Wikipedia:Help desk

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July 15

tv scheduling

who do i contact to complain about scheduling programs on :nickatnite" —Preceding unsigned comment added by Msamema (talk • contribs) 01:38, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. --AndrewHowse (talk) 01:44, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

This page is only for questions about how to use Wikipedia. thanks. --Monterey Bay (talk) 05:02, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Downloading PDFs on Wikisource

How do you edit the pdf of books on Wikisource? The page is fine, but when you try to download it as a PDF, it doesn't have any of the text. That's for Cat and Mouse in Partnership by the Brothers Grimm. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.86.109.242 (talk) 03:09, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

This is not Wikisource; we are the sister project of Wikisource, Wikipedia. Please go to Wikisource to ask the question. Thanks Kayau Voting IS evil 03:12, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Your Logo

To whom it may concern, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In all context of your slogan the word "free" relates to the wiki website being "free of charge" in terms of money.

In your chinese site it reads. 维基百科，自由的百科全书. In this case "free" is translated to "自由" in Chinese it means "Freedom" instead of free of charge.

I don't know if it is a oversight, a mistake or an intentional hint. Regardless of the intention I think it is important to keep your slogan in one line.

Just a suggestion the chinese logo should read. 维基百科，免费的百科全书.

In this case 免费 translates to free of charge instead of Freedom.

Regards Stanley —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.8.9.130 (talk) 05:10, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Chinese has no tenses per se, only three aspects. It's therefore difficult to find a word in English with the same meaning. --Monterey Bay (talk) 05:20, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

What relevance has that remark to the question, Monterey Bay? --ColinFine (talk) 18:59, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Actually, Stanley, you are incorrect. Wikipedia's slogan refers to "free" in both senses of the word, but predominantly to the ideological meaning. It is intentional that in foreign languages where these terms are not identical we use the one referring to ideological freedom, not merely monetary freedom. --erachima talk 05:23, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

其實free一詞在這裡可以解很多種的意思。首先，最表面的理解就是免費。一個更深層的意義就是維基百科的資料是利用一個自由的授權方式:共享創意,因此這裡自由是對的。最深層的意義就是維基百科是任何人都可以編輯的，這也是自由。那麼，有兩個意思解作自由，只有一個是免費，當然用自由較免費好。 Kayau Voting IS evil 05:39, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Why my article has been deleted when I followed all Wikipedia Instructions?

I have received this notification and I do not understand it: 20:56, 17 June 2007 Bjelleklang (talk | contribs) deleted "Akhtaboot" ‎ (CSD: content was: '{{db-web}}Arabic for "Octopus", Akhtaboot is an online career network established in 2007 and that is committed to providi...') Please help me to improve it. Although it is neutral, with reliable, third-party sources, its not advertising and its notable.

The {{db-web}} notice says that the article did not make it clear why the web site is important enough to have its own Wikipedia page. If you wish to contest this deletion, please contact the administrator first on his or her talk page and, depending on the circumstances, politely explain why you think the article should be restored, or why a copy should be provided to you so you can address the reason for deletion before reposting the article. If this is not fruitful, you have the option of listing the article at Wikipedia:Deletion review, but it will likely only be restored if the deletion was clearly improper. Thank you. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:03, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

For what it's worth, that page was deleted more than three years ago, and the message you are citing is a deletion log entry (which appears if you now go to Akhtaboot), not a deletion notice. I see you only created this account two days ago. Did you actually write the deleted article back in 2007, or are you trying to create one now? The presence of that notice on the page doesn't mean it's impossible now to create an article at that title, just that one there previously was deleted (because it did not contain any indication of why the subject was important). You could still create an article on Akhtaboot so long as you can demonstrate that it meets notability requirements. The article wizard helps to walk you through the process; the draft in your userpace is still present at User:Article123456/Enter your new article name here. Gonzonoir (talk) 07:14, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Unified login for my account name

I am being registered here for 3 years: User:Carapax But when I tried to make a unified login, I saw that this account name is already in use: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:ListUsers&username=Carapax&limit=1 In use by someone, who registerd TWO YEARS LATER.

OK, I've tried to register a new account, using my second usual nikname "-= Cara =-". But then I got:

"Login error The name "-= Cara =-" is too similar to the existing account:

   * Cara (contribs)

Please choose another name."

So the question is: why someone could duplicate my account with no warning that it is already in use? why could not I make a new account with different name, only "too similar"? what should I do for to get unified login for my account? This is all one question :)

Thank you in advance. Carapax. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.100.155.3 (talk) 10:33, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Actually, all you need to do is make 4 more edits at ruwiki (assuming you are the ruwiki user) and you'll have more edits than the enwiki user and be able to claim the SUL for your username. Also, you'd better do this quickly since the enwiki user could claim the SUL before you. After this, you can go to WP:CHUU to request the local username be vacated. Hope this helps. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 175° 34' 15" NET 11:42, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

The reason why someone could duplicate your account with no warning that it is already in use is because your account at ruwiki isn't unified and therefore local accounts at other wikis can be created. The reason why you could not make a new account with name similar to an existing one is because the MediaWiki software is designed to prevent usernames similar to existing ones from being created in order to prevent impersonation. Only users with the accountcreator right are able to override this. Hope this helps. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 206° 36' 30" NET 13:46, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I am trying to find anybody that knows anything about Mr. Ray Thomas or Mr.Reno Wolfe.

My name is Robert J. Truby and I was very active in and believe in everything the N.A.A.W.P stands for. There is nothing wrong in being proud of being white. I have been laying low because of things. I have been with this mind set sent 1998. If anyone wishes to contact me, you are more than welcome. The time is wright. <contact details removed>, I am not afraid Of government or anybody. Veteran of WAR of these USA. God loves you and so do I. Your leader in the state. Have a nice day, Capt.. Bob. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Robert J. Truby (talk • contribs) 11:20, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Miscellaneous reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. Kayau Voting IS evil 11:30, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

London Metropolitan University edits

I've had a look around and couldn't quite work out what would be appropriate action here. Special:Contributions/140.97.36.5 keeps occasionally blanking or removing sections of the text which could be seen as negative from the article. There has been a suggestion previously that these edits are coming from within the institution. I noticed this recently and went back through the edit history and replaced what had been removed. A week or so later, this IP has removed them again. Could someone suggest the best course of action here. Thanks KlickingKarl (talk) 18:51, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

Maybe a 4im for blanking would be used, as he's done it many times without any warnings. But, a block may have to be for a fairly long amount of time, as his edits are fairly spread out, however that may be a problem for an IP. Hope an admin can help. Old Al (Talk) 18:58, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

Actually, I've located the IP at the London Metro University, so it may be a bit more difficult. Old Al (Talk) 19:39, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

Maybe some kind of page protection to stop this? I've no real experience of these matters so I don't know if it's appropriate. KlickingKarl (talk) 21:37, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

Reposted today as the issue wasn't clarified for me. KlickingKarl (talk) 12:48, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Probably not protection yet, but don't worry: the IP seems to be blocked already. Kayau Voting IS evil 13:18, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia Statistics

Is there anywhere I can see statistics about how many people consult Wikipedia and how many consult each Wikipedia article e.g. number of page views. If such statistics do not exist, can I put the idea in your suggestion box.

Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.77.183.51 (talk) 13:23, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

To check these stats, click on the history tab at the top of a page. You will see a link near the top that says "page view statistics". For example, the Help Desk's stats are here. TNXMan 13:26, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Please be aware that we've been having trouble lately with the server that works with statistics: it's not true that nobody visited the Help Desk between the 7th and 10th of this month. Nyttend (talk) 13:44, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Article Authors

I have looked but cannot find out who the authors of individual Wikipedia articles are. It would be helpful, especially for those articles that contain author's opinions, to know who the authors are and their credentials. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.196.214.48 (talk) 13:27, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Click on the 'view history' tab of each article, that will tell you who the authors are. However as anyone can claim to be pretty much anyone with any sort of expertise that's not helpful in the way of credentials. --Cameron Scott (talk) 13:29, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

You should note that no one person writes Wikipedia articles. Rather, each article is a group collaboration between multiple editors. See this page for more info. TNXMan 13:31, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Click the history tab at the top of the article page, it will list all those who have contributed to an article. However, it won't tell you anything about the "credentials" of any contributor unless they have said something about themselves on their userpage. Final point, articles are not supposed to "contain author's opinions", they should be written from a neutral point of view and should not give undue weight to any one point of view. – ukexpat (talk) 13:32, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

WP:FAQ#WROTE. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 18:37, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Photo displaying oddly

In Zaleski Mound Group, the photo of the Ranger Station Mound appears at the bottom of the "Mound 1, Ranger Station" section, even though I placed the code for it at the top of the section. Can anyone figure out why this is, and how to fix it? It's apparently an issue with the "Markham Mound" infobox, since the top of the photo is perfectly in line with the bottom of the infobox, but I can't see why a photo on the left side should be affected by an infobox on the right side. Please note that the code for all three infoboxes is placed above any of the text; it's not as if the Markham infobox code is also written in the Ranger Station section. Nyttend (talk) 13:51, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

