The Elder Scrolls Wiki:Media

This page is considered an official policy on TESWiki. It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that everyone should follow. Except for minor edits, please make use of the discussion page to propose changes to this policy.

A wiki without images, audio, and video would be as boring as a blank page. At The Elder Scrolls Wiki, we want to offer readers and fans of The Elder Scrolls sufficient coverage of all game-related topics. Illustrating text with images, or giving words breath with an audio clip greatly enhances our ability to offer our audience that wide scope of coverage. However, like the games we love so much, we do not own the rights to publish images and audio taken from them. We can, on the other hand, use them in a way that does not violate Bethesda Softworks' copyright claims on this media. This type of justification is called Fair-use. Here, we will outline what qualifies as fair-use here, as well as offer tips for the proper licensing, uploading, and justifications for media on The Elder Scrolls Wiki.

Audio

Audio clips should be uploaded in .ogg format. Wikia does not support any other extension. Because websites such as YouTube possibly host copy-righted content that does not qualify as fair use, we should not link to it. Instead, we can create or crop segments of audio from the game files, or re-record them in a lower quality format, to justify them as fair use. Every second of sound on an Elder Scrolls game is copyrighted by Bethesda. We do not own it. You do not own it. We believe that use of specific kinds of audio can allow us to use their copyrighted work freely, if it meets all or most of these guidelines:

• It illustrates an educational article that specifically discusses the song from which this sample was taken. The section of music used is discussed in the article in relation to the song's lyrics, musical and vocal style, and may contain part of the song's chorus.
• It is a sample of no more than 30 seconds from a much longer recording, and could not be used as a substitute for the original commercial recording or to recreate the original recording.
• It is of a lower quality than the original recording.
• It is not replaceable with an uncopyrighted or freely copyrighted sample of comparable educational value.
• It is believed that this sample will not affect the value of the original work or limit the copyright holder's rights or ability to distribute the original recording.

The audio sample is a copyrighted work. U.S. copyright laws apply to this work. Should a free or public domain sample be located, it should be used in place of this audio sample. Wikipedia uses this same fair-use rationale for audio segments it borrows. And, in essence, that is what we are doing here -- legally borrowing copyrighted content for an educational purpose.

Extracting audio from game files

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Licensing audio

All audio segments must be labeled with {{Esaudio}}, which shows that the material is not in the public domain, but is, in fact, owned by Bethesda. Failure to include this template could result in your audio being deleted from the wiki. First offenses will be warned, directed here, and the license will be added to the audio, if it meets the above guidelines for fair-use. Repeated offenses could lead to a 1 week block from the wiki, for purposefully failing to abide by our policy. In fact, this should have been read by the uploader before any content was uploaded. Please be aware, also, that "rips" or other forms of audio extracted by other persons should not be passed off as original work. For instance, if a sound clip was re-recorded from a YouTube video, {{Esaudio}} as well as a link to the original video and "ripper" is required. Failing to do this could lead to administrative action. If you are confused about how an audio clip should be licensed, do not hesitate to consult an administrator.

Adding audio to an article

Audio can be added to articles in two ways. Either through the {{SkyrimCreatures}} infobox or through the {{Audiobox}}. Let's start with the Creature infobox.

There will be instances when it would be beneficial to add an audio clip of a Creature to an article. To do so, first, make sure the article has the {{SkyrimCreatures}} infobox. Next, look for this:

|sound= 

If an audio sample is needed, no text will be written next to this. To add it, simply type the name of your audio file, plaintext. For example, File:TESV Sound Alduin.ogg. Preview the article to see that everything looks presentable, then hit publish. If the audio does not stream in the published article, double check to ensure that the file name matches the one you uploaded. This option should be used most often for audio clips.

The second options, {{Audiobox}} adds a mini-audio player to the body of the article. Here is an example of what it should look like when you add it to an article:

 {{Audiobox
|filename=TESV Sound Alduin.ogg
|float=right
|length=0:12
|description=Alduin's Speech
}}

Typing this, creates this in the article:

	Length:	0:12
	Description:	Alduin's Speech

Easy, right?

Images

Images from other websites should not be uploaded to this wiki; this includes but is not limited to the UESP wiki. Images of "leaked" subjects are also not permitted on this wiki.

• Please make sure that images have high resolution and reasonably illustrate the subject in question.
• Avoid taking a picture with the user interface on, unless it is to prove a point.
• If you find a page where there are more images than there is text, consider removing less informative pictures, or making a gallery. Whenever possible, uploading your file in .PNG format.
• Give your picture a meaningful name. Something that will make it findable by others, so that they can use it on the wiki.
• Do not upload images to post solely on the forums. Such images will be deleted on sight.

