Wikipedia:Teahouse

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Help Wikipedia

AfC Help Desk

I submitted some questions to the AfC Help Desk yesterday concerning the rejection of an article I had submitted. I did not save a copy of my questions; how can I retrieve and read what I posted? Johsebb (talk) 13:56, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

You made a post there that is currently under the August 15 header there. Did you hava additional questions? If you had written other questions but they are not there, you will need to post them again. 331dot (talk) 14:04, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. No, I don't have additional questions, but I did want to be able to reread what I wrote. Where do I find the post? I'm afraid I'm not seeing it (I thought I was looking in obvious places). Johsebb (talk) 14:10, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

It's the very first posting under the August 15 header. With the new layout you need to open the table of contents by clicking the symbol to the left of the page title. A direct link is Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation/Help desk#02:37, 15 August 2023 review of submission by Johsebb 331dot (talk) 14:15, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

I gather the page you are referring to is the AfC page, the Help desk sub-page. Clicking on the hamburger to the left of the page title then gives me a list of dates, and I can choose 15 August.

The list of possible dates to choose is rather limited (at the moment, August 10-17). A week from now, I assume the range of dates will no longer include August 15. What would I do then? Johsebb (talk) 20:29, 17 August 2023 (UTC)

Johsebb, the discussion will then be archived. You can search using your username to read the archived discussion, or you can start a new thread if you have new questions. Cullen328 (talk) 20:36, 17 August 2023 (UTC)

And where would I find archived discussions? Sorry, I'm afraid I'm finding Wikipedia rather opaque and unintuitive.

I note that the hamburger icon does not always appear when I go to the AfC page. I don't see anything else to search on. Johsebb (talk) 14:35, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello Johsebb. At the top of the AFCHD page, under "Click here to ask a new question", I see three little links "Skip to today's questions", "Skip to the bottom", "Archived discussion".

If I pick "Archived discussions", it takes me to a page where archives are listed by date, and at the top there is a search box saying "Search the help desk archives"> ColinFine (talk) 11:21, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks -- that's helpful. It appears that the latest archived discussion is July 25. I gather that I'll need to wait until a page has been created for August 15 in order to use this feature. (Searching on my userid doesn't seem to work.)

For the moment I can look at my submission directly, using the link that was provided earlier in this thread. Johsebb (talk) 20:13, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

What are the most pressing problems on English Wikipedia?

Hi everyone. Not exactly a new editor here. I've been on the fringes of the Wikimedia projects since around 2006, just never a part of the "community". I've just recently taken a very strong renewed interest in this project, and I was able to recover this old account from 2008-09.

My question is this: what are 3-5 problems on English Wikipedia that are the most in need of pressing attention? How can a reasonably well-versed editor who's been out of the game for over a decade get involved in addressing these problems in a meaningful and constructive way? Pecopteris (talk) 20:55, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

My biggest pet peeves are one liner stubs and articles with extremely poor citations that look to be mostly oral history. To fix those, we just need to not continue to add unreferenced claims. Seems basic, but I've seen articles with no citations collecting dust under the references header for over 13 years with info still getting added to the body. Also, adding citations is always nice.

A more minor annoyance of mine is smaller design stuff like using a template in the wrong place or bolding instead of using heading code. ✶Mitch199811✶ 21:08, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

1) Check out Wikipedia:Cleanup - there is a huge amount of articles with maintenance tags, many stretching back over a decade. I find the edit suggestions on Special:Homepage a useful way to be directed to articles with maintenance tags.

2) There's also a large backlog on Wikipedia:Articles for creation which means new drafts are sometimes taking over four months to be reviewed. If you meet the criteria you could think of volunteering to be a reviewer? Qcne (talk) 21:42, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

@Pecopteris: The best way to help is to find a task that you enjoy doing and work on that. Check out WP:BACKLOG for some areas of Wikipedia that need some help. RudolfRed (talk) 21:58, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

@Pecopteris: Here's what I see:

1. Rafts of poorly-written/unnotable/unsourced/promotional biographies swamping Articles for Creation and New Pages Patrol – AfC has a backlog of 4.3 K drafts needing review; NPP has 9.2 K unreviewed articles and 12.2 K unreviewed redirects (and rising).
2. Vandalism
3. Lack of sourcing and general unreliability
4. Bad writing, bare URLs, and general sloppiness

Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 15:32, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Yes, I agree that all of those are problems. Especially AfC and bad writing. I'll see what I can do. Thanks. Pecopteris (talk) 15:54, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Just note that you currently have 344 mainspace edits and 738 total edits so you might not be qualified for some things. You might also still want to take a minute to learn Wikipedia's policies as they have changed since this account has last edited. ✶Mitch199811✶ 17:51, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Publications section and external links

Hi, would appreciate advice on this one. I'm looking at the long list of publications in the article Cat Palmer. About half of these are external links. I'm thinking of deleting the whole section per WP:EL and, more generally, because the list does not add anything useful to the article. Does this seem reasonable to others? I realise the article has other issues to do with tone and sourcing, but am just looking at this section at the moment. Thanks. Tacyarg (talk) 21:50, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Tacyarg, my preference would be, yes, get rid of most of them. And while you're there, if you feel up to it, you could put the rest in chronological order, not reverse chronological order: this is an encyclopedia, not a CV/resumé. Maproom (talk) 07:12, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Tacyarg: I took an axe to it and cut out irrelevant, redundant, and unsourced material. There are still assertions that need citations, but I am skeptical that the subject is notable outside of the Salt Lake City area, in which case it would be a candidate for deletion. ~Anachronist (talk) 17:30, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, both. Tacyarg (talk) 18:38, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Question

Do you think this artitoo soon? Lindsay Brewer is Wp:toosoon? 2607:FB91:386:4E2:AD2:DC57:4F1E:9D91 (talk) 22:16, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

It looks like there are a bunch of different sources that have talked about this person. I don't see any merit to considering its removal, if that's what you're suggesting. Pecopteris (talk) 06:36, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Matthew Goodwin again

I previously asked a question at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive_1197#Matthew_Goodwin and was asked to provide sources but never got a response. I've been told to discuss sources on the article talk page but not had a response there either. Now all of the material based on reviews of Goodwin's work has been deleted from the article. Why is it seemingly not allowed for an article to contain (positive and negative) reaction to an academic's work? 148.252.128.55 (talk) 23:01, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello. I can understand your frustration. I had a brief look at the Matthew Goodwin page history. I see that someone recently removed over 15,000 bytes, most of which was, I assume, written by you. My first reaction to this is that 15,000 bytes is an awful lot of space to dedicate to book reviews. I scanned the text that was removed, and one thing that popped out to me was lengthy quotes. While these aren't strictly prohibited, it may be the case that other editors at the Matthew Goodwin page have stylistic concerns with walls of text that large being dedicated to lengthy quotes from reviews of Goodwin's work.

