Help:Images

File is a word with a special meaning on a wiki. In your own computer, a file is really anything that's not an application. Your monthly budget spreadsheet is a "file"; a picture from your Christmas party is a file; a short story you're writing is a file.

On a wiki, however, file is effective a synonym for photo or picture. A file is a generally non-moving image. Our wiki regulates the use of photos. You can read more about those limitations below.

This document is much more about the technical aspect of working with files. It's more about how to use files than the rules governing them.

Placing the file
After you upload a file, you'lll then want to put it on a page. If your picture is destined for the infobox — that is, the little, graphical summary on the upper right of many articles — then you'll look for a line that looks like this: After the "-", just type your file name, such as: The "250pz" bit defines the width, in pixels, of the picture.
 * image  =
 * image   =[[file:filename.jpg|250px]]

Why was my file deleted?
No two cases are the same. However, if your file was deleted the most likely cause was a lack of licensing information. It's really important that we try to give users downstream of us the copyright details of the pictures we use. This is because, with a few extraordinary examples, we don't own any of the pictures here. Part of our responsibilities under standard "fair use" conventions is to clearly announce who owns the pictures we display.

If your picture was deleted, please be assured there was no personal malice towards you.

Administration of this policy
Some images which violate these rules are going to have slipped through the cracks.

Be aware, therefore, that it is not a positive defense to say something like, "That picture over there violated the same rule as mine, but you didn't delete it." The fact that another picture survives when yours was deleted means only that this is a big wiki and a few pictures have slipped our notice. It does not mean that we were wrong to have deleted your file.

Rules checklist
Here's a quick checklist of rules for use of images. After the list, a more detailed discussion explains the reasoning behind them..


 * Keep copyrights in mind when uploading images.
 * Always tag your image with one of the image copyright tags. This can be done when uploading an image by using the licensing selector (located below the 'Summary' box).
 * Use the file's page to describe an image and to give its copyright situation. A "file's page" is that which you find when you click on a picture, or when you go directly to an image via the search bar. To add a description, click on the "edit" button at the top of the page.
 * Remember that your image is most often going to be viewed at a size no greater than 250px in width. Therefore, it is a waste of bandwidth to upload a picture which is more than 3 times that width. Likewise, files which are bigger than 100kb can cause people with slow internet connections to have slower page loads. Consequently, you should try to keep your images to no more than about 800px wide and 100kb in size. There may be occasional exceptions to this guideline, as with collages made of multiple pictures. You must balance the need for a clear image against the need for a fast-loading image.
 * Do use common-sense English words to title your picture. Do not use alphanumeric strings that make more sense to a computer than a person. Note that if any image with the same title has already been uploaded, it will be replaced with your new one.
 * Crop images to show just the relevant subject. Again, remember that your image is going to be displayed at no more than 250px. The more tightly it is cropped on the subject, the better it will display.
 * Do not upload another version of a file that is materially the same as the one which previously existed. The rule of thumb for uploading a new version of an existing file is, "Does this file look distinctly better than the original image at 250px?" Whether it looks better at full size is not to a factor in deciding whether to upload a new version of an image. Images used on maintenance templates are exempt from this ruling.
 * Use JPG format for photographic images, like screenshots. Use the SVG format where possible for icons, logos, drawings, maps, flags, and such. PNG format is also acceptable as an alternative to SVGs, and can be especially convenient when you require an image to have a transparent background.
 * GIF and BMP formats are strongly discouraged.
 * Add a good alternative text for images.

Specifics
The following sections provide amplification for the points given in the rules of thumb. You are encouraged to read the full rationale for the various generalizations made above.

Screenshots
The term 'screenshot' is generally used to describe an image from a television show, movie, video game, web broadcast or DVD feature, these images should be captured using the "print screen"/"screen capture" method via a computer. Please do not take photos of TV or computer screens with a camera as what you see and what a camera sees are two very different things and as such when images are uploaded they are relatively unusable due a number of factors such as low-resolution, scan lines, opacity of screen and other issues that are created when taking a photo of a TV or computer screen.

Other copyrighted images
Please note: the following is not the official copyright policy - it is merely a reminder and also gives some additional tips.

When you upload an image that is not a screenshot, a publicly-released cover image, or a promotional image, make sure
 * you own the image
 * that it is in the public domain
 * or


 * that the copyright holder has agreed to license it under a Creative Commons license compatible with the CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Always note the image's copyright status on the image description page, using one of the image licenses, and giving additional information about the origin of the image. If you created the image, don't write image created by me, write image created by John Doe on Jan 1st, 2000 (where you of course replace John Doe with your name, and Jan 1st, 2000 with the date of the image creation).

