Wikipedia:New contributors' help page/questions

This help forum has been discontinued. New contributors will instead be made welcome at the Wikipedia:Teahouse, a friendly place to help new editors become accustomed to Wikipedia culture, ask questions, and develop community relationships.

There is an extensive Archive of old questions from 2004 onwards.

January 1

Can someone help me please?

I have been trying my hardest to create an article on the author Joanna Clapps Herman and I believe that I am almost there, I just need some help. I don't really understand what I have done wrong in creating this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/Joanna_Clapps_Herman is there anyone willing to help me correct the mistakes?

Thank you so much in advance, this really means a lot to me! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.43.135.46 (talk) 00:48, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

See WP:CITE for how to format citations; WP:PROF for our standards of academic notability; and WP:BLP for our rules about biographies of living people. --Orange Mike | Talk 04:42, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Creating new entry

Hello,

We have been trying to upload an entry for London's original print fare held yearly at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Unfortunately it seems that our entry gets declined, even though we do not include information that could be considered promotional and we have tried to use as many external links and references as we considered appropriate.

We would appreciate it if you could look into our article entry.

Specific feedback as to why our entry has been deleted would be very helpful.

Our account user name is we_are_tsp.

Thank you in advance, Athina— Preceding unsigned comment added by We are tsp (talk • contribs)

Hi Athina. I'm afraid there are some serious issues here:

• London Original Print Fair was deleted as a copyright infringement because it was apparently taken verbatim from a copyrighted external site. Wikipedia can't accept copyright material, so material like this will always be deleted.
• Your username and comments here suggest that your user account is shared between a number of people. This is not permitted per WP:NOSHARE - each account must represent an individual, and editing on behalf of a group or organization (maybe this one?)is also not permitted (see WP:CORPNAME). Whatever the tone of an article, editing on behalf of an organization is considered a conflict of interest on Wikipedia. Gonzonoir (talk) 11:28, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

I would like to provide some pictures for the Elwood Engel page on Wikipedia

Can you tell me how I would add some pictures of cars that Elwood Engel was instrumental in designing?

Thanks,

163.192.12.207 (talk) 20:31, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Are they pictures that you have found on the internet? If so they are likely to be copyrighted and therefore not eligible to be uploaded to Wikipedia (unless an argument can be made that they meet all of the non-free content criteria). If you took the pictures yourself, please see the following standard advice:

• If you want to add an existing image to an article, add [[File:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text.]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information.
• If you want to upload an image from your computer for use in an article, you must determine the proper license of the image (or whether it is in the public domain). If you know the image is public domain or copyrighted but under a suitable free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). If you are unsure of the licensing status, see the file upload wizard for more information. Please also read Wikipedia's image use policy. I hope this helps.Template:Z40 – ukexpat (talk) 20:35, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

trouble finding out about where I go to address my page violation

I need to talk to someone about my page "Glendora, CA School Board" to find out why I can not use the information from the Board website as the board is a public organization and owned by the community. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dlimiller (talk • contribs) 21:02, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

It is almost certainly copyrighted material. The fact that the Board is a public body does not mean that it does not own the copyright to the content of its website. Unless the content is specifically released into the public domain or pursuant to a license acceptable for use on Wikipedia, we cannot use it. Even if it is so released or licensed, it is unlikely to be sufficiently neutral in tone to be OK if copied and pasted as is - the whole point of websites like that is to promote the organisation to some degree. Please take a look at WP:COPYVIO, WP:IOWN and WP:NPOV. Hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 21:08, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

You can also talk to me, as I'm the one that deleted it. I've responded at your talk page.--SPhilbrickT 21:37, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Disclaimer to existing content

The material to which I wish to add a disclaimer covers the Turner Diaries. As a member society of the American Turners I wish to add “American Turners and its affiliated Districts and Societies across the U.S. are in no way associated with or espouse the statements contained in any publication or reference to a publication entitled “The Turner Diaries”.” As an organization having German roots, we highly object to the author's use of the Turner name as we have never had any anti-American, neo-Nazi, or other political association. Is it possible for this disclaimer to be included in the materials listed as Turner Diaries? Thank you. Carole Kulzer Brennan President, Los Angeles Turners, Inc. 174.145.84.245 (talk) 22:01, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but this would not be possible. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and does not include such disclaimers in articles. TNXMan 22:55, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Concur with Tnxman307. See Wikipedia:No disclaimers in articles for the official guideline. -- œ^™ 10:09, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

I must (regretfully) point out that Turnvater Jahn was not without antisemitic sentiments (although Peter Viereck's Metapolitics: The Roots of the Nazi Mind has been pretty thoroughly discredited in its attacks on the Turnvereinen). --Orange Mike | Talk 20:52, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

February 2

backlogs?