What browser are you using? It appears at the top of the section for me (IE7). --Viennese Waltz ^talk 14:02, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I threw in some {{FixBunching}} templates and thumbnailed the images and it looks OK now in FF 3.6.6. – ukexpat (talk) 14:05, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I'm running IE 8.0.6001.18928. Thanks for the help; I didn't realise that bunching would be a factor. Nyttend (talk) 14:48, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Neither did I, but I figured it was worth a shot. – ukexpat (talk) 18:10, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

{{REVISIONUSER}} and {{DISPLAYTITLE}}

What kind of formatting are they classified as? I can't seem to find them; I used search entries like Template:Revisionuser and MediaWiki:Revisionuser but they don't exist. :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 14:46, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

These are magic words, which give instructions to the software. See WP:DISPLAYTITLE for specific info about that usage. TNXMan 14:49, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Where to look for the ranking of a page on Wikipedia

I want to compare page ranks of different articles on Wikipedia. Is there a way to look for the ranking on the article page itself? Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alam1s (talk • contribs) 15:07, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Could you clarify what you mean by "page rank"? Intelligentsock 15:10, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I like how to find if a page is classified as a good article. Where does it show up on the page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alam1s (talk • contribs) 15:28, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

If a page is a Good or Featured article, you will see a or , respectively, in the top-right corner. For other ranks, you can look at any WikiProject banners on the talk page. You can also enable a gadget that allows you to see an article's rating in your preferences. This gadget can be found at Preferences→Gadgets→User interface gadgets→"Display an assessment of an article's quality as part of the page header for each article". Keep in mind that apart from A-class, GA, and FA, these ratings are more or less at the assessing user's discretion (possibly guided by criteria), and may not present a holistic or even correct evaluation of an article's quality. Intelligentsock 15:48, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Use of Wikipedia photographs

What are the rules regarding copying photographs on Wikipedia? I write short stories about wildlife and usually illustrate them with my own pictures. Occasionally I have nothing suitable.I have not yet succeeded in getting my stories published but I am trying. Vicjay0147 (talk) 15:13, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

It may be possible, depending on the picture. See this page for details. TNXMan 15:16, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Listing musical genres

What is the WP policy on how to list musical genres in order?
Example: We can't decide on how to list the genres in the infobox to the right for Breaking Benjamin. Some have argued for [[Alternative rock]], [[post-grunge]] while others have argued for [[Alternative rock]]<br />[[post-grunge]]. One has a comma and the other has a "break". :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 15:18, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Is there a difference? I don't there is a policy or guideline on how it should look, so whatever consensus on the talk page is would be fine. TNXMan 16:15, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Pretty Ricky Wikipedia Page needs to be fixed!!

The Pretty Ricky Wikipedia page has been vandalized and needs to be fixed soon. Because the group is working on a brand new album and has four new singles out. The new album is called "Bluestars 2" and is schedueled for a fall release this year. The album has spawned four new singles so far. "Cookie Cutter", "Pacman Your Body", "Honeymoon Sex", and "Topless". I hope someone can fix this problem and make the page more ligitamate. It's the singles area that is messed up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.111.165.209 (talk) 15:21, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I looks more like careless editing than vandalism, but I will look at it. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 15:29, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I've tweaked a couple of things, but it's not quite fixed yet. TNXMan 15:38, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I got it. Had a real-life interrupt for a bit. Someone needs to check that the last bit of the table is as intended. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 17:00, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Jeckyll Island

How do I print the article on Jeckyll Island? All attempts have printed only one page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hoppyheidelberg (talk • contribs) 15:23, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

You should have a heading on the left titled Print/export. Open that menu up, and you should see a link for Printable version. Clicking this link will give you a new webpage with the article in an easy to print format. You just need to do File > Print then in your browser to print the article. Happysailor ^(Talk) 16:41, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Unless you have an ancient browser, all you need is File → Print. See Help:Printable. What is your browser and version? What shows in Print preview? ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 16:59, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO USE POLISH VERSION OF THE WIKIPEDIA

POLISH WEBSITE CHANGED THE FONT TO VERY SMALL AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ ANYTHING. I AM SHORTSIDED AND THIS IS DICRIMINATION. PLEASE, HELP. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.42.243.209 (talk) 15:40, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

First things first - a small font is not discrimination. Secondly, have you adjusted the font size on your browser? Trying pressing Ctrl+0. TNXMan 15:42, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Don't you mean longsighted rather than shortsighted? Since someone who is shortsighted would easily see small and closeup items, while someone who is longsighted would not see small and closeup easily. Also, consider pressing Ctrl++ to increase the font size on your browser and Ctrl+- to decrease the font size if you end up overdoing it. Hope this helps. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 243° 8' 15" NET 16:12, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I can't find my article on Wikipedia

Hi, I uploaded a new article on Wikipedia today but I can't find it when I search for it. The article's name is Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd. COuld you please tell me what the issue is.

Shishir58 (talk) 17:21, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Here it is – Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd. It takes a while for the search box's list to update. Bencherlite^Talk 17:23, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

While we're on the topic, the article requires a fair bit of work to completely conform to Wikipedia's various standards and guidelines. Specifically, it reads much like an advertisement, one of the hallmarks of which are peacock terms. Please make fixing those problems a priority, and don't hesitate to come back here if you have trouble understanding the linked pages or don't know what to trim and/or rewrite. Xenon54 (talk) 17:30, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Could you also fix the refs to display accessdates according to WP:REF and Template:Cite web? :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 17:37, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

It's been nominated for speedy deletion under G11 (promotional, requiring fundamental rewrite). It certainly needs an enormous amount of work: remove peacock terms and promotional language, trim the endless lists of awards down to the significant ones, and shorten the interminable and detailed filmography; provide a proper lead section. However, it seems to be notable and verifiable. I'll see if I can help save it, or at least get it userfied rather than deleted. Karenjc 18:22, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Speedy deletion tag

My article has been nominated for speedy deletion. Where and how do I place the 'hang on' tag so that I get some time to re-work the article? If my article gets deleted, will it still stay on in my contributions page? Also, once deleted can an article get a second chance?

Shishir58 (talk) 18:23, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Thank you KarenJC!!!

The idea was never to promote Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd but only to get it onto Wikipedia in as much detail as I possibly could. I don't work for the company but they are a prominent and significant entertainment company in India and most definitely should have been on Wikipedia by now. I am a journalist by profession and cover entertainment news on most days. Being a journalist, I know I have to verify everything I say which is why almost every claim that I have made has a citation. I've spent 2 weeks only doing research to be able to cite every claim. The article almost has a 150 citations which means that I'm not making any claims that I have not been able to verify. I have spent a lot of time studying the rules of Wikipedia and by first researching and gathering the citations, I think I have tried to maintain the Wikipedia protocol to the best of my ability. Please help in avoiding speedy deletion! I worry that will be too drastic!

Shishir58 (talk) 18:32, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

I've added the hangon tag for you. At worst this can be userfied, so your content won't be lost and you can work on it in your own userspace. Nothing on Wikipedia is lost forever. Karenjc 18:44, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Citing references

Trying to establish a page on 'Ekhane Aakash Neel'-- a television series which was telecasted on the Channel 'Star Jalsha', a Star(India)Pvt.Ltd.owned channel which telecasts Bengali language programmes.I did not have and do not have any intention of breaking any set rule of Wikipedia; unknowingly, if I have done any such breaking of rule, then I apologize. Now, the subject of the page is a television series which does not have any proven source of book; it's been a created story and the names of its script writers and dialogue writers are given along with the artists.They all are living people and some of them have their database and most of them have just started their artistic career with this series, only; the channel and the production house are the only source who created and telecasted the series for one and half years. For the Tagore songs and poems of Sukumar Ray, Upendrokishore Roy Choudhury the sources are available in the Wikipedia itself; because Sukumar Ray in translations have a different link of the publisher, so, that link has been given seperately with the translated book. Other sources are the old and new newspaper articles which were written on this particular series and the artists of it. Only these sources can be mentioned; are thse enough to establish and retain the page in the esteemed Wikipedia? because thousands of people across the world and from cross sections of society loved the television series and each one of them wish to read it as a page in the Wikipedia.

