Wikipedia:Help desk

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January 31

Singing Shape Notes, Converted to Piano Playing Notes

My wife is trying to find a grand Staff Singing notes Converted To Piano Playing Notes, a chart between the two Differances side by side. She is learning to play piano and has a song she wrote ,but the notes were written in shape notes, my wife was a mennonite at the time,. A mennonite lady wrote shape notes to my wifes song. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Michael Karla (talk • contribs) 00:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Try the reference desk.--Kerotan^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 00:18, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Which is here. XENON54 | talk | who? 00:33, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Does Wikipedia take a couple of days to update?

I have just returned from Sydney doing a photo shoot of old terraced (row) houses and yesterday inserted a 'houses' section with a small gallery in the Wikipedia article on Camperdown, an inner city suburb of Sydney. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camperdown%2C_New_South_Wales When bringing up the article today I see that my section has not yet appeared. However when I go into "history" and look at latest changes then bring up the page from there, my new section is there in all its glory! I take it that the server takes a day or so to update? I have noticed this in the past with other articles. Just want to ensure that I'm doing the right thing. Cheers. --MichaelGG (talk) 01:32, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Did you try purging the server cache? --Hdt83 ^Chat 01:33, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Its because you browser in caching the page, preventing the page from updating, if your using IE hold shift and click refresh.--Kerotan^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 01:35, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See more at Wikipedia:Bypass your cache. Some ISPs cache some pages before they reach the customers. Bypassing the browser cache doesn't help in that case. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:53, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Translating Pages

Are there any licensing issue for translating wikipedia articles in English to other languages for wikipedia essentially verbatim? Commment (talk) 01:58, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

No, Wikipedia content is free to use anywhere. —Travis^talk 02:02, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

With the caveat that the GFDL license would seem to require that you acknowledge the source. On en.wiki, you can use Template:Translation/Ref; I assume your target wikipedias have a similar tamplate. If you can't find it on one of them, you can ask there. --barneca (talk) 02:08, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Translation. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:30, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Juandrezh: A new language

I have been looking for the rules and regulations for making a new article, and in order to avoid any future problems, I'd like to explain the article I plan to make. I and a fellow student have developed a new language, or creole as its a mix of several languages, and wish to publicize its grammar and vocabulary. Juandrezhconsists of completely unique verbal conjuguations, orthography, etc. These grammatical elements are controled by a bipartisan group called the Academuzia Juandrezha dilla Lenguzia - Reglamentum dilla Grammaticuzia e l'Ôrtôgrafuzia. Many people have asked to be taught this language and I thought putting its grammatical rules into a wikipedia article would be much more efficient than private lessons. Will any probelsm arise if I proceed to create this article? Juandrezh (talk) 02:05, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The subject of your article doesn’t sound like it would meet Wikipedia’s notability guidelines and would seem to violate the restrictions against original research. Wikipedia cannot be used to establish notability - notability must already be established. —Travis^talk 02:12, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought and is not for things made up in school one day. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 02:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See the Constructed language article, and {{Constructed langyages}}. For a constructed language to earn notice in Wikipedia, it would have to be the subject of independently published reliable sources. If you have not published any academic papers about your constructed language yet, you could write about it on another wiki which accepts original research, such as: WikInfo; also see: wikiindex:Category:Language. Good luck with your language, and thanks for asking before creating a new article here. --Teratornis (talk) 20:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Holy cross high school, Waterbury, CT

Hi, before i posted a picture on the holy cross high school page of waterbury, CT. I put it under basketball and it was the three captains of 2005 along with the coach. It came on first, but than was deleted. Why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jumpshtocap25 (talk • contribs) 02:40, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Note: The image in question is Holycross.jpg —Travis^talk 02:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The license apparently said it was only allowed to use on Wikipedia. Wikipedia allows others to reuse images and does not accept images that are only allowed on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Uploading images. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:05, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

HTMAL MESAGE

HOW TI GET THE NET SITE UDSED FOR HTML MESSAGE —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.172.7.157 (talk) 02:54, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Proper English please, I can't understand what you are trying to say. --FastLizard4 (Talk•Index•Sign) 02:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

What tags to put on brochure using a Wikipedia image

Hi there. I'm working on a brochure and we would like to use the following image [1] which is available for use under GNU 1.2. Thing is what tags should I put in the brochure? Couldn't see any firm instructions on this. Thanks for your help.Saganaki- (talk) 07:41, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Depending on your particular use, you will find usage instructions both at The GNU Free Documentation License, the General disclaimer page, and the image page itself. It may be some heavy reading, but it's important stuff. Hope this helps a bit! --omtay38 07:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, I've already trawled these and still couldn't figure out what to put. Trying to find some examples of sourcing via the search engines, but not luck. As wikipedia itself currently seems to be silent on the issue, if anyone is able to offer anything definite, perhaps we could consider adding a section to the image use page itself? Saganaki- (talk) 07:53, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately, the GFDL is stupid. Thus you are required to include (as stated in part 2 of the license) not only a notice saying who holds the copyright and the 'released under the GFDL' blurb from the image page, but also the entire text of the GFDL itself. In addition, if making more than 100 copies, you are required to link to a 'transparent' version (i.e. the Wikipedia image page) and to take 'reasonably prudent steps' to ensure it remains there and is not deleted. Algebraist 10:37, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I thought you just had to credit the source in a little footnote and state what the license was, surely? • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 13:25, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not own GFDL images and cannot legally decide how they are allowed to be reused. Wikipedia:Reusing Wikipedia content and Wikipedia:Verbatim copying may have some tips but note that Wikipedia does not give legal opinions. Sorry this may seem unsatisfactory. You can attempt to contact the original Japanese uploader of [2] at [3] but I don't know whether English will be understood. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:29, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Anakin: I'm afraid not. Read the GFDL. Algebraist 18:47, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Why is our "little" companies profile not meeting the Wiki standard for publication?

Is a Starbucks or Game Stop wiki entry an advertisement? If these companies have wiki entries why are other companies and their corporate profiles rejected. Who decides when a company will be included in wiki? Would anyone within the wiki world help me write a profile correctly to meet the standard? Thank your for your time in advance! Treynia Treynia (talk) 07:55, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi there and welcome to the help desk! Wikipedia has a set of notability guidelines for organizations and companies. Basically, these guidelines are a measure of whether or not a company or organization is a valid subject for an encyclopedic article. If you would like assistance creating an article or an opinion as to whether or not an article meets these guidelines, I would suggest creating a draft of the article in a subpage of your userspace. Then feel free to leave a message on my talk page or re-post here asking that the draft be looked at for notability and merit. Hope this helps! --omtay38 08:04, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Assuming that you are T. J. Reynia, you also have a severe conflict of interest in writing about GamesXchange, and would be very strongly discouraged from attempting to do so. --Orange Mike | Talk 14:43, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not want articles about every company, but Wikicompany does. I agree with the opinion that Wikipedia's notability requirements have the side effect of handing free exposure to large, established companies, but there's nothing we can do about that. (Strictly speaking, Wikipedia does not accept any content about a company which reads like advertising, but merely writing neutrally about large companies indirectly increases their exposure to potential customers.) Wikipedia does not want to become a comprehensive directory of every company in the world (see: WP:NOT#DIRECTORY); that's what Wikicompany is for. --Teratornis (talk) 21:05, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

ans me

should pakistan enetr into free trade with india ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.38.58.7 (talk) 08:26, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Try asking at Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities with heading "Pakistan" or something useful. CarbonLifeForm (talk) 11:29, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The Reference Desk is not an appropriate place for questions of opinion. Corvus cornix_talk 20:00, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The question is ill-posed because it asks for a normative answer, which makes the answer subjective, and thus a function of who you ask. A better question is:

• If Pakistan and India sign a free trade agreement, what effects will this have (on specific industries, etc.)?

That is a positive question, one which admits objective answers, which all sane people might potentially agree on if they have access to the same data, regardless of whether they support or oppose such free trade. --Teratornis (talk) 18:06, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I didn't do it!

I don't know if this is the place to go or not, but after reviewing the options, here goes. I was looking up "typhoon", and I saw a message box on the screen. The message told me to stop changing things, articles about high schools or sports I think, and I don't know how I could even have gotten messages. After looking everywhere, I saw someone else's message about the same kind of thing, and it was mentioned that someone might have used their IP address. 1 How coould someone use my IP address if that is what happened in this case? 2 I don't have an account, so how did I get this message? 3 How can I find the message again? --65.54.98.27 (talk) 08:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)--65.54.98.27 (talk) 08:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

1 precisely because you didn't register. You appear to be using a shared ip address. Best thing is to register an account.

2 see the bottom of the page.

3 by clicking the blue talk link against your IP address. CarbonLifeForm (talk) 11:33, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

User talk:65.54.98.27, the talk page for the IP address used to post here, has warnings but does not mention high schools or sports. It's possible you have a dynamic IP address and got a message on another IP talk page. If that is the case then we cannot say which it was. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:14, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

BUYING FROM WIKIPEDIA

Resolved

 – Wikipedia’s [www.cafepress.com/wikipedia cafépress shop] pointed out to user

Have asked before but didn't have the time to buy before my travel, and now I forgot where to find it... - Where do I find the page where one can buy posters, T-shirts etc from Wikipedia? Do I need an account to be able to buy? All the best, Charlie —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.247.50.178 (talk) 09:44, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

There might be other places, but [www.cafepress.com/wikipedia here] is one. Algebraist 10:27, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

VERY MUCH THANK YOU !!!!! Now finally I could order. All the best to you - Charlie —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.247.50.178 (talk) 11:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Editing a page with no Editing link

A well known personality has certain details displayed in Wikipedia which I have been asked if I can remove. I have created an account as normal, and logged in, but there is no link on his page to allow me to edit the details. Neither is there a padlock indicating that it is locked.

Am I missing something?

Bob Jury —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bobjury (talk • contribs) 11:21, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

You have a conflict of interest. If the details don't violate Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons then you are discouraged from editing the article. You can make a suggestion on the talk page instead (click "discussion" at the top to get there). See Wikipedia:Contact us/Article problem/Factual error (from subject) for some types of problems. Some articles have no edit links to the right but only an "edit this page" tab at the top. Protecting an article and adding the padlock are different actions which don't always happen together. Click "history" and then "View logs for this page" to see a log which will include protections. If it's only semi-protected then you can edit it when your account is 4 days old. If it's fully protected then you can place {{Editprotected}} on the talk page with your request. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:10, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Unresolved

Is there an opposite of template:resolved ? CarbonLifeForm (talk) 11:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

In some situations you can use one of {{Unresolved}}, {{Stale}}, {{Stuck}}. If it appears people have just overlooked an old section then it sometimes helps to make a new post there, visible on watchlists and the page history. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:17, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Reverting banned user

Can I remove the POV edits and POV statements in an article talk page by a sock of banned user. If I delete or revert the edits in article talk page by the sock, will it be violation of any policy? Otolemur crassicaudatus (talk) 11:59, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Be bold and do it. CarbonLifeForm (talk) 13:11, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

If the statements on the Talk page are not violating any Wikipedia policies (such as WP:NPA), I would simply leave them to be archived later. POV edits to an article, though, can be removed immediately. -- Kesh (talk) 16:40, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

log in

hi...i'm having trouble logging in...never had this trouble before...sent for a new password and still can't get in...what gives...thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.48.13.232 (talk) 14:00, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Is anything at Help:Logging in of help? Did you receive the new password and use correct capitalization? PrimeHunter (talk) 14:03, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

template format question

I am trying write {{sep entry}} to link to articles at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy but am having trouble with the code.

I need

Zalta, Edward N., ed. (2008-01-31). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/Helpdesk/. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

to read

[4] entry at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Wikipedians, 2008-01-31.

Thanks in advance, and ignore this message if the two lines above appear identical. скоморохъ ^ѧ 15:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The above links don't appear to work...? Scarian^{Call me Pat} 15:39, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Apparently the goal was merely to make the template call {{sep entry|Helpdesk||Wikipedians|2008-01-31}} in the first line produce the text in the second line. The template has been edited since the post and currently produces an identical line so I guess the problem is resolved. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Looks like it is working to me. You got the template to append the "Helpdesk" page name to the link base. So, if you put that template on a philosophy page that has a matching entry at SEP you are all set. Seems like you should add a pipe (|) and repeat the page name variable so that the initial link shows up as word instead of a number. —Noah 15:55, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

My talk page is getting too long

Does somebody want to teach me how to archive?the juggreserection ^IstKrieg! 15:40, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I haven't done it myself, but this page seems helpful.—Noah 15:42, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I would like to replace Levamisole.svg with Levamisole2.svg but I'm a new user

Levamisole was listed as being in need of replacement in SVG so I went to the trouble of creating a nice .SVG image. But, someone beat me to it with what I think is not quite as nice an image. Look at how the wedge bond joins with the benzene and the proper ACS use of atom labels. (Although my image does have text issues with FireFox 2, but not FireFox 3). I thought I saw a notice saying I would have to ask the help desk to move the image for me.

oldimage

versus new image —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.71.243.155 (talk) 16:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

So could someone make a judgement and replace the original if it's deemed worthy. I will try to avoid replication in the future. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.71.243.155 (talk) 16:21, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Responded on user talk. --omtay38 16:28, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Template for something that needs translating into another language?

I have come across an Islam-related article (namely, Sadaqah) whose title needs translating into Arabic at the start of the article (like the other Muslim terms in their respective articles - see, for instance, Zakat). Which template do I need in order to flag this issue up and have someone provide a translation?

Thanks in advance! It Is Me Here (talk) 18:42, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't know, but something on Wikipedia:Template messages/translation might work. --Teratornis (talk) 20:48, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

List of questions

Would I break a rule/law if I compile a list of most... well... dumbest questions on WP:RD and publish it in a website? --grawity ^{talk / PGP} 19:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

You'd have to comply with the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Other than that... myself, I'd argue that it might be deemed a violation of WP:CIVIL to mock the querents like that; but then, I'm a Quaker, and take civility unusually seriously. --Orange Mike | Talk 19:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

WP:CIVIL only applies to Wikipedia; the list would be on another site, where WP:CIVIL does not apply. Wikipedia has no grounds for telling other sites what to do, other than comply with the GFDL as it applies to copying Wikipedia's content. The whole point of the GFDL is that we allow people to re-use our content as they please, even in ways we may personally dislike. Also, such a list would not necessarily constitute mockery, provided that it merely lists some questions which already appeared on WP:RD. (If some readers conclude on their own that a question is mockable, that's up to them to decide. Lots of people laugh at lots of things, and there isn't much we can do to stop them. But we can choose not to submit to our own "embarrassment genes.") To constitute mockery, the list would also have to include some commentary telling us what the site owner thinks about the questions. And even if the site owner expresses a negative opinion, it's still up to the reader to decide whether to agree with it. Making fun of other people is a comedic mainstay; people like Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have earned fortunes from it, and have become extremely popular as a result. They probably would not be so popular if they habitually insulted their audiences - most people find it much easier to laugh at other people than to laugh at themselves. --Teratornis (talk) 20:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Userspace question

Is there an easy way to view a complete list of user subpages for a given user?--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 19:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Sure. Go to Special:Prefixindex, type the user's name and set the namespace first to user, then to user talk.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:05, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

If you want to put links on your user page to all of your own user subpages and user talk pages, this handy markup does the trick:

*[{{fullurl:Special:Prefixindex|namespace=2}}&from={{PAGENAMEE}} See all my user subpages]
**[{{fullurl:Special:Prefixindex|namespace=3}}&from={{PAGENAMEE}} and all their talk pages]

See it in action here: User:Teratornis#User sub-pages. --Teratornis (talk) 20:26, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick reply.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 20:36, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Display trouble

I'm not sure where to ask this question, or whether it might be a problem with my browser, but here goes...Until a few days ago, I always had a little bar across the bottom of the screen (when in WP) that would show the name of the link when I hovered over it with my pointer. Now it's gone and I don't know why and it's really bugging me...I didn't realize how much I used it! Anyone know how I can get it back? SlackerMom (talk) 20:07, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Chances are it's a browser problem. What browser are you using? --omtay38 20:14, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

If you are using Internet Explorer, you need to go to View/Toolbars and make sure that Address Bar is checked. SpinningSpark 20:18, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The bar at the bottom of the screen is the Status Bar. --teb728 t c 20:44, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Oh, perfect! Thank you VERY much. Yes, it was actually the "Status Bar" that needed to be checked. I must have unchecked it by accident in some editing fury! Much obliged! (All is now right with the world...) SlackerMom (talk) 20:46, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The Dim Mak

I was wondering if there is any documentation concerning the Dim Mak secrets in physiology? The time aspects etc are they an intrgral part of this study of Dim Mak(Oriental...Death Touch)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.135.162.85 (talk) 20:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Hello! This is the help desk, a place for asking questions about the usage of wikipedia. This question may be better suited for the reference desk. Best regards! --omtay38 20:58, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. The Helpful One 21:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

How to edit a section

How do you edit a section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lmboone2 (talk • contribs) 21:02, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See: Help:Section#Section editing. --Teratornis (talk) 21:10, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

There is usually an [edit] button on the left of the section title. Click it to do a sectional edit.

