Commons:Village pump/Archive/2026/02

Request

Hello. For those who have contacts or are living in the Switzerland area, can anyone contact Sebastian W. Bauer, the photographer/uploader contributing at the now-defunct Panoramio media hosting site? This is to try convince him to change the restrictive license of w:en:File:San Fernando Toll Plaza (circa 1999-2001).jpg to {{Cc-by-sa-4.0}}. In this way, this image can be hosted here and be used in all Wikipedias. The shutdown of Panoramio should hopefully convince him that it is better to share images with a wider audience. Regards, JWilz12345 (Talk|Contributions) 01:25, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

That sounds like a job for Commons:Permission requests (though it isn't very active). HyperAnd [talk] 04:45, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

@HyperAnd noted. I'll transfer my request there. Thanks.

This section was archived on a request by: 10:01, 5 February 2026 (UTC) JWilz12345 (Talk|Contributions) 10:01, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

Question about the "No permission since" tag on File:Concept_route.png

Hello, I noticed that the tag "No permission since" has been added to the file File:Concept route.png, which I uploaded. I understand that my original description may have been too brief. However, this image is a derivative work that I created by drawing lines along roads on top of a map licensed under CC BY 4.0. I believe that this does not require any additional permission. I also saw a comment on my talk page mentioning: "Alternatively, you may click on 'Challenge speedy deletion'," but I could not find any such link or option. Could you please advise me on the appropriate way to address this situation? Is it safe to leave the file as it is, or should I take specific steps? I would greatly appreciate your guidance. Thank you very much for your help. Galactic Center Radio Arc (talk) 15:21, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

I have made that challenge for you; please make your case at Commons:Deletion requests/File:Concept route.png. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:32, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

@Galactic Center Radio Arc: That looks ok. (There is a template for the PDL1.0). The user who added the "no permission" tag probably considered that the source of the map was not detailed enough initially. You have now provided more information. The "Challenge" button is prominent in a standard configuration but it might not be present depending on the device and configuration you are using. In the present case, considering the additional information you provided, I suppose that the "no permission" tag can simply be removed. I will remove it. Notifying Shizhao to check if that's ok for them. -- Asclepias (talk) 15:41, 7 February 2026 (UTC) Someone has opened a deletion discussion. -- Asclepias (talk) 15:43, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

Thank you very much for all your kind assistance. It seems that a place has been created to leave comments, so I would like to explain my thoughts there. I appreciate everyone's kindness.Galactic Center Radio Arc (talk) 15:55, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 19:26, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

Metadata gibberish

Stumbled onto this image File:"Slavery Memorial" Brown.jpeg and noticed the "User comments" in the file metadata. Just a bunch of strings of characters, no seeming logic - wondering if it was originally something legible and just rendered incorrectly, or if it's something else. Any ideas on what it means? /is there a need to fix it, or should I just leave it alone? 19h00s (talk) 20:36, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

They might have been written in a different script than Latin maybe. Sometimes I see stuff similar to this when trying to convert a scanned text page (=image) and saved in PDF format into an editable MS Word document with Word failing to decipher the script/text from the PDF file. I don't know whether something like this could also happen for meta data. Nakonana (talk) 22:01, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

The EXIF data for that file is corrupted. There's actually part of a video embedded in it, but not enough to be playable. Omphalographer (talk) 22:20, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

I tend to see this with Samsung models. Makes me wonder if it is related to the live/motion photo function. --HyperGaruda (talk) 06:42, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

Open questions about the 2026-2027 WMF Annual Plan

Hello, as per every year, the discussion on the Wikimedia Foundation's Annual Plan on Meta has begun.

This year, the questions focus on various topics that will be central to the Foundation's Product & Technology department's plans for the next fiscal year (July 2026-June 2027). They include global trends, experiments, new users and administrators, users who can control IP addresses, and even our readers.