Regards Smitmuks (talk) 18:36, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Sources do not have to be available on-line, or in English, though it is easier for most readers if they are. But they do have to be significant mentions (not just listings, for example) in reputable, independent sources. So articles in newspapers may well be enough to establish notability. You can refer to primary sources such as their own web site for uncontroversial factual information, but without solid secondary sources the article should not remain in Wikipedia. Please see WP:RS. --ColinFine (talk) 19:12, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia Droid App

Is there a Wikipedia App for the Droid phone? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.127.253.14 (talk) 19:14, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

There is the official mobile webinterface usable from any mobile browser. There are also several 3rd party (unofficial) wikipedia applications available on Android Market. Some of their names are listed here. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 20:03, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Norman Parker speedway rider

I have tried several times to edit the Norman Parker speedway rider biography (which contains several inaccuracies), but none of my corrections seems to have worked. I give up Vicduggan (talk) 19:43, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

The record shows you only made one edit to that article, and it's still there. Have you perhaps conflated previews with actual edits? It's a common mistake, especially for a new editor here. --Orange Mike | Talk 20:12, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps you need to refresh your browser for the changes to take effect! --Monterey Bay (talk) 23:34, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Looking for a tool

Resolved

Hi, I was wondering if there was a tool that would analyze a users contributions t list pages they have the most contributions on? I looked though Edit counters on the Tool page didnt see anything quite what i was looking for. Any suggestions? Weaponbb7 (talk) 20:37, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Embarrasing found one right after i clicked "save page"Weaponbb7 (talk) 20:38, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Referencing a company's website

I'm trying to write an article about a company that is certainly deserving of a page, but there are very few published articles about the company. Am I allowed to use a company's official website as a reference? Is some information acceptable to pull from a website while others are not? Thank you for your time.

sjb381--Sjb381 (talk) 21:26, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Depends. You can use the company's website to confirm basic facts such as place of incorporation and name. But to demonstrate notability per WP:CORP or to support potentially contentious material the references must be to significant coverage in third party reliable sources. – ukexpat (talk) 21:27, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, we don't do "deserving"; we do "notable". If as you say, "there are very few published articles about the company", then you've pretty much sealed your case that they are not notable enough to have their own article here. See WP:UPANDCOMING for more details. --Orange Mike | Talk 23:59, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

For an example (not exactly a company, but an organisation), see what I've done in the "Current status" section of this church article: I've used a church-related source to show how this and other churches are organized, but nothing more. Nyttend (talk) 03:11, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Question about article tags

Hi. I apologize in advance if this has been answered somewhere else. This is a question about article tags that inform editors (and readers) that there are specific issues with the article that need to be fixed.
On the article about Brainerd diarrhea, I responded to the "Orphan" tag (Feb 2009) by inserting links to other articles, but after adding several links that (I'm assuming good faith) perhaps makes a removal of the tag necessary, I hesitated to remove the tag myself; I thought only administrators can do that, right? If I'm wrong, in what circumstances is a non-administrator actually allowed to remove a tag? Or is it best to contact an administrator as soon as the tag needs to be removed? This may sound like a silly question, after all, the article in question probably doesn't receive much traffic. But I'm curious nonetheless. Also, what is a good Wikipedia policy page to look at that addresses questions of this nature (i.e. when it's appropriate to ask an administrator to do something that I shouldn't do myself--or at least don't think that I should do)? Sorry about the run-on sentence(s), and many thanks for the answer that may come as well. Regards, 24.10.181.254 (talk) 21:31, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

There is no automated process for removing maintenance tags, nor do they have to be removed only by admins (they have more than enough other stuff to do). If you think the issue has been dealt with by all means remove the tag but explain how you have fixed the issue, either in your edit summary or on the article's talk page. Note however that an orphan is an article with fewer than 3 legitimate incoming links, not outgoing links. – ukexpat (talk) 21:36, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Whoops. Okay. So to change an article so that it's no longer an orphan, my understanding is now that I need to click on "What links here" in the Toolbox, and then try to determine what pages that aren't listed would appropriately link to brainerd diarrhea, then create such a link to brainerd diarrhea within those articles, provided they actually belong, right? Sorry, I must have had that backwards in my head. I hope I'm making sense in my explanations. 24.10.181.254 (talk) 21:46, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

You are correct. I suspect, without looking into the matter, that a "See also" link in Diarrhea might be warranted, for example. Deor (talk) 21:57, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

"ball" logos in userpage

Some people have ball logos in their userpage, for example this editor:[1] have a logo for patrolled rights in the top right corner. How do I do that? --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 21:39, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

In his case, {{Autoreviewer}}. That page also lists all the similar templates. (Don't use them if you don't have the relevant rights, of course.) --erachima talk 21:42, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

What if you want to have several of those balls? I push the "show preview" button, but only one of them shows up. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 21:51, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Use the icon_nr parameter seen at {{Autoreviewer}}. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:41, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

FYI the template has been renamed to {{Autopatrolled}} per the name change. Kayau Voting IS evil 03:12, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Woman's Tennis Draws ational championshipd

I find that the men's draws are available but not the women's. Will the USTA eventually release them? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.183.63.14 (talk) 21:44, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over three million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. – ukexpat (talk) 22:01, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

July 16

Unable to login to wikipedia

I am unable to login to my account on wikipedia even after typing in the stored password correctly several times with my username.

It keeps giving the message:" Login error Incorrect password or confirmation code entered. Please try again."

I do not think I have an email set for password recovery or a new password.

I believe that I am typing in my password correctly since it is stored on my comp. What is the problem, have you/has my account been hacked, why am i unable to login? What should I do?

I am deliberately not providing any contact details as per yr instructions. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.215.245.233 (talk) 00:36, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Regards

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.215.245.233 (talk) 00:20, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

The username is not considered contact details. Are you willing to reveal it together with your IP address? PrimeHunter (talk) 01:30, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

"Popular reference"

Dear Wikipedia administrator, As I tried to post an article on this marvelous "popular reference" encyclopedia, I had trouble with the tone of another administrator that, without warning, deleted my new post. Being this a "popular" - "an adjective referring to ANY people or population" - I find it unnecessary to offend or use rudeness to new users, especially when these are trying to create new content. And now I transcribe my conversation with the administrator who deleted the post to whom I asked why:

• My question: Hello RHaworth. Yesterday I created an article about Chat About It and this morning the same article was removed by you. I would like to know why and how can be restored. I am working for Chat About It and I need to create the article. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jppaiva86 (talk • contribs) 00:31, 16 July 2010 (UTC)
• Response: Kindly do not delete other people's messages when you post yours. What a cheek - "I need to create the article". What matters is not your needs but whether WIkipedia needs the article. The article was deleted for a total absence of refs to significant coverage in reliable, independent secondary sources But you could chat about it at deletion review. — RHaworth (talk · contribs) 00:44, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Without people, this "popular" encyclopedia is just another big, outdated encyclopedia. Please cherish who is willing to create new articles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:RHaworth#Chat_about_it --Jppaiva86 (talk) 02:35, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Hi, as an encyclopaedia, we cannot publish every single piece of random information in the world. Only things with a significant coverage in reliable sources are notable. Also note that since you are closely related to the subject, you have a conflict of interest, so even if the company is notable, you may want to ask someone else to write the article for you, to avoid a biased point of view and orginal research. Thanks Kayau Voting IS evil 03:09, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

I agree that the wording was a little more direct than appropriate. As an aside, the editor knows this - check out User:RHaworth and note the caption on the upper right image.

Having said that, this is a popular encyclopedia, but it doesn't mean that all additions are welcome. This project has evolve over time, and has developed a number of policies intended on providing a good encyclopedia for you. One of these policies is that the presentation of material should be written in a neutral tone, which means that we discourage contributions from people with a conflict of interest, which includes anyone directly associated with the subject of the article> However, because of the immense popularity of the encyclopedia, organizations are keen to get their own entry into Wikipedia, and often assign employees the job of writing an entry, on the understandable,but mistaken view that anyone can write anything. That creates a fair amount of tension, and anyone who has been here for some time has probably had to deal with one or many people trying to add material that their boss thinks is "needed". It isn't always pleasant, so I can easily imagine the reaction to your statement that you "need" to create an article.

However, that doesn't excuse you getting your head bit off because you didn't know a policy, so on behalf of me (as no one here can truly speak on behalf of Wikipedia, we are all just volunteers) I apologize for the gruff reaction.

We do have a process for dealing with new material form new editors who probably do not yet know all the ropes. Please try the Wikipedia:Article wizard which will help you start an article in user space, which means it won't get deleted quite so quickly (assuming it doesn't break major rules like copyright or libel), and then you can ask for feedback at Requests for feedback, where someone will try to address issue s that may need to be addressed, and not simply delete it outright.--SPhilbrickT 12:12, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Infoboxes

Hello, First of all I would like to thank you for all they great work your doing with wikipedia. I just have a few questions about editing, I just made an article in portuguese language, at the infobox on the top, the foundation day appears two times, although I only wrote it once, It look like this:

Fundação: 22 de abril de 1999 Tipo: Organização governamental Sede: Seul, Coréia do Sul Fundação: 22 de abril de 1999 Diretor: Geral Doctor Chun Se-Yeoung Empregados: 157 (2009)

Although I only wrote the foundation date once, If I delete it, both of them would dissapear, what can I do?