My advice - reach out directly, in good faith, to the people who are reverting you. If you feel that the perspectives you offered are vital for inclusion in the article, I'd suggest trimming them down, very significantly. Stick to a format of "notable book reviewer John Doe described Goodwin's work as 'important'". A few key words from the review, not full sentences or paragraphs.

In general, my recommendation is to always hash these things out on talk pages, and to reach out to editors directly if they're not engaged on the article's talk page. However, please don't be mean or confrontational.

I hope this addresses your concern. Pecopteris (talk) 23:26, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. I've asked the user who deleted it (I didn't write it all). I just don't understand why we wouldn't include reviews of someone's work published in national newspapers and written by prominent people including a former government minister. 148.252.128.42 (talk) 23:37, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia's modus operandi is to summarise what reliable sources say, not to quote them verbatim at great length, which in any case could lead to copyright problems. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.198.140.169 (talk) 03:29, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

It looks like the editor that removed your content had exactly the concern I thought they might have - the quotes are not necessarily unworthy of inclusion altogether, they are simply far too long, and it's unencyclopedic to dedicate half of the encyclopedia entry to them. My advice: try trimming each quote down to a one sentence summary, and add, at most, three of them to the article. Then see how editors react. Pecopteris (talk) 03:48, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

OK I can reduce the use of quotations. I thought it was best to let the sources speak but I can paraphrase and summarize. But I asked Diannaa and she said "We don't normally include book reviews at all in the article about the author" so now I'm confused again. Why wouldn't we include the critical reception of an author's work? Especially when the sources pass comment on the author's politics, not just the content of the work. And if this sort of content isn't allowed then what is J._K._Rowling#Reception? 148.252.132.217 (talk) 08:07, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Pecopteris, could you take a look at my attempt to summarize the sources with fewer quotes and provide me feedback? 148.252.132.217 (talk) 14:10, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

As I pointed out at Diannaa's talk, even after Diannaa's cleanup, the page reads like a promotional personal website. The differences between what is at Goodwin and what is at Rowling are somewhat obvious. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 16:39, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

The editor has now added circa 800 words of quotations from reviews in a new section called "Reception", which is better than before, but not by much in my opinion. I don't appreciate the forum shopping either. — Diannaa (talk) 16:44, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Guys, I'm so confused. I added summaries of largely critical reviews of Goodwin's work and this has been removed in the name of making the article less promotional. Diannaa says above that I added 800 words of quotations but this is simply untrue. After the recommendations I got above, those words were mostly my summaries of the sources. All of the critical sources have now been removed. The article might as well have been written by Goodwin now, apart from the bit about the National Conservatism Conference, which is the only part to reflect the huge amounts of criticism of his agenda that are out there. 84.66.89.167 (talk) 21:11, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Correcting a birthdate and changing a photo

My name is Christopher Britton (actor) and the birthdate on my Wiki page is incorrect. It should read December 23rd, 1948 I would like to upload a more recent photo. BTW I am finding this quite complicated to do this. Christopher Britton Dennis Vine (talk) 02:36, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Dennis Vine (talk) 02:46, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Dennis Vine: See WP:A picture of you for details on uploading a photo of yourself. As for getting your birthdate corrected, I suggest you post a request to that effect on the article talk page. Be sure to provide a WP:reliable source for your birthdate! Fabrickator (talk) 03:18, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Dennis Vine: An off-topic question: If you are Christopher Britton, why did you choose the name username "Dennis Vine"? QuickQuokka ^{[⁠talk • contribs]} 11:38, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

I can imagine a reason why: privacy. casualdejekyll 14:57, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Casualdejekyll: Not doubting them, but they did already say that they were Mr. Burton, so privacy from what exactly? QuickQuokka ^{[⁠talk • contribs]} 12:14, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Please, approve this draft

Can someone aprove this draft? Please Draft:Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (soundtrack), it has everything to be approved 190.21.183.16 (talk) 09:24, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello, IP user. You have submitted it for review. There are over 4000 drafts waiting for review. Please be patient. ColinFine (talk) 09:43, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Why do some articles not have page previews?

For example, on the article Cochabamba, when hovering over a link to the article Pampa, it only shows the image File:SerraGeralI.jpg () with no text. Is this because it is a redirect to Pampas, or because something is missing from the page (or something else)?

LOOKSQUARE (👤️·🗨️) talk 12:25, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello LOOKSQUARE! That Page Preview was blank for me too, so I took a look & noticed the page was using a Coord template (which places the coordinates at the top right of an article). I remembered in the past seeing that template was supposed to be placed either in the infobox or way down below, after references I believe. So I wondered if that was the issue. Checking other pages that used the Coord template & I noticed they displayed the Page Preview fine, except Tropic of Capricorn. Examining that page revealed it also placed the Coord template right at the top above the main body of the article & infobox, whereas the working ones placed it in the infobox. So I took the chance & moved the Coord template in Pampa to the infobx & sure enough it fixed the issue. Leaving Tropic of Capricorn unchanged at the moment as an example of the problem for this discussion, it should at some point be fixed by moving the Coord template to the infobox though. Take care, LooksGreatInATurtleNeck (talk) 14:38, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! Now I know how to fix this issue. :) LOOKSQUARE (👤️·🗨️) talk 14:39, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Can you take a look at this article

I would be interested in knowing if Draft:Equiratings still needs to be improved? 2607:FB91:386:4E2:AD2:DC57:4F1E:9D91 (talk) 14:46, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Draft:EquiRatings 2607:FB91:386:4E2:AD2:DC57:4F1E:9D91 (talk) 14:49, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Seems to have this undisclosed paid template at top, likely referring to Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure. I added the advert template. Cwater1 (talk) 02:13, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

I would like know What is wrong creating TurkBinge

TurkBinge is already being contributors on authentic sources to make wikipedia and what it been wrong left TurkBinge? Samra Kousar (talk) 14:52, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Samra Kousar: The article was unambiguously promotional, and notability was not established either. Describing a topic using unsubstantiated puffery such as "generously contributed", "sets itself apart", "invaluable resource", "growing recognition" and so on, is unacceptable for an encylopedia article.

