Destiny Wiki:Image Policy

Destiny Wiki is capable of hosting a nearly limitless number of images for use on articles to ensure the best quality and availability by not relying on foreign image hosts - there's nothing worse than having an image moved or deleted by an image hosting site due to space issues. Despite this, overuse of the system can lead to difficulty when trying to find previously uploaded images. So, to allow for smooth operation of the wiki, prevent offence to readers, and to ensure easy navigation and use of images, this policy has been put in place to guide users on upload and use of images.

Before Uploading
Before uploading an image to the wiki, several requirements must be addressed first to ensure that your image is not deleted by admins for being termed inappropriate, useless, or of poor quality.

Need of Images
All uploaders must ask themselves whether it is really necessary for the image to be uploaded to the wiki, and whether it could be uploaded to a foreign image host site, such as imageshack or tinypic, instead of clogging the image system. Images should only be uploaded to Destiny Wiki when they are going to be used on one of the following spaces:


 * 1) Articles
 * 2) Userpage
 * 3) Talkpage
 * 4) Blogs
 * 5) Templates
 * 6) MediaWiki Pages
 * 7) Categories (On rare occasions)

If the image is not going to be used on one of the above spaces, then please use an independent image hosting site.

Unacceptable Images
Images should never be uploaded if they are the following:


 * Vulgar - Images which contain violent scenes or fear scenes intended to repulse viewers.
 * Pornographic - Images of nudity, partial nudity, or suggestive of nudity.
 * Copyright - Images which have been copyrighted and are not covered by fair use.
 * Illegal - Images of illegal content that is not already covered in the above.

Images also should always be of canon material, unless they are going to be used on personal namespaces or on articles about non-canon material. Fan made or modified images should not be used on articles. Images which do not follow these conditions will be deleted immediately without warning, and the users warned or punished depending on severity.

Image Quality
Images should be of the highest quality possible to be uploaded to the wiki - images which are pixelated, contain watermarks, or are under 300x300px should not be uploaded. Images of people and objects should be rendered when possible, while images of missions and landscapes should never be rendered or altered.

A rough guide to acceptable qualities for images on the wiki can be seen in the following table. If you are still in doubt whether you image is of sufficient quality, contact an administrator.

Duplicate Images
Before uploading an image, users should always do a quick file search to ensure that the image is not already uploaded. If the image already exists on the wiki, but is of a lower quality, use the "Upload a new version of this file" button under the File history section of the image's file page. Duplicate images will be deleted from the wiki immediately, despite if the image is of a higher quality than the original. If you are unable to upload a new version of a file (for example if your replacement file is a different filetype), contact an administrator after your upload so that they can remove the older image if appropriate.

Upload Images
When you have ensured that uploading the image is necessary, users should use the Special:NewFiles page which is available under "Photos" on the navigation bar. Users can then follow the step by step guide below in order to ensure the best results while uploading:


 * Click the "Add a Photo" button.
 * Select the "Choose File" button to bring up the file browser.
 * Locate the file in your computer, and then select "open".
 * Select the "more options" button below.
 * Fill out the correct fields:
 * Enter a file name in the file name field,
 * Enter a description of the image in the caption field.
 * Select the correct license.
 * Click the upload button and wait patiently for the module to close automatically.

File naming and license selection is further explained under their relevant sections on this policy page.

Image Names
Images should be accurately named in order to ensure they are easy to find at a later date. It goes without saying that images should not be rude or vulgar. Images which do not follow these naming requirements will be deleted without warning.

Descriptive Names
File names should be short and descriptive. If no previous image has been uploaded on the subject, then the image should take the name of the subject; however, is an image has been uploaded of the subject, then the file name should take the name of the subject and then the name of the media in which the subject appeared.

An example of this can be seen in this image of a knight from concept art:



The file name of the image is "Fallen Render.png" as the image is of a member of the Alien fraction 'The Fallen', and the image is a rendered format of the original image. Image names should never be of the uploader's username, a series of numbers or letters, or gibberish.

Personal Images
Images which have been uploaded for personal use on talk pages, userpages, or signatures should be prefixed with "USER_" in order for the images to be picked up by our image tracking systems and not be deleted by accident. Images which do not follow this will be deleted, unless the author of the image requests a name changes on an administrator's talk page.

Categorization
Images should be categorized in order to ensure easy navigation of images on the wiki. Look for the correct sub-category on the image category to which the image best matches, and then categorize the image into that sub-category by going to the image's file name and then using the category module towards the bottom.

Use in Articles
Images are an important feature for helping detail a subject in articles, give examples of a subject, or just to make the article look more appealing. Images featured in an article must always be official and of canon content; fan made images, altered images, or images of modified content are not acceptable. To ensure that images do not have an adverse effect on the aesthetics of the articles, this policy must be followed. Misplaced images can detract from the article, so images must always be placed in an appropriate manner within an article's text, or within designated image zones such as galleries or information boxes.

Images should always be placed into an article using the file name tag:   as this links the image to it's original file destination page. Several tags can be placed after the file name in order to change the shape and attributes of the image.

When placing images into an infobox, the image must show only the subject at hand and no surrounding environment, where possible, in order to ensure the subject within the image is easy to see. Infobox images must be no wider than 250px, this can be achieved by adding a "|250px" tag to the end of a file name such as:  . This will ensure the image has a maximum width of 250px while still maintaining normal aspect ratios.

When placing images within the article itself, the image must always be placed to the left of the text and be turned into a thumbnail. This can be achieved by adding a "|thumb" tag to the end of a file name, such as:  . This will result in the image as it appears on the right! A caption should also be added to the image to explain what the image is trying to detail. Captions should be short and descriptive, and can be placed by adding a caption tag to the end of the file name, such as:   - where you replace the words "Image caption" with the description you wish to add.

When there are multiple images which can be placed on an article, but they run the risk of over-cluttering the article and detracting from the text, an image gallery should be used. Galleries can be placed using the "Gallery" button under the "Add features and media" section of the editor mode - this feature is available in both source mode and visual mode on the right hand side. Gallery images should always be set to no larger than 160px, and the columns should always be set to fit the page and aligned to the left with no forced changes to image shapes. This will produce:

Under no circumstances should a slideshow or slider gallery be added to an article without the express permission of an administrator. Image should follow our image standard policy, if images do not follow these standards then they will be removed from the article, and the author warned. Authors of images which are deemed damaging enough or perform repeat offenses are at risk of being banned from the wiki.

Leaked Images
Images of leaked content will be removed immediately, and the users banned. The Image Policy does not condone illegal activity, and support the secrecy of game releases to help uphold the integrity of the wiki. Users who upload leaked images are at risk of being reported to Microsoft, Activision, and Bungie!

Ignoring this Policy
Users who ignore this policy are at risk of being banned for a period of time decided at the discretion of the administrator performing the punishment. Punishments can vary from warnings to indefinite bans from the wiki, depending on the severity of the offence. The criteria for upload may seem small, however they will help to ensure that Destiny Wiki achieves the best results; and remember, when in doubt, ask an Administrator.