Wikipedia:Help desk
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November 12
Article review plus input on possible vandalism. What to do?
Hello, after reverting a possible vandalism link insertion on ZeroGPT, I noticed suspect and false citations (https://www.sociobits.org/2023/03/gpt-zero-a-tool-to-recognise-texts-written-by-ai/12260) I flagged for deletion but think it would be better if the article was moved to drafts.
Also, this user User:Mackgrav seems to have add a link to a competing service (https://hix.ai/gpt4 |website=HIX.ai), rather than an actual reputable and reliable source. I am new here but trying to really help this community and would like advice. I have warned the user. Comintell (talk) 03:11, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Removing the link and the message you put on their talk page seem reasonable to me. PiGuy3 (talk) 03:14, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Thanks! Comintell (talk) 03:27, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- I think the message is reasonable, Comintell, but please be aware that vandalism has a specific meaning in Wikipedia: it means editing intended to damage Wikipedia. Promotional editing, even spamming, is not necessarily vandalism: they may be well-intentioned, but just not understand quite what Wikipedia is. ColinFine (talk) 19:12, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- The ZeroGPT page seems to be rige with hoax and vandalism. Am I crazy? Could you review it? Comintell (talk) 01:19, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- I think the message is reasonable, Comintell, but please be aware that vandalism has a specific meaning in Wikipedia: it means editing intended to damage Wikipedia. Promotional editing, even spamming, is not necessarily vandalism: they may be well-intentioned, but just not understand quite what Wikipedia is. ColinFine (talk) 19:12, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Thanks! Comintell (talk) 03:27, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
What's going on with the ref desk archives?!
I tried to look up some questions that were supposed to be archived from early November, but they were nowhere to be found -- the archives only run until October 31, and there is nothing after that point (even though questions from early November were supposed to be archived automatically)! What's going on, and when can we expect these questions to be recovered??? 2601:646:9882:46E0:C195:DC40:D019:40A6 (talk) 09:01, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Pinging scs. --Lambiam 10:09, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Except for the Computing section, where there was nothing yet to be archived, the November 2023 archives had been created, but, for some reason unknown to me, the links to these archives had not been made accessible through page Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives. I have now added them (manually, on page Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Answered questions). --Lambiam 10:37, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- I see now that they were always added by User:CiaPan, not by a bot as I expected. The entries are actually already present but commented out in the HTML code. The "adding" consists of the undoing of the commenting-out of the entries in the column for a new month. Rather than each month undoing the commenting-out for one column, it may be easier, when adding a section for the new year, not to comment out any months. The links to the month archives will then initially all be red, but I think this is harmless. --Lambiam 11:07, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Yes, that part of the archiving task has always been manual.
- Oblivious me, I didn't even know who was taking care of it. Thanks to @CiaPan: and now @Lambiam: for their assistance. —scs (talk) 12:31, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Thanks a million to all 3 of you! 2601:646:9882:46E0:14C6:F9B5:5479:2A27 (talk) 03:17, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- I see now that they were always added by User:CiaPan, not by a bot as I expected. The entries are actually already present but commented out in the HTML code. The "adding" consists of the undoing of the commenting-out of the entries in the column for a new month. Rather than each month undoing the commenting-out for one column, it may be easier, when adding a section for the new year, not to comment out any months. The links to the month archives will then initially all be red, but I think this is harmless. --Lambiam 11:07, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Lambiam, Scs, and PrimeHunter: Thank you all for taking care of the archives index. Hopefully I will continue updating it with the next month turn.
CiaPan (talk) 13:23, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Cecaelia
Hi, there are some instances in en.wiki of the fan word Cecaelia, indicating a fictional human-octopus hybrid. Is it acceptable?-- Carnby (talk) 10:11, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Carnby It will depend on context. Taking the Chesley Awards, it seems an artist called his work that. Assuming that's correct, what problem do you see? The List_of_hybrid_creatures_in_folklore#Modern_fiction example seems fine too IMO, though I haven't checked the source. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:21, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- In Ursula (The Little Mermaid) and Descendants 2 it doesn't seem correct, IMHO. The characters weren't called this way.-- Carnby (talk) 10:30, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- I see 3 uses in the Ursula article. IMO, the Ursula_(The_Little_Mermaid)#Part_of_Your_World:_A_Twisted_Tale one is ok-ish, but it doesn't justify the other 2, the use by Braswell doesn't justify the use by WP in this case. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:52, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Apparently, there's also Octopan (non-RS source). Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:16, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- In Ursula (The Little Mermaid) and Descendants 2 it doesn't seem correct, IMHO. The characters weren't called this way.-- Carnby (talk) 10:30, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- See also Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Cecaelia and Wiktionary:cecaelia. --Lambiam 10:42, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- I am reminded of Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Great spider. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:46, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Scylla is probably related. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:58, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
I want to ask how to make an information box for weapon.
Hi Wikipedia editors, and administrators too, in the article SIG MCX Spear, there is no summary box. How should I insert the code to keep the box appear. Thanks. 2001:EE0:4BC2:9B40:8C60:E4FE:CDA3:8239 (talk) 11:28, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
Right Sidebar (Quicknav to Wikiquote/Commons) has disappeared?
