The English Lakes:About

So, you have arrived at this page probably wondering what this site is all about. Well, if you came here from the home page having read the introduction saying it was all about sharing photos and writing articles, then in a nutshell that would be an accurate account. But there is much more to it than that. This is a brand new project, created for the very purpose to upload photos, write about places of interest and edit existing pages that may require some additional, useful information. This is done in aid of collaboration and providing a useful resource for everyone.

I am Borderman, creator and administrator of this site. The following paragraphs are intended to explain what this site is about and how it can be used.

For starters

This is a place where you can be your creative, artistic self if you wish to. Photos are a personal form of expression, they are also just a simple way of recording something in a split-second of time (unless it was a long exposure, of course). The subject and what the creator wants to express is more important than the equipment used. Photographic snobbery is not what this is about. If you have taken a photo you like and you want to share it with others, you are more than welcome to do so here. All we ask is that you are the owner of the photo(s), that it is specific to the Lake District and finally, that you add a description and appropriate licence. It is, after all, your property and you want it to be protected. More about licensing is covered below.

Cameras and devices

Cameras of every type can be used, not just the expensive pro equipment. I carry my iPhone with me most of the time, especially when I am out walking. It is used more for photographing landscapes and beautifully arranged National Trust gardens than it is for making calls; I would consider it an important photography tool for everyday snapshots. I can get to places a lot easier if I see something that might be interesting visually. I don’t like being bogged down with heavy equipment if I am just out for a few miles around the fells. The iPhone is perfect for capturing digital sketches of places I like the look of, which can then be used for future walks with my Sony RX10 if needed, especially with gps imprinted in the metadata; I know exactly where those shots were taken. In most instances I am happy with the original iPhone image.

Suffice to say, you can upload photos from any of your preferred cameras or devices. Providing the best possible quality photos ensures the best possible experience for the end user. No one wants to see a blurry photo unless it was used intentionally for dramatic effect. The same could be said for grainy, high contrast, over edited content that detracts from the original subject. Sometimes original and straightforward works best.

What this site is

This site is specifically about the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. That means anything within the official boundary as shown on the Ordnance Survey map. If there are some specific areas that overlap the boundary of the National Park, either physically or informatively, this is deemed to be of interest to the project and may be included.

Outside of the National Park, Cumbria has many beautiful places of interest, visited by many thousands of people each year. This project, however, was born out of a passion for the great outdoors of the lakes, fells, valleys and interesting little towns and villages that make up the quintessential Lake District. This alone is a huge area. There had to be a clear demarcation between the National Park and the rest of the county, and the official boundary serves this perfectly. So, with this in mind, this site is:

• Free for anyone to use.
• A tool to upload your own Lake District photos.
• A tool to write your own Lake District articles.
• A tool to edit others’ articles to improve content quality where needed.
• A place to search, browse and use material for your own projects as long as proper attribution is given.
• A place to collaborate with others.
• A place to communicate with others (article discussion and user discussion pages).
• Conveyed with a more relaxed and informal encyclopaedic approach to writing.
• Intended to be used as a knowledge-base.
• Intended to be used as a community space.

This site is hosted by miraheze.org, a non-profit hosting company based in the United Kingdom that is run by a dedicated group of volunteers. It is, therefore, legally bound by its privacy policy and terms of use.

What this site is not

This site is not flickr, Unsplash, Alamy or any other of those gallery-type sites that offer free or pay-for images for your perusal. This site is built on an entirely different platform with a different model for is basis. There may be similarities insofar as this site will accommodate galleries, but these are not automatically created unless inside a category, which is best used for navigational browsing.

This is not Wikipedia. It should be noted that whilst the software used to create The English Lakes is the same as that used by Wikipedia, it is not the intention of this site to mimic it, although you will notice similarities. That said, some aspects of this site’s templates are based on (but not copies of) those used at Wikipedia, namely the infoboxes that are used in article pages. Templates are created specifically with this site’s design and function in mind. In addition to this, the articles on this site are researched from various books and other source material, including some Wikipedia articles, which if used are referenced as such. Each article is different and attempts to have an informal approach to the classic encyclopaedic style.

