Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons started in September 2004 as a part of the Wikimedia Foundation's projects. It's like an extensive online library for various media, like pictures, videos, and audio. The main idea is to have a central place where people can keep, share, and use these media files for free.

One unique thing about Wikimedia Commons is its open licenses, especially the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. This means anyone can use, change, and share the media files if they credit the source and share any new work they make similarly. It's all about encouraging creativity, learning, and sharing knowledge.

The library has many media, including photos, drawings, animations, and sounds. You can find all kinds of stuff, from old historical pictures and scientific graphics to modern art and audio clips. People worldwide work together to add and organize these media files, ensuring they're good quality and easy to find.

Wikimedia Commons isn't just a library; it's also connected to other Wikimedia projects like Wikipedia. This makes it easier for people to find pictures and videos to use in Wikipedia articles. It's useful for students, teachers, researchers, and artists who need media for their work. And it's funded by donations to keep everything accessible and open for everyone to use.

Official website: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page