How come the right sidebar has vanished? Is that permanent or something that is merely optional, wherein each user could opt to show/hide it as they choose? I noticed it when I was on actors'/films' articles, and didn't have quick links on the side to jump over to the Media/Commons or Quotes. Please let me know. Thanks. --Cinemaniac86TalkStalk 11:52, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Cinemaniac86: Look for a menu saying "Tools" at the top right. It has a "move to sidebar" option. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:05, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Aha! Thank you @PrimeHunter, you rock. Enjoy your day. Rather, enjoy my birthday! --Cinemaniac86TalkStalk 17:28, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
my hotmail account
I cannot get hotmail email as I normally do. I ask google for hotmail and it usually goes to Outlook.com I then press ok and I then fill in my email and password as requested and then I access my emails. Today I am taken to wikipedia with a load of waffle as far as I'm concerned and I don't appear to have an way to get to my emails! Can you please explain what is going on. thank you 2A02:C7C:3E29:C200:2F7:9DA7:E483:F1E2 (talk) 12:41, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Google search results give a high position to the Wikipedia article Outlook.com which is an encyclopedia article about outlook.com. Try the actual website https://outlook.com. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:58, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
Searching Wikipedia using wildcards to find people with certain initials
I'm interested in finding a list of notable people with certain initials. I've been all over the search FAQ's, and I understand * stands for any string of characters not at the beginning of a word. But searching on "B* C*" does not give anything useful. Any suggestions?
71.214.71.49 (talk) 15:54, 12 November 2023 (UTC)Erich
- Special:Search does support regular expressions, but my poor old brain has forgotten too much about them to provide you with a functional search string. Someone at WP:RD/C will probably have an answer for you. Folly Mox (talk) 17:33, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Hi Erich. The search box in the default vector 22 skin is pretty clever. You can just type in the initials you are looking for with spaces in between (and no * character) and you'll be likely to find the correct biography if it exists. So "A J B" for example gives ten suggestions. Mike Turnbull (talk) 17:46, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- The search box has some limitations which makes it poorly suited for this. Here is instead a search at https://grep.toolforge.org. It's for all articles and cannot be limited to people. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:44, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- @PrimeHunter I tried your link and aborted it after it had run for over a minute without returning anything. Is the code correct? (My suggestion may be dirty but it's quick!) Mike Turnbull (talk) 15:07, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Michael D. Turnbull: It works for me in Firefox and took 18s. It may depend on server load at the time. I haven't tried it without
limit=on
to only show 100 results. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:52, 13 November 2023 (UTC)- Still no result after another try (over 3 minutes elapsed), using Edge. Maybe it doesn't like people in the UK! Anyway, don't worry, I don't actually need the answer and no doubt the OP can find something that does work for them from one or other of our responses. Mike Turnbull (talk) 16:07, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Michael D. Turnbull: It works for me in Firefox and took 18s. It may depend on server load at the time. I haven't tried it without
- @PrimeHunter I tried your link and aborted it after it had run for over a minute without returning anything. Is the code correct? (My suggestion may be dirty but it's quick!) Mike Turnbull (talk) 15:07, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Chinese Politburo Articles Redux
I raised this issue on October 31 and was advised to take it to "the talk page" before pursuing dispute resolution. Since it relates to an entire series of articles there is no particular "the talk page" on which to debate the matter on an article-content level. The user TheUzbek in recent months undertook to start Politburo Standing Committee articles for each iteration thereof and simultaneously delete any hint of which members of any successive Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party served on its standing committee. Having attempted to restore a bare bolding of the names of PSC members in one instance and been promptly reverted with a comment that there was no reason to include this information I mentioned the matter here. As I strongly believe that the inclusion of this information is absolutely standard (I have almanacs dating back to the 1970s and Statesman's Yearbooks from the 1990s that never fail to indicate which members of a Politburo are in its inner circle when a list is given) and being forced to follow a link to a PSC article for any hint is a nuisance, days later I went through and put back the bolding on the 16th/17th/18th/19th/20th Politburos and when he started reverting me posted to TheUzbek's talk page. TheUzbek responded that I was trying to force my opinion against a consensus that began when he deleted the always-previously-present information from the articles.
