Commons:Digital preservation

This page describes how to use Wikimedia Commons as a tool for digital preservation of content that is worth keeping permanently.

General considerations

• While Wikimedia Commons is not a proper permanent archive, the fact that files aren't (or shouldn't be) deleted unless there is a sound reason for it, along with Commons being supported by Wikimedia Foundation, makes it a very useful tool for long term preservation of relevant files. Wikimedia Foundation has good financial resources as a guarantee of continuity, as well as a good infrastructure and backup policy. Its mission statement says: The Foundation will make and keep useful information from its projects available on the internet free of charge, in perpetuity.
• This page is focused on files that are especially relevant and worthy of permanent preservation, by themselves (for example, notable photos, documents or scans of documents from third parties, high quality photos of works of art, or particularly relevant or high quality photos, even if taken by a Commons user). Some other files will also be permanently preserved in Commons (for example, if they are in use in a Wikipedia article, or, more generally, if there is never a reason to delete them), but this page is not about them.
• Please note that project scope, file format rules and licensing policy apply to all files in Wikimedia Commons. Files that do not comply with all of them will not be preserved, but quickly deleted.
• Note that the list of steps below only applies if you are uploading a file with some historical value (not the same as old) to Commons with the intention of its permanent preservation in mind. It has not been conceived as a general rule for file uploads to Commons. See here for the general case.
• Please also note that the list of steps is provided as a best practice to do everything possible to maximize the likelihood of a file being indefinitely preserved in Wikimedia Commons. It should never be interpreted as an obligation of any kind.

Steps for uploading files for digital preservation

• Identify the author, source, and public domain or free licensing conditions that apply to the file or files that you want to preserve. Pay special attention to the author and source. While, if wrong, they can be fixed later, the ones that you provide when uploading the file will always be visible on the file's page. Having them with the right values at the moment of upload may be of help for the file's preservation if, for example, they are later vandalized, since the original ones will always remain visible.
• If the file to be preserved was created by yourself (for example, a high quality or otherwise relevant photo), add invisible watermarks (but never visible ones) and/or Exif metadata to it. More information, here. This will help to prove that you are the file's legitimate author, even if you are no longer an active Commons user.
• For third-party files, the source should be as precise as possible. If possible, don't link to the file itself in the third-party website, but to the page where the file is described, so its author and licensing conditions can be seen.
• For third-party files, save the webpage where the file is described in Wayback Machine, using Save Page Now feature, so it remains accessible even if it later dissappears from the original website.
• Please remember that a file that is uploaded to Commons with the purpose of long-term preservation, should be well described in everything related to author and licensing/public domain terms. Don't rely on yourself defending the file if it is later nominated for deletion as a suspected copyright violation, since this could happen many years after the file's upload, and you may not be an active Commons contributor by then.
• Select a meaningful name for the file. This applies to all uploads to Commons, but it has a special importance for files that are uploaded with the intent of long-term preservation.
• Once you have followed the previous steps, use Upload Wizard or any other Commons upload tool to upload the file or files.
• Write a good description for each file. The file description should allow to understand what the file represents, without any doubt. In files uploaded for preservation, it's a good idea to include at least a description in English, as the main global language, and in any other language relevant to the file (for example, the native language of the country or region that the file comes from).
• If the file comes from a source that provides some freely licensed/public domain files among notable amounts of non-free content, ask for the file to be license reviewed (follow the link for more details). Optionally, you can do the same if you think there may be any doubt about the file's licensing in the future (but don't do this for, for example, 19th century content that is obviously in the public domain, or for content from widely known sources whose licensing terms/public domain status can be very easily discovered).
• If the digital file itself, and not only its content, is worth of permanent preservation, add {{original}} template to the file's description page, so it's never modified in any way, nor it's deleted after being replaced by an equivalent file in another file format. Never do this if the file you uploaded was created or edited by yourself, unless there is a special reason for it (for example, if a file you scanned or edited is used in Wikisource).
• Properly categorize the file. There is no point in preserving a file if no one can reach it. Poorly categorized, and, specially, uncategorized files, are almost inaccessible.
• If applicable, you may nominate the uploaded file as a candidate for quality (only if created by yourself), featured or valued image (more information here). It will make less likely the possible eventual deletion of the file, but don't try to do this if it doesn't really apply to the file you uploaded.
• Once uploaded, it's a good idea to also save the uploaded file or files, and their file description pages, in Wayback Machine, using Save Page Now feature. It's not possible to know a priori whether Commons or Wayback Machine will be more capable of preserving the file in the very long term, but having it in both places will help in case one of them fails.

How to contribute to digital preservation in Wikimedia Commons

Note: some of the points below are tips on what to do if you are concerned with digital preservation within Wikimedia Commons. They are in no way official Commons policies.

• Excluding content that is widely known and well preserved by, for example, national libraries, the work for preserving a file doesn't end at the moment it is uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. In fact, that moment is just the beginning of its possible long-term preservation.
• If you find a file that has missing or inaccurate author or licensing information, fix it if possible. If you find an uncategorized or poorly categorized file, fix it. If you find a file that needs license review but its license has not been reviewed, nor is it proposed for license review, propose it for license review. Preservation efforts are not only needed for files not already uploaded to Commons: they are also needed for some files that are already in Commons.
• Vote  Keep if you see an unsubstantiated deletion request. When a copyright violation is reasonably suspected, precautionary principle applies, and the file is to be deleted. Other than that case, when there is doubt, nothing is lost by keeping the file. A decent low quality photo, uploaded 20 years ago, may seem useless and out of scope, but perhaps it was used in a Wikipedia article for 15 years, and, if deleted, a user watching the article's history in Wikipedia won't be able to see the image. The same applies when an image is uploaded in a different format: not only the original one can be used in previous revisions of wiki pages, but the new version can have some quality problems that prevent it from being considered as a true replacement of the old one. Also remember that files don't belong to their uploader: they belong to the full community of users, including those who are already to come in the future. Non-opposition to a deletion request doesn't mean that nobody is harmed by it.
• Vote  Keep if you see a mass deletion request where some of the files are likely to be legitimate ones. In those cases, deletion should always be addressed file by file.
• Vote  Delete if you see a deletion request for a file that is obviously out of scope or a reasonably suspected copyright violation. If you see a file that is in one of those cases, nominate it for deletion. The less illegitimate files Commons has, the more likely it is that the legitimate ones will be preserved (less workload for administrators managing deletion requests, so less risk of mistakes due to stress and hurry).
• Vote  Oppose to proposals that can lead to legitimate files being deleted from Commons, or to relevant files being overwritten with a different content. Vote  Support to proposals that can help legitimate files to be preserved in Commons. If you have a good idea about it, propose it.
• Revert any vandalism edit you see. Vote  Support to proposals that can help to combat vandalism, and vote  Oppose to proposals that can make vandalism more likely. Vandalism, in some cases, may potentially be a threat to the preservation of some files in Wikimedia Commons.
• Files are not preserved by magic. Support Wikimedia Foundation. Support initiatives that may help to preserve Commons files in the long term, such as public media dumps. Support tools that allow mass downloading of files from Wikimedia Commons, and the people who do it (or become one of them, if you want and have the time and resources to do it). Support digital preservation projects. Excluding the content preserved by national libraries, the battle for digital preservation is still far from being won.