On 7/2/07, White Cat wikipedia.kawaii.neko@gmail.com wrote:
Commons is the "common" place for wikimedia projects for media (images, video files, audio files, pdf files).
The use of the word "commons" is not just to convey the meaning that it's a file storage area for the Wikimedia projects, but the related meaning of an area that's specifically set aside to be shared for the public benefit. The allusion is to the commons in a village, and it's representing the fact that the Commons is not just a file repository but a library of PD or free-licenced media. In this way it's like the dual meaning (in the English language, at least) of "free" in the descriptor of Wikipedia as "the free encyclopedia".
I personally like the current name, but I think that any new name ought to convey both of these meanings, that it's not just a file repository for the Wikimedia projects, but a library of free media for everyone.