User talk:Jmabel

I will be traveling from 16 May 2026 until 9 June 2026. Please expect that I will be less available than usual during that time.

Archives

/Archive 1 2006 - December 2007
/Archive 2 December 2007 - January 2009
/Archive 3 January 2009 - November 2009
/Archive 4 November 2009 - April 2010
/Archive 5 April 2010 - December 2012
/Archive 6 January 2013 - December 2015
/Archive 7 January 2016 - December 2018
/Archive 8 January 2019 - July 2019
/Archive 9 July 2019 - December 2021
/Archive 10 December 2021 - December 2022
/Archive 11 January 2023 - June 2023
/Archive 12 July 2023 - December 2023
/Archive 13 January 2024 - March 2025
/Archive 14 April 2025 -

Sock spotted

Hello @Jmabel hope you are doing well. I've spotted a sock. You handed VNC200 a 3 month block in Dec 2024. They chose to abandon that account and have returned with IVNC200. Contributions and username are the identical. Shaan Sengupta^Talk 17:55, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

@Shaan Sengupta: Coming back with a different name is not itself against the rules, and VNC200 is not currently blocked, so this is not block evasion. However, if they break rules, and you have a reason to report them to one of the Administrator's noticeboards, you should certainly mention the connection so they are not simply treated as a first-time offender. - Jmabel ! talk 18:16, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

@Jmabel Yup, I know this isn't a block evasion, that's why I only said sock. If we see VNC200's block log, they already have had a 1 week then 1 month and then a 3 month block. Their talk page is full of deletion notices as well as a last warning notice by Krd way back in April 2023. So returning with a new account without declaring the old one seems like dumping the baggage of past. I leave it to you to decide how to handle/address this situation. Thank you so much. Shaan Sengupta^Talk 18:23, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Question on Commons Help Desk

Hi @Jmabel, you helped me over on the Commons Help Desk under the subject "Photo added to Commons deleted by bot". Your last help was pointing me to the pages related to a third party copyright. Thank you for that. I entered a follow-up question as a Reply three days ago, thinking this would be the correct way to get further help from you or someone else on the help desk, but now I'm not sure, so just writing to you to find out if that's the proper way to ask for additional help on that particular issue. Newbie question, I know, thanks for your help...and patience. Neptune919 (talk) 17:36, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

@Neptune919: It's the right way. I'll try to look for that next time I'm looking at the help desk.

FWIW, it is sometimes useful to use a {{Ping}} to draw the attention of the person you've been engaged with. That will give them a notice, like the one you receive for this response. - Jmabel ! talk 17:45, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

New disruption

Hi Jmabel, following up on Commons:Administrators' noticeboard/User problems/Archive 124#User:Anikmolla786, they've now opened an obviously poor DR on the image they wanted to replace (Commons:Deletion requests/File:United Nations geographical subregions.png). CMD (talk) 09:09, 14 September 2025 (UTC)

Issue with viewing pictures

I saw your post about not being able to view pictures. Just to clarify, are you experiencing this issue in the Wikipedia Android app or in the Wikimedia Commons app? Knowing which app you’re using will help us guide you to the right place to report it and look into what might be happening. ARamadan-WMF (talk) 15:36, 17 September 2025 (UTC)

@ARamadan-WMF: Not a problem I've had, and I almost never view Commons on the phone. Could you look again and see whether you are confused or someone forged my signature someplace?

Generally less chance of confusion if you reply to a question where it is asked. - Jmabel ! talk 15:57, 17 September 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply, the reason I started a new post on the user’s talk page is that replying directly to the original thread isn’t available anymore, please check here:

Commons:Help desk/Archive/2025/08#:~:text=Unsubscribe-,View pictures,-Latest comment: ARamadan-WMF (talk) 16:13, 17 September 2025 (UTC)

The question was from User:Southgamble. I was the admin trying to answer him. I pinged you to ask if there was anywhere he could usefully report his problem. You can possibly get hold of him directly, but judging by Special:Contributions/Southgamble his contribution page, he simply gave up. - Jmabel ! talk 17:14, 17 September 2025 (UTC)

File:Sone Sadako and Okamura Tamae (1911 photo).jpg

With the block protection, can you correct so the description, since it's sufficient that on en.wiki for Shinjū: "Sadako Sone and Tamae Okamura, two young Japanese ladies who committed suicide in love." And can you added the category "1911 deaths"? Thank you very much. — Preceding unsigned comment was added by 79.50.238.228 (talk) 13:03, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

No. I have to assume it is likely this is the blocked user who has been continually trying to affect this file, operating a sockpuppet. Plus, there is no systematic reason for Commons to follow one of the Wikpedias.

If your intentions are legitimate, ask at File talk:Sone Sadako and Okamura Tamae (1911 photo).jpg and someone who has been more actively engaged with this will decide whether it is an appropriate edit. - Jmabel ! talk 15:21, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

Question

Is there any actual, legitimate reason why you can't tell G.dallorto to stop creating "by year" categories at least in the CfD is finished since people clearly have a problem with it? I don't really see why that justifies ANU complaint or should even take one. Just be little more stern about since he didn't get the message the other 15 times. Seriously, what's the issue with that and why the hell would anyone need to file an ANU complaint for you to do it? --Adamant1 (talk) 00:46, 20 September 2025 (UTC)

probably don't need ANU. I only looked in on that DR because I was pinged, and what I saw looked like a conduct complaint. I'm on a phone right now, away from my PC. I'll look later. Jmabel ! talk 01:09, 20 September 2025 (UTC)

It will totally be on you later on when I get reported to ANU or blocked for edit waring or BS just because you wanted to play the both sides game over slightly critical comment made in the heat of the moment. You guys can never deal with problems with they actually occur reason and it just ends up leading to more drama that I'm always who gets attacked and sanctioned over for some reason. The thing with Yann, the issues with Dronebogus and Protospective, the crap with A.Savin. It's always the same crap with you guys. "Both sides!" I don't know why I even bother at this point. I get treated like literally the devil incarnate but you guys can't even handle a slightly critical comment about you without rage quitting the discussion or other refusing to do your job. Let him destroy the category system and make it totally unusable just because I said something a little backhanded though. I'm just sick of the whole damn thing at this point. Totally waste of time. --Adamant1 (talk) 05:37, 20 September 2025 (UTC)

As I said, I'm washing my hands of this. - Jmabel ! talk 05:42, 20 September 2025 (UTC)

That's your prerogative. I'm sorry if the comment was rude or hurt your feelings. I sent you an email. Take it or leave. I certainly don't expect you to deal with it if you don't want to and I'm sorry if the message came off wrong. I'm just stressed about the U4C case. -Adamant1 (talk) 05:47, 20 September 2025 (UTC)

A goat for you!

Thank you for these beautiful photos!

Antmaker (talk) 01:27, 20 September 2025 (UTC)

Bidgee

I don't know where this trolling of Bidgee is coming from, but can we please get an admin to shut down that thread? It's very unbecoming. - Chris.sherlock2 (talk) 05:28, 22 September 2025 (UTC)

Yes, I guess that is what needs to happen. Thanks. - Jmabel ! talk 05:29, 22 September 2025 (UTC)

User:Rachuri Bhanu Prakash Datta

Hi Jmabel. Given the discussion about potential cross-project abuse at en:WP:MCQ#PD-MAGov and a user being blocked on Commons uploading files locally to English Wikipedia, I'm wondering if you'd mind taking a look at Commons:Deletion requests/File:Total lunar eclipse captured in Hyderabad, India, on 7 September 2025.jpg deleted by Yann and en:File:Total lunar eclipse captured in Hyderabad, India, with Motorola smartphone.jpg. Potentially more of a problem for English Wikipedia is that the reason why this user was indefinitely blocked on Commons had more to do with what they were posting than what they were uploading. Since you're an admin both here and on Wikipedia, I'm wondering if whether what they posted should also be treated as a serious violation over on English Wikipedia, even though it was posted on Commons. -- Marchjuly (talk) 01:36, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

@Marchjuly: Looking through contributions on en-wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=September_2025_lunar_eclipse&diff=prev&oldid=1312742776 is enough for an indef block on en-wiki without even looking at Commons. I'll deal with it, but any en-wiki admin could just as readily. - Jmabel ! talk 02:46, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for taking a look at this. FWIW, if I had noticed that they had been doing posting the same "I'll kill you" stuff on English Wikipedia, I would've gone straight to ANI myself. I agree with your assessment that even though the threats weren't very credible, what was posted posts was so contrary Wikipedia's policy on civility and harassment that it needed to be addressed asap and an immediate block by an administrator would be justified. -- Marchjuly (talk) 09:02, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

Question

Hi. I've been wanting to do something on here related to California for a while now but have no clue what to do or where to start. I know you've done a lot of stuff on here and Wikipedia related to the Seattle area. So do you have any ideas about what to do or examples of your work that I could look at for inspiration? Thanks. --Adamant1 (talk) 17:42, 28 September 2025 (UTC)

I suspect there are a fair number of categories that have a lot of minimally categorized images. E.g. Category:Los Angeles with over 5000 images; Category:History of San Francisco and Category:History of Los Angeles, which I would think shouldn't have much directly in them but which currently each have over 100 images; etc. I see 75 right now directly in Category:California. I'd also guess that a lot in Category:FEMA images of California is way undercategorized. Etc. If you scout around, you shouldn't have much trouble finding things like this.

That said: a lot of what I do with Seattle photos involves having a strong sense of the history of the city, a personal library of about 350 books on the region, and a strong local peer network when I need to ask a question. At this point, I've had somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 corrections to descriptions accepted by institutions here about materials in their own archives (University of Washington Libraries especially, but also Seattle Public Library, Museum of History and Industry, and very occasionally the Municipal Archives). There are probably about 100 other people who could, in theory, do what I do on Seattle stuff, but there are probably not 1000.

I'd suggest that if you wade in there for California, start with stuff that is pretty obvious—I suspect there is a lot of it—and in the course of that you'll little by little pick up a lot of knowledge to apply to what is initially less obvious.

I hope that helps. - Jmabel ! talk 18:17, 28 September 2025 (UTC)

Cool. Thanks for the information. Sounds like you have a pretty good library of history books there. I'll have to look into what's out there. I know there's at least a couple of University archives that are online that probably have stuff that can be transferred to Commons. It will at least give me something semi-productive to do while I'm waiting to be indefed if nothing else. --Adamant1 (talk) 20:38, 28 September 2025 (UTC)

Commons Photographers User Group Virtual Meeting, October 2025

Hello Jmabel!

You are receiving this message because you are one of our esteemed members of the Commons Photographers User Group.

You are invited to the next virtual meeting of the Commons Photographers User Group! This is a great opportunity to connect, discuss important updates, and plan for the future of our group. Please register for the event using the link below!

Agenda:

1.   Welcome and CPUG Updates
2.   Upcoming Election
3.   Commons Conference
4.   Community Updates
5.   Other topics

Date and Time

•   Date: Sunday, October 12, 2025
•   Time: 4:00 PM UTC (Check your local time)
•   Venue: Online (Google Meet link will be shared closer to the date on Registration page)
•   Register here: Sign up on Meta-Wiki

We look forward to seeing you there!

Thank You, -- Suyash Dwivedi (💬) 19:23, 2 October 2025 (UTC) - (Chair, CPUG)

The Great 1967 Movie Screenshot Debate

I think that other Admin made the correct decision to delete that screenshot on appeal, although his rationale was partially incorrect (e.g. the nonsense about the UAE). However, that is a tacit acknowledgement that he got his facts wrong first time around. Anyway, I thank you for your personal input. Regards, Muzilon (talk) 00:55, 3 October 2025 (UTC)

Commons mission

You wrote No, commons is not primarily a repository of educational resources for other Wikimedia projects on a thread. I want this to be true, but have gotten the opposite impression. Can you offer me any advice on how I might effectively advocate for this position? Thanks and all the best. Jerimee (talk) 20:00, 3 October 2025 (UTC)

@Jerimee: could you indicate where I wrote that? If I were restating it, I'd probably leave out the word "educational". That is more part of the other half of our mandate.

From the outset, Commons has had a dual mandate: as a service to our sister projects, and as a project in its own right. Probably the best writeup I've done of this is at Commons:How to#How is Commons related to its "sister projects"? and the following section there.