How to create my own page

how do i create my own page-a completely new one? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hurricaneroger (talk • contribs) 21:06, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation.

The Helpful One 21:13, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but I think that Hurricaneroger may have meant user sub-pages. Information on that can be found here. Icestorm815 (talk) 21:16, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

homeless people

hello i am doing a scince fair prodject on how homeless people might have mental problems do u have any pages that are about that?? it would be a lot of help.. from sarah —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.29.26.232 (talk) 21:37, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. --Orange Mike | Talk 21:46, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

See Homelessness which does detail this issue. Unfortunately, it is not a very well verified article. Be wary of any text that does not have a citation after it. Ideally, you should be looking to the sources cited, and not the encyclopedia article, for rigor in academic research.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Add text to a image

How do i add text to a image on wiki? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ohrchodosh (talk • contribs) 21:47, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi. Use this code.[[Image:name of image|thumb|caption text]] The placement is defaulted to the right of the page, but you can add a placement parameter such as "|left" to change the default. You can also change the size (usually not recommended) by typing "|(numeral) px." Just a note on terminology. This place is Wikipedia. A wiki is any site using wiki software (there are thousands of them). Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk)

Loss of session data

On Jan 30, I attempted to create a new page/article (my first)titled, "Cooperative living arrangements"

After spending considerable time to input text,, I hit "Save page".

I then got a screen that said "Sorry! We could not process your edit due to loss of session data. Please try again."

My new article appeared on the screen as "Preview". When I clicked "Article", it disappeared.

In spite of much searching, I have not been able to find it again.

How does this happen?

Can I retrieve my input in any way?

Do I have to start all over again? If I do re-input all the text, how do I know that the same thing won't happen again?

Please advise.

Thanks!Speers (talk) 22:01, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

On my browser, at least, immediately clicking 'back' returns me to the edit screen with all my edits in place. If it's longer ago, you may be able to find your data in your browser history. 131.111.8.104 (talk) 22:28, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

No, if you click article, you will have gone to the article page again and lost all the text. You should have clicked on "Save" again. This error happens if you have been composing your message too long. The edit page is not sure anymore about who you are and where you are from, and needs an intermediate step to confirm that you really did press the submit button. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 22:33, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Your text is gone and no, you don't know that it won't happen again. This eventually happens to anyone who writes online a lot if they don't take precautions. The lesson learned is: never click save/post/submit on any online forum, website, etc. without at least highlighting and copying your proposed text, and if it's lots of text that you've slaved over, saving it somewhere such as in a wordpad document.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:16, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Even if you clicked "article", you may be able to get back to where you were typing in your text by clicking "back" on your browser. If you've done other things after that, you still might get there by clicking "back" a number of times, going back past everything you did after that, until you get back to where you were editing. I did that just now, to test: I clicked "project page" (which is like clicking "article", except that the help desk isn't an article) and I then clicked "back" and got back to the edit box with half this post still in it.

In other words, I don't think it's saved at Wikipedia, but it might still be in your browser's cache or whatever.

Sorry you lost all that work.

I'm not sure, but I think it might help next time if you click "preview" every couple of minutes. Then the Wikipedia server knows you're still there. If you're adding a lot of material, it's probably a good idea to click "save page" after every few paragraphs, so that if your Internet connection gets broken or anything, you only lose a few paragraphs at most. Or, save it now and then in another application as someone suggested above. Saving after every tiny little change is discouraged because it adds too many lines to the page history and to the Recent Changes log. --Coppertwig (talk) 00:46, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Creating a Wikiproject Banner TEMPLATE

I need help creating a template to house my wikiproject banner. I'm not confident enough to make one on my own, however with some help I might be able to have it done by weeks end.  :: RatedR ^{Leg of Lamb} 23:16, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

You can request templates at Wikipedia:Requested templates. However, if you provide some detail about what you want in the template, depending on its complexity, someone here might just bang it out for you; impossible to do without those details. You can explore other Wikiproject banners here. It would likely be very helpful in any request for the template for you say you want it to resemble/have the features of an existing template you can name.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:31, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

3.5 FLOPPY

3.5 floppy:how do i download WIKI erial to disk off the internet, and then retrievE the information off the disk whether online or offline ? i think i'm not finding a character somewhere. NOTE:I HAVE WINDOWS 98, AND AMERICA ONLINE. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.215.29.80 (talk) 23:32, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The Help Desk if for asking questions about using Wikipedia only. Cheers, LAX 23:35, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

This is technically about Wikipedia. Anyway, in most browsers, including AOL, there should be a "Save" option in the File menu. Save the page (it should be an HTML file) to the floppy. As floppies can only hold ~1.39 MB of data, an article of average length should fit on there fine, however if you want to store pictures or multiple articles you will run into problems. XENON54 | talk | who? 23:36, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

3.5 floppy part 2

im trying to retrieve wikipedia material (error in last message)from the disk, i know it went through, i just can't call it up. looking for the proper setting and where to find it.63.215.29.80 (talk) 23:42, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

This sounds like a question for the computing reference desk. The nice folks over there know everything there is to know about computers and hopefully can help you with your problem. XENON54 | talk | who? | 23:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Signature question

I have a question of my own about signatures. Some users (O and Mercury come to mind) have complicated signatures that display the post time in a format of their choosing. As you are probably confused by now, let me create an example of what I'm looking for:

• XENON54 | talk | who? | 31/01/08, 23:51_GMT

How do I do that? You can see that I've attempted to do this in my above posts, but I have been unable to override the time that automatically appears. XENON54 | talk | who? 23:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Maybe you can use Help:Magic words#Time. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:23, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but here are some things to try:

• Click "my preferences"-->"user profile" and click the "raw signature" box.
• Include the formatted date-time as part of your signature, then get in the habit of signing your posts using only three tildes (~~~), which leaves off the time.
• If all else fails, ask one of the users who has a nifty signature like that how they did it. :-) --Coppertwig (talk) 00:38, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I think Xenon is just looking for tildes -- Use ~~~~ to add your User name and the date and time to all Talk page edits. Corvus cornix_talk 03:51, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

No, no, I know all about tildes. I want to compress my signature by formatting the time a certain way. Anyway, as you can see, Coppertwig's method works - thanks! XENON54 | talk | who? | 01 Feb 2008 11:47_GMT

February 1

autohide TOC

Is there code that will auto hide a very long TOC? I don't want to remove it, I just want it to be hidden by default when people view the page. --AeronPrometheus (talk) 00:01, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

{{TOChidden}} PrimeHunter (talk) 00:18, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Is there a reason why every hidden alternative to a template I've seen looks horrible? I'd rather have a stick figure TOC than that. --AeronPrometheus (talk) 02:01, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You find the "Bar" that would be on top of the true TOC, to be ugly? I'm not really sure where your problem with hidden templates are atm. Perhaps you can explain a bit more. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 02:30, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Is it not technically feasible to code them to look like the regular templates but with a hide command? And if so there could only be one template with the ability to toggle hidden with parameter code. Why must the hidden TOC have the word CONTENT right above the word CONTENT, it's unbecoming of Wikipedia. --AeronPrometheus (talk) 08:38, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately I don't think it is feasible, since the regular table of contents isn't a template, it's generated by the MediaWiki keyword __TOC__ What we'd need is a MediaWiki enhancement that would simply use a keyword to set the proper one to hidden by default (assuming JavaScript is enabled). But the need for an autohidden TOC is sometimes disputed as being only a matter of personal preference. • Anakin ^(talk) 11:42, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

That works for me, so long as no one complains about the gigantic white space it'll create. --AeronPrometheus (talk) 00:06, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Brand Named Handbags

Why do people prefer Brand named bags like Gucci or prada, over non named brand bags? What do you all think? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.72.124.67 (talk) 00:10, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I think this question belongs on the reference desk. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:15, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

How do I Change my user page?

How do I Change my user page?JDog 00:23, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Your user page is User:JDog Powers. To edit it, go to that page and click "edit this page" at the top. If you mean you want to change your username, see Wikipedia:Changing username. Sign your posts using four tildes, like this: ~~~~ I hope this helps. --Coppertwig (talk) 00:28, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I tried and a pop-up came up saying do you want to find save of cancel.JDog 00:35, 1 February 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by JDog Powers (talk • contribs)

If "Use external editor by default" is checked at Editing in Special:Preferences then uncheck it. Your signature should link to your user page. Uncheck "Raw signature" at Special:Preferences or design a signature linking to User:JDog Powers. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:44, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

How do I add a picture to my user page? JDog 00:59, 1 February 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by JDog Powers (talk • contribs)

To add an image to your userpage and [[Image:<Image name>]] for example to add the Example image it would be [[Image:Example.jpg]], which would produce . Also note that only free images (not fair use) may appear on your user page. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 01:30, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

how do you start o whole new page on something

i am an artist and want to advertise my new band —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.162.234.247 (talk) 01:16, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 02:34, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

See also my instructions in the section "making" below. --Coppertwig (talk) 02:37, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Although Wikipedia has articles about bands, it does not advertise them. Any band covered must already be notable and the article must be written in a neutral encyclopedic tone. Inasmuch as your band is new, it is unlikely that it already has the notability required for a Wikipedia article. --teb728 t c 06:41, 1 February 2008 (UTC) Also, since you apparently are closely associated with the band, you have a conflict of interest in writing about it, and you are discouraged from doing so. --teb728 t c 06:53, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Using HTML Markup Codes

Can you use HTML markup codes, such as the color code <font=color=#9955BB>this color code? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnnydeppluvr3942 (talk • contribs) 02:19, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes Wikipedia does support color codes such as <font color="#9955BB">this color code?</font> which would produce this color code?. Also I think there was a page that listed the supported HTML codes, but I can't remember what the name of the page was. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 02:30, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

The page about HTML in wiki that you are referring to, can be found here. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 02:57, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I added the missing / in the second font tag, so it doesn't change the font for the rest of the page. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 03:02, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

And for a list of the available HTML tags in MediaWiki, see Help:HTML in wikitext. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 03:03, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

making

How do you make your own new page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.253.109.55 (talk) 02:26, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 02:32, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Once you're sure you want to create an article, you can type the name of the article into the search box and click "go". It will tell you there is no such article, and it will give a red link "Create this page". Click on that to create the new page. --Coppertwig (talk) 02:36, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Remove history

{{helpme}} I need help, someone writing about me and my name is still in the history despite the page being edited.

Hello anonymous user. People will help you here, but we need to know which page has this problem. Can you give us a link? An indication to where your name is in that page's history and why it should not be would also be appreciated. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 03:11, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You can submit a request at WP:RFO Soxred93 | talk count bot 03:12, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

hi

how can i create a new word and get the definition for it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Neworleansalgiers (talk • contribs) 05:45, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

If it is a word that is in common use, you could add it to Wiktionary. If it is a new word that you have just created, I know of no place for it. In any case Wikipedia is an encyclopedia—not a place for definitions. --teb728 t c 06:29, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You also might want to check out the following links: Wikipedia:Avoid neologisms, Wikipedia:No original research, Wikipedia:Verifiability, and Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not for things made up one day. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 06:37, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You can go to the Urban Dictionary website and add it there. Corvus cornix_talk 23:22, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Contribution

What is my starting point in contributing an article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aclopez714 (talk • contribs) 06:33, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 06:34, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Invader Species

list of invader specis found in south Africa —Preceding unsigned comment added by 164.151.130.2 (talk) 09:59, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I tried a few searches and there does not appear to be any article on Wikipedia exploring this subject. Have you tried the Science section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:10, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

List of invasive species#Southern Africa looks like a place to start. ("Invasive" is the standard term here, rather than "invader," possibly explaining the search futility.) --Teratornis (talk) 18:14, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

adding a new section or page

Hi - I can see how to edit a section. How do I start a new section or page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Deborah M Bailey (talk • contribs) 11:30, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

See Help:Section. Click "edit this page" at top to edit the whole page.

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:39, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

list of all the articles of a category and it's subcategories

Can I see list of all the articles belongs to a category and all the subcategories of the category (recursively) ? Actually I need list of all the articles of "Mathematics" category and it's subcategories. But Category:Mathematic page shows articles which belongs directly to the Mathematics category and links to subcategories. That's not my wish. My wish is "a" list of all the articles of Mathematics category and it's subcategories. Is it possible? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.46.24.54 (talk) 12:12, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't believe so. You will have to click on the subcategory links to view articles in those categories. XENON54 | talk | who? | 01 Feb 2008 12:15_GMT

There are too many mathematics articles for a single list. Have you seen List of mathematics articles? PrimeHunter (talk) 12:20, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

There are some tools that can do this on the Toolserver (which seems to be currently down) including CatScan and CategoryTree. You can run CategoryTree directly from here using Special:CategoryTree, entering "Mathematics" as the category to display and selecting either "all pages" or "pages except images". Please note however that the output on Wikipedia is limited to only display a maximum of 200 pages per category. Nanonic (talk) 13:57, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Warning templates

Is there a series of progressively more severe warning templates, like those for vandalism, that apply to non-notable contributions? I am thinking here of schoolkids who add their own birthday to the October 17 article for instance or want to add the goals they got in the playground to a list of top goal scorers. This sort of thing seems to come up a lot but none of the templates I know of seems to say quite the right thing. The nearest I can find is {{subst:uw-unsor1}} but this is really aimed at something else. SpinningSpark 15:44, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

uw-unsorX is certainly the closest template you will find to match the behavior you described. To some extent it doesn't really matter too much as the kids doing the vandalism aren't going to care if you got it right. ;-) FWIW, When I'm not sure if the template is going to match I just fall back on the general vandalism template. —Noah 18:42, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I take your point that at the end of the day it doesn't really matter, if they stop, problem over, if they don't, then treat as vandalism. But my problem is for the first one, or possibly two warnings, I might well be dealing with a misunderstanding of Wikipedia rather than vandalism so I don't want to be throwing that accusation around at first. The uw-unsorX templates have the problem that they suggest (and even volunteer my help) that adding references will make the entry ok, when in reality, there are no such references to be had. SpinningSpark 22:14, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

People add non-notable birthdays to the days of the year article like fifty times a day. I just revert it and don't even bother warning the first time, because they tend not to do it again. • Anakin ^(talk) 11:59, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I give them a uw-t1 warning. Corvus cornix_talk 21:37, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

User ID?