I saw that there is a backlog drive happening on Wikipedia, and I'm not sure that I get what your supposed to do. Are you supposed to go to a category (i.e. Lacking Sources, Expansion, etc) and fix all the articles in that category? Or something else? Thanks for helping, and I hope this makes sense. --Thekmc (talk) 02:15, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

That's exactly it! You don't have to fix all of them, though, but you are certainly invited to fix a few. One thing I used to do was press the "random article" button and see if there was anything I could fix on the article that appeared. TNXMan 03:25, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Yup, you're a Random Page Patroller. :) -- œ^™ 10:05, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for helping. That clears it up. --Thekmc (talk) 20:22, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Deleting no-longer-pertinent material

Is it possible to delete material from an article? For instance, the Mariposa Folk Festival page has a section titled 2008 Lineup, which places too much emphasis on a particular year in the festival's lengthy history, especially in the context of 2011.---- — Preceding unsigned comment added by Orilliaguy (talk • contribs) 18:54, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

I've actually trimmed a lot of material from the article. Please note that material added to Wikipedia needs to be reliably sourced to independent third-party publications (this rules out press releases, fansites, etc.). Wikipedia also should not be used to promote events. TNXMan 19:04, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

possible deletion

I got a message saying my page might be deleted, because it lacked sources,(jan 27) I just want to check that I have fulfulled the requirement now. There are about 30 sources and i dont think I have said much on the page that i havent given a verifiable source for, so i hope so.ThanksDecoupage (talk) 22:59, 2 February 2011 (UTC)DecoupageDecoupage (talk) 22:59, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

It (Gregory Motton) looks like it has plenty of sources. I see no reason for anyone to delete it because you don't have enough sources. However (a little off topic), I did notice that you put a link in the middle of the biography section. You should probably make an External Links section, rather than putting them in the middle of the article. --Thekmc (talk) 23:31, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

(ec) It would have been helpful if you had told us which page you were talking about: I take it it is Gregory Motton. It looks quite good now, on a quick scan, and I see that User:DGG removed the 'prod' notice on 31st.

However, I notice that the last paragraph of the 'Biography' section (about Helping Themselves) contains some possibly contentious statements and is unreferenced apart from the book which is the subject of the paragraph. These statements must be sourced or removed. --ColinFine (talk) 23:36, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks.Could you tell me which statements you mean? If its the ones about public school origins of certain writers, which is a claim that book makes, should i show evidence for the books claims?(in other words research it myself? I didnt want to drive the point home here, just describe what the book says. Thanks for your help.===decoupage=== — Preceding unsigned comment added by Decoupage (talk • contribs) 10:26, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

February 3

Help with being G11 deleted when I based entry on related school.

Hi folks,

I am interested in learning how I can have my school, Guru Digital Arts College, be included in Wikipedia. Apparently, my entry was deleted (with no explanation) as a G11 entry (advertising). That's fine, but I am confused. I found a similar school to mine (Vancouver Film School) and used it as a base for my entry. So, help me understand (beyond their's being a bigger, older school) why I have been handed a G11 deletion when other schools are included.

Thanks for any help you can share. I am eager to get this right, and if I know what to do differently, I will happily do it!

I would like to contact Ironholds directly, but I can't seem to figure out the manner to do this.

All the best, Owen — Preceding unsigned comment added by Owen.brierley (talk • contribs) 02:42, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

To contact Ironholds directly, go to User talk:Ironholds and click "new section" (near top of the page) and write your message there.

As far as your article goes, I can't read it because it's been deleted, but if it was deleted as G11, that means its tone was promotional. It's not just about whether an article is notable (this link goes to Wikipedia's notability policy), but also whether its tone is appropriate. See Wikipedia:Advertising and Wikipedia:Tone for more infermation.

G11 refers to one of Wikipedia's criteria for speedy deletion. That link has a bit more info on that. For general Wikipedia deletion policy, see Wikipedia:Deletion.

Also, you should really read Wikipedia:COI, or conflict of interest, which talks about what to do if you're personally involved with the subject of an article (like if you're the subject of the article, or your friend is, or your school is, or your TV show is). I hope this helps! Write on User talk:Cymru.lass with any more questions you have or put {{helpme}} on your talkpage (User talk:Owen.brierley) followed by a description of your problem. --- c y m r u . l a s s ^{(talk me, stalk me)} 05:27, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Blue Heron images to donate

I would like too donate bird images; new Blue Heron and Snowy White Egrits...(a few I am keeping. ) I have posted only two things, one was wrong. So I think I want to ask before submitting.

You never delete what images are there, do you?

What size jpeg do you need?

You want me too change the copy right to :(share, share alike) ? They are all rights reserved..some have been taken on flickr without permission.