Also, I would like to know, how do you access to "premade" info boxes,

Thank you very much —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.88.106.155 (talk) 02:51, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

If you created the article at Portugese Wikipedia, you should ask your question at their help desk. For En Wikipedia's infoboxes, see Category:Infobox templates. – ukexpat (talk) 03:05, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

The languages list at the left of this English help desk has a link to pt:Wikipedia:Contato/Linha direta. After some searching (I had to Google Chun Se-Yeoung to find the name of the organization), I found you are referring to pt:KERIS (why do so many users here seek help with a specific page without saying which page?). It's not your fault. The problem is in pt:Predefinição:Info/Organização which since 11 July contains both dados2 = {{{fundação|}}} and dados10 = {{{fundação|}}}. It affects all articles using it, for example pt:NASA. I don't know Portuguese or the templates of the Portuguese Wikipedia so I don't want to edit it but I have alerted the editor who made the change at pt:Usuário Discussão:Vitorvicentevalente#Double dates in Predefinição:Info/Organização (his user page says he knows English). PrimeHunter (talk) 11:20, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

required an essay on "joys and travails of travel"

i got some introductory sentences in your site on title 'travel'. but i required an essay of not more than 500 words on topic "joys and travails of travel". please provide me information at the earliest to my email address '<email removed>'.

with regards —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.207.249.61 (talk) 05:59, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Language reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. Also, please do not provide your email address or other contact info in your posts as this page is highly visible and spammers may obtain your email address. Kayau Voting IS evil 08:51, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Note that even at the reference desk, no one will do your homework for you. Deor (talk) 09:35, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Let's get this straight: you have been assigned to write an essay, presumably as part of your education; you are no doubt expected thereby to learn the skills of researching and writing, as well as about the content. For some reason, you suppose that one of the volunteers who give their time to create and maintain this encyclopaedia would wish to spend their time doing the research you have been asked to do. I wonder why you think they might? --ColinFine (talk) 20:10, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

map coordinates

How do you get map coordinates to show up? (I put them into an info box, but that didn't work.) Bubba73 ^{(You talkin' to me?)}, 06:04, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

What article are you talking about? --Monterey Bay (talk) 07:30, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Battle of Bloody Marsh, apparently. Different infoboxes have different types of fields for entering coordinates. Template:Infobox military conflict has a "coordinates" field for entering a {{coord}} template (and "latitude" and "longitude" fields for entering coordinates for a pushpin on a locator map); you have to look at the infobox documentation to see what's required. I've fixed the infobox to display the coordinates. Deor (talk) 09:29, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

That is it - thanks. Bubba73 ^{(You talkin' to me?)}, 14:05, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Resolved

Problem with DYK page

Just now I finished editing T:TDYK when - Gordan Bennett!!! - the top 'Username my talk my preferences my watchlist' etc as well as all the tabs (template, discussion, edit this page etc) were all squeezed to the side, with a horizontal scroll bar that spans the side boxes that lets me scroll and look at those links. What's happening? (If you don't understand, that's normal, because I'm not strong with descriptions.) Kayau Voting IS evil 13:24, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Wait, they're back in the right place now. Never mind, probably just a temporary problem. Kayau Voting IS evil 13:25, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Holy cow, it's happening again. Kayau Voting IS evil 14:51, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Does it only happen after you've edited the page? I can't reproduce the error when visiting it, either in Vector or Monobook. AJCham 15:17, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, only after I've edited the page. Kayau Voting IS evil 23:25, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

ah, forgot to say. Browser: Chrome; Skin: Monobook. Kayau Voting IS evil 14:38, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Advertisement on user talk page

I wonder if plain advertisement on a user talk pages like this (User talk:Contrejour-paris) is allowed acc. to policy. -- Ies (talk) 13:39, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

The advertisement has been deleted, and the spammer's role account has been blocked. --Orange Mike | Talk 13:49, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Accessing and Manipulating books that I have created.

I recently took advantage of your offer to begin making a book. I called it "Pathology." I then signed up with an account so I would be sure to be able to access this book and add to it. I cannot find the book I began.

Questions: 1.) How do I find the book and associate it with my account? 2.) How do I add and subtract from the book?

Thanks! Marie —Preceding unsigned comment added by GouiMA00 (talk • contribs) 13:59, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Click the Print/export link "Create a book" (on the left hand side pane – you may need to toggle the print/export section) and start the book creator tool. I believe that will give you the option to continue the book you were working on. AJCham 14:14, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Pressure in Deepwater Horizon well

BP is expecting a stable pressure of 8,000 to 9,000 lbs/sq inch. Water has a density of 0.433 lbs/sqin and upper crustal rocks has a density of 2.7gms/cm^3. What is the water depth and the rock depth to the bottom of the well? These figures should allow one to estimate the total presure expected. Does it? If not, why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.175.184.206 (talk) 16:09, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

• Have you tried the Science section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps.Template:Z38 Arakunem^Talk 16:21, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Also see Wikipedia:Do your own homework, and note that the definition of density is mass per unit volume, not per unit area. --Teratornis (talk) 17:06, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Vandalism?

I just made my first-ever edit on Wikipedia, and edited the page for Liv Ullmann - her daughter Linn's year of birth was listed as 1977, when the Linn Ullmann page shows it as 1966. (Additionally, the Liv Ullmann page notes that the relationship with Linn's father Ingmar Berman took place during Liv Ullmann's first marriage, which ended in 1965.)

After making this edit, I received the following message:

Please do not introduce incorrect information into articles, as you did to Amanda Bynes. Your edits appear to be vandalism and have been reverted. If you believe the information you added was correct, please cite references or sources or discuss the changes on the article's talk page before making them again. If you would like to experiment, use the sandbox. Thank you. Ward3001 14:52, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

Since this is my first change, I'm not sure why my IP address shows up as having edited the Amanda Bynes page. Is this some sort of default message? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.168.68.199 (talk) 16:29, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Hi, and thank you for editing Wikipedia. The message on your talk page is not related to you, or the edit you made; in fact, that message was placed on your talk page in 2007. The reason that the message is on your talk page is because your IP address is a dynamic one - in other words, that means that your IP address is subject to change periodically, and that the IP address you are using is subject to have been used by another person. Today, you may have the IP address you currently have, but tomorrow, you may have a new one, and another person may be using the one you currently have. As a result, when a message is placed on the talk page of a dynamic IP's talk page on Wikipedia, multiple people will see it due to the IP address being re-assigned to several different computers. You can disregard such messages, as they are not directed to you. To avoid this from happening in the future, you may create an account. Hope this helps you out and answers your question. Again, thank you for editing, and welcome to Wikipedia. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 16:37, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Oh, and in addition, here's a tip: remember to sign any comments you make in discussions by placing four tildes (~~~~) at the end of your comment. Thanks, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 16:41, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! 76.168.68.199 (talk) 19:45, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Resolved

SUL

If one was to make an account, how does one prevent it from automatically signing into other projects and languages on wikimedia just by visiting those sites? The idea of accounts being automatically made complete with talk pages and user pages, on projects I have absolutely no intention of editing on, just because I viewed a page there, is not appealing. 82.43.90.93 (talk) 19:11, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

As I understand it, single unified logins are not automatically issued on account creation; rather, they are activated manually by the user. So if you don't want a SUL, don't make one. Robert Skyhawk ^{(T C B)} 19:48, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

That's only the case for existing accounts made before SUL was introduced. All new accounts are SUL, and automatically make a new account on every project you visit, weather you want an account there or not. 82.43.90.93 (talk) 19:57, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

I see. What if you logged out before visiting another wiki? Robert Skyhawk ^{(T C B)} 20:01, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Then it would not automatically log you into the other wiki. But that is a lot of effort to avoid useless accounts being made when you just want to read a single page on another wiki. And there's no guarantee you will even remember to log out, or that when you click an interwiki link you knew it was taking you to another wiki. 82.43.90.93 (talk) 20:27, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Is there any harm into being logged into the other wikis? The only issue I can think of is security, if you were to forget to log out of one of them. But just as you need only log in to your SUL once, you need only log out once too – log out here, and you'll be logged out everywhere else. AJCham 21:26, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

I don't want a load of accounts, each with talk pages people could leave messages on, when I have no intention of ever editing those wikis or reading the messages. Maybe it's stupid, but that would really bother me a lot, and is one of the reasons I haven't used an account since 2008. 82.43.90.93 (talk) 21:55, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

If you don't edit at a wiki then you are unlikely to get any other talk page message than a template welcome that doesn't expect a reply. Some wikis also send a welcome email if you have email enabled. You can just ignore such mails. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:44, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Actually, if you create an account here, you don't create an account automatically on another wiki; you have to navigate there in order to create an account there. Basically, all you've done is reserve your account name on other wikis so no one else can use your username there, but your accounts are not automatically created; that happens when you visit the other wikis. —MC10 (T•C•GB•L) 23:58, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

I know that, that's the point of my question. I want to know if it is possible to disable actually creating accounts when you visit other wikis. I'm happy to have the username reserved so no one else can take it, but I don't like the idea of a new account being created if I just follow a link to another wiki to read a single page. I'm guessing there isn't an easy way to disable it, otherwise someone probably would have posted it by now 82.43.90.93 (talk) 00:20, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

!@#$%^&

I have NEVER seen a web site that was more convoluted or difficult to use then Wikipedia! I can't freaking believe how difficult it is to edit. I swear you need a university degree in computer programming to edit it and I'm a freaking desktop graphic designer! All I wanted to do was add Kicking Horse coffee to the coffee brand section (KC is the leading organic coffee brand in Canada and is now available in the US). Do you think I could find a way to do that? No! Instead I ended up changing the category which no doubt upset the coffee brand editor which I did mean to do. The last thing I want to do is vandalize a page. And of course I could not find how to contact the editor to apologize for what I did. You MUST work for a government office! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.114.67.73 (talk) 20:17, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Categories are a way of categorising articles. You add categories to articles, not articles to categories, and we don't seem to have an article for Kicking Horse coffee. Dougweller (talk) 20:20, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

