I just tried to watch some presentation videos from Wikimania.
Some had very weak sound, some had no sound in the first minutes,
some only played the first minute and then stopped. I don't think
the Wikimania videos are unique in having such problems. Video is
new to Commons, and the expert contributors are more familiar with
still images.
How can we learn to make better videos? Are there some good
instructions? Perhaps a free instruction video (Wikibooks, but a
video instead of a book) on how to produce good videos is what we
need. In fact, the English Wikibooks has a title on "Video
Production", http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Video_Production but it
doesn't have a clear focus (pun not intended). It starts out with
discussing satellite TV and has long sections on file formats in
different operating systems.
There is a help page on Commons for converting video to the Ogg
Theora format, but that is only the last step in a long chain.
Given that video is new, how can we find and rate videos, nominate
"good/featured videos", and give advice on how to improve quality?
Is the Commons village pump enough for this? Commons has a
separate graphics village pump. Do we also need a separate video
village pump?
Current digital video cameras use hard disks or memory cards,
instead of tape cassettes. Many new models cost less than 300
euro (or dollars), some as little as 120 euro (memory card perhaps
not included). Some have a special "Youtube mode", and I guess
that kind of usage is what drives the price down. What models are
good, and what should one watch out for?
We can find free still photos on Flickr and copy them to Commons.
Is there somewhere we can find free videos and copy them? Yes, at
the Internet Archive. Somewhere else?
--
Lars Aronsson (lars(a)aronsson.se)
Aronsson Datateknik - http://aronsson.se
We are excited to announce *Wiki Loves Birds India 2024
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Birds_India_2024>*, a national
photography campaign to celebrate and document the incredible avian
biodiversity across India. Inspired by Wiki Loves Birds Nepal, this
initiative enriches Wikimedia Commons with high-quality, free-licensed
media and improves ornithology-related content in the Indian language
Wikipedias.
India has approximately 1,350 bird species, ranging from familiar locals to
rare migratory wonders, thriving in diverse ecosystems. Through Wiki Loves
Birds India, we seek to raise awareness about bird conservation and inspire
a deeper appreciation of India’s avian biodiversity. The campaign aims to
address knowledge gaps related to ornithology across the Indian language
Wikipedias, enhancing access to valuable information for diverse audiences.
The campaign is dedicated to the legacies of pioneering ornithologists *Salim
Ali* and *K.K. Neelakandan*, whose work has been foundational in
understanding and preserving India’s birdlife.
Campaign Details
- *When:* 25 November – 25 December 2024
- *Activities:*
- *Uploading Images and Sounds:* Contribute high-quality photographs
and bird sounds to Wikimedia Commons
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Campaign:wlb_2024>.
1. *Local Photo Walks:* Organize/Participate in photo walks
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Birds_India_2024/Phot…>
to explore and photograph birds in their near natural
habitats/nature park.
2. *Wikipedia Edit-a-thon:* Improve and create ornithology-related
articles on your local language Wikipedia.
Outstanding contributions will be recognized through a contest. If you
would like more details, you can visit our Commons Campaign Page
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Birds_India_2024>.
Thanks to the Salim Ali Foundation, Sahya Digital Conservation Foundation,
and Wikimedia Foundation for helping organize and sponsor the prizes. If
you are a seasoned birder, a budding photographer, or a passionate
Wikipedian, we would like to invite you to contribute.
Warm regards,
*Manoj Karingamadathil*
Project Lead, Wiki Loves Birds India 2024
Wikimedians of Kerala User Group
*For French and Arabic scroll down please. *
Dear Wikimedians,
We happily announce posting a video prepared by Wiki In Africa
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_In_Africa>Team
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_In_Africa/Team>to explain how to edit
ISA and use it to increase the searchability and accessibility of images in
specific commons category.
This video explains what structured data is, what ISA is, and how to add
structured data using ISA.
You can watch the video through this link:
https://youtu.be/CLsUqDnsNKo?si=q6FExYKMotZeL18Z
Also, a reminder that WLA 2024 ISA tool campaign is still going until 30th
November, you can practice the video on it through the link:
https://bit.ly/WLA24_ISA
#PlayISA
#WikiLovesAfrica
Cheers,
..........................................................
Chers Wikimédiens,
Nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer la mise en ligne d'une vidéo
préparée par l'équipe Wiki In Africa pour expliquer comment utiliser ISA et
l'utiliser et améliorer la recherche et l'accessibilité des images de
Wikimedia Commons.
Cette vidéo explique ce que sont les données structurées, ce qu'est ISA, et
comment ajouter des données structurées en utilisant ISA.