Carol Koceja — Preceding unsigned comment added by Carol Koceja (talk • contribs) 08:04, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

I have taken the liberty of reformatting your message. Blank spaces at the beginning of a line have a significant effect on the formatting. It is wise to use the "Show preview" button to check your message before saving. Another point is that on discussion pages such as this you should sign your post with 4 tildes ~~~~ or with the signature button. I'll leave others to answer your question. - David Biddulph (talk) 08:35, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

• You can replace an image in an article if you can supply a better one, but if there is a chance this might be controversial, or if you make the change and someone reverts it, you should discuss on the article's talk page. See WP:BRD.

• A good starting point is Wikipedia:Image use policy. Taken from that page:

"Before you upload an image, make sure that either:

You own the rights to the image (usually meaning that you created the image yourself).

You can prove that the copyright holder has licensed the image under an acceptable free license.

You can prove that the image is in the public domain.

or

You believe, and state, a non-free use rationale for the specific use of the image that you intend.

Images that are listed as for non-commercial use only, by permission, or which restrict derivatives are unsuitable for Wikipedia and will be deleted on sight, unless they are used under an appropriate non-free use rationale."

So, you would have to look at each image you want to upload, where you got it from and what rights are reserved by the copyright holder, and work out whether it's allowable to donate them under any of the above conditions.

• Guidance for size is here. You can't upload a file of more than 100Mb. Copyrighted images used under a fair use rationale should be low resolution - guidance via the above link. - Karenjc 10:26, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Blog Linking

I read in the guidelines that links to blogs are not accepted, but I have seen quite a few blog links here. I would like to know if blogs are not accepted then why does any of the blog is linked in wikipedia and if some blogs are linked then why is my blog rejected everytime.Manuchhabra4 (talk) 10:43, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Blogs are very rarely considered reliable sources, and thus should be avoided as references - they usually do not have a "reputation for fact-checking and accuracy". There are, of course, exceptions. If in doubt, ask on the reliable sources noticeboard.

It is occasionally acceptable, however, to have a blog linked in the special "External links" section at the very end of an article, as long as it provides information about the subject which it would not otherwise be possible to add to the article. See WP:EL.

There are very few strict rules on Wikipedia; in the event of any dispute, the answer is to discuss any suggestion on the article's talk page.  Chzz  ►  10:46, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

How can I contribute by translating an article on a different language?

I have found that many articles are not translated... how can I contribute by translating them??Centuryltd (talk) 15:45, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Generally by jumping in! We do have some more formal guidelines listed on this page that you may find useful as well. If you have questions as you go, just post here. TNXMan 15:53, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

(e/c) If you mean translating from another language into English then you would just create the article here (I will leave some helpful links on your talk page); if you mean translating articles from English for other language Wikipedias, you would create new articles on those other Wikipedias. You will find the full list here. Hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 15:55, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

February 4

Addition to Horticultual Books article

How can I add the name of the annual Herb of the Year Book (HOrseradish in 2011), Inernational Herb Association publication to the article on Horticultural Books? Ann Sprayregen —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.224.6.124 (talk) 17:49, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Why would you? It seems highly unlikely that it would be notable enough to be added to the article (see WP:BOOK). --Orange Mike | Talk 20:54, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Woodburning Stove - The Reverse Process

Hello:

Yesterday I thought I filled out my entry by logging in with a Username and a Pass Word. I did some reading, then ventured to start my first Entry. I spent over an hour writing details explaining my 'Invention/Application' of my 'Woodburning, Reverse Process Stove' (1978 Harrowsmith Country Life feature article) etc.

I tried to find an obvious button to 'Edit' the article, to fix some spelling mistakes etc, but got very confused. NOTHING seemed obvious, and I gave up.

I now understand that all is lost, that I seem to not even be registered as UN: Gopoco (with a PW) I am thoroughly discouraged and may not pursue this any further, finding the site HUGELY User-UN-friendly. I have been online for over 10 years now. I had a portal created (----------) and feel to know something about USER FRIENDLINESS. I am finding the Wikipedia experience hugely convoluted and awkward; little seems obvious.

If you can help me, I will try again. Remember, to those of you who KNOW, it all may seem clear and easy. To Newbies, it is another matter.. Thank you, --Gopoco (talk) 20:01, 4 February 2011 (UTC) Gopoco — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gopoco (talk • contribs) 19:47, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

• Well, there are a couple of things I should explain/point out. The edit button for articles is at the top of the page. The page which you created yesterday, Wood Burning Stove - The Reverse Process was deleted. The reason for this is given as not enough context to identify the subject. You should also note that Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought - your work must be covered in reliable sources before it has an article here. You may want to read our guide to writing your first article and if you have questions as you go, feel free to post here. I know things can be confusing as you get started, but this desk is here to help. TNXMan 19:55, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