I recommend you create it as a draft and submit it for review rather than attempting to publish it in article space yourself. See Wikipedia:Articles for creation and follow the instructions. ~Anachronist (talk) 14:57, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

It is so very completely understandable thing __ I will ask my mentor and thanks for clarifications, But how can I get access to articles what i created? Samra Kousar (talk) 15:26, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Samra Kousar: Unambiguously promotional articles don't get restored by request. You have to start over. As I suggested, do it in draft space, without promotional language. That will give you time to make the article better without having to worry about someone coming along and deleting it. ~Anachronist (talk) 18:09, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Making a Wikipedia page

How do I start a Wikipedia page? And is sandbox where you make one? StrawberryChi'sCake (talk) 15:11, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@StrawberryChi'sCake - We have lots of pages, but I'm assuming that what you're really asking is how to create an article. Thankfully, we have a whole page about how to write your first article, which you might find helpful. casualdejekyll 15:26, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Do I have to make a article that hasn't been created yet? StrawberryChi'sCake (talk) 15:28, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Yes. But you can expand already created pages. NotAGenious (talk) 15:29, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

What makes a good article? Because I'm having trouble with the page Im trying to write up. StrawberryChi'sCake (talk) 15:33, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

I usually have Wikipedia:The perfect article open when writing. But once again, I'd start with Help:Your first article NotAGenious (talk) 15:36, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@StrawberryChi'sCake - The criteria for a Good Article are located at the page Wikipedia:Good article criteria, but I suspect you're talking more generally. I would recommend you read the General notability guideline and verifiability policy, but to sum it up - articles must be based on citations to reliable sources, and in order to qualify for an article, a standard which we call "notability", the article must have multiple independent reliable sources with significant coverage. casualdejekyll 15:38, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Also, you may be interested in WikiProject Books. casualdejekyll 15:41, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello @StrawberryChi'sCake,

I would recommend starting with completing other improvements, like the ones listed at Wikipedia:Task Center. Other than that, Help:Your first article has what you're looking for.

Wikipedia:Requested articles has some articles you can start writing. To get started, your subject has to be notable (Wikipedia:Notability) and the article needs reliable sources (simplified at Wikipedia:The answer to life, the universe, and everything).

Happy editing, you got this! NotAGenious (talk) 15:28, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@StrawberryChi'sCake: If you want to write an article, you should create a draft with the Article Wizard and submit it for review through the Articles for Creation process. Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 15:24, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

enhance article for Wikipedia.

Hello, can you tell how can I make this article accepted?

Here is the link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Aksam_Alyousef. Aksam Alyousef (talk) 15:55, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Aksam Alyousef Please refer to the comments left by the reviewer. From your username and the content of the draft, it appears that you have been trying to write an autobiography. That is strongly discouraged for the reasons mentioned at the link I have supplied. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to help you get the draft accepted but if you wish to persist I suggest cutting it to 10% of its current length and focus on showing how you meet our notability criteria. Mike Turnbull (talk) 16:11, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Does this mean that it is better for someone else to write for me? Aksam Alyousef (talk) 20:28, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Yes and no You have to declare that you are close or in your case are the subject but just know that having an article about your self isn't always a good thing. Shadow345110 (talk) 20:33, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Aksam Alyousef, writing "for" somebody may have various meanings; but I have trouble thinking of any meaning of "for" such that it would be a good idea for somebody to write an article here "for" you. Just wait until somebody who has no relationship to you is in a mood to write a disinterested draft about you, of course based on reliable sources. This may take one, five or ten years. Wikipedia is in no hurry. -- Hoary (talk) 21:42, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Why am I getting this error when trying to submit my edit to the page Diacritic?

I am trying to edit the page Diacritic, specifically the section §Diacritics that do not produce new letters, and I receive the error "Unable to fetch Parsoid HTML".

This is my edit:

A few English words, often when used out of context, especially in isolation, can only be distinguished from other words of the same spelling by using a diacritic or modified letter. These include exposé, lamé, maté, öre, øre, résumé and rosé. In a few words, diacritics that did not exist in the original have been added for disambiguation, as in maté (from Sp. and Port. mate), saké (the standard Romanization of the Japanese has no accent mark), and Malé (from Dhivehi މާލެ), to clearly distinguish them from the English words mate, sake, and male.

Why am I getting this error? LOOKSQUARE (👤️·🗨️) talk 17:02, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

I believe that the error is to do with the software underlying Mediawiki, and has absolutely nothing to do with the content of your edit. If it persists, please ask at WP:VPT. ColinFine (talk) 17:23, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! LOOKSQUARE (👤️·🗨️) talk 17:23, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

However, I was able to save the edit in my Sandbox just fine, so could it be something with the page? LOOKSQUARE (👤️·🗨️) talk 17:25, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@LOOKSQUARE I made the precise edit you placed here, without problems. I used the source editor and only edited into the relevant section of the article, if that had something to do with the issue. Mike Turnbull (talk) 19:03, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Made a translation, do I have to make another import request?

Hello,

I've recently made a German translation of the wikipedia page of one of my favourite bands, MUNA (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Migentelatino/Muna_(Band)). I did it on my own, therefore I didn't use any machine translation etc. This is the first time I've done this, so I had to learn how to use the editor first, therefore I didn't publish it as a translation in the tool, but on my user page (then fixing my translation and the layout a bit).

I got an automated message yesterday saying my translation was added to the German "import requests" page (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Importw%C3%BCnsche), and I needed to confirm that I didn't infringe on any copyright laws and adhered to all licenses, which I did in a short sentence. Still, I don't know if my page will be added as a translation, or whether I need to make another import request manually or copy the page and submit it in the "Content Translation" tool. How would this work normally / how should I proceed? Migentelatino (talk) 19:02, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Migentelatino As you are intending that your translation end up in the German-language Wikipedia, you need to ask there about any problems you are having. The general considerations for translating from English articles are given at WP:TRANSLATEUS. Mike Turnbull (talk) 19:10, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Migentelatino Maybe try https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Fragen_zur_Wikipedia. This is where they seem to answer questions. Grumpylawnchair (talk) 19:30, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice! I will try that. Migentelatino (talk) 00:10, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

MOS:FLAGS

Hello,

I am currently reviewing Chelsea F.C. 2–4 Bradford City A.F.C. which has been nominated at WP:GA and I wanted to ask about the application of MOS:FLAGS in relation to the match details section. I've seen other articles with and without flag icons so thought it best to find out what feedback I should be providing in the review before I do. My main concern is that the players aren't representing their respective countries when they play for their club so I'm unsure if it is an appropriate use of flag icons or not. Any feedback you can provide would be much appreciated. Stevie fae Scotland (talk) 19:29, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello Stevie fae Scotland, the flags guidance on Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Icons is not part of the Good article critera, which only covers a small subset of the manual of style. The only way it would affect the review outcome would be if the nominator could not provide a source for the countries.