A few other remarks that may be relevant.

• This first one is a bit of an aside but—limiting our role as a support of the various sister projects—Commons is the only Wikimedia project that is not allowed to have an meta:Exemption Doctrine Policy. This means, for example, that even if 42 wikipedias want to use the same non-free logo, we are not allowed to host that logo.
• Commons' role as a support for sister projects is why scope reasons can never be grounds to delete a file that is in use by a sister project. The fact that a sister project is using the file is sufficient for the file to be in scope.
• Commons' other role—as a repository of educational media in our own right—is empitomized by our taking in massive historical archives. A few examples of media that we host for reasons little related to our sister projects:

• Category:Media contributed by Seattle Public Library. If you look through that, you'll quickly see that not one file in 20 there is imaginably of use to other Wikimedia projects, but all of them fall under our mandate of likely educational use.
• Category:Fremont Summer Solstice Parade: this one is largely my doing. There are probably in all of the subcats about a dozen, maybe 2 dozen images that make their way into some Wikipedia, or Wikivoyage, or something else. Nonetheless, I'd say they are pretty certainly in Commons' scope for other reasons. Similarly, Category:HONK!: a few of these street bands are notable in their own right and have or deserve Wikipedia articles, but most of this is just photo-documentation of a cultural phenomenon. Infrogmation has done a lot of similar work for New Orleans.
• Another of mine: Green River Trail. This gallery is basically an end in itself. Green River Trail uses three of these photos, and would be unlikely ever to use more than a couple more, but the gallery fits a scope that is specifically Commons'. (By the way, I feel gallery pages are probably the most underutilized major capability of Commons.)

I hope that helps at least a little. I'm currently traveling and don't have a lot of time to focus on this right now. I happen to have a couple of hours break at the moment. - Jmabel ! talk 21:20, 3 October 2025 (UTC)

very helpful; thank you Jerimee (talk) 23:31, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

@Jerimee: also: Commons:Why Wikimedia Commons is useful. - Jmabel ! talk 00:32, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

Category:Documents from the US Naval Postgraduate School Library for license review

Rather than having a lot of DR, some of the borderline cases were placed in a special category. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 08:53, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

@ShakespeareFan00: Somewhere along the way, they got rid of the separate PD review template and lumped it into {{LicenseReview}}, which is not really a great fit for these cases. Can you look at what I did to the following files & tell me whether you would like this approached differently than what I did?

• File:Wisconsin newspapers - their coverage of a student demonstration, Feb. 7-21, 1969. (IA wisconsinnewspap00mart).pdf
• File:Work measurement in the U.S. Marine Corps. (IA workmeasurementi19531park 1).pdf
• File:Work with a noble gas scintillation counter. (IA workwithnoblegas00pick).pdf
• File:X-ray detection of cladding effects (IA xraydetectionofc00herk).pdf

Jmabel ! talk 12:34, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

Looks good to me, feel free to continue. - I think I created a reviewed subcat for the parent to the review category. :). ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 12:51, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

Category:Scans from the Internet Archive/unverified

The category header/info explains what to do. Essentialy, the file licenses need to be checked for PD status. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 13:01, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

1. @ShakespeareFan00: Please post this somewhere more general than my talk page. I'm traveling, and have only so much time to focus on this sort of thing in the next month. - Jmabel ! talk 13:03, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

Noted. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 13:05, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

Belated Wiki Anniversary Wishes 🎉

Happy Wiki Anniversary

Dear Jmabel,

Your wiki anniversary was 29 days ago, marking 14 years of dedicated service! I wanted to extend a heartfelt thanks for your amazing contributions. With over 589,125 edits, your dedication is an inspiration to the community. Wishing you all the best for the year ahead!

Use this Tool to send wiki anniversary wishes to other amazing Wikimedians.

-- -- Suyash Dwivedi (💬) 15:52, 8 October 2025 (UTC)

No idea where you got 14 years from, I've been active on Commons much longer than that. Jmabel ! talk 18:00, 8 October 2025 (UTC)

User:BMacZero

I just wanted to note, from the discussion you mentioned me in, that I'm not actually an admin, I only have rollback. Have a good one! – BMacZero (🗩) 16:09, 8 October 2025 (UTC)

Geez, why aren't you an admin? Jmabel ! talk 17:57, 8 October 2025 (UTC)

Restoring your Signature

Hi, I think you accidently used five ~ instead of four ~ and I have restored your signature in this edit: Commons:Village pump/Proposals: Difference between revisions - Wikimedia Commons. --Schlurcher (talk) 15:43, 11 October 2025 (UTC)

Thanks! Jmabel ! talk 16:25, 11 October 2025 (UTC)

Andelosko Arkeologia Museoa

Hi Jmabel. I hope you are well. This discussion seems to have stalled. Do you have any objetions if I move the title to "Andelosko Arkeologia Museoa"? It's the proper name of the instution in the local language. Regards, tyk (talk) 09:51, 12 October 2025 (UTC)

@Tyk: I don't have time to research right now. Have you looked? If it's the majority, sure, if not we should go with English (I presume Spanish won't be a contender, but I could be wrong.) - Jmabel ! talk 12:28, 12 October 2025 (UTC)

Spanish is also a local language in that area, so it could well be named in Spanish. I was only thinking of keeping Basque because it is the language used by the user who created the category. I wouldn't translate the name of an institution into English though. tyk (talk) 12:38, 12 October 2025 (UTC)

@Tyk: Again, it's a matter of matching the prevailing pattern for comparable institutions in the same geographical region. I'd guess that will mean either Euskadi or English. Have a look if you want the issue resolved. I'll be very surprised if there is much Spanish, because Basque nationalists would have jumped on that in a way they would not jump on English. - Jmabel ! talk 13:35, 12 October 2025 (UTC)

Defunct magazines of the United States

Magazines by a a given time is more specific than defunct. Rathfelder (talk) 16:47, 17 October 2025 (UTC)

@Rathfelder: but doesn't indicate what country. When we have cat intersections in various combinations, we use all the most precise ones (those which do not have a descendant cat also used). Jmabel ! talk 18:15, 17 October 2025 (UTC)

Those I am editting are all categorised by country as well as date - at least that is what I intend. Rathfelder (talk) 20:22, 17 October 2025 (UTC)

I'm sorry, I don't now recall what file this was over, and you didn't link it in starting this discussion, but I believe where I made that remark to you there was no other category intersecting that it was defunct 9or implicitly defunct, via having a disestablishment date) and that it was in the U.S. - Jmabel ! talk 20:26, 17 October 2025 (UTC)

WCNA notes

Thanks for the recommendation for me to look into "El mirall perdut." I think there is a lot of potential in modeling complex and traveling exhibition types. Here is our request for comment with the data model we are proposing: Wikidata:Wikidata:Requests for comment/Exhibition models. Hexatekin (talk) 16:54, 19 October 2025 (UTC)

WCNA greeting

It was very cool talking about Stampfel and music in general. w:Robert Dick is the flutist I mentioned. The Tduk (talk) 15:31, 21 October 2025 (UTC)

Thanks! Robert Dick (flutist) (the other was a disambig).

@Tduk: let me aim you at a fine musician from Seattle: Amy Denio. Also a brilliantly insane band: The Squirrels. Probably their best known album: The Not-So-Bright Side Of The Moon. - Jmabel ! talk 00:31, 22 October 2025 (UTC)

Desbloqueo en Wikipedia en Español

@Jmabel:Buenas por favor habla en la wikipedia en español (Wikipedia:Café/Archivo/Miscelánea/Actual) el usuario Taichi (ahora no es un bibliotecario en Wikipedia) me bloqueó de manera indefinida por este (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Solicitudes_de_verificaci%C3%B3n_de_usuarios/Noviembre_2024#c-Jaluj-20241021150300-Taichi-20241021045400 en la parte en archivos Pido Aclaración) esas 2 cuentas no son mías (ósea títeres) ,necesito que hable con bibliotecarios para desbloquear (https://es.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Especial:UsuariosBloqueados&wpTarget=%239201891) para yo puedo crear otra cuenta nueva por favor. AbchyZa22 (talk) 18:54, 22 October 2025 (UTC)

@AbchyZa22: Apenas tengo un rol en la Wikipedia en español, y tu cuenta allí no me parece estar bloqueada. En cualquier caso, no puedo decir nada sobre si usaste varias cuentas. Deberías responder tú mismo en la discusión, cosa que veo que no has hecho.- Jmabel ! talk 02:07, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

@Jmabel:Aquí está (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usuario:AbchyZa22). AbchyZa22 (talk) 06:32, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

@AbchyZa22: @es:Usuario discusión:Taichi#AbchyZa22. Pero deberías haber participado en la discusión mientras aún estaba activa. Estuviera mucho más fácil prevenir un bloqueo como discutir para terminarlo. - Jmabel ! talk 13:06, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

@AbchyZa22: Y puedes ver el resultado. You soy insultado y tu no eres ayudado. Como he dicho, no soy activo en la Wikipedia en español, y allí soy Don Nadie. No soy hispanohablante nativo, y no intento continuar donde no soy bienvenido. - Jmabel ! talk 15:08, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

@Jmabel:Gracias por la ayuda Jmabel,pero por favor parece que respondio Taichi (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usuario_discusi%C3%B3n:Jmabel) AbchyZa22 (talk) 18:04, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

Category:Videos of Donald Trump in 2025

Is it alright with you if we diffuse the category by month or would that be a case of excessive diffusion? Trade (talk) 09:27, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

@Trade: yes, it looks large enough for that to make sense. - Jmabel ! talk 11:47, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Me nombró Autopatroller

@Jmabel:Buenas,Yann me nombró Autopatroller por ser good user (por que yo colabore en Commons:Administrators' noticeboard/User problems#LaloLanda28) ,necesito saber como pongo template de Autopatroller para poner en mi cuenta (AbchyZa22). AbchyZa22 (talk) 18:44, 8 November 2025 (UTC)

@AbchyZa22: Lo mismo como cualquiera otra plantilla (template). Si tienes dudas, mira la página de otra persona que lo tenga y copia lo que hizo. - Jmabel ! talk 18:48, 8 November 2025 (UTC)

@Jmabel:Dame un ejemplo de un usuario. AbchyZa22 (talk) 18:49, 8 November 2025 (UTC)

@AbchyZa22: Me resultaría igual de difícil encontrar uno que a ti. Ocúpate de lo tuyo, déjame hacer lo mío. - Jmabel ! talk 18:52, 8 November 2025 (UTC)

@Jmabel:Buenas, ya encontré el Template era {{User autopatroller}},gracias. AbchyZa22 (talk) 08:30, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

RevDel request

Hey there, I'd like to request a RevDel of the original version of my upload File:Corn in regional NSW, Australia, 2022.jpg as the EXIF data contained the camera location which I'd prefer not to be publicly available. I've uploaded a new version with the data removed. Thanks! SnowyRiver28 (talk) 00:31, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

 Done - Jmabel ! talk 00:39, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

Category move.

Hello @Jmabel,

I moved a category that you named in 2016 to a name that I thought would be more meaningful to more readers or editors. Here: [1], I just spelled out the Foundation's full name. I did not think it was a controversial change, but on second thought, I wanted to let you know about the change.

Best regards, -- Ooligan (talk) 06:49, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

@Ooligan: There is a "Nisei Veterans Committee," but I believe the foundation is strictly "NVC Foundation." Have a look at their own website, including the "About" page. Do you have a reliable/authoritative source that actually calls them the "Nisei Veterans Committee Foundation"? Not a big deal to me as long as there is some basis for this name, but if it's completely made up then we should not be using it. - Jmabel ! talk 16:24, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

I tried to mave the category back to its orginial NVC Foundation name, but the moved was blocked with this message, "The page could not be moved, for the following reason: A page already exists at Category:NVC Foundation, or the page name you have chosen is not valid. Please choose another name." @Jmabel, can you please share the link that explains how I can make this change? I could not find it. Thanks, -- Ooligan (talk) 02:29, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

@Ooligan: I've deleted the redirect; you should be able to move it back now. You can't move to a redirect page, any more than you can move to any other existing page. - Jmabel ! talk 02:51, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

Got it.  Done. Cheers, -- Ooligan (talk) 03:05, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

Copyright status: File:Seattle - Friends of Discovery Park mailer, 1977.pdf

Copyright status: File:Seattle - Friends of Discovery Park mailer, 1977.pdf

This media may be deleted.

