Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Image Use Policy - Revision history

Sythan: Neutralize wording around generated/synthetic content for publication prep

2026-08-22T02:37:13Z

Neutralize wording around generated/synthetic content for publication prep

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Sythan at 20:39, 17 August 2026

2026-08-17T20:39:46Z

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Sythan: Update template reference, add section on file pages describing the asset vs. the subject article

2026-08-08T15:01:24Z

Update template reference, add section on file pages describing the asset vs. the subject article

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:01, 8 August 2026
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	== Elite Dangerous screenshots use the Frontier/game-media classification, not a CC license ==		== Elite Dangerous screenshots use the Frontier/game-media classification, not a CC license ==
	A screenshot you personally captured from the game is still, in part, Frontier Developments' copyrighted material — the ships, characters, UI, environments, and other assets shown in it belong to Frontier, not to the person who pressed the screenshot key. On EDFM, this is handled by classifying such images as '''"Elite Dangerous in-game screenshot"''' (via {{tl\|License-ED screenshot}} or the ~~richer {{tl\|Elite Dangerous screenshot}} template~~) rather than as "own work" or under this wiki's CC BY-SA 4.0 text license. See [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Legal and Trademark Notice]] for the fuller legal context.		A screenshot you personally captured from the game is still, in part, Frontier Developments' copyrighted material — the ships, characters, UI, environments, and other assets shown in it belong to Frontier, not to the person who pressed the screenshot key. On EDFM, this is handled by classifying such images as '''"Elite Dangerous in-game screenshot"''' via {{tl\|License-ED screenshot}} (selected from the Licensing dropdown at upload time) rather than as "own work" or under this wiki's CC BY-SA 4.0 text license. See [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Legal and Trademark Notice]] for the fuller legal context.

			== File pages describe the asset, not the subject ==
			Every file page should carry two separate things, kept deliberately apart: a <code>== Summary ==</code> section using {{tl\|EDFM image information}} describing the '''picture''' itself (what it depicts, its media type, who captured/made it, how it's been modified, what it's for, who owns the underlying material), and the <code>== Licensing ==</code> section covered above. Neither should duplicate the subject's own article — an Engineer portrait's file page isn't the place for that Engineer's location, unlock requirements, or specialties; that stays on the Engineer's own article. See {{tl\|EDFM image information}}'s documentation for the full field list.

	== Third-party media needs a real license or explicit permission ==		== Third-party media needs a real license or explicit permission ==
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	== Licensing classifications available ==		== Licensing classifications available ==
	See ~~{{tl\|Elite Dangerous screenshot}}'s documentation and~~ [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Adding an Image]] for the full walkthrough. There is deliberately no generic "unknown" or "fair use" option on this wiki — every upload needs an actual classification from the Licensing dropdown on <code>Special:Upload</code>.		See [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Adding an Image]] for the full walkthrough. There is deliberately no generic "unknown" or "fair use" option on this wiki — every upload needs an actual classification from the Licensing dropdown on <code>Special:Upload</code>.

	{{Related articles\|[[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Screenshot Policy]] [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Adding an Image]] [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Legal and Trademark Notice]]}}		{{Related articles\|[[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Screenshot Policy]] [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Adding an Image]] [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Legal and Trademark Notice]]}}

Sythan: New: sourcing/licensing policy for images

2026-08-07T23:58:20Z

New: sourcing/licensing policy for images

New page

Where images on EDFM are allowed to come from, and how they get licensed. See [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Screenshot Policy]] for the mechanical upload rules (file formats, size limits, what not to show) — this page is about sourcing and licensing specifically.

== Preferred source: your own captures ==
EDFM prefers screenshots captured directly by EDFM contributors, from their own gameplay. This is the only source that lets us be confident about what a file actually shows and where it came from.

== Do not copy images from elsewhere ==
Do not upload images copied from Fandom, Reddit, Discord, YouTube, other wikis, or other websites — including images that look "free to use." This applies even if the image would otherwise be useful. If a good screenshot of something doesn't exist yet on this wiki, that's a gap to fill by capturing one, not a reason to import someone else's.

'''"Found on Google" is not a valid source.''' A reverse-image search or a generic web search result tells you where an image currently appears, not who made it or what license actually applies to it.

== An image doesn't inherit a webpage's license ==
A Creative Commons license on a wiki, blog, or gallery page applies to '''that page's own original content''', not automatically to every image displayed on it. Screenshots of ''Elite Dangerous'' hosted on Fandom or elsewhere are not "CC-licensed" just because the site hosting them uses a CC license for its text — the underlying game assets were never the site's to license in the first place. The same logic applies here: see the next section.

== Elite Dangerous screenshots use the Frontier/game-media classification, not a CC license ==
A screenshot you personally captured from the game is still, in part, Frontier Developments' copyrighted material — the ships, characters, UI, environments, and other assets shown in it belong to Frontier, not to the person who pressed the screenshot key. On EDFM, this is handled by classifying such images as '''"Elite Dangerous in-game screenshot"''' (via {{tl|License-ED screenshot}} or the richer {{tl|Elite Dangerous screenshot}} template) rather than as "own work" or under this wiki's CC BY-SA 4.0 text license. See [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Legal and Trademark Notice]] for the fuller legal context.

== Third-party media needs a real license or explicit permission ==
If you want to use an image you didn't create and that isn't a screenshot you captured, it needs one of:
* A genuinely compatible license, stated and verifiable (not assumed).
* Explicit permission from the actual rights holder — classify these with {{tl|License-Used with permission}}, and be ready to show where the permission came from.

If neither applies, don't upload it.

== AI-generated images ==
Do not use AI-generated images as factual representations of ships, Engineers, locations, UI, facilities, or anything else this wiki documents. An AI-generated image of "Broo Tarquin" or "an Anaconda" is not a source of truth about what that subject actually looks like in-game, and presenting one as though it were a real capture would misinform readers. This doesn't prohibit clearly-labelled illustrative/diagram use where accuracy of appearance isn't the point — but that's a narrow exception, not a default.

== Licensing classifications available ==
See {{tl|Elite Dangerous screenshot}}'s documentation and [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Adding an Image]] for the full walkthrough. There is deliberately no generic "unknown" or "fair use" option on this wiki — every upload needs an actual classification from the Licensing dropdown on <code>Special:Upload</code>.

{{Related articles|[[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Screenshot Policy]] [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Adding an Image]] [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Legal and Trademark Notice]]}}