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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jaakobou (talk | contribs) at 09:49, 27 May 2008 (→‎Image Copyright Question: {{resolved}}). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

    Welcome—ask questions about how to use or edit Wikipedia! (Am I in the right place?)


    May 24

    Templates in their own auto-categories

    Recently, a lot of auto-categorizing templates I've been working on seem to be deliberately categorized in the very categories they use, even when this ultimately doesn't make any sense given the template. For example, a redirect template might itself be categorized as a redirect. I'm quite convinced this isn't an error, because the same categories are printed twice, inside both the noinclude and the includeonly. Adding to my confusion, they are often given the sort key {{PAGENAME}}, which seems to be a redundant thing to do -- isn't that automatically the sort key of every single categorization?

    So, um, can anyone enlighten me here? What, if anything, am I missing about templates and categories? Lenoxus " * " 00:47, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You asked two questions, and somewhat tricky ones at that, so check my answers carefully:
    --Teratornis (talk) 04:17, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks for answering -- yes, that sounds right for the second one! As to the first, here's an example that's popped up: Template:R comics naming convention. I'm pretty sure there are others; in fact, I believe there were others, but I changed them in my haste, but since I've now seen so many of them, I'm wondering if there's some sort of convention I didn't know about, or if it somehow helps the maintainers of those categories. Lenoxus " * " 18:20, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Oh, here's a more prominent (and probably older) example I just found: {{R from other capitalisation}}, which is currently in the categories Redirects from other capitalisations and Unprintworthy redirects. I asked about it on the talkpage there, too, so answers should maybe come any day now... Lenoxus " * " 18:33, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Automatic categorising templates should be carefully and propely using <includeonly> and <noinclude> tags. For example:

    <includeonly>
    .
    .
    Stuff the template is doing for the page it is included into
    .
    .               <!--
    
    Categorise the page the template is included into
    -->[[Category:Some automatic category for the page this template is placed into|possibly sort ordered]]</includeonly><!--
    --><noinclude><!-- 
    
    Categorise the template
    -->[[Category:Automatic categorising templates|{{PAGENAME}}]]</noinclude>
    

    That a category link is inside both <includeonly> and <noinclude> tags seems wrong to me.

    Peet Ern (talk) 05:09, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks, Pee…t. One thing I just noticed is that in most cases, the sort of categorization I'm talking about involes using a space for a sort key, so that the template appears at the top of its own category. While this is definitely useful in some respects, the same basic service is performed simply by linking to the template in the category's description. As it is, it seems more or less inaccurate sorting. So until someone provides a good explanation for it, I'm going to keep removing such categories and placing templates strictly in template categories, or categories to which the template otherwise officially belongs. Lenoxus " * " 01:36, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Transwiki bot?

    Does anybody know why the automatic transwiki to wiktionary doesn't seem to be happening? I tagged this article with {{dict}} at 0:31 on May 21st, and when nothing had happened by 11:36 May 23rd switched over to {{Copy to Wiktionary}} just in case the first template I used was the problem. Since it's still here, I had a peak at Category:Copy to Wiktionary and see articles there that have been tagged since early May. If I've done something wrong, I'd be grateful for advice on how to fix it, and I'll go see what I can do for that backlog. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 02:00, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I have no idea, but I looked on Template talk:Copy to Wiktionary#Two bot-killers... which seems to suggest that User:Connel MacKenzie might have something to do with it. I would be surprised if I'm telling you anything you didn't already know. I've never used this bot, but your question was looking lonely there with no answer, and I figured even a stupid answer is better than no answer. --Teratornis (talk) 04:28, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I persist in technical cluelessness, so any answer you could provide is better than what I could do myself. :) Alas, Connel hasn't edited in a while, and I don't do IRC. Maybe I can figure out how to transwiki to Wiktionary manually. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 17:25, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Disambiguation page needed

    Resolved

    Would some kindly editor please create a disambiguation page for the term "Silver Comet"? There is an existing article by that name, which is about a roller coaster, and now an article I just created a few minutes ago about the former passenger train; I titled it "Silver Comet (train)."

    There's also a "Silver Comet Trail" which might or might not need to be included on the disambig page, too.

    This editor would be mighty appreciative of the help. I've been working about 10 hours today creating good content, and though I could probably figure out the disambig process eventually, my brain is fried and it's time for some grub. Thanks in advance.  :-) Textorus (talk) 02:55, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Done! Since it didn't seem like either article was an obvious primary topic, I moved the rollercoaster article to Silver Comet (rollercoaster), and created the disambiguation page, linking to all three articles, at Silver Comet. -- Natalya 03:03, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I was creating it, but Natalya was ahead of me.--RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 03:09, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks much, y'all, I really appreciate it. I wish somebody would rewrite the directions for creating disambig pages; the process is not at all clear to me.  :-) Textorus (talk) 18:22, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Odd reference formatting

    Cass Lake, Minnesota has some odd references, using coding that I've never seen before, and the references to the odd coding at the top don't display properly on the article itself. What is up with the coding, and what can be done about it? Nyttend (talk) 04:41, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    That coding is the {{cite web}} coding. Nothing really needs to be done really. It's no harm.--RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 04:52, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Nyttend wasn't, I think, referring to the use of {{cite web}} but to the old and long deprecated {{ref num}} method of footnoting. I have converted those present in the article to the Cite.php, <ref></ref> format. Nyttend, if you come across this again you might find User:Cyde/Ref converter useful. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 08:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Photos of dead people

    Since Carol Willis is deceased, can we use the image found here for her article? Dismas|(talk) 05:09, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Copyright only expires when the work was published before 1923, and is not affected by the subject's death – see Wikipedia:Image use policy#Public domain. The image copyright is therefore still owned by Playboy, but if you sized down the image then it would probably work under a claim of non-free use. You'll have to have a better look at the site's copyright policy, though. haz (talk) 06:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I didn't say it would be public domain just because the subject of the image is dead. Thank you for assuming that I can understand the copyright policies. If it's wrapped in red tape, I don't get it. That's why I came here. Dismas|(talk) 06:37, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    It's a bit of a delay since you asked the question, but I assume you're wondering whether the photo can be used as fair use now that the subject is dead. I think the answer is "sorta kinda maybe yesno a bit but not really". Since the main sticking point of fair use photos of living people is the possibility of a free alternative being made available, it's generally considered best to wait a while after the person's death to see if anyone comes forward with one ... or something. Is there anyone who may have photographed her recently who may be willing to freely license a photo? Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:35, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Patrol

    Resolved

    How do you mark an article as patrolled? Interactive Fiction Expert/Talk to me 09:16, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi IntfictExpert. Marking pages as patrolled can only be done when you approach the article from new pages. Another words, if you serendipitously typed into the search bar an article that was just created and clicked go, that article you land on will have no link to mark it as patrolled, whereas, going to that same page from new pages will give you the option to mark it as patrolled. All pages at new pages which are highlighted in yellow have not been marked as patrolled. The actual process of marking a page is to click on the link which looks like this: [Mark this page as patrolled], which appears on the bottom right hand corner of a new page. For more information, see Wikipedia:New pages patrol/patrolled pages. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 09:28, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Also remember you can't mark as patrolled pages which you have created yourself. Fribbler (talk) 12:41, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Note that when patrolling article, you have to see if they need any tags, cleanup, etc. The whole point of patrolling articles is to make sure they have no problems. If they do, add a tag or fix it yourself. --RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 16:03, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Unblock rules

    Several months ago, I was wrongly accused of being a sock of a banned user and blocked. (I think the admin was just trying to win a content dispute) A few weeks later, another administrator reviewed what happened and correctly concluded that I was not a sock and unblocked me.