Thanks for uploading File:Seattle - Friends of Discovery Park mailer, 1977.pdf. I notice that the file page either doesn't contain enough information about the license or it contains contradictory information about the license, so the copyright status is unclear. If you created this file yourself, then you must provide a valid copyright tag. For example, you can tag it with {{self|GFDL|cc-by-sa-all}} to release it under the multi-license GFDL plus Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike All-version license or you can tag it with {{self|cc-zero}} to release it into the public domain. (See Commons:Copyright tags for the full list of license tags that you can use.) If you did not create the file yourself or if it is a derivative of another work that is possibly subject to copyright protection, then you must specify where you found it (e.g. usually a link to the web page where you got it), you must provide proof that it has a license that is acceptable for Commons (e.g. usually a link to the terms of use for content from that page), and you must add an appropriate license tag. If you did not create the file yourself and the specific source and license information is not available on the web, you must obtain permission through the VRT system and follow the procedure described there. Note that any unsourced or improperly licensed files will be deleted one week after they have been marked as lacking proper information, as described in criteria for deletion. If you have uploaded other files, please confirm that you have provided the proper information for those files, too. If you have any questions about licenses please ask at Commons:Village pump/Copyright or see our help pages. Thank you.

This action was performed automatically by AntiCompositeBot (talk) (FAQ) 08:05, 14 November 2025 (UTC)

Special:Diff/1115414050

Hello, thank you for your comments at Commons:Administrators' noticeboard/Vandalism. I plan to follow them. However, I have several notes related to this action.

• Removal of the CSD tag really happened, please check the deleted revisions of the userpage in question.
• The aim of the report (Special:Diff/1115414050) is the userpage deletion. I have no intent of a block request.
• This is not my first time reporting users in this way, please see Special:Diff/1107660321, Special:Diff/1106695600, Special:Diff/1105549144 for other examples.
• I usually report users removing CSD tags to make my SD request count without repeating the restoration of the CSD tag and avoiding 3RR issues. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for making an SD request when the removal of the CSD tag is repeated.

I hope these help you learn about my intent. Thank you for your attention and assistance in this matter. MathXplore (talk) 12:17, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

• @MathXplore: You will never get in trouble for restoring an inappropriately removed CSD.
• Nothing wrong with reporting to admin noticeboard, but (1) if your problem is about a particular edit, please provide a diff, don't implicitly ask the admins to go through the history and find it; (2) if you have a particular remedy in mind, state it. That board is overwhelmingly requests for blocks (look at the outcomes of the threads there), so if you don't say otherwise that is what any admin will assume you want by posting there. - Jmabel ! talk 17:25, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

  @Jmabel, Can you add some text to Commons:Criteria for speedy deletion about "removal of the CSD tag" issue and how editors should submit any CSD tag removal properly to the Admin noticeboard? Thanks, -- Ooligan (talk) 02:48, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

  • @Ooligan: It's a policy page, so I can't just go edit it substantively. Any change would have to be taken up at least on the talk page of that policy page, and possibly at COM:VP/P. - Jmabel ! talk 02:58, 17 November 2025 (UTC)
  • @Ooligan: Discussion started at Commons talk:Criteria for speedy deletion#Should this page take up the question of Template:Speedy delete and vandalism?. - Jmabel ! talk 03:51, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

    Jmabel, I read that discussion. Thanks for starting it. -- Best regards, Ooligan (talk) 04:30, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

request help with sudden problem

MY KEYBOARD IS STUCK IN ALL CAPS. IT JUST HAPPENED SUDDENLY. Krok6kola (talk) 01:48, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

@Krok6kola: not much I can do about that, but I'd say don't log out, because you probably will not be able to log back in. Any chance your caps lock is physically stuck? - Jmabel ! talk 01:57, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

if i use the shift key I getlower case Krok6kola (talk) 22:32, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

@Krok6kola: Then, indeed, the Caps lock is on. Should be just above the Shift key, on the left side of your keyboard. - Jmabel ! talk 22:36, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for that! I looked all over, including Wikipedia, for the information you just revealed. Krok6kola (talk) 22:52, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

Communication assistance possible?

Hello Joe, mind me asking for some of your time? If it's OK, can you give Commons:Deletion requests/Files uploaded by SyzygyRebel a read, please? There, I encountered a Wikimedian who's apparently full of good intentions and who puzzled me by his weirdly friendly behaviour - it must be a cultural thing, with them acting in their way to me while I tried to explain Commons' ways of working. A clear result is seen in their recent contribs, the awareness about IP rights is certainly raised.

My question is: is there something that I overlooked or that I can still transmit? Or should I leave the remainder to VRT staff? Kind regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 16:35, 19 November 2025 (UTC)

@Grand-Duc: Man, that's really long & I don't have the patience right now to read through it to see if anything was omitted. I'm very busy IRL right now, & very backlogged here. I'm almost certain there are other admins a lot more available than I am at this moment.

Did you aim them at all at COM:THIRD with reference to the contributions that are not their own? Basically, I spent a couple of days writing that so I didn't have to say the same things over and over. - Jmabel ! talk 19:21, 19 November 2025 (UTC)

I contacted you as I formed the impression that you're a reliable colleague with communication skills that are better than mine, kind of similar to a knowledgeable, composed Elder in tribal communities of old. But no worries if you don't have time! I do not want to impose on you.

That said, yes, I recommended giving COM:THIRD a read (Commons:Deletion_requests/Files_uploaded_by_SyzygyRebel#c-Grand-Duc-20251028064400-SyzygyRebel-20251027000000). Kind regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 19:57, 19 November 2025 (UTC)

I added the one major thing that, on a skim, I believe was missing. Not really a lot else to do there other than sit back & see what happens. - Jmabel ! talk 19:59, 19 November 2025 (UTC)

Help desk, logo thing "incompetent admins"

I was bold and removed the whole thing, the TO is obviously NOTHERE to contribute, but only for ranting and provocative postings. The block idea certainly has much appeal... Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 22:17, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

File:Pat Fish.jpg

Hi Jmabel. Do you think File:Pat Fish.jpg needs VRT verification? There's no source information or EXIF data to work off of, and this is the only upload of the account who uploaded it, and they don't appear to have editing anywhere else. The copyright statement/watermark also (at least to me) looks like something added after the fact by photoshop of MS paint, but I can't really find the photo being used elsewhere online. -- Marchjuly (talk) 08:08, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

@Marchjuly: They look pretty consistent with the 2 uploads by User:The Fixx (same photographer name credited; they had one deleted upload, but it was deleted for having no license at all). I personally wouldn't ask for VRT: I'd say this looks like someone legit but not very concerned with Commons, and unlikely to bother crossing their Ts and dotting their Is. Which is to say, it would surprise me if there is a real problem, but would surprise me even more if they stepped up to deal with the technicalities. So (in my view) asking for VRT here is covering a very unlikely chance of trouble by almost certainly deleting the photo. - Jmabel ! talk 08:22, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

Fair enough. Thank you for taking a look. -- Marchjuly (talk) 11:31, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

Commons Photographers User Group: Board Elections 2025

Dear member of the Commons Photographers User Group,

the 2025 board election is starting soon.

The timeline for the 2025 election will be

• November 25 – December 2: Applications for the election committee
• December 2 – December 15: Vote for election committee (if necessary)
• December 16: Election committee starts work
• December 20 – January 4: Nomination phase for candidacies
• January 5 – January 11: Elections
• January 15: Results announced

In the first step we ask you to be part of the election committe. Please add your name on the Election Page.

We are very much looking forward to hearing from you. Please use this talk page for your thoughts.

All the best

--Ailura (talk) for the CPUG board

Multilingual "First steps"

Hello Joe,

in the last days, two times you pointed out a more precise link to COM:First steps, in Portuguese and Italian, when I only gave the basic English page - as I didn't know the other links. I'm missing a header akin to the "Other languages" found e.g. on COM:Licensing on the COM:First steps. Do you know how such a header box could be offered? Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 01:38, 26 November 2025 (UTC)

@Grand-Duc: Probably by constructing a template by hand and putting it on the various language "First steps" pages. Since the page isn't marked for translation, you can't use {{TNT}}, which is the most normal way to do that sort of thing.

The once for the various languages are all at names like COM:First steps/es, even if they also have a native-language redirect to take you there, so it's easy to check for the existence of these when trying to help someone. But I agree that having a header on all of these pages that gives the multiple languages would be a good idea. - Jmabel ! talk 01:45, 26 November 2025 (UTC)

Problematic user, posible copyright problems

Hi Jmabelǃ I would like to ask you about a tricky issue. There is a user (this one) whose behavior on Wikimedia projects (es:wiki, Commons, and Wikidata) is becoming problematic. To give you some context, on es:wiki he has created many articles with problems related to sources and other factors. And, despite receiving dozens of warnings about this, he has continued to create articles with the same problems.

To give you an example, on Wikidata, an administrator called him out not only for his edits, but also because he didn't even bother to respond the messages. In the case of es:wiki, you can already see the long collection of warnings he has received over the past year.

Through es:wiki and its practices I arrived to his activiy in Commons, where I see the same problematic behavior. For example, the uploading of images that the user claims to be himself the author (something that, a priori, doesn't seem at all clear). Here are some examples of this dynamic: 1, 2, 3. Another problematic category are the images that are uploaded without being clear that they have the license the user indicates. Andalupedia, which is a source that is frequently cited, isn't a very reliable site for these matters. Some examples: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Another problematic category are the images that have a supposed source, but the license cannot even be verified (example: 16).

So...what can be done? Because with the user's intense activity, it will be very difficult to fix this emerging problem in the future. CFA1877 (talk) 18:40, 26 November 2025 (UTC)

@CFA1877: behavior on es-wiki is largely irrelevant here on Commons, unless it involves sockpuppeting; when at all possible, keep Commons discussions to behavior on Commons.

I looked at half a dozen of the files you linked above and I see that neither you nor anyone else has nominated any of them for deletion. If you believe this user is continually uploading files with copyright issues, then you really need to establish a track record of that. I do see that they have had a fair number of files deleted here before over the course of a year-and-a-half; perhaps your best course of action would be to look at their uploads from the last 30 days, see if a number of those have the sort of issues listed above, and if so start a discussion at COM:AN/U (with appropriate notice to the user) saying that they have had lots of copyvios deleted in the past and listing the examples to show that they are not improving. On the other hand, if only a low percentage of recent uploads have such problems, you probably cannot do anything more than start DRs.

I hope that helps. My apologies that I don't really have the time right now to offer to plunge into this myself. - Jmabel ! talk 20:38, 26 November 2025 (UTC)

Warner collection checking task

Commons:Batch uploading/University of Washington Digital Collections/Warner Author Repair. BMacZero says, 'The only ones that should need manual review now are the ones with yellow or red messages, and probably the "Known Photographer" images from your source, in case UWash does not reflect those authors, since all of this was still based on the UWash data.' - Jmabel ! talk 01:31, 1 December 2025 (UTC) Finding aid is at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv12719#ss11. - Jmabel ! talk 01:39, 1 December 2025 (UTC)

• Check is complete. - Jmabel ! talk 21:27, 2 December 2025 (UTC)

Commons Photographers User Group: Board Elections 2025/2

Dear member of the Commons Photographers User Group,

thank you for your interest in our board election.

This week we ask you to vote for the election committe.

Please support up to three candidates on the Election Page by December 16th, 00:00 UTC.

We are very much looking forward to hearing from you. Please use this talk page for your thoughts.

All the best

--Ailura (talk) for the CPUG board

Help in testing TP notifications?

