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This page documents the official image policy. Parts of this policy pertaining to fanart and off-topic images were ratified on 30 November 2008 at an RfC.

Note that the definition of images includes all files uploaded to the wiki, including videos added to the Video: namespace.

General

• Make sure that you are not uploading a duplicate file. Note that the filename and extension are case sensitive, so uploading a file called "Phazon.JPG" will not overwrite "Phazon.jpg"
• Use a descriptive file name. Bad file names include "IMG019272.jpg" and "Metroid Prime 3.jpg". Good file names for these could be "Phaaze (viewed from space).jpg" and "Metroid Prime 3 Box Art.jpg". Administrators can rename files as necessary.
• Indicate the location of the image, such as the website you took the image from. If an image looks like it might be fanart, failing to list the image's source on its description page will likely result in it being deleted.
• Select the image's license. All screenshots and artwork from the Metroid series are copyrighted by Nintendo, making them being used under fair use. All user-created uploads (fanart) must be released under a free license. Incorrect licensing or lack of a license tag will result in the image being deleted (note: Before uploading fanart, please read this section below).
  • It is extremely recommended that you use either Special:Upload or Special:MultipleUpload to upload files. These uploaders have dropdown menus at the bottom from which you may select a license. If you upload an image from the editing window of an article, you will NOT be given this option, and you must add the license to the image manually.
• Try to remove logos, watermarks, and unnecessary Internet browser or operating system chrome (e.g., window borders) before uploading images. Watermarks should only be removed by cropping the image or cutting out the section (if it is placed on a solid-color background). Watermarks should never be removed when attached to the image subject, nor should the watermarked section be reconstructed by memory.
• Please try to remove any borders not part of the picture itself before uploading.

Placement

• Make images on articles no bigger than they need to be.
• Images should be thumbnails (the |thumb parameter) unless necessary (such as in infoboxes).
• If an image pertains to the subject but is not already used in the article, you may use a gallery at the bottom of the page, like this (note: Images in galleries are automatically sized and made into a table):

<gallery>
Image:Image1.png|Description of first image
Image:Image2.jpeg|Description of second image
</gallery>

• Images should not be used in an article more than once. This includes in galleries. If an image is used in the article above the gallery, the image should be removed from the gallery.

Special Policies

The policies below were ratified on 30 November 2008 at an RfC. They concern off-topic and fanart (fan created) images.

Off-Topic

Off-topic images, uploaded images that have nothing to do with Metroid - are forbidden. There are no exceptions (sort of, see the next section below). This includes - but is not limited to - images of the following type:

• Lolcats
• Pictures of users
• Pictures of users' possessions
• User banners (an example of which is at the top of this userpage)

Please be aware that administrators have the right to delete these types of images on sight, without warning, at their discretion.

Exceptions

There are two exceptions to the rule - the first being if the image is hotlinked (that is, linked to but not uploaded), than it may be used. Please be aware that only images from certain sites may be hotlinked, and these pictures are not allowed outside of User:, User talk:, Forum:, and Forum talk: pages. This especially applies to articles. No off-topic images, in any shape or form, are allowed on articles.
However, hotlinked off-topic images must be appropriate. This means: No pornography or anything else deemed highly inappropriate by administrators. Administrators reserve the right to make this distinction (within reason). Hotlinked inappropriate images may result in a warning and/or a block.
Examples of hotlinking can be found at the top of this page (the user banner) and at the bottom of this page (the lolcat). One site in which hotlinking is possible is Wikimedia Commons.

The second exception is images that are uploaded for the purpose of being used in the wiki interface messages or in templates (such as warning templates - an example of this exception would be the "block" icon). These images may only be used on articles provided that they are only shown inside a transcluded template. These images are usually only uploaded by wiki administrators.

Fanart

Fanart is used to describe images that are created by users, but unlike off-topic images, pertain in some way to the Metroid series. This includes fake posters (for a Metroid film, for example), but regardless, pertains to Metroid in some way. Fanart should follow these guidelines:

• Administrators have the right to deem individual fanart off-topic and delete them without warning.
• Fanart must be freely licensed. Failure to correctly license fanart will result in it being deleted.
• There is a strict limit of 10 fanart images per user. This does not include deleted fanart images or reuploads. If you have more fanart, please upload it to the Metroid Fanon wiki.
• Fanart must be tagged with {{fanart}}. To do so, add {{fanart}} to the end of the image's description. Failure to do so will may result in the image being deleted and a warning.
• Administrators reserve the right to individually ban users from uploading fanart. While you cannot be banned from doing so by the software, if you are limited from uploading fanart by an administrator, uploading fanart will result in a real block. The list of those banned from uploading fanart may be found below.
• Fanart must be appropriate: This means: No pornography or anything else deemed highly inappropriate by administrators. Administrators reserve the right to make this distinction (within reason). Uploading inappropriate images may result in a warning and/or a fanart upload ban and/or a block.
• Fanart is restricted to pages in the User:, User talk:, Forum:, and Forum talk: namespaces. This means no fanart on articles whatsoever. Adding fanart to articles will result in removal of the image from the article and deletion of the image and/or a warning and/or a fanart upload ban and/or a block.
  • ...However, if an image that would otherwise be considered fanart is used to illustrate the article of a notable subject (a good example would be the article on the Metroid Database), it does not need to be tagged as fanart nor is the image under the same restrictions as fanart, provided that all of the following conditions are true:
    1. The subject of the article is sufficiently notable (generally, this reads as if the article on the subject has not been deleted)
    2. The image in question is used on the subject's article
    3. No "official" image (i.e., image from an official Nintendo or other popular media outlet) exists that could be used instead of the fanart image (File:MPTad.jpg is a good example of an "official" image being used on a cosplayer's article).
  • Fanart created for use in the wiki interface (for example, the wiki logo) also does not have to be tagged as fanart. Fanart created for use in the wiki interface (which has to be approved by an administrator) also does not need an explicit licensing tag since it's assumed that the image is released under the same license as the text of the wiki.