I can not see any way the Politburo articles are improved by enforcing the lack of any indication of which members are on the Standing Committee and believe they are better with it included. The "third opinion" option on "Dispute resolution" appears geared to single articles rather than series. Can someone else please look over the issue in toto? 71.105.190.227 (talk) 16:49, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- 71, I'm looking into this now. It is difficult to open a discoverable discussion when the topic is spread out over multiple pages, so I'll try going "one level up" to find a good spot for it. I have some separate notes about the formatting on the Politburo pages that I'd like to bring up with the user who has undertaken the tabulation formatting on these pages. I'll notify around whenever I've posted the discussion opener. Folly Mox (talk) 17:30, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- I left out any mention of my own stylistic concerns with table formatting for now, and opened a discussion at Talk:Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party § Should Standing Committee members be indicated on individual Politburo articles? Hopefully a consensus can be found. Folly Mox (talk) 18:37, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
Archive
How can I create an archive to store all my discussions? They are beginning to be too many. JackkBrown (talk) 17:16, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: Hi there! See Help:Archiving a talk page. GoingBatty (talk) 17:22, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Help:Archiving (plain and simple) Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 18:13, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
Transcluding tables
Is there a way to transclude only a certain amount of rows of a table from a different page? I doubt it, but it would be useful if that was possible, so I thought I would ask. PARAKANYAA (talk) 20:28, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Not really. Transclusion inserts a whole page in another. You could in principle put the rest of the table in
<noinclude> ... </noinclude>
tags and include the whole page, but I'm not sure how that would interact with table formatting. - You could also possible cut and past the part of the table that was to be transcluded into a template, which could get transcluded in both places; but again, I'm not sure how that would interact with table formatting, and it would make editing the source page harder. ColinFine (talk) 20:44, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- I think labeled section transclusion should be able to handle individual table rows without breaking the formatting of the source table or destination table, but may be confusing both to implement and to edit afterwards.Doing the "shared rows" template thing mentioned just above would work as well, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if such a template ended up at TfD within a few months, and then substed back into the destination articles. Folly Mox (talk) 21:03, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
First reference: "Error 404. Page not found. Go back to the homepage"
On the pecorino sardo page, the first reference does not work. JackkBrown (talk) 21:02, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Archive retrieved. Folly Mox (talk) 21:06, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Folly Mox: thank you very much for this. JackkBrown (talk) 21:10, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- JackkBrown, you can find archives for deadlinked sources by following the instructions at WP:LINKROT. I have almost no success with archives other than Internet Archive, so I'll usually just try that one. I copy the dead url, go to https://web.archive.org/, and paste the link into the search bar. Usually, there's an archive, because URLs inside citation templates on Wikipedia are added to Internet Archive by an automated process. Most of the time, the first available archive will have the content that supports the article prose citing it. Sometimes, the earliest archive will already be a 404 or usurped domain, so the citation can be tagged with {{dead link}}. Very rarely, you'll need to check the
|access-date=
of the deadlinked citation to determine which archive snapshot is appropriate to source the content. Dead links shouldn't just be removed: please tag them instead if you're unable to fix them or find an alternative source. Folly Mox (talk) 21:13, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
Putting in a external ref when the URL has spaces
Specifically, a page in the Russian Wikipedia: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Андросов, Валерий Владимирович
. The external link machine assumes that "Валерий Владимирович", coming after a space, is a comment. The spaces are necessary. Squeezing them out or replacing them with underlines doesn't work. This is for a talk page, to be used inline, so {{translated page}} can't be used (altho it surely contains code to handle this), and doesn't point to any template that could. Herostratus (talk) 21:54, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Have you tried replacing them with
%20
? That's the standard for URL escaping. Folly Mox (talk) 22:17, 12 November 2023 (UTC) - Oh, sorry, what you're actually looking for is [[:ru:Андросов, Валерий Владимирович]], which produces ru:Андросов, Валерий Владимирович. Folly Mox (talk) 22:19, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- H:IW for the deets. Folly Mox (talk) 22:22, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Herostratus: Please always link pages where you have a problem. I don't know the circumstances or what you mean by "The external link machine" but underscores work fine in all situations I know: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Андросов,_Валерий_Владимирович. %20 also works: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Андросов,%20Валерий%20Владимирович. A wikilink can keep the spaces: ru:Андросов, Валерий Владимирович. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:55, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Well boy howdy, you're right. I must have made a typo or something when I put in the underscores. Oof, sorry for bothering you. Carry on, and fear no evil. The page in question is Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Valery Androsov. Herostratus (talk) 01:44, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Herostratus: Please always link pages where you have a problem. I don't know the circumstances or what you mean by "The external link machine" but underscores work fine in all situations I know: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Андросов,_Валерий_Владимирович. %20 also works: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Андросов,%20Валерий%20Владимирович. A wikilink can keep the spaces: ru:Андросов, Валерий Владимирович. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:55, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- H:IW for the deets. Folly Mox (talk) 22:22, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
November 13
Edit-a-protected-page button
When you visit a protected page, you're shown a "View Source" tab instead of "Edit", and when you click it, you're given a button to make an edit request. There's no button if the talk page is also protected. There's a link to Wikipedia:Requests for page protection/Edit in the resulting message, but it's in a paragraph and less obvious. How could this be converted into a button like the one used when the talk page is not protected? 123.51.107.94 (talk) 00:37, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- I don't think we should do that. If the talk page is protected then it may be because the edit request button was repeatedly abused to post unwanted junk on the talk page. Let's not replace it with a similar button so the same junk can easily be posted to Wikipedia:Requests for page protection/Edit. That page cannot serve its purpose if it has to be protected so it seems OK to "protect" it a bit by requiring people to actually read a few instructions before going there. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:08, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Deletion of text
An editor decided my unpublished article infringed copyrighted material. The editor deleted 90% of my article, destroying hours of my work. I cannot undo this destruction. Given that my article was unpublished, it seems to me that I should have had an opportunity to address the alleged copyright issues before most of my article was deleted.Sylvan1971 (talk) 05:29, 13 November 2023 (UTC)Sylvan1971 (talk) 05:27, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- User:Sylvan1971, given your background I won't spout policy at you. You may have luck requesting an admin at WP:RFU to email you a copy of the draft at the time it was revdelled. Folly Mox (talk) 05:32, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- For clarity though, anything saved to Wikipedia is technically "published", no matter what namespace it is in. WP:RFU also specifically states it will not provide copyvio material, which I misremembered. Folly Mox (talk) 05:38, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- Sylvan1971, this is exactly the reason why the "Save" button was changed to "Publish" a while back. Every page in Wikipedia - Userspace, Draft space, everything - is publicly readable and so "published", and copyright infringement is not permitted anywhere.