Hello Joe,

could you help me with a little test?
Yesterday, I got a troll with a "dick nick" visiting my talk page. The e-mail notification about these TP modifications was filtered out by my spam filter, probably because it contained the nickname. While I hope that the current filters that my provider uses are elaborate enough to recognise and differentiate legitimate Commons mails from those caused by trolls, I'd like to make sure.
Could you (and perhaps also some talk page stalker who happens upon this request) post something on my talk page to see whether that mail notification goes through? Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 07:14, 3 December 2025 (UTC)

Thank you Joe, it worked. The filters are apparently smart enough, I got the mail as usual. Regards, Grand-Duc (talk) 07:36, 3 December 2025 (UTC)

Black and white

Hello, wondering if you have thoughts on this. These two files are exactly alike: File:Bertillon - Identification anthropométrique (1893) 062.2.png and File:Bertillon - Identification anthropométrique (1893) 062.2 n&b.png. They are both black and white, but the first one hasn't been desaturated. Should both have color (P462) → black-and-white (Q838368)? Perhaps the first might use monochromatic color (Q6901438) or monochrome (Q10770146)? I feel like monochromatic color (Q6901438) is most properly for "single non-black color with neutral background (ie 'white')" and the files that have this value mostly fit that description. Using a value like sepia (Q767608) also seems incorrect, but I'm not sure why I have that opinion.

I can't really think of a use case where one would seek out "black and sepia" scans that possess color only in the trivial technical sense, except perhaps to improve them. Clearly I'm overthinking this. Here - https://w.wiki/GVnR - is a list of values found on wikidata, but that query doesn't include SDC values. Jerimee (talk) 21:40, 4 December 2025 (UTC)

@Jerimee: Just link them with {{Other version}}. And, yes, you are overthinking this. You have already put more time into this than any imaginable gain by deleting one of the versions. - Jmabel ! talk 21:44, 4 December 2025 (UTC)

Renomination for deletion (Phoebe Bridgers)

Hello! I'm requesting a reconsideration of the decision to Keep this file. I have been advised by the artist's management that the person who uploaded the file initially to Flickr, where it remains deleted because of copyright violation, did not have the right to make the photo available. Specifically, management told me that photographers were granted the right to shoot during a specific time window, "but the policy did not transfer copyright so ownership remains with the artist [Phoebe Bridgers] as the policy stated any approvals of these photos needed to be run by management." Flickr removed the photo because of a copyright violation as "the photographer didn’t have permission to upload anything as this was a private event and any approvals must be run by the artist's team before going live." So at the very least the person who uploaded the photo was in violation of a contract and lacked the right to do so. Additionally, one of the editors who argued strongly to Keep (Y2kcrazyjoker4) has now disappeared, which raises questions of their motivation. Thanks in advance for taking another look! PSPazW (talk) 15:29, 8 December 2025 (UTC)

@PSPazW: Non-copyright consideration. Their management can sue him for breach of contract, but that's not Commons' affair. - Jmabel ! talk 19:31, 8 December 2025 (UTC)

They claim there IS a copyright violation, and Flickr accepted that claim and removed the image... would they have to file a DMCA suit as their only option for the Commons? PSPazW (talk) 19:37, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

As far as I'm concerned, yes. I believe the credited photographer. Even if the facts are as you stated above, I see no copyright violation. - Jmabel ! talk 19:45, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

And I believe the press rep – and in any case they have conflicting stories. ~2025-39729-34 (talk) 21:04, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Again, though, if the matter is as PSPazW, that would be a non-copyright restriction, which is not Commons' affair. - Jmabel ! talk 21:07, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Forgive my ignorance – can you explain what makes it a non-copyright restriction? PSPazW (talk) 23:24, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

And I misspoke – it's the artist's management I've spoken to, not a press rep. PSPazW (talk) 23:27, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Copyright initiation is entirely about who took the photo, not about whether they may have been violating a contract by doing so. - Jmabel ! talk 23:47, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) This would only be a copyright matter if the photographer signed some sort of contract that explicitly granted Bridgers and/or her management the copyright to the photos (think the very weird Oasis fiasco). I've photographed several events where they have requested approval before publishing (which I oblige), but it's always been simply an ask with no sort of contract involved (and certainly no contract involving copyright). ~Kevin Payravi (talk) 00:13, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

@Kevin Payravi: similarly. I've photographed for bands and done architectural photography on private property where they had negotiated approval on what could be published; I've traveled for a magazine under a contract that gave them an exclusive on the use of the photos for a fixed period of time; but I've never signed over a copyright. In this situation, which sounds like a considerably more casual business relationship than most of those, I'd be particularly surprised if Raph_PH had signed over his. - Jmabel ! talk 01:02, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Category:Allen Gilbert Cram

Hi. You just deleted Category:Allen Gilbert Cram as "Unused and implausible redirect (G2)." Looking at Allan Gilbert Cram (Q4731662) several authority sites use the misspelling of "Allen," while others use the correct spelling of "Allan." While "Allen" is a misspelling, I think it is quite plausible for future editors to replicate the mistake of those authority sites. Would you mind if I recreate the category with Template:Category redirect? I'd normally create the redirect without asking, but I don't want to do that so soon after deletion. From Hill To Shore (talk) 00:05, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

@From Hill To Shore: OK, I'll restore it. It is almost certainly a misspelling, but if some authorities use it, it should be there. - Jmabel ! talk 00:07, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

Category:Gistáin

Hi Jmabel. The user Willtron has moved the category name of this municipality without giving any explanation. As you can see here, in the official website of the municipality, the main name is "Gistáin" and not "Chisten", as he has changed. He didn't open a disscusion in the category (I have done), just moved by his own. It is the second time this year he has done this, perhaps do you remember the first time with this municipality. Since the user has reoffended, despite what happened last time, would you mind to (this and this). CFA1877 (talk) 11:19, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

@CFA1877: Seems like you are approaching this correctly. I don't see any reason that you are addressing me as an individual, though. If you just want a broader contributor base involved in the specific decision, word the conflict as neutrally as you can at COM:VP, link from there to the category talk page, and mention on the category talk page that you have done so, so that if Willtron believes your wording on COM:VP is non-neutral he has a chance to respond there. (Neurtrality meaning that you do not re-state your case on COM:VP, just indicate what the conflict is about; normally I would say you could paraphrase both sides, but since he has not given an explicit rationale, the only way to stay neutral is not to state either.) If you think there is a problem with the user's conduct that needs administrative attention, bring it to COM:AN/U (and don't forget to notify the user on their talk page). - Jmabel ! talk 17:39, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

Ok. Understood. CFA1877 (talk) 17:54, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

Looking for advice

Hi Jmabel,

I've started getting more involved with CfD's the past few months, in particular with closing discussions. I came across this one: Commons:Categories for discussion/2018/11/Category:Theaters in New Zealand which has been open for several years. The discussion is about changing "Theaters of New Zealand" to "Theatres of New Zealand" (and doing the same for other countries where that is the local spelling). There is a clear consensus, though the discussion appears to be heavily canvassed. (With most CfD's you're lucky to get 3 different participants, and these are usually familiar faces).

As Ghouston points out, doing so violates the universality principle, which states:

Identical items should have identical names for all countries and at all levels of categorization. The categorization structure should be as systematical and unified as possible, and local dialects and terminology should be suppressed in favour of universality if possible. Analogic categorization branches should have an analogic structure.

This was brushed off as not relevant, but it clearly applies to situations such as these (it even sounds like it was written specifically with situations like these in mind). If the local categories are to be renamed, then all parent and sibling categories should all be renamed as well. But seeing as the discussion is about a variation in English spelling, this wouldn't violate any other policies, it's just a lot of work.

So my thought was to either close the discussion with the conclusion that the local categories can be renamed, but that then all other categories starting at "Theater" and then working your way down should be renamed as well (though this was not discussed as an option), or that the discussion should be re-done at the top level, as it concerns all subcategories as well (I imagine this would piss off a lot of people). Either way, I don't see renaming a few categories in violation of established policy as an option.

My question is, which of these options would be best? Should I mass ping the people in the discussion (many of whom are still relatively active on Commons) to ask them? Or is this the type of CfD that shouldn't be closed by non-admins, and I should just leave it be? Best regards, --ReneeWrites (talk) 12:02, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

@ReneeWrites:

1. I really would have expected to handle the U.S. differently here, as we do with Category:Gas stations in the United States.
2. Otherwise, I'd work from the top down. I'd also be concerned to do this all the edits with tools that tag their edits (e.g. Cat-a-lot), because otherwise some people will end up with hundreds of changes at once in their watchlist and no way to filter them.
3. Yes, it may not be one for a non-admin to resolve. Give me a chance to have a look later today; I'm quite ill at the moment, definitely not 100%.

Jmabel ! talk 17:24, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

It's no rush, this discussion has been open for years, it can stand to be open for a little while longer. Thanks for taking the time to look into this more, and I hope you feel better soon. ReneeWrites (talk) 17:47, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

@ReneeWrites: I imagine my solution there won't thrill anyone, but I think it's the best that can be done. The context of the discussion was too narrow for a good solution, and there was almost certainly some canvassing. - Jmabel ! talk 21:06, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

• There is no 'universality principle'. That was added by one editor, opposed, in order to win an edit war. Andy Dingley (talk) 20:33, 10 December 2025 (UTC)
  • @Andy Dingley: it is in Commons:Categories, which is policy. It has been there over a decade, introduced 2 February 2014 as part of an extensive edit by ŠJů. I'd say that if it didn't have strong support, that has been plenty of time to get it removed. - Jmabel ! talk 21:16, 10 December 2025 (UTC)
    • @Jmabel and Andy Dingley: The "universality principle" was formulated on 2007-06-20 by User:Juiced lemon. In 2014, I only participated in incorporating the basic principles of categorization that had been consensually declared for many years from the category-naming page to the more general categorization-principles page. Of course, we all know that some nations have never accepted some of the rules and principles on some topics, but would anyone want to question and change the basic principles after 18 years of general consensus? --ŠJů (talk) 21:50, 10 December 2025 (UTC)
    • Then this sounds like a very good time to remove it. Any of us can do so unilaterally, that's only how it was put there. Andy Dingley (talk) 23:20, 10 December 2025 (UTC)
      • No, @Andy Dingley, that is simply not the case. After well over a decade of at least implicit consensus on a policy, you cannot change it by a unilateral edit, and if you do make that edit I will bring this to COM:AN/U. - Jmabel ! talk 23:26, 10 December 2025 (UTC)
        • It is not 'implicit consensus' when this has been opposed constantly since it was added, regularly defeated on specific examples and it's only there because (see Category talk:Driving cabs of watercraft) ŠJů is a more persistent edit warrior than anyone else.

Would your complaint at ANU be on the basis of it being against your admin content-issue supervote, or just for the general threat of admin powers to chill any disagreements? Andy Dingley (talk) 00:04, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• • • • • I agree with Andy. Ever since this "uniform" name change rule made names and places unrecognizable to the residents of that place, I have objected. Is the Commons here to serve the editors here or individuals in the world, i.e. potential users, who want to find and recognized names and places that are familiar to them. Krok6kola (talk) 00:11, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

It may be better to tolerate a justified exception from time to time than to destroy the most basic principles of categorization entirely. These principles have been in effect here almost since the beginning of Commons' existence. --ŠJů (talk) 00:25, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• @ŠJů precisely. If you look at the CfD in question here, that is exactly what I'm suggesting is the correct solution in this case (though the CfD was too narrow for me to close it that way, drawing mainly the attention of people working on New Zealand topics, and complicated by apparent canvassing). I cited Category:Gas stations in the United States as another example (not that I was the first to bring it up there, but I think it is the canonical case of an exception).