If you want to offer the additional feedback anyway, you would get a more informed response from the Manual of Style's talk page: Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style

Good luck with the review, Rjjiii (talk) 06:46, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for your help, I always want to give as full feedback as I can even if it doesn't actually affect the GA process (it also helps me as I have a few of these pages that I've edit). Will ask there as you've suggested. Thanks again, Stevie fae Scotland (talk) 11:06, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

The Fribley Stone

Hello - I'm trying craft a reference for my submission "The Fribley Stone". I tried adding a reference but it apparently went in as an invisible draft. Can you help me? So many choices for reference templates.

User:Mail11325 Mail11325 (talk) 20:36, 19 August 2023 (UTC) "No refs means no potential as an article. Suggest you practice formatting refs in your Sandbox, then copying to draft. David notMD (talk) 21:27, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

 Courtesy link: Draft:The Fribley Stone --TheLonelyPather (talk) 21:27, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

The <-- and --> made the ref content invisible, but I deleted it bacause it did not link to a URL. David notMD (talk) 21:40, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Correct now. Reinstated with correct syntax 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 21:43, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Mail11325 and David notMD: however, the url linked to seems unavailable. I suspect the Fribley Stone to be a hoax 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 21:50, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

And deleted as such. David notMD (talk) 02:28, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

How to cite unpublished official documents?

I have scans of hard copies of official records like a passenger manifest or a building permit. How do I cite these? Wikigratia (talk) 21:12, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello Wikigratia and welcome to the teahouse-- I am afraid that official records like a passenger manifest or a building permit are an example of primary sources. Wikipedia's policy regarding primary sources is that

Primary sources that have been reputably published may be used in Wikipedia, but only with care, because it is easy to misuse them.

As such, I am afraid that the unpublished official documents you mentioned cannot be used as references for an article. Thanks for your effort and good intention to keep articles referenced. Cheers, -- TheLonelyPather (talk) 21:25, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Thank you, that's a bit disappointing, but helpful. Wikigratia (talk) 23:36, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Actually, Wikigratia, it's simpler than that: unpublished documents (official or not) may never be used as references. ColinFine (talk) 22:04, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. I appreciate the guidance. Wikigratia (talk) 23:37, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Plagiarism at Global Geospace Science

I noticed that the article Global Geospace Science, at least its lead section, appears to be an almost-verbatim copypaste of this NASA paper, and I wouldn't be surprised if the other section is also a copypaste because of its unwikilike form (although it could just be the work of a novice editor). I'm not experienced with dealing with copyvios or plagiarism here, but my understanding is that this would ordinarily be a G12 speedy deletion. However, since this is a NASA paper, with the authors' attributed affiliation being the Goddard Space Flight Center, this would make the paper be in the public domain, as a work created by US government employees during the course of their work, right? And so WP:CN isn't the right place for this. I read through WP:Plagiarism but didn't really get a clear picture on what to do, as this isn't just a little bit that's been plagiarized, but half of the article has been copied. I'm not interested in rewriting the article to a better standard, but don't want to leave this entirely ignored; is there some template that I can put up that'll mark it as a non-copyright-violating copypaste needing work? – oatco (talk) 21:23, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Oatco, Wikipedia already has so very many terrible articles to which damning templates are appropriately but ineffectively attached that adding to these templates seems to have little or no effect. You could simply cut the plagiarized material; or you could distinguish it via quotation marks (for short passages) or block indentation (for longer ones). The result would probably be horrible but the onus wouldn't be on you to render it palatable. You could also bring up the matter at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Astronomy. -- Hoary (talk) 22:01, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

That's a fair point, actually – I hadn't considered that. Inspecting the version history a bit more than a quick skim revealed that the plagiarized material is a recent introduction, from earlier this year, so I'll just bring back the version before that. (There's really nothing salvageable currently; we hardly want the whole article to be in a blockquote.) Say, is there some ready text somewhere that I can leave on that editor's talk page, along the lines of "thank you for editing Wikipedia, but I had to remove your edits at __ because it was a blatant copypaste, but you are welcome to edit again"? I've seen something like that here and there on talk pages and it seems to be about the same every time, so I'm wondering whether it's a template or common boilerplate or whether every editor has their own version. – oatco (talk) 22:14, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Oatco, Template:Uw-plagiarism, perhaps? (I found this via the very convenient Wikipedia:Template index/User talk namespace.) -- Hoary (talk) 22:32, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

That was exactly what I was looking for! I just happened to find Wikipedia:Template index/User talk namespace this past minute myself, haha. Thanks for your help! – oatco (talk) 22:34, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Oatco: By the way, when such material is included in an article, it's often attributed by using Template:NASA (or some other attribution template) in the "References" section. Deor (talk) 14:19, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

It can go unnoticed for years. Not everything is caught right away. Cwater1 (talk) 19:00, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

recover lost research

i wondered if it would be possible to recover lost wiki browsing and research from a couple years ago. i can provide some parallel items that would help admins identifiy me in logs. it is certainly gone on my end. Huckletoid (talk) 21:37, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

You have made the edit immediately above, and have edited the subsequently deleted Draft:Gillette Thunder Speedway. That's all. Wikipedia has no record of what you may have read. -- Hoary (talk) 21:53, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

about adding on the biography

I want to add some links and information on the one of the biography. how do i that so no delete later ? Madhavsharmanpl (talk) 23:42, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Madhavsharmanpl - Welcome to the Teahouse! Are you talking about Ram Prasad Khanal? Please note that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a collection of links. Read Wikipedia:External links for more information. Additions, especially those to biographies, should be sourced to reliable, secondary sources. Wikipedia is not a collection of indiscriminate information - rather, we want to have articles that discuss more "big picture" things about a person. A list of various sites is unlikely to be useful to our readers. casualdejekyll 00:24, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Google Scholar

Is Google Scholar a good tool for finding reliable studies? Should I trust everything that shows up on there? Will low-quality studies come up? ABeeperPerhaps (talk) 01:39, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@ABeeperPerhaps, good question! Google Scholar will generally turn up higher-quality sources than just doing a straight Google search. I imagine that there are still some lower-quality sources that might show up there, so it's always a good idea to get a bit of a sense of what the source is. {{u|Sdkb}} ^talk 01:50, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Yeah Predatory journals will sometimes appear in a google scholar search, predatory journals tend to be unreliable (due to them publishing anything submitted for a fee). Lavalizard101 (talk) 11:42, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Short films