• Did you read your replies at the help desk? Also on your talk page there's a user offering to help you. There's a list of editors willing to provide assistance here. And another list of editors willing to adopt new users here. The Wikipedia tutorial you may also find useful. If you would take the time to look around you would find there are many many user-friendly resources available. -- œ^™ 20:03, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

I CLICKED THE 'EDIT' BUTTON TO SAY "THANKS" FOR YOUR INPUT. AN ARRAY OF OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gopoco (talk • contribs) 20:05, 4 February 2011 (UTC) LASTLY, I AM 'BOOKMARKING' THIS PAGE WITH THE HOPE I CAN RETURN TO IT AT SOME POINT; HOPE THAT WORKS... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gopoco (talk • contribs) 20:08, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

A reminder of something you were told earlier; please sign your posts, either with 4 tildes ~~~~ or with the signature button above the edit pane. Also please stop SHOUTING. - David Biddulph (talk) 21:10, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Adding a footnote

I have placed a quote in an article. I added the book title to the bibliography, but cannot get the footnote to add correctly at the end of the article. Consequntly I have left the footnote at the end of the section. Any assistance appreciated.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.171.243.187 (talk • contribs)

Does Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners help? – ukexpat (talk) 21:44, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

February 5

picture uploading

how do i upload a picture? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.235.212.194 (talk) 00:31, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Uploading images should help. Afterwards, also read Wikipedia:Picture tutorial. -- œ^™ 01:12, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

a world of my own

I am the CEO of GDC Game and Download Company AG. We are operating www.awomo.com since December 2010. The article is about a world of my own which intended to be a virtual world selling games. we as the operator of awomo.com don't have the intention to create this virtual world, we are just using the download technology. Therefore I would ask you to change the articlesw name into awomo.com which also will be the new brand we are designing right now.

thank you

Nils L.R. Herrnberger

91.19.95.179 (talk) 05:53, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

I have requested that the article be changed to AWOMO. I would have done it myself, but I couldn't figure it out, so you'll have to wait for an administrator to move it. --Thekmc (talk) 18:57, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Just an update: It has been moved to Awomo. --Thekmc (talk) 23:35, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

image fair use question

I made a smaller version of a logo, because it had a tag (template?) that said it needed to be shrunk. I uploaded it and such, but the old logos are still available in the file history section. Do I need to delete these old versions? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thekmc (talk • contribs) 15:15, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

File:IPH logo.png (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

I've edited the file page. It is now flagged so that an administrator will remove the old versions. Notice that DASHBot, a software bot, had already shrunk the image for you. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:56, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

It still had a template on it that said to shrink it. Do bots not remove those or something? --Thekmc (talk) 16:04, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

That's interesting - in these these two edits the bot got confused. See how the edit summaries don't match the edits the bot actually made? I'll alert the bot owner. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:17, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

February 6

Who Is Watching?

Is it possible to see a list of who is watching a particular page?

(I am guessing that the answer is either "no" or "admins only", because vandals would find the ability to identify unwatched pages useful). Guy Macon 03:47, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

It's possible to see how many users are watching a particular page using this tool (but only if the number is above 30, because of the vandal/useful issue you mention), but there's no way of finding out which user is watching a particular page. In addition there's Special:UnwatchedPages but it's not very helpful. -- œ^™ 04:26, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

February 7

Auto-confirmation

Please explain auto-confirmation etc. re editing - how does one get auto-confirmation status? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Robfwoods (talk • contribs) 03:28, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Auto-confirmation allows you to edit semi-protected pages and upload images, among other things. You can read more on this page. Your account needs to be at least four days old and to have made at least ten edits to be autoconfirmed. TNXMan 03:51, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Mahesh Babu

i have recently edited a file mahesh babu without loging in.the changes are saved temporarily but not permanently.the immediate day or after 2 days from when i am editing,the changes i made are removed.the changes i made are true and i didn't even use any sort of unparliamentary words. y cant my changes to this article cant be stored??? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Madhumithra (talk • contribs) 13:54, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Mahesh Babu (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Looking at the article history, I see that several recent edits were undone because no source was given. Anyone reading a Wikipedia article must be told where the information has come from - see verifiability and citing sources. -- John of Reading (talk) 14:15, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

editing

i cant put an image in wikipedia how do i have to do that??? it says that im trying to make a link to another website!? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.22.200.80 (talk) 16:46, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

• If you want to add an existing image to an article, add [[File:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text.]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information.
• If you want to upload an image from your computer for use in an article, you must determine the proper license of the image (or whether it is in the public domain). If you know the image is public domain or copyrighted but under a suitable free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). If you are unsure of the licensing status, see the file upload wizard for more information. Please also read Wikipedia's image use policy. I hope this helps.Template:Z40

Please also note that you'll need an account in order to upload images - registration is free and only takes a moment! TNXMan 16:49, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Upload - pictures

How can i upload a picture to a page i have created? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nockerrsss (talk • contribs) 22:53, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Hi there - please see the response to the post directly above yours, and let us know if you have further questions. Gonzonoir (talk) 08:57, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

February 8

Malicious editing

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

A new user who created an account 3 days ago, HughLindblad, has been heavily editing the article related to the Global Fund with negative and unsubstantiated comments that clearly aim to tarnish the reputation of this organization.

• How can I know who this HughLindblad is and get in touch with him/her? Can you help me with resolving this?

• I do work for the Global Fund myself. Does that automatically disqualify me as a user who doesn't have a neutral point of view or can I or any of my colleagues edit this article in good faith and with proper references?

Many thanks Rbourgoing (talk) 10:09, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

You can reach that user by posting on his user page at User talk:HughLindblad. As for your second question, please read WP:COI - with a COI it is virtually impossible for you to edit with a neutral POV no matter how hard you try. So please use the article's talk page to discuss the content. Hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 14:33, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Reverting vandalism is explicitly listed as one of the 'non-controversial' edits which may be made by people with a COI; however it is not clear that HughLindblad's edits can fairly be treated as vandalism (despite his lack of sources and of editing comments), so it would be better to treat it as a content dispute and discuss it on the talk page.

Question

Hello -

Tom Krause is a motivational speaker, teacher/coach, author, poet. Many of his "life quotes" appear on the internet on numerous sites. Most were found after appearing in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE TEENAGE SOUL III book was published a few years back. These sites are listing his birthday as 1934. They are confusing him with the Tom Krause listed on Wikipedia who is a opera singer born in 1934. Tom Krause the motivational speaker and author of many life quotes was born in 1957. Is there anything that can be done to straighten out this confusion?

Thank You TomKrause50 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 16:23, 8 February 2011 (UTC).

Not much really, except for people to read Tom Krause more carefully before using the facts contained therein. If the motivational speaker (you?) is/becomes notable per WP:BIO and someone (not you) writes an article about him, the confusion can be dissipated by using a hatnote. – ukexpat (talk) 16:27, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

re: nicholas anelka

i just noticed that nicholas anelka's appearances in the small box under his picture on the top of the page are way off and dont quite know how to change them can you guys rectify this. i dont know how many games he has played for chelsea and bolton but its definately not in the 400's. thanks68.13.179.180 (talk) 18:07, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

I have rolled back the edit that changed those numbers, looked fishy to me. – ukexpat (talk) 19:06, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Article translation

I want to contribute to Wikipedia, but I find it very difficult to get started with. I just want to translate an existing English article to Portuguese and then edit it. How can I do this?

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Drodrigues11 (talk • contribs) 23:14, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

You would do that by going to Portugese Wikipedia and creating the article there. – ukexpat (talk) 01:51, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

February 9

Vandalism

I've got a irratating friend, who after I told him about editting wikipedia, went on a vandalism spree and also my user page. He got banned, but may I ask if I could lock my own user page to be editted only by me?Ysjzysn (talk) 08:53, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

You can request protection here. With only one vandal edit so far, though, you may find that the request is turned down. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:16, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

on having my article reviewed

I recently published my first article and requested feedback.Can you please let me know how long it usually takes and if the person that will review it will remove the notice that currently appears on the article that says 'this is an unreviewed article etc'Thank you Nasialag (talk) 13:01, 9 February 2011 (UTC)nasialg

IANOS (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

It may take a week or two. Like everything else at Wikipedia, the Requests for feedback page relies on volunteer effort. Yes, the person reviewing the article will remove the "unreviewed" tag. -- John of Reading (talk) 13:15, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

I have reviewed and made some formatting edits. I have also tagged it with some maintenance templates that should be self-explanatory. Also, none of the images have copyright tags so I have tagged them accordingly. Source and copyright details must be added to each of them otherwise they will be deleted. Hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 16:28, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Image Licence

I have uploaded an image for a wikipedia page however I am being told it is not licenced. I had selected one when I uploaded it but have since edited the image to use a smaller one so that may be why the licence is no longer there. It is telling me I need to add one or it will be deleted but I cannot work out how to. If anyone could help I'd be extremely grateful! AndAllThatJazz175 (talk) 14:40, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

You need to add a licence so that everyone knows what rights you wish to retain in the image. The choices are listed here; the usual choices seem to be {{PD-user-en|AndAllThatJazz175}} and {{tp|cc-by-3.0}}. Choose one, then go to the file page at Commons, click "Edit" at the top and replace the "no licence" tag with your chosen license. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:44, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Editing Problem

Whenever I go to edit a page, it no longer shows the toolbar at the top to make things bold, italic, etc. How can I get this back? Thanks in advance. --Thekmc (talk) 16:41, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