In other words, images which aren't covers or screenshots from Haruhi Suzumiya stories need to have not just a copyright license, but also a very clear declaration of copyright status added by you, the uploader.

Under United States copyright law, all images that were published before January 1, 1923 in the United States are now in the public domain, but this does not apply to images that were created prior to 1923 and published in 1923 or later. The year 1923 has special significance and this date will not roll forward before 2019. However, the interaction of Wikis, the GFDL, and international law is still under discussion.

If you strongly suspect that an image is a copyright infringement (for example, if there is no information on copyright status on its image description page and you have seen it elsewhere under a copyright notice), then you should list it for deletion by placing on the page, along with your deletion rationale, like so:

To sum up: 'Unless the work is yours, you must be able to provide proof of the original'' source of the material or you can't upload it. It's as simple as that.'''

Fair dealing and Fair use considerations
The fair dealing doctrine used in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, and the fair use doctrine used in the United States (but not in many other jurisdictions) are frequently abused. Try to limit your use of this tag to screen captures, promotional photos from presskits and other publicity items issued by Kadokawa, album covers, book covers, DVD/video covers, movie posters, corporate logos and wallpapers. If you have questions about whether an image is fair use, ask at Fair use.

A critical thing to remember -- our use of such images relies on a portion of the doctrine that says we can use a low-resolution public-but-copyrighted image (like an album cover, book cover, or movie poster) for the purpose of illustrating an article. A high-resolution image, suitable for purposes other than illustration/education (such as, say, printing bootleg CD covers), would not be considered fair use and may be deleted.

Wikipedia images
Wikipedia has a large resource of public domain images which may be used on this site to illustrate things that are out-of-universe. Images from NASA are likewise free-to-use (though not actually public domain), and may also be used to illustrate out-of-universe concepts. Such images are particularly good for on things like templates. Be sure to note on the image description page that you obtained the image from Wikipedia, and provide a link to the original Wikipedia image page.

Do not use such images on in-universe pages, however.

Names
Simple, English-language file names improve our wiki's ranking in search engines, and drive more traffic to our site. It is better to use something clear like Yuki.jpg, rather than the awfully useless 34092 1463348074399 1554413376 1132859 4557396 n.jpg

Please note that while swear words are "common-sense, English words", they should be avoided in titles. Quite apart from any puritanical rationale, certain, sexually-charged profanities will simply mislead people performing Google searches. We don't want to attract people to the site because we've used inappropriate anatomical slang in a picture's title!

Pictures in violation of this guideline may be deleted, or renamed, without warning.

File size
Whatever your picture is, the chances are that it will likely be viewed at no more than 250px width. You must crop your picture closely to the subject in order for it to be clearly visible at that small size. You must also consider the size of the base picture, and balance the need to have it show up clearly when someone clicks on it, against the need to have it load quickly. A good rule of thumb is for your picture width to be no less than 300px, no more than about 800px, and for its size to be no more than 100mb.

You will occasionally find exceptions to these dimensions on this site. However, these exceptions do not obviate this rule. These guidelines should be violated only with exceptionally good cause.

Note that pictures which violate this guideline — especially those well over the mark — may be summarily deleted without warning.

Unused images
Images that are uploaded, but do not have any pages linked to them may be deleted after assessment. However, the fact that a picture is unused cannot be cause, in itself, to compel a picture's deletion. Generally, there should be another reason beyond a picture's "orphaned" status used to justify deletion.

For example, if a picture is unused because it's blurry, the real reason for deletion is its blurriness. If it's unused because it's very similar to another one of better quality, it's deleted because it's a near duplicate. If it's unused because it's too small, it's deleted because of its inadequate size.

There is a utility in keeping on pictures that are unused, but are otherwise without defect, because they might be used in the future, and they're already uploaded and properly licensed.

Unused images can be found on Unused files page.

Duplicate images
Duplicate images are surprisingly common. In general, the dupe with the fewest links should be deleted. If you want to help in the process of deleting duplicates, please put the following on the image that needs to be deleted:

Uploading new versions of files
One of the features that the MediaWiki software allows is the ability to upload a new version of a picture into the same file name. Imagine the file, Yuki.png. That's got a nice, clear name to it, as advised in earlier sections. But let's imagine that the file was blurry, and I wanted to improve it. The best way of doing this is to simply upload a new version to the same file name. That way I don't have to edit the pages on which the picture appears. I just change it once, and it gets changed everywhere it's in current use. In general, such improvement is encouraged, because it reduces the total number of files on the wiki and provides a record of the various different images that have occupied that file name.