Feel free to join the discussion on Meta. You can also participate in your own language, if English is a barrier for you. --Sannita (WMF) (talk) 14:40, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

G. M. Howell, of Atlanta

Only one last person to get a birth and death date for at File:Officers and members of the Executive Committee of the National Negro Business League.jpg RAN (talk) 00:46, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

What are you asking for? If it's random details in a one random unused file that nobody will read (the birth and death date of this particular old photo), how would we know and why should one waste time on that? Add the info if you know it or don't but I'm not sure how that info would be useful there at all. Prototyperspective (talk) 12:13, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

• You brought this up before. You seem to have unlimited time to write out complaints about people wasting your time. It is a paradox, some people use their time for research, others for promoting their grievances. As was said at the last time you complained, just skip it, if it is not your interest. No one here forces you to do anything. Individual choices people make, determine what history gets preserved, and what history gets discarded. In the USA it is Black History Month and everyone doing their part to preserve history, and make it more accessible. The New York Times is doing their part: w:Overlooked (obituary feature) and Overlooked at the New York Times, and so should we. --RAN (talk) 18:23, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

  No one cares about the birthdates of the people in this photo. I'm starting to understand why you got banned on Wikidata which seemed really weird to me when you made a post about it here. And it would have been your turn to explain why the photo is of particular importance or the birthdates of all the people in it when making a thread. I don't have a grievance, I have a concern. Birthdates is data put into Wikidata or Wikipedia, not into some place outside the Info template on file pages on Commons after using scarce volunteer time to "research" this unimportant info that nobody needs or looks for even when somehow landing on that page. Prototyperspective (talk) 18:30, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

• You do not care, and you don't speak for everyone. Birth and death years to names in images is the standard for archives. Having an image of a John Smith is not the same as having an image of John Smith (1850-1932). --RAN (talk) 20:39, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

  The 1 file you're talking about has 0 uses and 8 pageviews. So what I stated is backed by data. Likewise, there are nearly no other files with birth and death dates of each of many people in a photo on Commons and there is no reason this data is useful or even belongs there and in either case you could add it yourself or not instead of announcing it here. Prototyperspective (talk) 21:02, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

  •  Comment it might not be relevant for Commons' general purposes, but if we've got a file showing 18 people, some of them very prominent (e.g. Booker T. Washington, Frederick Patterson, Philip A. Payton Jr.) and all but one identified in some meaningful sense, it is likely to be very useful to some historian to work out who is the unaccounted-for person in that photo. It's not so much their birth & death dates as who they were. - Jmabel ! talk 21:55, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

    Well not only was that not the question, the person is already identified, there is no cat at Category:Howell (surname) for that person. May be something to discuss at en:Talk:National Negro Business League if there is a reason (not given here) for why it would be useful to identify the birth date of the person or some other topic-specific place. There doesn't seem to be a Wikipedia article about the person so it's unlikely to be listed in the already-long list in the WP article. This is like asking for intensive investigations for no reason or use just as a game of original research that a historian may (or may not) do. Prototyperspective (talk) 22:41, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

    • If we had nothing beyond a name and team for a professional baseball player of that era, there would be a bunch of people trying to work it all out. Surely this is not less important. - Jmabel ! talk 02:28, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

• The irony is delicious, arguing endlessly about how your time was wasted by a question, yet you have endless time for arguing. --RAN (talk) 23:14, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

He turns out to be a very interesting person. Once I worked out his full name and birth and death dates, I found him described in two different books for his activity with the National Negro Business League, and as a witness to the Atlanta race riot of 1906. There is probably enough info for a Wikipedia biography. Preserving history is about what we "waste time" on, and what we choose to discard. --RAN (talk) 14:55, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

solved by the user asking Prototyperspective (talk) 15:06, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 15:06, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

Videos from Flickr

Do we have a tool for transferring videos (like [1]) from Flickr? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 16:51, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

Doesn't it work with video2commons? Prototyperspective (talk) 17:20, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

It does; thank you. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 18:58, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 19:26, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

About to remove crops from Category:License review needed

I have VFC loaded with Special:Search/incategory:"License review needed" intitle:cropped hastemplate:"Extracted from" and the following replacements:

/\n{{(license[ ]?review|youtube[ ]?review|lr)}}\n/gi (replace with one newline)

/{{(license[ ]?review|youtube[ ]?review|lr)}}/gi

/\n\n\n/g (replace with two newlines)

/ \n/g (replace with one newline)

With edit summary like "removing LR template, just review the uncropped image".