• These have not been here all that long. I am a relatively new editor here, only 10 years or so, and I remember clearly about 8 years ago when these were foist upon us without our say - "us" being the everyday editor who is not asked our opinion about such changes. Krok6kola (talk) 01:14, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
  • @Krok6kola: look at the edit history, there is nothing unclear about the dates. - Jmabel ! talk 01:20, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• • The dates for what? The only reference is a discussion about gas stations in 2020. I remember complaining at the time of this change about "trams" replacing "streetcars" but I was totally disregarded by the powers that be. Krok6kola (talk) 01:43, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
    • @Krok6kola: The dates for the policy. 2007 introduced in guideline (or draft, status a bit unclear); ŠJů firmly places it in policy, 2014. - Jmabel ! talk 02:01, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
      • So it was "firmly" in place a good two years before I was ever on the Commons, so of course I had no say several years later when "tram" replaced "streetcar" etc. So that explains why I, and the thousands of editors that started on the Commons after 2014, are so firmly disenfranchized. And never to have a say again on these issue. Krok6kola (talk) 02:20, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
        • Of course you can propose a change in the policy. What you can't do is change it unilaterally. - Jmabel ! talk 02:24, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• Commons is way past the point where significant, possibly controversial policy changes can reasonably be made by one person going in and unilaterally editing a policy page. You can look at any of the many policy changes and guideline changes I've proposed over the years and see that I never approach it that way. - Jmabel ! talk 00:47, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• And yet you're defending a policy that was made in exactly that way. Andy Dingley (talk) 01:06, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
  • In a far less mature project, ŠJů in 2014 moved it from a longstanding page of slightly unclear status (it had changed a couple of times; at that point, if I read correctly, it was proposed policy/guidelne) into a policy page. - Jmabel ! talk 01:11, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• Yes, it was moved from being a personal essay, with no other support, to being a carved-in-stone policy. By one editor, using it as their defence in an ongoing edit-war over that topic. That is no way to make policies. However with Commons having no functional CfD process and any policy decisions being little more than tumbleweeds, that's what we get.

If this is such a great policy idea, then what does its originator, @Juiced lemon: , have to say in its support? Andy Dingley (talk) 13:16, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• Jmabel, I don't understand why you are defending a policy/guideline that was a "significant, possibly controversial policy change" at the time and was "approved" in a way that could never be approved in that fashion today. Krok6kola (talk) 16:08, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
  • Almost all policies in the first few years of the project were established rather casually. Many have been changed because someone developed a clear consensus against them (an obvious example was getting rid of "be bold"). This one has now stood the test of time. - Jmabel ! talk 18:01, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• 2014 was not the dark ages. Nor has this 'stood the test of time', it's one editor's get-out-of-jail card and has been challenged constantly ever since. It was only added in the middle of an edit war. Andy Dingley (talk) 20:15, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
• @Andy Dingley: if you want to change the policy, which might be a fine idea, take it to COM:VP/P. Please stop discussing it on my talk page. - Jmabel ! talk 20:22, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• That means you have to hang out at the Village Pump and pontificate on everything to gain so-called credibility and become a "regular", then perhaps in a year or two of this, if you use the right words, make a suggestion and try to gain support. Meanwhile the current status of categories and rules will be more entrenched. Krok6kola (talk) 20:32, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

• @Krok6kola: Please stop discussing this on my talk page. - Jmabel ! talk 20:53, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

File:Victoria, BC - Fan Tan Alley 14 - graffiti (20525467915).jpg

File:Victoria, BC - Fan Tan Alley 14 - graffiti (20525467915).jpg has been nominated for deletion at Commons:Deletion requests/File:Victoria, BC - Fan Tan Alley 14 - graffiti (2… This is a deletion request for the community to discuss whether the nominated page should be kept or deleted. Please voice your opinion in the linked request above. Thank you very much! If you created this file, please note that the fact that it has been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with it, such as a copyright issue. Please see Commons:But it's my own work! for a guide on how to address these issues. Please remember to respond to and – if appropriate – contradict the arguments supporting deletion. Arguments which focus on the nominator will not affect the result of the nomination. Thank you!

A1Cafel (talk) 14:10, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Recent sock block

Regarding your block of [2], that is clearly the latest sock in a fake flag farm, see for example Commons:Deletion requests/Files uploaded by Nv8301. Their various new redirects should be deleted as hoaxes. CMD (talk) 16:44, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

@Chipmunkdavis: I cleaned up some of this but, really, this is not the sort of thing I mostly do here. I threw an emergency block so that the account could not do more damage while someone looked into it. - Jmabel ! talk 17:48, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

There's a reason I didn't mark it as "done". - Jmabel ! talk 17:48, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Ah I found the AN/V post, requested there. CMD (talk) 01:22, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Some baklava for you!

Thank you for helping me with the first picture I have uploaded onto Wikimedia Commons! 11 Downing Street (talk) 16:56, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

File tagging File:Makko - Superbloom Festival 2023 - DSC3507 (cropped).jpg

This media may be deleted.

Thanks for uploading File:Makko - Superbloom Festival 2023 - DSC3507 (cropped).jpg. This media is missing permission information. A source is given, but there is no proof that the author or copyright holder agreed to license the file under the given license. Please provide a link to an appropriate webpage with license information, or ask the author or copyright holder to send an email with copy of a written permission to VRT (permissions-commons@wikimedia.org). You may still be required to go through this procedure even if you are the author yourself; please see Commons:But it's my own work! for more details. After you emailed permission, you may replace the {{No permission since}} tag with {{subst:PP}} on file description page. Alternatively, you may click on "Challenge speedy deletion" below the tag if you wish to provide an argument why evidence of permission is not necessary in this case. Please see this page for more information on how to confirm permission, or if you would like to understand why we ask for permission when uploading work that is not your own, or work which has been previously published (regardless of whether it is your own). Warning: unless the permission information is given, the file may be deleted after seven days. Thank you.

 

Lutheraner (talk) 19:35, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

Please review this

hello Jmabel is ok to review Commons:Deletion requests/File:2003 birthday letter to Epstein.png due to is been past 7 or 8 day  Thank you. KANABAIS (talk) 05:00, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

Discussion still remains very active: several comments in the last 24 hours, so it is not likely to be closed soon.

But I'm not sure why you are pinging me: as an active participant in the discussion, I am certainly not at all appropriate to be the person who ultimately closes the DR. The only time an active participant should e closer is a clearly uncontroversial close, which does not look at all like the case here. - Jmabel ! talk 05:30, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

oh thanks KANABAIS (talk) 05:31, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

File:Monument to Mykhailo Hrushevsky, sheltered from Russian shelling. Kyiv, 2023.jpg

Thank you for your attention to my photo. However, I don't understand the changes you made. The image on the protective structure isn't original; it's can be found "on the internet space," and its author is unlikely to exist. It's a repeatedly edited photograph, and therefore, its reproduction, either on the protective structure or in other photos, does not infringe copyright. The explanatory plaques on the monument are also not protected by copyright, as they are based on well-known textbooks and guidebooks. I believe that for these reasons, none of the elements listed are copyrighted and, therefore, may be reproduced. I would be grateful if you could express your opinion.Ввласенко (talk) 15:28, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

The image on the protective structure is a 2D rendering of a 3D structure and therefore has a copyright of its own. I have no idea what you mean by being found "on the internet space" but it didn't appear by magic: someone authored it at some point. Repeatedly editing something can add more copyrights that would have to be cleared, but it cannot remove them. Similarly for the content of the plaques: unless you could show that something very close to this wording appeared at least 95 years ago, it is copyrighted in the United States (70 years for Ukraine, if it was anonymous, but the U.S. requirement is more stringent, and for Commons to host this content, it must be out of copyright in both its home country (Ukraine) and in the United States). - Jmabel ! talk 18:25, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

Here's a photo of the plaques on the monument:

File:Plaque on the monument to Mykhailo Hrushevsky - ukr.jpg

File:Plaque on the monument to Mykhailo Hrushevsky - engl.jpg

They're in two languages, and the texts are identical. You can decide for yourself whether copyright protection is necessary. This text is banal and widely known, as you can see at the links:

en:Mykhailo_Hrushevsky

uk:Пам'ятник_Михайлові_Грушевському_(Київ)

In my opinion, the attempt to delete or distort my photograph was completely pointless:

Category:Monument to Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Kyiv

Ввласенко (talk) 09:51, 22 December 2025 (UTC)

@Ввласенко: Although I am less concerned with the text than with the image, I believe File:Plaque on the monument to Mykhailo Hrushevsky - ukr.jpg and File:Plaque on the monument to Mykhailo Hrushevsky - engl.jpg are probably copyright violations, at least in the U.S. If being "banal and widely known" deprived you of copyright, a fair number of pop songs could not be copyrighted..

I don't see the relevance of the linked Wikipedia articles. I believe there are a number of images in the linked category that should be deleted.

If you wish to challenge this through a UDR, I have no objection, and will stay out of it as long as you link this discussion in the UDR. Alternatively, I can nominate half a dozen or so images in Category:Monument to Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Kyiv for deletion. Clearly these stand or fall together (though imaginably there could be one decision on the plaques and another on the drawing.

Do keep in mind: the reason I came into this is that the file had been deleted. I was trying to come up with a version that would not be deleted. - Jmabel ! talk 16:32, 22 December 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for your good intentions, though we know whither they lead. There will be no continuation, as our interests fundamentally diverge—I prefer to make, you to delete. I can't wish you success. Ввласенко (talk) 17:53, 22 December 2025 (UTC)

@Ввласенко: are you going to nominate the earlier version of this file for undeletion (which is fine by me) or should I nominate the others for deletion? This needs to go one way or the other. - Jmabel ! talk 17:57, 22 December 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for your message. I believe that Version as of 10:28, 26 August 2023 should be restored. Happy Holidays! Ввласенко (talk) 13:36, 23 December 2025 (UTC)

@Ввласенко: then please start an undeletion request, and link this discussion from the request. - Jmabel ! talk 16:40, 23 December 2025 (UTC)

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and happy New Year Jmabel! Thank you so much for your work on fixing some of the mistakes in my files, and thank you for all you do (which I can only assume is quite the undertaking judging by the other messages here). I hope you have a joyful holiday season, and that the new year brings you all the best. – Julian Lupyan (talk) 21:46, 22 December 2025 (UTC)

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2026!

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2026!

Hello Jmabel, may you be surrounded by peace, success and happiness on this seasonal occasion. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Sending you heartfelt and warm greetings for Christmas and New Year 2026. Happy editing, Shaan SenguptaTalk 05:23, 23 December 2025 (UTC) Spread the love by adding {{subst:Seasonal Greetings}} to other user talk pages.

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2026!

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2026!

Hello Jmabel, may you be surrounded by peace, success and happiness on this seasonal occasion. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Sending you heartfelt and warm greetings for Christmas and New Year 2026. Happy editing, A1Cafel (talk) 09:29, 24 December 2025 (UTC) Spread the love by adding {{subst:Seasonal Greetings}} to other user talk pages.

A1Cafel (talk) 09:29, 24 December 2025 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!

Spread the love {{subst:User:0x0a/Xmas}}

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for your tireless dedication to the community. Wishing you a restful holiday season and a happy, healthy New Year.

Sent with ❤️ by 0x0a

14:12, 24 December 2025 (UTC)

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2026!

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2026!

Hello Jmabel, may you be surrounded by peace, success and happiness on this seasonal occasion. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Sending you heartfelt and warm greetings for Christmas and New Year 2026. Happy editing, sikander { talk } 🦖 14:44, 24 December 2025 (UTC) Spread the love by adding {{subst:Seasonal Greetings}} to other user talk pages.

My apologies

I was completely out of line the other day. I obviously have a problem with patience and intensity. I won't let this happen again. Geoffroi 16:18, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

@Geoffroi: Glad you are back. FWIW, though, the one thing that really stung was being accused of homophobia. Is there anything in my conduct that suggested that to you? - Jmabel ! talk 16:50, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I don't think Commons is the place for off topic religious comments that could obviously bother or disturb LGBT users, atheist/agnostic users, and people of other religions. Geoffroi 18:51, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I also don't think I should be subject to an interaction ban when I did nothing wrong. That user came back at me with another religious comment on his talkpage after I made my concern very clear. His inappropriate behavior should've been taken more seriously. Geoffroi 18:59, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I don't mean to direct this at you personally. I'm really concerned that this is allowed under current Commons policy. I've posted about this at AN to get a general discussion going. I was very disturbed by this person, and I don't want other users here to be disturbed in this way when they're doing constructive work. Geoffroi 19:32, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Admin's Barnstar
	Thank you for your admin action in Commons:Administrators' noticeboard/User problems#User:Sekar Kinanthi Kidung Wening! 0x0a (talk) 07:43, 29 December 2025 (UTC)

Thanks

For moving the file names. Have uploaded a new copy as there was some issues with the prior SVG formating.[3] And all works again. If you come across more issues ping me as we have a few programmers who can fix stuff by bot / script.[4] Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 17:37, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Undeletion of File:Marx Brothers Animal Crackers (1930).webm

Hello, now that the copyright is expired for File:Marx Brothers Animal Crackers (1930).webm, would you be able to undelete the file? We are set to use it at DYK on English Wikipedia in about 18 hours. Thank you! Darth Stabro (talk) 05:25, 1 January 2026 (UTC)

@Darth Stabro: Already done looks like Abzeronow did it about an hour after you wrote this, while I was still asleep. - Jmabel ! talk 17:05, 1 January 2026 (UTC)

Sharing some Wiki-love

kaderloos

Your positive comments and helpful guiding of newsters sometimes makes me chuckle. :)

I wish you a great 2026 Joe, and do hope we'll meet again this year. Arnhem, Milan, Paris maybe...? I know the cemetery in Paris is worth exploring! Thanks for being you Joe. Ciell (talk) 22:02, 1 January 2026 (UTC)

Thank you, Ciell, that is very kind. - Jmabel ! talk 22:04, 1 January 2026 (UTC)

Your Most Memorable Shot Submission!