    If the first administrator finds out, he will certainly block me again. In essence, he is trying to censor an article. I have looked over my edits and they are not POV. I did ask a former arbitrator and he said ArbCom will almost never look into this situation.

    I have not edited since the unblock. I created this user just to ask the question and prevent stalking. I don't intend to use it to edit. Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:18, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    So, what's your question? Do you mind clarifying a little? -- RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 16:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Question is 2 possibilities: #1: Can we conclude that if I am really the sock of the banned user, the banned user is no longer community banned because I have been unblocked? If so, then re-blocking can only be done for disruption or POV pushing, not by pointing out made up similarities.

    Or #2: Since the first administrator (wrongly) stated that I am a sock of a banned user, there is no recourse - I can be blocked on sight for no reason when the first administrator finds out that I am editing again after being unblocked. Again, a former ArbCom member said ArbCom is too busy and will almost certainly ignore any requests for help. How to prevent this except by accepting the first administrator's original purpose, to censor any opinions in an article other than his own (he even objects to neutral wording that has reliable sources). Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:31, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Q1 has made me slightly suspicious, and no - we cannot conclude that. If an administrator has reviewed and accepted an unblock request, another administrator should not reblock without good reason (in this case, most likely a CheckUser...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 16:38, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    So are you saying that #2 is what is likely to happen? That the original administrator can re-block on whim? I need to know because I refuse to help Wikipedia if too many Wikipedia representative (administrators) are bullies. Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:43, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Side note: What needs to happen is that all adminstrators should have a 6 month term followed by 6 months of editing. Many admins stop editing and some of them become bullies. Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:46, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    To refocus the question----Creating a new user and ending use of my current account is not a solution. The checkuser will rightly conclude that "new user" and "current account" is the same person (even if one stops editing and the other starts). Using the current account is not a solution because the old admin will find out the unblock and reblock. The only solution to avoid re-block is to accept that the first admin has effectively become a censor for a group of articles. Is this true? Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:49, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    No. You cannot be reblocked at whim, only when a request for checkuser is accepted and the result is that you are a sockpuppet. This is unlikely to happen unless you bear a striking resemblance to the alleged puppetmaster...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 17:02, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Thank you for your answer even though it does not really answer the question. You say that you cannot be reblocked at whim. This is not a true statement. The original admin has the opinion "anyone who does not agree with my POV is banned". So any editing in the article results in the admin saying that there is resemblance and blocks. This admin has blocked others without a RFCU request. Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 17:09, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    But once you have been unblocked, (s)he cannot reblock without a RFCU, so the first time was OK but they cannot reblock...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 17:17, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Perhaps the single most important phrase on Help:CheckUser is the caution that CheckUser is not magic wiki pixie dust. A completed Checkuser is not required to block (or unblock) a putative sockpuppet; Checkuser evidence is seldom unambiguous, and the Checkusers themselves – talented though they are – are not infallible. By far the most important evidence of sockpuppetry is behavioural. (See duck test.) TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:58, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Arb Com Unblocking

    Resolved
     – SimpsonsFan08 (talk · contribs) is now unblocked per Jimbo Wales (talk · contribs) and ArbCom PeterSymonds (talk) 03:04, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    OK. I have editied with sockpuppets. I contacted Jimmy Wales, and the volunteer contacted Arb Com. They gave me this reply:

    <email message removed>

    The User SimpsonsFan08's talk page is currently protected, so how can I get unblocked now (since I got a second change).

    Also, can I merge accounts: SimpsonsFan08, SimsFan, Doughnuts...Mmm!.

    Can I get an admin to unblock me today? Thanks, 92.5.91.181 (talk) 17:06, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    OK, I'll file a WP:RFPP (unprotection) and hopefully an admin will get there. Then, you can use the {{unblock}} template to request unblocking. If an administrator comes along, they can do it straight away but I'll do this as I'm not an administrator...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 17:15, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
     Doing... RFPP filed, pending. You can then use {{unblock}}. And in response to your earlier query: No, accounts cannot be merged...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 17:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    RFPP Red XNfailed. If you are telling the truth, either Jimbo or Arbcom could quite easily unblock you and unprotect your talk page...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 22:44, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Merge discussions

    What are the policies/guidelines/etc. that cover merge discussions, which occur on the Talk page of one of the affected articles? In particular, I am interested in the proper procedure for closing a merge discussion. I've read Help:Merging and moving pages#Closing/archive a proposed merger (vague), as well as Wikipedia:Consensus, Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines, and Template:Discussion top, but I have not found anything directly helpful.

    For XfDs, the closing editor must be uninvolved and may be a non-admin when admin tools are not required to implement the decision. Some merges may require history merges, while others can be done with cut-and-paste. Should an uninvolved editor be requested at WP:EAR, WP:AN, or elsewhere, or should the merge tags and their associated categories be relied on to attract this uninvolved editor?

    Is it ever acceptable for an involved editor to close a merge discussion as no consensus following an extended period (1-2 months) with no new discussion, or does this involved closing always constitute a conflict of interest, as it would in the WP:Deletion process? If it may be acceptable, what constitutes a reasonable "extended period"? Flatscan (talk) 17:44, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Mergers are generally done by someone who has an interest in the topic. Deletion requires distance, but mergers require knowledge of the subject in some manner to have an idea of what needs to be kept. -mattbuck (Talk) 17:55, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll cross-post my question once this is archived. Flatscan (talk) 19:42, 25 May 2008 (UTC)?[reply]
    I believe the question is not who actually carries out the merger but who determines whether or not there is a consensus when there is no unanimity? I believe that it's been the practice in the past to request on WP:AN that an uninvolved admin determine consensus when it is unclear. Reggie Perrin (talk) 04:07, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Cross-posted from Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 May 24 to Help talk:Merging and moving pages, Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)

    New user - problems re-finding articles

    Resolved

    Hi, I'm a new user and can't work out if there's any way to add a 'bookmark' to an article so hat I can easily find it again in the future without saving it as a favourite using my browser. MonkeyMark (talk) 17:55, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    If you don't want to save it as a bookmark in your browser, you could link to it on your userpage, but if you do, anyone in the world can see it... Calvin 1998 (t-c) 18:00, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    It's not really what it's for, but you could add it to your watchlist. That's more private, if you care about that. Algebraist 18:01, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (ec)You can watch list the article so you can always see whats happening on that article. You can than "edit raw watchlist" to see what's watchlisted.--RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 18:03, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (e/c) :Hi MonkeyMark. There is no internal bookmark feature per se, but you do have a watchlist which when you access will show whenever a change is made to a page you have watched. It is a link at the very top of the page whenever you are on Wikipedia and logged in. Right next to that link is another called "My contributions", which will show you your editing history. You also have a user page which you have not yet accessed. It is at User:MonkeyMark. That link is currently red because you have not yet posted any content there. Once you do it will turn blue. You can post there links to any page you want to access again (thus making a form of bookmark). To make a link to an article, simply type the exact name and surround it with brackets, like [[this]]. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 18:10, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Requesting Attention