- As a practical note, starting with copyright material and trying to edit it to make it acceptable sounds to me like an extremely unproductive and risky way of working - it is likely to lead to close paraphrasing. Though it is an entirely different issue from Writing Wikipedia articles backwards, it is similar in that what you are doing is starting with something unacceptable and trying to massage it into something acceptable. In both cases, it is possible, but difficult and much more work than the recommended approach. ColinFine (talk) 12:12, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- Appreciate your reply. Just to be clear, this was alleged infringement. Sylvan1971 (talk) 16:09, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Sylvan1971: to be clear, this deletion was needed to comply with the law. It's not just Wikipedia policy. When you make text available to others on the Internet, you are "publishing" it as the term "publish" is used in copyright law. It does not matter that you did not want others to see this material yet. Other websites, including major ones, are sloppy about this, but Wikipedia is not. In addition to ethical reasons, we also do not want hostile parties to claim that WP encourages or allows copyright violation. -Arch dude (talk) 14:49, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- Appreciate your reply. Just to be clear, this was alleged infringement. Sylvan1971 (talk) 16:09, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- By the way, the relevant statue defines publication as "the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending." Clicking the "Publish" button, particularly on a draft which has not yet been accepted, is not publication. However, I do recognize Wikipedia's right to create policies it deems reasonable. In this case, they are misguided. Furthermore, a single editor's determination of infringement, without granting the user a short window to reply or edit, is patently unfair.Sylvan1971 (talk) 18:40, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- As others have indicated above, Wikipedia assiduously strives not to break the law, for example by permitting copyright infringements on its servers.
- If copyright infringement is alleged, the legally safer course is to remove it until it is proved not to be infringement. Wikipedia's site; Wikipedia's rules; Wikipedia's procedures.
- Wikimedia's Legal Department concluded that saving material to a publically accessible page is, or could be construed by a court to be, publishing it.
- A great many Wikipedia editors compose draft material in, or copy it to, documents on their own devices in case issues like these, or system glitches, etc., remove or lose the material.
- My understanding is that such material will still be accessible to Administrators with certain rights, and that you can appeal to them to check it and restore a copy to you if they judge this appropriate. I do not know the procedures myself as I have never been involved in such a situation, but I see you have been given relevant instructions on your User talk page, and I encourage you to follow them up. Complaining about the issue on this Help desk, most of whose responders are not Admins, cannot achieve anything. Sorry. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.2.5.208 (talk) 21:12, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- By the way, the relevant statue defines publication as "the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending." Clicking the "Publish" button, particularly on a draft which has not yet been accepted, is not publication. However, I do recognize Wikipedia's right to create policies it deems reasonable. In this case, they are misguided. Furthermore, a single editor's determination of infringement, without granting the user a short window to reply or edit, is patently unfair.Sylvan1971 (talk) 18:40, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- Appreciate your reply. Just to be clear, this was alleged infringement. Sylvan1971 (talk) 16:09, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Google Earth link
Russian labels have been randomly showing up as placemarks on Google Earth all of a sudden. I tried turning off some layers and no success until I turned off Wikipedia. I love both GE and Wikipedia. I hope you can fix this. Andrew AMorgan (talk) 07:07, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
I want to make my own user page can anyone help
pls help XUnknown Entity (talk) 08:28, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- You've already made your user page- User:XUnknown Entity. 331dot (talk) 08:39, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- And please don't ask the same question in multiple places. ColinFine (talk) 12:13, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Hello, I am trying to make a wikipedia page for my college.
My page is just being deleted because of the lack of the secondary sources. I have added the secondary sources what else should I do? BibekChand (talk) 08:57, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- BibekChand You should first stop attempting to edit the redirect. The best way to create a new article is to use the submission process via the Article Wizard. You will need to first gather the independent reliable sources you have and then summarize what they say- your attempt did not do that. See WP:BACKWARD. 331dot (talk) 09:03, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Reminder: Kantipur Engineering College is currently nominated for deletion. 🛧Midori No Sora♪🛪 ( ☁=☁=✈) 10:45, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Could the article Bromine rewrited as the follwing below?
