Rules for audio files Edit

I've always wondered; why are audio clips found on MA (and Wikipedia, for that matter) in OGG format? Because more operating systems can handle OGG files vs. WAV or MP3 files? Also, I looked around and found requirements for images, but nothing for audio clips. What are some ground rules about when audio clips can be uploaded? They seem to be fairly sparsely located on MA. Do copyright requirements state that they can only be of a certain length, etc.? --24.210.107.80 23:17, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

wav files are way too large compared to formats like mp3 or ogg, and the mp3 format has some copyrighted/patented code that requires licensing. ogg format is open source, so no licensing issues. As far as how much is allowable, it's a judgment call, but they can only be a small portion of the whole (same as a screen shots are only a small portion of the whole movie or TV show). We tend to err on the side of caution, rather than push the envelope. We really only use them for illustration, as in an article where you can't really do a subject justice without a sample of the related sound, like the sound of a device (transporter, phaser, etc.), or a clip of a particular language or song, or show's theme music. I'm sure that there are a few more places where clips could be used, but probably not a large number. -- Renegade54 05:00, 4 April 2008 (UTC)