This page is an official policy on WoWWiki. This policy has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that all users should follow.
|
Uploading images[]
- Always upload images for display to the wiki. That way we don't steal bandwidth from others, and it makes the image links more reliable.
- However, WoWWiki is not an image hosting service. Any images uploaded must be for use on WoWWiki. See WoWWiki:Bandwidth theft.
- Note that datamined pictures of unannounced content or exploited pictures of unfinished areas are not allowed.
- "Model viewer" images of content which is accessible in-game are okay, but high-quality in-game screenshots obtained from the live or test clients (without exploiting) are preferred. See WW:DNP.
- Make sure you're not duplicating images already on the wiki - the best way to tell is if your image shows up at WoWWiki:Duplicate image search or Special:FileDuplicateSearch.
Icons[]
Nearly all game icons are already in the wiki! Don't upload new ones unless you're certain it's not already in here.
- See WoWWiki:WoW Icons for a listing of all icons already in the wiki.
- Use the PNG file format for icons. It allows the corners to be transparent, and doesn't mangle the colorspace like GIF does.
- Name icons in all lowercase and according to their in-game name. See WoWWiki:WoW Icons/Icon List.
- Categorize your uploaded icons in one or more sub categories of Category:WoW Icons
Link your source/copyright information[]
- When uploading, select the licensing tag that best-matches where you sourced your image from. Nearly all screenshots from WoW have a specific option (like NPC, zone, mount, etc...). Unlicensed images are subject to speedy deletion.
- Please add the source of an image in the summary section when uploading, or later on by visiting the image page and choosing 'edit this page'.
- Fan art images should always be marked as such, especially when used in an article, and they should not take precedence over official artwork.
- See also: Licensing options
Model viewer screenshots[]
While we do not refuse images from model viewers, such as WoW Model Viewer, we generally strongly discourage them in favor of in-game screenshots. The only exceptions to this are for very generic images, such as creature type profiles and armor sets - but only if the images are very high quality and follow the rest of the image guidelines. In borderline cases it is generally left to an admin to make the final decision.
- Please note if you do decide to upload images from the model viewers it is best to make the background transparent (PNG) and ensure the result is anti-aliased (one method is to take a large image and resize it down). Alternatively, please set the background color (before taking a screenshot) to the default WoWWiki background color, which is
[Hue 160, Sat 0, Lum 42]
,[Red 45, Blue 45, Green 45]
or[Hex #333]
.
- Pictures of unannounced content (i.e. content not released by Blizzard) are again not allowed.
Naming[]
- Name your image so it's relevant for the content it's showing. (example: Garrosh Hellscream.jpg)
- Try to use spaces or have the file name match its content. (example: Druid at Stormwind Park.jpg)
- Avoid naming your logo (e.g, for guilds) something like "WoWWiki logo", "Logo for WoWWiki", etc. Remember that the file will be hosted on WoWWiki so to distinguish it from other files that might otherwise share that name you should reference it by your identity, not WoWWiki's.
- Do NOT upload images using WoW's default screenshot name. (example: WoWScrnShot 030508 223206.jpg)
- Also, if you copy an image from a database site (such as Wowhead) do NOT upload those images using the number they give them. (example: 142683.jpg)
- Since WoWWiki is in English, use English for image names (except in the case of proper nouns).
Image abandonment[]
There may come a time when you no longer want an image that you have uploaded for your personal user page. If this happens, please do not just remove the image from your page to be forgotten about, help keep WoWWiki clean of these unused image by marking the ones you abandon with {{Speedydelete|Image abandoned|~~~~}}
.