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Revision as of 04:25, 4 June 2021 by Trig Jegman (talk | contribs) (& Have you seen this new File template and need help using it? Try reading this new section for a small walkthrough.)
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It has been requested that this article be rewritten to be comprehensible to the human race.

A user most known for file management. See also: The talk page, The sandbox, Project Purge.


Terminology

  • Caps = Capitalization
  • FNC = File Name Change - I usually use this on any changed talk pages
  • RFC = Renamed for Consistency - Like files, such as character icons, should be similarly named. These are usually minor fixes.
  • TR = Technical Rename - removing or changing things like punctuation, unnecessary numbers, or files with weird issues in them. Files should have no punctuation other than a sparingly used hyphen.
  • RFA = Renamed for Accuracy - Spelling errors, wrong names, poor formatting, or lack of specified game. More-specific-to-the-image naming. This is about 85% of when the main file name is changed. These are usually major fixes.
  • NCR = Naming Conflict Rename - Files that are almost identically named that are renamed to avoid confusing the two. Hypothetical examples: Kirby.png vs. Kirby.PNG, or Dedede1.png vs. Dedede 1.png
  • RIF = Removed Image:/File: - Using <Gallery> means you don't need to use "Image:" (which shouldn't really be used anyway) or "File:". If I'm passing through a gallery, I'll try to remove any I see. It may also mean changing Image: to File: for single images.
  • UPI = Unused Personal Image
  • ECE = Edit Conflict Error

Additionally, because autofill is an evil tool from evil town, I add a symbol in each edit summary so it doesn't save forever.

Notes

See also: My sandbox

General/Miscellaneous

  • Virtually every file needs the new File template. - 02:23, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

What Does That Mean? (FAQ)

This section is a semi-dedicated FAQ to both questions related to files and general wiki editing. Have a question? I would be happy to answer it on my talk page instead.

Why do we have different types of files?

JPG/JPEG is a lossy type of image. While compressing, the file may lose quality in order to have a better file size. They are less preferred than other file types, but that is not to say they are bad. Usually, JPGs are used for artworks or Wii U/Switch screenshots. JPG files cannot and should not be converted into other file types.

GIF is a lossless types of image, revolutionary for supporting animation and transparency. It can only display 256 colors per frame, however. These files are most recommended to be used for animated images only, as the successor file type is much more effective at displaying images. Additionally, gameplay GIFs should be avoided because too many colors at once causes dithering, a process where color values exceeding GIF's 256 are replaced with a "best guess", usually, reducing the overall quality.

PNG is essentially GIF 2 electric boogaloo. It was designed to improve on the lossless format to be both more compressed but also have more color options available to the viewer. A majority of wiki files are in this format. PNG is also transparency supportive, and is usually the smallest file type available. The main distinction between PNG and GIF is that PNG does not necessarily have animation support. There were several attempts to add it on later down the line, such as MNG (creator:png group) or APNG (mozilla), but they do not hold universal value. While the wiki supports APNG uploads, it is not heavily suggested as it is not quite available to all users and are usually large in size.

SVGs are interesting lossless files. They are universally supported, and essentially run images off text files. The two reasons that these files may be used over PNG is because they are much much smaller, and because that they can be displayed at any size without a change in quality. You want a 9000 by 9000 pixel SVG? It'll go there and look just as good as 152x152. They are only effective when it comes to line art or very simple artworks, however.

Is there a difference between JPG and JPEG?

Short answer: No. Long answer: Noooooo.

JPG and JPEG are entirely interchangeable and have absolutely no meaning over the other. That said, files should use jpg, just to have a sense of uniformity and to avoid issues when auto-filling parameters.

Why isn't this gif moving?

Chances are, it is a single frame gif. If possible, try and convert to a PNG before uploading, as they are more optimal to utilize and it generally does not affect visual quality.

I thought PNGs were supposed to be transparent

PNGs can be transparent, but they might not be. Sometimes the source uses a white background and that is ok. Transparency should not be artificially created just because an image is a PNG. Images should never be made transparent in systems like GIMP. Only official transparency should be used.