Hello, i was wondering if there is a reliable source of all the independant short films that exists. I was told by a Rotten Tomatoes writer that they dont add short films, but i would need a reliable source to be able to add some short films in my wiki drafts Veganpurplefox (talk) 23:34, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

@Veganpurplefox, I'm not sure there's a single reliable source that could be used as a citation for any possible short film. Short films, like longer films, need to demonstrate notability (see WP:NFILM) in order to merit an article. Cheers, {{u|Sdkb}} ^talk 01:52, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

I have all of these sources but idk which one i could use or not: https://www.ilearnlot.com/more-hate-than-fear/6065/

https://www.filmfest-emden.de/en/program/films-a-z/more-hate-than-fear/

https://en.kinorium.com/2432227/

https://www.we-heart.com/2016/05/10/molly-manning-walker-interview/

https://berlingraffiti.de/2017/07/23/more-hate-than-fear-short-film/

https://cvltnation.com/hate-fear-showing-now/

https://www.mtn-world.com/en/blog/2017/07/21/more-hate-than-fear-the-short-film-that-reflects-upon-a-writers-time-in-prison/

https://systemboys.net/en/more-hate-than-fear-short-film/

https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/36570/1/why-do-graffiti-writers-get-sent-to-prison-for-so-long Veganpurplefox (talk) 02:00, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Veganpurplefox, I am seeing database entries, an interview, and some coverage that appears to be generated by press releases, as can be seen in the strong simililarity in the phrasing between sources. What I do not see is significant coverage of the film in reliable sources that are independent of the topic, and those are the type of sources required to demonstrate notability. Cullen328 (talk) 07:10, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

I see, I've tried reaching out to these types of reliable sources but they don't answer back so I don't know if they will ever write that kind of articles Veganpurplefox (talk) 18:02, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

New here - in the middle of a discussion

Hi all,

I would appreciate it if you guys directed me at the right direction. I am trying to edit this article: Abu Hanifa Dinawari

I am in the middle of having an honest discussion with this user User:HistoryofIran but they are a bit harsh on me, I am guessing they do not like my edit. Even though I have many resources for my edit, they immediately accuse me of disruptive behavior.

Would you please guide me what the best approach is to continue this discussion without me getting banned by them?

Thanks a lot in advance. Tekosh (talk) 03:34, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not care what someone's ethnicity is. Sometimes users will be very passionate about a certain ethnicity, and they'll try to change articles to argue about what ethnicity someone is. People who try to promote a cause are not allowed on Wikipedia, and that includes people trying to promote recognition of an ethnicity. There are lot of users who cause trouble like this, so sometimes people will get frustrated when they see it happening again. Thebiguglyalien (talk) 04:46, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello,,Tekosh. According to Kurds, in the High Middle Ages, the Kurdish ethnic identity gradually materialized, as one can find clear evidence of the Kurdish ethnic identity and solidarity in texts of the 12th and 13th centuries. Therefore, trying to assign definitive Kurdish identity to someone like Abu Hanifa Dinawari, who died in 895, several hundred years earlier, is dubious. As for HistoryofIran, that editor is very experienced and knows Wikipedia's Policies and guidelines very well. I suggest that you try to learn from them. Cullen328 (talk) 07:25, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Tekosh: I am not being harsh - that edit was indeed disruptive. What else do you call this? You altered sourced information because it didn't fit your POV [1]. You even changed the direct quote of two authors, adding "Kurdish" into it. Back in October 2022, you were also warned to refrain from promoting a nationalist point of view [2] by an admin, who blocked you after making this nice comment towards me [3], which was your very first interaction with me. At Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, you also recently attempted to add "Kurdish" into the lede [4] [5], despite it having no relevance (MOS:ETHNICITY) for this Dutch politician, who is also half Turkish and born in Turkey. --HistoryofIran (talk) 11:00, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

I am of course learning to edit the most efficient way on Wikipedia. Thanks for all your helps. About your comment on Kurds, it's not entirely correct. Here's a source from when Ibn Wahshiyya mentions Kurds during 9th century. There are many more resources for this, if you're interested. It's in fact more dubious if you call him Persian. It's just plain wrong. I am here on Wikipedia to stop Persian's appropriation against Kurds.

https://ekurd.net/kurdish-nation-ancient-alphabets-2020-10-07 Tekosh (talk) 16:27, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

It just doesn't matter. Ethnicity isn't all that important. Wikipedia doesn't need to include it, even if it is 100% correct. You need to accept this and move on. Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 16:30, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

As I said I am new so please bear with me a bit. I don't understand this part "Wikipedia does not care what someone's ethnicity is". Is that actually true? By not caring, are you implying people can just write whatever they wish even if wrong?

Abu Hanifa Dinawari was clearly born in a Kurdish town inside the borders of the Kurdish regions. That's just universal map, I didn't make it up. Then how can he be Persian? The article is clearly wrong. And the resources they put doesn't clearly mention that he was Persian. They have guesses that he was Persian but no reliable resources clearly proves this.

Thanks again. Tekosh (talk) 16:15, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Tekosh: are you implying people can just write whatever they wish even if wrong?, no, the truth is that peoples' ethnicity doesn't matter. In almost every case, it is irrelevent. Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 16:19, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

The fact is that peoples' ethnicity doesn't matter. As Thebiguglyalien said, Wikipedia does not care what someone's ethnicity is. Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 15:17, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

My friend, it matters in our case. Persians have been trying an intense appropriation against Kurds. We, Kurds, have been suppressed badly that's why we haven't been able to fix things. We are trying to take back what is ours. There are many things that Persian will claim as their but it's actually wrong. And I have started to use my reliable resources to correct these mistakes. Abu Hanifa Dinawari is one example. I just started editing, so I have made mistakes at the beginning but I am learning how to approach things. I am trying to bring Kurds to Wikipedia and help their recognition better. Tekosh (talk) 16:19, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia isn't the place to right great wrongs. Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 16:23, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Sister/Brother, you totally make no sense. As a scientist who understands logic very well, I can't understand what you're trying to say. But thanks for pitching in and trying to help. Tekosh (talk) 16:29, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

What I'm saying is that Wikipedia isn't the place to help suppressed badly ethnic groups, or to take back what is ours. Try an advocacy group. Wikipedia is just an encyclopedia. Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 16:31, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

You're making it worse :). Have a good day!

Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not just an encyclopedia#:~:text=In an article on itself,project to build an encyclopedia. Tekosh (talk) 16:44, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

How am I making "it" worse? Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 16:45, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

You clearly don't know what Wikipedia is about. I shared a WIKIPEDIA article with you on why you're making it worse.

Good day sir. Tekosh (talk) 16:55, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

You linked to an essay about Wikipedia culture and community.

Ethnicity isn't important. You need to move on.

Good day, Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 16:59, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Adding images not on Wikimedia to userboxes

Hello! I'm trying to make some of my own userboxes. I've found the template page and have successfully added a couple pre-made boxes to my userpage, but I can't find any solutions for what I'm trying to do here specifically.

Userboxes generally have an ID box and a content box, and I'm trying to add an image from my phone to the ID box. I've tried writing "ID = Image:[link to image I'm trying to use here]", but all it shows is the file name.

Am currently editing from Firefox for iOS.

Hope I'm doing this correctly! Thank you! Darubyprincxx (talk) 03:50, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello Darubyprincxx, I'm not sure what you mean when you say "from my phone". Have you uploaded an image to Wikimedia Commons from your phone? That would be the first step. It's bit wonky of a process and you'll have to release your image under a Creative Commons license. Could you give a bit more information on what stage you're stuck on? Rjjiii (talk) 06:38, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

To be clear, Darubyprincxx, you cannot display any image here on the English Wikipedia that has not previously been uploaded either to Wikimedia Commons or to the English Wikipedia. There is no other option. Cullen328 (talk) 07:29, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

This answers my question, thank you. Darubyprincxx (talk) 16:18, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Darubyprincxx, are you planning to work to improve any of Wikipedia's articles? -- Hoary (talk) 09:34, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Gross of movie

In the Fantastic Four (2005 film) it says that the budget is between 85$ and 100$, which one is it?? 190.21.183.16 (talk) 09:26, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello and welcome to the Teahouse. Please direct concerns about a specific article to its article talk page- but perhaps the only information available to be sourced is the range the budget falls within. If you have more specific information with a citation, please offer it there. 331dot (talk) 09:28, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello, IP user. That entry in the infobox is cited to two sources, one of which says $100 million and the other says $87.5 million. Nobody here is better placed than you are to decide which is more authoritative. ColinFine (talk) 09:33, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

can somebody help me? how do I find out if my wife already moved assets to her name and has already filed fo r divorce?

can somebody help me? how do I find out if my wife already moved assets to her name and has already filed fo r divorce? 2603:6011:6701:525F:3185:60AF:122E:13C7 (talk) 09:39, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Welcome to the teahouse, where we try to answer questions people have about using Wikipedia. Your question is about something very different and can't be answered here. -- Hoary (talk) 09:44, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Page concern

FYI

 – Added section header. Tails Wx (they/them) ⚧ 12:15, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello, I am working on a page I want to publish and not sure I am doing it right. I saved and published it several weeks ago but its not online ad I am not sure if I am missing a step here. Can you please advise what I need to do? https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Dasha_Deckwerth&action=submit Priscilla2404 (talk) 11:52, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

 Courtesy link: Draft:Dasha Deckwerth --QuickQuokka ^{[⁠talk • contribs]} 12:20, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Priscilla2404: Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! Your draft is indeed published, but since you submitted it using the WP:AfC process, it has to go through review.

There are currently 1,230 other pages in the review backlog, so it may take some time for your article to be reviewed.

If you want to increase the odds of your draft getting reviewed faster, add some tags and/or categories.

Have a nice day! --QuickQuokka ^{[⁠talk • contribs]} 12:20, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

- and if you want it to have a chance of being accepted when it is reviewed, you could add some references to reliable independent published sources with extensive discussion of Deckworth. I don't see any there now. Maproom (talk) 13:03, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Indeed, Priscilla2404. Remember that Wikipedia is not interested in what the subject of an article says or wants to say about themselves, or what their associates say about them. Wikipedia is only interested in what people who have no connection with the subject, and who have not been prompted or fed information on behalf of the subject, have chosen to publish about the subject in reliable sources. --ColinFine (talk) 17:26, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

It exists as Draft:Dasha Deckwerth. Drafts can be seen and edited once in Wikipedia, but are invisible to external search engines such as Google (In Wikipedia, "Publish' means save). your draft has been reviewed and declined. Keep working on it. David notMD (talk) 20:11, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Campaignboxes in french

Hello. I was just about to add an englsih wikipedia campaignbox to the French Wiki. But then I realized that it still had "hide" at the top right. It probably isn’t a big issue. I just wanted to ask if there was a French Wikipedia campaignbox 80.209.216.81 (talk) 12:49, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

It's probably best to ask at The French Wikipedia help desk. Theroadislong (talk) 14:05, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Ok. Thanks for the answer anyways. Reman Empire (talk) 14:09, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

How to make a user page

Dear all I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to kindly follow up on the status of my Wikipedia profile page's publication. As per my previous communication, I have made sure to include all the necessary information, verified references, and reliable sources to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of the content. Understanding the high demand on your time and the various responsibilities you manage, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your dedication to maintaining the quality of Wikipedia content. I am eager to know if there are any additional steps required on my end or any suggestions you might have to expedite the publication process. I understand that your efforts contribute significantly to the reliability and credibility of Wikipedia as a platform for accurate information. Please know that I am available to address any questions or concerns you may have regarding my profile page. Thank you for your continued commitment, and I am looking forward to your response regarding the status of my Wikipedia profile page. Best regards, Farzad Pak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Farzad_Pak Farzad Pak (talk) 13:30, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

I just moved this here as an independent section because this user went in to my question and asked his. He apparently thinks a user page is like an article. Reman Empire (talk) 13:55, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Farzad Pak: It seems like you, like many others, don't understand what Wikipedia is.

It isn't social media. It isn't a place to write about yourself. You certainly don't have a "profile" here.

If you are notable, then someone else will write an article about you.

Your userpage is for telling people about you as a Wikipedia editor – take mine for an example. It only says things about my views etc. on Wikipedia, and nothing else. It is not an article about me.

I suggest you abandon any project to write about yourself and move on to other things. Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 15:13, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi @Farzad Pak.

You may be thinking that Wikipedia articles are like people's profiles on social media websites. That is not the case. Wikipedia articles are encyclopaedic articles about a subject: the subject must meet the strict notability criteria, must have secondary independent references to cite each statement, and must be written in a non-promotional neutral point of view. Here are some policies that relate to this:

• Wikipedia:Notability (people)
• Wikipedia:Verifiability
• Wikipedia:Neutral point of view

It is highly discouraged from writing an autobiographical article about yourself, as you have a clear conflict of interest. See the following two policies:

• Wikipedia:Autobiography
• Wikipedia:Conflict of interest

If you meet the notability criteria mentioned above, a Wikipedia volunteer will at some point write an article about you.