In my user preferences, underneath my username, is a user ID number. What purpose does this serve? Perfect Proposal ^{Speak Out!} 16:21, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

A technical means. It is coupled to your username, and the primary means trough which your contributions to Wikipedia are tracked in the databases. Having it separate from your username is helpful in case a user wants to change his username. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 16:28, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Recommendation for using sortable tables in other articles

Sorry for this long winded & possibly confusing post, but I think it may provide a useful feature that could be used throughout Wikipedia…

Based on a recent separation of article List of museums in the United States into separate Lists of museums by state , there has been an ongoing discussion as to the standard format of the new state level pages, see Talk:List of museums in the United States. One of the new proposed formats includes a sortable table such as List of museums in Alabama. However, one shortfall of this method is inability for articles on cities to link to the museum pages by state to show museums in their town as done in San Francisco. I always believed one of the strengths of Wikipedia is the ability for pages to link to each other. With this in mind, is it possible to create a code so that a page like San Francisco can automatically sort a table via a specific column using a specific search word? For example, if the List of museums in California was reformated like the List of museums in Alabama with one table for the entire state instead of sectioned by city, would it be possible to link to that list so that all the museums in “San Francisco” show at the top of the table when linked to & accessed from the San Francisco page? In other words, when the table of museums is viewed, it automatically sorts with all museums in “San Francisco” at top of the “Location” column (& the same would happen if Los Angeles links to the table with all LA museums appearing at the top). This would preserve the way it works now for San Francisco. (The only way it works now is to create separate tables by city, which will no longer work if the entire state is merged into one table.) This would probably require some code writing, but once done, this would be very useful feature for articles across Wikipedia. This would allow articles to incorporate tables in many cool ways in the future. Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 16:39, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm by no means an expert on what you're trying to do, but did you see Help:Sorting#Sorting with hidden sortkey and Help:Sorting#Secondary sortkey? Maybe there is already some feature you could use. If not, then while you're waiting for someone to code this feature, in the meantime what's wrong with using categories to build lists of museums by whatever attribute you need? Also note that the problem you describe above is an instance of a general class of problems that structured wikis and semantic wikis may someday solve a little better than we are partially solving now with categories and sortable tables. For an even more comprehensive solution, see Douglas Lenat's Cyc program:

• Computers versus Common Sense on YouTube

While you're watching Lenat's talk, notice how he mentions skilled human labor as a limiting factor in his attempt to build the Cyc system. The whole time you'll be shouting "Take a look at Wikipedia's collaborative model!" but unfortunately he won't hear you. --Teratornis (talk) 20:39, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Use of categories was discussed & I agree that using them has many merits in certain cases. However, in the case of Lists of Museums, it's a huge work-in-progress & many of the museums on the list do not yet have articles in Wikipedia, see List of museums in Florida. Maybe I'm missing something on that point, but it seems to me that using categories generally works well when articles are already included in Wikipedia? Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 21:00, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Is it possible to export a sortkey into a table from a linked article? For example, could the San Francisco article plug in “San Francisco” into a variable sortkey at the “Location” column of the table to initiate a sort for San Francisco? If so, how could I do this? Thanks! FieldMarine (talk) 21:21, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

On categories: yes, a page must exist before it can be in a category. To be in a category, a page must contain a category link, so the page must exist to do that. Categories are therefore for organizing pages which exist. If the list of museums contains many red links, it sounds as if you are also using it as a to-do list. Nothing is improper about that, but in general, to-do lists work better as subpages of the appropriate WikiProject. In other words, use the WikiProject to keep track of pending work, rather than article space, and you won't have to worry as much about overzealous admins deleting your stubs and so on. You can write pages under the WikiProject specifically for organizing the work, so they won't have to simultaneously meet all the standards for pages in the main article space. As far as how to dynamically insert sortkeys into a table from an article, the straightforward way would probably be to put the whole table into a big template so you can pass parameters to it. You might search Wikipedia's Template: namespace for examples first, that is, look for templates by other people that contain big tables with fancy sorting possibilities. For example:

• table sortable

finds some interesting templates: {{Nts}}, {{Dts}}, etc. that you could study for clues. --Teratornis (talk) 17:41, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

article traffic tracking

A few weeks ago, I went to some external site that generated little traffic charts for any wikipedia page you typed in. (Not just a list of the top pages). I think it was new when I went to it. Does anyone know what this page is? I can't find it in Google or in my Firefox history... Calliopejen1 (talk) 16:46, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, there's a stumper. I could not find anything like the site you describe by trying some Google searches either. I suggest reading the articles: Web counter and Web analytics and their talk pages. Maybe you will see some jargon term that jogs your memory about some specific text you saw on this site, enabling you to choose good keywords for a Google search. For example, the Web analytics article links to Web Traffic Data Sources & Vendor Comparison which lists a number of sites, maybe including the site you visited. --Teratornis (talk) 17:49, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Are you looking for the WikiDashboard from PARC.com? —Noah 18:38, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Nope, but hurray for google desktop! I totally forgot I had reinstalled it and could use it to search everything I've looked at.... It's http://stats.grok.se in case anyone else is interested. Calliopejen1 (talk) 20:44, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Writing an article

I would like to place an article on a person whom I and the martial arts community feels is important what is the best way to do this with Wiki? I have tried and I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Any advice? thanksGeorgear22 (talk) 16:47, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. Perfect Proposal ^{Speak Out!} 16:59, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

becoming a recognized authority

To Whom It May Concern,

I am one of the owners of www.dugoutcentral.com - a baseball site operated by former major leaguer Mike Pagliarulo and baseball scouts. One of our readers tried to link to one of our articles on Wikipedia, but it was taken down with the note "not a recognized authority". My question is how we become a recognized authority in the minds of the Wikipedia editor community.

As evidence of our authority, I submit to you two links.

1. Rob Neyer of ESPN writing about us: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3220317&searchName=Neyer_Rob&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d3220317%26searchName%3dNeyer_Rob

2. Scouting report posted in USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/playoffs/2007-10-03-indiansyanks-watch_N.htm

Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.247.97.184 (talk) 17:08, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You will find this helpful in deciding what kind of links are considered desirable in Wikipedia articles; Wikipedia:External links.

Of the two links you provide, one is a blog, and therefore not considered an authoritative source and the other does not appear to mention your organisation as far as I can see. It is also helpful when asking questions on a specific edit to an article to provide a link to that article, or even better, a diff of the actual edit in question. SpinningSpark 17:40, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh, beg your pardon, I was searching the USA Today page for "dugoutcentral" as all one word. I now see that you are there. SpinningSpark 17:45, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

country flags

Hi! How do I add a flag next to a title in level 4? For example:

Heading

works, but:

Heading

doesnt work!

Ferdinand h2 (talk) 17:14, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You need to put it in the heading tag, as I have done. Algebraist 17:39, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

do i have to be a black man to join gods the earths?

im puerto rican and i would like to know what i have to do because im a muslin but im looking to get smarter and i know i still could surpass some knowledge so i would like to know what i have to do76.118.222.224 (talk) 19:37, 1 February 2008 (UTC)yusuf7777

Hey! By the sounds of your question, you might think we are directly related to the material in the articles. However we are not. If you would like to add to this Wikipedia, see Help:Editing. I recommend getting an account, as it has many benefits. Good luck! _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.} 20:06, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

new entry

Can I begin a new topic or page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Blmf20 (talk • contribs) 21:27, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

yes, first search for it to make sure that it doesn't already exist, and then make sure the article is notable and has suitable references, and once your done editing the article hit save.--Kerotan^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 21:31, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Hi there, you sure can!

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. --The Helpful One 21:32, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Gallary of User Styles

In the Gallary of User Styles under Voice of All's Admin Monobook, am i permitted in transferring the monobook,js into my monobook, most of the scripts on the list i use, however some of the scripts won't probably work because of my current posistion but am i able to. Terra ^{User page} 22:03, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Please elabourate. Are you trying to copy Voice of All's monobook and paste it into User:Terra/monobook.js? I am confused by the wording of your question. XENON54 | talk | who? | 01 Feb 2008 22:43_GMT

Here's the link which i'm wanting to have http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gallery_of_user_styles#Voice_of_All.27s_Admin_Monobook it leads directly to what i'm talking about. Terra ^{Terra's talkpage} 10:01, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I've decided to place the script into my monobook.js, there's nothing that new about it, all it includes is some of the scripts which i have already got, all i can see from the script is two new features on the toolbox which is New pages & the new users links. Terra ^{Terra's talkpage} 10:18, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

your copyright infringement comments to image

re copyright infringements against image of my product arresoe 6 system 6320 for which I am the sole proprietor of all rights inclusive all industrial and copyrights world-wide my rights as industrial designer and constructor have to be respected they can be informed immediately to a secure telefax or email address this regarding to french,german,belgian and us design patents as well as the awards received - at the file specification it is informed that the arresoe 6 system has the US Design Patent 267192 BRUYERE-VINCENT INDUSTRIAL DESIGN —Preceding unsigned comment added by Michel de la Bruyere Vincent (talk • contribs) 22:32, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

The image in question: Image:Mbv-arresoe-6-system-1981-bg-6320.jpg, needs a fair use rationale to prove that it is fair use. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.} 22:41, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

It also needs a license/copyright tag from WP:ICT. Also, the page mentions something about public domain, but the watermark says “Copyright. All rights reserved.” I do not understand. --teb728 t c 23:04, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

It appears you are the designer of the item in question and wish to release the image into the public domain. If so, and if you (rather than the photographer) indeed also own the copyright to that specific photograph, then you should edit the image description page and add "{{PD-self}}" to it. You should also preferably upload a version of the image with the surrounding text removed, in order to fully comply with our image use policy (but if you don't, someone else will probably crop the image for you). —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 17:38, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

AfD closure by non-admin

Resolved

 – Handed off to Wikipedia:AN/I#Pookeo9 - user has been admonished to refrain from closing AfD debates

Can non-admins close an AfD prematurely or is this vandalism? Example: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Southern Cat Rocks On (and look through the history). It looks like this user has been doing this a bit lately: Special:Contributions/Pookeo9. Wyatt Riot (talk) 23:14, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, this needs to be brought up in WP:AN/I. Soxred93 | talk count bot 23:20, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Vandalism

I am a member on a couple other wikis so I know how to edit and stuff. What I am wondering is what really is Wikipedia vandalism and what can I as a user do to help? Swirlboy39 (talk) 23:28, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Hey, welcome to Wikipedia! It's not often a user comes to Wikipedia with some wiki editing experience! See WP:VAND for info on vandalism. Soxred93 | talk count bot 23:31, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Vandalism is the damage of articles, like removing large areas of text without a valid reason, or replacing a page with obscenity's, stuff like that. You can report obvious and persistent vandals at Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism. Before posting there, a final warning in an escalating series should have been posted to the user's talk page (for example {{Uw-vandal4}}, {{Uw-spam4}} or {{Uw-speedy4}}), and the user must have vandalized within the last few hours, including after the final warning was given. Various warning templates can be found at Wikipedia:Template messages/User talk namespace. Your block request is unlikely to be acted upon unless you follow these steps. Cases that are not simple vandalism can be reported at WP:AN/I. Of course, in conjunction with warning against and reporting vandalism, you have the ability, mandate and are encouraged to revert all instances of vandalism you find yourself.--Kerotan^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 23:34, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Have a look at Wikipedia:Most vandalized pages, and consider watching a bunch of pages from there to find and undo vandalism quickly. Remember to always assume good faith unless an edit is obvious vandalism. • Anakin ^(talk) 12:16, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

If you are just looking to go on a vandal hunt rather than looking after specific pages, a good place to start is Special:Recentchanges. Click on the "diff" next to any suspicious item to see the edit. Most likely to be vandals are IP accounts, accounts without a userpage (red links) and edits without an edit summary. But as Anakin says, assume good faith. A redlinked IP talkpage with no edit summary might be a good editor who just wants to stay anonymous. Concentrate on edits to main article space rather than talk pages. Best vandal types for humans to go after are those that sneakily alter facts such as numbers. More obvious vandalism like obscenities and page blanking are usually caught by the bots much quicker than you can get to them. Good hunting! SpinningSpark 16:58, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

February 2

Renaming Users

How long does it take for a 'crat to rename users here? There are some outstanding requests. That is including mine. Thanks! Swirlboy39 (talk) 00:30, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Please be patient; it should be acted upon soon.   jj137 (talk) 00:34, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Wait patiently and you will get it one day! Ftbhrygvn (talk) 11:44, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

What is Wikistalking?

If I'm aware of a user who's making a lot of spelling and usage errors, as well as inserting subtle POV language into articles, is it "wikistalking" to run down his contributions page and correct those problems? Is it better to just let the errors stand? --Hyperbole (talk) 01:01, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

The spelling and usage errors are easy to fix and doing so would not be wikistalking at all. You may want to get a second opinion on any possible non-neutral point of view language to make sure it is not a difference of personal opinion. As long as you remain civil and assume good faith with the user and his/her edits, then any improvements would be great! Hope this helps! --omtay38 01:11, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Harassment#Wikistalking. As I understand it, if your intent in following the other user around is to annoy the other user, then it's wikistalking and is a very bad thing; but if your intent is to correct the user's errors, then it's a normal Wikipedia editing process and it's OK to use the user's contributions history that way. It's helpful to correct spelling errors. It's probably advisable to be extra careful not to annoy the other user, so that your intentions are not misunderstood. You might want to post a (carefully diplomatic) friendly message to the other user explaining what you're doing. --Coppertwig (talk) 02:16, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I understand the need to protect the hypersensitive and so on, but a poor speller has a problem that may cause him or her to lose respect and potential income in real life. In various books on technical writing, I've seen claims that people who write poorly have a difficult time getting promoted in their careers (this certainly seems intuitive - communication skill is fundamental to functioning in an organization, and even more critical to leading others). If everyone is afraid to tell the person with a problem that he or she has a problem, how is that person going to improve? On Wikipedia, a poor speller wastes the time of other users, by injecting errors that others must clean up, and by lowering the quality and thus the credibility of Wikipedia articles that contain uncorrected misspellings. I think Wikipedia works best when every user takes responsibility for the quality of his or her own work, and tries not to waste the time of others. That does not mean everything we do needs to be perfect, but we should thank others for pointing out our mistakes and giving us an opportunity to improve. Wikipedia has 47,671,973 registered users, so we can probably do just fine without the few who spell poorly and are content to stay that way. Wikipedia is hardly the place for shrinking violets anyway; all of our work is subject to "merciless editing" by others, and we must all continuously learn from other users who have more skill in various areas. --Teratornis (talk) 17:17, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Creating special characters within page title

I'm trying to create a page for an album that has "->" in the title... when I insert a link to start off, [[ladida -> hello]] doesn't work... how can I code it so that the eventual page title is "ladida -> hello"?