What's the deal with "inter-file periods"?

Interfile periods, periods that are in a file name that aren't for the extension, are not really great to have. While other punctuation found in a subject is usually okay, sometimes systems freak out as to when the extension starts when it comes to periods. For example, it may read a file named "Mr. T Artwork.jpg" as it should be, Mr. T Artwork, with an extension of jpg, OR it might read the file as Mr T with the extension of Artwork.jpg

There doesn't appear to be a rhyme or reason as to when one happens over another, but typically it messes up in galleries over anything else. It's better to be safe and avoid them entirely. If anything, it is simply easier to read.

What's the deal with hyphens?

Hyphens are a difficult middle ground when it comes to naming files. While they should be used for anything with a hyphen specifically in the name, they should NOT be used in place of spaces. The reason for this is generally because it's easier to type without a space, and the use of hyphens simply creates more opportunities for files to be almost identically named. KSSU-Moon.png and KSSU Moon.png could be two different files, and it is not the most effective to name them so similarly.

A hyphen (-), found on most keyboards, is not to be confused with a dash (—) or a minus sign (−).

For example, the following could all be be different files:

  • Kirby-Sword.png
  • Kirby - Sword.png
  • Kirby- Sword.png
  • Kirby -Sword.png

What's an NCR?

An NCR is a term I use to describe files that are almost identically named. Some examples would be:

  • Capitalization. (EX: File:KEY Dream Land.png and File:KEY dream land.png)
  • Extension difference. (EX: File:Marx being cool.jpg and File:Marx being cool.png)
  • Hyphens (EX: File:Meta Knight.png vs File:Meta-Knight.png vs File:Meta - Knight.png vs File:Meta- Knight.png vs File:Meta -Knight.png)

Why do you have symbols all over your sandbox?

I usually use them to be able to reference different types of images. Often, I will use the at sign @, dollar sign $, percent %, ampersand &, and dead key grave ` (and rarely asterism, usually for lists ⁂) to self categorize groups of images. For example, if I am going to need to fix the aboutfiles on a set of images, I might add % to them and do all of those images at the same time. Generally, they don't mean the same thing for the same section.

What are Smart Quotes? What are Smart Apostrophes?

Smart quotes and apostrophes are a type of quote that is not on a universal keyboard. They appear like this: (“|”|‘|’). They were essentially created to add style to the regular straight quotes (sometimes jokingly called dumb quotes) as seen here: ("|'). Since Smart Quotes do not appear on most keyboards as a standard, we try to avoid them the best we can. Some browsers/OS have automatic correction to smart quotes, especially apple products. These settings can be turned off in various settings pages.

Since some people may only be using smart quotes, pages that utilize quotations and apostrophes should have extra redirects made that utilize them.

Why do I keep seeing "Optimized" on files? What's PNG Monstrous?

Image optimization is a LOSSLESS process in which an image has its metadata removed. Metadata is more text based, hidden information attached to files. Generally some metadata could include the date of capture, the file's dimensions, or type of camera used. While maybe useful for personal use, it's not necessary to have on the wiki. Hence, the emphasis on optimizing files.

There are a number of programs available to optimize files. The most popular are PNG Monstrous (formerly PNG Monster), which is universal in download and is extremely effective. The other is ImageOptim, which is generally a mashup of a bunch of optimizers. The pro to using ImageOptim is that it has support for four file types to be optimized: PNG, JPG, GIF, and SVG, with a con of being MacOS exclusive.

Before uploading a new image or revision, images are encouraged to be optimized as it helps the user load the image more effectively and saves server space.

As mentioned before, optimizing is a lossless process. Compression, which is sadly used interchangeably with optimizing, could mean either regular optimizing or the use of LOSSY compression. Lossy compression is where the image quality is reduced (by any varying amount) to make the file size smaller. LOSSY compression should not be used.

What's Gamma Brightening?

