I just tried to watch some presentation videos from Wikimania.
Some had very weak sound, some had no sound in the first minutes,
some only played the first minute and then stopped. I don't think
the Wikimania videos are unique in having such problems. Video is
new to Commons, and the expert contributors are more familiar with
still images.
How can we learn to make better videos? Are there some good
instructions? Perhaps a free instruction video (Wikibooks, but a
video instead of a book) on how to produce good videos is what we
need. In fact, the English Wikibooks has a title on "Video
Production", http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Video_Production but it
doesn't have a clear focus (pun not intended). It starts out with
discussing satellite TV and has long sections on file formats in
different operating systems.
There is a help page on Commons for converting video to the Ogg
Theora format, but that is only the last step in a long chain.
Given that video is new, how can we find and rate videos, nominate
"good/featured videos", and give advice on how to improve quality?
Is the Commons village pump enough for this? Commons has a
separate graphics village pump. Do we also need a separate video
village pump?
Current digital video cameras use hard disks or memory cards,
instead of tape cassettes. Many new models cost less than 300
euro (or dollars), some as little as 120 euro (memory card perhaps
not included). Some have a special "Youtube mode", and I guess
that kind of usage is what drives the price down. What models are
good, and what should one watch out for?
We can find free still photos on Flickr and copy them to Commons.
Is there somewhere we can find free videos and copy them? Yes, at
the Internet Archive. Somewhere else?
--
Lars Aronsson (lars(a)aronsson.se)
Aronsson Datateknik - http://aronsson.se
Dear Wikimedians,
This is a kind reminder that today is the final day to upload your contributions for Wiki Loves Folklore 2025!
If you’ve captured photos celebrating folk culture, traditions, rituals, festivals, cuisine, attire, or performing arts—now is the time to share them with the world by uploading them to Wikimedia Commons.
🔗 Upload your entries here: https://w.wiki/CtDW
Your contributions help preserve and document our rich and diverse cultural heritage, and they may even get featured across Wikimedia projects globally. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the folklore celebration!
Let’s make this final day count—submit before midnight!
With warm regards,
Wiki Loves Folklore International Team
📧 support(a)wikilovesfolklore.org
🌍 https://wikilovesfolklore.org/
Hi all,
We are thrilled to announce that the explore functionality is back now! Apart from this, we are launching a few new features too!
What's new? 🚀
- A new refresh button lets you quickly reload the Nearby map
- Bookmarks now support categories
- Improved feedback and consistency in the user interface
- Bug fixes and performance improvements
Please feel free to test the latest changes and report any issues you face with v5.2.0 at https://github.com/commons-app/apps-android-commons/issues.
Thank you
Best,
Ritika
Dear Wikimedia Commons Community,
As Wikimedia Commons continues to play a vital role in preserving free knowledge through shared media, we invite you to take part in Wikimania 2025—a momentous celebration of two decades of collaboration and impact! This year’s conference will be held in Nairobi, Kenya from August 6-9, with a pre-conference on August 5.
The theme for Wikimania 2025 is "Wikimania at 20: Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability.", and the Call for Program Proposals is now open until 31 March 2025. This is your opportunity to showcase ideas that highlight your contributions or advocacies to Wikimedia Commons and align with the conference theme. Proposals can be submitted in various formats, whether you plan to present onsite in Nairobi, remotely from home or work, or through a pre-recorded session.
To help spark ideas, here are a few topics that may align with the conference theme:
● Discussing strategies for involving underrepresented communities in Wikimedia Commons or improving accessibility across platforms.
● Highlighting successful projects that demonstrate the transformative potential of freely shared media within Wikimedia projects.
● Proposing innovative approaches to ensure Wikimedia Commons remains a sustainable, enduring repository of free knowledge, such as solutions to improve long-term project relevance, mitigate challenges of obsolescence, or enhance technical infrastructure for future use.
We encourage you to share your unique perspectives and help shape meaningful conversations at the conference.
For inquiries, comments, or assistance with your proposal, please email wikimania(a)wikimedia.org. Our team of dedicated volunteers will be happy to guide you.
Additionally, to support you in developing your proposals, the Programme Subcommittee will host a consultation hour: 📅 Today, Thursday, 20 March 🕐 13:00 UTC (Find your local time at https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1742475600) 🌐 Video Call Link: https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84172058297 💬 Live Interpretation Available in Arabic, French, and Swahili
We look forward to seeing your contributions that highlight the continued impact of Wikimedia Commons at this landmark event. Let’s work together to make Wikimania 2025 a truly memorable celebration of free knowledge and community collaboration.
Warm regards,
Butch Bustria
https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2025:Organisers
Hi,
I'm very excited to announce the release of AutoCats, a script that
generates an automatic display of categories (or category-like links,
really) for files on Wikimedia Commons, based on their structured data. It
hopefully goes some way toward helping to solve one of the key problems of
Commons, which is that categories can only be defined in one language,
which is almost always English. These pseudo-categories show up in the
user's own language!
You can read more about AutoCats, and see how to install it, here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Yaron_Koren/AutoCats
--
WikiWorks · MediaWiki Consulting · http://wikiworks.com
Dear Wikimedians,
Wiki In Africa <https://www.wikiinafrica.org/> is thrilled to announce the
start of Wiki Loves Africa 2025! This year's contest promises to be an
exciting celebration of Africa’s culture, history, and diversity.
This year, the theme is “Farm to Plate”.
The theme Farm to Plate
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Africa_2025/Theme>
calls for the submission of media (photos, audio, video) that portrays
fields, agricultural practices, farm products, farm machines, people
farming, food transformation and processing, cooking, restaurants, dressing
on plates, cooking material and the entire process (or a segment of it)
that in consists of transforming farm produce into food.
From today, 1st March, until 30th April, share your photos, videos, and
audio that showcase Africa's beauty, diversity, and complexity.
To kick-start the contest, we have a series of events lined up for you:
Official Launch: Join us on Wed, 12 March, as we officially launch Wiki
Loves Africa 2025. We'll share more details about the contest, its theme,
and what to expect.
Register using the link below:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Wiki_Loves_Africa_2025_Contest_Launch
Training Sessions: We've organised several training sessions to help you
improve your photography, image editing, and Wikimedia contribution skills.
These sessions will cover topics such as:
-
Uploading Files to Wikimedia Commons [Arabic session] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Uploading_Files_to_Wikimedia_Commons-…
-
Uploading Files to Wikimedia Commons [English session] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Uploading_Files_to_Wikimedia_Commons-…
-
Uploading Files to Wikimedia Commons [French session] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Uploading_Files_to_Wikimedia_Commons-…
-
Photography Basics For Wikimedia Commons -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Photography_Basics_For_Wikimedia_Comm…
See details about the other training sessions, including dates, times, and
registration links.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Africa_2025/News#2025_Events_Cal…
Stay tuned for more updates, and get ready to celebrate Africa's everyday
realities!
Best regards,
Hilary Ogali
Wiki Loves Africa Facilitator