You evidently attempted to edit the Category:Coffee brands page. It is common for categories to confuse people who are editing on Wikipedia for the first time - they certainly confused me. Categories might violate the principle of least astonishment, because category pages on Wikipedia do not provide any obvious visual clues of how they actually work. They look pretty much like other pages, and they have an "edit this page" tab at the top (and no "help" tab!) which suggests that the content on the page is editable that way. Unfortunately that is misleading, because all you can really edit on the category page itself is the brief descriptive text at the top, above the list of pages that are in the category. To add a page to a category, you have to edit that page, not the category page. I had to read Help:Category a few times for this to sink in. As Dougweller points out, we have no article about Kicking Horse coffee yet, so you cannot add it to the category. If you want to request an article about that brand, use Wikipedia:Requested articles. If it meets Wikipedia's notability requirements, someone will eventually create the article. --Teratornis (talk) 21:09, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Basic way to learn to edit on Wikipedia: find a page that does what you want. Steal the code. To contact an editor, the easiest method is to click on the "History" tab at the top of the page where they edited and then click on the "Talk" link next to their name.
In this particular case, you need to write an article on Kicking Horse coffee (assuming it is a notable company) before you can add it to Category:Coffee brands. --erachima talk 21:13, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

We have an (issue-laden) article about the Kicking Horse Resort near the town of Golden, British Columbia, but it appears to be unrelated to Kicking Horse Coffee which is 65 miles south by Invermere, British Columbia. There is also a Kicking Horse River in the area which may have given its name to these enterprises. Someone at Wikipedia:WikiProject British Columbia may be able to help if they find time to edit while not enjoying their spectacular local outdoors. As that WikiProject may be inactive currently, it appears they are all out having too much fun just now. --Teratornis (talk) 21:21, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

File:NRA logo.png

This file was overwritten and put in the National Roads Authority article, and removed from the National Restaurant Association article. I tried to revert the file and it didn't work. Could someone with more recent image experience than me straighten this out and put each image in its appropriate article? Thanks. Grandmasterka 21:10, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Your revert worked just fine. I'll re-upload the other logo and place them in the appropriate articles within a few minutes. Thanks, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 21:31, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

I've uploaded the logo for the National Roads Authority at File:National Roads Authority logo.png, along with placing both logos in their respective articles. I am curious as to whether or not the logo of the National Roads Authority falls into the public domain, considering that it is a state body. Peeking around a bit, it *seems* by first impression that it isn't, but I'll try to find a definite answer. Anyone reading this happen to know? Thanks, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 21:55, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Self

I found a new ref for a good and rigid definition of self today here. I can't decide whether it belongs in philosophy, sociology, psychology, or spirituality. :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 21:15, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

The link is to a page from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Do you use the word "or" in the inclusive or exclusive sense? I'd guess this is a suitable reference for philosophy articles, although someone might quibble about citing an encyclopedia (see: WP:RS#Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources}. Using it as a reference for articles about other fields might draw objections from other editors. You might discuss it on the articles' talk pages first. Sometimes you can't predict what other editors will object to, you just have to be bold and get upbraided. Also note that you haven't given any details about the specific content you want to add to the various articles. The source you cite makes many claims, some of which might be appropriate in a given Wikipedia article, and some which might not. --Teratornis (talk) 21:47, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Please add information to the webpage

Hi Team,

I have reviewed your web page that details the surnames of 6000 Niyogis. It is quite elobarative.

However I see that the below Surnames were not included in the list.

Chintapenta Rebbapragada

Please add these to the list in the below URL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Aruvela_Niyogi_Surnames

Thank you in advance for your action.

Kind Regards

Raghavendra Chintapenta —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.230.248.1 (talk) 21:42, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

That page no longer exists (as of five minutes prior to your post). It was deleted as a non-notable list. AJCham 21:57, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Sheffield

I recently submitted Sheffield to FAC. The article's review is at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Sheffield/archive2. The latest comment is on the sources and that they need cleaning up. The problem is, I have no idea what he is on about half the time, as I've only recently started editing again, so I need a hand. Anyone willing to help me clean them up? Would be very grateful and you'd be helping to get an article to featured article standard, to which it is very close. Thanks. -- Jack?! 23:45, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

July 17

-Spaces

I've come across a lot of Wikipedia: space and Help: space, but I never really questioned the fundamental difference between them. Can you explain to me what it is that separates them? :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 01:00, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

There's not a huge difference, as they are both directly related to Wikipedia. Pages in the "Wikipedia" space (more formally referred to as the project namespace) contains things such as policy, guidelines, essays, and discussions related to the project, while pages in the help namespace are there to explicitly help in using Wikipedia and its software. For example, take Wikipedia:Reverting: It's an essay that outlines what reverting is, along with providing some guidelines and policy regarding it. Help:Reverting, on the other hand, goes into more technical detail and explains how to revert pages. Some can argue that some pages belong in either mainspace; in my view, I also don't see that much of a difference, but it's there. Check out Wikipedia:Namespace for a description of each namespace. Hope this helps. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 01:18, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

The Wikipedia namespace is for things like policies, guidelines, and other Wiki-related things. The Help namespace is for ONLY help topics. Also, the Wikipedia namespace is much more widely used, as opposed to the Help namespace.  A p3rson ‽ 01:21, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Personally, I've always wanted to write Help:Edit warring. --erachima talk 06:19, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Originally, pages in the Help space were copies of the Help from Meta, with some local content using a series of templates. Those pages on Meta were never updated, a lot of local changes were made, and much of the content was duplicated in Wikipedia pages. See Help:Footnotes and WP:Footnotes for an example. This got so disjointed that the Meta stuff was tossed on most of the Help pages about two years ago and most were rewritten. It is still rather messy. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 12:40, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

The difference to me is: If I want to know how to do something, I go to Help; if I want to know when or why to do something, I go to project space. I find project space pages that have to do with a specific process often are needlessly complex, covering every single topic that could possibly be related to the page title, when a Help page is much better at providing a simple explanation so I can get back to work quickly. For example, Help:Table tells me how to make a simple table in the first subheading, and goes on to cover more complex tables if I need to know how to use color or do a rowspan. WP:TABLE goes to the Manual of Style entry which does not even cover how to actually create the damned thing, and someone who is just scanning the page may miss the italicised Main page: Help:Table. Xenon54 (talk) 14:10, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

I agree. Help should be a how to do something, Wikipedia should be why. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 14:34, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Routemaster RMA

My Mum was a clippy for over 25 years at Seven Kings and I am trying to find out that when she passes away our family would like to celebrate her time on the buses by using one for her funeral.

Do you know how we can loan or hire one for the service

Thank you for your help Sharon Jones —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.147.115.161 (talk) 08:15, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over three million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. However, I suggest you begin with a Google search for "hire a routemaster bus". -- John of Reading (talk) 08:29, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

A quick Google search reveals several hits, the first two of which are this and this. Karenjc 10:42, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Need help with a WikiProject

I'm developing a WikiProject (WikiProject American Old West to be exact). I created an assessment page and I also created categories where articles in a certain class and importance would go. I tried assessing an article, but the assessment didn't show up. What did I do wrong? The Raptor ^{Let's talk}/_{My mistakes; I mean, er, contributions} 15:21, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Which article have you tried to assess and which category do you want it in? PrimeHunter (talk) 15:30, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

The article is American Old West (how the WikiProject got its name), and I want it to be in the Top-importance American Old West articles and B-Class American Old West articles categories. The Raptor ^{Let's talk}/_{My mistakes; I mean, er, contributions} 15:36, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Done: [2][3]. I see you manually added Category:WikiProject American Old West articles to Talk:American Old West and you don't request all tagged talk pages to automatically be added so I haven't done that. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:46, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! The Raptor ^{Let's talk}/_{My mistakes; I mean, er, contributions} 19:59, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

• Need help with something else now. Unassessed articles aren't showing up in the category. Also I don't want to manually go through and add WikiProject American Old West articles category to every one. How can I make this automatic instead of having to do it manually? The Raptor ^{Let's talk}/_{My mistakes; I mean, er, contributions} 20:17, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Done: [4]. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:07, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Much appreciated, thank you. The Raptor ^{Let's talk}/_{My mistakes; I mean, er, contributions} 21:19, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

move images to commons

I'm trying to get set up to move images to the Commons easily. I followed the directions at Wikipedia:Moving images to the Commons (got a TUSC account). I added the script at User:Fran Rogers/CommonsHelper Helper to my monoblock.js file and reloaded. I have the preference to preview on first edit checked. But when I edit the page of an image file, the "move image to the Commons" button isn't there. (At least I don't see it and a search doesn't find it.) What could be wrong and how can I fix it? Bubba73 ^{(You talkin' to me?)}, 15:35, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

I don't know about CommonsHelper Helper. Instead I made a template in my userspace that creates a link to CommonsHelper with most of the critical fields pre-filled the way I like. See User:Teratornis/Notes#Improving the efficiency of using CommonsHelper. My method still requires too much clicking and editing, but it is self-documenting so I can easily remember what to do when I haven't used it for months. It would be nice to have a totally simple one-click method to move an image to Commons, but the process is difficult to automate due to the large number of images on Wikipedia with questionable copyright and ad hoc formatting of the description and licensing text. --Teratornis (talk) 18:55, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

I was just trying to use CommonsHelper and CommonsHelper 2, but I can't get them to work. There is a red message about Commons not accepting bot uploads. Bubba73 ^{(You talkin' to me?)}, 19:16, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Does the message link to an explanation? Sometimes you can get answers about technical problems on Commons on Commons:Commons:Village pump. If there are server problems, sometimes the Wikimedia technical blog explains them. The most important thing to determine about such problems is whether and when they might get fixed. I.e., has anyone else reported it to whoever can fix it, and is that person working on a solution. --Teratornis (talk) 22:50, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Need an explanation? Well, I tried to follow it but it didn't work. Either it is wrong or not clear enough, or I made an error, or something else is wrong. Bubba73 ^{(You talkin' to me?)}, 02:03, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Changing an article name

