Valve Developer Community:Image use policy

This article contains information on a widely accepted policy that should be followed.

Certain rules must be adhered to with images uploaded to the Wiki.

Acceptable image guidelines

• Use descriptive titles for your images. The subject of "weapon_357.jpg" is much more obvious from the title than "12.jpg".
  • For icons, it is recommended to use "(Game template name here) icon.png".
    • Example: Hl2 icon.png, Vtfedit icon.png, etc...
  • For logos, it is recommended to use "(Name here) logo.png".
    • Please note that some older browser, such as Internet Explorer and  many others, does not support animated PNG images.
• Uploaded images should be related to an article subject in some way. Examples include:
  • Screenshots of game content (models/effects/levels) to illustrate its appearance or describe its use
  • Screenshots of development software/content/utilities (such as Valve Hammer Editor) to illustrate appearance and use
  • Diagrams or flowcharts detailing an aspect of development
  • Other content intended to improve an article or augment a tutorial
• Images must not contain vulgar or offensive material (note this does not apply to standard in-game blood and gore effects)
• Photographs may be acceptable in limited situations. It is most likely okay to upload a single picture of yourself for your user profile. Photographs may be acceptable if used for reference in tutorials (for example, a photo of a fire escape in an article about creating a realistic-looking fire escape). If you upload a photograph, it must be your property.

Unacceptable images

Examples of unacceptable images. This list is not comprehensive and common sense should be used.

• Images with pornographic content, including nude models and adult-themed mods
• Personal images or photographs unrelated to game development. Examples include a picture of your dog or a park.
  • Some images are allowed for use on user pages (e.g. a photograph of yourself, a profile picture used to represent yourself); copyright policies still apply to these images.
• Images with sizes over 10-20MB+, or over 4K resolution (allowed but not recommended), any images over that size and/or resolution must be compressed (by using JPEG quality 90-98 or TinyPNG) and/or scaled down. With images larger than 8MB, it may load slower for those who are having insufficient internet connections, and/or using VPNs to protect user privacy. Furthermore, larger images, if viewed after clicking on smaller thumbnails version of the image, can cause web browsers to slowdown or crashing on weaker hardware.
  • While small GIFs are allowed, it is not recommended to use "GIF" to preview game bugs or new engine features for example, as this animated image format have limitations, and takes up space (around 10-20MB or more, even when compressed). Instead you should post links to YouTube or other video websites.
  • Additionally, icons (for use with Template:Software page) that are over 256px are generally unnecessary, however SVG images (which is vector-based, thus taking less space on Valve servers and can load much faster) will have an exception to that if VDC enables uploading images with this file format.

Copyright and fair use guidelines

It is important to use copyrighted material with care to avoid potential legal situations. Many instances of image use within the scope of this Wiki will qualify as fair use, but use your own creation instead of a copyrighted image whenever possible. A screenshot of a Combine Advisor is perfectly okay for the article, but it's much better to take one yourself than get it off of IGN or Gamespot.

• Screenshots of copyrighted material created by Valve are acceptable. This includes in-game screenshots, images of game content such as models and effects, and screenshots of developer tools such as Hammer Editor. Do not post original texture files (except the icons such as the one used in env_instructor_hint that was stored in .VTF file format, which is allowed); to show a texture, take a screenshot of it in use in-game or in Hammer.
• If the image uses copyrighted content which is not created by Valve, you should be careful it will qualify as fair use when used on the wiki. Examples of fair use:
  • A screenshot of third-party development content used in a tutorial (such as creation of a texture in Adobe Photoshop)
  • Logos and promotional images/screenshots for games and mods which have pages on this Wiki
  • Fanmade maps for illustration of a game concept or puzzle
  • Anything where the creator has given permission for the image to be used in tutorials or other resources or posted on this Wiki.

Unacceptable use of copyrighted material

Examples of unacceptable images. This list is not comprehensive and common sense should be used.

• A diagram or flowchart of game development which was found on another website and/or is probably copyrighted
• Logos or screenshots of copyrighted material which are not used to illustrate article subjects or tutorials, such as the logo of your favorite clothing company
• Copyrighted content that is only vaguely related to the article subject, such as a Penny Arcade comic about Counter-Strike