Expect edits like File:TheBurntChip in 2023 (cropped).jpg (Diff ~1158821347). Any concerns before I push the button? Should I mark the edits as minor? - Alexis Jazz ^{ping plz} 16:07, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

I think you would do better to replace this with a template or note saying to verify the license against the file from which it has been cropped, then a human editor can do that once they have actually checked. - Jmabel ! talk 23:57, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

Jmabel, we don't have such a template. License review is for files from external sources. We don't do license reviews for crops of files that originate here, why would we change that for imported files? Should crops also be vetted by VRT if the original has a VRT ticket attached? What about crops of files from Flickr that were reviewed by a bot?
License review has 82K backlogged files. At the current rate, copyright may well expire before the license gets reviewed. - Alexis Jazz ^{ping plz} 05:25, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

@Alexis Jazz: why would we change that for imported files? I guess it's a matter of what we consider to be the purpose the license review tag. If we view it entirely in terms of managing our own processes then, no, it does not need to be carried in any way into the derivative work. If we view it as a caution to possible reusers of the file then, yes, it does. - Jmabel ! talk 06:13, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

Jmabel, to the best of my knowledge it's part anti-linkrot (can't verify the license if the source vanishes), part anti-license-laundering, part verifying if the license at the source is valid (sometimes there's a license but it only applies to text, or they forgot the CC version number, etc) and part derivative work detection (e.g. freely licensed video with protected music that may require muting). This is all to ensure files comply with COM:L. If it was about protection of re-users we'd look the other way when there's no CC version number or even if the license is non-commercial, and we'd start requiring (something akin to) license reviews for cross-wiki uploads. Which would almost be a good idea if it didn't require a paid workforce of at least a dozen people to deal with the volume. - Alexis Jazz ^{ping plz} 14:23, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

Pinging some active license reviewers: Pinging @Leoboudv, Robertsky, Rockfang, Stemoc, Vysotsky- Alexis Jazz ^{ping plz} 14:39, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

Photo challenge November results

We finally have results of November photo challenge:

Parking: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Nearly empty parking lot of Atomium, Belgium	Detail eines Parkhauses in Bordeaux	Zone di parcheggio a Narni con ascensori che portano al centro storico
Author	Lusi Lindwurm	Van de Schaufel	Albarubescens
Score	16	15	12

Glaciers: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Morteratsch Glacier Ice Cave - 07	Seals on floating ice on lake Jökulsarlon in Vatnajökull National Park,Iceland,Europe	Glacier du Nigardsbreen en Norvège
Author	Roy Egloff	Karel Stipek Austria	Daragon Photos
Score	37	17	10

Congratulations user:Lusi Lindwurm, user:Van de Schaufel, user:Albarubescens, user:Roy Egloff, user:Karel Stipek Austria and user:Daragon Photos. Jarekt (talk) 22:21, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

The best overall strategy to limit the backlog of files with incomplete information/categories

This is a follow up discussion of the thread 'Unidentified French port in 1948'.

Quote from the discussion: The Commons gets to many new files (a lot of mass uploads) with very limited/missing data. Whatever the community does later to categorize and add the missing data, its to much to keep up. One cannot limit the number of incoming files. The best solution is that the uploaders are encouraged to do the maximum on research so that the files are as complete as posible. It is much more effort to do the work later with people who are not familiar with the subject (and only interested in getting the numbers down / a job)Smiley.toerist (talk) 13:58, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

Give people a barn star or some other kind of accolade on their talk page if they did a good job. ReneeWrites (talk) 15:59, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

See also Wish457: UI and badges for categorization requests. If you're referring to uploaders, lots of the files are from large numbers of different uploaders each not uploading a very large number. (Moreover, it would make little sense to send sth like that when they properly categorized one or a few files as an exception to most of the other files they uploaded.) Prototyperspective (talk) 17:17, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

To start the discussion it is best analyse how the problem files backlogs are reduced: (the role of uploaders has been discussed sufficiently in the past threads)

• Deliberate actions such as the thread 'Do you want to help, to categorise 34,000 media needing categories as of 2020, please?' and Would it be useful to start with the 6,991 images that are currently used in Wikipedia? by Vysotsky