Hello Jmabel!

Camera1 mgx

Commons-Photographers User Group-logo-en

As we step into a new year, we’re happy to invite you to take part in “Your Most Memorable Shot 2025.”

Since 2018, photographers from across the Wikimedia community have come together at the beginning of each year to share the photographs that meant the most to them over the past twelve months. Now in its eighth iteration, this tradition continues to be a space for reflection, storytelling, and celebrating meaningful moments through photography.

Whether you are a member of the Commons Photographers User Group or not, you are warmly welcome to participate and invite others too. Every image carries a story, and your perspective helps enrich this collective showcase.

Whenever you’re ready, please select your most cherished photograph from 2025 and share it on the designated page.

The deadline for submissions is 28 February 2026, so we hope you’ll join us before then.

We look forward to discovering the moments that made your year memorable and to continuing this wonderful tradition together.

Warm regards, -- Suyash Dwivedi (💬) 22:36, 4 January 2026 (UTC) (CPUG)

No notification COM:ANI

Hello, on blatant cases, i.e. when a user has been given {{End of copyvios}} or has prior blocks for something and repeats the behaviour, I don't feel it's required to notify the user. The user will be notified by the admin who blocks them. I would have already tagged the user with {{File copyright status}} and {{End of copyvios}} which I think are sufficient notifications. I would only notify a user if I report them for something that isn't blatantly a blockable offence and where it is appropriate for the reported user to comment on the issue. I can't block the user myself, I have to report them first and then an admin can block them and notify them about the block. My notification would thus be redundant. An admin wouldn't first notify a user that ”I am going to block you” and then a new notification that ”I have now blocked your for /time/”, right? Jonteemil (talk) 01:44, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

@Jonteemil: I've seen more than a few cases where the person who reported something thought it was blatant, and it did not result in a block. There is never anything to lose by notifying. - Jmabel ! talk 01:46, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

Of course, but I'm asking you to trust my judgement. I can't say for sure that it never has happened to me but, if so, very, very rarely. If there were a tool that would let me report a user and automatically also notify them that'd make it easier. As of now however, I have to manually enter their user talk page and notify them manually and since I am 100% sure they will be notified of a block before they even would have had time to read my COM:ANI notification, I don't bother to. Trust me that I would notify them if I'd think it wasn't blatant. Jonteemil (talk) 01:54, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

Technical question about watchlists

Hi Jmabel, I'm contacting you because you seem to have the solution on how to exclude a specific tag (or word) from a watchlist. If it's technically possible, I don't find the field in my preferences. There is only an option "Muted Users" in the section "Notifications" and only on/off buttons in the section "Watchlist". I would appreciate very much if you could guide me. -- Basile Morin (talk) 02:12, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

@Basile Morin: It's not (or at least not necessarily) a permanent exclusion from your watchlist.

Assuming you are on a PC (I don't ever look at my watchlist on a phone), at the top of your watchlist is a list of active filters. Click on "Filter changes". Scroll to the bottom of that, click on "Tagged edits". Check the box(es) for whatever you don't want to see. - Jmabel ! talk 02:21, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

🙏Thank you very much, Jmabel. With your help I found the field and managed to add specific tags. (This part located in the section "View relevant changes" was not very intuitive to me). Have a nice day! -- Basile Morin (talk) 01:10, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

Commons Photographers User Group: Board Elections 2026

Dear Jmabel,

You are receiving this message because you are listed as a member of the Commons Photographers User Group.

The Election Committee is pleased to announce that the Board Elections 2026 have officially commenced.

Election timeline

• February 1–15: Nomination phase
• February 21–25: Community Q&A and candidate engagement
• February 26 – March 7: Voting period
• March 15: Results announced

Full details are available at: Commons Photographers User Group/Board Elections 2026

All eligible members are encouraged to participate in the election, including standing as candidates.

If you wish to run, please add your name and candidate statement on the nomination page during the nomination period.

For questions or discussion, please use the election talk page.

Unsubscribe / opt-out:' If you do not wish to receive further notifications related to the CPUG Board Elections 2026, you may remove your name from the mailing list

We look forward to your participation.

—CPUG Election Committee 04:58, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

Please, have a look

...at the Requests page for the "Request an FBI image..." entry there, new as of this timestamp. We know that you are active at that page. With kind regard, ~2026-86110-3 (talk) 16:14, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

CPUG Board Elections 2026 – Nomination Extended

The nomination deadline has been extended to: 19 February 2026, 23:59 (UTC)

Eligible members (joined on or before 1 November 2025 with 100+ meaningful Commons contributions) are invited to nominate themselves.

How to nominate

• Go to the Candidates page
• Create your subpage
• Add your statement

Links

• Election page
• Nomination page

We encourage broad participation from the community.

Election Committee, Commons Photographers User Group - 17:36, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

Notification about possible deletion

Some contents have been nominated for deletion at Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Royal Palace, Bucharest This is a deletion request for the community to discuss whether the nominated contents should be kept or deleted. Please voice your opinion in the linked request above. Thank you very much! If you created these pages, please note that the fact that they have been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with them, such as a copyright issue. Please see Commons:But it's my own work! for a guide on how to address these issues. Please remember to respond to and – if appropriate – contradict the arguments supporting deletion. Arguments which focus on the nominator will not affect the result of the nomination. Thank you!

Affected:

• File:Bucharest - Palace before dawn 01.jpg

And also:

• File:Bucharest Palace 1.jpg

Yours sincerely, A1Cafel (talk) 03:37, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

CPUG Board Elections 2026 – Voting Now Open

Dear Jmabel,

You are receiving this message because you are listed as a member of the Commons Photographers User Group and are included in the eligible voter list.

The Election Committee is pleased to invite you to vote in the Board Elections 2026.

• Voting period: 00:00, 26 February 2026 – 23:59, 7 March 2026 (UTC)
• Ballot: Go to the voting server

Full details about the candidates are available at: Candidates Overview

All eligible members are strongly encouraged to participate in the election.

For questions or discussion, please use the election talk page.

Unsubscribe / opt-out: If you do not wish to receive further notifications related to the CPUG Board Elections 2026, you may remove your name from the mailing list.

We look forward to your participation.

— CPUG Election Committee - 10:38, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Little extra help with wikidata

Hi there! You were nice enough to make a starting point for Category:Martadoris for me a couple days ago. I've been stubbornly experimenting for the past couple hours, and seem to have discovered the answers to almost all my confusions in the process. One continues to evade me though, and it's getting the relevant wikidata page to associate with the relevant category page. Thankfully, I have an example now.

I am running into this issue with my new Category:Martadoris amakusana. Note, I did a page move from Category:Tambja amakusana (it's my understanding one should always move rather than delete in cases like these). You might notice that M. amakusana category still displays the speciesbox from Tambja amakusana (Q14448995). This is because, as God is my witness, I've been unable to figure out how to break that association, and reassociate it with Martadoris amakusana (Q61701099).

I've been able to get lots of answer from comparing and contrasting edits you've made with pages I'm studying. I think where I might be messing up is relevant to the edit you linked here, though I'm not positive so don't let you throw you off if the answer to that issue is in the opposite direction.

Thank you muchly for your patience, and apologies if this answer is obvious. With any luck I'll have an epiphany before you reply. Snapplejackalope (talk) 19:57, 1 March 2026 (UTC)

@Snapplejackalope: Yes, moving a category (rather than deleting and making a new one) is almost always correct, and the exceptions are very much edge cases.

Is ~2026-13059-29 also you, or is it someone else?

Looks like you just ran into a caching problem. When I added ?action=purge to the end of the URL of Category:Martadoris amakusana and said "OK" to purging, it all settled out, at least as far as I can tell. - Jmabel ! talk 03:22, 2 March 2026 (UTC)

CPUG Board Elections 2026 – Voting Closing Soon

Dear Jmabel,

You are receiving this message because you are listed as a member of the Commons Photographers User Group and are included in the eligible voter list.

The Election Committee is pleased to invite you to vote in the Board Elections 2026.

• Voting deadline: 7 March 2026 23:59 (UTC)
• Ballot: Go to the voting server

Full details about the candidates are available at: Candidates Overview

All eligible members are strongly encouraged to participate in the election.

For questions or discussion, please use the election talk page.

Unsubscribe / opt-out: If you do not wish to receive further notifications related to the CPUG Board Elections 2026, you may remove your name from the mailing list.

We look forward to your participation.

— CPUG Election Committee - 09:58, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

The Beatles Abbey Road album cover

Hi, I have noticed that you have a copy of this album. It would be great if your could scan it, the current copy is not that good. Thanks in advance, Yann (talk) 13:17, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

@Yann: It would be a matter of photographing rather than scanning; I don't have a decent scanner.

Not sure if my copy is in good enough shape to be the best for this (it's over 50 years old), but if it is, I will. - Jmabel ! talk 16:40, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

@Yann: I checked it: it's not, it shows quite a bit of wear and there is a small sticker at upper right of the front cover. - Jmabel ! talk 04:04, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

PS; Could you please archive your talk page, it is quite long. Thanks, Yann (talk) 13:17, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

Sure. - Jmabel ! talk 16:40, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

Deletion notification

I see that you talked to Helios Domínguez on Commons:Help desk; you may wish to see Commons:Deletion requests/Files uploaded by Helios Domínguez. Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 02:22, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Notification about possible deletion

Some contents have been nominated for deletion at Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Doug Flag This is a deletion request for the community to discuss whether the nominated contents should be kept or deleted. Please voice your opinion in the linked request above. Thank you very much! If you created these pages, please note that the fact that they have been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with them, such as a copyright issue. Please see Commons:But it's my own work! for a guide on how to address these issues. Please remember to respond to and – if appropriate – contradict the arguments supporting deletion. Arguments which focus on the nominator will not affect the result of the nomination. Thank you!

Affected:

• File:2015 Fremont Solstice parade - Cascadia 01 (19310236282).jpg

And also:

• File:2015 Fremont Solstice parade - Cascadia 04 (18695948883).jpg

Yours sincerely, – Howardcorn33 (💬) 23:27, 21 March 2026 (UTC)

Thank you

I'm grateful for your input and for sticking with defining the problem. We can then deicide what to do and with what priority, if anything is to be done. I am not opening any further DRs in this matter unless and until consensus suggests that is the route forwards. 🇵🇸‍🇺🇦 Timtrent 🇺🇦 talk to me 🇺🇦‍🇵🇸 00:09, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. - Jmabel ! talk 00:12, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

I hope you do not see this as our opposing each other in even slightest manner. I believe we are in broad agreement, with a difference of opinion only in the initial method of creating a solution. I will be bound by consensus, and willingly.

I believe we do need a solution to this single user issue that is easy to implement and usable for other users, assuming there are any, who upload in bulk uncritically. I suspect that solution ought to be under administrator control, not user control. That means it must be repeatable and not arduous. 🇵🇸‍🇺🇦 Timtrent 🇺🇦 talk to me 🇺🇦‍🇵🇸 09:10, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

Please will you consider also some form of preventative filtering process to seek to avoid a situation like this in the future. Even framing this is above my IT competence. I cant quite state in clear language what the filtration should be. 🇵🇸‍🇺🇦 Timtrent 🇺🇦 talk to me 🇺🇦‍🇵🇸 09:14, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

@Timtrent: Don't worry, I've got nothing against you, just was concerned that you were heading rapidly in a wrong direction, sort of a "Ready, fire, aim."

