably because they (correctly, I think) considered the page to be already sufficiently categorized. - Jmabel ! talk 20:56, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Problems signing in

Hello,

I am trying to sign in to my account, but I am unable to access it.

I have followed the “Forgot Password” steps several times; however, I do not receive any email with instructions to reset my password.

When I originally created the account, I do not recall if I used an old Yahoo email address (......@yahoo.com), which has since been deleted. I now use the same username, but with my current Gmail address (.....@gmail.com).

I have tried multiple times and waited for the password reset email, but nothing has arrived.

Could someone please help direct me to the correct place to reset my password or recover access to my account?

The article I uploaded when I created the account was:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Original,_La_Voz_de_Chincha,_Setiembre_02,_1936.pdf#Summary

It was created by me, under the username “Tolyasin,” on October 16, 2009.

I would greatly appreciate any help in recovering access to my account.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance.

Sincerely,

Tolyasin ~2026-29859-25 (talk) 19:00, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

The account has a grand total of four edits on Commons, all of them on a single day in 2009, and all on the same file which is public-domain rather than own work. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about somehow regaining control of it. If you want to contribute to Commons, just start with a new account. - Jmabel ! talk 21:02, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T426105

Yahoo is blocking mail from Wikimedia domains.

Send email to mw:Product Safety and Integrity at Wikimedia and they should be able to help you. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 16:03, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

I want to upload a series of photos of a town in Australia, I'm not sure who owns the copy-write

The dates of the photos range from early 1920's to the 1950's. The photos are digitised versions of photos my grandma has in a book. She took some but others she can't remember. Cornelius9520 (talk) 07:03, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Please see Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Australia. For the most part, you will probably not be able to upload those photos here, even tho they are probably very nice and useful for understanding what life was like in Australia in the mid 20th century. If you can pinpoint photos she took and she is willing to release them with an appropriate license, then they could be uploaded here. ―Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 07:12, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

I want to upload a Picture of Vuttikorn Inthraphuvasak for his Wikipedia page

Only thing is, the picture i am planning on using isn't mine, rather from this website: https://51gt3.com/en/racer/vutthikorn-inthraphuvasak

How could this work since I would like to upload it to his wikipedia page :]

regards, F1fan00 (talk) 10:23, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

You can't. Neither Commons nor Wikipedia allows fair-use pictures of living people. If you want, you can try to contact him and point him to Wikipedia:A picture of you, maybe he likes the idea. More guidance at COM:THIRD. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:55, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

ok, i don't how exactly how i would be able to get in touch with Vutthikorn, so i will hold off for now F1fan00 (talk) 12:03, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

also forgot to ping @Gråbergs Gråa Sång F1fan00 (talk) 12:10, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Forgot to ping @F1fan00 Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:01, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

@F1fan00: in general, if you have any plans to upload third-party photographs, I strongly recommend reading COM:THIRD. Except for things that are so old they are clearly in the public domain (e.g. 18th-century prints) or where there is already an explicit free license available, this is one of the most difficult Commons tasks to do correctly. - Jmabel ! talk 02:42, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

aight, thanks for telling me so I can see if it is able to be uploaded @Jmabel F1fan00 (talk) 11:47, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Retouched photo - attribution?

Hi, I thought I did this properly but I don't see any attribution to the original creator. Grateful for an assist please.

This is the original photo: File:Nancy_Rousseau_-_Principal_of_Central_High_School_-_In_Her_Office_-_Little_Rock_-_Arkansas_-_USA.jpg

and this is the retouched version: File:Nancy Rousseau-Little Rock-retouched.jpg

Since it's a derivative, I've uploaded it as a different file but how can I clearly link the latter to the former? (The purpose of cropping it was for an infobox photo on the subject's WP page.)

Thanks Mmemaigret (talk) 16:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

i'm very lazy in his matter, so often i just copy the original Description Code and insert it into my retouched image.

In your case, i just would have used the Crop tool and would retouched the cropped image and edited it afterwards with a new version upload on it. So every Detail to the original creator would be given. Grunpfnul (talk) 17:20, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

@Grunpfnul Thank you! I've added the gadget and cropped the photo. (After the other version has been deleted, I'll replace the cropped version with the retouched version.) Thanks again, Mmemaigret (talk) 23:36, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Resolved

HOW DO I UPLOAD MY OWN PERSONAL PHOTOS?