• The random organic reduction, wich takes place anyway: When a Commons contributor comes across a problem file during his usual work (for example categorising, sorting categories, adding SD, etc), he/she does the research and the problem file is no more. The frequency of this happening depends on the number of eyes seeing the file. The problem with using 'unknown, undefined' categories is that it puts the problem files under the carpet, not to be seen again except for the workers of deliberate actions. The more categories the files have (not the unknown/undefined) the more visible the files are.Smiley.toerist (talk) 13:58, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

I think before further measures, some things should first be done at the source, i.e. where and when users upload files; see Commons talk:WMF support for Commons/Upload Wizard Improvements#Guidance/facilitation of categorization. Prototyperspective (talk) 14:16, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

I strongly recommend hidden maintenance categories, which don't get used nearly enough. Also, unhidden categories like Category:Unidentified locations in New York (state). I also super-strongly recommend that in any area you have some expertise, make a pass through a category like that and see what you can categorize. - Jmabel ! talk 19:52, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

I dont see that categorising things as unknown or unidentified is helpful. There are thousands, for example, in Category:Unidentified politicians. Actually almost all of them have names, so they arent unidentified. Rathfelder (talk) 21:53, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

People can browse or filter via unidentified categories and add the fitting categories to them. The case of files with the person name in the title may be a slightly special case as we don't really want categories for all of these.

For other cases like cities we want and have categories and that cat is so that users can add these categories.

It's also for files being included in branches that are subcategorized by some criteria, e.g. branch Category:Videos from NASA by year should contain all NASA videos, not just those where people set that cat at upload or where it got batch-added based on file description later. Prototyperspective (talk) 22:42, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

In practice an unidentified category is almost never needed if there a headcategory (with files) and subcategories. Take a tram example: Category:Trams in Bremen. Most incoming files with tram images in Bremen, rapidly gets processed into tram types in Bremen or by line or some special categories. There are enough specialist who regularly check the tram categories. It is nice if the uploader uses the subcategories, but if he does not have the knowledge, other people will do it. What is important is that the files get a least a general tram category. For other subjects this can be more dificult. So what information is really needed to start the categorisation proces? Location, main subject (the reason why the file is in scope) and some date/time (this depends on the context). Sometimes the location is essential for the file to be in scope. A lot of rockfaces, meadows etc look the same and can be taken anywhere.Smiley.toerist (talk) 13:17, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

Sometimes old pictures have very limited or no documentation. Who can remenber a family trip from long ago (or the photografer is dead). By old family albums a lot of information not written down, because one assumes everyone knows the story and the people and places involved. When people die the knowledge gets lost. Sometimes one can reconstruct the trip with limited clues known to the uploader (for example an agenda). It certainly helps if some church or other clue is identified. Quite often slides are cronologicaly numbered (and most times dated). So collectively researching a specific file for the uploader can unlock a lot of usefull pictures for the Commons. THe questions should be posted on platforms where a lot of people have local knowledge. For places in France the Commons:Bistro etc. By the way: Solving puzzels and research is a lot more fun and rewarding, than doing necessay chores such as reducing backlogs. We are doing volontary work, so motivation is important.Smiley.toerist (talk) 13:17, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

By the way: Solving puzzels and research is a lot more fun and rewarding, than doing necessay chores such as reducing backlogs that may be your opinion but you state it as if it applied to everyone. I think solving puzzles about individual files that aren't used and nobody even looks it as not fun and certainly not rewarding. Reducing backlogs is rewarding if you make a dent in stats and help move things toward completion and categorizing lots of files is a lot of fun (I just don't have as much time for it as I'd like to). Prototyperspective (talk) 13:33, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

Wiki Loves Folklore 2026 has started, Join us!

Hello Village pump/Archive/2026/02,

The world’s traditions are disappearing faster than we can document them, but you can help change that.

On behalf of the Wiki Loves Folklore International Team, we are reaching out to invite you to contribute to the 2026 edition of our global campaign.