Bromine is a chemical element; it has symbol Br and atomic number 35 instead of Bromine is a chemical element; it has symbol Br and atomic number 35. It would be useful of you if you are willing to support me in the work. 2001:EE0:4BC6:DB70:8C60:E4FE:CDA3:8239 (talk) 14:42, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- There is a full discussion of this topic at WT:WikiProject_Elements#"a"_chemical_element_or_"the"_chemical_element. Please comment there after reading that whole section. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:49, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- No. I am not about to concern that matter. I may be here to please someone including you to fix some synchronizing errors while reading around any articles about chemical elements. Other way, I would recommend double checking the message I sent above. Thanks. 2001:EE0:4BC6:DB70:8C60:E4FE:CDA3:8239 (talk) 14:55, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- If you're not going to take the time to engage with a relevant discussion on a relevant page, why should anyone bother helping you on a less relevant page? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 15:29, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- No. I am not about to concern that matter. I may be here to please someone including you to fix some synchronizing errors while reading around any articles about chemical elements. Other way, I would recommend double checking the message I sent above. Thanks. 2001:EE0:4BC6:DB70:8C60:E4FE:CDA3:8239 (talk) 14:55, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- This is the help desk, and most of the 100,000 or so active Wikipedia editors do not work on or read the help desk. You need to attract the attention of those editors who might be interested in your project. I recommend asking on the talk page of one or more of the projects listed at Category:WikiProject Elements. Take a look at those project pages and pick one that is active and that seems to be a good match for your project. If you wish to collaborate with other editors, it's a great deal easier if you start by creating an account, because communicating with an anonymous editor is not easy. -Arch dude (talk) 15:08, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- This seems to be the same Vietnamese editor whose original comment (now archived) triggered work to make our articles about the chemical elements consistent. We completed that work yesterday (as linked above) and I have no idea what the IP now wants us to do, since the first two snippets in the posting above are identical! Mike Turnbull (talk) 15:31, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- No, they are not identical:
'''Bromine''' is a [[chemical element]]; it has [[symbol]] '''Br''' and [[atomic number]] 35
- vs
'''Bromine''' is a [[chemical element]]; it has symbol '''Br''' and [[atomic number]] 35
- —Trappist the monk (talk) 15:36, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- Looks like they want the word symbol to be unlinked? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 15:36, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Michael D. Turnbull: It's not linked at the moment. They probably want it linked, which is probably reasonable. Bazza (talk) 16:08, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- DOH! It was supposed to be linked (see the discussion at the link I gave). Bromine was done by User:Praseodymium-141 yesterday and seems to have gone wrong. I think that all the others are correct: with the link, as we intended. Mike Turnbull (talk) 16:13, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- No, they are not identical:
- This seems to be the same Vietnamese editor whose original comment (now archived) triggered work to make our articles about the chemical elements consistent. We completed that work yesterday (as linked above) and I have no idea what the IP now wants us to do, since the first two snippets in the posting above are identical! Mike Turnbull (talk) 15:31, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Problem
I no longer receive notifications of discussions, only some. JackkBrown (talk) 15:41, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- JackkBrown, what do you mean by 'notifications' and 'discussions'? Make sure you are subscribed to each discussion you want to receive notifications for. Sungodtemple (talk • contribs) 15:45, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- Always be specific when you report an issue, e.g. posting a diff you think should have notified you. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:54, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Sungodtemple: thank you very much, I solved it! JackkBrown (talk) 16:15, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @PrimeHunter: anyway, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Dicklyon; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Italy; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Pecorino_Sardo. JackkBrown (talk) 16:18, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: I have linked to your user page, so you should receive a notification about this post. In this post,this post, and this post, the users didn't link to your user page or use the {{ping}} template, so you would not receive a notification (unless you subscribed to the page or section). For more information, see Help:Notifications. GoingBatty (talk) 17:27, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- @PrimeHunter: anyway, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Dicklyon; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Italy; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Pecorino_Sardo. JackkBrown (talk) 16:18, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
I have not received a parcel from your shop
5 Wikipedia pens 80.42.41.235 (talk) 16:49, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- The store is not directly connected to Wikipedia, no one here can help you. You'll have to use the Contact us link at the bottom of the store page - X201 (talk) 17:02, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Referencing errors on Chennai Formula Racing Circuit
Reference help requested.
Thanks, Davidindia (talk) 19:07, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- It appears this has been resolved. Tollens (talk) 20:54, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
Unable to edit from the Safari browser even when logged in
A few days ago I started experiencing a weird problem on my home Apple laptop: When I try to edit Wikipedia from the Safari browser, even when logged in as Nsk92, I get blacked with an error message "This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia. [...] The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia." The issue only affects Safari and I am able to edit from other browsers such as Chrome and Firefox. I am connected to the Internet using WiFi (via my Verizon internet router) and I am not using a VPN or anything of the sort. Safari is my default browser and I am used to working with it, so this issue is rather annoying even though I can currently get around it. Still, can anyone tell me what's gooing on and why this is happening? And is there some fix that would allow me to edit from Safari? Thanks, Nsk92 (talk) 21:43, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- That does sound odd. Techie types tend to hang around WP:VPT more than here, so you might get more response there. ColinFine (talk) 22:03, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
to my bio and photo to Puerto Rican artist and?
