Greetings!

Hi! I'm one of the admins and bureaucrats here on Wikimedia Commons. If I can help, please leave a message on my talk page!

I work in a spirit of COM:AGF with Commons images for deletion, as well as categorizing and sourcing images.

Ribbet!!

Please do not be offended if your images were nominated for deletion or even deleted.

There are processes to provide copyright permission and undelete even images which have already been removed.

If you need a really fast response to a general question, please write at the Village Pump.

To contact me, please leave your message on my User Talk page. Because of tons of emails resulting from bot changes, all email from this source is blocked by my provider  :( Please use the talk page!

Sorry about lack of administrator activity recently, I've been laid up, but am now recovering! (June 25, 2023)

This user believes in assuming good faith and civility.
This user is an administrator on Wikimedia Commons. (verify)
This user is a bureaucrat on Wikimedia Commons. (verify)
en
This user has been on Wikimedia Commons for
13 years, 2 months and 17 days
This user is a geologist.

Please scroll down for more information about images for deletion, what the acronyms mean and what do to if your images were nominated or deleted.

Contact & info

For Commons ... Please leave your message on my User Talk page.

I am not a Wikipedia admin, but I do edit there...

How to upload images

Commons:First steps tutorial!

Questions about why your image is nominated for deletion?

 



  • Read image first! ... Then read COM:L
  • Reply on the deletion nomination page, not a discussion page.
  • Replies left here have no effect on deletion nominations.

Please note that none of the following claims are valid license justifications:

  1. I own the copyrighted © website from which the image/s was/were copied but can't file an OTRS;
  2. I have the same user name as a copyrighted website, but I can't send an email from that address.
  3. I am the official representative of the owner of a website whether personal or corporate;
  4. I own entire pages, or clippings from, newspapers and periodicals;
  5. I own/or was given a print/or electronic version of the image;
  6. I own this original piece of art;
  7. I paid for this image or portrait so I own the copyright;
  8. I am one of many heirs of the subject of an image;
  9. I think I am the owner via a long shaggy-dog story;
  10. I have permission to use this photograph from family album or other private source;
  11. I am putting up publicity photos;
  12. I think this picture really belongs on the project - without it the article won't be the same;
  13. I have permission to use this photograph from the web regardless of © or no © on the pages;
  14. I am the creator of professional images up to and including Getty and Reuters files labeled ©;
  15. I have really long arms and can take selfies from 100 feet away;
  16. I only copied part of this image from somewhere else;
  17. I don't remember where I got the image;
  18. I have no idea who created the image;
  19. I was given permission to use this picture on Wikipedia;

However, ... if you think you really do have permission despite the above, there are ways to work within the system to discuss it. Please leave a message on my talk page, including the file name of the image which was nominated or deleted.

 
You uploaded what to where? Oh mai!
 
Can I help you fix it?
 
Don't worry... Whatever it is, we can handle it!

Acronyms & locations

 
Cuteness is no excuse!
Remember, cuteness is no excuse!
 
Read COM:L
Category:Media needing categories requiring human attention201520162017Dates
  • AGF = Assume good faith, see COM:AGF
  • Blocks = You don't want one of these, see COM:BP
  • CALM = Commons settling issues with other users, see COM:DISPUTE
  • COPYVIO = Commons Copyright Violation, see COM:L
  • DELBUG = Deletion tool failed to remove, use {{DELBUG}} when found
  • DN = Deletion Nomination, see Commons:Deletion requests
  • DW = Derivative Work of another artwork, photo etc., see COM:DW
  • FOP = Freedom of Panorama, the U.S. doesn't have any, see COM:FOP
  • Jerk = Please don't be one! See this article
  • Link = Help with wiki linking
  • no permission = image permission is not compatible with Commons, or none at all
  • no source = image has no source, cannot be found at source, or source is irrational
  • OTRS = process for copyright holder to formally declare copyright on image/s, see COM:OTRS
  • PRP = Precautionary principle - "where there is significant doubt about the freedom of a particular file it should be deleted." see COM:PRP
  • SCOPE = Commons scope, also called scope, see COM:SCOPE
  • Sock = Sockpuppet, get help at Commons:Requests for checkuser & Commons:Sockpuppet investigations
  • speedy = copyvio with proof, can be removed immediately
  • SVG = Scaleable vector graphics, see Help:SVG
  • User Names = fall under certain guidelines, see COM:UPOLICY

Need more? Try Commons:Editor's index to Commons aka COM:EIC

Helpful hints from Hedwig

  1. Please sign your posts on talk pages by adding: --~~~~ at the end. Thanks!
  2. You can't claim own work when you didn't take the photograph yourself. That is called copyright infringement.
  3. If you don't know the author you have to check how old the photo is. It may be public domain because its copyright has expired.
  4. If you know the author, please ask for permission and send the permission to our OTRS Team. Instructions here: OTRS
  5. In order to source properly, state where you got the picture from. Websites or books. Maybe an archive? Given to you by the copyright owner?
  6. Please read about the licenses and essential information here: Com:L and Com:Essential information.