    Resolved

    Very Recently, a WP:RFPP was submitted for User talk:SimpsonsFan08. How can I get a attention as, for the start, there was edit conflicts in the discussion, where now, there hasn't been an edit for 10 minutes. 92.5.91.181 (talk) 18:05, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Just because it hasn't been discussed for 8 minutes doesn't mean it won't continue. Just be patient. Page protection requests can take a long time to just a few minutes.--RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 18:07, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Characters

    How can I get Greek characters in my signature? Will I have to use HTML or something or is there a way to get table like is under the edit window that has greek characters? Thank you, Zrs 12 (talk) 18:19, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You can copy-paste the Greek characters from the table under edit windows into the "signature" section in your preferences. That should work. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 18:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Tucurinca contributions

    Resolved

    How can I deleted all my contributions and my account? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tucurinca (talkcontribs) 18:57, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You can't delete your own contributions unless an admin deleted the page you edited. Your edits on that deleted article will also delete your contributions to it. Hope that helps. --RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 19:04, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    While your account cannot be physically deleted, you do have the right to vanish, which is "about as good as it gets" when it comes to deletion. x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:16, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Due to the fact that Wikipedia content is licensed under the GFDL, all edits must be kept for attribution purposes, and so your account cannot be deleted. You do, however, have the right to vanish, which you can exercise by (1) requesting your user page (found at Special:Mypage) and/or user talk page (found at Special:Mytalk) be deleted, by adding the {{db-userreq}} template to them; (2) requesting to change your username to something that is unconnected with you (possibly a random collection of letters and numbers); (3) never logging in to your account again. If you do this, you are still free to register a new username if you wish to continue editing Wikipedia. Woody (talk) 19:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Prevent nosy onlookers from knowing your username

    Resolved

    When logged into Wikipedia your username appears at the top right hand corner of the screen. Is there a way to obscure the username from being displayed, to prevent nosy onlookers from knowing what it is. I was thinking along the lines of something similar to the way the UTCLiveClock works? Any suggestions? Thanks. 79.75.137.77 (talk) 19:10, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    My answer to your first question: As far as I know, you can't remove it. Also, do you mind clarifying when you said, "to prevent nosy onlookers from knowing what it is" Thanks. --RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 19:13, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You'd probably have to write something to your Special:Mypage/monobook.js file. The busybodies are probably, say, if you're in a library and people are looking over your shoulder. x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:15, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks for clarifying. Well, I don't think there's a script that let's you remove it either. --RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 19:16, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Actually, the interface makes this easy. Try adding this to Special:Mypage/monobook.css:
     #pt-userpage { display: none; }
    
    x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:20, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'll clarify that you have to be logged in to add it to your monobook. You can't be an IP while doing this. --RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 19:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks x42bn6 and RyRy5, I'll try it out. I still want Talk, Preferences and Watchlist to show, but the actual username to say something like "Logged in" or "My page", rather than telling the world who I am. 86.157.9.253 (talk) 19:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I didn't realize I'd been logged out. Sorry about that. 86.157.9.253 (talk) 19:24, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    If you don't get a response here, you can try at WP:VPT because it's probably a technical issue. For that, you'd need to write something in JavaScript. The one above hides the username. x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:26, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The above code doesn't work. 86.157.9.253 (talk) 19:29, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    This should work in your monobook.js:
    addOnloadHook(function(){document.getElementById('pt-userpage').firstChild.innerHTML='My page';});
    

    -- zzuuzz (talk) 19:30, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Shit, I logged out again. Something is seriously screwed with my cookies. Thanks zzuuzz, I've give that a try, if I can stay logged in that is~ 86.157.9.253 (talk) 19:31, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Getting the Admins Attention

    Hi. I said above about Requesting Admin Attention. There is a request for unprotection at WP:RFPP, for User talk:SimpsonsFan08. However, no one has responsed to this. How can I get an admins attention for this matter. There has been requests added and solved, in the time I have been waiting. 92.5.91.181 (talk) 20:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Ask at WP:AN.--RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 20:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Apparently it is waiting for a reply from Jimbo or ArbCom, a thread on AN isn't going to help anything. Mr.Z-man 20:31, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I suggest other than WP:AN, that you just wait. --RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 20:40, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Flickr

    Resolved

    Can you upload images posted in flickr 86.40.201.129 (talk) 21:12, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    It depends if the image has a suitable license. Read through Wikipedia:Upload/Flickr and see what the different licenses are, and use the tool provided to determine whether it's appropriate. Generally, most images are copyrighted "all rights reserved" by the uploader, usually because they're unfamiliar with the licenses. If the license is not compatible, you can contact the uploader and ask him/her to change the license. Usually they'll allow for it, but images without the appropriate free license will be speedily deleted. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 21:16, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Hello. You can upload flickr images which are licenced as CC-BY or CC-BY-SA, though it's preferable you upload them to the Wikimedia Commons. Images which are all rights reserved, or are either ND or NC are not allowed. -mattbuck (Talk) 21:53, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Also, it is important to know that a user account is required to upload any image. To upload an image, click "Upload file" in the toolbox on the left hand side of your screen. Also, as the other guys said, it's important to determine whether or not the image as the correct licence for use on Wikipedia. I hope that helps. GO-PCHS-NJROTC (talk) 23:41, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Rosemary

    Resolved

    How long can rosemary tea be ingested. I have been boiling dried rosemary "bark" for 8 days. Now I am reading that it could be toxic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.249.44.181 (talk) 22:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    The help desk is used for questions on USING wikipedia. Your question seems unrelated to wikipedia. Please ask at the Wikipedia:Reference desk. Thank you. RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 22:29, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    We cannot offer medical advice. Please see the medical disclaimer. Contact your General Practitioner. This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Wikipedia: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. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps....... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 22:42, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The reference desk also will not give medical advice. Useight (talk) 00:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You're right, I should really have put the templates the other way round...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 09:33, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Font Face

    Resolved

    How can I change the font face of my signature? For example, what if I wanted to change my signature from Arial (default) to Comic Sans MS? Nick4404 yada yada yada What have I done? 22:44, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I can personally do that for you. It wll be done in just a minute or two.--RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 22:45, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    <font face="Comic Sans MS">REST OF SIG</font>...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 22:48, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Well, just checkmark the "raw signature" box in Special:Preferences, they put the following in the above box:
    [[User:Nick4404|<font color="navy" face="Comic Sans MS">Nick4404</font>]] <sup>[[User talk:Nick4404|<font color="navy" face="Comic Sans MS">yada yada yada</font>]]</sup>

    --RyRy5 (talk copy-edit) 22:52, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    That makes: Nick4404 yada yada yada...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 22:55, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Java Script

    Resolved

    Is it possible to use a Java Script on a user page or user talk page? GO-PCHS-NJROTC (talk) 23:36, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Yes, but it won't take affect. It will only work in your monobook.--RyRy5 (talk) 00:36, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Like RyRy5 said, you can use Java Script on a user page or user talk page, but unfortunately, it won't have any effect. You need to place such JavaScripts at your monobook.. Cheers, Razorflame 00:59, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    May 25