Thx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.106.82.156 (talk) 01:03, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

A page title cannot contain # < > [ ] | { } in it's title per the naming technical restrictions. However, it is also impossible to create a page without first creating an account. Hope this helps! --omtay38 01:09, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Deleted page

Resolved.

Hi, one of my pages was deleted, Cyrus Belt, and I contacted Lectonar to consider restoring it, and I told him that I would like to discuss it with him. He has not replied since, and I am dissatisfied with his delay. He edited in the time between the time I talked to him and now, and I am getting the impression that he is ignoring me. What should I do? Am I able to post on the deletion review page anyway? This is the third time I've tried to contact him, but nothing has happened yet. — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 04:17, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Never mind, I think that he hasn't been on since. However, I'll still try to contact him. — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 04:19, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

If we are talking about this page then please do not bother Lectonar. The article went through the Articles for Deletion process and the consensus was that the page should be removed. The place to go at this point is WP:Why was my article deleted. —Noah 04:56, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

But when I recreated it, I fixed all of the problems with it. I added a notability aspect, and it sounded less news-y. I read the page already, and I feel as if nobody's taking me seriously. — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 04:59, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

And in Hawaii right now, this is getting a lot of coverage on the news. I understand that the 23 month old baby's not a rocket scientist, doesn't have three gold records or even completed high school for that matter, but it is notable in the sense that the government of Hawaii will pass a law regarding domestic violence because of the death of Cyrus Belt (and the death of Janel Tupuola). Thus, he does have some notability now, doesn't he? — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 05:02, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

You should probably re-read the arguments in the Article for Deletion discussion. Making it less newsy does not address the points people brought up there. One thing you might try is to create a user sub-page and work on the article there. Then go to the editor assistance page and ask some experienced folk to take a look at it. —Noah 05:06, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

The only other apparent argument made there that I can see is that he's not notable, but I took care of that in the article that he deleted. — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 05:09, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Alright then. At the very very least, can you give me the code for the page and let me work on it in one of my subpages first? I read about that on here, that I could ask an administrator to receive the code for me. — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 05:11, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Odds are very high that within a few hours an admin will wander by here and help out. Be sure that when you have someone review the article that you point out the previous arguments so that they are aware of the history. Good luck. —Noah 05:15, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Thank you so much for helping out! — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 05:19, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

(unindent)Cuyler91093, do you still need the info from this article? If so, I could create a subpage for you from your user page and paste it there. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 05:54, 2 February 2008 (UTC) Thank you. I saw it, and I'd like to thank all of you guys for being more supportive. — Cuyler91093 - Соитяівцтіоиѕ 07:34, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Created material - how does it get posted (subject: Pickering Ribfest)

Not used this resource before, so created material and now I'm wondering how it gets promoted into production like the Burlington Ribfest material?

Thanks ... June —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jbug morrison (talk • contribs) 05:39, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Noah Salzman (talk • contribs) 06:24, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

June, first go to Help:Starting a new page - there's a box on that page where you can enter Pickering Ribfest and, as it says, click "Go". However, a couple of points: 1. I see you're a new user you might not yet have the rights to create a new page yet - your account has to be at least four days old before you can create pages (this is to discourage vandals etc. creating all junk). 2. Noah above perhaps has a point - the subject of your article has to be notable, so there's a danger your work could end up being deleted. (I have no idea whether the Pickering Ribfest is notable enough so can't help on that point). I think you should just go ahead and try, and see what happens. Cheers, --86.149.54.19 (talk) 10:09, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

New accounts can create pages right away. They must be 4 days old to move pages and edit semi-protected pages. User:Jbug morrison would be unsuited as an article. It reads like an advertisement written by the organizers and it doesn't demonstrate notability of the subject. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest and Wikipedia:Business' FAQ. I guess the Burlington Ribfest material you refer to is Canada's Largest Ribfest. That article currently only has references from the subject's own website and isn't a good goal for a new article although it's much better than User:Jbug morrison. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:18, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

problems scrolling utilyzing the touch-pad

on my new laptop touch pad i seem to have disenabled the scoller on the touch pad and cant seem to figure out how to re-enable it.. some help would be much appreciated! thanks email me at [ email removed ] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.72.27.244 (talk) 05:53, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps.Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 05:57, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Also, they will likely want to know what type of laptop you have and what operating system it's running. And please don't post your e-mail address here. We don't answer questions that way, and it will just attract spammers. Bovlb (talk) 06:38, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Sigma Phi Epsilon Colorado Alpha

On the list of Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters it says that number 10 Colorado Alpha is SEC which is incorrect because Colorado Alpha officialy recieved a charter in November of 2007. You can contact Sigma Phi Epsilon nationally to verify this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.177.195.89 (talk) 08:04, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi 67.177.195.89 - I've looked at List of Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters but unfortunately I've no understanding of Sigma Phi Epsilon to enable me to see what has to be fixed. Could you go ahead and fix it yourself? Thanks.--86.149.54.19 (talk) 08:49, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

my contribution to Origin theories of Christopher Columbus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have tried to contribute with my knowledge to above subject but all I have written has been deleted. my problem is I dont know why. in HISTORY i have found the following: (cur) (last) 01:10, 2 February 2008 Lambiam (Talk | contribs) (19,846 bytes) (Undid revision 188371898 by Pedpau (talk): fails WP:V, WP:RS and WP:NN. Take it to talk) (undo) I dont know if LAMBIAN is a USER or a ADMNISTRATOR but I accept I may have made some mistakes which are prohibited The problem is I do not know which ones ? USER : Pedpau

yours truly Pedro d´Orey Kopernikusstrasse 22 D - 10245 Berlin - Germany Pedpau (talk) 12:04, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Note that Lambian's edit summary has 3 links: "fails WP:V, WP:RS and WP:NN. Take it to talk". Talk refers to the talk page at Talk:Origin theories of Christopher Columbus where material can be discussed with other editors. Lambian is not an administrator but that shouldn't be important. Lambian is an experienced editor and has already posted at Talk:Origin theories of Christopher Columbus#Portuguese theory redux where you can comment. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:30, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

There are maybe a few reasons:

1. The content is not appropriate to the article
2. Lambiam vandalized the article
3. Lambiam thinks you vandalized the article

You can report this as a vandalism if 2 or 3 is the case Moreover, I THINK PrimeHunter is right!
Ftbhrygvn (talk) 11:58, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

How to suppress the TOC

I seem to recall seeing an article where a template was used to suppress the table of contents. Now I'd like to do the same myself (short article, but several sections), but can't find the template. Thanks. --RenniePet (talk) 12:37, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

{{TOChidden}} is what you want. XENON54 | talk | who? | 02 Feb 2008 12:38_GMT

The other way is not a template as such, but a magic word, called __NOTOC__, although I'm not sure what the guidelines on using it on articles are, as having a TOC or not may be a matter of personal preference. • Anakin ^(talk) 12:41, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Wow, that was fast, thanks. But I think the template I'd seen before completely suppressed the TOC. Your suggestion reduces it to a small box, but it still distracts, and is unnecessary in this context. --RenniePet (talk) 12:44, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

OK, the second suggestion (which I hadn't noticed when I wrote the above) does what I want. Thanks! --RenniePet (talk) 12:46, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Table with "not-bold" header

Hello, could you please explain to me how to create a header in a table, in such a way that the header is not bold ? I have searched in the MoS and in Help:Table but I have not found the solution. Part of the problem is that I also want the table to be collapsible, so I would like to avoid "brute-force" like HTML markup. SyG (talk) 12:40, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Depending on the circumstances, you can just omit a header row indicated by ! and make a normal row with | instead. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:59, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, that is an idea, but in this case I cannot use the "collapsible" as the normal row will be hidden as well, can I ? SyG (talk) 16:21, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Monobook.js

I've recently installed a a number of Tools, into my monobook.js file, some of these tools adds (Block this user) into the toolbox section, am i able to block IP user's with this tool, or is it only administrators who are allowed to. Terra ^{Terra's talkpage} 12:54, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Only administrators can block users, I can tell you that without even looking at your monobook.js! I hope this helps, --The Helpful One 13:05, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Only administrators can block IP's and other users. The tools may make the link that administrators can use to block but the software will not allow you to use it. Just click it to see what happens. If you are afraid of accidentally committing an offense then try Special:Blockip/Terra (administrators have to do more so you will not be blocked if an admin accidentally clicks that link). PrimeHunter (talk) 13:08, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I've tested it on my user, and it said it was limited to only Administrator's and i wasn't able to do so. At least now i know, i'll leave the script on my monobook.js and will remove it if it conflicts with my other scripts which i've got. Terra ^{Terra's talkpage} 13:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Reassigning contributions made when logged out to user ID?

I have made several changes to pages when I thought I was logged in, only to find that I wasn't. Is there any way to consolidate those into my User ID, given that the IP address matches? Thanks! NjtoTX (talk) 12:54, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

IP edits cannot be assigned to your account. If you are the only who has edited with that IP address then you can write on the IP user page that it is you (I suggest creating the page with your account and then signing a confirmation while logged out). If it's a recent edit in the page history then you can make a dummy edit saying the edit was by you in the edit summary. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Adding map to infobox

Hi.I have tried without success to add a map to the infobox at South Raynham, Norfolk. Similar to the one at East Runton. Where am I going wrong? Thanks Northmetpit (talk) 12:56, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Hmm..coordinates need to be added to the infobox, and then it should show the map automatically, but I keep getting an error message. Arthena^(talk) 13:24, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Ahh, found it. There was a problematic space in one of the infobox parameters. You can add the map now by placing the right coordinates in the infobox. Arthena^(talk) 13:30, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

18- edit

may people under 18 edit wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.104.189.237 (talk) 13:33, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh yes, absolutely you can. Please take a quick look at Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia before creating any articles. Good luck! SpinningSpark 13:40, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I edit Wikipedia, and I'm under 18 stone. --Teratornis (talk) 16:48, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

How much under? - perhaps more cycling and less writing about it are in order SpinningSpark 23:15, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Teratornis' one-liner above is unusual. He makes many help desk posts so long that the finger exercise may be equivalent to other people cycling ;-) PrimeHunter (talk) 23:25, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia also has administrators under 18. Note that Wikipedia is not censored and Wikipedia may contain content that some readers consider objectionable or offensive. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:08, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Galactic Dominance

Is this page ok now? Because an admin added a prodwarning to it... —Preceding unsigned comment added by KI114 (talk • contribs) 13:36, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

On a summary look over it, my reckoning is that it fails to assert any Wikipedia:Notability, is unsourced, and from the tone and person of the writing, is purely original research. If it survives the WP:PROD, somebody may take it to WP:AFD for those reasons. • Anakin ^(talk) 13:48, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Looking at the article, I would say not. The reason given for the proposed deletion is that the article does not assert notability. None of the edits subsequent to the prod do anything to assert notability. Even if you were to assert notability in the article, this will only prevent speedy deletion. The article may still be deleted if notability cannot be proved. If you can prove notability, by for instance, a review of the proposed game in a gaming magazing or newspaper, then you should insert the reference in the article. SpinningSpark 13:54, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Nav-Header

Could someone explain to me why two of the images on my Nav-Header has vanished, i've checked the coding and everything hasn't been changed. Terra ^{Terra's talkpage} 13:40, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

That's strange. The images do still exist but they don't even work if put in a position that has a working image, so I think you must be right it is not the code. My guess is that this is connected with the move to the new pre-processor and should be reported there (link a the top of your watchlist page)). SpinningSpark 14:19, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Even stranger, it is back ok now. Wasn't me though, I did not save any of my preview edits. SpinningSpark 14:28, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

It might be the upload servers playing up again. They've been excruciatingly slow (taking several minutes) at resizing images for the last few days. Just have to wait sometimes. • Anakin ^(talk) 14:31, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

It seems to be sorted out now, the two images have returned as well as the image of the Terra's Night Watch userbox which vanished had re-appeared. Terra ^{Terra's talkpage}

Getting rid of unwanted watchlist item.

The last entry on my watchlist is:

Wikipedia:SOURCE

It is marked as a dead link, but it isn't, of course. When I look at the redirect page, it does not have an "unwatch" tab. When I check it and click on "remove titles" it still remains on my list.

When I "edit raw watchlist" and delete it, it is still on my list.

I tried "watch" then "unwatch". It is still my list.

How can I get rid of it? --Softtest123 (talk) 13:47, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

That sounds very strange. It's only possible to make general suggestions, not knowing what's causing it, but try "edit raw watchlist" again, making sure to hit the "Update Watchlist" button, and try clearing your browser cache. If that does not fix it, post at WP:Village pump (technical) - in case there is some strange database issue the devs should know about. Hopefully this will help. • Anakin ^(talk) 13:56, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

It also sounds strange to me. The general treatment of WP: has changed. I don't know whether this can cause watchlist problems if you were watching a WP: page like WP:SOURCE. Does http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WP:SOURCE&action=unwatch or http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SOURCE&action=unwatch work? PrimeHunter (talk) 17:55, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

This may be some side effect of the WP: to Wikipedia: "namespace alias" feature change in the MediaWiki software. Some discussion about this change has appeared on the Help desk: Search Help desk for: WP: Wikipedia: namespace alias. Speaking for myself only, I have not been too fond of this change where I have noticed it. It seems likely to break some things that subtly depend on the previous way things worked. Wikipedia is so intricate that it's hard to change any basic feature without breaking something. --Teratornis (talk) 19:18, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I hadn't tried clearing my cache, so I did, though it seems that when I have had cache problems with Firefox before all I needed to do was simply reload the page. The problem persists.

I get:

Your watchlist has been updated.