Thanks to Hedwig in Washington for this lovely list.

This is an example of the process

Please see the discussions and outcome at Commons:Deletion requests/File:Johann Spielmann.jpg.

Please read the appropriate message for your situation

New users sometimes make mistakes...

 
Here is the cutest possible kitten for you

Hi there, and welcome to Commons! Yes, really, Welcome! it may not look like I'm very welcoming to you, nominating your pictures for deletion, but I think you may have made some mistakes. You can read more about copyright at the section for Copyright violations & Deletion guidelines. Sorry to be the one to nominate your pictures for deletion, but you need to read the instructions on what is ok to upload here and what isn't ok. I hope you follow the instructions and add some more photos of your own - of interesting things in the world around you!

Copyright Violations

 
Copyright violations will be removed.

Please read "COM:L" Copyright violations. If you did not take the picture yourself, please ask for help at the Village Pump before uploading. Copyright violations will be removed. Don't get upset if you don't understand all the ins and outs and a photo gets nominated. Stay calm, ask questions!

Out of scope

 
only what is within scope is desired

Screenshots

 
computer screen

Not all screenshots can be uploaded to Commons, please read Screenshot

  • For software note: If the screenshot shows any work that is not a direct result of the program code itself, such as a text or graphics that are not part of the program, the license for that work must be indicated separately. For example {{Free screenshot|{{Apache|The Android Open Source Project}}

Personal photos...

 
a personal photo album

Commons is not a personal photo album! Please read COM:SCOPE to find out more about what is and what isn't a file which can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. In general, this includes images more suited for social media: images of some guy/girl/babies/families/pets doing various guy/girl/baby/family/pet things. Please see COM:NOTSOCIAL to read up on holiday and family snaps.

Old Personal photos

 
Old baby pictures are sometimes in scope

COM:NOTSOCIAL Commons is not a social network for old family pictures and the contents of scrapbooks.

COM:PS#Must be realistically useful for an educational purpose. Uploading pictures from family albums requires the name of the photographer and the date of the picture; not all album pictures are within scope, and many may also be COM:COPYVIOs.

Selfies

 
This selfie is in scope

Please see COM:SELFIE. Not all selfies are within scope, although if you're an astronaut in outer space, one or two would be in scope.

Admin apply {{autotranslate|1=|base=No selfies}} for friendly autowarning box.

Biographies, resumes, solicitations of friendship/marriage, motivational posters, personal holiday cards, etc.

 
No resumes, personal biographies or promotion

Please read COM:NOTSOCIAL. Resumes, personal biographies, solicitations of marriage or friendship, notifications of starting new business, uploading the first painting you did at age three, personal holiday cards, children's hand and foot prints, whether text or laid over photographs are out of COM:SCOPE.

Pron

 
Crummy pron knows no era
  • COM:PORN Commons is not an amateur porn site, please refrain from uploading images so personal as to defy polite description,
  • COM:OMGAPENIS aka COM:NOTCENSORED "If the images are of demonstrably inferior quality, or add nothing educationally distinct to the stock of such images we hold already, they may fail the test of being realistically useful for an educational purpose."

Out of project scope

 
Facepalm

This picture fails COM:SCOPE due to COM:PS#Must be realistically useful for an educational purpose.

Blurry and poor quality

 
  • Blurry and/or really poor quality images. Note while there is a [[:Category:Intentionally blurred images]], generally blurred images are out of scope.

Duplicates

 
  • Must be an exact copy to process as {{Duplicate}} to help any external re-users. Otherwise file a Deletion Nomination.

Advertising

 
Advertising

COM:SCOPE & COM:ADVERT: Commons is not a place to advertise.

Educational Use

 
Educational use
  • Please read COM:EDUSE for full discussion of which images are not realistically useful for educational purposes. You may also see:
  1. COM:PS#Must be realistically useful for an educational purpose including:
  • Images that are impossible to tell what they are and/or have little to no description to help the user decide the educational content,
  • Images uploaded as test edits, out of boredom, or to test a new phone,
  • Uncategorized images or those categorized to [[Category:NonexistantPages]] and
  • Unused, poor quality, low resolution and lacking metadata images.

Freedom of Panorama

 
Eiffel Tower at Night
  • Freedom of Panorama "FOP" refers to whether nations permit photography on the public way or not. Click on that link and locate the nation in question.

{{drfop|Country Name}} generates a statement about FOP in country named

When All Else Fails

 
Nuke 'em Danno!