Share Your Cultural Heritage with the World

Wiki Loves Folklore is an international media contest dedicated to documenting the "intangible" beauty of our cultures. Whether it’s the vibrant colours of a folk festival, the rhythm of a traditional dance, the secrets of a family recipe, or the legends of your hometown, your media helps preserve these legacies for generations to come.

How You Can Contribute Participating is simple, and every upload contributes to the world's largest free knowledge repository:

• Capture: Take photos, record videos, or capture audio of folk activities, music, mythology, or traditional wear.
• Upload: Share your files on Wikimedia Commons between 1 February 2026 and 31 March 2026.
• Win: Beyond the satisfaction of preservation, there are international prizes for the most impactful contributions.

Ready to get started? Click here to upload your media now or visit the Main Project Page for full rules and category details.

Your perspective is a vital piece of the global cultural puzzle. We can't wait to see the folklore you bring to life.

Warm regards,

#WeTogether

Wiki Loves Folklore International Team

--MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 14:53, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

Call for translations: Lingua Libre

Hello everyone, Lingua Libre is a WMF/WMFR tool to record the diversity of human languages, regional and personal variations. Records of words or expressions are mostly used within Wiktionaries, Wikipedias, and Wikidata. Our contributors provided 1.5 millions files to Wikimedia Commons, or about 1% of its total.

• « ঘরে বাইরে », Bengali.
• « Smogot », Minangkabau.
• « allillanchu kachkan? », Quechua.
• « Adishatz », Occitan.

May I ask for your help to expand languages support on Lingua Libre next release ? We currently have full support for ~12 major languages, but we would like to serve smaller languages and cultures as well. Most wanted are:

• Portuguese
• Italian
• Ukrainian
• Hindi
• Urdu
• Tamil
• Marathi
• Persian
• Vietnamese
• Thai
• Japanese
• Malay
• Kurdish
• German
• Polish
• Tagalog (Filipino)
• Telugu
• Hausa
• Any other language is also welcome.

These translations will allow those communities and their own minorities, from all regions of the world, to use Lingua Libre (en) in a language close to them. They then have one more tool at their disposal to document their languages, regional and personal variations on Wikimedia & wiktionaries. Even translating just 10 items in your language is a positive help adding onto the previous translations. Yug (talk) 16:37, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

CfD went stale

I see that after much discussion, Commons:Categories for discussion/2017/10/Category:White Americans went stale in 2019 and has had no further significant discussion. I think it deserves to be either revived or resolved. - Jmabel ! talk 17:03, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

I think it would be better to have a broader discussion on stale CfDs and one could ask about many of them in bundled form.

There's lots of open ones in Commons:Categories for discussion/2016. Please help resolve them (@everyone interested) Prototyperspective (talk) 18:28, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

NASA images processed by third parties

Moved to Commons:Village pump/Copyright § NASA images processed by third parties

— Preceding unsigned comment added by SevenSpheres (talk • contribs) 18:12, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

seems like archival does not work if a thread-moved template is kept here instead of the thread being fully moved Prototyperspective (talk) 18:28, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 18:28, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Digitized Sky Survey

Moved to Commons:Village pump/Copyright § Digitized Sky Survey

— Preceding unsigned comment added by SevenSpheres (talk • contribs) 18:12, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

seems like archival does not work if a thread-moved template is kept here instead of the thread being fully moved Prototyperspective (talk) 18:28, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 18:28, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Copyright status of old photos in modern books?

Moved to Commons:Village pump/Copyright § Copyright status of old photos in modern books?

seems like archival does not work if a thread-moved template is kept here instead of the thread being fully moved Prototyperspective (talk) 18:29, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 18:29, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Cemetery sculpture

