Commons:Welcome, Flickr users

A screenshot from the FlickrLickr project, which allows volunteers to automatically harvest useful images from Flickr to the Commons.

This page is to introduce users of Flickr to Wikimedia Commons, and encourage them to use open content licenses to support our mission.

Wikimedia Commons (or "Commons") is a media repository under the umbrella of the Wikimedia Foundation, who also run Wikipedia. Commons hosts and organises media content (such as images) primarily for the benefit of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. There is significant overlap between Commons and Flickr, but Commons is not a free web host and it is not a personal media host like Flickr is. Commons:Project scope explains what content is appropriate for Commons.

Commons only allows media released under free licenses. Of the licenses Flickr offers, Commons only accepts the following:

• CC-BY (Creative Commons Attribution)
• CC-BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike)
• CC-0 (Creative Commons - No rights reserved)
• Some PD (Public Domain) and "no known copyright restrictions" works

Specifically, licenses with non-commercial (NC) or non-derivative (ND) requirements are NOT considered 'free licenses'.

The page Flickr files explains in more detail.

Why should you consider helping Wikimedia?

✔️ Wikimedia Commons is a nonprofit public charity free media repository maintained by volunteer community. The Wikimedia Foundation runs this site, Wikimedia Commons, as well as the most well-known project Wikipedia.
✔️ Keeps full resolution - it do not compress image's quality
✔️ No upload limit - You can upload any free licensed image that has educational or informative value. (See Project scope)
✔️ Permanent - valid images with in its scope are there forever, unlike flickr which deletes older images when pro account expires
✔️ It is an educational charity project (see mission)

• Flickr deletes older images beyond its 1000 image limit when pro account expires. So please upload all your freely licensed images to Wikimedia Commons, as it keeps images at full resolution and do not have an image limit.
• flickr2Commons: If you have already uploaded your images to Flickr, then flickr2Commons is the best tools to transfer your images to Wikimedia Commons. (The images should be under a free license at Flickr)
• See Commons:Flickr files for more info

Further reading

Commons

• Commons talk:Licensing/Explaining why Derivative Work and Commercial Use must be allowed
• User:FlickrLickr a collaborative project to harvest the best free-licensed images from Flickr
• Commons:Flickr files outlines the review process that currently takes place of Flickr images on Commons
• mw:Extension:ImportFreeImages an extension that allows wikis to easily import free-licensed images from Flickr into their wiki (not in use at the Commons)
• Category:Commons. Flickr - various Flickr-related resources.

Flickr links

• Wikimedia Commons group
• How to change your default license
• How to change the license of a single photo (PDF screenshot guide)

Other links

• Short description of CC-BY and CC-BY-SA (as well as other Creative Commons licenses)
• Why non-commercial (NC) are not considered free