Commons:Village pump/Archive/2026/01

Surnames

We have a longstanding and slightly stale Commons:Categories for discussion/2024/07/Category:Surnames, mostly about the fact that we currently supposedly have two flat-list categories for surnames. It impacts probably 10,000+ categories in terms of their parent categories, and hasn't gotten a lot of attention, so I'd like to see more voices there before considering the matter resolved.

Please, unless you find my wording here non-neutral (which you should certainly address here), let's keep the discussion on the CfD, not here. - Jmabel ! talk 19:10, 2 January 2026 (UTC)

Can anyone work out the name of the photographer, and if they have a Wikidata entry

See: File:Pamela Colman Smith, "In Private life" (1904).jpg RAN (talk) 11:48, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

R.D. Macpherson? (Robert Macpherson) Nakonana (talk) 11:59, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

The "D." is written like the Greek letter Delta or Cyrillic cursive "d". Nakonana (talk) 12:00, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

Or maybe not "Robert" but some other name because this Robert died before 1904. Nakonana (talk) 12:03, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

Maybe it's not a "D" after all but a "J" instead? R.J. Macpherson [1]? According to Google search there may also be something about R.J. Macpherson at [2] but the page doesn't load for me to confirm. Going by Flickr, R.J. was active around 1895, so the time would fit. Nakonana (talk) 17:26, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

And it looks like he was based in Jamaica. The woman in the photo is half Jamaican and lived in Jamaica for some time, right? Nakonana (talk) 17:28, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

• Excellent detective work, "Macpherson", now I see it. I will see if I can find more images from him. --RAN (talk) 14:13, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

en:Duncan Macpherson (photographer)? Nevermind, he was likely too young in 1904. -Nard (Hablemonos) (Let's talk) 14:43, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

Category:2026 protests against the capture of Nicolás Maduro in New York City

I noticed this is a subcategory of Category:Demonstrations and protests in support of the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro. Is it fair for Commons to call the demonstration a pro-Maduro demonstration? Trade (talk) 02:42, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

I understand what you are getting at, but from a navigation point it may be for the best. We might want a separate parent category at the same level as Category:Demonstrations and protests in support of the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro, but if we do that the two should be linked with a {{Cat see also}}. - Jmabel ! talk 08:29, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

Adding a specific category for the art style in File:Fem_myror_är_fler_än_fyra_elefanter_papperskalender_02.jpg

I came across File:Fem_myror_är_fler_än_fyra_elefanter_papperskalender_02.jpg and I noticed that its art style looks intriguing. I'd put that file in the same category with others (that contain the same art style) but I don't know what category would be appropriate.

Edit: by "art style", I specifically meant different colored patterns, each containing colors almost always of high saturation, put together in the same art piece. Toarin (talk) 20:06, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

Category:Undeleted in 2026

Hi, Nearly all files have been undeleted from Category:Undelete in 2026. So at least 800 files from 454 deletion requests. If you find more files to be undeleted, please ask on COM:UDR. Thanks, Yann (talk) 18:02, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

What to do with audio file with wrong pronunciation?

Hi,

File:zh-zhī.ogg contains audio that's actually a pronunciation of "zhǐ", not "zhī" as the file name suggests (this is already confusing people: see wikt:Talk:之#Mandarin_audio). The file was nominated for deletion before, but was kept (Commons:Deletion_requests/File:Zh-zhī.ogg). There's already a perfectly valid file File:zh-zhǐ.ogg containing a correct pronunciation of "zhǐ". What do we do now?

• If we can't delete File:zh-zhī.ogg, can we upload a new version of it? I recorded a pronunciation of "zhī" and tried to upload it as a new version, but got hit with Commons:Overwriting existing files.
• If we can't upload a new version, can we at least rename File:zh-zhī.ogg (so that we can upload a correct file)? The problem is that File:zh-zhǐ.ogg is already taken (and it's a good file). Do we rename it to File:zh-zhǐ2.ogg?
• I *could* upload my recording as File:zh-zhī2.ogg and edit all the pages that use File:zh-zhī.ogg to use my version... But that seems like a waste of everyone's time (as it's so much more work than just fixing the wrong file), *and* File:zh-zhī.ogg would still remain erroneous and confusing.

Can an admin step in here? Wyverald (talk) 03:44, 2 January 2026 (UTC)

Stepping in, partly as admin. Unless someone else objects in the next 24 hours, here's what I propose.

• I will temporarily mark File:zh-zhī.ogg with {{Allow overwriting}} so you can overwrite it.
• When you overwrite it, please edit the file page to accurately reflect your replacement file.
• @Wyverald: may I presume that once I allow overwriting, you will get to it promptly and report back here so an admin can quickly lock it back down? Is there a time of day that works well for you (in UTC, please) to start this?

- Jmabel ! talk 06:14, 2 January 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. I can do it any time this weekend (from now until 8am Sunday UTC, or 8pm Sunday to 8am Monday). Wyverald (talk) 18:51, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

@Wyverald: have at it! Let us know here when you are done, so I can remove that tag. - Jmabel ! talk 23:01, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

Done. I took the liberty to remove the tag myself when editing metadata -- hopefully that's not illegal :) Thanks for the help! Wyverald (talk) 02:15, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

i think @Jmabel's solution is wrong. in case of error, the description should almost always be edited to describe the file, not the other way around.

changing the file and the description to fit the title causes way more confusion, as i just got confused by the discrepancies between the different versions. RoyZuo (talk) 14:28, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

I strong disagree that we should just edit the description here. That means File:zh-zhī.ogg will continue to have the wrong content forever; the correct file can at best be named File:zh-zhī2.ogg; it's a lot more immediate work to fix all the articles; and any future article wanting to link to a pronunciation of "zhī" will probably start out linking to the wrong one.

You said "changing the file and the description to fit the title causes way more confusion". Why is that? I can only see people getting confused if they look at the revision history of File:zh-zhī.ogg, which I can only assume to be very rare. Then again, I might be missing something here as I'm not a frequent user of Commons. Wyverald (talk) 20:57, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

@RoyZuo for many files I would agree with you, but this is one where its name is part of a pattern of harmonized names. One would expect it to contain a recording of a particular phoneme; apparently, it did not. - Jmabel ! talk 22:13, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

now yall are leaving the histories of two completely different files by different creators at the same page. that is very confusing.

the version contributed by Shtooka Project could be deleted as a duplicate of File:Zh-zhǐ.ogg as they record the same thing by the same speaker. that's better than leaving a mess behind like this. RoyZuo (talk) 22:45, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

My account reset

My account has reset. My edit history has disappeared, and it now says I registered in November 2025, though I registered over a decade ago. What the fuck? TransOceanic (talk) 19:48, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

This is not Wikipedia, look: en:Special:Contributions/TransOceanic. --Achim55 (talk) 19:59, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. Don't even know how I wound up here. TransOceanic (talk) 20:02, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

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Image wrongly deleted

I have just noticed that File:Robert Gillmor 2010-03-23.jpg (which is very widely used, both on and off Wikimedia projects) was deleted; and wrongly.

As I noted in The deletion discussion, the non-free painting that was depicted in part of the image was deliberately blurred, and thus de minimis. Others disagreed, as is their right, that the blurring was sufficiently hazy. Rather than deleting the image, the blurring of that part should have been increased (and by the minium necessary to satisfy the doubters). Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 13:02, 7 January 2026 (UTC)

@Pigsonthewing: Should be done now. If you want to do a less blurred version, that's up to you. (I'm in an airport right now, working with less at hand than usual.) If you no longer have the original to work from, I or another admin can get that to you. - Jmabel ! talk 20:15, 7 January 2026 (UTC)

Thank you; as I said, it should use "the minium necessary to satisfy the doubters". I have previously declined to do so, since my view of what is acceptable (i.e. the image as uploaded) is clearly at odds with what those involved in the discussion believe. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:26, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

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Need for specific categories for 3D model files

Hi everyone and happy new year. I noticed only now that a direct link to the 3D model category was added directly on the home page of Commons and, looking it up quickly because I was a little bit curious and excited, I noticed that there are indeed some real 3D model files (.stl files mainly)... together with a mass of ordinary and static png/jpg images of 3D models.

Shoundn't we create some category for those specific files, like we did for the image files theirselves (example: )? It's a little bit odd to see for example a real 3D model file like this (File:Aston Martin F1 AMR23 2023.stl) with only a generic "3D models" cat and nothing more.

I think that real 3D model files should be distinguished from others and should be easily discoverable.

Seeing how the Category:Media by file format is organized, I think we should add a super-category there named like "3D models by file format" (or should we add them to the Category:Images by file format? I don't know exactly) and then a "STL files" as a sub-cat one (and other cats. for other type of 3D model files of course, I'm not an expert still of which types are most used or permitted here on Commons) at first, and maybe even some other appropriate relative cat for those objects.

What's your opinion on this? :) --LucaLindholm (talk) 15:33, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

Ah ok, I noticed that under the Video file formats there already is the Category:STL files... but is it a video file? It is confusing and quite no one expects it to be there, tbh.

I was only unlucky to have encountered only some file that wasn't tagged with that cat. XD LucaLindholm (talk) 20:37, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

There is nothing to stop you from adding other appropriate parent categories to Category:STL files. - Jmabel ! talk 02:08, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

An IP user had placed the STL files into Category:Videos by file format; I moved it into Category:Media by file format. MKFI (talk) 08:02, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

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Removing metadata?

Hi, I discovered that my personal name appears in the metadata of some files I've uploaded. Is there any way of removing it? Why would it appear in the first place? Many thanks. Yakikaki (talk) 10:16, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

@Yakikaki Because something (your camera or your software editing program) added it before uploading. Commons just shows what is already there before the upload. You can upload a new version without the name and then ask an admin to delete the old revisions. This is called EXIF data and there is lots of software that can edit and change it. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 11:08, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

If you have a Windows PC, then once you download to your machine you can edit EXIF data via the file properties, then reupload. - Jmabel ! talk 01:45, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

The normal way to delete an old revision is described at COM:REVDEL; in this case you may want to mail or ping an admin. There are various free software to remove exif data; after you did that you need to upload the new file as a new version to each of the files ("Upload a new version of this file" underneath "File history" on the file description page). Prototyperspective (talk) 00:40, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

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Mass rename request

Hi. Some time ago I uploaded these files via Lingua Libre, which included my then-current username in the names:

• File:LL-Q7979-AlexGallon-preventive.wav
• File:LL-Q7979-AlexGallon-bivalve.wav
• File:LL-Q7979-AlexGallon-bipartite.wav
• File:LL-Q7979-AlexGallon-biogenesis.wav
• File:LL-Q7979-AlexGallon-octant.wav
• File:LL-Q7979-AlexGallon-metallurgist.wav
• File:LL-Q7979-AlexGallon-fishbone.wav
• File:LL-Q7979-AlexGallon-spank.wav
• File:LL-Q1860 (eng)-AlexGallon-billy goat.wav
• File:LL-Q1860 (eng)-AlexGallon-concentration camp.wav
• File:LL-Q1860 (eng)-AlexGallon-sleepwalker.wav
• File:LL-Q1860 (eng)-AlexGallon-bouncy.wav
• File:LL-Q1860 (eng)-AlexGallon-numerically.wav

Please could someone replace "AlexGallon" with "Pink Bee" in these? I would prefer it if my old username was not immediately visible on my list of uploads. (I am aware and don't mind that it can be found easily elsewhere.)

Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask. I couldn't find any information on the correct way to request mass renaming. Thanks. Pink Bee (talk) 00:06, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

Trying to do this (and related changes) but the files that are in Category:Lingua Libre pronunciation by AlexGallon seem to be there via some sort of implicit trick in a template, and while I hav been able to rename them, I cannot move them from that category to Category:Lingua Libre pronunciation by Pink Bee. - Jmabel ! talk 02:34, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for your help. I will sort the cat issue separately. Pink Bee (talk) 02:57, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

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Global misidentification of File:Ouida_from_Cabinet_Card.jpg

Hi, File:Ouida_from_Cabinet_Card.jpg is globally misattributed. The person depicted is not Ouida, but Pauline Lucca (1841–1918), the Austrian opera singer.[1] Because the file is used on multiple Wikipedia language editions as Ouida’s portrait, the misidentification is being widely propagated. Could an administrator please assist with correcting the file’s subject attribution and updating its global usage accordingly? TheFairyTaleLover (talk) 13:59, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

This looks very plausible if you compare her face to the other portraits of Pauline Lucca on Commons. I am not an admin anywhere, but I just corrected the German Wikipedia page and the German Wikisource page of Ouida as well as the Ouida Wikidata item. I also made a rename request for the photo. Generally, there is no reason why you need an admin for the global corrections. So I do not fully understand your request. --Robert Flogaus-Faust (talk) 15:02, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

Thank you. Sorry, I'm relatively new to Wikimedia Commons, and in any case, I was mainly referring to the photo's renaming. I'll do my best to replace the photo on all other Wikipedia pages as well. Have a good evening. TheFairyTaleLover (talk) 18:31, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

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Category:Periodicals about anarchism

This includes both newspapers and magazines, and many were categorised as both. Should we amalgamate them, and perhaps call them all periodicals? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rathfelder (talk • contribs)

I don't understand the problem: both magazines and newspapers are a subset of periodicals (alongside academic journals, etc.). If there are sufficient number of one subtype to break that out into a subcategory and categorize that along some kind of existing scheme, then I think it's a good idea to do that. If not, then not. For files that are categorized as being both a "magazine" and a "newspaper", I don't think that really makes any sense. Typically, a magazine that is about current affairs, politics, and general news is called a "newsmagazine" or "news weekly" and is generally considered a magazine and a newspaper is generally something else. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 17:49, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

The problem is that most of these political publications claim to be newspapers, but they are really much more like magazines. They dont have actual news Rathfelder (talk) 19:12, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

If something here is still unsolved, please start a CfD (Commons:Categories for discussion). Prototyperspective (talk) 13:20, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

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Help with photographer

See: Category:Photographs by Haruo Katoh. I am not sure if I have the right name. RAN (talk) 20:21, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

Why Kato with h at the end? It looks more like Kato. H., or H. Kato. Nakonana (talk) 21:34, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

And is it even a photographer in the classical sense? Because in one of the clippings it looks like they are also the author of the text. Nakonana (talk) 21:58, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

I'm curious about where "Haruo" has come from. I couldn't spot anything in the files to suggest "Haruo" or any other name beyond "H." Did you find some other clues or is it a wild guess? From Hill To Shore (talk) 22:21, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

• From here: George Eastman Museum https://collections.eastman.org/objects/list;jsessionid=659BC629061614F963B87D46C18C6E3E?filter=department%3APhotography%3Bpeople%3AHaruo%20Katoh, but maybe wrong, that is why I asked for help. --RAN (talk) 15:29, 7 January 2026 (UTC)

Запитання до користувача: "Didym"

Вітаю пане користувач Didym, скажіть будь-ласка для чого ви видаляєте мої файли з Вікіпедії!? Чи можна це розглядати як вандалізм, ваші дії? Адже ніяких порушень в моїх фотографіях не було? Для чого ви видалили мої фотографії з вікіпедії? Адже я можу розглядати ваші дії як вандалізм. Дайте мені відповідь для чого ви видаляєте мої фотографії з вікіпедії? Ви є адміністратор? Severus777 (talk) 20:35, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

@Severus777 Пожалуйста ознакомьтесь с

• Вікісховище:Ліцензування
• Вікісховище:Сфера проекту
• Вікісховище:Правила копірайту за темами
• Commons:Норми авторського права за територією/Україна

Nakonana (talk) 23:46, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

Отвечу на русском. Скорее всего ваши файлы нарушают авторское право, ведь вы не предоставили свободных лицензий на эти фотография как минимум. Лучше ознакомьтесь с правилами которые предоставил коллега Nakonana. Всего наилучшего Incall ^talk 07:36, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

If something here is still unclear, please make a new thread on the user's talk page or COM:Village pump/Copyright. Prototyperspective (talk) 13:00, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

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Third Geneva Convention, Article 13 and Wikimedia Commons

Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.

Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.

Measures of reprisal against prisoners of war are prohibited.

Should files that show prisoners of war in an insulting manner or for public curiosity be hosted on Commons? Some people on Commons:Deletion requests/File:Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima (cropped).jpg think they shouldn't Trade (talk) 22:05, 7 January 2026 (UTC)

Perhaps the pictures should or should not have been released under the Third Geneva Convention, but they were; Commons is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention, and is not censored. - The Bushranger (talk) 03:04, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Commons is hosted in the united states and generally has to comply with United States law. The United States is a signatory to the third Geneva convention. So i think the question is, is commons violating United States law by hosting these images. Bawolff (talk) 03:27, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention requires that prisoners of war be treated humanely and protected "against insults and public curiosity". This obligation applies to the Detaining Power, meaning the state holding POWs, with the aim of preventing humiliation, propaganda use, or exposure for public spectacle. It does not create a blanket prohibition on all images; context matters, and images used for encyclopedic, historical, or educational purposes without intent to degrade are generally not considered a violation.

Regarding Wikimedia Commons and the Wikimedia Foundation, GCIII binds states but not private organizations. As a US-based non-profit, WMF is not the Detaining Power, so hosting images does not create direct legal liability. (Section 230 further shields WMF from liability for user-uploaded content.) While the United States is a signatory to GCIII and has criminalized "grave breaches" under Article 130. such as killing or torture, exposing POWs to public curiosity is not itself a grave breach under US law. Any potential violation would lie with the original publisher or state actor, not a third-party host like us. --Jonatan Svensson Glad (talk) 03:35, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Requesting deletion of previous revisions of file

Is there a way to request deletion of previous versions of a file for copyvio reasons? I uploaded File:Judge James E. Horton and Dr R. R. Bridges during Scottsboro Boys trial.jpg, but I realized that the portions not in the cited newspaper may not be PD and cropped accordingly. Based5290 (talk) 06:35, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

@Based5290: You can do that by filing a regular deletion request, and then explaining in the request that it's not for the whole file, but for a previous version. ReneeWrites (talk) 09:29, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

Commons:Revision deletion may also be interesting --PantheraLeo1359531 😺 (talk) 11:02, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

It's not just possibly interesting, this is the solution here – please do not start a regular deletion request but follow the guidance on COM:REVDEL to get the prior revision(s) deleted. Prototyperspective (talk) 11:55, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

• @Based5290: If you still have the text image, let me know the paper. I can check if they renewed their copyright. Having the image of the news article means we can post the text at Wikisource, if public domain. --RAN (talk) 17:45, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

  See File:The Birmingham News 1933 04 06 First Three Pages.pdf Didn't find any relevant renewals. Based5290 (talk) 18:58, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

  The 1st issue of this newspaper I see with a copyright notice is September 24, 1967 (September 23, 1967 issue with no notice)  $999$REAL 💬 ⬆   20:03, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

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