    Google help

    Resolved

    I'm trying to compile a list of articles for Playboy Playmates which have gone through the WP:AFD process. I haven't been able to find the magic formula of keywords using Google which will produce a set of useful results. Can anyone lend a hand with their Google skills? Or maybe there is some sort of tool that look through the AFD logs, if logs exist? Thanks, Dismas|(talk) 04:36, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia is excluding pages at Articles for deletion from search engines like Google with our robots.txt at http://en.wikipedia.org/robots.txt which contains
    Disallow: /wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/
    
    An internal search like [1] can find some of them. PrimeHunter (talk) 07:34, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks for the tip about robots.txt; I will have to add a note about that to the {{Google custom}} documentation. To Dismas, you may need to learn about Wikipedia's query tools; see WP:EIW#Query. I need to learn about those tools too, so I can perform and explain these types of searches that exceed what we can do with Google. --Teratornis (talk) 17:58, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Lone years and months

    Resolved

    I've gone through the MOS but I can't find a section that I've read before. Where is the policy on whether or not to link lone months and years in the text of an article? Thanks, Dismas|(talk) 04:55, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    WP:MOSDATE is the policy.--RyRy5 (talk) 05:02, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    MOS:SYL to be precise. dihydrogen monoxide (H2O) 05:13, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks, both of you. I went through that page but must have missed that paragraph that spells it out. Dismas|(talk) 05:21, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Lightweight wikipedia entry page (search box only)

    Resolved

    Hi. Is there a Wikipedia entry page with only a search box that can load quickly on a mobile device that has (near-)zero caching, like the iPhone? An always and quickly accessible Wikipedia on mobile devices seems like one of the most powerful tools there can be, but over a non-WiFi (e.g. Edge) connection one wastes a lot of time waiting for content, formatting and especially images to appear. Both en.wikipedia.org and wikipedia.org entry pages have graphics on them. Thank you. 91.13.221.29 (talk) 05:57, 25 May 2008 (UTC) Greg[reply]

    I found this off the internet. Hope it helps. Singularity 06:54, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thank you, that utility is kind of neat; I'd also found some offline apps. But that portal is still not as lightweight as it could be and still requires a redirect; plus it's unofficial, which means it could go away or break . Maybe I should split the question: (a) is there such a simple page already at some official Wikipedia URL? (workarounds are nice, and I could maybe even create one myself, but the need for a "lightweight entry" to Wikipedia seems more universal, so...) (b) if not, where could one request such a feature to be an "official" entry to Wikipedia (this is probably not the appropriate place for a deeper discussion of merits etc.)? In fact, I looked around quite a bit before posting here because once I started looking it seemed so odd that something like that (so simple to do, probably quite universally useful) would NOT already be available. 91.13.218.38 (talk) 08:45, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Have you found WP:WAP access yet? Algebraist 09:29, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thank you, that page contained a like to a really fast online mapping service at wikipedia.7val.com, which seems to provide a good solution. It would still be nice to have an "official" Wikipedia page do it, but for me the question is for now resolved. 91.13.220.104 (talk) 06:06, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You could create your own user subpage with:

    <inputbox>
    type=search
    width=42
    buttonlabel=Go
    searchbuttonlabel=Search
    break=no
    </inputbox>

    Which gives:

    --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 12:46, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See WP:EIW#Mobile for some additional links relating to your question. Someday, we can expect Moore's law to improve the capacity of mobile computing devices so that more of them should be able to carry around a recent Wikipedia snapshot, perhaps in a reduced format such as TomeRaider. Eventually mobile devices might maintain local mirrors of Wikipedia, thereby greatly conserving bandwidth by downloading only article revision diffs to synchronize articles, perhaps while a device sits in its charging station. The charging cycle could include both power and the latest data from whatever sites the customer likes to carry around as local mirrors. --Teratornis (talk) 17:34, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thank you also, the user page trick is neat. But again, an official lightweight splash page would be nice. Your observations on Moore's law and transfer of diffs only are obviously also correct. And yet: content does tend to catch up with bandwidth (what would Wikipedia have looked like in the mid-80s?). Diffs are always smart; but maybe a general-purpose caching system (not just for Wikipedia) would be better; not sure you always have to carry all of Wikipedia around. We'll see what happens soon enough. :-) 91.13.220.104 (talk) 06:06, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Licensing question for uploading images

    Resolved

    I'm trying to upload an image onto wikipedia, it's under Public Domain according to the terms of use on the website. None of the licensing options on the upload page allow me to select an option like this, instead assuming that all Public Domains images are government related or made before 1923. How can I choose the option I want?

    (The image is this: [2] The terms of usage is here: [3])

    Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks, Erythromycin (talk) 06:02, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I don’t know what to make of their terms of use. On the one hand it says, “All graphics on this site are placed into the Public Domain” On the other hand it says, “You may NOT use any component of our clipart or site content to produce what could be directly or indirectly considered a competitive venture against us.” This restriction contradicts the PD release and seems incompatible with free use. If it is PD, the tag would be {{PD-author|FreeClipartNow.com}}. —teb728 t c 07:31, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Alright, thank you. I uploaded it at Image:Rhinosimus.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by Erythromycin (talkcontribs) 13:11, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Really big references

    Resolved

    One of the references that I'm using to build the MSM blood donor controversy article is a 133 MB pdf. I try to use in-line citations, but it's probably poor form to have someone click the link and get stuck waiting for the document. I have it now as an external link, but is there a better way to do this?Somedumbyankee (talk) 08:33, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Why not put the link with (133MB) next to it? Just an idea...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 09:16, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (The OP's done that) I don't see anything wrong with the current situation. It's still a lot more accessible than a reference to a book in meatspace. Algebraist 09:21, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    True. Seems OK to me. My laptop would have no problem handling that (but my Grandma's dialup desktop - unmodified since 2000 would crash). Having the filesize should stop people with dodgy connections or old machines from opening it...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 09:26, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I believe you want {{PDFlink}}. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 12:32, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Another option is to make two separate references, one to the PDF file itself (which you can warn the user about with, I believe, "|format=PDF (133 MB)" in the appropriate citation template, i.e., use one of the templates which has the format parameter, such as {{Cite web}}), and the second reference to a smaller HTML page that links to the PDF file. Most sites I have seen that contain big PDF files also have some sort of HTML page acting as an entry point to the PDFs. I.e., the sites themselves are not all PDF (that would be possible, since PDF supports linking, but that would be an ugly way to build a site, maybe even worse than using Flash for basic navigation). Google Search solves this problem, when a search result is a PDF document, by displaying a link to an HTML-ified version of the document. When I'm searching the Web, I usually click on the HTML link before the corresponding PDF link, because even though the HTML version looks worse, it loads far faster, and remains consistent in the browser. Loading a PDF is slow, and annoying because all the PDF readers have different user interfaces than the browser. It is obvious that PDF is a temporary kludge simply to shove all the print-format data online as quickly as possible. For real online publishing, PDF is clearly inferior to HTML, wikitext, and other things actually designed for online use. As the world gradually outgrows its belief that dead tree editions are the primary instantiation of information, fewer chunks of information should be hiding only inside PDF files. --Teratornis (talk) 17:53, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    {{cite web |url=http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/06/transcripts/2006-4206t1.pdf |format=133MB |title=Meeting of Blood Products Advisory Committee |date=2006-03-09 |publisher=Food and Drug Administration |pages=53 |accessdate=2008-05-25}}
    

    "Meeting of Blood Products Advisory Committee" (133MB). Food and Drug Administration. 2006-03-09. p. 53. Retrieved 2008-05-25.

    --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 18:21, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Got it, thanks for all the help.Somedumbyankee (talk) 21:34, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I like to hyperlink the publisher's name where possible: Food and Drug Administration. You can put that into the {{cite web}} template with: |publisher=[[Food and Drug Administration]]. --Teratornis (talk) 05:47, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Image

    Resolved
     – No...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 09:15, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I am not in the autoconfirmed group, but is there any other way I can upload images (copyrighted, so can't go on commons)? DalekChicken (talk) 09:13, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    No, not until you're autoconfirmed I'm afraid...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 09:15, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Gyro Calideo

    Resolved
     – User advised on policies and other wikis. PeterSymonds (talk) 19:42, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi, im a new user and the reason i joined was to allow me to write a page for my band Gyro Calideo. I figured out how to make a new page and i began to write the short yet true history of my band.

    once i had done all of this i decided i would save the page. however once i did this i got a message about speedy deletion. so i deleted it but i am not really understanding why? its my band and me and my friend are the only ones who know anything about the band so why have i been asked to delete something i "own" as it were? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Britpop-mod (talkcontribs) 14:56, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Ah, okay. First thing is not to be disheartened by deletion; it just means that it's been deleted because it doesn't satisfy Wikipedia's inclusion guidelines. For bands, they are found here. Unfortunately unless your band meets the notability guideline (found in the blue "here" link), then the article will be deleted. Wikipedia isn't a place for anything and everything; there are rules, and there have to be, or even I can have an article! :) If you still don't understand, ping me on my talk page and we'll discuss it. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 15:08, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    See WP:WWMPD and in particular the section If all else fails, try another wiki. Wikipedia is not the only wiki you may edit on, and for many types of content Wikipedia is not appropriate. See wikiindex:Category:Music for other wikis that specialize in music; some of them may accept an article about your nascent band project. --Teratornis (talk) 17:24, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Delete

    Resolved

    Can an admin delete the contents at User:SimsFan/monobook.js. I cannot log in because of the wikibreak enforcer. Please don't say 'wait for your wikibreak to end'. I need to request unblocking, as Jimbo has given me a second chance. 92.5.91.181 (talk) 15:42, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    It would be better to request at WP:AN. More admins are watching that page and will delete it quickly, if decided though.RyRy5 (talk) 15:46, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'll do it. The monobook is of an indef blocked user so there is no problem. PeterSymonds (talk) 15:47, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
     Done as in removed the contents. I'm not going to delete the page. PeterSymonds (talk) 15:49, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Delete... Proper

    Resolved
     – deleted by someone else. PeterSymonds (talk) 16:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Can you actually delete the page. 92.5.91.181 (talk) 15:55, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Someone beat me to it. It's done now. PeterSymonds (talk) 16:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hidden Category?

    The article Henry Harrison (MP) is categorised as belonging to the Irish regiments category. He is clearly not a regiment :-) but when I tried to edit the article, the category was nowhere to be found. How is that? Fribbler (talk) 17:56, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    It's part of the template above. I don't however see the Category:Irish regiments at the bottom of the page. PeterSymonds (talk) 18:00, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Oh yeah, got it. PeterSymonds (talk) 18:00, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm not sure how to selectively remove categories, so I've copied and pasted the template's source code without the category. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 18:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks! Fribbler (talk) 18:04, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    No probs. :) PeterSymonds (talk) 18:09, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I removed the category from the template. It makes no sense to put a template that includes regiments from Ireland, Britain and South Africa into that category. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 18:38, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (exdent) Thought that too...it contains people and events as well as regiments. Thanks all! Fribbler (talk) 23:33, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    May 26

    Starting a translation of an existing article

    Resolved

    Hi - I'm keen to provide a Japanese translation for an existing article in English, but I'm not sure how to get started. Should I just start a new page and then somehow merge them, or is there a specific way to do translations? I'm sorry to ask - I would swear its in the FAQ, but searches on "translate" and the like don't bring it up, and its not a topic in "editing pages" or the like. Losersaystim (talk) 00:42, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    [4] That is the link to the Japanese Wikipedia. The English Wikipedia does not host articles that are not in some type of English (I.e. British English, American English, New Zealand English, etc). Out of curiousity, which article would you like to translate? « Gonzo fan2007 (talkcontribs) @ 00:46, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I want to translate the short article about Dan Piraro and his Bizarro comics. They're just starting to get a market in Japan so I thought it would be helpful for people who wondered who he was (well, Japanese people). If it works I'd be keen to do more.
    So, I should just start a new page in the Japanese wikipedia and then somehow link it over?Losersaystim (talk) 00:56, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Yep, just create the page on the Japanese Wikipedia under the proper Japanese translation. Then when you finish the article on the Japanese Wikipedia, add [[ja:JAPANESE TITLE]] to the bottom of the English article, replacing JAPANESE TITLE with the Japanese title of the page. « Gonzo fan2007 (talkcontribs) @ 01:00, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Gotcha. Cheers mate!Losersaystim (talk) 01:11, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Verifying Content

    A note has been left at the top of the page stating that the content, much of which I have added, needs to be verified by a third party. I have read about the verification process but am unable to make an entry that looks right. My first and second attempts at making an in-article link to third party internet site has failed. Please give me the code, or whatever you call it, that I need to type in order to make a satisfactory third party reference? I am somewhat technically challenged, so please Keep It Simple for me.

    I can't imagine that this question has not been asked before, but I cannot find where it has been asked and did not understand how to do it from what I read about the process.

    Thx ... Dan —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.112.121.58 (talk) 01:05, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Right. First, Please sign your post by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box which looks like this: . Do NOT sign in articles. The code for referencing is <ref>Reference goes here, preferably with an external link, which is like [URL what you want to show up].</ref> The "Third party" part simply means the reference must be to a 3rd-party source (un-affiliated with the subject). Hope this helps! Calvin 1998 (t-c) 01:12, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    For instructions on making proper citations, see: WP:V, WP:CITE, WP:FOOT, WP:CITET, and WP:LAYOUT. Also see Help:Edit summary for some additional important instructions you don't seem to be following yet. You should study some of our featured articles about music to see where you want the Roy Head article to go. (Most people find it easier to learn by studying examples along with reading the friendly manuals, rather than just reading the instructions and then trying to put it all together by editing an article from scratch.) --Teratornis (talk) 04:51, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Also, you'll want to take a look over at WP:COI since you acknowledge your close relationship to the article. Tiggerjay (talk) 05:02, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I have formatted the two links in the article to use our standard referencing format as an example for future references. You can see exactly what I did by viewing this diff. I hope that will help you.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 05:16, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I feel like adding a general lament about the difficulty of doing citations on Wikipedia. Citations are one of the most complex and unintuitive aspects of Wikipedia for many new users. Citations (at the moment) are both difficult and important, making them one of the reasons why such a small fraction of articles on Wikipedia have attained featured quality. It seems unlikely that Wikipedia will achieve its goal of bringing every article up to featured quality, within the next decade anyway, as long as citations remain so difficult to do properly that only a tiny fraction of Wikipedia users have mastered the necessary incantations. It might be necessary for Wikipedia to make proper citations simple enough even for casual users to do correctly, but to do that would probably require vertically integrating a comprehensive library of sources directly into Wikipedia, on something like the scale that Google is attempting (with Google Books, Google Scholar, and so on). Or, possibly, Google will do the heavy lifting, and Wikipedia can build off it. I've been thinking about citations a lot lately, because several of the articles I have been working on (Peak oil, Oil price increases since 2003, Panicum virgatum, etc.) get a lot of edits from users who understand the articles' subjects, but haven't slogged through and mastered our WP:FOOT and WP:CITET pages. Thus I am cleaning up other people's broken citations, and that is heavy going. It seems we have much room for improvement with citation technology on Wikipedia, since the current system needs a perhaps unrealistically high percentage of Wikipedia editors who have committed the necessary hours to learn how to do citations the hard way. I've tried some citation tools such as Zotero and Google Scholar enhanced with the Wikipedia citation assistant, but these tools are very hit and miss - they work well when they work, but often they don't work as in they don't find or recognize a given reference, from which to generate a citation. The underlying problem is that source material has no standard format, so there is always some source that defies automation with a given tool. --Teratornis (talk) 05:27, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I agree very strongly. The problem is figuring out how to make them easier or more intuitive. That is why I added the references here. Most people are much better at working from an example, and I've seen many times users who figure out the basics except for that they must add {{Reflist}} so they are tearing their hair out trying to get the references to work without the code.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 05:50, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Yeah, your comment describes a problem very similar to the energy-related articles I mentioned. Since energy problems are in the news now, some of these articles are attracting lots of edits. And just as with the Adrienne Shelly article, the presence of existing properly-cited references does not seem to clue up new editors who just add their new references any which way. Of course, when I was brand new at editing on Wikipedia, editors with more experience had to clean up my first fumbling attempts. The difficulty I had when trying to understand why they revised my work motivated me to add links to my edit summaries whenever possible. It stands to reason, when we edit someone else's noncompliant work, they probably have never heard of whatever policy or guideline we are following, so it helps to add an easily clickable link to the edit summary, such as: "added citation template per WP:FOOT" or something. I remember having to figure out how to interpret unlinked shortcut abbreviations from edit summaries, and I vowed never to subject another editor to such rudeness (it can be prodigiously difficult for a new user to figure out what an unlinked shortcut abbreviation could possibly mean, because the new user hasn't yet learned all the tricks of how to search for things like that on Wikipedia). I've also added section-specific shortcuts to things like the Editor's index to make it easier for myself and others to provide clickable links to them. --Teratornis (talk) 06:17, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I think I might try my hand at working up an annotated example of how to do standard <ref></ref> citing in a template, for here and elsewhere. Regarding shortcuts, I rarely use them for new users. I try to spell out the page and link it.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 06:34, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'd be interested to see what others think of the refTools gadget you can now enable in My Preferences/Gadgets, which adds Ref and Cite buttons to the edit toolbar. For me it's been a good way of producing better quality citations quickly, even though it is a bit clunkier than some of the external tools I used before. It's particularly handy for repeat citations of named references in the same article, which is done all kinds of ways here and leads to no end of snarlups in complex articles when done manually. I'd recommend it as a real boon to new users learning the art of properly formatted citations - it's not perfect but it's handy, easy to use and a good confidence builder. -- Karenjc 21:49, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Merger/unmerger at Piha

    Resolved
     – I performed the unmerge myself and changed the outcome of the AfD. PeterSymonds (talk) 02:14, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I'm a little embarrassed coming here after years of working on WP, but this one has me stumped. I recently took part in an AfD - Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Piha Surf Life Saving Club. The article, as initially nominated, was 600 bytes in length and gave no evidence of notability other than that the club was featured in a television series. As such, quite rightly, the first few comments were to merge the article into the equally small article on the series.

    I became aware of the AfD towards the end of its nomination period, and - realising that this was a pioneering and former national champion club - started to enlarge the article to show its notability. Unfortunately, before I had a chance to contact the earlier commenters to indicate the changes to the article and ask whether they are willing to reconsider their comments, the AfD was closed and the article was merged.

    What this means is that there is now severely unbalanced article on a television series which has 600 bytes on the programme followed by nearly 3 kilobytes on the club involved - a club which should, by rights and by notability, have its own article. Ideally, I'd like to "unmerge" it, but realise that by doing so I'm going against the decision of the AfD. As such, I'm at a loss, other than perhaps to ask here for some third-party, uninvolved editors to see whether they think a stand-alone article on the club is now worthwhile. Grutness...wha? 01:18, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I closed it. I've replied on your talk page. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 02:00, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Status of a requested translation - again

    I asked this on May 22 but got not answer - so tryign again:

    How long does one normally have to wait to get a response to a translation request, in this case Wikipedia:Translation/Evidence ?

    Or, did I not set the request up correctly ?

    If there is no one to do it, should I just get the request speedy deleted ?

    Peet Ern (talk) 05:19, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I recall trying to look up the answer to your question when you previously asked, and it stumped me. I looked at a few of the other translations and it was somewhat difficult to determine the actual amount of time that they required. The pages that listed milestones did not give dates for completion of the individual milestones. So I looked at a few article histories, but that was not enough to establish a "normal" time requirement. In general, Wikipedia has terrifyingly huge backlogs in many places where editors ask other editors to do things (see: WP:CLEANUP). We seem to have a lot more askers than doers. Anyway, to get an idea how long a translation "normally" takes, you would probably have to ask some people who are active in that area, who would have enough experience to give a meaningful estimate. It seems none of them are answering questions on the Help desk just now. --Teratornis (talk) 05:41, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I should add that if it was my request, I would just leave it out there until someone does it, or someone else decides to get rid of it. A request that hangs out there unfilled probably isn't hurting anything. You had to do some work to make the request, so why throw your work away? When I was new on Wikipedia, I requested the GPSBabel article, and I think it took several months before someone made the article. I don't know whether the person who started the article was even aware of my request. On Wikipedia there is no deadline. The only reliable way to speed things up is often to do them yourself. --Teratornis (talk) 06:02, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Infobox background colour

    Resolved

    What is the default background colour #xxxxxx for the class="Infobox" ? Peet Ern (talk) 05:21, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    For general information about colors, see: Web colors and Wikipedia:Colours. For specific information on how Wikipedia defines its class values, see MediaWiki:Common.css which contains this excerpt:
    /* Infobox template style */
    .infobox {
        border: 1px solid #aaa;
        background-color: #f9f9f9;
        color: black;
        margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1em;
        padding: 0.2em;
        float: right;
        clear: right;
    
    which might be what you're looking for. --Teratornis (talk) 05:34, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks Teratornis. I had found the first two. The WikiMedia stuff was exactly what I needed. Peet Ern (talk) 05:50, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks for letting us know the answer was what you needed. I was thinking I might have sounded sarcastic by "which might be what you're looking for." Actually I was not 100% certain this was what you needed, since on Wikipedia there are so many gotchas and exceptions that things aren't always as obvious as they might seem. There is always one more thing I haven't heard of which overrides what I thought I knew. And then shortly after I learn about that one more thing, somebody goes and changes it. --Teratornis (talk) 05:57, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You are welcome (and I meant MediaWiki - it's hard sometimes - your right). Peet Ern (talk) 07:32, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Resolved

    If I were to go to McDonalds one day, and order a Big n' Tasty, and take a picture of it to use on Wikipedia, is the image I took my own image that could be used on Wikipedia or is it the property of McDonalds? I admit images and copyright are a little over my head, but I can always learn. :) <3 Tinkleheimer TALK!! 07:08, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    PS:Another Minor Problem. Help Desk isn't showing up on my watchlist, even though I watch it? Any suggestions to why it isn't? Thanks :) <3 Tinkleheimer TALK!! 07:17, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Of the sandwich? Yes that can't fall under copyright (see the picture on the Whopper article). I certainly foresee no lawsuits over a picture of a sandwich, so that should be fine. Also, with the watchlist, try purging the cache of the watchlist. It should show up instantly so it's odd that it doesn't. PeterSymonds (talk) 08:38, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Ooohhh, this is interesting. What about the packaging? If you take a photo of a copyrighted item, do you own copyright to the entire photo? --saxsux (talk) 14:27, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    No, like the WikiWorld part of the Signpost, if you include a copyrighted logo or something you don't own that portion of the picture. weburiedoursecretsinthegarden 20:54, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    As for the watchlist: Visit the 'watchlist' tap in your preferences and change the number in the box to 250. That sorts most watchlist problems!
    As for the picture: It's fine. An image of a burger in a bag bearing a logo would be in violation of copyright...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 20:48, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    model and methodology

    Resolved

    <content blanked>

    Sorry, but this is for asking questions about how to use Wikipedia only. I've moved this to the reference desk for humanities. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 08:33, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Exporting file of User contributions

    I want to export my User contributions, including my edit summaries, so I can play with the data. Is this possible? -- Alan Liefting (talk) - 08:02, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You can export a file using the API. You can export it as an XML file which can be used in MS Excel. [5] will give you your last 500 edits. You can see more info on constructing API queries here and on the API documentation page (list=usercontribs). The most that non-bots or non-admins can get is 500. If you want all your contribs, send me an email and I can send you the files from queries of 5000. You can also get it in other data formats depending on what you plan to do with it. Mr.Z-man 08:31, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm not a good person in this subject. However, I don't think you will be able to import. I can't say this will work but try Special:Export and type in Special:Contributions/Alan Liefting . You could check out the ref desk. Hope this Helps. SimpsonsFan08 talk Sign Here Please and get Award 08:38, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Get added to Wikipedia.com

    Resolved

    Done by other users

    How can I get background about my website added to Wikipedia.com?

    Thanks,

    <Personal info removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.180.107.191 (talk) 10:14, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Well, you can create an account and then post it on your user page. If so, then just don't advertise so much about it. Do you want to make an account?--RyRy5 (talk) 10:19, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I would recommend not to do that, even on a user page, it can be speedy deleted as spam. See user page policy for guidance in what can be written on a user page. A link to your website on a user page is acceptable, but excessive promotional material is prohibited. It is also recommended that you do not write articles about yourself or any group you are involved with; see our guidelines on conflict of interest. EJF (talk) 11:19, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    See also Wikipedia:FAQ/Business. Much of it also applies to your website, even if it should be non-commercial. Wikipedia is non-commercial and Wikipedia.com redirects to wikipedia.org. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:22, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm resolving this now. Plus, this website is en.wikipedia.org . SimpsonsFan08 talk Sign Here Please and get Award 11:50, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You can add an entry about your site to AboutUs.org, and if it's a company site, you can add an entry to Wikicompany. --Teratornis (talk) 16:44, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'd think people would be more interested in getting their site into wikipedia.org, the popular reference site that is in the top ten Alexa rankings, rather than into wikipedia.com, a domain name that merely redirects to the .org site. *Dan T.* (talk) 16:49, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Userpage help?

    Resolved

    Can someone help me with my userpage? :/ I cant get my userboxes to align center [6]. Please, I'd appreciate help here ;) Mellie 11:13, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Is that the sort of thing you were after? Or did you want the centre of the page? PeterSymonds (talk) 11:17, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Well, I'd like it centered here, and possibly without the heading. Sorry, but im a bit of a newbie with this stuff :/ Mellie 11:24, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    WBOSITG (talk · contribs) has fixed it for you. :) PeterSymonds (talk) 11:27, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I did indeed, hope that's what you wanted. weburiedoursecretsinthegarden 12:03, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Hello User:Mellie. Your problem is solved so I'm resolving this post. Thank you. --RyRy5 (talk) 11:39, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    IRC vs Windows Live

    I know there are many Wikipedia IRC channels. However, I don't really know what IRC is. If I was to set up a Wikipedia Windows Live account (like en-wikipedia@hotmail.co.uk), give it out to people who need help, and volunteers could be given password to answer on Windows Live Messenger, would I have to obtain Wikimedia permission or can I just go and do it? SimpsonsFan08 talk Sign Here Please and get Award 14:16, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    It wouldn't work. Firstly, there's nothing stopping people from changing the password the moment they sign in, destroying the system. Secondly, I don't think Windows Live lets users log in in different places with the same username, so chatting within one username (which I think is what you're suggesting) wouldn't work. There are lots of IRC clients to choose from; the one I use is built into Opera and it's very user-friendly. Daniel (‽) 15:23, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    One of the key benefits of an IRC channel is that multiple people can use it, whereas you can only have one person logged in to an WLM account; IRC is intended more for many-to-many chat, while WLM is more one-to-one. I think there's a bit of an ethical side to it too; IRC is an open system, whereas WLM is closed, proprietary and operated by a convicted monopolist. This is just what I think, though - I might be wrong... --saxsux (talk) 15:28, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    IRC is more fun anyway. It's multiplayer notepad! -mattbuck (Talk) 15:29, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Mental help

    Resolved

    I need mental halp —Preceding unsigned comment added by RandyMandy (talkcontribs) 16:40, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    "Mental help" can mean lots of things, since mental activity is very broad. If you mean psychiatric help, see: Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer. If you mean you need help with trying to understand a problem you are having with Wikipedia, then please give more details. --Teratornis (talk) 16:50, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Your brief but checkered contributions history suggests your question is not serious. I suggest that you should learn to take Wikipedia seriously, because we can expect the supply of liquid fuels for transportation to grow increasingly scarce over the next decade or two, and knowing how to contribute to collaborative sites like Wikipedia will be increasingly advantageous as the traditional method of moving information by dragging bodies around becomes steadily less viable. --Teratornis (talk) 17:01, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wiki-audiofiles

    Godday! > > I have problem with wikis-audiofiles. I have tried to locate where to download > and get it downloaded, but just cant get it right. Iam kind of jerk with > computers. Can you help me ex mail the files necessary to me? I have a Compaq > and the media player RealPlayer. Thanks for your time and help. > >

    > Best regards Stefan —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.65.77.51 (talk) 16:59, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia is a do it yourself system, perhaps the largest one in the world, and therefore to use Wikipedia, one has to read and follow instructions. The instructions you need are all under this link: WP:EIW#Media. Unfortunately, our instructions are not understandable to everyone - the instructions have to assume a certain amount of technical background. If you are unable to follow the instructions in these pages:
    then you may need to meet someone in your locality who understands that information and can help you directly. It is very difficult for us to give you detailed help from far away because we cannot see your computer. You can meet other Wikipedia users in your area by reading:
    When you are very new to all of this, it can help a lot if you meet some more-experienced users in person. Only after you have gained enough knowledge of computers can you take full advantage of our written instructions and become more self-sufficient. --Teratornis (talk) 17:11, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Silesian language code