Vous pouvez regarder la vidéo en cliquant sur ce lien :
https://youtu.be/CLsUqDnsNKo?si=q6FExYKMotZeL18Z
Nous vous rappelons également que la campagne WLA 2024 pour l'outil ISA est
toujours en cours jusqu'au 30 novembre, vous pouvez pratiquer la vidéo sur
ce lien ! https://bit.ly/WLA24_ISA
Bien à vous,
..................................................
أعزائي الويكيميديين
يسعدنا أن نعلن عن نشر مقطع فيديو أعده فريق
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_In_Africa/Team>Wiki In Africa
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_In_Africa>
لشرح كيفية إضافة البيانات الهيكلية باستخدام أداة إيسا لاستخدامها لزيادة
إمكانية البحث عن صور في تصانيف معينة بويكيميديا كومنز وويادة إمكانية الوصول
إلى تلك الصور.
يشرح هذا الفيديو ما هي البيانات الهيكلية وما هي أداة إيسا وكيفية إضافة
بيانات هيكلية باستخدامها.
يمكنك مشاهدة الفيديو من خلال هذا الرابط:
https://youtu.be/CLsUqDnsNKo?si=q6FExYKMotZeL18Z
كما نود التذكير بأن حملة حملة أداة إيسا ويكي تهوى أفريقيا لا تزال مستمرة
حتى 30 نوفمبر، يمكنك المشاركة فيها للتدرب على ما هو موجود بالفيديو!
https://bit.ly/WLA24_ISA
--
*Donia*
WikiAfrica Hour Production Coordinator
& Wiki In Africa Tools Community Facilitator
Hello all,
Hope you have been well! We have just released v5.1.0 of the Commons
Android app to production. The update is now available on Play store
(beta track) [1] and F-droid [2]. You could also build the app directly
from our GitHub repository [3].
This release includes the improved upload queue that was specified in
the previous release post. This was contributed by Kanahia during
Google Summer of Code 2024[4]! He was mentored by Nicolas and Ritika.
The new upload queue system ensures smoother, sequential processing and
better progress tracking. It also provides more flexibility with
managing your whole upload queue by allowing to pause / resume / cancel
all ongoing uploads.
With this enhancement, we have retired the "Limited Connection Mode".
However, the new upload queue's pause provides flexibility similar to
the old mode. We would love to hear any thoughts / concerns about this
change.
Other significant changes:
- Fixed an UI issue where the 'Subcategories' and 'Parent Categories'
tabs appeared blank in the Category Details screen. Resolved by
optimizing view binding handling in the parent fragments.
- Added an option in "Nearby" feature enabling users to provide feedback
on Wikidata items. Users can report if an item doesn’t exist, is at a
different location, or has other issues, with submissions tagged for
easy tracking and updates.
- Improved the "Nearby" feature by splitting the query into two parts
for faster loading and better performance, especially in areas with
dense amount of places. This update also resolves issues with pins
overlapping place names.
- Upgraded AGP and target/compile SDK to 34 and make necessary
adjustments to the app such as adding "Partial Access" support.
- Fixed an issue where editing depictions removed all other structured
data from images. Now, only depictions are updated, preserving other
associated data.
- Fixed map centering in the image upload flow to use GPS EXIF tag
location from pictures and ensured "Show in map app" accurately
reflects this location.
- Fixed navigation after uploading via Nearby by directing users to the
Uploads activity instead of returning to Nearby, preventing confusion
about needing to upload again.
These are only a small chunk of all the changes that were part of this
release. Checkout our release notes [3] for a more detailed set of
changes since the last announcement.
As always, feel free to reach our to us with your valuable feedback.
You could share feedback in our talk page [5] / by writing an e-mail
to commons-app-android(a)googlegroups.com / via our issue tracker [6].
[ References ]]
[1]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.free.nrw.commons
[2]: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/fr.free.nrw.commons
[3]: https://github.com/commons-app/apps-android-commons/releases/tag/v5.1.0
[4]: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T360265
[5]: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons_talk:Mobile_app
[6]: https://github.com/commons-app/apps-android-commons/issues
Best regards,
Sivaraam (User:Kaartic)
Dear Wikimedians,
Thank you for joining us in Wiki Loves Monuments UAE 2024
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2024_in_the…>!
Your contributions have been invaluable in capturing the beauty and history
of the UAE’s cultural heritage.
Thanks to your dedication, we’ve successfully added 302 unique images to
our collection, each one showcasing the essence of the UAE. These photos
are now under review by our jury panel to highlight the most remarkable
submissions.
Stay tuned—by November 30th, we’ll be announcing the top contributors and
prize winners!
Once again, thank you for helping to preserve and celebrate the UAE’s
heritage through your lens. We’re excited to share the results soon!
Warm regards,
The Wiki Loves Monuments UAE Team