Some time ago, an image I uploaded depicting a cemetery sculpture was flagged for deletion, because of alleged violation of the FOP rules in the country where the photograph was taken. (Actually, the reasoning presented was that the FOP rules in the sculptor's country - France - were being violated, even though the sculpture was [is] standing in a cemetery in Chile.) The image in question is File:Santiago cementerio justiniano mausoleo DSC 3287.jpg. Since the 70-year date from the sculptors death was so close, I decided to ignore the deletion. Recently, I noticed that the file was automagically restored in 2026 from its earlier deletion, presumably because the 70-year limit (explained here) had been reached. I also noticed that the recently undeleted image was an exact duplicate (except for the file name) of another file I had recently uploaded. I nominated it for speedydelete because it duplicated another image on the same cemetery's page. Now I get a notice that the more recent deletion for duplication was reverted, apparently by a Bot (SchlurcherBot), leaving both versions of the image active. This is most frustrating, especially since I am the uploader of both images just trying to make Wikimedia Commons a little more efficient. Unfortunately, I don't know how to address this directly with SchlurcherBot, or the Wikipedia User who operates the Bot. I would appreciate any help. Seauton (talk) 23:11, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

Pinging @Schlurcher as bot operator.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 23:24, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

Convenience links: File:Santiago cementerio justiniano mausoleo DSC 3287.jpg, File:Santiago cementerio justiniano 14 DSC 3287.jpg - Jmabel ! talk 00:15, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

@Seauton: you didn't use the right tag. Use {{Duplicate}} on the one you want deleted, and provide the name of the duplicated file as indicated in the template documentation

Also: while, duplicates should, indeed, be deleted, it doesn't save any storage space: once it's uploaded under two different names, both copies will remain, stored separately. - Jmabel ! talk 00:20, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

Help needed identifying photographer

Hey all. I just uploaded this image of Nikolay Zhukovsky and his children, which was taken in Geneva, approximately in the late 1870s or early 1880s (judging by the childrens' age). The photograph is certainly in the public domain, but I wanted to see if anyone could help identify the photographer based on the signature and the address in the image. Unfortunately, damage to the photograph makes the address hard to make out and I'm terrible at reading cursive signatures. If anyone could help with this, I'd really appreciate it. --Grnrchst (talk) 13:52, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

Kinda looks like Jean Lacroix IMO... Stemoc 14:15, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

That looks to be correct, thanks for the help! --Grnrchst (talk) 19:34, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 18:30, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Existing bot for automatically creating categories

See also: Commons_talk:Bots#Existing_bot_for_automatically_creating_categories
Does anybody know if there is a bot that can handle the task for creating categories for daily images (eg. Photographs taken on 2026-02-15). This would also apply to the various categories for images taken in a location (country/state/city; LOCATION photographs taken on YYYY-MM-DD).
Right now this task seems to be done by users. Is there a bot that can handle this task as well? --D-Kuru (talk) 11:41, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

After a comment by Prototyperspective the discussion was moved to Commons:Bots/Work_requests#Automatically_create_categories_for_images_sorted_by_date

--D-Kuru (talk) 10:49, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

i think the community is still divided on this issue: whether such "photos by day" categories are needed.

some old discussions, raised since when these categories first emerged: Commons:Categories for discussion/2016/12/Category:Switzerland by day.

since the community is divided, i think the status quo is, for those who prefer these systems, they can create them by themselves; for those who dont want these systems... i am one of them. i just dont do anything about these categories. i dont create them; i dont use them (dont put any files into them); when other users move files into them, i dont do anything about it. RoyZuo (talk) 11:41, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Now this thread exists in three places at parallel. Instead of creating a parallel thread. This makes it hard to discuss and has other issues. Please copy the contents when moving a thread and then remove the thread at source or replace it with a moved-to wikilink to the new place. Prototyperspective (talk) 13:51, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

The thread was opened intentionally in different places to make sure people see it. For the purpose of not discussing the same issue in different places, there is a link at the very top.

As there seems to be a good place for discussion I mentioned this here so that people who may find this comment in the archives know where to search for

As the discussion is continued elsewhere I consider the thread on this talk page as done.

--D-Kuru (talk) 17:28, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. --D-Kuru (talk) 17:28, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

FOP query

Hello, just checking whether these two images fall foul of freedom of panorama rules-- would they be classified as two dimensional posters? The photograph displayed is ostensibly under copyright. Thanks.

