[Foundation-l] when uploading pictures to commons ....

Erik Moeller erik at wikimedia.org
Mon Dec 18 20:43:45 UTC 2006


On 12/18/06, Walter van Kalken <walter at vankalken.net> wrote:
> Yes ok you got a point there. But like with graphics, if you are the
> trailblazer that means most people will not be able to gaze at the tail
> you are blazing like now with .svg which as I noticed from remarks in
> the answers on my mail has some clear problems.

The key value of having SVGs is to allow long term _editability_ of
the content. A vector graphics file is simply not equivalent to a
bitmap: unlike a bitmap, it is arbitrarily scalable, easily
modifiable, and translatable. Not so much of interest to the users
(especially as Microsoft appears to have chosen to boycott the
format), this is the equivalent of providing the source code of a
computer program.

Accordingly, it might make sense to implement SVG differently than it
is done today, i.e., as an "attachment" to a bitmap format of the
"source code" (preferred modifiable version). The same could be done
for 3D formats like Collada, MID files that relate to uploaded OGGs,
etc.
-- 
Peace & Love,
Erik

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the Wikimedia Foundation or its Board of Trustees.



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