How do I change the name of the article on my grandfather (currently Gerhard Jack Zunz) to "Jack (Gerhard Jacob) Zunz"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Toomuch2young (talk • contribs) 15:58, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

See Help:Move. Also please read the notability standard for people and add additional references to that page, as the article you've referred to appears not to meet it at present. --erachima talk 16:01, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

If he's most commonly known as Jack Zunz, the article should almost certainly be moved over the redirect at Jack Zunz. The article title "Jack (Gerhard Jacob) Zunz" is nonstandard. See WP:TITLE and WP:NCP. Deor (talk) 16:04, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Edit summary help

• Please take a look at this page.:[[5]].Several edits have been stroked out.What does this mean?I have read that On wikipedia,All revisions are kept so that the contributor can be credited.though,why this has happened?Max Viwe | Wanna chat with me? 17:13, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
  • Please read: WP:REVDELETE. :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 17:16, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
  • (edit conflict) These edits have been "revision deleted". The revisions have been kept (administrators can still view them); however, they have been deleted for one or other of the reasons permitted by WP:REVDEL. (Typically: a user accidentally posts personal information - like their email address - or a vandal makes an offensive claim against a living person). TFOWR 17:18, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Reduction in numbar of slept admins

I am a Bureaucrat at Hindi wiki. There are a large number of admins, of which maximum number is of slept ones. A few ones visit at rare occasions, & 2-4 are active ones. This is unnecessary creating a mess. I therefore request that large number of sleeping admins may please be intimated & warned that there admin right may & will be seized if this continues for one more month. Some guidelines may please be framed like:

• One month of inactivity (0 contribution) aur 3 months of (<100 contr.) may lead to a final warning. After that one month of <100 contr, straight seizure of the admin rights.

Please help us out, I can even arrange for a vote from 3-4 active admins if required. Request a Talkback template at hindi discussion page. Thanks.--आशीष भटनागर (talk) 17:28, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

You don't make it easy to understand you, by hiding your link to the Hindi wikipedia under the name 'wiki'. But this is the English Wikipedia, and has no standing whatever at the Hindi one. It is not clear what you are asking. --ColinFine (talk) 19:41, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

It's fairly clear that he's asking help in getting more "sleeping" admins active. But as you say, we don't manage the Hindi wikipedia. I'm guessing he's posting everywhere, trying to get some help. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:45, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

An apology for missing the word Hindi before wiki, which I have corrected here. Now the second thing is that I have not posted it anywhere, but at Jimmy Wales Talk page, where it was suggested to write at this page. Now off course this is eng wiki help desk, but people here have much more experiences than our, further here might be some strategy existing to solve the abovesaid issue. This was what I expected. Either we can get sleeping admins active (which is next to impossible), or can we sieze adminship rights, firstly for a definite period, & then on no response, permanently? as they are even contacted on mails, wherever possible but to no response. Also most of them have no mail-contacts listed here. So they just addup to Hindi wiki admin list, but never reverted back. I think I am clear now.--आशीष भटनागर (talk) 03:17, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Uploading PDFs for use as references

Over at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/K. A. Malle Pharmaceuticals Limited, someone suggested they could upload company PDFs to "Wikimedia" then use these as references for the K. A. Malle Pharmaceuticals Limited article. TBH, I doubt this is permitted, but I thought I would ask anyway. If it is permitted, which Wikipedia policy/guideline permits this. If it is not permitted, which Wikipedia policy/guideline prohibits this? Astronaut (talk) 18:34, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Hmm... PDFs have to follow the same rules as other files (images), so that would pretty much be out of the question. In addition, references have to be to a reliable source that has already been published -- no original research. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 18:52, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

As Calvin says, PDFs based on non-published files mean nothing. If they are copies of published, verifiable sources, then what we need are citations to the published sources, not to PDFs of copies thereof. We get that occasionally: links to photocopies of clippings, which may (for all we know) have been altered in some way, instead of citations of the original published articles. --Orange Mike | Talk 15:30, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Vandalism?

Is the most recent edit on the page Bugsy Malone vandalism so i know if i can revert it?,Gobbleswoggler (talk) 19:33, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Yes. I've already reverted it.TMCk (talk) 19:42, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Or maybe not? Checking...TMCk (talk)

I've removed the link. He's another Michael Jackson.TMCk (talk) 19:51, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Wrong again. It really was him.TMCk (talk) 19:54, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

• I can't believe it. It was NOT him. This is final! dohhhhh.TMCk (talk) 19:57, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

dr who

the number of dr who,s are wrong there have been ten dr,sin the tv series if you innclude movie dr,s also there have been twelve as paul mcgann [1986] and peter cushing[1965]92.25.199.57 (talk) 19:58, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Which article are you referring to? David Tennant is The Tenth Doctor at the official BBC site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/characters/doctor10. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:03, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Peter Cushing is not regarded as a canonical Doctor (neither are Richard E. Grant who played the Shalka Doctor, nor any of the actors who portrayed the character in Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death). Paul McGann was the eighth Doctor and is already included. Our article on the Doctor has some more info. AJCham 21:15, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Vandalism?

Is the most recent edit on the page The Walking Dead (TV series) vandalism?,Gobbleswoggler (talk) 20:00, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

I think so. Clicking through to the cited source I find Michelle Maxwell MacLaran mentioned, not Dan O'Connor. -- John of Reading (talk) 20:40, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

How to insert a TAB character when editing an article ?

Well, the title says it all. For years I was able to insert a TAB character in all text zones just by pressing the TAB key on my keyboard, but now for some reason it will not happen and instead move to the next control field (damn all these automatic software updates...). Would anyone please have an easy way to do that ? (my actual concern is not to insert in a Wikipedia article but in a Wikibooks article, but I will recklessly assume the answer would be the same). SyG (talk) 21:30, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Copy and paste :) If you're using Windows you can type 09 on the number pad while holding down the ALT key (see Alt code). -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 21:55, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, I am using Windows indeed, but your proposal does not seem to work: when I type 09 it just goes to the next field as if I had entered the TAB key, instead of inserting a TAB character (i.e. an indent) in the text zone where I was. SyG (talk) 09:00, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

I can only suggest you ensure the numlock is turned on, that you use the number pad instead of the top keys, and that you hold down the ALT key until after the 9 is lifted. You might want to practice in a text editor. If that doesn't work, here's a tab character for you to copy and paste. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 09:31, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. Actually the method you propose works great in usual text editors (Notepad, Word, ...) but not in the text zones of Wikipedia or Wikibooks, so it is related either to the Wikimedia software either to the way my computer handles browsers (I have tested both IE and Firefox, so it is not a Mozilla bug). It seems I will have to use the copy/paste method after all. Thanks again for your help ! SyG (talk) 09:44, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

July 18

Templates

If I want to type {{Lorem ipsum|dolor}} and get 'This is foo', {{Lorem ipsum|sit}} and get 'This is bar', and {{Lorem ipsum|others=Wikipedia}} and get 'This is Wikipedia', then what is the template code for Template:Lorem ipsum? Kayau Voting IS evil 00:49, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Your question threw me a bit, as {{Lorem ipsum}} is an actual template, so I thought you were referring to that. But anyway, the following code would produce the desired output:

This is {{ #if: {{{others|}}} | {{{others}}} | {{ #switch: {{{1|}}}

| dolor = foo

| sit = bar}}}}

However I would recommend the following instead:

This is {{ #switch:{{{1|}}}

| dolor = foo

| sit = bar

| #default = {{{1}}}}}

If the template is only to use one parameter, the latter code is the better option as it removes the need to specify others= when using the template: ie. {{Lorem ipsum|Wikipedia}} would produce 'This is Wikipedia'. The only problem you'd have with this version is it would be impossible to produce output such as 'This is dolor'. Hope that helps. AJCham 01:15, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, that is very helpful. Small request: Could you analyse and explain the code so I can remember it more easily? Thanks! Kayau Voting IS evil 02:01, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Okay, I've coloured the text in the first example to try and make this easy to follow:

Output text: "This is". If a parameter named "others" exists, then output the text of that parameter, else compare the contents of parameter 1 with the following:

If it is equal to dolor then output "foo"

If it is equal to sit then output "bar". (Close SWITCH statement) (Close IF statement)

I hope that's clear enough, and you should be able to figure out the second example from that. I'll just point out that the purpose of the #default line of the switch statement is as a fall-back – if the supplied parameter doesn't match any of the items in the list, then the default output is used (in this case, returning the value of parameter 1.) Regards, AJCham 03:04, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! That is very helpful! Kayau Voting IS evil

Kobe Kaisei College

I report that there is incrrect infomation. Please fix it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Kaisei_College Kobe Kaisei College (神戸海星女子学院大学, ........ In 1998 it became a four-year college.

