Editing MycoTaxa:Village pump (technical)/Archive 1 (section)

== Why Does Wikipedia Use Obscure File Formats? ==

I'm wondering why Wikipedia recommends the use of obscure file formats such as SVG and OGG.  I'm tech-savvy enough to know how to deal with these, but my family isn't.  I know there has been an increased focus on improving the accessibility of these formats through built-in automatic rendering, but they're still not nearly as simple to use as the universally accessible JPGs, PNGs, WAVs, or MP3s.  Shouldn't Wikipedia emphasize accessibility of information?  <small>—Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[User:Cromulent|Cromulent]] ([[User talk:Cromulent|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Cromulent|contribs]]) 19:48, 21 October 2007 (UTC)</small><!-- Template:Unsigned --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
:Well, SVG will ''never'' be a total replacement for the JPG format. Its purpose is for vector-based imagery, while JPGs are better for photos; there's no way that something like [[:Image:John Thomas Griffith posing.jpg]] could be replaced with a SVG version. Similar argument for PNGs.
:As for OGG vs. other audio formats, I believe (and I could be wrong) that it's because MP3 is a proprietary format (while OGG is not) and OGG compresses better than WAVs. [[User:EVula|EVula]] <span style="color: #999;">// [[User talk:EVula|talk]] // [[User:EVula/admin|<span style="color: #366;">&#9775;</span>]] //</span> 20:53, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
: As I understand it, Wikipedia prefers formats that are formally documented and not encumbered by patents. PNG should threfore be perfectly acceptable for its purpose (i.e, pixel graphics, such as logos or cartoons.) SVG is an acceptable vector format, and OGG is an acceptable compressed music audio: both are unencumbered and openly documented. They are therefore preferred over encumbered formats, e.g. MP3 for audio or any of the dozens of proprietary vector formats. Vector formats are preferred over pixel formats when the underlying data is in vector form, because vector files can be losslessly scaled. This leaves JPG, which is  a compressed pixel format used for photographs. We do not have a good unencumbered alternative, so we live with it. The reason Wikipedia prefers unencumbered formats is that in theory a patent holder can shut you down if you use a patent-encumbered format. This actually happened in the late 1990's with the then-ubiquitous [[GIF]] format. the Opensource community responded by creatingthe PNG format within a few days, but the conversion hassles were horrible. Those of us who hold a grudge will never buy from [[Unisys]] again. -[[User:Arch dude|Arch dude]] 04:17, 22 October 2007 (UTC)