HOW DO I UPLOAD MY OWN PERSONAL PHOTOS? WhooftheWald (talk) 16:38, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

See Upload Wizard. Perhaps also COM:SCOPE. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 18:02, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Uploading Image Collections

I'm taking many high resolution .png scans of the pages from my growing collection of a popular mid century men's physique magazine. The magazines are public domain. I've read the Wikimedia scope and believe these images fit. Before uploading, given that these images can be grouped together by issues, is there anything special I should do or name them a certain way? Also, is there a way to get confirmation that adding my collection is appropriate and allowed? Thanks. BobbyMizer (talk) 18:12, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

If by "mid century" you mean mid-20th century, there's generally two criteria by which they're public domain. One, the publication lacked a copyright notice. Two, the copyright wasn't renewed in the 28th year for anything published through 1963 (the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 eliminated optional copyright renewals). I recently saw a Joe Weider magazine from around 1951 or 1952. It didn't have a copyright notice, so a PD claim is plausible. The only thing you would have to look out for is copyright notices in advertisements, as they carried a separate copyright at the time and you would have to ascertain whether the ad is also in the public domain. As for scope, I don't see why not. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 19:38, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Both of you seem to be presuming these are publications from the United States. Is that accurate? - Jmabel ! talk 02:44, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Public domain licensing for Virginia government?

Is there a public domain licensing template for works created by a government unit of Virginia, similar to Template:PD-CAGov and Template:PD-FLGov? Am I not looking hard enough, or does one not exist? NP2026 (talk) 19:09, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Unfortunately the works created by the government of Virginia and its employees are not generally in public domain. Ruslik (talk) 19:30, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Oh, okay. That sucks, thanks for letting me know though NP2026 (talk) 23:09, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

photo upload rules

I have images derived from several photographs I wish to upload. I know the dates the originals were taken (1888 and 1895) and what institution holds the originals. This institution scanned the prints (not negatives - no idea where those are) for me and will eventually upload them for public access through their web portal. When asked about copyright they replied that this is uncertain, but that I can reference them as the source. The images I wish to upload were re-sized, edited, and annotated by me. Will they be accepted by Wiki Commons? Cbaisan (talk) 19:37, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

@Cbaisan two questions: 1. Where were they taken ? 2. Were they ever published between 1888 and now ? —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 22:57, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

They are photos that belonged to my great great grandmother and are in her papers that were donated to Swarthmore College. The archivists there scanned them for me. One is a family photo of a 50th wedding anniversary gathering (1888) and the other is a group photo of participants in the 1895 National Council of Women meeting. This is a print of a professionally taken photo that was offered to participants - there are various images circulating on the web from other prints of the photo. This particular print belonged to my relative. Swarthmore told me how to assign attribution to them as the source but has no specific information about copyright. Cbaisan (talk) 23:42, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

The only scenarios that would be a problem are if they were published, and their first publication was between 1931 and 2002, inclusive and (if on or before 28 February 1989, with publication occurring in the U.S.) met with the appropriate copyright notification and registration formalities. Also, if they were published between 1931 and 1962, inclusive, copyright would have had to be renewed to still apply. Virtually all unpublished work created before 1906 is now in the public domain in the United States; the only exception would be work by a known author who lived at least until 1955; both of those dates are now moving year by year. - Jmabel ! talk 02:51, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Actor in costume

Hello! I uploaded this picture recently of an actress in costume, taken during the 'bows' after a play. I received a question on my talk page on en-wiki about removing the picture, as the costumes are original to the play. Can anyone advise on how this intersects with COM:COSTUME? The character the actor was playing is clearly in the public domain, but I'm not certain how that impacts the costumes. Thanks. Ganesha811 (talk) 19:50, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

That seems like a custom design for that specific play. I suspect a costume designer put considerable creative thought into the look and feel of this design for this particular character and the role the character plays, as well as how the costume is perceived by the audience. I'd thus assume it to be copyright protected as a (or part of a) creative work. It's also a considerable part of the image (so not de-minimis or anything) and probably not in a public space etc.. I wouldn't want to step into a court trying to convince the judge of this being copyright free. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 22:55, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Disagree. I'm not aware of any precedent for this interpretation of U.S. copyright law for a costume that is essentially normal human clothing. If it were, almost the entire history of photography of theater would be in trouble. (The same would be the case for many concert performances, most parades, etc.) France has something like this level of protection for clothing; I believe the U.S. does not.

