Hi, Dror asked me to forward this message on.
-------- Original Message --------
Hi,
I sent this message to commons-l, but it is being halted because I didn't subscribe. Could you please forward it, or release the original message?
Thanks,
Dror
Pikiwiki - Israel free image collection project
Starting engines
Hello,
The Israel free image collection project is about to take off (http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Picwik). We are currently testing the system, a process which could take a while, because we've already found some bugs and unfriendly features, to be repaired as soon as possible. However, we started to upload images as part of the testing phase, so I think it is time to inform the Commons' community about the project.
This is a joint project of Wikimedia Israel (wm-il, http://www.wikimedia.org.il) The Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) and the Center for Educational Technology (CET). The basic idea (as described in details on the Meta) is to call upon the Israeli public to look in their family albums and private collections for pictures of Israeli-related pictures of special historical, anthropological, archeological, geographical, zoological and/or botanical value. These pictures should be in good quality and depict historical events, landscapes, archeological findings, cultural events, animals and plants as long as they are related to the State of Israel or to the geographical region commonly known as Palestine or Eretz Yisrael (we are going to be flexible about these definitions). For this end, we created a localized site in Hebrew (*http://www.pikiwiki.org.il* http://www.pikiwiki.org.il/). Anyone who is willing to contribute his images can open an account there and declare that the pictures are his own and that he is willing to release them either to the public domain or under cc-by-2.5 license (i.e. with attribution). We also initiate calls to local archives and collectors. Some of them have already sent us interesting images, which we will upload to the Commons soon. Images donated through this localized site will be accessible through the site itself or the Commons. We would like the localized site to serve not only as an upload site but also as an attraction to pupils, students, teacher and the general public, where they can look for images using Hebrew interface. This means that the interfaces between the localized site and the Commons is quite complicated and delicate.
The localized site saves the images temporarily and eventually sends them to the Commons. We have two main problems to overcome: 1. Users will name the images and describe them in Hebrew. We will add the prefix "Pikiwiki" to the name, and probably an ID which will enable us to locate the image in our own catalog. So a typical name might look something like "pikiwiki_123456_ציפורים_נודדות_מעל_מכתש_רמון.jpg". If friendlier names are required, we will have to think of a better idea. 2. As mentioned above, we would like to present the images on the localized site too, according to localized categories. Therefore, we would like to attach an ID to each image, so we could trace it easily on the Commons. Currently, adding this ID to the image name seems the easiest option.
Here are some technical details about the way the upload process is handled as provided by our programmer:
A synchronization component handles all data synchronization with WikiMedia Commons. It simulates user behavior and data posting via CURL. The component rechecks the data of the images needed to handle, to prevent un-needed execution This operation has several steps: 1. Login into WikiMedia Commons 2. Uploading new images - the data is processed and posted with appropriate tags and licensing. 3. Updating images changed since last synchronization. 4. Removal of requests for removed images, which were uploaded to WikiMedia. A removed image is flagged in a watch list to allow future tracking and verification of successful removal. Access to the component is secured via hard-coded token, to prevent unwanted execution. A Visual debugging function exists in the code, to allow fast problems tracing Each synchronization step is rechecked based on existing data, pulled from the output of WikiMedia, to attempt to verify successful operations and marking of un-successful operations 1. Uploading - WikiMedia Commons does not have an API or other completely supported interface, to allow any operations in their system, without manual intervention. (The perl script originally provided by one of their users also attempts to utilize existing forms on the site). This component simulates user behavior and heavily depends on existing WikiMedia state - once WikiMedia decide to change or block some of the current screens in their system, the code might need to be updated or modified accordingly. 2. Updating or editing existing user images on WikiMedia is not support or publicized on their site. The component uses user simulation and fetches WikiMedia security token to allow this behaviour. (The token is originally there to prevent such operations.) Once WikiMedia create other or additional security precautions, this operation will require code modification and might become impossible. 3. Removal of images - as WikiMedia Commons is a system designed for common information sharing, it does not support direct image removal, let alone image removal via external system. This synchronization component simulates fake JS requests and image information updates to notify WikiMedia Commons system regarding the fast image removal demand. Currently this allows quick (although not on the spot) removal. If WikiMedia change their system or implement further security precautions, this operation will require code modification and might become impossible. * The component uses hard-coded credentials for WikiMedia Commons, required to use their system and all the operations in their system are done in the name of the provided user * All the images are uploaded one by one to prevent the user from potentially getting blocked by WikiMedia Commons
Thank you very much,
Dror Kamir,
Wikimedia Israel