1 title was removed:

    * Wikipedia:SOURCE (Talk)

Your watchlist contains 25 titles, excluding talk pages. 

and

...
Voluntary Voting System Guidelines
Voting machine
Wikipedia:SOURCE
User:WimdeValk
Wikipedia:Template messages/Sources of articles
Wikipedia:WikiProject Citation cleanup
...

every time I delete it

I'll submit this section to WP:Village pump (technical).--Softtest123 (talk) 22:51, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia Traffic Details

Is it possible to get traffic details on a specific wikipedia page? Will wikipedia provide any information regarding traffic? Cowboys08 —Preceding comment was added at 16:09, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

See the FAQ in Wikipedia:Very Frequently Asked Questions, number 12. SyG (talk) 16:24, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Two questions

Q1: I have uploaded a file into Wikipedia, but do not know how to provide a link to it in an article I want to submit

Q2: I want to add a new section to an article, but all it seems to let me do is edit existing sections —Preceding unsigned comment added by CycleTimeChart (talk • contribs) 16:59, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

For question one (assuming the file is an image; Wikipedia is not a file-hosting server), type [[Image:<Imagename>|XXpx]], which will produce an image which is XX by XX pixels. For example, typing [[Image:Example.jpg|250px]] will produce an image that is 250 by 250 pixels. For the second question, click on an edit link and type:

• == Section title ==

You can create different levels with a different amount of equal signs. For example, === Level 3 section heading === will produce (surprise) a Level 3 section heading. See Help:Section and Help:Images for more. XENON54 | talk | who? | 02 Feb 2008 17:09_GMT

See more about images at Help:Images and other uploaded files. Click the "edit this page" tab at top to edit the whole page. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:41, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

IP Confusion

I'm logged into my Wiki account, and yet when I clicked on "Talk" next to one of the items on my watchlist it came up with a list of warnings for edits I haven't made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:150.176.79.10

Alexannah (talk) 17:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

That 'talk' link is to the talk page of the user who made the relevant edit on your watchlist, in this case User:150.176.79.10. You can get to your own talk page by clicking 'my talk' in the top right of the screen. Algebraist 17:18, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Rex Gildo

User:Euroadonis keeps making destructive edits on the article. I revert them when I'm online, but if some others would put the article on their watchlists that would be helpful! --Lamme Goedzak (talk) 17:15, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

You meant Euroadonis1... and it looks like user omtay has given an appropriate warning. —Noah 18:58, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

The user has repeated his additions after the previous warning, I have given a final warning. If he/she continues, a report will be filed. Best regards! --omtay38 19:42, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

User repeated vandalism, so I have reported them to WP:AIV. -- Kesh (talk) 04:04, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

New article

how do i write an article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jinkygav (talk • contribs) 20:17, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation.--Kerotan^{Leave Me a Message} Have a nice day :) 20:33, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

After all that, to actually start it you can see Help:Starting a new page. --Coppertwig (talk) 21:23, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I am trying to discourage references to Help:Starting a new page because it doesn't tell people what to do and what not to do. If they read Wikipedia:Your first article, which provides much more information, then there is no reason to go to Help:Starting a new page. Sbowers3 (talk) 22:20, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Edit counter tool

At this tool I entered Wicked (musical) and for some reason my name did not show up in the count even though I have numerous edits. What is going on?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 21:33, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm just guessing, but maybe since it uses "intelligent caching" and your edits are relatively recent, maybe it doesn't show the most recent edits yet. You could ask the user who wrote the tool --Coppertwig (talk) 21:50, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

That has never been a problem before in using the tool. I contacted the writer but it is at German WP. I am not sure if he understands my english request.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 19:32, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Convert template imprecision

At Tyrone Wheatley something seems to be wrong with {{convert}}. What might it be?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 21:34, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

You can't do 'stone' (st) and 'kg' with just a space between them. I'm not sure but I think you need to pick one or the other. —Noah 21:50, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

"st kg" is an allowed parameter. What is the perceived problem? Are you aware of Template:Convert#Rounding? PrimeHunter (talk) 21:53, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Whoops, thanks for the clarification PrimeHunter. —Noah 22:28, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Does [5] give the result you wanted? PrimeHunter (talk) 23:04, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

It seems to be working now.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 19:24, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

editing tables

I am working on fixing up the links in pages and there are some tables that have the reference in them that I can't work out how to edit. Example {{EP99Results}}. I need to redirect "Regionalism|Regionalists" to "Regionalism (politics)|Regionalists". There are dozens of these tables - one for each year there are result. I can understand why these results are difficult to change, but hope you can help. Stellar (talk) 21:38, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

{{EP99Results}} is a template and can be edited at Template:EP99Results. If you click "edit this page" on a page where a template is used then there should be link to the template at the bottom of the window. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:42, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Not necessarily at the bottom. At European Parliament election, 1999 for example, the link to the template (in double curly brackets) is at the top of the page. A template link can be anywhere on a page. --Coppertwig (talk) 22:09, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I think what PrimeHunter is saying is that when you edit, below the edit box is a list of templates that are used on that page. That is an easy way to navigate to the page for a template if you want to edit that template. Sbowers3 (talk) 22:16, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Exactly. The template use can be anywhere in the edit box but the place of use doesn't have a link to the template page. That link is at the bottom of the window. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:49, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I learned something. I had seen the list of templates but never had the sense to actually use them. What I did time after time was copy the name of a template, paste it into the search box, then click Go. Duh! Sbowers3 (talk) 23:08, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks all. much obliged. Regards Stellar (talk) 03:35, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

punctuation in lists

In the following List of constituent assemblies some of the items in the list have a period at the end and some do not. I'm assuming that only items in a list that contain a complete sentence should have a period in them and that all others should not. Am I correct? Sjmcfarland (talk) 22:08, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't think there's a standard guideline on it but I would put a period at the end of every item there for clarity and consistency. There aren't any very short items there anyway - they're all sort of sentence length. • Anakin ^(talk) 22:20, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

TV show link boxes

At the bottom of some TV-related articles is a collective of related links. I'm not talking about the "see also" lists, I'm talking about the boxes that you can choose "show" or "hide." I don't know what these link boxes are called, so I can't look them up in Wikipedia guidelines, but my question is, how do I edit these boxes? You can't access them through the "edit this page" option, but there has to be a way. Specifically, I created a page for the "Homicide" character Ed Danvers, but how do I add him to the list of characters that appears in those little link boxes at the bottom of all articles related to Homicide: Life on the Street? And what are those link boxes called, anyway? Minaker (talk) 22:16, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

They're called several different things because their internal workings keep changing and there's also some funny rumour going around that they're not supposed to be used any more (nonsense). But anyway, they called Navboxes and most have little "v • d • e" links in the titlebar. Those links refer simply to View, Discuss, and Edit, for the box, which is how you normally get to it. That particular box doesn't seem to have those links, but if you look at the source of a page with one on, you can see the code {{Homicide: Life on the Street}}. That refers to Template:Homicide: Life on the Street, and you can edit it from there, and then it will update on all the pages that use it. Happy editing! • Anakin ^(talk) 22:28, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Note: I've also added the "v • d • e" links to it now to make it easier to edit. • Anakin ^(talk) 22:31, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Anakin. I actually figured it out just before I read your response, but your advice is much appreciated anyway. Minaker (talk) 22:34, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

If you click "edit this page" then the bottom of the whole window (not just of the edit box) has links to the transcluded templates. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:53, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Technical question about Wikipedia's parser.

Resolved

 – Stwalkerster's code works. Thanks, that's all. ☯  Zenwhat (talk) 23:47, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

How do you check undefined parameters using this wiki's parser?

I saw on M:Help:ParserFunctions that it looked like I needed to use either #ifeq: or #ifexpr:, but I was kind of confused about the correct syntax.

This is about my plan to re-vamp Wikipedia:Bots/Status. See the talkpage comments there.

To get an idea of why I'm asking, check out User:Zenwhat/Sandbox and Template:Botstatus.

For the Template:Botstatus, I would like to have an optional sixth parameter.

If the sixth parameter is left blank, it should output: [[Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/FIRSTPARAMETER]]

If the sixth parameter is not left blank, output: The parameter entered. ☯  Zenwhat (talk) 23:28, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

{{#if:{{{6|}}}|{{{6|}}}|[[Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/{{{1|}}}]]}} - should work for the last request.

To check for undefined params, (I think) use {{#if:{{{1|}}}|param used|param empty}}, where that is param 1, and "param used" is the code where the parameter is used, and "param empty" is the code when the param is not empty. This should work, but it's not a guarantee, as it's been a while since I coded parser functions. Stwalkerster [ talk ] 23:39, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Policy breaches

What is the maximum number of Wikipedia policies and guidelines that can violated in a single sentence? Has anyone ever achieved this? SpinningSpark 23:52, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Per WP:BEANS, I think this should be left unanswered. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:08, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Can I delete

There are a few items I would like to delete on my user talk page. I am a bit reluctant due to a previous warning (# 3). I would like to remove this warning if I am allowed. Daytrivia (talk) 23:55, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

It is not vandalism to remove threads from your talk page, whoever told you that it is was mistaken. Many editors feel it is "good practice" to put old items in an archive, but as I understand things that is up to you to decide. DuncanHill (talk) 00:03, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

If you do decide to archive your talk page rather than deleting items, pretty much all the information you need is at Help:Archiving a talk page.--Kateshortforbob 00:51, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks the quick response and the information. Daytrivia (talk) 01:47, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

February 3

Creating templates

Resolved

 – All up and running due to steep learning curve on parsing parameters

Hi, I want to create a template to link to a website that has UK Chart positions in the same way that the IMDb template links to actors, films etc., but can't find how to do this. A sample URL is "http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=2205" and I would like to parameterise the "id=" field such that all the editor has to do is fill in the template with the number. Any advice towards a suitable instruction page please? --Rodhullandemu (Talk) 01:02, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

You should bring this up at m:Talk:Interwiki, if you want to link like this: [[chartstats:XXX]]. However, if you want a template, just tell me the data that needs to go in, and I might be able to make it. Good luck! Soxred93 | talk count bot 01:42, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hmm. That page doesn't seem to exist but it's not really an Interwiki issue, as I see it, it's limited to en:Wiki. What I would like to do is have a template that looks like {{ukchartstats|XXX}} linking to the appropriate page on that website; but of course it has to deal with the empty parameter if people forget it, as invalid parameters are passed to the website & handled there. --Rodhullandemu (Talk) 01:48, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Try the following: {{#if:{{{1|}}}| '''[http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id={{{1|}}} Chart Stats]'''}}XENON54 | talk | who? | 03 Feb 2008 01:55_GMT

Looks good, thanks, I'll give it a go. --Rodhullandemu (Talk) 02:00, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Anyway, the correct link I meant was m:Talk:Interwiki map. Soxred93 | talk count bot 02:01, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I've put the template in my userspace. User:Xenon54/ChartStats. If an id is passed it looks like :::

Chart Stats and if not

i.e. it doesn't appear. I haven't figured out how to get text to show up yet, I'll leave that to an experienced templater. XENON54 | talk | who? | 03 Feb 2008 02:16_GMT

Much obliged to you. I'll copy it over & work on it. --Rodhullandemu (Talk) 02:25, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia as a search engine in my Internet Explorer Browser

On a couple of computers ago, I had Wikipedia as a Search Engine in my Internet Explorer Browser. That made it convenient to go straight to Wikipedia when I wanted to reference something. What happened to that option? There was an option to make Wikipedia my home page, what happened to that option? Has anyone on your staff ever heard of Letters From the Earth by Mark Twain. It had been banned until the 60's. Do you have any adults working for Wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.164.57.39 (talk) 02:00, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

It seems that you have a few questions, so I'll answer them one by one.

1. Re the search engine: It is still there. On the search engine menu (the down arrow next to the magnifying glass), click something to the effect of "Add more search engines...".
2. Re the home page: I believe that you have to do that yourself now - go to Tools -> Internet Options.
3. Re Mark Twain: You will be interested in Letters from the Earth.
4. Re the age question: We are all volunteers here from all age groups. Some of the best administrators are eleven- and twelve-year-olds, while some of the worst vandals are thirty-five- and forty-year-old adults. XENON54 | talk | who? | 03 Feb 2008 02:22_GMT

deleted

I am an attorney and the executive director of a 501(c)4 organization whose Wiki is being consistently deleted. The wiki is for "Better Courts for Missouri."

I would appreciate it if the wiki were not consistently deleted as the organization is the subject of substantial news coverage in Missouri in addition to being founded and headed by notable attorneys and physicians in that state.

Thank you for your help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mo supreme court (talk • contribs) 04:21, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Are you complaining about an article being deleted? If so this not the place to do this. This is a section for getting help on how to use wikipedia. Cryo921 (talk) 04:38, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

People are actually told they can ask questions about deleted articles here, and trying to create an article is using Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest and (although it's not a busines) Wikipedia:Business' FAQ. You are strongly discouraged from creating an article about the organization you represent. See Wikipedia:Why was my page deleted? Better courts for missouri was deleted for not asserting significance and later for being blatant advertising. It's rare for an organization about a week old to have an article (unless the article was created by the organization as advertising against our guidelines). This is an encyclopedia and not a news site. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:16, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

As a side-note, also be aware of WP:LEGAL, as you have stated you are an attorney. -- Kesh (talk) 21:14, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Edited Page Does Not Appear First Time

Hi!

I made some edit changes to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods page. When I try to access using the CISG redirect it sometimes redirects to the previous version of the page. If I then select, for example, the 'history' tab and then go back to the 'article' tab I can see my edited version. I don't know how to prevent users going to the old version and not realising it has been updated. Presumably I did something wrong in the edit. Can you suggest how I can fix this annoying glitch?

BTW, love your work! You volunteers are to be congratulated for the big effort you have all put into this project!

Regards, UTS10393609 (talk) 07:41, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi UTS10393609. I believe what you are experiencing is a cache issue, i.e., it's not that the page you're seeing is actually a different version, but that your computer has an older version its stored and is showing you that version out of its memory. To address this please see Wikipedia:Bypass your cache#Instructions for various browsers. Thank you very much for your kind words. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 07:48, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

It may well not be his problem at all. There's currently a bug on the Wikipedia side in which redirect pages don't always get updated when the underlying page changes. See Wikipedia:Bypass_your_cache#Server cache and Wikipedia:Purge. —Steve Summit (talk) 14:40, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Aha, so either way it's cache-as-cache-can.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:38, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I need help doing automated editing.

Resolved

 – Anakin did it. Thanks!

I posted this elsewhere, but the help desk tends to be, well, "helpful," so I thought I'd post it here also.

I'm working on replacing Wikipedia:Bots/Status with a more intuitive system of templates. Now that the template is made, I need help populating the templates with the information in the old system.

For more, see Wikipedia:Bot requests#Need to populate a new list for Wikipedia:Bots/Status.

If anybody can do this with scripts that somehow subst the content, that'd be fine too. I don't really care how it's done, just so long as it's done and I don't have to sit there for 8 hours going:

CTRL-C *click*
CTRL-V *click*
CTRL-C *click*
CTRL-V *click*

*slams head on keyboard* ☯  Zenwhat (talk) 10:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I'd be glad to try. Or I'll give it a go at least. • Anakin ^(talk) 14:50, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

From the look of it, this can be easily done in notepad and excel (or another spreadsheet tool that accepts CSV inputs). Copy the table info into notepad or whatever, do a find/replace on the template active/inactive fields, replace "|-" with a carriage return and "| " with "," replace "{{User|" with nothing, replace "}}" with nothing, dump it into excel as a csv, change the date format for the entire date column with the one you wish, copy the user column back into notepad, replace [[User: with nothing, replace "|" with a "," and replace ]] with nothing. Import this column into a new spreadsheet as a csv, delete the duplicate column, paste this into the first spreadsheet, then add new columns for your template fields and |'s and copy them down the sheet. (Well when I said easily done.. ) Then when it looks correct, copy the lot back into notepad and do a find/replace on the blank characters the spreadsheet uses to delineate cells to get rid of them and et voila, you should have your desired output. 86.21.74.40 (talk) 15:03, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

It's not CSV, but even if it could be got into Excel, it's more complicated than that. I put it through PHP using various regexps to deal with it because an awful lot of the lines are malformed. • Anakin ^(talk) 15:35, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hrmm, should have clarified at the time - I meant that it would be able to be imported as CSV once all the table cell seps of "| " were turned into ","; with the "|-" turned into blanks/carriage returns, they'd be interpreted as new rows in a spreadsheet when imported as a CSV. 86.21.74.40 (talk) 23:02, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

:) Don't worry. One way or another 'tis done now, at User:Zenwhat/Sandbox. • Anakin ^(talk) 14:02, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

looking for the home address and home phone number of Sukhpreet Singh

hello, i'm looking for the home address and home phone number of sukhpreet singh. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.30.89.210 (talk) 12:11, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not give out private information like that. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hoping I'm in the right area for a question on searching my own userpages

I've created a couple of draft articles under User:Hcberkowitz, but have forgotten exact titles. When I search userspace for User:Hcberkowitz, I got the most recent one, but then was overwhelmed with output from a bot. My guess is the bot has archived other user/talk pages where I commented, and that explains why there is so much output -- that I can't filter.