@Ganesha811: I suggest you take this to COM:Village pump/Copyright where you will probably get a more informed opinion than from either User:TheDJ or myself. (I presume that TheDJ is, like myself, reasonably knowledgeable about copyright, but not a copyright lawyer or anything close to on. I would hope neither of us would "step into a court trying to convince a judge" of anything. In the unlikely event that TheDJ is actually a lawyer, my apologies, and if that is true then you should take his advice.) - Jmabel ! talk 03:00, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you both for your replies. I'll ask at that forum for help as well. Ganesha811 (talk) 03:10, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Some categories show blue triangles and can expand. Why?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Cossey_Arboretum Three entries have expandable blue triangle icons. Most do not. I cannot figure out why they are different. Cossey25 (talk) 20:46, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

@Cossey25 if the category entries have subcategories, they are blue and you can click to expand and show those subcategories. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 22:44, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for looking-- Tree 132 has a gray triangle and these categories:

Category:Cossey Section Tree Fredericksburg

Category:Cossey Arboretum

Tree 133 has a blue triangle and these categories:

Category:Cossey Arboretum

Category:Cossey Section 001

How do I change 133 to match? Cossey25 (talk) 00:38, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Tree 132 has a gray triangle and these categories:

Category:Cossey Section Tree Fredericksburg

Category:Cossey Arboretum

Tree 133 has a blue triangle and these categories:

Category:Cossey Arboretum

Category:Cossey Section 001

How do I change 133? Cossey25 (talk) 00:41, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

• Actually, "Tree 132" and "Tree 133" do not have those categories, those are the parent categories of "Tree 132" and "Tree 133".
• The "blue triangle" only appears if a category has subcategories. In this case, "Tree 132" has no subcategories, so a "gray triangle" is displayed next to it. "Tree 133" has 1 subcategory, which is Category:Cossey Section 001, so a "blue triangle" is displayed next to it.
• By the way, seeing Category:Cossey Section 001, it seems perhaps you misunderstood how categories work. When you add categories to a category, you are adding the parent categories that the category belongs, not the subcategories that belong to that category. See Commons:Categories for more details.
• This means the subcategories of Category:Cossey Section 001 cannot be its parent categories at the same time. So, the category needs to be fixed.

Thanks. Tvpuppy (talk) 02:19, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

I was misunderstanding categories. Thanks! Cossey25 (talk) 04:43, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

In‐scope loophole

Say on another Wikimedia wiki we have 2 freely licenced files, A & B. A’s only transclusion is in B. B’s only transclusion is in A. Per COM:INUSE, they should be moved to Commons, as they are transcluded in a page that isn’t a user page, a talk page, an inactive sandbox or draft, an automatically generated project, an explicitly non‐in‐scope project, or a project only edited by the creator. Couldn’t a bad actor abuse this to get any file they want onto Commons? ANOTHERWlKlPEDlAN _{wɑit thɑt’s ɑ typo} 20:59, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ANOTHERWlKlPEDlAN _{wɑit thɑt’s ɑ typo} 20:59, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

It's not exactly a loophole, it's the reason we exist. Can this be used in bad faith? Yes. Is this used in bad faith sometimes? Yes. Do they tend to last that long? Not really. If the file is under fair use, then it should stay on the local project. Copyright will always overrule SCOPE. (also, if it's only used in a draft that's about to get deleted for advertising or vandalism, it will get deleted here too. All the Best -- Chuck ^Talk 21:25, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

@Alachuckthebuck: I was more so talking about a person abusing this method to upload freely licensed personal files, as obviously copyrighted media is still copyrighted.

ANOTHERWlKlPEDlAN _{wɑit thɑt’s ɑ typo} 22:07, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ANOTHERWlKlPEDlAN _{wɑit thɑt’s ɑ typo} 22:07, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

@Anohthterwikipedian: Do you have a case in mind where this has occurred and files were kept on this basis, or is this a hypothetical? - Jmabel ! talk 03:03, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

@Jmabel: Just a hypothetical. Got the idea while moving these files.

ANOTHERWlKlPEDlAN _{wɑit thɑt’s ɑ typo} 07:14, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Appropriate/High Quality photos

Hello, I'm a new user and I have some photos of various creatures I found tidepooling in southern California I'd like to upload. What constitutes a high quality photo, or one that is worth uploading at all? I have some pretty clear photos of birds and snails, but I also have a photo of a brittle sea star being held in hand which is clear but maybe the hand is distracting? I also have various photos of the sea which I assume aren't worthy.

Additionally, I have identified the birds and sea star but not the snail. Does that change anything? Benjaminaventi (talk) 16:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC)