Wikimedia Commons reaches 400,000 Files

Brushen writes "Wikimedia Commons, a website built to be a repository of free, public domain, or GFDL images, sounds, and animations, has reached 400,000 files this week. Launched in September 2004 by the Wikimedia Foundation, the creators of Wikipedia, the organization intended for it to be a source of images that could be used in the rest of the organization's projects. As well, recently they've had a best picture comeptition."

Comments

Why am I not thoroughly impressed?

[Anonymous Coward]

The Wikimedia Commons is a project that provides a central repository for free photographs, diagrams, animations, music, spoken text, video clips, and media of all sorts, used in pages of any Wikimedia project. Additionally some files under a non-free license which are copyrighted by Wikimedia are hosted by the project. Unlike images uploaded on other projects, images on Commons can be embedded on pages of all Wikimedia projects.

That's not nearly as impressive as I thought it would be. So there's all these media files which are meant for use in Wikimedia projects, including "non-free" files owned by Wikimedia. Some "commons" this is. Sure, you can use them on your own site, but...

However, you will have to check the image description page (can be seen by clicking on the image) to see under what license it falls. In most cases you will be okay if you copy the author and licensing information from the image description page, and publish that with the image or other file.

That seems like quite the PITA. I thought the point of a "commons" of creative works was to avoid worrying about licenses and limitations.