Hola I'm a Puerto Rican actor; 'Cheo Tapia' you could Google me? would like to add me in the Puerto Rica list of actors and artist CheoT505 (talk) 22:48, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
- what? no. ltbdl (talk) 01:37, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @CheoT505: Lists like that one are not lists of people. They are lists of Wikipedia articles about people. Unless there is a Wikioedia article about you, your name cannot be added to that list, so wait until an article about you is added to Wikipedia. Before you ask: it is unlikely that we can have an article about you. to have an artilce, you would need to be notable by our definition: see WP:NACTOR. Please do not try to add an article about yourself: it is not easy and it usually does not end well. Take a look at WP:TOOSOON, WP:AUTO, and WP:AMOUNT. -Arch dude (talk) 03:14, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
November 14
Removing italics from article title
Is there a way to remove the italic format from an article title? For example, Together in Electric Dreams is styled in italics, but it's a song—not an album/EP—so it should not have that styling. There is no "italic title" template on the page, so I don't know how to fix this. ResPM (T🔈🎵C) 13:44, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Italic title is almost always the results of the "italic title" template or an infobox that forces italicization. This was the latter, with the use of Infobox album lower on the page leading to unwanted consequences. I think I fixed it. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 13:51, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Looks good to me. Thanks. ResPM (T🔈🎵C) 13:53, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
Is "Trigon" a term to be put in italics? JackkBrown (talk) 14:51, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: I don't think so, just like we don't italicize football, baseball, or basketball. GoingBatty (talk) 15:17, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Or Pasuckuakohowog. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:30, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @GoingBatty: @Gråbergs Gråa Sång: why then are "Caid (sport)" and "Episkyros" put in italics? JackkBrown (talk) 15:40, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Someone thought it was a good idea? It may be. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:46, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: I think your questions about italicization would be better asked at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Text formatting. GoingBatty (talk) 16:09, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @GoingBatty: @Gråbergs Gråa Sång: why then are "Caid (sport)" and "Episkyros" put in italics? JackkBrown (talk) 15:40, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Or Pasuckuakohowog. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:30, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
Request rollback
I made a mess, could you kindly undo all my changes on the Trigon (game) page? JackkBrown (talk) 15:45, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
Done. Maproom (talk) 15:53, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Italicising words written in the Greek alphabet seems weird. It's not like anyone would mistake them for English words. Maproom (talk) 15:58, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: As you will know from reading MOS:FOREIGNITALICS which you have been directed to many times, MOS:BADITALICS forbids it. You have also been told not to use direct italics, but to place non-English words inside the appropriate {{lang}} tag. Ecco un esempio:
{{lang|it|Ecco un esempio}}
. And, εδώ είναι ένα άλλο παράδειγμα:{{lang|el|εδώ είναι ένα άλλο παράδειγμα}}
. Bazza (talk) 16:12, 14 November 2023 (UTC) - It is wrong to italicize words written with the Greek script per MOS:FOREIGN.
- —Trappist the monk (talk) 16:16, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: As you will know from reading MOS:FOREIGNITALICS which you have been directed to many times, MOS:BADITALICS forbids it. You have also been told not to use direct italics, but to place non-English words inside the appropriate {{lang}} tag. Ecco un esempio:
- Italicising words written in the Greek alphabet seems weird. It's not like anyone would mistake them for English words. Maproom (talk) 15:58, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
Notability Question
I'm interested in writing my first BLP. My articles to date have all been listings on the National Register of Historic Places, so inherently notable. I'm reasonably sure my potential subject meets our notability threshold, but I would appreciate a second opinion so as to not waste my time. My question mainly involves the balance of regional vs. national coverage: the person is a real estate developer who has received extensive regional independent news coverage. I've only found one national source so far, but it's a good one: a 1,300-word profile in the New York Times (an abridged version of the same article ran in the Seattle Times). Am I correct in assuming the combined coverage lends notability, or would more national coverage be necessary? DrOrinScrivello (talk) 16:15, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- It is not possible to give you a definite answer without particulars, but on the basis of what you've said: a single source is rarely adequate; the NYT is generally a reliable source but reliability does not depend only on the publisher, but on other factors as well.
- And it depends very much on what you mean by a "profile" - that often means something that will basically have been provided by the subject or their associates, which is not what is required. Is this the result of independent research, or has it been written up from an interview or press release?
- I do wonder why people so often think that they can get an answer to a question about a specific case without telling us what that specific case is. ColinFine (talk) 16:23, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @ColinFine My apologies for being vague; it was more out of a mindset of trying to give enough information without making someone actually scan through a half dozen sources. The subject's name is Ed Walker from Roanoke, Virginia - the NYT piece contains quotes from an interview but seems independently written. I don't have a WP Library-friendly link, but the citation is Ryzik, Melena. "Virginia Developer Is On A Mission To Revive His Town". New York Times; New York, N.Y.. 25 July 2012: A.11.
