Commons:Must-read for uploaders
This page summarises what users should know about uploading files on Wikimedia Commons, operated by Wikimedia Foundation (WMF).
Deletion is always "soft" deletion
[edit]"Deletion" in Wikimedia projects almost always actually means "hiding". Deleting a file a wiki page only hides the "deleted" content from public view. Technically, the "deleted" content remains on WMF servers, remains visible to administrators and other users with the same permission, and can be "undeleted" (made visible to the public) again.
Exceptions:
- If it is hidden by oversighters, it remains on WMF servers, but is only visible to oversighters and the small number of other users with oversighter rights.
- Under rare circumstances, a file is "hard-deleted" from WMF servers and cannot be restored. This is done mainly for CSAM.
See mw:Help:Deletion and undeletion for more information.
Must-read
[edit]By uploading, you agree to Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use, Wikimedia Foundation Privacy Policy and Wikimedia Foundation Universal Code of Conduct, and you obey Commons:Licensing and Commons:Photographs of identifiable people.
What you (or any other user) can do with your uploaded files:
- You can reuse them on Wikimedia projects. (See also mw:Help:Images for how-to.)
- You can reuse them outside Wikimedia (both online and offline).
- You can edit the file descriptions.
What you (as uploader) cannot do with your uploaded files:
- All licences granted by uploaders are formally irrevocable: you cannot revoke a licence you granted for your uploaded files. Because of htat, you are unable to delete your uploaded files from Wikimedia Commons; they can only be deleted by an [[Commons:Administrators|administrator.
- For content that you created in whole or in part and then uploaded, requests for courtesy deletion made within 7 days after uploading are almost always granted. To request a courtesy deletion, edit the file page and prepend
{{SDG7}}(that is, write it at the top of the file page); you can also ask for administrator assistance at Commons:Administrators' noticeboard). - For third-party files (ones entirely created by someone other than yourself), even within the first seven days a courtesy deletion may not be granted, since you are not the one who offered the license in question.
- After 7 days, you can still request a courtesy deletion, but it is much less likely to be granted. Otherwise, it would not make much sense to say that the licence is irrevocable. If that is not granted, you can still ask to have the file disassociated from your name and account and that will always be allowed.
- At any time, files can be deleted for violation of copyright (Commons:Licensing), violation of personality rights (Commons:Photographs of identifiable people), other legal problems, or being out of Wikimedia Commons' project scope.
- For content that you created in whole or in part and then uploaded, requests for courtesy deletion made within 7 days after uploading are almost always granted. To request a courtesy deletion, edit the file page and prepend
- You cannot prevent other users from reusing your files as per the terms of their licences. Even if your file is deleted from Commons, legally you have already granted that licence, and if some third party uses the file in some manner permitted by the licence, that is valid even if the file is deleted from Commons.
- You cannot prevent other users from making constructive edits to your files' descriptions.
If your courtesy deletion request is not granted, but you want to dissociate your username and/or personal information from the files, you can:
- ask administrators to hide your username and edit history from the file pages; or,
- contact Commons:Oversighters.
However, if a third-party site has also associated your name with the file, that is not something Commons can prevent.