As for the larger picture, I'm not sure there is a lot narrowly technical that will help. One mass upload like that at a time can be fine, as long as the person curates rapidly after the upload. It's a little surprising that no one doing new page patrol saw a bad pattern here earlier, but apparently that approach won't consistently find this. We probably need some thresholds like who is uploading more than, say, 1000 files per day over a period of 3 days or more and make sure their work is at least assessed, even if we don't set up a special right for that. Conversely, some of the hard-coded thresholds that some people were proposing were way too low: I'm not a particularly prolific uploader (3000 to 4000 files per year on average, I believe) and there have been days I've exceeded some of the proposed one-day thresholds because I had curated files on my own Flickr account, then brought them over in bulk.

Another thing we might do is just lay out best practices for bulk uploads. For example, some of our bot-based uploaders set up much better apparatus for reviewing their uploads than others do.

Also: we've had similar problems (on a smaller scale) even from very good uploaders. Fæ was an excellent contributor in most respects, and he did follow most of our best practices, but anyone who uploads over 6 million files in a little over a decade is going to make some mistakes. Normally, if someone has a 1% error rate, it's no big deal; here, a 1% error rate would mean 60,000 files. 5 years after his retirement from Commons, we are still finding stuff, but I think it was still a clear net positive. - Jmabel ! talk 14:46, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

I was 95% sure you were being advisory rather than thinking you were concerned about any lack of collegiality. Thank you for confirming that.

I feel we might need to reach a consensus, with a general discussion int he correct forum, first for broad rate limit gates, even if they will prove annoying, and then migrate those to better tech solutions, perhaps query based. I'm still struggling to frame events simplest of these.

One might be

If the file name is generic, then create a warning message to the uploader and create an immediate DR with an end date as an exception 14 days to allow modification of the generic filename

This effectively enforces curation.

If now or in the future we are ally to deploy "AI" file content matching then that allow the same style of action to be taken.

Things along these lines will remove the need for limit Gayegate (0.9 probability)

I feel it to be important to encourage excellent behaviour rather than appear to be punitive over goodwill well intentioned silly errors. With the vast volume of files uploaded a new page patroller is currently facing an almost unworkable burden. 🇵🇸‍🇺🇦 Timtrent 🇺🇦 talk to me 🇺🇦‍🇵🇸 16:07, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

I just read "Ready, Fire, Aim" - Way back when I was a student I used to drive a large box van, a little larger that UPS domestic delivery route vans. It had sufficient bulk to make Signal, Manoeuvre, Mirror the order of the day! 🇵🇸‍🇺🇦 Timtrent 🇺🇦 talk to me 🇺🇦‍🇵🇸 16:10, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

@Timtrent: the need for limit Gaye?? - Jmabel ! talk 16:26, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

I have minor issues with fine motor skills currently. Autocarrot translated my typo of 'gate' to'Gaye'. I will correct it. 🇵🇸‍🇺🇦 Timtrent 🇺🇦 talk to me 🇺🇦‍🇵🇸 16:52, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

No

Daedrich Tucker here I don't know what stock photo you are referring too but I never uploaded any stock photo to Wikipedia and your attitude will absolutely never ever happen again! I will not be seeing your replies or messages to this post as I will be logging out of this account forever, so waste your time replying if you want too! Daedrich JJ flfmjg (talk) 14:46, 25 March 2026 (UTC)

• For the record, I have literally no idea what this message refers to, and do not remember ever interacting with this user; since the person who sent it did not wait for a reply, I guess I never will. - Jmabel ! talk 15:43, 25 March 2026 (UTC)
• Ha! went and looked, they have literally no contributions prior to this message complaining about my purported interaction with them! - Jmabel ! talk 15:45, 25 March 2026 (UTC)

Please, close deletion request

Please, close Commons:Deletion requests/File:Musical instruments used in Strauss's Second Waltz.webm. Of course, I could add {{Delh}} and {{Delf}} myself, but for the latter there is, though optional, some additional content preferred (result and comment, cf. template doc), and I think it would be better you as deleting admin adding these (at least the result, I assume). — Speravir – 22:27, 2 April 2026 (UTC)

Thank you. — Speravir – 23:07, 2 April 2026 (UTC)

Please close two unblock requests

Hi, Jmabel. I am the main worker in unblock requests. But here are two cases, where I feel myself kind of involved and I do not want to close them. Nobody else has done it neither.

• Taylor 49 Please close the request on formal reason: the block is already expired.
• Osps7 The user bombs me with e-mails and writes me in meta and Estonian Vikipeedia and begs unblock. Please grant or decline the request in any way you like, main thing is that it must be closed, I don't care how. Taivo (talk) 20:57, 3 April 2026 (UTC)

@Taivo: done. - Jmabel ! talk 21:40, 3 April 2026 (UTC)

Question

Hello, I haven't followed the latest discussions, so I'm not sure. According to COM:AIP, are notable primary sources sufficient to justify the upload? I'm referring specifically to https://x.com/IraninSA/status/2041216153431802295. Also, does COM:INUSE take precedence over COM:AIP? Yacàwotçã (talk) 20:30, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

@Yacàwotçã: All of this is being argued out at the moment, with no clear outcome, though there seems to be a pretty strong consensus against AI representations of living people if they have not published the image themselves, and pretty clearly Donald Trump has not published this image). Might make an interesting test case at Commons talk:AI images of identifiable people: it is clearly essentially a political cartoon, that would normally be in scope, but happens to have been drawn using AI. - Jmabel ! talk 20:38, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

You have mail

Hi Jmabel, please check your emails, when you can. I need to discuss something confidential relating to a past thing. LuvsMG481 (talk) 17:55, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Please, you have to allow people more than a minute or two to deal with something. - Jmabel ! talk 18:10, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

That's cool. But I thought usually the practice was you send an email and put a dedicated template to say "you got mail"? I didnt expect you to check in a hurry lol... i'm sorry if i gave off the wrong impression. LuvsMG481 (talk) 18:14, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

@LuvsMG481: When you send mail, there is an automatic notification to the recipient. You don't need to add another. - Jmabel ! talk 18:19, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Ok thank you. I'm sorry, but with enwiki they usually encourage users to give a templated notification. LuvsMG481 (talk) 18:25, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Lombardy IP vandal

Hi @Jmabel. Sorry to disturb you but as you blocked Special:Contributions/~2026-21656-63 I would like to report you also these IP Special:Contributions/~2026-21266-61 and Special:Contributions/31.190.228.70. Is it possible to make a mass revert? It's already a couple of year, if not more, that this IP Lombardy's lover is adding wrong categories in a massive way. Is it possible to do something? Thank you in advance. MrKeefeJohn (talk) 20:34, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

@MrKeefeJohn: please bring these things to the appropriate Administrators' noticeboard, not to me personally. Among other things, it is almost invisible if handled privately. - Jmabel ! talk 21:59, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

@Jmabel: Thank you for your answer. Some months ago I wrote in the place you told me but I didn't get answer. I'll try again. MrKeefeJohn (talk) 06:10, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

User:Milan Szymon Szulc

Hi - just wanted to drop by and get some advice regarding what Milan Szymon Szulc has been doing. Ever since I opened that ANU notice he has continued to bother Verdy p about the same Unicode files, as well as various other users. I'm not quite sure if this warrants another notice, so I just wanted to ask you first. Thanks! applecuckoo (he/him) 21:06, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

@Applecuckoo: Feel absolutely free to warn him again, and also to move or copy the section from the AN/U archive, point out that it was never resolved and that the problem is ongoing. Also, in the future, if you make a report like this and it has drawn no comment after ~4 days, it's fine to add a statement to that effect so it won't "fall off the board" like it did.

I usually go through AN/U periodically looking for things that got no timely attention, but I obviously missed this one. - Jmabel ! talk 21:23, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

For your information, that same user has the same behavior on Glyphwiki with their local users (including me). While I do not refuse his requests, the fact that this is done by sending imperative orders, as if they were "urgent", and repeatedly, is very annoying, this is not help at all, I know what is missing and what has to be done, but I want to keep my work schedule as much as possible, without having to digress on other works that he does not do himself. I have done things partailyl, but the amount of work he requests is far too high; and he insists when I do not reply him in the next few hours. Glyphwiki is very near from blocking him for what could be considered as harassment. I have made a few things he asked for, but if I'm busy on something else, I don't want to interrupt it just when nad as he wants. That user is using multiple sockpuppet accounts on this wiki (I cant't confirm, I am not an IP-user admin, but his language is easily recognizable and follows the same pattern, and some of his accounts are questioned on other wikimedia wikis; he is apparently Polish and does not know English very well, I would prefer if he just wrote in Polish or a language he really knows, even if I have to use some online translators, rather than trying to use English in a way that is very ambiguous/confusive). verdy_p (talk) 19:43, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

@Verdy p - just for your information I have reinstated the COM:ANU topic for him at Commons:Administrators' noticeboard/User problems#Milan Szymon Szulc. applecuckoo (he/him) 20:55, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Incomplete CfD closures

Hello, you closed Commons:Categories for discussion/2026/04/Category:American Water Landmark but did not remove the CfD notice from Category:American Water Landmarks. I noticed you closed another CfD earlier but did not remove the notice from affected categories but thought maybe it was because you closed it before noticing how many categories were affected and postponed it because of the work required if one removes the notice manually or didn't see which categories were all affected and just removed it from one/some but not all. However, in this case, it's just one affected category.
By the way, regarding CfD closures I think CfDs with no disagreements are good to handle differently than those with disagreements in them where those of the former type can be closed earlier. Prototyperspective (talk) 14:11, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Once the CfD decision is made, anyone can implement it. I follow up on others' pretty often. But I'll go back and deal with this one.

Even with no disagreements, I try to keep it open a week, because disagreement might come from someone who is not on Commons daily.

If you tell me what in particular you mean by "another CfD", I'll follow through, but I'm not going to go through all of my edits to find it (and it's OK, if you don't either). - Jmabel ! talk 16:43, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. Regarding disagreements that was more about keeping things open if there are disagreements rather than closing early than about closing early where possible – and I wasn't suggesting you were doing either. The other CfD I was referring to is the one mentioned as one of the top CfDs by number of affected categories here. Prototyperspective (talk) 17:50, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

@Prototyperspective: Commons:Categories for discussion/2023/02/Category:Rendered names of countries? I commented on that, but not particularly in my role as an admin. It has not been closed. Or did you mean something else? - Jmabel ! talk 18:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

No, the one that has ""closed" but not actually closed" next to it, University and college yearbooks. Prototyperspective (talk) 18:28, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

@Prototyperspective: As I said above, once the CfD decision is made, anyone can implement it. Are you saying that you want me personally to remove all of these notices and place a "kept" notice on the user talk page? - Jmabel ! talk 21:27, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

I think CfD closing includes doing the actions required to close it if any such are needed. I think for many cases of CfDs, the reason why they haven't been closed is that some work is required. That's part of the the CfDs; it's not just about the decisions in regards to what should be done and having these CfDs be open means they can be found by people who can or are interested in finishing these backlog things. In this case, removing the notices is part of the CfD-closure. I don't think any 'keep' notice is needed anywhere in this case since the subject was renaming, not deletion. For cases where deletion was proposed it may be good to have that notice on the talk page but afaik it's not necessary. Prototyperspective (talk) 21:34, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Done. But it sure makes me see why almost no one wants to close CfDs affecting a large number of categories. - Jmabel ! talk 22:53, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks! As mentioned in the thread I linked there's tools for doing this. Maybe instructions on how to use these for closure could be added by somebody; I can't test/do use these myself currently. Prototyperspective (talk) 22:55, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

I did it with AWB (which I rarely use) but it is still a pain in the butt. I wish VFC would work on categories, it is much simpler. - Jmabel ! talk 23:07, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

I wished so too and had asked about it here and here. I found and tried wAWB (the edit just wasn't implemented) and I think it suffices for what I'd use it for and has a neat UI; maybe you find it better to use (probably not that much of a difference to AWB though). Prototyperspective (talk) 23:12, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

File:Olympic Sculpture Park 03.jpg

File:Olympic Sculpture Park 03.jpg has been nominated for deletion at Commons:Deletion requests/File:Olympic Sculpture Park 03.jpg This is a deletion request for the community to discuss whether the nominated page should be kept or deleted. Please voice your opinion in the linked request above. Thank you very much! If you created this file, please note that the fact that it has been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with it, such as a copyright issue. Please see Commons:But it's my own work! for a guide on how to address these issues. Please remember to respond to and – if appropriate – contradict the arguments supporting deletion. Arguments which focus on the nominator will not affect the result of the nomination. Thank you!