×In　1998 OIn　1965 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.19.40.92 (talk) 01:19, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

You could be bold and fix it yourself... – ukexpat (talk) 01:22, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Brian O'Brian shorts

Can you please help me find the video of the Disney Channel Brian O'Brian short where he is getting ready in the bathroom. It was one of if not the first episode. My daughters never got to see it and I cannot find it anywhere. Thank you Steph Brooks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.120.238.140 (talk) 02:01, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps.Template:Z37 – ukexpat (talk) 03:19, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Page with an incorrect title that duplicates the subject of an additional page

Hi, what is the correct practice for dealing with pages such as Create a mainpage on wikipedia? This example clearly needs to be deleted as the page title was created in error, but it expands beyond the article we already have on its subject, CampusEAI Consortium. Is there a way to keep the additional material while preserving the attribution history? Thanks in advance, ThemFromSpace 02:04, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

See WP:HISTMERGE, and may god have mercy on your soul. Alternatively, you could move the page to Talk:CampusEAI Consortium/Draft and work on it there until you think it's ready to implement, then reference the draft for the actual edit history. Second is more work for history searchers, far less work for editors. --erachima talk 03:06, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

It doesn't look as simple as you might think. CampusEAI Consortium started out being much longer. It was then very much reduced in size by more experienced editors to resolve various issues with the formatting and referencing. I could be wrong, but it seems like the original author then created Create a mainpage on wikipedia in order to reinstate much of the original article. I think the page should be speedily deleted as a recreation of an earlier version of the original article, and have therefore flagged it for speedy deletion. Astronaut (talk) 10:31, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Six tabs gadgets

What do I need to put in my monobook.js/.css to use the six tabs gadget, so that the tabs go article, edit, hist, talk, edit hist? It's in the preferences of WB but not WP. Kayau Voting IS evil 03:16, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Grammar help needed

Swedish Social Democratic Youth League need help whit gramma on dis page have dyslexia and not have english as my first languse.Wolfmann (talk) 17:32, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

English only?

Is there any policy stating that conversation on a talk page or edit summaries be rendered only in English? It would appear a disruption otherwise. 71.40.78.186 (talk) 18:21, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

There is the talk page guideline about using English as a "good practice". Not exactly policy I guess, but important enough that there exists a Template:Uw-english about it. --Saddhiyama (talk) 19:00, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Need advice: What's the best way to fix articles that are poorly sourced?

I've been trying to improve the sourcing of an article that is poorly sourced. So, I've been going through each sentence and finding sources to support everything the sentence says. But retrofitting sources into an existing article can be very tedious and time-consuming. You have to find sources that match the article's content and then sometimes have to tweak the article to match what the source actually says. I can't help but wonder if it would be easier to just throw out the old article and start over from scratch. That if I assemble my sources, read through them all, and just wrote the article based on what I just read, things would go a lot quicker. I'm the only editor actively working on the article. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 19:31, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

It is, in general, easier to rewrite the article yourself than to retrofit citations into it. However, the means by which you should do this depends on the quality of the article. If your research is making it clear that the article has serious content errors, then by all means please restart the page immediately, a temporary stub is better than disinformation. Do note, however, that only material which is "challenged or likely to be challenged" requires a direct citation (per WP:V), so if your research of the topic is not bringing the article's content into question, there is no urgent need to replace the current content, and it's probably best to redraft the article on a separate page (Talk:Pagename/Draft or your userspace being the traditional locations) so that your rewriting does not interfere with the informativeness of the article while it is in progress. Once the draft is complete, then you can overwrite the page with it. --erachima talk 19:41, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

So far, the factual accuracy of the article appears to be excellent. The worst thing I found so far was one bit of minor vandalism which I removed. (It was minor, which is probably why no one noticed it.) Those are good points about using a separate page and keeping the page up during the rewrite. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 20:13, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

How long should I wait for a response? and if I don't get it, what can I do?

Someone reverted a massive edit I made to an article. They claim that my edit was vandalism. (For the record, it definitely was not vandalism) I went to their talk page and explained to them my intentions and motivations and concluded by asking if they would have a problem with me reverting their reversion. That was almost an hour ago. According to his history of contributions right now is right about the time he is usually online and editing but I have not gotten a response. Granted, he hasn't done anymore editing either.

Although the edit I made was massive, it was nowhere close to what the article needs (its 220kb long, I'm working on splitting it up). I want to get back to work on it, but I don't want to have to worry about getting reverted again. How much longer should I wait? And if I don't get a response, what should my next step be?--*Kat* (talk) 21:47, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Continue your work. Your edit summary did not in any way explain what you were doing. So, if you continue your work, you should explain what you are doing. Otherwise, it only looks like you are deleting large chunks of the article. -- kainaw™ 21:59, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

I agree that it is not vandalism, but without an edit summary, Avala may be forgiven for thinking it was. But an hour is an unreasonable time to expect a response in.

It would have been helpful if you had linked to International recognition of Kosovo above, rather than leaving us to hunt through your contributions to find it. ----~~

Yes, I realize that I did forget to put a descriptive edit summary. I'd put descriptive edit summaries on the other articles I'd created/edited and the category too but for some reason forgot to do so with the main article. Maybe because I was just stopping for a period of time. Never the less, a very quick glance at the diffs should have told any experienced wikipedian that I was NOT engaging in vandalism.

I'm not surprised you went hunting through my contributions to find the article I was talking about, but the reason why I didn't link to it was because it wasn't really relevant to my question.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I was expecting a response, but I certainly was hoping for one. I didn't write him question that long after he reverted me.

Anyway, thanks for getting back to me about this. I don't know if I want to edit the article again so soon after writing on his talk page (I don't want to appear as though I don't really care about his opinion)--*Kat* (talk) 23:31, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Edit the page ..and in your edit summary say- Info moved to new article on the subject New article name....00:08, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Creating a Family of Pages

If I am working on a few pages (lets say 3-5) that will all be linked to one another, is there a way for me to save my progress as I work on them, before releasing them to the public? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hh73wiki (talk • contribs) 22:17, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Yes, create them as user subpages first. Then ask for feedback at WP:FEED. When you think they are ready they can be moved to the mainspace. Before you start take a look at WP:YFA, WP:N, WP:RS and WP:CITE. – ukexpat (talk) 23:14, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

July 19

Right to vote

I couldn't find an unambiguous answer to this, hence this thread. Am I eligible to vote for or against an article's deletion, granting adminship to a user, promoting an article to FA status, demoting an article from its FA status, etc, given my experience so far? --Магьосник (talk) 01:37, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

The succinct answer is yes, as any user with a history of constructive contributions (broadly construed) can participate in discussions. The longer answer is that while you may be eligible to vote, keep in mind that these are discussions, where a vote with no explanation or context will often be weighted less (by the closing administrator, bureaucrat, or Featured article official, respectively) than a vote with a justification, hence the paradigm "!vote". Therefore, sometimes even users who have not any such history are allowed to participate, based on the merits of their arguments. However, this is not the case in "actual" elections such as for ArbCom, Steward, OS/CU, Board, etc., because in these cases voting more than discussion determines promotion or appointment, so there are requirements to prevent vote-stacking. These requirements vary with the election. Intelligentsock 02:31, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Table of Contents

How do you add tocs to article-space? This page doesn't have one. :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 02:28, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Pages with a minimum of four sections will automatically generate a Table of Contents. The Magic word __FORCETOC__ will force a table of contents, but I seem to recollect that its use in the articlespace is generally discouraged. Intelligentsock 02:34, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Note that I have moved the article to Extreme clipper in accordance with naming conventions. – ukexpat (talk) 14:43, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

How to refer to a user with no user page?

Hi! Can someone please tell me what the right wikimarkup would be when, on a talk page, I want to (1) refer to a new user named "twelvefootzebra", let's say, who has yet to create a user page and, (2) simultaneously make the reference "clickable", and (3) keep it red, and (4) make the click land on the "special/contributions" page for that user? That's what you're supposed to do, right? Or am I out? Many thanks!  – OhioStandard (talk) 02:37, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Like this? Twelvefootzebra

Using this: <span class="plainlinks"><font color="red">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Twelvefootzebra Twelvefootzebra]</font></span>

:| TelCoNaSpVe :| 02:41, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Whoo hoo! You guys are the best! Cheers,  – OhioStandard (talk) 02:45, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

I think the example provided by TeleComNasSprVen, while in line with your request, is not the best way to "refer to a new user...who has yet to create a user page ", and may in fact be a confusing and pointless use of code. I would recommend linking to contributions, piping the link so that only the username is shown, for example: [[Special:Contributions/Twelvefootzebra|Twelvefootzebra]], or better, using the template {{user}} to generate the relevant links to user, talk, and contributions, like so: {{user|Twelvefootzebra}}, which outputs Twelvefootzebra (talk · contribs). Incidentally, it seems that you have misspelt the username; there is no user registered under the name "twelvefootzebra". Intelligentsock 03:07, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

If it were me, I'd use {{user}} as well. The other example looks like a custom signature which I would take to mean that the user has a bit of WP knowledge and the sig was copied from somewhere. The red isn't the same shade of red as WP's redlinks. Dismas|^(talk) 04:16, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Okay, thanks for that Intelligent & Dismas. The second method Intelligent suggests does seem preferable, since the first puts the link up in blue (by default) rather than red, and it seemed to make sense that it should appear in red (although I don't like forcing it to that color permanently with code). The "twelvefootzebra" literal was just an example, btw. I used it because I didn't want to mention the actual user account name here, is all. Thanks again,  – OhioStandard (talk) 04:22, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Lost Book

I have just begun visiting Wikipedia and have been pursuing information on various aspects of history and current events related to Kosovo. I enabled Book Creator and accumulated quite a few articles which I began organizing into chapters. Imagine my dismay to return today and discover that my book is gone. I did finally discover a place that states we must have an account for four days and have done some work on Wikipedia articles. Unfortunately, I was not aware of this yesterday (7/17/2010) and did not create my account until today (7/18/2010).