Unclear copyright status. Unless we have definitive, explicit written and/or textual, tangible evidence from a credible, verifiable source naming this file as freely licensed under a Commons compatible license, we simply cannot host it on Commons.
[[Commons:Project scope/Precautionary principle|Unclear]] [[Commons:Copyright rules|copyright status]]. Unless we have definitive, ''explicit'' [[Commons:OTRS|written]] and/or textual, tangible [[Commons:Project scope/Evidence|evidence]] from a credible, verifiable [[Commons:Essential information#Source|source]] naming this file as freely licensed under a Commons [[Commons:Copyright tags|compatible]] license, we simply [[Commons:Project scope/Precautionary principle|cannot host]] it on Commons.

When to speedy

Delete vs. speedy delete..

 
A message for you

Hi! It isn't necessary to start a deletion "discussion" if it is your own uploads that you want deleted. You can use "{{speedydelete|Reason}}" and an administrator will delete the image if the "Reason" is sensible. See COM:CSD for more info. Thank you again for your contributions to the project!

How to ask for undeletion

 
  • When you think your image may have been deleted in error:
  • → See the procedure at Commons:Undeletion requests to request review.
  • → You may need to follow the Commons:OTRS process to provide a license for the file.
  • → If OTRS is pending, use {{subst:OP}} as placeholder.

From here down is for my reference, although you may find it of interest

Commons policies, guidelines & licensing help

Editing help

Editor Handbook for Wikimedia Commons. HTML in Wikitext help page is very useful because it has links to the other help pages at the bottom.

Displaying templates

{{tld|cc-by-nc-sa-3.0}} = {{cc-by-nc-sa-3.0}} to put template in text.

Evidence

See Commons:Project_scope/Evidence, because it is up to the uploader to provide information about the image, not other editors or admins.

Image Guidelines

See COM:I for guidelines for featured pictures and for new quality images.
See Commons:First steps/Quality and description for a handy description of how to make better images.

Categorizing

See Commons:First steps/Sorting for an overview on what categories are, how to use them and how to find the categories into which to put your images, shortcut COM:FS/S

Identifiable people

See COM:IDENT regarding images of identifiable people

Username Policy

See Username policy for guidelines about permitted and non-permitted names.

What Commons is Not

See COM:NOT for enlightenment about nominations for COM:SCOPE.

Mops & Buckets Department

purge Admin backlog


Copyright:

  • Copyright violations: ~62
  • Unfree Flickr files: ~0
  • Recent unfree Flickr images: ~10
  • No permission since 17 April 2024: ~1
  • Media uploaded without a license as of 2024-04: ~77

Other:

  • Duplicates: ~2
  • Advertisements/spam: ~4
  • Personal photos/selfies: ~0
  • Other speedy deletions: ~3
  • Categories for discussion: 84 months
  • Media requiring a split up: ~0
  • Requests for unblock: ~0
  • Undeletion requests: ~22

Protected edit requests:

  • Full protection: ~57
  • Interface admin: ~19
  • Technical: ~1
  • Template protection: ~35
  • Protection level: ~0

See also: DR, HMS,


Licences

Read Licences aka "COM:L" for a complete understanding. Commons:Copyright rules by territory may assist in enlightenment, as may COM:HIRTLE.

License & copyright tags

 
    • PD-self tag
      • {{PD-self}} - images made entirely by the user, not derivative works.
    • PD-government tags
      • {{PD-USGov}} - U.S. Government images
      • {{PD-US-patent-no notice}} - PD U.S. Patent Images (read the specifics)
      • All the rest can be seen at Category:PD-USGov license tags
      • {{PD-CAGov}} - California government images
      • {{PD-UN-doc}} The new UN tag.
    • COM:ART = PD tags for Art.
      • COM:PACUSA prior to 1978... etc. read whole page, also {{PD-US-no notice}}}}
      • Template:PD-Art all the tags in one place, also see Category:PD Art
      • Template:PD-ineligible for 2D old art
      • Template:PD-scan for scans of 2D old art (Bridgeman) |Permission={{PD-scan|PD-US}}
      • Template:PD-old-assumed ... read carefully - use sparingly.|Permission={{PD-old-assumed}}
      • NOTE: Only works first published after 2002 or created after 1977 are life+70 in the US.
        • For photographs of old works taken by yourself, use the appropriate one of the following …
        • {{PD-old-100}} - for works by authors who died more than 100 years ago.
        • {{PD-old-80}} - for works by authors who died more than 80 years ago.
        • {{PD-old-75}} - for works by authors who died more than 75 years ago.
        • {{PD-old-70}} - for works by authors who died more than 70 years ago.
        • {{PD-old-auto-1923|deathyear=xxxx}} - for works in PD with author of known death year.
        • {{PD-US}} - for U.S. works published before 1 January 1923
        • {{PD-1923}} - for non-U.S. works published before 1 January 1923.
        • {{PD-US-1978-89}} - for U.S. works between 1978 and 1989 without notice.[1]
        • {{PD-1996}} - for works that are in the public domain in their source countries on 1 January 1996.
        • {{PD-US-no-notice}} No copyright notice on piece from 1927 to 1977.
        • See COM:ART for discussion of art tags. Use for old art and published works with caution.
        • See Category:PD-Art_(PD-old_default) for all images with the old PD-ART tag... You can help fix these!
      • Template:PD-textlogo for PD logo images that are all text. Page is helpful because it links to other PD-tags.
  • COM:CB - copyright rules by subject matter
    • COM:CUR - currency
    • Commons:Stamps/Public domain - stamps
    • COM:URAA - Complicated US law that restored copyrights in the U.S. on foreign works if that work was still copyrighted in the foreign source country on the URAA date
  • Additional references