Uploading an image

To upload an image, go to Special:Upload. There, you can select from an array of licensing tags (see: The Elder Scrolls Wiki:Media#Licensing images for details). Place a sufficient summary of the image in the window and click upload.

Re-uploading images

Unless there is a significant problem with a picture (such as poor resolution or lighting), we encourage people not to change pictures. This is because there can be many different opinions about what looks good which can lead to multiple changes with no improvement. Essentially, when it comes to pictures, "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

• Before uploading an image please check to make sure it doesn't already exist in the wiki.
• If it does, but you believe your version is better, click on the "Upload a new version of this file" option in the file's page, below the file history.
• Do not, under any circumstance, re-upload a picture so that your username appears when the image is displayed as a thumbnail. This offense is similar to badge-hunting and administrative action may be taken against you if the behavior persists.

Article images

Note: Article images violating any of these rules are subjected for deletion.

• Images should be of good quality, both in terms of resolution and image quality (e.g. no pictures of TV screens; take screenshots instead).
• Images should never include parts of the UI (HUD, crosshair) unless the purpose of the given image is to illustrate the UI itself. See Category:Interface Images for examples of when this is acceptable.
• Images should not include your player character, unless it is to demonstrate something in the article, for example, using your character to show how clothing or armor would look on each gender.
• Images should have a descriptive name related to their purpose (similar name of a weapon if the image is for that weapon etc.). For example, if an image of Daedric Dagger is uploaded, the name should be "File:Daedric Dagger.png", not "13445uoi-dsafkduLJILH:.png". The latter makes locating the image extremely difficult, if it needs to be used for another article, a blog, or a talk page.
• Pornographic material or any material that could be considered questionable should not be uploaded to the wiki, nor linked to on the wiki, nor added to articles. Keep in mind the audience of the article. Those who are underage may be viewing this material and thus our presentation of information should reflect that.
• Ideally, screenshots from the game The Elder Scrolls: Arena should be taken in a 4:3 aspect ratio, for which the game was originally designed (also applies to other titles designed for 4:3). Other aspect ratios will stretch the image, distorting it somewhat. To achieve the 4:3 aspect ratio in DOSBox, you need to use the "aspect=true" command.
  • Bethesda did not "fix" the Floppy version of Arena when making the guide for DOSBox. The game uses a disintegration effect for menus, but in 4:3, the game slows to an almost halt during the disintegration. Pressing F4 in-game disables this effect, but not in a menu. In an unavoidable disintegration sequence, press "Esc" before it happens to skip it.
    • On the Surface rendering for DOSBox, the slowdowns occur, but there are ways to stop it. In the .CONF file for DOSBox, you need to change "output=surface" to "output=ddraw" (Windows) or "output=openglnb" (Mac, "=openglnb" to stop the BilinearFiltering effect instead of "=opengl") to avoid the disintegration slowdowns. The look is indifferent to surface. The images should still be taken with "aspect=true" and "scaler=normal3x" as to be higher quality yet still faithful to the graphics of the original game.
  • Arena has a bad fog effect that occurs in dungeons, which blocks the vision of sight a few feet away from the player. It is therefore strongly encouraged that screenshot uploaders obtain an item ending in "Wizard's Light" (e.g. Mark of Wizard's Light) so the fog is moved back a lengthy distance.

Character image standard

See also: User blog:Atvelonis/Character Image Standard

• Images of characters need to be an in-game screenshot. No renders of characters.
• Images should be in .PNG format
• Images should be greater than 720px in height
• Images of characters should be in a 3:5 size ratio (e.g. 600px width x 1000px height)*
• Images should be a full body image
• Images should be taken without any environment distractions that would otherwise take the focus off the character.

* The 3:5 aspect ratio requirement only applies to full-body images. If a supplemental, non-full body character image is desired for later use in an article, it may be cropped to any aspect ratio.
* Additionally, full-body character images are not strictly necessary for small, creature-like entities like Alfiq, who are considered characters (as they are a sub-race of Khajiit) but lack clear humanoid characteristics.

User images

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Wiki:User image policy

The wiki's user image policy stipulates that users should upload no more than five images solely for use on their profiles or in signatures, and that all such files should be tagged with {{User-image}}. User images which are also present in articles as well as those found in userbox templates do not count toward this limit. Blog images are also excluded from this limit, although they must be tagged with the template {{BlogImages}}.

Taking a screenshot

Taking a screenshot from within a running The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind/The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion/The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim game can be done in three ways:

Avoid taking a picture with the user interface on, unless it is to prove a point! Type "tm" in the console to remove HUD.

For a list of console commands see: "Console commands"

File configuration

The game uses two .ini files for configuration. One in the Oblivion game folder called "Oblivion_default.ini". The other is in My Documents\My Games\Oblivion\Oblivion.ini You should make a backup before making any changes to an .ini file. You may need to turn on the ability to view file extensions in Windows (some people have it off by default), in order to identify your .ini files.

