Should the entire "What files should be renamed?" section be moved to Wikipedia:File names, which is presently a guideline? I've placed the RFC over here because there's already an RFC running at that page, and having two RFCs running at the same page might be confusing. Nyttend (talk) 02:10, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• Support This is already treated like policy and enforced like policy. At the very least it should be moved up to guideline status. A noticeable amount of wikilawyering comes about because File names is a guideline and this isn't. Sven Manguard Wha? 03:06, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• Just a quick note. If the above proposal is successful, I propose that the section be copied, not moved. The version on FN should be the official one (we can even use transclusion to make sure they're always the same). This page won't function without that section, and this page really should be kept, even if the heart of the page is moving elsewhere. Sven Manguard Wha? 05:20, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• No objection to that, but couldn't we just have a summary here? Something like "Don't move files without good reason; see WP:FN for appropriate criteria for file renaming"? Nyttend (talk) 05:58, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• I see no problem with both notes, Sven has a good point not to remove it from here, but I don't see why we cannot have a "See here" type message section as Nyttend implies. Mlpearc (powwow) 11:29, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• Support - Definitely should be moved. I been reverted per that section, it's policy to me Mlpearc (powwow) 03:38, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
• Support - First sentence of this Wikipedia page says "The file mover user right allows users experienced in working with files to rename them, subject to policy." -- Cheers, Riley Huntley _talk 03:46, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
• Oppose If you want a guideline on file naming conventions, you have WP:IFN. This How-to should be in support of that page. However from my recent experience, editors are taking the 8 most widely supported reasons to rename a file as if they are the only reasons to rename a file, thus ignoring all other rationales that may justify a rename (such as ambiguous file names like File:CRC-cover.jpg). —Farix (t | c) 14:49, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• I don't understand you; I'm proposing expanding the IFN guideline to which you refer. Nyttend (talk) 17:15, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Then why not have this discussion over at WP:IFN? No, your original proposal was to promote this page to guideline states. I oppose it because editors are already interpreting this page very narrowly. It's one thing to state the most widely accepted reasons to move a file. But editors should not interpret them as the only acceptable reasons. If an file moving is going to deny a request, they should present a good reason (trivial, large number of links, ongoing naming dispute, etc.). So instead of focusing on the most widely accepted reasons for a file move, you should instead focus on cases when a file move would not be appropriate. —Farix (t | c) 12:00, 25 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• Oppose - We don't need a strict guideline about specifically which types of file moves are acceptable. Presumably if someone is granted the privilege in the first place it's because they're responsible to use their better judgement and not move a file for arbitrary reasons. —JmaJeremy✆✎ 00:47, 25 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

  Why is it good for Commons to have a strict guideline but bad for us? And if they do move a file for arbitrary reasons, why should someone complain if we don't have something telling them not to be arbitrary? Nyttend (talk) 02:30, 25 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Because a file move at Commons affects multiple Wikis which are not easy fixed. However, unlike on Commons, there are very few images on the English Wikipedia with a lot of incoming links to them. Thus cleaning up after a file move on the English Wikipedia is a trivial matter. —Farix (t | c) 12:00, 25 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but also because moving files is a rather fragile thing, compared to moving pages or... well... doing just about anything else. Unless things have changed since when I spoke to the devs about it when I was first seeking to get File Mover broken off from adminship over here, I am under the belief that while still negligible, moving files entails a risk of irreversible data loss. It's one of the more broken parts of the system. This is why trivial moves are looked down upon. This is also Sven Manguard 20:04, 27 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• Support Hopefully this will reduce the trivial renaming, and particularly the deleting of redirects that break attribution. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 21:37, 27 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
• Support Hopefully, this will reduce unnecessary renaming. I would prefer some adjustments to the current rules, but maybe it is better to have a separate discussion about these issues:

At Commons:COM:FR, it says that you shouldn't move files which have been nominated for deletion. Apart from the problem mentioned on Commons, it also breaks the link in ((fdw)) and similar templates. I'd like to copy this rule over to Wikipedia. I sometimes see files being moved after I've nominated them for deletion.

At the Commons page, it says that you should move Wikipedia files instead of Commons files in the event of a filename conflict, but the Wikipedia guideline doesn't specify whether it is permissible to move a file in the event of a conflict or not (unless one of the 8 standard cases applies). I think that we need to add a rule explaining what to do in order to avoid stupid situations like File:S-STP-cable.png / File:S-STP-cable English.png which has been shadowed and unshadowed several times. --Stefan2 (talk) 20:07, 28 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• Being able to move files is relatively new, but it is better to have the detailed instructions here than at WP:IFN. 99.99% of files are not moved, probably more than that. See the essay Wikipedia:Avoid instruction creep. I think the link at the bottom to "rename" is adequate. Add a sentence that if an error is made in file naming it can either be re-uploaded using the correct name and a delete request added to the first file or a rename tag can be added. File:S-STP-cable.png may seem stupid, but the file is misnamed - there is a misleading extra S. The S means shielded, the TP means twisted pair. The twisted pairs in that file are not shielded, only the cable, so that file should have been named S-UTP-cable.png for shielded unshielded twisted pairs. See the four Italian variations (Cavo means cable). 24.62.156.219 (talk) 15:38, 1 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

• • "99.99% of files are not moved." I highly disagree with that "fact", for all the files I have moved (150 or so), I have only denied 4 requests. -- Cheers, Riley Huntley 17:23, 1 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]
    • Unless what he means is that 99.99% of the total files uploaded to Wikipedia are not ever renamed. Considering that there's something around 700,000 files on Wikipedia, that'd mean only 7000 files have been moved thus far. To small a number, although 99% never being moved is plausible. Sven Manguard Wha? 15:56, 6 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]
• Support: documenting current practices is a Good Thing, and making them formally enforceable is makes both their fine-tuning and enforcement easier, which is needed for stability of process. — Dmitrij D. Czarkoff (talk•track) 10:53, 6 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]
• Oppose largely per Farix: That this page lists some common reasons to move a file does not mean that these are the only reasons to do so. Don't confuse a how-to with policy. I do agree with the underlying basic rationale of the proposal (which should be at IFN, since it would modify IFN, not buried here where no one will notice), which is that we need to clean up site-wide advice/policy on filenames, but this isn't the way to do it. — SMcCandlish   Talk⇒ ɖ∘¿¤þ   Contrib. 11:29, 14 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]