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|revenue= }} The Wikimedia Commons (also called "Wikicommons", "the Commons" or just "Commons") is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. Like Wikipedia, it is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. It provides a common resource repository to all the various Wikimedia sister projects in any language.

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

What is the Commons? edit

Main article: Commons:Welcome

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

For a tutorial on contributing to Wikimedia Commons, see Contributing your own work.

Embedding Commons' media in Wikipedia articles edit

Main article: Commons:Commons:First steps/Reuse section Embedding Commons' media in Wikimedia projects

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

To include an image in a page, use for example a link in the form (standard usage shown):

[[Image:file.jpg|thumb|alt=alt text|caption]]

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

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

To include a sound you can choose between two possibilities if the {{Audio}} template is present in your local wiki (otherwise you can use the first method):

[[Media:file.ogg|descriptive text]]

{{Audio|Filename-without-namespace|descriptive text}}

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

Example of a gallery edit

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

<gallery class="center">
Image:Philipp Veit 008.jpg
Image:Image_Germania_(painting).jpg|You can also include captions.
Image:Niederwald memorial 2.JPG
Image:TitianStJohn.jpg
</gallery>

to produce this:

You can also include captions.

Categorization edit

Please do not categorize Commons files on Wikipedia but rather help commons by categorizing them there.

How to move an image from Wikipedia to Wikimedia Commons edit

See Wikipedia:Moving images to the Commons and Why move images to the commons?

Differences between Wikipedia and Commons edit

Commons does not allow non-free or fair use images. See commons:Commons:Licensing.

On Wikipedia, an image can be nominated for deletion if it does not (attempt to) illustrate an article. Commons is less concerned about an image's "usefulness" as there are so many projects that the images are available to. See commons:Commons:Scope.

On Wikipedia, it is important that an image is placed in an article. On the image description page, the section "File links" shows which pages are using the image. On Commons, this section only shows which pages within Commons an image is used on (to find out which wikimedia projects a commons image is being used in, use the Check-usage tool). Because of this, it is important that images are placed in categories and/or on gallery pages, so as to avoid becoming orphans. The general consensus of the Commons community is that all images should be categorised, and that galleries are a secondary consideration. To find suitable categories easily, try using the CommonSense tool.

Commons is a multilingual project. Try to avoid assuming that everyone speaks the same language(s) as you, and as well. Put Userboxes on your User page to indicate what languages you are able to speak, and your level of proficiency. See commons:Commons:Babel.

Given the smaller size of the community there, there are only few main forums of discourse on Commons. commons:COM:VP acts as the Village pump. commons:COM:HD is the Help desk for technical inquiries. Administrators can be contacted on the commons:Commons:Administrators' noticeboard.

Commons employs a more restrictive interpretation of international copyright law than Wikipedia. Images must be free in both the country of origin and the United States in order to be free enough for Commons.

Article-to-article linking between Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons edit

Wikimedia sister projects lists templates that are designed to provide article-to-article linking between Wikipedia and its Wikimedia sister projects. It also provides links to pages concerning moving articles between projects.