There is a setting in both the first and second .ini files that allow you to press the Print Screen button (Prt Scrn) on your keyboard:

bAllowScreenShot=0

To enable the ability to take screen shots, change this line to:

bAllowScreenShot=1

Edit the line in both files, just to be sure. Then save. Pressing the Print Screen button on your keyboard (you may need to simultaneously press SHIFT on some keyboards) should now write a BMP screenshot file to your game folder.

Fraps

A free Windows utility called FRAPS can be started before you load up Oblivion. This enables you to press F10 on your keyboard to take a screenshot. FRAPS can also capture in-game movies and display your FPS framerate. Screenshots are unaffected, but some features such as the movies are watermarked until the application is registered. The application is mature and reliable software, and is in wide use.

Steam

If running the game through Steam, the easiest way to capture a screenshot is by pressing F12 while in-game. This will allow you to take several pictures without having to worry about saving them one by one.

All screenshots taken using the Steam feature are saved on your computer's hard disk in the "Steam" folder, but can be easily accessed by clicking View (in the top left corner of the Steam window above Library, Store, News, etc.) From View press Screenshots on the list. This will bring up a smaller window where you can see all the screenshots you've taken. The new window has also got a Show option, where you can choose to show all screenshots taken in a specific game, for easy maneuvering. You can also press Show on disk to view the pictures in their folder, which they from there can be edited, saved, moved, and so forth.

Licensing images

Main article: Pre-Filled Image Licensing Summaries

All images must be appropriately licensed and categorized. Do not upload content from another website, including Google.com or UESP.net. While legal under particular circumstances (adherence to CC-BY-SA), this is generally discouraged, and such images are likely to be deleted.

Images taken from a The Elder Scrolls title published by Bethesda should use the {{Bethimage}} template, and those from titles published by ZeniMax should use the {{Zenimage}} template. These templates are included in standard licensing templates such as {[tl|SkyrimCharacterImages}}, which also handle categorization.

If you're uploading a screenshot you took yourself, you don't actually have to think about any of this: simply go to this page, find the appropriate section with a pre-filled licensing template, and copy+paste it into the "Summary" box on the upload form. For examples of properly licensed files, see here and here.

In a situation where an image not of your own creation is to be uploaded to the wiki, remember to include the following content in the summary, per copyright law:

• A disclaimer, noting that the content is not copyrighted by the uploader, but instead by the original author. If you are unsure which template to use here, {{Fairuse}} is a good bet. A list of appropriate templates can be found here.
• Proper attribution, i.e. a link back to the original source. Do not provide a link to the main page of the site that the content was originally hosted on—you must link to the actual web page on which it is found.
• If known, provide the name or pseudonym of the author, and the date of the original upload.
• Include any modifications you have made to the file, such as resizing, cropping, recoloring, etc.

Categorizing images

At the Elder Scrolls Wiki, we like to keep things in order. As such, all images must be categorized by the uploader (that means you!) You can add categories to the image when you add the licensing tag or afterwards, so long as the categories are added. Because the number of images on the wiki is so large, we ask that images be added to the most specific, and as few categories, as possible. All categories should end in the word "Image". For instance, a picture of Ysolda would be added to Category:Skyrim: Character Images. The Category, Category:Skyrim: Characters or Category:Skyrim: Females belongs to articles exclusively. No images should be in these categories. Adversely, this image does not belong in Category:Skyrim: Images. That category serves as a "hub" of sub-categories to help other users find images quicker. If images are placed in these categories, the sub-categories will be hidden and no one will be able to find the images they're looking for. So, stick to the most specific category possible. When in doubt, ask an experience member on the wiki. Each one has a colored name. Failing that, check out to see how other images are categorize. 9 times out of 10, they are in the proper place.

Videos

Main article: TES:Video policy

In order to ensure that we have the most copyright-compliant videos possible on our site, users are no longer allowed to upload videos to this site.

But you still have a very important role to play in improving our video library! If you've found a video that's compliant with this policy, but one which we don't currently have at Special:Videos, please ask an admin if it can be added.

Only videos uploaded from Video.wikia.com or by the copyright holder or official licensee may be used on any article pages, talk pages or forum pages.

The following are Admin preferences to take into account when making video recommendations: the relevance of the content; the pertinence of the visual format, i.e. the video is not simply duplicating something that can be conveyed in equal measure with text; the quality/accuracy of the video in question; no use of profanity; no commentary.

See also

• Manual of Style – a guide for article format
• Templates – putting media into a template
• Image Needed – a list of all the articles needing images.
• Audio Needed – a list of all the articles needing audio.