It's probably related to the recent software update. Please bypass your cache and let us know if that fixed it. – ukexpat (talk) 16:55, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

That hasn't fixed it. I've cleared the cache, and reset the entire browser. Not working still. --Thekmc (talk) 17:41, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Update: I've figure it out. I had disabled some stuff because it was slowing the browser down. Enabling them fixed the problem. Thanks! --Thekmc (talk) 17:41, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

How to get an article from my Talk Page into Wikipedia

Being unfamiliar with the ways of Wikipedia, I attempted to create an article (about an electronic hand held device that measures solar exposure of a physical site and its attendant shading obstructions). I think it's on my Talk Page. I got some feedback, made some changes, and now want to post it to Wikipedia. I seem to be getting sent in circles about how this is done.

Can someone please give me the correct steps to do this? Also, please notify me on my Talk Page.

Many thanks, Matt. Mrmaguire (talk) 18:38, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

It's actually on your user page at User:Mrmaguire. At the moment however, it reads like an advertisement for the product and that is not permitted. It it is moved to the mainspace it will be speedily deleted. It also appears to be a copyright violation of this page and so I have tagged it for deletion as such. We cannot accept material in violation of copyright.  – ukexpat (talk) 19:00, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

If you want to have another go at creating the article, I have created a user sandbox for you at User:Mrmaguire/Sandbox and put a link to it on your userpage. – ukexpat (talk) 20:46, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Geography - International Geographical Union -

On the list of the Secretaries-General of the International Geographical Union my name was misspelled.It should read Kosiński. Leszek A.Kosiński —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.49.129.215 (talk) 19:02, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

I've changed it, but you could have done so yourself. Wikipedia is the encyclopaedia that anyone can edit. Correcting a mistake, and one that is verifiable, WP:COI wouldn't have been a problem. - David Biddulph (talk) 19:09, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Missing capital letter of the last name

Hello, A new article I wrote is titled "Gidi avivi" instead of "Gidi Avivi". How can I fix it? Thank you!Viceversa.int (talk) 21:06, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

The tab to select is "Move". I've done it for you. - David Biddulph (talk) 21:09, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

February 11

Hijacked

My account was just hijacked by someone, who used it to vandalize. Though I did revert it, how may I actually prove that I did not do it? Ysjzysn (talk) 05:26, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Just don't do it again, and don't worry about it. Now you know not to leave yourself logged in where other people can use your computer. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:40, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

help

I'v been repeatly vandalized on my user page, but I seem to have trouble to requesting for protecton, so can someone help me?Ysjzysn (talk) 06:02, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

The vandals have both now been blocked, which hopefully resolves the problem for now, but for future reference you can request userpage protection (per WP:UPROT) at Requests for Page Protection. Gonzonoir (talk) 08:55, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Editing changes attributed to me that I didn't make

Greetings,

I made a spelling change to one word [immunised-->immunized] in the article MMR Vaccine Controversy. However, another WP member later chastised me for making extensive changes that they had to reverse: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MMR_vaccine_controversy&diff=411604581&oldid=411555197 That member said the edit looked "like it was semi-automated". Although I find the term "semi-automated" used in many WP documents, I can't find a definition for it. What does it mean?

I am at a loss to explain all those changes that have been attributed to me. As noted, I made a minor change to the spelling of 1 word and so noted it. The other changes are indeed extensive and very incisive in places. The larger blocks of deletions respects whole sentences. If my highlight button had gotten stuck and somehow deleted all that copy, the deletion would probably have been ragged, leaving half sentences. And it certainly would not explain the precise changes made within intact paragraphs.

So, is there an explanation - perhaps two members saving the page simultaneously? I am an adamant supporter of immunization who is extremely uncomfortable being associated with sabotaging this article.

If I did manage to make all those changes while correcting the spelling of a single word, then WP is way too complex for me to ever attempt to edit again. I'll leave quietly.

Thank you, Wordreader (talk) 06:05, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm not aware of any bug in Wikipedia ever attributing such intricate changes where they didn't happen. By "semi-automated" he was referring to changes that a program applies automatically while a user is intentionally editing the page (as opposed to completely manual, where you type every change; or fully automated, where you're not even at your computer). But anyway, what's wierd is that the changes are to multiple sections, instead of all being in one place. Are you running any kind of browser plugins that automatically edit the content of input boxes? I know the skype extension and some others do things like that. But again, I'm not aware of any that do exactly what I see in that diff. Someguy1221 (talk) 06:16, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Wow! That was a rapid response! I'm not saying the editing changes didn't happen, but that they weren't done by me except for the word "immunised". At least not done knowingly; I think that due to the precision of some of those changes, I don't see how I could have made the edits unwittingly. Regarding input box editing, I'm guessing...no? Rather than re-type my response to the WP member who offered that correction to me, it's here, next to the bottom of the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:2over0 . Is there another place where I should be inquiring about this technical problem? Thanks, Wordreader (talk) 06:38, 11 February 2011 (UTC) [Looked at your member page - I miss Pluto, too.]

