VI.B.x. IMAGES: IMAGE CAPTIONS, IMAGE FORMATS, ETC.

Images are the sort of media we expect to accompany articles most commonly.  Therefore, we have developed a few specific guidelines regarding the use of images in articles.

All images must have accompanying captions.  Please do not make an image's caption part of the image (among other things, this renders your image less accessible).  Simply indicate, using a comment, where the image should go in the text; then, below that, write the image caption according to the following format.

The following rough guidelines on how to write captions are based on the Chicago Manual of Style, which copyeditors can use to decide questions of detail. 

1. Every graphic should be labeled as such, with a number; e.g., "Figure 1."
2. All figures should be referenced in the text; e.g., "There are two steps in the XYZ Process (Fig. 1)."
3. Following the figure number, there should be a phrase or sentence conveying the source of the image.  What the source should be depends on how the image was obtained.  If the author created the image and is donating it to Nupedia: "Image created by the author and donated to Nupedia."  If the image is copyrighted and specific permission is given to Nupedia to use it (for this, please write the editor-in-chief): "© John Doe 2001.  Used with permission."  If an image is in the public domain: "Image is considered to be in the public domain."
4. Following the source information, all graphics should have a caption, which includes both a descriptive title as well as a legend.  The legend should provide an explanation of what information the reader should derive from the image.
5. Following the caption, there should be, in a comment, a detailed description of the contents of the image for purposes of helping those who cannot see the image.  In some cases, this can be the same as the caption (in which case the comment can state "Please see caption"), but in other cases, it will be quite long.  The markup crew will place this information in a "longdesc" attribute for purposes of increasing the image's accessibility.  You may write to the Chief Copyeditor at rose.parks@att.net for assistance.
6. As stated above, captions must not be part of the images themselves; they must be in the text of the article.

An example:
<b>Figure 1: Schematic of the XYZ Process.</b>  <br>(<i>Image created by the author and donated to Nupedia.</i>)  <br>The XYZ process consists of two steps.  (1) The merging step consists of the combining of X, the blahblah and Y, the whatshimacallit into Q, the combo.  (2) The separating stage consists of the isolation of of Z, the thingamabob, from the combo Q.

Another example:
<b>Figure 1: The Seine, a water color by Pierre Le Peintre.</b>  <br>(<i>Image is considered to be in the public domain.</i>)  <br>This water color exemplifies Le Peintre's great attention to detail.  On the left is the famous refuse pile from the Cafe Français.  On the right are the usual couples enjoying the view by starlight.

Please see the Polymerase Chain Reaction article, already published, for an actual implementation of these principles.

We prefer to store and display images in non-proprietary, high-quality formats.  PNG and JPG image formats are fine, while GIF and BMP are not; if the author creates an image in one format and does not know how to convert it to a more preferable format, many other people in the project can easily convert it.  Technically-adept authors are also asked to submit images in EPS, PDF, SVG, etc., formats--the "source format" rather than the "object format."