Hope that helps, but let us know if you have any specific questions. Qcne (talk) 15:14, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia treating me like I'm a newcomer

I have been an editor for nearly two years. I tried creating an article for a musical artist (Project 86)'s album to update their status, but Wikipedia began acting like I haven't done this before and made it submit to the board for review, even though I no longer need to do so to create an article. Then, on my profile page, the draft, and most of my contributions, won't even show, although not erased. A fellow user suggested the IP address might have shifted, but I couldn't find that out very easily. I want to revert to what I had before, making articles without being treated like a newcomer, as I clearly am not. How can this problem be rectified? DarnItAll34 (talk) 16:23, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi @DarnItAll34! Your contribution history goes back to Oct. 2022, and you are extended-confirmed, so you ought to have non-newcomer rights. Some templates may ask you to submit articles through WP:AfC, but you should be able to just move them to mainspace yourself given your rights. Cheers, {{u|Sdkb}} ^talk 16:33, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

How do I move them to the mainspace? DarnItAll34 (talk) 17:58, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@DarnItAll34, see WP:Moving a page. Cheers, {{u|Sdkb}} ^talk 17:59, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

thanks DarnItAll34 (talk) 22:07, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

If this is about OMNI, Pt. 1, it has been accepted as an article. David notMD (talk) 20:04, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

I made another page for the same band, and it acted like I'm a newbie again. DarnItAll34 (talk) 22:07, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@DarnItAll34: How do you try to create articles directly? Do you get an empty box you can write in if you click a red link like this one? PrimeHunter (talk) 23:07, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

usually I click on Article Wizard or a prompt from my first approved article message saying create articles yourself. But it's all right now, I found how to maneuver around the weird Wikipedia "glitch". DarnItAll34 (talk) 03:19, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

creating an article

how to create an really good article i want to create article about thai boon roong twin tower world trade center please can you make it for me thank you Vojtik2009 (talk) 16:33, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

i dont know why but i want to create a good article about thai boon roong twin tower world trade center please can you make it for me thank you Vojtik2009 (talk) 16:35, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

i dont know why but i want to create an article about thai boon roong twin tower world trade center just do a google search and trust its something that should be on wikipedia please can you make it for me thank you Vojtik2009 (talk) 16:37, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Vojtik2009, we are all volunteers and cannot make an article for you. You can try creating it yourself; see Help:Your first article. But be aware that creating an article is a difficult task not recommended for newcomers just getting started. Best, {{u|Sdkb}} ^talk 17:15, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

You're also welcome to list it at Wikipedia:Requested articles, although there is no guarantee it'll be taken up. {{u|Sdkb}} ^talk 17:15, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Vojtik2009 I see you have started: Draft:Thai boon roong twin tower world trade center. Now read WP:BACKWARD. Then see WP:TUTORIAL on how to add references correctly, this is essential. Here is one source you can use:[6]. If you can find 2-3 more WP:RS like that and use them in your draft, you can probably make an acceptable Wikipedia article. It's up to you. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 17:24, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Do not resubmit until you have more content, and references. David notMD (talk) 20:02, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Vojtik2009 Hello. I used to live in Asia, and I have spent time in Phnom Penh. It's a very cool and interesting place. Do you live there?

If you'd like me to help you write and submit your article, you can send me a message on my talk page. Good day. Pecopteris (talk) 22:30, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

FYI – if you check Vojtik2009's talk page you will see that the editor has been blocked due to vandalism. Karenthewriter (talk) 22:36, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Please someone help me, please!!

Hello everyone, I am here to ask for help about how can I get back into my facebook account? I can't log in even my email and password are correctly entered which is asking to confirm identity and I don't have neither access of email or phone number any longer, is there any ways to get back my account without confirm ID? I’ve been trying all of possibilities from facebook help center and many googling’s probablities, here might be my last hope, I believe someone here must have been faced this problem and already passed that situation through a difficut time. Please somebody help me, I really need to get my account account back😭😭, I have some of my information in it even useful for life, may the God bless y'all whoever reading my this asking help message, please help me someone.🙏🙏 Mockie Rock (talk) 17:01, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Mockie Rock, this is a page for getting help editing Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not Facebook and has no connection to Facebook, so we cannot help you get back into your account. Best wishes, {{u|Sdkb}} ^talk 17:12, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

I'm sorry to say this but your situation sounds nigh hopeless. Just with what I know from Wikipedia and getting into accounts in general, it does not sound like it is possible to get into your account as you are missing a piece of info. I feel like it might be best just to cut your losses and make a new account. ✶Mitch199811✶ 18:15, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Is this canvassing?

I recently received a new message on my talk page from User:Reman Empire (which I'm pretty sure I never interacted with before) that seemed pretty canvas-y.

It goes on about the "exaggeration of the economic situation of Wikipedia [...] in order to obtain funds", and "the misuse of the funds by WMF".

According to the nutshell explanation in WP:CANVAS, you should keep the message text neutral and don't preselect recipients according to their established opinions. I'm not sure if I was preselected, but that message text sure as hell isn't "neutral". QuickQuokka ^{[⁠talk • contribs]} 19:13, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Apologies for that, it will not happen again. Reman Empire (talk) 19:14, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Yes, this has worried me somewhat. Reverting these edits. Edward-Woodrow :) _[talk] 19:17, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Reman Empire and Edward-Woodrow: Thanks! I appreciate you guys listening to my comments, and taking action on it!

A lot of other people I know would have just pointed fingers and shifted the blame, so good on you!

Have a nice day, --QuickQuokka ^{[⁠talk • contribs]} 19:22, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Resolved

 – QuickQuokka ^{[⁠talk • contribs]} 19:23, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

tips for writing/improving a ga-class article

hello there! i've been an inactive user on wikipedia for a couple of years, however i'd like to start contributing more to it 💕 i'd like some tips or resources on how to write or improve an article that is/to ga-class or higher. it'd be extremely helpful to have these tips on-hand instead of having to seek them out repeatedly :) thanks so much! PediaOS (talk) 20:01, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello, PediaOS. Welcome back to Wikipedia. Please refer to Wikipedia:Good article criteria. The shortcut is WP:GACR. Cullen328 (talk) 20:15, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

thank you! talk 2 pediaOS 20:47, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Uploading Photos

Hello wiki teahouse, I am trying to help out an old friend who is a well known British Guitar Player called Oliver Darling who plays as a side man to a lot of famous people. I have created him a draft page but when trying to upload a recent photo he gave me of him on stage with Ronnie Wood (of Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart fame) I get a message.