For people of UNIX-ish bent, what I'd like to do is search (recursively) on User:Hcberkowitz/*

I thought I've seen a way to do this, but I simply don't remember the technique and haven't been able to find it in documentation. Documentation is wonderful if you already know what term the documentation uses for what you are trying to find out.

Thanks! Howard Howard C. Berkowitz (talk) 12:51, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Special:Prefixindex may be what you are looking for. Type your username into the box, then you can check the User and User talk namespaces (one at a time). --Kateshortforbob 12:56, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I think you want Special:Prefixindex. Algebraist 12:57, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

oops, conflict Algebraist 12:58, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

(editconflict): For you convenience here is a link NanohaA'sYuri^{Talk, My master} 12:59, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

cannot retrieve forgotten password.

When I attempt to log in, I get an error message that my password is incorrect. The system promises to send me an email with a new password, but it never comes. I hesitate to create a new account, but I will if I have to.

I don't know what you mean to sign using that funny squiggle, but here goes: 14:54, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Maybe it takes time for the email to arrive. You would have to have entered your email in your preferences and I think you would have had to validate it by clicking on a link in an email around the time you entered it (as well as spelling it correctly). Maybe your spam filter is filtering out the emails. I forget exactly what email address they come from -- there was a question on this help desk about this a few days ago I think, and somebody suggested putting a certain email address in your whitelist, something like wikimedia.org. I suppose probably you forgot your password, but maybe there's a chance someone found out your password, logged into your account and changed your password and email address. You could check the contributions history of your account to see if there are any edits that are not by you.

Unless you have a large contribution history that you want to keep credit for, just creating a new account and abandoning the old one seems a good solution if you forgot your password. I don't think that would violate any policy or guideline. See Wikipedia:Sockpuppets.

Re signing with those sqiggly things (called tildes ~~~~ ) you've almost got it. I think that time you put five tildes, which posts the time only. You're supposed to put four tildes, which gives your username (or IP address if you're not logged in) and the time. --Coppertwig (talk) 15:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, new passwords come from wikimedia.org in a mail called "New temporary password for Wikipedia". If Help:Logging in doesn't help then you have to create a new account. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:33, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

"In-line footnotes" template?

Simple question: I can't find where the "this article lacks in-line footnotes; please integrate references into the text of this article" (or along those lines) template is. Could someone give me the link/code to it? Thanks! --JamieS93 (talk) 15:01, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I can't find anything like that either. The closest I found is Template:Citations missing. Template:Inline and Template:Inline citations both redirect to it.

To look for things like this: type in a combination of words such as "needs footnotes" into the search box. Click "search". Then, at the bottom of the page, there are checkboxes for the namespaces you want to search in. Check "template" and uncheck "article". Click "search" near those checkboxes. You can then also modify the words you're searching for. --Coppertwig (talk) 15:27, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Maybe {{nofootnotes}}? See Wikipedia:Template messages/Sources of articles.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:45, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks to both of you! Helpful to have those links to refer to. I think I was getting the citation-related templates a bit mixed up when I was trying to describe it in my original message here. The template that Fuhghettaboutit linked to was probably the one I was thinking of. (The Wikipedia:Template messages/Sources of articles list was useful, too; just realized after seeing it that I had been looking for that page, as well!) I'll go ahead and use the nofootnotes template on an article I'm thinking of (Livestock carrier). Again, thanks for the help! --JamieS93 (talk) 18:19, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Uploading a friend's pictures

What procedures should I follow to upload some nice pictures a friend took? How should I establish I have this friend's permission to use her pictures, preferably without posting her name onwiki or forwarding her name/email address to OTRS. I'd like to preserve the friend's privacy if possible. It might be easiest to just pretend I took the pictures and upload them as self-created works, but that would be mildly inaccurate.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 16:58, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hello there! In regards to the upload; would it be possible for her to upload them herself? I think that would be the easiest route. Alternately, she could upload them to Flickr's creative commons and you could use them. Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 17:06, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Link my photos to the Wiki entry for Gian Lorenzo Bernini

I am uploading pictures of two sculptures by G. L. Bernini: Angel with Crown of Thorns and Angel with the Subscription, both of which are located at Sant'Andrea delle Fratte in Rome, Italy. I am the owner of these 2 photos. I am attempting to link the photos to the Wiki entry for Gian Lorenzo Bernini. At the end of the article is a listing of his major works and the article is showing two stubs for each of these sculptures. It is here I am attemnpting to add the photos. Please advise me how to do this. I have searched the Wiki help sources but have not been able to learn how to link my uploaded photos. This is the first time I have attempted to contribute to Wikipedia. Please forgive my rookie ignorance. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Raymosley (talk • contribs) 17:14, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hello! Don't worry, everybody starts out somewhere. To link a photo after uploading, there's a whole bunch of stuff you can do. There's a list at here. Hope that helps! Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 17:22, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Image renaming

• Bugzilla link: 709

While it's not currently possible to move/rename images, Betacommand has a bot that can perform the function for us the hard way.

Requests for image movement should be placed at the bottom of Wikipedia talk:Image renaming. Admins are automatically authorized for the use of this tool, and non-admins may be added by having an admin list you at the bottom of Wikipedia:Image renaming, which also includes instructions on using the tool.

There is no "Requests for" process involved, you just need to have a reasonably good edit history.

Related pages can be found in Category:Image renaming ~Kylu (u|t) 06:17, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hey there, Kylu. Thanks for letting us know, though I'm not sure why you chose the Help Desk to do so... :P Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 17:53, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I posted that here it was a cross post from WP:AN Im just trying to spread the word β^_command 17:55, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Where is the information coming from?

I am doing a project for school and it is about informational websites. I am wondering who is responsible for the information here? Is it a collection of people or one person? HELP!70.100.93.157 (talk) 18:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

We are. Anyone can edit Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:About, and the authors are all the editors who have edited that article in its history. x42bn6 Talk Mess 18:23, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

As to where the information comes from, ideally it is all cited by reliable, verifiable sources, such as books, newspapers and television shows, added to the encyclopedia by anyone who wishes to contribute. Good luck on your project! Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 18:26, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

In the event you wish to cite a particular Wikipedia article, when you are at the article, click on "Cite this page" from the toolbox links on the left hand side of your screen.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:55, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Help with a template

Hi, I have been trying to add the option of uncollapsing, collapsing, or auto-collapsing the Template:FARC-EP in the same way that Template:Colombia conflict has this option. I have been trying things for a several days but every time I preview the page something weird comes up. I want both templates to be uncollapsed by default in FARC-EP Chain of Command, but I haven't been able to do it. Could anyone help me out with it? Thanks, Colombiano21 (talk) 19:19, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hello there! I've added a parameter to the template at {{FARC-EP}} to make sure that it always starts out uncollapsed. Hope that helps! Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 19:30, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Great, that works for now. Thanks! Colombiano21 (talk) 19:48, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

No problem! Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 19:55, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Incorrectness

What should I do if I come across information on Wikipedia which I know to be wrong? Report it? Edit over it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.132.14.30 (talk) 19:50, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

If you can cite your information with reliable, verifiable sources then feel free to be bold and edit it. Also, you may want to create an account so that your edits may be attributed to yourself, and also for the other benefits an account brings. Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 19:55, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Contact us/Article problem. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:53, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Flicker image permission

Who do I ask for permission to use http://www.flickr.com/photos/12743464@N03/2235970668/ at Tyrone Wheatley?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 19:53, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Put simply we cannot use it as it is. The image states © All rights reserved, and for Wikipedia to use a copyrighted image it would have to meet the non-free content criteria, and an appropriate rationale would have to be written for it. Unfortunately, the first rule of the non-free content criteria is that there must be no free equivalent. Non-free / fair use images of living people fail the first rule.

So the only people you can ask are AAFL on Flickr, since they hold the rights to it. But to clarify, permission for use only on Wikipedia is not enough as any images uploaded here are also used on lots of other sites which host copies of Wikipedia's content, and such images are deleted. You would have to persuade them to change the "all rights reserved" thing and release the image under a free license, before it could be uploaded here. • Anakin ^(talk) 14:16, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

O.K. So who would I contact to attempt to get them to change the all rights reserved thing and how likely is it that anything would come of such an attempt?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 17:50, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Hmmm, there's no rule on it. I guess you could contact them directly via Flickr if you have a Flickr account. If you ask nicely and say it's for the Wikipedia article I don't see why they wouldn't agree. But remember it's not enough to get unconfirmed permission to use it only on Wikipedia because of legal/policy restrictions -- they would need to change it to a creative commons or compatible license on that page. Then, upload it at Wikimedia Commons and give the Flickr source. That's it I think! No harm in trying. • Anakin ^(talk) 18:16, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

What is the policy on scanning images from media guides where no copyright is stated?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 19:49, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

War Brides

Hi I am a first time contributer to the stub "War Brides". I am an historian of the Canadian War Brides and would like to contribute something about their experience to this stub. I thought that I did when I signed up, logged in, and clicked "edit" but the changes that I made are not appearing on the live site.... I looked high and low for a "upload" or "make live" button and went through the How To's and FAQs but can't find out how to make my contribution live. Help... Cdnwarbride (talk) 20:10, 3 February 2008 (UTC)cdnwarbride

Just to clarify, is War bride the page you're referring to? gb ^{(t, c)} 20:12, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

In order for your changes to appear, just click the "Save" button after you've made sure your changes are the way you want them to be. The button is right under the editing window; you may also use it by pressing a keyboard shortcut. Alt-Shift-S for Firefox and Alt-S for Internet Explorer, I believe. Hope that helps! Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 20:15, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Removing My Name from the user page of another user under Contacts

Today i removed my name from the user page of User:UzEE under Contacts heading which i had added previously. But this edit was reverted by the user and he gave me a warning notice for doing vandalism. Can anyone tell me what should i do? --SMS ^Talk 20:41, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I'd suggest communicating with the user on their talk page and trying to reach a compromise. Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 20:50, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I agree that that is probably the best way to deal with the situation. At any rate, I contacted the other user to allow them to know about this listing. SorryGuy  Talk  20:57, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I think i should also mention here that User:UzEE is totally concentrated on either reverting my edits or nominating my creations on Wikipedia for deletion for the last one month. --SMS ^Talk 21:01, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the heads up SorryGuy. Well I usually play safe and disallow any editor to edit my userpage in most cases. This particular user has a history of vandalizing my page and subsequently getting blocked. If he wanted to remove the sign, he could have asked me on my talk page. I would have been happy to be of any service. UzEE!! 21:07, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I think all my nominations met with the guidelines. I always assume good faith towards other editors, and their edits unless I mention otherwise. UzEE!! 21:07, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

While I understand what you are saying UzEE, I think Smsarmad's intent has been made clear and you should go ahead and remove it. Further, I encourage both of you to use your talk pages in the future, it would have resolved the issue without it having to come here. SorryGuy  Talk  21:10, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Well i just want to know, was that vandalism which i did? --SMS ^Talk 21:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I guess you are right SorryGuy. I should remove them. As for the question of the talk page. I always try and contact the editors on thier talk pages and try to resolve issues there. I just dont go to WP:AIV and make meaningless reports. My guts tell me to put an {{uw-aiv}} on his talk page but I would not do that this time. Sorry for the trouble from my part.UzEE!! 22:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

questions for moderators

I had a few questions for moderators of wikipedia because I'm currently writing an article about wiki.

- How many of the articles (%) would you say are absolutely correct?

- how much vandalism 'attacks' on articles are there every day?

- Is vandalism discovered quickly? (Difference in size of article being vandalized?)

Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Allladin (talk • contribs) 20:45, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hello there! I'm not an administrator, but if you don't mind I think I could answer your questions.

In regards to the first two, those aren't exactly gaugeable by any means, as there are too many variables (for example, what is "absolutely correct"). I'd estimate that the number of vandalism attacks per day is somewhere in the tens of thousands, though it may be more or less.

In terms of vandalism being discovered, most of the time it is removed in roughly under five minutes. This is due to a great number of editors using special anti-vandalism programs to combat disruptive editing. There are also a number of automated anti-vandalism bots that patrol pages and revert nearly instantly. The size of the article does not contribute to reversion speed, in my opinion.

Of course, these are my personal thoughts; they aren't necessarily what other users or the Wikimedia foundation thinks. Hope that helps! Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 20:58, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I am also not an administrator, which is what I believe you are referring to by moderator, but also users, not just administrators can revert vandalism so I will elaborate on some of MoP's points. If you are interested in seeing the best content we have here, you may be interested at checking out our featured articles at WP:FA. As per an exact number, I agree that would be difficult to estimate and likely changes daily. However, if we estimate 10 incidents a minute, which is probably on the low end, it would be at least 15,000 a day. As for variance in vandal fighting in regards to article size, I would say there is none as a result of the tools outlined above. SorryGuy  Talk  21:06, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Administrators are simply users who have undergone a process to be entrusted with certain additional tools. The position does not give one any special ability to answer your questions; that comes from knowledge and experience. Some of the most knowledgeable and experienced users are not necessarily administrators (though there is some correlation as you need experience in order to become a sysop).--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:23, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, I'm an administrator but not particularly active in vandalism fighting and I don't have any special inside knowledge. However, I can give a few links which may be of interest to you: Reliability of Wikipedia, Wikipedia:Vandalism, Wikipedia:WikiProject Vandalism studies. If you are from the press then see wikimedia:Press room. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:43, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Why is my page protected?

I want to know why my page is protected. I really want to activate my page. i have not stolen information from other sites, all the information I put was given to me by the actor(whose page I created). So please make my article activate, i want to share with my friends. Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nainaa (talk • contribs) 20:52, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Syed yasir shah is the page you mean, I think. It has been protected from recreation because you have repeatedly created an article without addressing the problems that have led to it being speedily deleted on three occasions. Please review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines with which all articles should comply. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation.

It may be advisable to write a draft of the article in a subpage of your userspace, such as User:Nainaa/Sandbox, then ask for someone to check it over before you attempt to move it to the main encyclopedia. Bencherlite^Talk 21:01, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Line Numbers

When I am reviewing 'Diffs', and in the top mark up version of the page, there will be a line number in bold. something like:
Line255:
My question, is there a way to auto scroll down to that line on the formatted view of the page? On large pages, it turns into a 'wheres Waldo' exercise to find the text. Preceding unsigned comment add to 21:03, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I am unaware of a method to find line numbers in a text, but there are two other ways I generally use. If the section heading is near the diff, you can click that from the article's table of contents. Outside of the that, if you are a Windows' user, you can always ctrl+f for the text you are looking for. SorryGuy  Talk  21:08, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Nice idea btw. I made a note and will see if i can write some useful javascript that will help take you to such a linenumber. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 21:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for the prompt reply. I have been cheating at the 'Where's Waldo' game by using my browser's text search. I was hoping that there might be a ruler or scaled view to find that line number in the formatted text. TheDJ, please let me know of any script you might create for this.
Preceding unsigned comment add to 21:37, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Page layout coding

Where should I look for information on coding of Wikipedia page layout? E.g., how to keep images from overlapping the text. Wanderer57 (talk) 21:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! For non-specific editing help, you may want to try How to edit a page. For specific image help, take a look at Help:Images and other uploaded files. From those pages you may be able to find more information regarding your specific problem. If you need more help, please add a link to the article where you are having difficulties. Hope this helped! --omtay38 21:24, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

You might find these templates of use: {{clear}}, {{Clearleft}} and {{Clearright}}.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:30, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

And WP:BUNCH might be useful. If you have a more specific case, just post the link and i'm sure someone can help. The image and infobox flow is a complicated thing that can often be stubborn and difficult to deal with if you don't know the many quirks of HTML and CSS (still the basis of all wikipedia formatting of course). Even if you do know them, it can be a painful experience btw :D. There is unfortunately no real guide that helps prevent it for all articles and all browsers. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 21:40, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks to all. I will look into this coding more deeply. The immediate problem is a image box on top of text. I went exploring based on Omtay's note, and found code that seems to work. Is this edit likely to mess up the layout in other browsers? I appreciate if someone will check it. (I made the edit, then reverted it.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pope_Leo_XIII&diff=188891884&oldid=188888048

The problem image is the B&W photo of Pope Leo VIII, in his article. Thanks, Wanderer57 (talk) 22:11, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

OK, that is definitely not the way to solve it :D I have made a few changes that repositioned the images. I thought that these would be better places for them. A couple of quick tips.

