Author: mi+wikipedia
Description:
Hello!
I have uploaded dozens of images to the English-language wikipedia, but would
like to be able to use them on Ukrainian project as well. Turns out, I should've
been uploading to Commons instead.
This is surprisingly and unduly difficult and unintuitive -- apparently, the
procedure currently involves reuploading each image to Commons from the
beginning and then asking the admin to delete the language-specific pictures to
save space.
This begs for improvement:
- Ideally, it should be possible for different language wikis to
cross-reference each other's media similarly to how they can already
cross-reference each other's articles. Something like
[[Image:en:Flying-Antelope-Okavango.jpg]] makes sense.
- Less ideally, all media with sufficiently permissive licenses should move
from their respective language-specific wikipedias to commons once and
automatically.
- All new media uploaded to any of the projects under sufficiently permissive
license should automatically end up in the Commons upon upload.
- If the 2) above is not possible, each media-file's page should have a
button/link allowing to move the file (and its derivatives such as thumbnails)
to Commons directly. 3) should still apply even if 2) is not implemented.
- is best, because it avoids the major shake ups as well as spares figuring out
the different licences handled by different projects.
I understand, that 2) would be a major one-time undertaking, but the benefits
will be huge too. First, a large number of files are, no doubt, currently
duplicated on several language-specific projects each. Second, barring 1), this
is the only way to immediately make the files, that are already _legally_
available for wide use, also be _techincally_ available.
Thanks for your time and consideration of this urgent enhancement request.
Version: unspecified
Severity: enhancement