I gather there is no way to gain access once again to the material I had assembled without starting from scratch.

--M1$ty$m0m (talk) 04:06, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia link that ends with a ")"

When I try to post a Wikipedia link in an email, all links work except the ones that end with a right parenthesis. They look OK in my email but they don't work when my email reaches the adressee. Example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valhalla_Rising_(film)

The addressee sees a message that says that the subject does not exist at Wikipedia, do you mean...

Am I doing something wrong when I try to send such a link? Timoneer (talk) 06:04, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Try replacing the parentheses with escape codes, %28 and %29. eg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valhalla_Rising_%28film%29 AJCham 06:15, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. Works great! Now if I can only remember to do this!Timoneer (talk) 11:57, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Uploading a .JPG image file to an article

Hi I have created a new page entitled 'Cronulla Seagulls' about a soccer club. I am trying to upload the club logo. Via the Upload tool I believe I created a file called Cronulla_Seagulls_FC_logo.jpg. But when I try and link that filename into the atricle it doesn't recognise it. Have I done something wromg? Where is my uploaded file? Your help would be much appreciated. Regards, Nick.Nick palmer69 (talk) 06:20, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

It would appear that File:Cronulla Seagulls FC logo.jpg has been corrupted, as it isn't diplaying at all on my screen. It looks like you uploaded something, as the image information page exists, but it looks like you're going to have to try to upload a new version. Click the link near the bottom of the page that says "Upload a new version of this file" and try again. Perhaps something is wrong with the image file, or something glitched during the upload. --Jayron32 06:24, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

No, it works fine for me and I've added it to the article (click on "edit" to see the syntax needed). However, the article needs references to third-party coverage of the club as at the moment it is rather difficult to see why it is notable in Wikipedia terms, and so is at risk of deletion. Has there been any newspaper coverage about the club, not just about its results, for example? Read WP:CLUB for more information. Bencherlite^Talk 06:27, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

I don't see the image, though it's fine if I download it to my desktop. I'm using IE8. -- John of Reading (talk) 06:36, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

I have fixed the problem - the original JPEG was in CMYK format which IE cannot render (Firefox can). I have uploaded a new version in RGB format and reduced the size to comply with WP:NFCC. – ukexpat (talk) 15:33, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Classic Cigarettes

Hi, I uploaded a new article on Wikipedia today but I can't find it when I search for it. The article's name is Classic Cigarettes. COuld you please tell me what the issue is. prefix:Wikipedia:FAQ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Classic.cigarettes (talk • contribs) 06:55, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

The page was created on your user page rather than as an actual article. It is also blatant advertising which is a violation of our rules, so I'm afraid the page will have to be deleted. Creating articles about your own company is very much discouraged – please see WP:Conflict of interest. Your username is also a problem, and I've noted this on your talk page. AJCham 07:06, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

And see WP:SPAMNAME. – ukexpat (talk) 14:36, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Blocked indef, adverts in mainspace and userspace deleted and mainspace page salted for good measure for a couple of weeks. Thank you for bringing your problematic editing so speedily to our attention. Bencherlite^Talk 14:46, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Citations and references

I would like to contribute an article about some Irish bands that were popular in the 1970s but never quite made it in the UK. I have lots of original newspaper articles from the time but, because these all predate the internet revolution, it would be difficult for someone to verify them without physically going to the newspaper archives of, for example, The Belfast Telegraph or The Irish News. Are these sources still acceptable as article citations to verify the veracity and notability of such an article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Terryfic10 (talk • contribs) 09:09, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Yes. A reliable source is one with a reputation for fact-checking an accuracy. It does not need to be available over the internet, or even easily accessible. As long as it was once published in a reproducible medium, and can still be accessed by someone, it's OK. Someguy1221 (talk) 09:18, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict)That's fine, as long as the publications are reputable, and the articles demonstrate the significant coverage required to meet notability guidelines. The {{cite news}} template is useful for these kinds of references. If you provide as much info as you can about the source (publication, date, issue no., page number(s), article title etc.) it makes it all the easier to verify. AJCham 09:22, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Is there a reason for the underlining on this page?

On the page for Desert climate, the second paragraph is underlined. Is there a way to remove it? Or does it have to do with the Reference necessary template? DandyDan2007 (talk) 10:45, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

The underlining is a deliberate side-effect of {{Reference necessary}}. It is trying to make it clear that the entire paragraph needs references. I've not run into this template before; it seems to be more usual to place {{Citation needed}} at the end of the paragraph. -- John of Reading (talk) 11:25, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Facts related to an inground swimming pool

Can someone tell me how much water there would be in a swimming pool that is 20'w X 40'l and at the shallow end it is 3' deep and at the deep end it is 9' deep. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.92.79.233 (talk) 12:58, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Please use the reference desk next time. Basically, you add up 3' and 9', then multiply that by 40', and divide by two, so you have the base area of the swimming pool. Simply multiply the result with 20 to get the whole volume of the swimming pool. Kayau Voting IS evil 13:12, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

This sounds like homework, let's not help too much.--SPhilbrickT 13:26, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Infobox question...

In the "Swimming" infobox, there is a centered label for "size," as can be seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ddbruce

The top infobox has three centered labels with faint lines underneath.

How do I make these centered labels in a regular infobox?

Thank you, ddbruce —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ddbruce (talk • contribs) 14:00, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

{{Infobox swimming pool}}, like most other info boxes, makes use of the {{Infobox}} template to get its work done. The parameters to {{Infobox}} are taken three at a time, eg header5, label5, data5. If you look at the source for {{Infobox swimming pool}}, you'll see that it uses label8 + data8 to get the word "Owner" as a label and, say, "D Bruce" as the text next to it. But for the "Size" it uses header23 and omits both label23 and data23, and this gets you a centred heading.

Centred Heading
Label at the left	Text at the right

...but before you get carried away, remember that you are going to need reliable sources to demonstrate that the Senator P. Eugene Casey Memorial Pool meets the general notability guidelines. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:24, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Looking for a third opinion about revision to Rick Scott page

Over the weekend I discussed a change I proposed to the Wikipedia article for Rick Scott with another editor, but I'm at a bit of an impasse. What I would like to do is replace this paragraph:

In April 1987, while a partner at Johnson & Swanson, Scott, along with two former executives of the Republic Health Corporation, a Dallas-based hospital chain, made a $3.8 billion all-cash offer to purchase the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). HCA's board rejected the offer.

It's not technically wrong, but it was the first try on Mr. Scott's part to buy HCA, which he later succeeded in doing. So here is the expanded version I have suggested:

In April 1987, Scott made his first attempt to buy the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). While still a partner at Johnson & Swanson, Scott formed the HCA Acquisition Company with two former executives of Republic Health Corporation, Charles Miller and Richard Ragsdale. With financing from Citicorp conditional on acquisition of HCA, the proposed holding company offered $3.85 billion for 80 million shares at $47 each, intending to assume an additional $1.2 billion in debt, for a total $5 billion deal. However, HCA declined the offer, and the bid was withdrawn.

I've kept all the existing sources and included some new ones, including the Washington Post and Associated Press. The other editor I spoke with does not seem very opposed to the change, but didn't think the new material added much. I disagree with that, as I explained on the talk page there, Mr. Scott made the deal with two executives from a corporation he had previously worked with in a big sale (Republic Health). In addition, the offer was not rejected outright, but considered and then declined. And of course, HCA did later agree to be bought by Mr. Scott.

I did not make the edits directly because I do have a financial relationship to Mr. Scott, and then having read WP:COI before I approached this page, I want to be very careful. I'd like to make this page more informative and better-written overall, but I seem to have got stuck here. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of activity on that Talk page, so it has just been myself and this other editor so far. I'd appreciate it if somebody here looked at the proposed material, and if you agree it meets Wikipedia's criteria and is worthy of inclusion, please make the change or signal your consent on the Talk page. Thanks in advance. Thirteenth Florida (talk) 16:01, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

To blog, or not to blog

When, if ever, can a blog be Wikipedia acceptable when it comes to using it as a reference? I want to use this interview with an author, which has been taken verbatim from the teensreadtoo.com website and used within a writing blog (with full credit given).[6]--Onthemap (talk) 16:08, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

The guideline is here. As I understand it, you can cite the interview as a source of information, but you need to provide, in addition, independent sources to establish that the author is notable. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:25, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Cheers John. Many thanks for the info. I want to do an article on his book, rather than the author, but i needed to know if I could cite the interview as a ref.--Onthemap (talk) 17:15, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

prob with article

hi, im a fan of the northern irish band "Therapy?" I know there is an entry for the band as it shows a blurb of the article on google but when i try to access the page i am redirected to the main article on the word Therapy with no disambiguation page? Is this an error or has the page been removed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.132.139.229 (talk) 16:53, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

That's odd. Therapy? is still there, and when I type "Therapy?" into the search box that's where I end up. But I've added a hatnote to Therapy so that it's easier to find next time. -- John of Reading (talk) 17:12, 19 July 2010 (UTC)