- And I do realize a single source would likely be insufficient. The article would be combined with the considerable amount of regional coverage, I just don't know how much weight that hold towards overall notability. Thanks for the assistance either way. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 16:38, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @DrOrinScrivello: See this archived version. When writing the citation in a Wikipedia article, you don't need to write that the New York Times is published in New York. The location would be more important for a smaller publication, or an ambiguous name such as The Record. GoingBatty (talk) 17:01, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @GoingBatty Thanks for the link and the tip. I copy pasted from Proquest and thought to remove the "Late Edition (East Coast)" but didn't think about the location.
- I'll add that this is particular occasion is not a big deal, I have plenty to occupy my time with the project Ed Walker article or no, but it has piqued my interest for future reference regarding national vs. regional coverage and notability. In doing research before coming here I came across WP:AUD, but that is only specific to organizations. Is there an exisiting essay or guideline that applies to people? DrOrinScrivello (talk) 17:17, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @DrOrinScrivello: Yes, WP:NBIO. GoingBatty (talk) 17:53, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @GoingBatty I'm aware of WP:NBIO, but it doesn't seem to make any distinction between national and regional coverage. I found some discussion in the archives of its talk page, but nothing definitive. I'll likely just stay away from any fringe cases and stick with my corner of the encyclopedia that's a little more straightforward. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 18:38, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- If you are unsure, start a draft in your userspace. As long as it's in your userspace and not draft space, it won't be subject to G13, so you can take your time. If you are unsure about the sourcing, ask someone to take a look at it once you're relatively happy with it. If you really want to subject it to some scrutiny, you can send it through articles for creation, but don't feel obligated. I would encourage you to go for it though. ~ ONUnicorn(Talk|Contribs)problem solving 22:16, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @ONUnicorn Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. I only recently discovered how useful the userspace can be. I'll work up a draft eventually and see how it goes. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 22:51, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- If you are unsure, start a draft in your userspace. As long as it's in your userspace and not draft space, it won't be subject to G13, so you can take your time. If you are unsure about the sourcing, ask someone to take a look at it once you're relatively happy with it. If you really want to subject it to some scrutiny, you can send it through articles for creation, but don't feel obligated. I would encourage you to go for it though. ~ ONUnicorn(Talk|Contribs)problem solving 22:16, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @GoingBatty I'm aware of WP:NBIO, but it doesn't seem to make any distinction between national and regional coverage. I found some discussion in the archives of its talk page, but nothing definitive. I'll likely just stay away from any fringe cases and stick with my corner of the encyclopedia that's a little more straightforward. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 18:38, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @DrOrinScrivello: Yes, WP:NBIO. GoingBatty (talk) 17:53, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @DrOrinScrivello: See this archived version. When writing the citation in a Wikipedia article, you don't need to write that the New York Times is published in New York. The location would be more important for a smaller publication, or an ambiguous name such as The Record. GoingBatty (talk) 17:01, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
I wanted to Change my user name.
I made my user name Fortune2725, then went back and tried to change it to my Name Ryan Hyman, and it now added another account that is somehow linked to the Fortune2725 user name. I do not want to use Fortune2725 as my user name. I would like to use my name Ryan Hyman. Fortune2725 (talk) 22:30, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Fortune2725: Hi there! I see you successfully created the Ryan Hyman user. Log out of Wikipedia, and log in as Ryan Hyman, and you'll be all set. GoingBatty (talk) 22:34, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- It said the account already exists now. Fortune2725 (talk) 22:36, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Yes; assuming you were the one who created Ryan Hyman, you can log out of this account and enter the credentials to use that one. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 22:42, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Special:Log/Fortune2725 shows it was you who created Ryan Hyman. As the others say, just log out and back in as Ryan Hyman. The account Fortune2725 will still exist but you can ignore it. If you want to edit beyond this section with both accounts then see Wikipedia:Sockpuppetry. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:19, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- It said the account already exists now. Fortune2725 (talk) 22:36, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
Wikilinking Special:Log
Is there a way to Wikilink rather than external-link a Special:Log? Specifically, a Wikilink instead of https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&page=Selby+Abbey Something like [[Special:Log&page=Selby+Abbey]] which doesn't work. Special:Log&page=Selby+Abbey If you could point me to a help page, that would be great. help:log doesn't seem to have any such info. Thank you Adakiko (talk) 23:05, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- It doesn't look as if you can: you can specify the kind of log in a wikilink, but not the "target". See Help:Special page. ColinFine (talk) 23:11, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Adakiko: I think you can only wikilink by log type and performer, not target. See mw:Help:Log. Query strings with "&" never work in wikilinks. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:14, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- You can also link to single specific log entries with Special:Redirect, like Special:Redirect/logid/155248539. But no, you can't wikilink by target, which is the most glaring omission, nor by subtype (like only restorations in the deletion log). —Cryptic 23:18, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
- Thank you! Adakiko (talk) 03:56, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
November 15
Help! I used to be able to choose language of the artickles
I want to search articles and have an option to see these articles in different languages, like in the old Wikipedia version. English versions often are different from, say, those in the Russian Wikipedia. Help! Alex R. (talk) 01:56, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- Hey there. I assume that you are currently using the Vector (2022) skin? If so, you can change languages of the article (you may be viewing) in the top right corner. Well known subjects are available in the Russian language. 🛧Midori No Sora♪🛪 ( ☁=☁=✈) 02:25, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
Italics
How do I put italics on one word in the title, such as the word oinochoe in "Oinochoe by the Shuvalov Painter"? JackkBrown (talk) 03:09, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: There is a parameter in {{Italic title}} you can use to specify which part of the title to put in italics. RudolfRed (talk) 03:17, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown:{{Italic title|string=Oinochoe}} Jimfbleak - talk to me? 09:24, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown:: You might see other editors use
{{DISPLAYTITLE}}
, such as{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Oinochoe'' by the Shuvalov Painter}}
. GoingBatty (talk) 16:54, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
Did I handle this okay?