• File:Madonna (53264439366).jpg (United Kingdom)
• File:West Hollywood Pride 2019-26 (48048103968).jpg (United States)

Joko2468 (talk) 19:46, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

Yes, I'd classify both as using a 2D graphical work. Both could be edited to have the copyrighted material removed (bottom one would definitely still be useful without the photograph). Abzeronow (talk) 03:50, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

Great thank you. Joko2468 (talk) 12:05, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

and please see Commons:Village pump/Copyright. Prototyperspective (talk) 13:52, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 13:52, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Help to get this video to commons?

video2commons isn't working for me sadly, can someone help me get this on commons? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfftsDy9nIc Victorgrigas (talk) 01:57, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

@Victorgrigas: I had it pending, for upload as File:India's Economic Blueprint - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025.webm, then I got "An exception occurred: PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied"; I will retry.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 02:31, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

It's temperamental (and we need better). Make sure you haven't selected subtitles if they do not exist, and check the upload name. It fails with unhelpful errors. Secretlondon (talk) 19:11, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

 Doing…- Alexis Jazz ^{ping plz} 19:27, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

Victorgrigas, File:World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025 - India's Economic Blueprint.webm
Please add categories and other cleanup as needed. - Alexis Jazz ^{ping plz} 23:13, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

For info: I used w:Video DownloadHelper to get the video. As video2commons seems completely broken and not even accepting uploaded files I converted it to AV1+opus .webm using w:HandBrake. I got the subtitles using downsub.com. - Alexis Jazz ^{ping plz} 00:19, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Thank you! Victorgrigas (talk) 00:22, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Please see Commons:YouTube files/Downloading. If you think useful info is missing on that page, please add it. V2C used to be dysfunctional often but since recently it usually was working well; if the problem is not yet reported, please report it at Commons talk:Video2commons (note: phab issues may be good to create or needed for some issues reported there). Prototyperspective (talk) 13:45, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

I'm using https://video-converter.com/ MBH 00:45, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 13:46, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Category:George Gordon Byron

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. ReneeWrites (talk) 18:24, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

This is a redirect, but Creator:Lord Byron is still showing up in it. The creator template itself only shows Category:Lord Byron. Can someone help get this creator template out of Category:George Gordon Byron? Thanks for your time. Geoffroi 01:30, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

This is probably due to Wikidata linking. Please ask about technical issues at Commons:Village pump/Technical or when it relates to templates, at Commons:Template requests (here it seems to be an issue with links in Wikidata though). Prototyperspective (talk) 13:48, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

The issue is gone now. Maybe it was a cache issue. This can be archived. Geoffroi 18:08, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Modified UK post boxes

Post box B42 243 - 2025-01-29

Royal Mail are starting to modify some post boxes to take larger packets, as shown in the above image. Do we have a separate category for these? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 14:26, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

Isn't that Category:Post boxes in the United Kingdom by type->Category:Free standing post boxes in the United Kingdom where the file is already in the category (which at a glance seems to contain lots of files of similar postboxes)? Prototyperspective (talk) 14:36, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

No; most of those are not modified in this new fashion. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 14:48, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

Category:Solar-powered pillar boxes in the United Kingdom? the wub "?!" 11:50, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

Error on Main Page

The transclusion of Template:Potd/description display on Main Page causes this warnong on Main Page

{{Search link}} should not be used in gallery pages and file descriptions as links to "search result pages" are among the links normally to be avoided.

Can someone fix this? Bigbossfarin (talk) 15:16, 13 February 2026 (UTC)

Can be fixed by editing or removing the more MOTD template. and there already is a thread requesting this at the main page talk page. Thanks for reporting it, Prototyperspective (talk) 15:59, 13 February 2026 (UTC)

Removed for now. @Revi C., might be checking on other solution. _signed, Aafi ^(talk) 16:04, 13 February 2026 (UTC)

Yeah, that was more of 'Just suppress the don't do this warning of {{More MOTD}} if the page name is exactly 'Main Page' (or maybe its translated pages?), otherwise show the warning' — More MOTD in main page is inherently… unavoidable, contrary to the 'don't do this warning' says. — regards, Revi 18:49, 13 February 2026 (UTC)

thanks for solving this. It can be discussed further on the Main page talk page but the error is gone now Prototyperspective (talk) 16:12, 13 February 2026 (UTC)

This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Prototyperspective (talk) 16:12, 13 February 2026 (UTC)