[Commons-l] Re: [WikiEN-l] Re: Deletion of my images

(CC to commons-l) Ant- In MediaWiki 1.5, a backlink to the Commons is automatically inserted. In 1.4, this was not the case, and it had to be manually put into the MediaWiki: message - some wikis therefore still lack the backlink. This will be fixed once 1.5 goes live, but can also be fixed by any sysop on the project in question. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Sharedupload is a good example to use for this. You are correct that image license information should be displayed directly on the image description page. This is likely to happen soon. Unfortunately, that is correct. Alongside automatic transclusion of image information pages, an EXTLINKS table on the Wikicommons might be used to store usage information. A quick hack using absolute URLs might be sufficient for now. It is generally a good idea to make a name unique, for example, by adding your username at the end. No matter how large a wiki is, a filename like [[Image:Flower.jpg]] is simply not unique enough. Still, there are ways to improve the handling of the situation, for example, by providing an "Alternative filename" input box when a filename already exists. That is not a fair comment. The Main Page alone has been translated into over 30 languages. For gallery page titles, a carefully thought out policy is used (e.g., use native names for specialty foods, use latin binomial for animals and plants). The interface language of the wiki can be selected in the user preferences. Templates have been created to show what languages a user speaks and are actively used. Filenames are accepted in all languages. The main problem is with categories, which are, unfortunately, not easily internationalizable due to redirects from one cat to another not working -- a technological problem. I do not see how limiting Wikinews to the Commons excludes non-English speakers, see above, though certainly it is a little more difficult. As you know, this is strictly for legal reasons until the fair use situation has been sorted out: http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2005-February/002217.html This procedure has been directly approved by Jimmy. Personally, I find it more motivating to upload images now, because thanks to the Wikimedia Commons, I know that anyone on any project can easily use them. I agree with you that certain functionality would be useful and fun. I've only ever pledged to implement the baseline functionality for the Commons, which I have done. I'll try to find time to add some of the above discussed features, but frankly, coding and testing a new feature is not a lot of fun, and as I've said before, until the WMF goes into the habit of handing out development contracts, projects like Wikinews and Wikicommons will stagnate technologically. All of the above, plus more, could be fixed with a few strategic investments in developer resources. Single login alone would greatly increase cross-project usability, as language preferences could be persistent, and you could easily upload files directly from a local wiki to the Commons. As an elected Board member, you have the power to speed up the pace of innovation. I have offered many times to help with that. A handful of active developers will *NOT* be able to keep up with the needs of thousands of users. All best, Erik