Missing license, source or permission

Read Commons:Essential information about license and source.

For simple license missing cases - date fields autofill from these templates.

  • {{subst:nsd}}, which gives {{no source since|month=__|day=__|year=__}}
  • {{subst:nld}}, which gives {{no license|month=__|day=__|year=__}}
  • {{subst:npd}}, which gives {{no permission since|month=__|day=__|year=__}}
  • Put {{subst:image permission|File:filename.jpg}} template on user page.
See here for admin housekeeping lists.

Speedy deletion

  • Request COM:SD, "speedy deletion" with reason... example
{{speedy|1=The image in this deletion request is a serious privacy violation.}}

Freedom of Panorama

It's complicated, read all about it here COM:FOP.
Use Template:Drfop if nominating an image for FOP.

Formatting

  • {{w|Name of Wiki Page Exactly}} alternate format [[:en:Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles, California]]. Use this at top of commons pages to indicate page they go with on the English language Wikipedia.
  • {{NRHP|0000034}} to identify National Register Properties by NRHP number.
  • {{en|1=[[:Category:Locator maps of cities|Locator '''maps of cities''']] — within '''[[:Category:Orange County, California|Orange County]]'''}} and example for for Locator Maps of Cities Headers
  • [[Category:Name| ]] Category sorting - blank puts in separate section
  • [[Category:Name|Name]] Category sorting - blank puts in "N" section
  • {{DEFAULTSORT:What gets sorted}} Category sorting - use for Defaultsort


Drama detector & Buzzword bingo card

 

To do

Pending undeletion requests
Category:Unidentified subjects
Category:Images without source
  • 41,377 (05/31/15) compared to *67,586 images (05/02/14), a reduction of 26,209 in one year! WTG! Reemmber Green Giant nailed over 9K images from a single book on one day.
  • Keeps going up and down 08/09/15 ► Images without source‎ (6 C, 42978 F)
Category:Media needing categories requiring human attention
Category:Files moved from en.wikipedia to Commons requiring review
Category:Media missing permission
Category:Commons maintenance content for admins
Other - but more about process than specifics.
Review Gallery. I put images here to go back to them again.
User:Ellin_Beltz/Greetings -- Greetings without taking up piles of space on their talk pages!
Category:Photographs by Ellin Beltz: Take more photos!!

Templates

 ... are hard to find !

Commons:Message templates & Category:Message_templates & Category:User block templates
Category:Barnstar award templates : Category:Wikimedia barnstars

Saving this one here, because unfortunately it gets used frequently.

{{warning|Please do not upload images taken from the Internet to Commons. Please read [[COM:L]] before making more uploads. ~~~~ }}

{{ich}}

Statistics & abilities

 


Category:Photographs by Ellin Beltz

  • Adminstats
Admin statistics
Action Count
Edits 124831
Edits+Deleted 212765
Pages deleted 106972
Revisions deleted 15
Pages restored 343
Pages protected 28
Pages unprotected 4
Protections modified 1
Users blocked 166
Users reblocked 12
Users unblocked 3
Users created 1

Commons:Database reports/Users by log actionCommons:List of administrators by recent activityCommons:List of administrators by language

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:CommonsAdministrator_topicon for icon list

en

Is a file in use?

Click here and add file name [2].

Oh and by the way

{{unsigned|UserName}} will apply their unsig.

This page shows who can do what.

PERSONAL HAPPY DANCE

Just once, I got the Copyright Violations page empty!! 10/08/19

 

Somedays you're the dog, others you're the car

 

My user page is available to be used without attribution by anyone else for deletion nomination/speedy purposes. 'Cuz really how many ways can you say some of this stuff?? Cheers!

User's favorite gallery Commons:Featured Kittens...

  • retired Judge Frank Visser. "Dit is is mijn uitspraak en daar zult u het mee moeten doen."
Thanks Natuur12