On Fri, 29 Dec 2006, David Gerard wrote:
On 29/12/06, Chris McKenna <cmckenna(a)sucs.org>
wrote:
On Fri, 29 Dec 2006, David Gerard wrote:
> (Mind you, I already get phone calls from
journalists who can't work
> out what the hell is where on the typical image description page. The
> current format *sucks* for reusers, even when they find their image.
> Anyone want to work out an Image: page that looks more like something
> you'd see in a commercial photo archive, or on Flickr?)
What about the current layout do journalists not
understand/not like?
Finding the author/uploader or even being able to work out which bit
of the interface is the username. Working out that clicking on that
will take them to the uploader's user page. If the uploader has a
userpage on Commons at all. Etc.
Well the {{information}} template that is the encouraged standard has a
prominent field for Author. In that all of my images that I upload are
shown as:
Author - Chris McKenna (Thryduulf)
With my username linking to my Commons user page. Looking at the newly
uplaoded files this appears to be better than average. Taking two as
examples:
Image:OldPegasusBridge.jpg - This is a file that has been copied from
en.wp and altough it uses the {{information}} template it has little
information in it. I was the one who added the link to the user page on en
of the author as I happened to recognise it (I also noticed it belonged in
another category).
The other is Image:Calzolari, Icilio - Piazza della Scala.gif
This is a PD-old file of a square in Milan, taken ca.1880-1890. It doesn't
use the {{information}} template, but does have most of the information.
The author is Icilio Calzolari, which you find out through following the
link which redirects to a category with a description in Italian. It
appears that this person does not have an article on en.wp or it.wp
I am not certain that a redesign of the page is needed, but perhaps
mandatory use of the {{information}} template - possibly with an
auto-generated link to the userpage of teh uploader if this is possible.
Is it technically possible to include a blank {{information}} template on
the image description page for new uploads? Or maybe redesign the upload
page to have several input fields corresponding to the template rather
than one single free-form box as now? Would this require a hack to
MediaWiki?
--
Chris 'Awkward' McKenna
cmckenna(a)sucs.org
www.sucs.org/~cmckenna
The essential things in life are seen not with the eyes,
but with the heart
Antoine de Saint Exupery