I noticed a typo on Corpus Delicti (band), saw that the article was...really bad... and went in the history to find that an editor added a lot of content to the article with a lot of problems. I went on the editor's talk page and left a message explaining why the edits weren't very good. Was my handling of the situation okay? Dialmayo (talk) (Contribs) she/her 12:48, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- Yes, if it was one editor who did those edits, then just revert the edits and leave a message on the editor's talk page explaining the problems. That's what you did, and I'd say that's good! ThatOneWolf (talk|contribs) 12:59, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- Hi there Dialmayo, thanks for coming to the help desk! the edit seemed like copyvio to me so I ran a quick test using earwig and it was a direct copy and paste from another website that was not suitably licensed, so I reverted the edits and tagged it for revision deletion for copyright reasons. I echo ThatOneWolf in saying that your note on the other editor's talk page was really good, thanks for your contributions! Justiyaya 13:05, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- Good catch with the copyvio! That's a neat tool, by the way. I'll make sure to remember it. Dialmayo (talk) (Contribs) she/her 15:37, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
"Thyrsus"
Hi, "Thyrsus" and "Kylix" goes in italics? JackkBrown (talk) 16:50, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: I think your questions about which words should be italicized would be better asked at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Text formatting. GoingBatty (talk) 16:56, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
James IV king of Scots
The entry on Scotland refers to James IV as being the last British king to die in battle . This is wrong . He was Scottish and never was British . How can we change that please Ensb1 (talk) 18:40, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- @Ensb1. I see the lead of James IV of Scotland states "James was the last monarch in Great Britain to be killed in battle", and Great Britain includes Scotland, so this seems OK. I don't see anywhere in the article where he is described as British. However, if I'm missing the sentence you want changed, then I suggest you start a discussion on Talk:James IV of Scotland, and specify the exact sentence you want to be changed, and suggest the alternate wording. Or be bold and change it yourself. Thanks, and happy editing! GoingBatty (talk) 19:00, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- yes but the entry on scotland itself says british and this is what needs to be changed
- eg
- The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was signed in 1502 by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England. James married Henry's daughter, Margaret Tudor. James invaded England in support of France under the terms of the Auld Alliance and became the last British monarch to die in battle, at Flodden in 1513. 151.43.159.130 (talk) 19:51, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- British is just wrong> he was scottish.. always and would never have accepted being designated as british Ensb1 (talk) 19:56, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- I've changed Scotland to match James IV of Scotland: "the last monarch in Great Britain to die in battle". I hope that satisfies all. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 20:18, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- British is just wrong> he was scottish.. always and would never have accepted being designated as british Ensb1 (talk) 19:56, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- [Edit Conflict] Ensb1, the terms 'British' and 'Scottish' can refer to ethnicities, regionalities and nationalities, which are not always the same thing, and which all vary in application according to date.
- With reference to James IV, he is considered British because he was both native to and ruler of a part of Great Britain, and it is a given that (what is now) "Scotland" (previously Caledonia or Pictland, taken over by Scots from Ulster) is and always has been geographically part of the island of Great Britain (and used to be called "North Britain" in one period). Incidentally, his family line probably descended from a Breton who took part in the Norman conquest of England.
- Description of people in a modern encyclopaedia article are generally made according to modern historical analyses and understanding. What James IV himself would have called himself at the time, because of political circumstances then applying, has no bearing on the matter. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.2.5.208 (talk) 20:23, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- no no no..great britain did not exist at that time full stop. he was scottish and king of scots and would not himself consider himself as british..That is the salient point. show him some respect . of course there are many ethnicities and many ways of being scottish but at that time he was monarch of an independent kingdom fighting the english .. it was not a civil war but a war between two states.. end of exchange he was scottish Ensb1 (talk) 20:38, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
Could someone rename these two pages? "Cup" should be in lowercase. Thank you! "Siana Cup; "Lip Cup". JackkBrown (talk) 21:48, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- You have the ability to perform most page moves yourself, JackkBrown. Where you don't, or where some other problem might arise, Wikipedia:Moving a page explains how to proceed. -- Hoary (talk) 22:28, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
- @JackkBrown: You have been told, on at least three separate occasions at the help desk, how to change a page's title by moving it, and what you can do if you can't do it yourself. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 23:16, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
Accessing to the previous Help_desk page content
How Can I access to the older versions of this page (Help_desk) to refer to the reply I got around 8 days ago ?? Bezyjoon (talk) 23:37, 15 November 2023 (UTC)