However, caution must be used, as overuse of this feature can make the wiki move more slowly. Every time a new version of a picture is uploaded, the software makes a note to change that picture wherever it exists on the wiki. Sometimes, the number of items on that "to do" list can be very long, meaning that the system "lags" in adapting to the new picture.

Thus, you need to make your new versions count. Don't just change a picture because your version is marginally better than the one which already exists. Your new image should be obviously better at 250px than the one which already exists. Also avoid uploading another image which is significantly bigger than the one which already exists. In other words, the file size rules described above apply to new versions of pictures, too.

Unlicensed images
Images that are not licensed (or "tagged") are subject to immediate deletion. Though effort is sometimes made to identify the source of images, and "fix" unlicensed photos, admins reserve the right to delete pictures simply on the basis that they have no copyright tag. Admins further reserve the right to automate the deletion process of unsourced, unlicensed pictures. If you've taken the time to find, crop and upload a picture, please add a copyright tag to it so that it does not get summarily deleted.

It goes without saying, but we shall nevertheless make explicit, that the copyright tag should be the correct one. Deliberately putting a false license on a picture, just so that you can upload it, is worse than putting none at all. Users found to be carelessly applying the wrong license shall be given one warning, then summarily blocked from further editing. Copyright licenses are a Big Damn Deal. It is your responsibility as an editor to try to accurately represent the copyright status of every picture you upload. If you're not even going to try, you're not even going to edit.

Image "appropriateness"
The basis for determining image "appropriateness" is primarily, "Did this image occur within the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise?" If the answer to that question is yes, then it is an appropriate image.

Sexual or especially violent imagery are expressly, and without exception, forbidden. Uploading pornography shall be met with an immediate, infinite block of the offending user.

Help Wiki Text
Source: Help Wiki

Files like images and sound clips are an integral part of wikis. They allow readers to get a sense of the information in pages with visual guides. To do this, you must first upload files to the wiki where you want to use them. You also must be logged in to do this.

Step by step
There are a few different methods you can use to upload files. Some are a bit more complex, but each one leads to the same result: populating your pages with images!

Add images tool
The easiest method is inserting an image directly via the text editor.


 * Click "Edit" on the article you are adding the file to.
 * Click on the image upload button on the toolbar. It appears as a picture with a brown frame (see image below).
 * When the pop-up box appears, you can upload an image from your computer. Additionally, you can find images already on the wiki to add to the article, as well as images on Flickr.
 * On the next screen, add the details of the image, such as a new name (if needed) and the licensing template.
 * Beneath the previous section is a section that allows you to customize the image's size, choose a layout, and provide a caption.
 * Click “Insert file” for the image to appear on the edit page. Images can still be modified in edit mode by hovering over the image and clicking "Modify," and a pop-up window will appear.
 * Save your edit and you now have a picture on the page!

Image placeholder
An additional method is the image placeholder. Unless you have chosen not to see these in your preferences, many articles are created with image placeholders.


 * Placeholders can also be added to articles by typing [[File:Placeholder]] in place of an image, if said placeholder hasn't already been automatically added.
 * If this is used, click "Add a photo" and follow the steps beginning at the third bullet point from the previous "Add images tool" section.

Special:Upload
One final, though more complicated, method is Special:Upload. You can find this by typing it into the search bar or adding it to your My Tools menu on the floating toolbar.


 * Click "Browse" next to the "Source filename" box to find the image on your computer.
 * You can rename the image in "Destination filename" if you would like.
 * In the "Summary" section, you can add a description and a source to the image.
 * Select the license in the "Licensing" section.
 * Click "Upload file" to upload an image to your wiki, and then place it into your article!

Some wikis have customized the Special:Upload page, so be sure to take note of any local instructions.

What file types are allowed on Wikia?
File types that can be uploaded are .png, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .ico, .pdf, .svg, .odt, .ods, .odp, .odg, .odc, .odf, .odi, .odm, .psd, .ogg, .ogv, and .oga. Some wikis may be allowed additional file types on request.

What size files can I upload?
The maximum size of uploads on Wikia is 10 MB, but it's always a good idea to keep your file sizes as small as possible. Remember, if you upload a 10 MB file, then readers have to download it when they view full image!

There is no limit to the number of files you can upload, but images and other files should be uploaded for use on the wiki. Wikis shouldn't be used just as file stores!

Re-size an image
When uploading an image, it is best to upload it at the largest legal size you can upload to the wiki. This is because MediaWiki can re-size the image that people see to any size you want without making them need to load the large image. More instruction on this can be found here.