User:Trig Jegman/AUP
Music samples and sound effects can be a valuable addition to articles about in-game bands, musical styles, and details. They can illustrate the particular instruments, moods, themes, or musical elements in a song in a way that a text description cannot. Audio should be implemented to supplement text, not the other way around. Inkipedia is not a music streaming or download service, and usage of such audio and music samples needs to comply with copyright law via the following guidelines.
It is the belief that when these guidelines are adhered, the samples used on Inkipedia cannot be substituted for the music and sound effects as heard officially, whether from the game itself or from officially released formats such as Splatune. Files not adhering to this policy will be swiftly removed.
Audio file guidelines
- Maximum length
Audio files for any purpose should not exceed more than 30 seconds of length for fair use purposes. While there is no hard-set rule on this point, it is a generally accepted value for several online sources (such as Wikipedia, MarioWiki, Spotify, or Instagram previews) as a limit to claim fair use. Unless shorter than 30 seconds, the last two seconds should feature a fade-out to silence. The selection of 30 seconds can be anywhere throughout the song, not just the beginning.
- Truncated quality
The audio file must be lossy quality, with a maximum, suggested bit rate of 128kbps.
- File format
MP3 is the format that should be used for all audio files, due to having universal support. Vorbis files, also known as OGG or OGA, may still be on the site from previous use but new versions (not conversions) should be uploaded should they become available. FLAC, AAC, and WAV files should be avoided entirely.
- Origin
Audio files should only be taken from official sources. This is almost overwhelmingly the game itself, or other official channels. Use of Splatune files is strictly prohibited, as well as music from platforms like YouTube or SoundCloud.
- Purpose
The audio file in question specifically is used to describe something that text cannot—attempts must be made to write and describe an example where text could be used over audio. The amount of audio used is kept to a minimum.
[[Category:Policy]]