This is not for advertising. As mentioned above, this site is hosted by miraheze.org. Advertising is simply not part of the Miraheze platform, who prefer editorial independence. Ads can be intrusive, pose a security issue and not least, incredibly annoying, so you won’t see any ads on any part of this site. For more information about what Miraheze is and the people who run it, see the frequently asked questions page in the help centre.

Outcomes and the future

With every new project there needs to be a defining set of objectives, aims and goal(s) to guide towards a realistic end. In some cases there never will be an end as this would denote something that is complete and can longer be improved upon. Could this project ever be completed based on what it intends to achieve? There is always room for improvement so maybe this will be forever open; to be developed and refined, to improve the quality of the material and ensure it maintains its validity as a useful, interesting and reliable resource.

Below sets out what this project hopes to achieve over the next few years. Whether this will be successful is similar to an unknown ending of an unfinished book. As creator and administrator of this site, I will continue to upload my photos and write articles (pages) about the different places I have been to. I work full time so I can only contribute when I have some free time on the weekends. With help from the community, anyone who wishes to contribute no matter how small or large, will be improving the quality of the project. Also, the more contributors, the broader the scope of subject, quality of information and image repository. It is hoped that with this firmly grounded, others will find it useful for their own purposes, be it research on a particular place, looking for photos to use in their own projects or simply having a look round.

Objectives

1. Upload photos of different places and subjects within the Lake District National Park, to include:
   Lakes, tarns, fells, valleys, hamlets, villages, waterfalls, monuments and any other subject as seen in Category:Photographs by subject and to do so within realistic time constraints.
2. Create articles in an informal style based on the subject of the uploaded photos.
3. Make use of original source materials and referencing where necessary.
4. Where possible, to include at least one photo per article.
5. Where possible, to include a map and/or gps coordinates relating to the subjects of the photos and articles.
6. Revisit and if possible improve upon articles.
7. Create categories to enhance browsing and cover a wider variety of searchable subjects.
8. Create templates where necessary to enhance the form and readability of articles.
9. Provide documentation to help the community with site usage.
10. Provide a reliable bibliography of sources used throughout this site.

Aims

1. To ensure that high quality photos are uploaded and stored in an accessible and adaptable manner.
2. To ensure all uploads conform to the terms of use and licensing is used correctly.
3. To ensure articles are appropriate, informative and grammatically correct.
4. To broaden the category structure and improve navigation and browsing.
5. Help the community whenever possible via documentation and answering any queries in a timely manner that might arise.
6. To ensure the site does not deviate from its original purpose and its eventual goal.

Goals

The long-term goals are to see:

1. An extensive scope of photos ranging from the well-known the to unknown, including articles about a variety of different places of interest.
2. An informative, engaging and educational resource that encompasses ALL of the places and subjects as set out in N°1 of the objectives.

Licensing

Licences are extremely important when it comes to your property. In simple terms, this site is covered by the following licence, which allows all material, unless otherwise stated, to be adapted and redistributed providing certain conditions are met. Those conditions are typically attribution and sharealike.

  

This file comes under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

You are free:

• To share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
• To remix – adapt, transform and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

Under the following conditions:

• Attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
• ShareAlike – If you adapt, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same licence as the original.

No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the licence permits.

Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International and Legal Code

This is common practice for wikis; the very nature of them designed to be open for all to use. However, when it comes to photos, I always like to ensure everyone is clear about ownership and how your photos should be licensed. It is bad practice not to include a licence. If you do not include a licence to your photos it is assumed they are covered by the general licence of the site. If you include the above licence with the prefix "I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licence", as seen in this version Template:Cc-by-sa-4.0 (self), this effectively states you as the owner and that you allow for it to be covered by that licence's specific properties. On The English Lakes this is preferred this licence.

If you want to include your photos in the public domain the following licence can be used.

This file is made available under the CC0 1.0 Universal licence

No Copyright:

• This file is released into the Public Domain.
• You can copy, modify and distribute the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.
  

Licence: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal and Legal Code

This effectively waives all rights and anyone can use it for any purpose without asking first.

Please note: This site does not accommodate copyright material. If you want your photos to remain under copyright then we sadly cannot accept them.