"We could not determine whether this file is suitable for Wikimedia Commons. Please only upload photos that you took yourself with your camera, or see what else is acceptable. See the guide to make sure the file is acceptable and learn how to upload it on Wikimedia Commons."

Any idea how I get around this?

I contributed to Wikipedia in it's very early days but am totally out of touch with the current policies and methods of publishing.

Many Thanks in anticipation of a responce.

Steve SteveOffaAaron (talk) 22:48, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi Steve,

Wikipedia, due to the 10s of billions of views it gets every month nowadays, has become significantly more restrictive when it comes to creating new articles and uploading new photos. This makes sense, so that we can avoid being overwhelmed by millions of spam articles and questionable images on a daily/hourly basis. But it does make adding new content frustrating if you're used to the way things were done in the early days.

In terms of your article, it's important to include reliable sources in it. If you simply write an article without citing any outside sources, the article will almost certainly be rejected. I can help you with this, if you wish. Contact me on my "talk" page any time.

In terms of the photograph, you may find someone here that can give you a precise answer to your question. Good day. Pecopteris (talk) 23:06, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello SteveOffaAaron. As for the photo, you cannot upload a a photo that someone else gave you, because you are not the copyright holder of that photo. In most cases, the photographer is the copyright holder. The legal process to freely license a photo for upload to Wikimedia Commons can only be carried out by the copyright holder. As for your draft, what you need to provide is references to significant coverage of Oliver Darling in reliable sources that are entirely independent of Darling. And then you summarize what those sources say about him. Cullen328 (talk) 23:21, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Revert wikitext editing to older behavior

In the current mode of wikitext editing, when you're editing on the left side of the screen, things dynamically update on the right side. While the idea sounds good, I've found this change to be generally annoying. Now I've had the experience that when an edit conflict occurs, it seems that my changes are all lost (whereas previously, I could view the changes I had made since it would let me display a diff against the version of the page when I had started editing).

Am I wrong? It's possible I made a mistake, but I don't think so. In any case, I just want to go back to the former behavior, as I find the new behavior to be quite annoying. (My apologies if this has been prevoiusly addressed.) Fabrickator (talk) 23:56, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Fabrickator. I think that Wikipedia:Vector 2022#How to turn off the new skin may help you solve the problem. Cullen328 (talk) 00:03, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

I received many, many notices about Sandbox

I received an enormous amount of messages from Wikipedia today about Sandbox. I have never seen that before. I would include a screenshot, but the system won't let me. Is there a department I should contact about this? Starlighsky (talk) 00:46, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Starlighsky. I don't see any messages on your talk page about your sandbox. (see its edit history here). If you could be more specific and link to one or more of those messages, we'll try and assist you. Nick Moyes (talk) 01:02, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

I try to include a screenshot, but the system won't let me.

I am receiving notice of messages that seem to have been deleted.

It just seems something is wrong because I think it is about 20 messages about something unrelated to me. Starlighsky (talk) 01:09, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

How to further edit my page to make it pass

Hey team, the link for the page I set up is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Sora_Ventures

I have edited it multiple times but it just doesn't meet the standards. I was wondering what exactly I can do to make it pass, thanks! Since most of the sources I supplied are already secondary and stating facts Leestc (talk) 03:59, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello Leestc. I clicked on your Reference 3 and got "404 page not found." I know nothing about cryptocurrency, so I have no knowledge on what your draft needs to state to show notability. You may want to reach out to people at WikiProject Cryptocurrency and WikiProject Finance & Investment (links are on your draft's talk page) and ask for advice. Best wishes. Karenthewriter (talk) 04:21, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Leestc, this draft is strange from the very start. A reference normally backs up the proposition or propositions that it immediately follows, but this draft starts Sora Ventures^[1] is a Venture Capital firm headquartered^[2] in Taipei, Taiwan. Thus the first reference seems to back up the implicit claim that Sora Ventures exists, and the second that it's a venture capital [no need for capitals] firm that's headquartered. But its existence is demonstrated later, and (perhaps with a few exceptions) every firm is headquartered. -- Hoary (talk) 06:44, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Travel guides for a city?

Hello, I'm back at the Teahouse once again to drink some tea. I want to improve the article "Morgan Hill, California" to B-class status; it is the first step I will take in order to promote it to GA status. However, I'm concerned with the sources I'm going to add to this article, including:

• A travel guide
• A local history book
• The town's local newspaper (The Morgan Hill Times)

The travel guide has an editorial team, the local history book gathers local primary sources (old newspapers, other historical books, etc.) and is accompanied by photographs, and the local newspaper is neutral, secondary, and independent (as far as I know, I've only been here for a few months). Tarantula^TM (speak with me) (my legacy) 04:49, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi TrademarkedTarantula, what is concerning you about these sources? If you are finding particular issues with the sources, then your intuition may be wise as to their quality. If this is a general question, travel guides are often a bit fluffy, but they're better than no source (I note much of Morgan Hill is unsourced) and a discerning editor can pick out the information which seems encyclopaedic. The local history book's reliability might depend on its publisher(s); the main question I have from your description is whether it is a book with commentary or simply a collection of local sources and photographs (in which case your source would presumably be the original primary source). Local newspapers are often used, with the same considerations as normal newspapers such as being wary of sponsored content and seeing if they distinguish fact and opinion sections. CMD (talk) 05:54, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Abuse of powers by Moderators.

I placed an edit request in India Talk page. I backed up my request with facts and suitable substantiation. But my request was not accepted and that too without any reason being given. My request was to change an error in the info box of the page. Everytime I make a reply reply I change my query status answered from Yes to No as instructed by the info page. Now one of the Mods have now given me warning for doing this and asked me to post my query here and in rfc. How do I report the Moderators and how do I get the India Page's info box corrected. Roaly3 (talk) 05:31, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi Roaly. I briefly looked at the conversation over here. My take: I don't think anyone is attacking you personally, and I don't see any abuse of power taking place here. I'd encourage you to refrain from trying to "report" anybody, and instead focus your energies on taking their well-meaning advice by creating an RfC about how the "official languages" are treated on the India page. Pecopteris (talk) 05:58, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Why can't this article from NYT added to the Epoch Times page?

NYT is a reliable source, yet this article has been removed many times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html from the Epoch Times wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times Why? Bobby fletcher (talk) 07:55, 21 August 2023 (UTC)