On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 3:51 PM, Daniel Kinzler <daniel(a)brightbyte.de> wrote:
Lars Aronsson schrieb:
Can someone explain why the Wikimedia Commons
accepts uploads of
printable PDF documents (e.g. brochures) but not the editable
source version in Open Document Format (e.g. .ODT). This seems to
violate the open source principle.
The reasons are of a practical nature. ODT files are hard(er) to varify, because
they are just zip files that could contain anything. Also, they can contain
things like java applets, which are potentially dangerous. I think these are the
resons for not allowing office-style formats. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.
I was just about to post the same thing, Damiel beat me because I took
the time to test the current functionality.
We permitted SXD (openoffice 1.x) files until fairly recently when the
new Java/zip exploit came to light, up until that point the newer ODT
files were just not supported by omission. Now we've been reminded of
the problems of zip formats, so we're currently denying both.
If someone creates a good sanitizer that only allows normal ODT files
without the risk of smuggling hidden program code, then we could allow
the OpenOffice files again. I believe it would be desirable to do so,
as rejecting the editable form is highly undesirable.
Although, we strongly prefer wikitext for text, so there ought to be a
very good reason for using ODT *or* PDF. Most uploaded PDFs are
deleted and
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Scope has some
to say about the matter.
I'll go update the formats page to reflect this information.