1. In general, use the "thumb|left" or "thumb|right" notation for images, without specifying a particular size. People can simply click the pictures to get larger versions, or define a "larger" default for thumbed pictures in their preferences.
2. Also in general try to keep most of the images aligned to the right side of the article, since this does not break the "flow" of the article as much. Now in this particular case you have a problem.

The problem is that the entire rightside of the article is already as good as filled up. You have the Infobox, the styles box, and the articles series box. This takes up a lot of space. So for now, i have left aligned 2 of the images, to at least provide some room. Personally, I would consider proposing to change that "article series" box in a Navbox, which are easily place at the bottom of articles, and don't limit article layout as much. But that might be something you would best discuss with a few other editors involved with those topics before you do that. Now to understand how the flow works, just experiment a bit by editing the page and previewing the article (instead of saving).

1. Images are top aligned to the paragraph of text that follow their inclusion point. So if you look at my diff you will see that i put the image "Leo-xiii-sm.jpg" just above the line "Leo XIII was the first Pope of whom" and that it now aligns with the top of the paragraph that this specific line starts. This is alway the case with both left and right aligns.
2. New paragraphs do not start under the image of the previous paragraph, but next to the image for as long as there is space to put text. This can be undesirable at times and then you have to use one of the templates: {{clear}}, {{Clearleft}} and {{Clearright}}. These force everything that follows it, to stay clear of any pictures, infoboxes or other "floating" elements. They work for both pagesides, just the left side, or just the right side respectively.
3. If you put multiple images in the text after eachother, they will also follow eachother in the article. They "stack" on top of eachother sorta speak. In general do no stack more than 2 or 3 images. If you stack than the position of the images start where you inserted them in the text, but the positions of all the lower images will basically "free flow" depending on the width of your window. It is better to insert the images in the part of text to which they apply, so that they will "anchor" to that part of the text.

meprobamate 400mg tablets

I need to know if this medicine has been discontinued. I was told this from my Walgreens medicine store.

Thank you Janet Kurre —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.215.29.123 (talk) 21:28, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

We have an article on Meprobamate that you might consult. Besides that, I would recommend to you the reference desk. SorryGuy  Talk  21:33, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

wjjz calls

the history of the are complete as they were originily on 1460 am as country music format until 1977 then contempery music 1981or in that time frame they went silent,fcc pulled their lic.

Dennis Buyers <removed personal information> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.168.130.208 (talk) 21:48, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! If you are referring to the article WJJZ then any changes can be made by clicking the "edit this page" tab at the top of the page. If you have further issues, you may need to be more specific with your question. --omtay38 22:05, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

British using Wikipedia

I can't understand that when British people edit Wikipedia, they use commas for decimal points. This makes American people very confused. I really think that they should use periods for decimal points. 71.193.65.110 (talk) 22:15, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

A comma should not be used as decimal point here in the English Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style (dates and numbers)#Decimal points. Just fix it if you see it. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:28, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

British people don't use commas for decimal points - that's a continental style. DuncanHill (talk) 22:30, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Ugh!! Makes me cringe! The notion of British people using commas and decimal points that way around. Let me just quickly state my peace: UK and Ireland use this format: 1,000,000.00. It's in the rest of Europe (as far as my knowledge goes, and as DuncanHill has stated), that commas are used as a decimal separator. But PrimeHunter is correct - on the English Wikipedia the rule is to use the US/UK format. Anything else should be changed. In the edit summary state something like, "fixing number format per WP:MOSNUM".

Userbox

I've been able to put a "tag" (User:zrs_12/userbox) on the userbox I made, but how would I do this if I were to make more userboxes. Is there something I can type in the userbox code or what? Zrs 12 (talk) 22:50, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

You don't have to transclude all your userboxes; you can make them, too. The simplest way would be to use {{userbox}}; for example, I could use this:

{{userbox|gold|white|[[Image:Example.jpg|50px]]|The image on the left is 50 pixels wide.}}

To create this:

The image on the left is 50 pixels wide.

You can change the colour, image and text parameters however you like. Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 22:56, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I know. I've already made one. I just don't know how to make the thing that makes it more accessible to others users. I was shown how to do this for the first userbox I made {{user:zrs_12/userbox}}, but I don't know how I would do this for the subsequent userboxes I will make... In other words, I would like to know what I would need to do in order to make the userboxes I will create accessible by typing in something formatted like User:UBX/sample ... Zrs 12 (talk) 23:13, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

All you need to do is create more subpages. It does not have to be called "userbox" - it can be called anything you want. Put each user box on a different page, then they can be transcluded separately. See Wikipedia:Subpages#How to create user subpages. You could also if you wanted, move your existing user box page to something that better describes what it is; e.g., User:zrs_12/userboxes/mathnotation. And if you want a list of all your user subpages, you can use Special:Prefixindex, like so. Happy editing! • Anakin ^(talk) 14:39, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

complete mess of a move

I tried to move this into userspace and made a complete bodge of it - Help - it should be off user Altenhofen's userpage. --Fredrick day (talk) 23:02, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Taken care of: the page is at User:Altenhofen/future WWW Titles, and both redirects resulting from the moves are now deleted.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:10, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh, you're using my toolbox, cool.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:11, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Neat! and thanks for the move. --Fredrick day (talk) 23:13, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

tags tab

I notice a "tags" tab is now available but the only problem is that it does not seem to do anything ? I've tried to use it to add tags to articles but nothing seems to happen? --Fredrick day (talk) 23:14, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

anyone? --Fredrick day (talk) 13:09, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I haven't got a "tags" tab. I notice you've got a lot of code installed your monobook.js - the tab must be provided by something there, although I'm not familiar with those scripts, so I'm not sure what exactly. • Anakin ^(talk) 14:44, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Page Layout Question, part 2

Please will someone check an edit which I made, then reverted. Diff is below.

The purpose of the edit was to stop an image from overlapping on top of text.

My question is. is this edit likely to mess up the layout in other browsers? (I'm looking at it in Firefox.)

I appreciate if someone will check it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pope_Leo_XIII&diff=188891884&oldid=188888048

Thanks, Wanderer57 (talk) 23:54, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hey there! The code you inserted doesn't seem to have had an effect on the text, so it seems it isn't compliant with Wikicode. So no worries about messing up layout. Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 01:19, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

The code wasn't in any syntax I've ever seen, and Wikipedia didn't realise it was code. Have a look at Help:Images for some general image and layout syntax, but if you explain what exact layout effect you want to achieve (because it wasn't "overlapping on top of text" in any browser as far as I could see) I'm sure we can easily add a little bit of HTML to fix it. • Anakin ^(talk) 14:50, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

February 4

Main page formating

The main page has some unique formatting syntax:

<!--

-------------------------Today's featured article, Did you know------------------------>
{|style="border-spacing:8px; margin:0px -8px;"
|class="MainPageBG" style="width:55%; border:1px solid #cef2e0; background:#f5fffa; vertical-align:top; color:#000;"|
{|width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top; background:#f5fffa;"
! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#cef2e0; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Today's featured article</h2>
|-
|style="color:#000;"| {{Wikipedia:Today's featured article/{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#cef2e0; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Did you know...</h2>
|-
|style="color:#000;"| {{Did you know}}
|-
|}<!--

--------------------------------In the news, On this day------------------------------->
|class="MainPageBG" style="width:45%; border:1px solid #cedff2; background:#f5faff; vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top; background:#f5faff;"
! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#cedff2; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3b0bf; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">In the news</h2>
|-
|style="color:#000;"| {{In the news}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#cedff2; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3b0bf; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">On this day...</h2>
|-
|style="color:#000;"| {{Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}}}
|-
|}
|}<!--

Where do I go to read up on how these work?

-------------------------Today's featured article, Did you know------------------------>
<!--

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.166.168.68 (talk • contribs) 16:04, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

It's not "unique", it's MediaWiki table syntax combined with CSS. See Help:Table and [6]. (In future please put new questions at the bottom of the current date, not the top. Thanks.) • Anakin ^(talk) 16:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Transclusions

I am continuing on my tutorials. Working on Transclusions, and using this as a guide. When I try to transclude 1 specific paragragh from my user talk page to my sand box, I end up getting everything from the paragraph I want to the bottom of the source page. Can you help me with this? Here is the example I am working with. On my talk page, I want to take the paraghaph 'Welcome to my talkpage' and transclude it into my sandbox. I use the text sting: 'User_talk:Preceding_unsigned_comment#Welcome to my talk page' inside of the double brackets. The problem I run into is that it continues past the 'Welcome to my talk page' paragragh all the way to the end of the source page. It seems that I am missing the code to stop the transclusion at the end of the paragraph that is my target. Any help would be appreciated. -- Preceding unsigned comment add to 00:25, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

As far as I can tell (from reading Wikipedia:Transclusion), you can't transclude only part of a page - it's an all-or-nothing situation. However, someone will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure... Bencherlite^Talk 00:32, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, NYG 3 NE 7. -- Preceding unsigned comment add to 00:44, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Found it, in case it comes up again. Any text in the source page that is <noinclude> surrounded by this</noinclude> will not be transcluded. -- Preceding unsigned comment add to 03:37, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

You can't use a text anchor (the stuff after the # symbol) to control transclusion of a section of text. What you can use are the noinclude and includeonly tags. See Help:Template#Noinclude and includeonly for more information. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 03:40, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Forgot my password and I haven't got an email address registered with Wikipedia

Hi there, after recently upgrading my PC I've had to re log on to Wikipedia and guess what - I didn't write down my password! I've tried combinations of everything I can think of but to no avail. To make things worse, I never registered my email address on Wikipedia. Is there any hope of me regaining my account name? I'm quite attached to it. Regards, Freelion —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.185.56.178 (talk) 00:33, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

See Help:Logging in#What if I forget the password? If you can't remember the password and you didn't enable email, then you'll need to create a new account. Bencherlite^Talk 00:38, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

But also see this in the Privacy Policy [7]. DuncanHill (talk) 00:56, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Ahhh a lead! Thanks Duncan, on that link it says: "If you do not provide an email address, you will not be able to reset your password if you forget it. However, you may contact one of the Wikimedia server administrators to enter a new mail address in your preferences." So, are there any Wikimedia-server administrators out there who could help me? - Freelion —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.185.56.178 (talk) 01:28, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

They won't be hanging around the en-wiki Help desk. You could try emailing one of the addresses on that page, but how they actually verify that you're the person who owns the account I've no idea. Best of luck though. • Anakin ^(talk) 14:56, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Userpage

How do I create new pages on my account? (Like adding tabs to the top where it says Project Page, Discussion, ...) Zrs 12 (talk) 00:48, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

If you create a WP:SUBPAGE, it will not say project page, but rather user page. Anyway, to create, just go to the page you'd like to make (for example, User:Zrs 12/subpagename) and create it as you would create any other page. Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 01:26, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Strange question about infobox

Hi there...I actually don't know whether I SHOULD edit this, let alone how, hence my question: NASA has an infobox at the top of the article which says, and I quote:

This article contains information regarding a space agency which is either currently in the process of launching, or is scheduled to do so within the next 4 days.

To me, that reads very strangely--as though Cape Canaveral itself will shortly be orbiting the Earth! I'd like to edit it to read a bit more fluidly, something like "...regarding a space agency which will launch a mission shortly, or which has launched a mission very recently..." or something like that--but again, I don't know if that's an acceptable thing for me to do (putting WP:BOLD aside) as I don't know whether editing it would mess up anything else down the line. My knowledge of templates is....well, "nonexistent" is a good word. So: 1. Should I do it? 2. How would I go about it? 3. How do you all think it should read? Your input would be much appreciated. Gladys J Cortez 00:55, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I have worked with this template in the past, and I was bold in your place. I removed it from the NASA page. Besides from the obvious "strange" text which is caused by the fact that his template simply does TOO much, I see no point in plastering such things all around wikipedia. If people are looking for such current information, they should enter more accurate searchterms in google. This usage is approaching our guideline of "Wikipedia is not a TV guide". I have had doubts about this usage in the past, and I have only been strengthened in this doubt. I think that is reason enough for me to remove it. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 01:20, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikibreak question

Hey. Where are the autoscripts located to force a wikibreak, i.e. an autologout tool to pick in my monobook? Wizardman 01:21, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/WikiBreak Enforcer. Bencherlite^Talk 01:24, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. Wizardman 01:27, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Deleting talk pages of redirected pages?

There are 19 talk pages of articles of episodes that have been redirected to the main episode list. The other 108 episode articles didn't have talk pages attached, so they don't exist. The only thing that appears on these talk pages is {{WikiDegrassi}}, rather than any discussions. Can these talk pages be deleted, and where do I go to get talk pages deleted? -- Matthew | talk | Contribs 03:22, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Normally, such orphaned talk pages could just be archived under the new article/merge target. However, if there's nothing but the template, I'd simply put a speedy deletion template on them using category G8 ("Talk pages whose corresponding article does not exist"). -- Kesh (talk) 03:30, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I am told that Db-talk, doesn't apply to talk pages of redirects. 91.106.23.36 (talk) 12:34, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, on qualifying my info, that 91.106.23.36 is referring to: we sometimes say that redirects aren't articles, but usually only apply that to talk pages where there is a corresponding redlink. The main idea is to keep any talk page which is useful to the project. So, if talk pages have indeed no content, they can be simply redirected to the talk page of the article. Others that have meaningful content, especially about the redirect itself, such as most some tagged by 91.106.23.36 should not become simple redirects to the current talk page of the target (in any case not to articles themselves) but either be kept where they are or archived under the target and redirected there for future reference. --Tikiwont (talk) 13:02, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

How do I get off-line sources on-line?

Resolved

• NVM, I got help from a person named Mopper in Wiki's IRC instead

In reference to this page,

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laguna_College_of_Art_and_Design&oldid=188940353#Controversy

None of the facts in here have citation. I want to change that. The problem is that the facts and evidence for everything in this article does not exist on line. Much of the information that is being disputed is the sort of thing that is widely known at the school in question, LCAD, but does not have an on-line source that ca be referenced. For example,

"in 2005 the Administration held a lavish teacher and admin end of the semester party at the Irvine Spectrum. The individuals were brought to the event via stretch-limousine causing the final tab for the dinner to be in the thousands"

How do I cite something like this? Everyone at the school, including the entire administrative staff know all about this event. How can I prove on Wikipedia that it actually took place though?