Exceptions

Like off-topic images, you may hotlink (that is, link to but not upload) fanart if you have reached your 10 image limit. Please be aware that only images from certain sites may be hotlinked, and these pictures are not allowed outside of User:, User talk:, Forum:, and Forum talk: pages. This especially applies to articles. No fanart, in any shape or form, are allowed on articles.
However, hotlinked fanart must be appropriate. This means: No pornography or anything else deemed highly inappropriate by administrators. Administrators reserve the right to make this distinction (within reason). Hotlinking inappropriate images may result in a warning and/or a block.
Examples of hotlinking can be found at the top of this page (the user banner) and at the bottom of this page (the lolcat).

Licensing

All images uploaded to Wikitroid must be licensed. Failure to license images will result in an warning and/or deletion of the image.

Fanart and other user created content

All fanart, aside from being uploaded in accordance with the fanart policy above, must be given a free license. They are listed under "Free licenses:" in the copyright selector. However, be aware that most images on the internet are not freely licensed. Uploading of copyrighted images under a free license is a violation of United States and International copyright law. If you are uploading a self-created image, please be willing to give it a free license (as described below). You may not submit your own works under copyright. If you are uploading an image found on another website (such as DeviantArt), you must get permission from the copyright holder to release the image under a free license for upload to Wikitroid. The free licenses include:

• {{GFDL}}: This is licensed under the GFDL

  The GFDL is a license allowing use of the image as long as any subsequent users license the image under the GFDL. (details)

• {{GPL}}: This is licensed under the GPL
• {{LGPL}}" This is licensed under the LGPL

  The above two licenses only apply to screenshots of free software. In short, if the software is GPL-licensed, use the GPL license. If the software is LGPL-licensed, use the LGPL license. Note that this does not apply to the majority of software available, especially software you must pay for (including games)

• This is licensed under Creative Commons...

  The Creative Commons is the most common form of free licensing. Attribution means that you must attribute the original creator of the image under the license. ShareAlike means that all derivitive works must be under the same license, and Attribution ShareAlike is a combination of the two.

  The three templates for CreativeCommons license are {{cc-by}}, {{cc-sa}}, and {{cc-by-sa}}, for the CC-Attribution, CC-ShareAlike, and the CC-Attribution-ShareAlike licenses respectively.

• {{PD}}: This has been released into the public domain

  The creator of the image has released all rights to the image. If you license your own works under this license, anyone will be able to do whatever they please with it with no restrictions. Be very careful with this license, as it will apply to extremely little work found on the Internet.

Please note that no screenshots from the Metroid series of the games qualify as freely licensed. You must use a fair use license as described below.

Fair Use/Full Copyright

Images created by Nintendo pertaining to the Metroid series (this does not include fanart - fanart may not be uploaded under a fair use/full copyright license) must be licensed under a fairuse license, denoted with the {{fairuse}} template. Select "Qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law" for these images. You may not upload fanart under this license.

Avatars

This special section was added 05:04, 3 July 2009 (UTC) in response to the addition of avatars to Wikia.
This section in a nutshell: You can upload any avatar you'd like, provided it's not offensive in any way, isn't pornographic, and is otherwise reasonable. Read on to learn how to format your avatars for upload.

Avatars are a new feature added on 1 July 2009. It allows users to upload an image for their account (an "avatar") to be displayed above their personal pages. Avatars must not be offensive in any way, must not be pornographic, and must be otherwise reasonable. Administrators can delete avatars, just like any other image, but unless the avatar is obviously offensive or pornographic, you will be notified on your talk page before any action is taken.

Avatars uploaded to Wikia must be 500KB or less, and be square in shape. It is recommended that your avatar be at least 100x100 pixels in size, but anything bigger than 700x700 will probably exceed the 500KB limit. Images in most formats, including JPEG, PNG, and possibly GIF and SVG, are accepted, however, images in the SVG or PNG formats (if SVG is unavailable) are preferrable in terms of image quality. Instructions for resizing and checking the disk size of an image vary from image editor to image editor and operating system to operating system. Check your image editor's or your operating system's documentation for help with these tasks.

To upload, change, or delete your avatar, visit your preferences (you must have an account and be logged in to use avatars).

A log of avatar uploads (not necessarily changes) can be found here, and are copied to the IRC RC feed as useravatar log entries.

Bans

Below is a list of users banned from uploading fanart images. It is meant for administrator reference.

• CHICKENWINNER/CHICKEN007 ChozoBoy _[ADMIN] (Talk/Contribs) 19:08, February 8, 2010 (UTC)

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