Your problem is that you didn't start your edit from the version which was current when you made the edit on 2 Feb, but instead started with the version from 01:06 on 10 Jan. This diff confirms it, and shows that in doing so you accidentally reverted the 46 changes which had been done to the article in the intervening 3 weeks. - David Biddulph (talk) 08:22, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

PS: Thanks for letting member 2/0 know what happened. Wordreader (talk) 00:42, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

For reference on avoiding such a problem in future: when you click to edit an old version of a page, a pink box should appear directly above the editing field reading "You are editing an old revision of this page. If you save it, any changes made since then will be removed." (You can see it here, for example.) That box doesn't appear if you're editing the latest version of the page, so you can check for its presence to establish whether you're on the newest version. Gonzonoir (talk) 08:38, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Thank you David Biddulph and Gonzonoir for solving this mystery. I am totally befuddled that this could have happened (who knew that one could edit a previous version of an article - talk about revisionist history!!!). I am completely embarrassed that such destructive changes to that article are now attached to my account. It's obvious to me that Wikipedia is far too complex a minefield for a beginner to touch. I'll stick to reading articles and leave the editing to experienced experts. Shamefacedly, Wordreader (talk) 00:23, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

International Christian University High School

Hello, I would like to create a new article for the International Christian University High School in Koganei, Tokyo, Japan. Should I create a new article or add on a section to the International Christian University article? --Mako333 (talk) 10:10, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

The criterion for whether articles should be created or not is notability; however, there has been disagreement as to whether high schools are automatically notable or not, and I don't believe that a consensus has emerged. Myself, I would advise that you be cautious, and create an article only if you can locate the sources required to establish notability; otherwise create a section in another article as appropriate.

Whether you decide to create an article or not, make sure that everything you write is referenced to reliable sources (but does not violate their copyright by copying text verbatim). --ColinFine (talk) 17:39, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

I was accused of creating an inappropriate page which I DID NOT CREATE

I have been accused of creating the article Agency Worker Regulations 2010. I DID NOT create this article. I followed a link in a mail sent to me from a company offering work from home. I performed domain searches on the company and found that they are fraudulent and phishing for personal information, the type of work they are offering targets vulnerable people such as young mothers, the elderly, the disabled and so I added text to the ALREADY EXISTING ARTICLE to the effect of a warning to prevent others from giving away personal information such as bank account details. I am Mortified to be accused of this and I want an apology.

This is THE LINK ADDRESS:

Ctrl-click to open hyperlink: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agency_Worker_Regulations_2010&action=edit&redlink=1

The link was in this paragraph of a pseudo application form:

4. BENEFITS Company benefits shall include: 4.1 Agency Worker Regulations 2010 4.2 Annual stock options 4.3 Child daycare assistance 4.4 Education assistance 4.5 Health, dental, life and disability insurance 4.6 Sick leave 4.7 Vacation and personal days 4.8 Money from company side for all purposes related to the job: Internet, cell phone, training, bank fees and taxes.

Katsapa (talk) 13:03, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

I was taken in by the mail to the point of opening a new bank account as they were convincing and I decided to check their domains before I sent my details to them. The domain search clearly showed that they use multiple addresses, the domain was only registered in February 2011, the owner of the domain was the same person who in the mail was said to be in the HR department. A search on a domain used on a contact email address within the domain registry search of the original company name revealed that instead of being based in US the origin was in Melbourne Australia. I reported them and sent ALL MY SEARCH DETAILS to law enforcement and fraud investigators in both countriesKatsapa (talk) 13:30, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

IF YOU ARE READING THIS AS THE SENDER OF THE MAIL I RECEIVED OFFERING WORK FROM HOME ----THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU

Okay, you are understandably annoyed right now, so please take a deep breath, calm down, and read the following carefully:

1. No one is accusing you of anything. The notice placed on your talk page is a standard template notice. It is just there to let you know that an article that you appeared to create has been nominated for speedy deletion.
2. If you are not happy with that notice for any reason then you first need to discuss this with the editor who placed it and signed it. Put a note on their talk page - and then give them at least 24 hours to reply. Wikipedia editors are not online all the time !
3. Bear in mind that all of this is very probably due to a simple misunderstanding. We have a gudeline called "assume good faith" which contains useful advice on interacting with other editors in this type of situation.
4. Also, remember that Wikipedia has no connection at all with the person who sent you the original e-mail - anyone can put a link to a Wikipedia page in an e-mail. It sounds as if the sender of your e-mail was using random links to Wikipedia pages to try to make their e-mail more convincing. Gandalf61 (talk) 13:49, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Hiya gandalf and thanks for answering.