A1Cafel (talk) 03:09, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

Milan Szymon Szulc

Great job, you blocked this user! All that’s left is add “cannot edit own talk page” on this user’s block log. ~2026-22870-42 (talk) 16:15, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

Also, the reason is this user wanted to begging to unblock on their talk page. ~2026-22870-42 (talk) 16:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

• @2026-22870-42: Please don't tell me how to do my job. That is exactly what this user was blocked for. - Jmabel ! talk 16:50, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

Rotation

Are there any requirements to rotate a file? I was confused as I was not able to revert the rotation but another editor managed to do it, [5]. PieWriter (talk) 12:16, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

@PieWriter: Not sure what you mean by "requirements to rotate a file". Anyone can request a rotation; anyone who is allowed to overwrite the file can do it, or a bot can. - Jmabel ! talk 17:25, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

I meant how to revert a rotation by the bot. PieWriter (talk) 23:33, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

@PieWriter: The answer is more or less identical, though it is best done by reverting rather than by a second rotation in the opposite direction (so better done by a human than by a bot).

Do you have Overwrite rights (typically granted as part of Autopatrol)? - Jmabel ! talk 23:39, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

No, I don’t think so. PieWriter (talk) 23:40, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

@PieWriter: Then that is why you cannot overwrite any files except your own uploads. - Jmabel ! talk 23:53, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

Oh, Okay PieWriter (talk) 23:55, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

You may be an eligible candidate for the U4C election

Greetings,

The Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C) seeks candidates for the 2026 election. The U4C is the global committee responsible for overseeing enforcement of the Universal Code of Conduct. Elections are held annually, if elected a committee member serves for two years.

This year the U4C requires candidates to hold administrator rights on at least one wiki, which is why you are being contacted as you appear to hold this right. There are other requirements, such as candidates must be at least 18 years old and may not be employed by the Wikimedia Foundation or other related chapters and affiliates. You can find more information in the call for candidates on Meta-wiki. Additionally, the committee's working language is English; some ability to communicate in English is required.

The election opens on 18 May, if you are eligible and interested you have until 10 May to submit your candidacy. There will week between for candidates to answer questions from the community. Voting takes place privately in SecurePoll, successful candidates must receive at least 60% support. More information is available on the 2026 Elections page, including timelines and other candidacy information. If you read over the material and consider yourself qualified, please consider submitting your name to run for the committee. If you think someone else in your community might be interested and qualified, please encourage them to run.

In partnership with the U4C -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 18:30, 28 April 2026 (UTC)

I'm too busy with other stuff to even consider this. - Jmabel ! talk 19:05, 28 April 2026 (UTC)

File:Seattle's first Potlatch, September 14, 1883 - DPLA - c93f1322f07309747e7d0b71b5505be7.jpg

You seem to have introduced a syntax error. Could you please fix it? Leyo 13:35, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

@Leyo: Done. - Jmabel ! talk 14:45, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

Thank you. Category:Pages using Artwork template with incorrect parameter is now almost empty. :-) --Leyo 15:37, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

Restorer

Hi again. Sometime back, when you were replying about your troubles reverting a particularly troublesome youtube spammer on a noticeboard we frequent, I mentioned a "restore" link that you mentioned you didn't have. Mine comes from en:User:BrandonXLF/Restorer.js with documentation at en:User:BrandonXLF/Restorer. I installed it 4+ years ago in m:special:diff/22236768 and have had no issues with it, other than that the restored edit must have been already viewed by the user (you may do that by viewing any more recent edit or the current version).   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 19:02, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

@Jeff G.: thanks, I'll try it. - Jmabel ! talk 19:20, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

You're welcome.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 21:12, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

Keeping this logged out for the sake of privacy

Hi Jmabel! I have a guy down in Bamako, Mali who have agreed to share the photographs and videos he have taken with Commons under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license. He asked me if i had any requests of specific places, locations, people or things for him to photograph or film. Because of that i am open to suggestions from the Wikimedia community

--~2026-26740-48 (talk) 20:53, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

It looks like https://wikishootme.toolforge.org has a lot of requests for that area: https://wikishootme.toolforge.org/#lat=12.621887791421686&lng=-8.018989562988283&zoom=12 - Jmabel ! talk 21:08, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

What about w:2026 Mali offensives? Any photos i could get that would fit the article? --~2026-26784-74 (talk) 21:22, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

If someone is in a position to get relevant photos without putting themselves in harm's way, sure, but I have no suggestions.

I know little enough about Mali that I am not one of the more likely people to have ideas. You might look in at en:Wikipedia:WikiProject Mali or its talk page. - Jmabel ! talk 23:56, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

Löschabsicht

Hallo Jmabel, zu der Absicht, mein Foto eines Gemäldes der Malerin Beate Heinen zu löschen, habe ich mehrmals erklärt, dass ich die Freigabeerklärung der Künstlerin am 1. Mai 2026 an Wikimedia permissions schickte. Ich erhielt eine automatische Antwort mit der Bitte um Geduld, weil die E-Mails von Ehrenamtlichen bearbeitet würden. Aber das scheint nicht zu genügen. Andererseits haben wir Hunderte, wenn nicht gar Tausende Fotos moderner Kunstwerke ohne Genehmigung in den Commons, gegen die niemand etwas einzuwenden hat. Die Jagd auf von mir hochgeladene Bilder macht allmählich keinen Spaß mehr. Freundliche Grüße Spurzem (talk) 20:40, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

@Spurzem: Ich nehme an, dein Englisch ist besser als mein Deutsch. Falls nicht, sag mir Bescheid, dann versuche ich es zu übersetzen.

You failed to mark the file page with "permission pending", as is required in this case: Template:Permission pending, inserted by using {{subst:PP}}. This is explained at COM:VRT#If you are NOT the copyright holder and in German at COM:VRT/de#Wenn Sie NICHT der Copyright-Besitzer sind. Given that you did not do the required process, what followed should be no surprise.

There is no point further discussing this on my user talk page, discuss it in the linked DR (Commons:Deletion requests/File:Gemälde von Beate Heinen in Urmitz-Bhf. (2020-06-23 Sp 4).JPG). The whole point of my creating a formal DR was to head off the speedy deletion that was under way and give you a place to discuss this. Would it be alright with you if I link this exchange from that location? - Jmabel ! talk 21:04, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

In Ordnung. Noch mal viele Grüße -- Spurzem (talk) 09:20, 4 May 2026 (UTC)

Renaming U.S. presidential election county maps

Hi Joe, I started a topic in File talk:Alabama Presidential Election Results 2024.svg last month proposing a new standardized naming scheme for U.S. presidential election county maps. All users who participated in that discussion showed either indifference or support for adopting my proposed naming scheme for U.S. presidential election county maps. My reasoning for changing the names of these maps is outlined in the topic in the talk page I linked above and includes the fact that these files have very ambiguous names compared to other county maps for elections. Am I allowed to request to rename U.S. presidential election county maps using the scheme I proposed? Thomascampbell123 (talk) 00:31, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

@Thomascampbell123: (sorry if the following is a little bit scattershot.) I would lean much more heavily to the principle that we do not generally adopt and enforce naming schemes, and certainly "file talk" for an individual file is no place to form a meaningful consensus for one. Commons places a rather strong value on filename stability, far more than on uniform naming schemes. You are, of course, welcome to have a naming scheme for your own uploads, but not generally to rename others' to match your preferences.

I can think of a few areas where there is an imposed pattern of filenames (e.g. the tiles used in making route diagrams) but there it is mainly because there is a whole system of templates that depends on filenames fitting a particular schema. I have some ideas how a comparable consensus could be formed; let me start with a question: is there a WikiProject of people who do election maps? - Jmabel ! talk 00:48, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

Yes, I think the WikiProject you're asking about is en:Wikipedia:WikiProject Elections and Referendums. Thomascampbell123 (talk) 00:54, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

@Thomascampbell123: Great! Too bad it is not a project on Commons, but that still might work. I'd say that the talk page of that would be a good place to start a discussion (probably with an initial apology about the cross-wiki aspect, and explaining that there simply is no analogous group on Commons). For the users whose uploads are likely to be affected, ping them there and notify them on their Commons' talk page. Assuming at least a few people support your proposal, and no one actively dissents, I think that would be a basis that could be called a consensus. It would certainly be best if each affected party would explicitly request that their own files be renamed according to the scheme, because there is usually a lot more willingness to grant a renaming request when the uploader is the one who requests it. I would worry less about users who are no longer active: if the active users all agree to a naming scheme, I think it would be fine to complete the pattern.

Feel more than free to link this discussion. - Jmabel ! talk 01:03, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

Okay. I already outlined the naming scheme I prefer on the file talk page I linked above. Should I just copy the topic I started on File talk:Alabama Presidential Election Results 2024.svg and paste it on en:Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Elections and Referendums without replies? Thomascampbell123 (talk) 19:28, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

@Thomascampbell123: I'd copy-paste the whole discussion, with an indication of where it was moved from. You might have to adjust some links to be on a different wiki (I haven't looked at the specifics of this discussion). Have a look at Commons:Administrators' noticeboard/User problems#Possible copyright violations by User:Depuyjeremias for an example of how to mark when doing this. You should also indicate the move at the bottom of the original discussion. - Jmabel ! talk 19:35, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

I moved the entire discussion from File talk:Alabama Presidential Election Results 2024.svg to en:Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Elections and Referendums and one user has already replied to the new discussion expressing support for my proposal. Do you now want me to notify all users I pinged in the new discussion on their talk pages apart from the ones that have already replied? Thomascampbell123 (talk) 20:07, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

@Thomascampbell123: It couldn't hurt. The clearer the consensus, the less likely that anyone (a) gets angry when their file name is changed (b) disputes the whole process. - Jmabel ! talk 20:12, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

Alright, I notified all but two of the users who I pinged but haven't yet replied to my discussion on en:Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Elections and Referendums on their Commons talk pages. One of the users I didn't notify has been blocked indefinitely for sockpuppetry and the other appears to have not uploaded any versions of the files that are subject to my discussion. Is there anything else you want me to do now or should I just wait for more replies? Thomascampbell123 (talk) 20:57, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

@Thomascampbell123: That's about it. And, assuming you get consensus, then (1) it should be very straightforward to rename the files that came from the people who actively consented and (2) once that is done, you have something strong to bring to COM:VPP and ask for community consent to apply this to what remains. - Jmabel ! talk 21:01, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Administrators%27_noticeboard#IBAN

You probably need to update something at COM:Editing restrictions, don't you? I'm afraid of messing things up Yacàwotçã (talk) 01:29, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

@Yacàwotçã:  Done, I hadn't realized it was that formalized. - Jmabel ! talk 01:50, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

UnniMan

Hi Jmabel. Regarding this, the user is also making massive transfers of stable categories. Some transfers may be justified, while others I'm not so sure about. The fact is, he hasn't justified them, nor has he opened any discussion.

Some time ago he was already warned on the Spanish Wikipedia not to continue with this unilateral practice. But, on the other hand, I must say that I don't like it when things are done on Commons as if they were derived from the Spanish Wikipedia. The transfers I pointed out follow that logic, even though other projects haven't followed it (see the English Wikipedia or the French Wikipedia). As I said, there are some cases where I don't see the transfer as justified.

For example, this series of locomotives is no longer in use, and its historical name remains the most common designation (also on the French Wikipedia). This is somewhat like if the provinces of the Roman Empire in Iberia had been transferred to the category of provinces of Spain. CFA1877 (talk) 16:13, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

Traveling

I will be traveling from 16 May 2026 until 9 May 2026. Please expect that I will be less available than usual during that time. Time traveling?   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 16:22, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

fixed but the next few days I have only phone access & will not be on Commons much. Jmabel ! talk 03:40, 22 May 2026 (UTC)