Gamma (Brightening) is a type of metadata stored on image files that change the way certain colors are displayed. Usually, it reduces the contrast amongst colors and is typically found on PNGs. While generally unwritten, the policy on gamma brightened photos is to optimize the file only if the original source does not use gamma brightening. If the source image contains gamma brightening metadata, it should not be optimized.

Why do we use OGA and OGV instead of OGG?

Xiph OGG Naming Standard.png

Way back yonder when the OGG format was introduced by Xiph.org, the only extension was .ogg; Since it became wildly much more popular in the later 2000s, they realized that the ability to have almost any type of file use OGG, they formally headlined the creation of different extensions such as OGA (Lossy Audio), OGV (Video), OGX (applications), and XFPF (weird code stuff that I don't understand). Per the creators suggestion, we should use the distinguished naming scheme.

Why can't I play this OGA/OGV file?

Unfortunately, while popular in the days of 2010, the global standard has dropped universal OGG support for reasons that have yet to really be explained. Some theorize it was because apple was trying to replace it with .mov and .m4a files, but this is conjecture. Generally, google chrome is a good browser to try and view this type of file on. If possible, it may be acceptable to re-rip as MP3 files.

How come some files have the name parts in a different order than here?

Matter of preference to the user.

I prefer distinguishing by game first, the subject of the image second, and the type of image third so that it is simple to tell on pages with multiple games involved (galleries especially), as it makes the most sense to compare files of one game to another first before comparing them to each other. Namewise, how does my Kirby Super Star Gordo Sprite stand out amongst other games? Because it's Kirby Super Star. How does it stand out to other Kirby Super Star files? Because it's a Gordo. How does it stand out to other Kirby Super Star Gordos? Because it is a sprite.

Other people prefer to use the format Subject-Game-Type because it is generally easier to search for in categories.

How do I use Template:File?

{{File}} is a very important new template to help improve file organization. It is most important for ensuring the following properties are found on each file we use:

  • Copyright status--usually indicating the file is fair use
  • Game categorization and linkage (This file is used for this specific game, and you can get there with this link)
  • Type of file categorization (IE Sprites are all together, while audio files are in a different category)
  • Sourcing--Usually necessary for fair use in images.

This process has been carefully made to be as easy as possible. The skeleton of the template is the following, and can be directly copypasted into existing files--new uploads should automatically have template there:

{{File
|game     = 
|summary  = 
|type     = 
|source   = 
|license  = 
}}
  • Game: The easiest to fill in is the game category. It's what game the image is for! Not from a game? Use game=series for images that cover a whole series, like logos. You do not need to add linking brackets in this section, just the name of the game. This will automatically categorize this file for the respective game
  • Summary: This should give a brief description of what the file is. Not sure what to write? Try describing the image as if you were telling someone what the file contains without them being able to see/hear it. It may be appropriate to copy over pre-existing captions.
  • Type is the type of file it is. This will automatically categorize the file for you. Not sure what to use? Ask on the file talk page (or ask on my talk page) and someone will help you decide. All entires must be all lowercase to work. The list of types can be found below:
    • achievement
    • arcade
    • artwork
    • audio
    • boxart
    • card
    • control
    • diagram
    • die
    • icon
    • logo
    • map
    • model
    • panorama
    • photo
    • rating
    • screenshot
    • sprite
    • system
    • trophy
    • user
    • video
    • wiki
  • Source: is a link to where you obtained the image, should you have found it elsewhere. These links should be linked using one bracket [link] on each side. If you got this image yourself, whether it be through a capture card or sprite ripping or other means, use source=self instead. All files need sourcing! Please try to obtain one if at all possible.
  • Licensing: will generally autofill using the above use of type=, but this can be manually changed by filling in this section. This should only be used for files released under a creative commons license or is public domain--both of these are rarities. See Template:License for more information.

Other

Additionally, please don't ask me about my personal life, I'd greatly appreciate it. I do make cool music for fun though

last seen doing:

29 March 2024

Today's fortune: Line breaks are your friend