Yes thats why I didn't ask for the article to be deleted because if its some kind of applet that creates it when you click on the link, then even if deleted it could appear again. I thought that it was better to leave some text saying that it was from a link in an illegal phishing mail.

The thing is that I have been a member of the Wiki for over 2 years and have really enjoyed it. I love finding titbits of info and adding them to articles. I opened my talk to a message saying Please don't make inappropriate articles and I admit I was absolutely Furious. However I don't stay angry for long so it's wearing off now I've made my rants. :) Katsapa (talk) 13:57, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

missing word

Under TRINE, the phrase "but it can be indicative of tension, conflict or confrontation, due to the between the two signs involved" is obviously missing a word. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.40.236.134 (talk) 22:39, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Astrological aspect (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Thank you for catching that. The word "polarity" was deleted without explanation in this edit, and I've restored the sentence. I wonder what it means? -- John of Reading (talk) 10:35, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

February 12

updating urls

Hi all,

I have the problem described in this post, but am not clear on how to apply a solution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Bots/Requests_for_approval/Erik9bot_5

Like the Irish times, as mentioned in this post, my news website has changed its url. How do I update the 2,000+ links to my site in Wikipedia?

Apparently this fix was created by someone who has been banned so I can't ask him to explain. "This account is a sock puppet of John254 and has been blocked indefinitely."

Thanks much Michelle

Mnicolosi (talk) 08:38, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Hi Mnicolosi. Although I'm not that familiar with bot editing, when someone asked a similar question on the help desk two days ago and I pointed them to the bot requests page, no one leapt up to tell me I was wrong - so I'll point you the same way :) Someone at the bot requests page should be able to point you to an extant bot (like Erik9bot) that can automatically update the URLs, so long as you can demonstrate that the reason's sound. Bots, as you'll have seen from the page you linked, are good at carrying out automated tasks like replacing text using regular expressions. Does this answer your question? Gonzonoir (talk) 20:30, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable, thanks! I'll give it a shot! Thanks much Michelle — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mnicolosi (talk • contribs) 22:59, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Upload a picture

How do i upload a picture, does it have to be on the internet already? Thankyou —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.108.128.243 (talk) 11:01, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

No, before the picture can be used in a Wikipedia article it must be copied/created on your computer so that you can upload it from there. Note that if the picture is already on the Internet it is likely to be protected by copyright. I'll add the standard advice, which contains various links to the "help" pages:

• If you want to add an existing image to an article, add [[File:File name.jpg|thumb|Caption text.]] to the area of the article where you want the image to appear – replacing File name.jpg with the actual file name of the image, and Caption text with a short description of the image. See our picture tutorial for more information.
• If you want to upload an image from your computer for use in an article, you must determine the proper license of the image (or whether it is in the public domain). If you know the image is public domain or copyrighted but under a suitable free-license, upload it to the Wikimedia Commons instead of here, so that all projects have access to the image (sign up). If you are unsure of the licensing status, see the file upload wizard for more information. Please also read Wikipedia's image use policy. I hope this helps.Template:Z40 -- John of Reading (talk) 11:22, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

help!

hi!can any bdy help me abt definition of life.if anybdy know some websites fr live discussions plz tell me.plz its too imprtant119.158.174.54 (talk) 17:07, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia has an article on Life. I suggest you start there. -- John of Reading (talk) 17:16, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

February 13

Ireland

In the document: 'Ireland', certain descriptions are excessive or fanciful. 'Not measureably accurate. But they are protected from editing corrections. How are they to be corrected through editing? Balddricks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Balddricks (talk • contribs) 02:18, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Alma Tadema:

The entire Alma-Tadema Biography and Catalog Raisonne written by Vern Swanson is available here: http://www.artrenewal.org/articles/On-Line_Books/Alma-Tadema/tadema1.php This is on the Art Renewal Center which also features over 150 of his paintings and many at very high resolution.

  Also, "Finding of Moses" just sold for $35,922,000 November 4, 2010 at Sotheby's, New York.

This was a world record price for the artist A world record price for any painting sold in the 19th Century European painting deparment at Sotheby's NY also a world record for the highest price ever paid for a non-Impressionist painting by the Academic artists of the late 19th Century worldwide.

 I am an expert myself, but I think I read that I'm not supposed to leave personal information here.

But you can find me through ARC www.artrenewal.org as the expert on William Bouguereau.98.221.22.50 (talk) 07:34, 13 February 2011 (UTC) Can someone please add this information to the Alma-Tadema page?98.221.22.50 (talk) 07:35, 13 February 2011 (UTC)