Sword Art Online Wiki:Image Guideline


 * Last edited: Gsimenas (talk) 21:53, September 3, 2014 (UTC)


 * This page is a list of guidelines for images on the wiki and is meant to help new users understand the standards of this wiki. Please note that this list is meant to be used more as a guide than a rule book, as this page only lists tips based on mistakes that have already been made on the wiki and thus it may not cover all possible issues with images. Even if the guideline does not include a mention of a specific issue, the image may still be edited/removed from articles/deleted if necessary.

Please take the time to read the guidelines below, as any and all images uploaded after the creation of this page that do not meet the requirements of this wiki may be deleted with or without warning.


 * Uploaders of images, which do not meet the wiki's standards, except for cases where the issues are related to the file name, are given 24 hours to correct the issues with their images before they are deleted. An image that does not meet the standards of the wiki CANNOT be used on articles. All such edits will be undone/reverted. Repeated offenses may result in warnings or administrative action. 

Before uploading an image, please check Category:Images to see if the image that you want to upload is already on the wiki. All images are categorised by source, so finding duplicates should not be hard and we do not need repeats.

If you have confirmed that the image is not present on the wiki, then the following guidelines depend on whether the image you want to upload is an official image or fan art.

Fan art
Fan art are pictures that do not have an official source or are made by non-official artists. All non-sourced images are treated as fan art until an official source is found. Pictures of cosplay are also regarded as fan art. Pictures of real life props (e.g. sword models) follow the same guidelines as fan art pictures, even if the props are official.

Guidelines

 * All fan art pictures are for personal-use only. Usage of fan art on official pages (articles, image galleries, category pages etc.) is  forbidden.
 * User pages, user blogs, forums etc. are pages where fan art can be used.
 * Cosplay, real life prop pictures, memes etc. are forbidden from being uploaded on the wiki. Please upload such images on sites like SAO cosplay wiki (for cosplay) or imgur and tumblr (for others) and then use Image to have your image show up on your personal page.
 * A fan art picture must be used somewhere as soon as possible, or it will be marked for deletion to keep the wiki's photo library tidy.
 * Fan art and off topic images must be marked as Category:Unofficial Image and the description of the file should mention that the file is not considered to be official.
 * Fan art and off topic images should be minimally used on the wiki. In other words, avoid uploading too many fan art pictures.
 * Do not claim someone else's work as your own. Give credit to the original author of the picture.

Official images
Official images are illustrations and art that comes from official sources, which include: Sword Art Online light novel illustrations, Sword Art Online anime screenshots, Sword Art Online mangas, art made by the light novel (abec) or official manga illustrators, Dengeki Bunko magazines, Sword Art Online anime official site, official products (products licensed by people who officially contribute to the series) etc.

Content

 * Repeated images or images that are too similar to already existing images (e.g. screenshots taken within several second of each other from the same footage) should be avoided, unless there is a very good reason to use such images. Please check Category:Images before uploading a new image.
 * Only raw images are allowed. In other words, no English text should be visible in the picture, unless it was like that in the original.
 * Images of maps can have English text if the image is meant to be used on an article as a map of an area. Example: File:Sword_Art_Online_-_GGO_BoB_Map.png can be used on the ISL Ragnarok page, but File:Vol_06_-_008.png must be used for the Volume 6 page.
 * Images should not be modified to be counted as official. Redrawing (for light novel illustrations), merging (taking two official images and fusing them into 1 when both of them show different details of the same scene, thus creating a panoramic view) and cropping is acceptable, but changing colours, adding content that was not present in the original etc. is forbidden.
 * Watermarks, especially non-official ones, should not be present on the image if possible.

Image Naming

 * If a category of images has a naming convention (e.g. LN illustrations or BD covers), then please follow this convention.
 * File names should be descriptive and not random, as random names make it hard to find the file. This also means that file names should not include characters that are hard to insert with an English keyboard.
 * Example of a good name: "Kirito flying to the World Tree.png". Example of a bad name: "BhhT4PLCAAAXVyp.jpg"
 * If a full real name of a character is used in the title of an image, it should follow the naming order in the original source.
 * In other words, the names of characters of Japanese nationality are written as Family name Given name (e.g. Kirgaya Kazuto, not Kazuto Kirigaya), while non-Japanese nationality characters and Alicization characters follow the Western convention of Given name Family name (e.g. Andrew Gilbert Mills, not Mills Andrew Gilbert).
 * If the image shows the real life person, please use the real names of the characters in the title. If the image shows the avatars of the players, please use the avatar names of the players in the title.
 * In other words, titles like "RL Silica" are bad.

Before Uploading

 * Images should not exceed a size where they interfere with the viewing of content.
 * Avoid uploading low quality pictures, unless a higher quality version is not available. If an image is low in quality (for anime screenshots, they must be 1080p (1920x1080) to be considered high quality), the Low Quality category must be added to the image.
 * All official images should be uploaded in .png format instead of .jpg, unless the picture in .png format exceeds 4-5 MBs in size. Other formats are acceptable if, based on the circumstances, the format is better than the .png format (e.g. using .gif for animated pictures).
 * The wiki's .jpg thumbnail algorithms are very bad. That is why we only use .jpg format for very large files, as .png format images stop working properly when they reach around 4-5 MBs in size and .png pictures become overly large when compared to .jpg format pictures as the resolution of the file increases.

After Uploading

 * All official images MUST be sourced.
 * Sourcing is done in two stages: 1) An appropriate source category must be added to the uploaded file (see Category:Images for the image categories used on the wiki). 2) If Category:Extra Source is used or if the chapter/volume the image was extracted from is not obvious enough from the picture itself, the file page should include a description of the source or a direct link to it.
 * If the image was extracted from a third party site, but originally came from a magazine or some other official source, the description should include both the source to the third party site where the image was taken from and a description of the actual original source.
 * Specify the licensing of the image. When uploading an image, you will see a "Licensing" drop down menu that you can use to select the type of license.

Image Placement

 * Pictures should be inserted in-between paragraphs of text, at least 1 line break separating the file code from the text, on an article. Do not insert pictures in the middle of a paragraph, as it makes the page look messy in source mode.
 * Note: The image appears next to the paragraph below/after the file code in source mode. Previewing your edit will allow you to see where exactly the image would be placed and how it will look.
 * Placement of images must be related to the information near its placement.
 * Only one image should be used per paragraph to not overcrowd the article with images. For appearance sections, if more than 1 picture is needed (e.g. to show the appearance of the character early in the game and then later in the game), a small slideshow gallery should be used to conserve space and to fit into the section.
 * Images on articles are usually placed in a way that nearby images are not on the same side (e.g. if one image is aligned to the right, the next image is usually aligned to the left side, the third is then aligned to the right side etc.).
 * This standard does not apply when such alignment causes problems with the aesthetic of the page (usually, when the image overlaps with a section or infobox).

Image sourcing tips

 * 1) Go to Google
 * 2) Select "Images"
 * 3) Click the Camera icon
 * 4) Paste the image URL/Upload your image
 * 5) Try to locate the source of the image.

It is likely to to be difficult with images that are popular online (such as Yuki Tatsuya's works), so you are not guaranteed to find the source.

Tip by: TUSF