Another example,

"...including former Chair of the Animation Department Aubrey Mintz..."

This is a widely known fact at the school. Where would I get citation for this though?

Is there anyway to document first hand reports from the administration on basic facts.

How about the school's tax records? Can I just scan those, paste them into a photo bucket account and cite them that way?

If I can get a local news paper to run an article on all this can I cite the news paper?

Any help anyone will give me is much appreciated, Thanks a bunch! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Latyper (talk • contribs) 04:47, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

User was helped on IRC, and issue was resolved. Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 05:19, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Seven Wonders

give information about new seven wonders —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.165.155.54 (talk) 05:31, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. --omtay38 05:51, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

See New Seven Wonders of the World. --Teratornis (talk) 08:37, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

What is...

The purpose of the these nonvisible "links", in articles? [[af:Wikipedia:Administrateur]] [[als:Wikipedia:Administratoren]] [[am:Wikipedia:?????]] NanohaA'sYuri^{Talk, My master} 06:35, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

These are known as interwiki links; they add links to the very left table called 'languages' which will direct a user to that page on another language. For more information, see Wikimedia's page on interwiki linking. Hope that helps! Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 06:40, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

In particular als:Wikipedia:Administratoren, for example, links to the Alemannic German version of Wikipedia:Administrators. --teb728 t c 07:04, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

See both Help:Interwiki linking and Help:Interlanguage links. Interwiki links are normally visible in the same posltion on the page where the links appear. Interlanguage links float to their own sidebar section (in the default monobook skin), unless they begin with a colon (:) character. The MediaWiki software also uses leading colons to modify image links and category links. --Teratornis (talk) 08:42, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

my biography

Please help, I am an artist from South Africa and i have registered with wiki...but I can't figure out how to make sure that the information can be viewed in any google search! Endz The Otherness (talk) 08:28, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

The last time I checked, I found Google's indexing delay for Wikipedia material was about 5 days. The way to check is to look at an article's history, and run Google searches for new material that appeared on Wikipedia at a specific time in the past. Only Google employees can influence Google's indexing delay; the rest of us just have to wait for Google. Also be aware that Wikipedia deletes lots of new articles by new users, because we have many complex policies and guidelines that new users can easily and unknowingly violate. So check that whatever you added to Wikipedia is still on Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 08:59, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

The user's only other edits are on his user page. Does Google index the user namespace? I would think it would index only the article namespace. --teb728 t c 10:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Google does index Wikipedia user pages (worryingly). • Anakin ^(talk) 15:00, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Google indexes the current revision of (seemingly) every page on Wikipedia, but not the so-called Deep Web portions including page histories. See the examples I gave in the {{Google custom}} template for searching various Wikipedia namespaces with Google. If you don't want something on your user page to show up in Google search, simply edit it out, and wait for a few days or weeks for Google to "forget" about it. --Teratornis (talk) 17:25, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

She (not he) is a musician, and the userpage is really an article/biography for herself (one which would fail db-band). --Orange Mike | Talk 14:03, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Speed of motor to pump

i wnt to reduce the speed of motor to pump.. which type of gear (small or big) come towards pump —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.95.206.51 (talk) 10:31, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

If I understand you right, it's small gear on the motor, big gear on the pump. Our article on gears may be of help to you. • Anakin ^(talk) 15:02, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

guitar player

who's playing guitar with robert plant-alison kraus in gone gone gone video? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.147.87.7 (talk) 11:39, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

T-Bone Burnett. In future, please use the Wikipedia:Reference desk for this sort of question, as the help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. Cheers! • Anakin ^(talk) 15:10, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

User page

Nobody viewed my user page nor talk page. How can I make more people go to those pages —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ftbhrygvn (talk • contribs) 12:30, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi! Well, you can't "make" anyone go to those pages, but there may be ways of encouraging people to. How do you know people didn't look at your pages? I just looked at your userpage now. For a minute I thought you meant you had created the article Derivative.

When you participate in Wikipedia, editing articles and so on, your signature appears in edit histories and on your talk page comments, and people might follow the links there to your page. When you write messages on talk pages, such as this one, sign your name using four tildes ~~~~ like this, and it will put your username and the date, with links to your user page and talk page. The talk page for each article can be found by clicking "discussion" at the top of the page when viewing an article. The more you participate in editing and discussions, the more people might put messages on your talk page. You can also try to find other users who have done some good work and put congratulatory messages on their talk page -- or give people constructive criticism. If you haven't received any complaints on your talk page, you must be doing well! --Coppertwig (talk) 13:32, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

How do you know no-one's viewed them? Viewing counters don't work, only edit counters work on these pages. --Dweller (talk) 14:07, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Don't feel bad I don't think anyone views mine either. ;) • Anakin ^(talk) 15:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

search

What is the difference between GO and SEARCH? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.218.44.37 (talk) 13:06, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

"Go" will try to go to a page with that exact name. If the page exists, you will go directly to that page and see only that page. If the page does not exist, it will have the same functionality as "search", I believe. However, if you want to see a list of pages containing certain words, rather than just the one page, you can click "search" and it will give you the search list, even if the page with that exact title exists. --Coppertwig (talk) 13:24, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Transcluding a subsection only

Hi. I want to transclude Norwich_City_F.C.#Current squad to another page, so that only one article need be maintained. However, {{:Norwich_City_F.C.#Current squad}} transcludes the whole of the page. Any ideas how I can achieve this? --Dweller (talk) 13:19, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Transcluding part of a page is impossible with the MediaWiki software. I'm not quite sure why you'd want that squad table on other pages - it takes up a lot of space, and Wikipedia tends to like to keep things in one place and just link back to it, for exactly the reason you stated (easier to maintain).

I was going to suggest creating a Navbox template, which is the correct way to link to the rest of the current squad on articles about the players, but then I realised that Norwich City F.C. already has that. E.g., see the yellow box at the bottom of David Marshall (footballer). Does that do what you want, or am I misinterpreting? • Anakin ^(talk) 15:37, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

deep draw tool

when new deep draw tool makking time which one must be consider? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ganesh20ta (talk • contribs) 13:35, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm very sorry but I can't actually understand what you mean. Have you tried doing a Google search on "deep draw tool"? Does that help? Please explain. • Anakin ^(talk) 15:45, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I do know what deep draw tooling is, but I don’t understand the question, either. Can you please rephrase it so that we can try to direct you to the information you need? You might also wish to ask your question in the miscellaneous section of the reference desk. Thanks —Travis^talk 18:38, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

question

Tafitasoa (talk) 14:08, 4 February 2008 (UTC)can I ask for help or for aid to member or to the WIKIPEDIA to finish my project? if I can ask to a member how to do that? thank you

Would you like to tell us what the project is? If it's something to do with improving Wikipedia articles I'm sure you'll find editors eager to help, but seeing as you just created your account to ask this question, I'm guessing you mean that it's a personal project of your own, and in that case you won't likely find strangers here to help. But you might, so in either case, tell us what it is first. • Anakin ^(talk) 15:25, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

References

is there any special wiki-markup i need to know to add a reference or citation?the juggreserection ^IstKrieg! 14:54, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Yep. The usual method is to use <ref> and </ref> tags containing the source info, combined with a single <references/> or {{reflist}} tag at the end of the article (if there isn't one already). That creates a little numbered link to a footnote giving the source. The full and detailed guide on citation formatting is at Wikipedia:Citing sources. Also see Help:Citations quick reference. Hope this helps. • Anakin ^(talk) 15:19, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Steve Brown

Why are we not allowed to address controversial teachings of Steve Brown.

His teaching of "radical grace" is a great concern to many people, but every time I try to insert it, it is deleted with the claim that it's biased.

Is this a place for evenhanded and honest discussion of Steve Brown and his teachings, or is it a Steve Brown fan club and hero worship page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mikemck (talk • contribs) 15:44, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I can assure you that Wikipedia's articles are not fan clubs or hero worship pages, or they shouldn't be. We strive for neutral point of view. But with biographical articles it's especially important not to introduce anything that could be potentially construed as libel. See Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons for the full guidelines. Your edit to the article was potentially controversial in tone and unsourced, and for that reason I have removed it again per the guidelines. The entire article is also lacking sources and I have tagged it as such.

But let me clarify: you can of course address "controversial teachings" of people, if, and only if you can cite to reliable sources which verify their information. Original research is generally not permitted, but this must be enforced particularly on biographical articles, to prevent personal attacks. Hope this helps clarify things. • Anakin ^(talk) 15:56, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Lost password

is there any way to recover a lost password if i didn't set an email address? -76.27.231.192 (talk) 15:57, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

See Help:Logging in, but the short answer is no, you will have to create a new account. You may, if you wish, link the accounts by putting a notice on the user page of your new account saying what account you used to edit under. But without an email address I don't see how you can get the old password back. Sorry. • Anakin ^(talk) 16:07, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Where do I create an article at

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Godsdebris89 (talk • contribs) 16:26, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. Hope this helps. • Anakin ^(talk) 16:28, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

What is Wkipedia?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.40.254.161 (talk) 16:59, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia developed collaboratively by its editors, and this is the help desk for questions about using it. See Wikipedia:About, and Wikipedia:Introduction for more. Please do not post nonsense here again. Thanks • Anakin ^(talk) 17:05, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

start a new busines model

I am new to your site and would like to bring different businesses to your site can u help Henslee57 (talk) 17:12, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia! I'm assuming you mean you want to create articles on certain businesses; have I got that right? Please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for notability of companies and organizations and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

Read also, the Wikipedia:Business' FAQ and note that Wikipedia is not for method for advertising, nor a directory of companies.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. Cheers! • Anakin ^(talk) 17:18, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Question

I just want to ask a question. I am not interested in looking through all the FAQ's or clicking away the next 15 minutes of my life. Just want a plain...empty space to ask a question. How come there is no more like that ??? A. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.49.133.79 (talk) 18:12, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia. Tell us the question you would like to ask, and the Help desk will try to answer it as clearly as possible. Click the [edit] link just above this section and add your question here. • Anakin ^(talk) 18:19, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Got another weird infobox question...

I'm rapidly becoming the weird infobox lady [8], but such are the vagaries of fate. :) Anyhoo-- Bottom of Public Broadcasting Service, there's a "preceded by/succeeded by" box, which seems to be a strange concept to apply to a TV network anyway, but it becomes even stranger when one looks at "succeeded by"--the link is to "incumbent". In a HIGHLY-general frame of reference, I suppose I understand what they're trying to say--this is the current or "incumbent" incarnation of PBS--but man, what an awkward and weird way to phrase it! Is this a usage of "incumbent" peculiar to Wikipedia, or is this a case of "I am not sure that word means what you think it means"? And how do I edit those infoboxes, anyway? Thanks in advance....Gladys J Cortez 18:33, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi there. There are lots of those boxes around. Often they're used on politicians and stuff, to show who held the office previously and afterwards. If you want to edit them, just click the [edit] for the external links section. You'll see a {{start box}} template, followed by an {{end box}} template, with code for a {{succession box}} in the middle. I think it's fairly useless on those two articles, when they only had 1 other form. but perhaps discuss it on the talk page of one of them before removing it. • Anakin ^(talk) 18:43, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Anne E. Schraff

Hello,

I am trying to find information about this author but unable to find any information. I was told that a lot of information can be found on her but I am unable to find it.

Can you please help me.

Shelley —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.158.1.98 (talk) 18:38, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I’m sorry, but it appears that Wikipedia has no article about this author. You might wish to try asking your question at our reference desk or looking her up on Google (search results). —Travis^talk 18:46, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Ghastiophage

A gastiophage is a slight error in the binary code of a program, which can lead to a large glitch, and even multi-dimensional chaos. Ghastiophage can also be used as a verb, meaning to create a ghastiophage.

Ex: The gastiophage in the original "Final Fantasy" (creator Hironobu Sakaguchi) after the first boss allows the player to warp to the last level. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gastlyboy (talk • contribs) 18:47, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Do you have a question about using Wikipedia? —Travis^talk 18:57, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Can I get a simple explanation on how to properly quote from an attribute to an article?

I'd like to take a few paragraphs of an article and put it at a commercial website. The site doesn't require a password, and is not a pay site, nor an adult site. So, what I'd like to do is copy the paragraphs, and then do whatever I need to do to properly credit Wikipedia. I've looked a number of times, but it all seems very confusing. If I provide a direct link back to the article at Wikipedia, will that suffice? That and something else? Please help. Bob123 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.21.183.182 (talk) 18:59, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

You should take a look at: Wikipedia:Reusing Wikipedia content --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 19:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Did you miss the part about "simple"? I have read that page several times. It doesn't cover "a few paragraphs". Well, let's see, I did read that Wikipedia has never sued someone for misuse. I guess that means that I can just grab the text I want, do what I want, what I think is fair, and not worry too much about reprisals. It's too bad that the eggheads that wrote the damn page can't put things in plain English for those of use who don't possess an advanced degree in rhetoric. It's not like I'm trying to be difficult...I simply hate one line replies...form letters, and replies, generally suck and breed contempt. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.21.183.182 (talk) 19:52, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Web design

what is web design —Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.109.0.182 (talk) 19:04, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

See Web design. --Teratornis (talk) 19:14, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The Wikipedia article, Web design says, “Web design is a process of conceptualization, planning, modeling, and execution of electronic media content delivery via Internet in the form of Markup language suitable for interpretation by Web browser and display as Graphical user interface (GUI).” —Travis^talk 19:16, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

inserted citation

Hi, I made my first edit, adding a citation to this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Maryland%2C_College_Park#_note-14 and it appears to have messed up the citation list. I am totally confused as to how to fix it. The edit button above this segment doesn't give me that list, and I don't know what I did wrong anyway. Thanks, Eternes (talk) 19:54, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi Eternes. I looked at this and I happened to notice that the closing tag for the reference was shown as "" - a very common typo in web pages that isn't immediately obvious. I just went ahead and fixed it. Cheers (and welcome to Wikipedia), --217.44.170.51 (talk) 20:07, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

How do I link my company's Wiki page to an existing category list?

I am an in-house editor for my law firm and have been asked to address the fact that our firm does not appear in the 'Law Firms of the U.S.' list on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Law_firms_of_the_United_States

We have a Wikipedia entry for the firm, but I do not know how to link it to the existing category list. When I open the editing tab for the category page, I do not see anything in the editing box that I can adjust/add to. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Leecanes (talk • contribs) 19:55, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

To the bottom of the article, add [[Category:Law firms of the United States]]. CIreland (talk) 19:58, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

However, it would not be appropriate for you to do this. If there is already an article about this firm, suggest that it be added to the category, by means of a note on the article's talk page. That would be the most appropriate method for any other improvements to the article you believe would be appropriate within our guidelines. --Orange Mike | Talk 20:00, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

what is share,securities,sensex,stockexchange and its history. all the words related to business and its definations and history. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.97.4.120 (talk) 20:01, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Add color and lines to userpage?

Like on user:Exampple. There is color and seperator bars. How do I make a title also?Olfordtrucks (talk) 20:02, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

what is share,securities,sensex,stockexchange and its history. all the words related to business and its definations and history. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.97.4.120 (talk) 20:06, 4 February 2008 (UTC)