    Resolved

    Someone tried to add the Silesian language version of English language. The article exists, but the language code was not recognized. How does the language code get added? —teb728 t c 18:17, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    There is no Silesian Wikipedia. See List of Wikipedias. Are you sure it's a Wikimedia project? Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 18:27, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    According to its main page it is a Wikimedia project. Maybe it is brand new. —teb728 t c 18:42, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The main page's history shows it appeared on the 31st of march. Fribbler (talk) 18:52, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Hmm. I'll take it up with Meta; maybe they can do something. PeterSymonds (talk) 18:54, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Here's the thread. PeterSymonds (talk) 18:59, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    It is working now. —teb728 t c 02:46, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Edit wars between IP address users

    Resolved

    The article Cashmere is currently undergoing an edit war between two IP address users, who are being very nasty to each other on their respective talk pages. Actually, they are edit warring on multiple pages, I think, though I haven't investigated thoroughly. What is the protocol here? Loggie (talk) 18:58, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I've warned them about Cashmere. If they break the three-revert rule within 24 hours, then they can be blocked for 24 hours. If you notice a violation, notify me directly or go to Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/3RR where you can report a violation. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 19:05, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    SVG rendering

    I'm having a problem getting arrowheads to render properly. All the lines on the bottom of the page have arrowheads on the original artwork. The ones on the bottom left are a straight copy and paste from the top diagram. None of them are visible to me once uploaded to Wikipedia. I thought I saw a post here once saying there was an image rendering help page but I cannot find it, so sorry in advance for posting on the wrong page. SpinningSpark 19:47, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    It appears that the problems are when the image is scaled down in size. When it is viewed in full size, the arrows appear properly. This would seem to be a computer related problem, not necessarily a wiki problem. Tiggerjay (talk) 21:02, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I see no arrows, either when scaled or not when the image is on wiki. If I download it and view it in the editor then it is ok. How are you viewing it full size? by going the image page or what? SpinningSpark 21:13, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Just to be clear, I can always see the arrows on the top diagram. But if I copy an arrow, then I can no longer see it (when uploaded). The scale has no effect on this either way. SpinningSpark 21:21, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Click on the image when viewing it on the page page. Tiggerjay (talk) 21:23, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Doing that takes me to the image page. I see no arrows on any of the lines in the bottom half. Do you? SpinningSpark 22:12, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Hmm, yes they do, at the end of each of the lower lines, sounds like a rendering problem on your system. Tiggerjay (talk) 00:47, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    In that case I don't get why I cannot see them when in thumbnail view. I understood that the wiki server converted to PNG for thumbnails, so there should be no way my browser can distinguish between arrow pixels and any other pixels. SpinningSpark 06:32, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    unlinking two accounts with same IP address

    My first account used my real name (I know, stupid idea), and I created a new account so that my Wiki profile would be more anonymous. However, I noticed that when I click on "Contributions" for my new account name, it also lists the contributions made by my original user name, since the listing is for contributions by both the IP address or the user name.

    I realize that I can't erase the contribution history of my original user name. But is there any way to change it or something, so that clicking on my new user name won't bring up the history of every contribution made from this IP address? —Preceding unsigned comment added by KelvinCelsius (talkcontribs) 19:58, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Due to the fact that Wikipedia content is licensed under the GFDL, all edits must be kept for attribution purposes, and so your account cannot be deleted. You do, however, have the right to vanish, which you can exercise by (1) requesting your user page (found at Special:Mypage) and/or user talk page (found at Special:Mytalk) be deleted, by adding the {{db-userreq}} template to them; (2) requesting to change your username to something that is unconnected with you (possibly a random collection of letters and numbers); (3) never logging in to your account again. If you do this, you are still free to register a new username if you wish to continue editing Wikipedia. I think this is resolved after my post on your talkpage. Woody (talk) 20:13, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Kelvin, I'm not sure what you're talking about because your current contribution history only shows your edits as KelvinCelsius. There is no direct linking taking place. Which is what I believe you are concerned about. Edits to other articles, however, will retain a permanent record of edits by all editors, however there is no intrinsic link between various editors. Tiggerjay (talk) 20:59, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Did you create a new account, or request a user name change? If you changed username, then all your old contributions will still show up under the new name. If you want a clean break from your previous account, you have to log out and create a completely new account. — The Hand That Feeds You:Bite 21:13, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Not sure what to call a new article

    I want to start a new article about Stefan Eriksson's Enzo Ferrari crash on Feb 26 2006 on California's Pacific Coast Highway. There's a section about it in the Eriksson article, but I think this event is notable enough to have its own article. yahoo search results and [7], [8] 2 detailed news articles.

    Does anyone have any good ideas for an article title? Matthewedwards (talk · contribs · count · email) 21:13, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Stefan Eriksson car accident? PeterSymonds (talk) 21:14, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I think there is a split guideline somewhere. And remember, BE BOLD. If it gets deleted, It gets deleted. I recommend 2008 Eriksson Crash or something like thatSimpsonsFan08 talk Sign Here Please and get Award 21:19, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The guideline that refers to splitting articles is: Wikipedia:Summary style. It and related pages are under WP:EIW#Long in the Editor's index. --Teratornis (talk) 06:17, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Seriously? Is there actually enough material for a separate article to include the material that isn't covered sufficiently thoroughly in Stefan Eriksson#Car crash and Stefan Eriksson#Police investigation? Really? Remember, Wikipedia is not a tabloid. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 21:23, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I've worked with Matthew a few times. If he says there is, I'm inclined to believe. :) PeterSymonds (talk) 21:56, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Online or Offline

    Resolved

    Some users have something at the top of their user page that says whether or not they're online Wikipedia. How do I get this on mine? Limetolime talk to me look what I did! 23:48, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Have a look at user:statusBot ! It has instructions for signing up and displaying your online/offline status. Fribbler (talk) 23:52, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    There are a few different kinds of status indicaters. Here are a few examples: User:RyRy5/Status (mine), User:Basketball110/Status, and User talk:VanTucky (which is automatic updated by a bot). If you want any of those, ask them on their talk page. --RyRy5 (talk) 03:56, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    May 27

    what was the name...

    Resolved

    What was the name of the business operating on Wikipedia a few years ago? I believe it would charge a fee in exchange for writing a Wikipedia article on something, usually your business, but it was shut down by Jimbo. The Signpost wrote an article about it, but I can't find it... Thanks! Dar-Ape 01:11, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You mean mywikibiz? Franamax (talk) 01:16, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Aha! Thank you. Dar-Ape 01:20, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    For future reference, you can search the Wikipedia Signpost with Google. For example: search the Wikipedia Signpost for: shut down Wales finds the issue that mentions MyWikiBiz as the top result. The {{help desk searches}} template is a handy way to add this search and others to your user page. --Teratornis (talk) 02:51, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Just to be fair to Greg Kohs (and I could be completely wrong here), the deal was that MWB would write the article on a separate site then invite an en:wiki admin to move it into the wiki mainspace if it was acceptable. That may have been the original concept, or it may have been the result of a temporary negotiation with Jimbo - in any case, the whole idea was rejected. Anyone with better knowledge, feel free to correct me! Franamax (talk) 04:49, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    What happened?

    Resolved
     – Offending div removed [9]. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 03:43, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See this page. I don't know, If I see it with my browser, it's just plain black with Wikipedia logo and the search form. I don't know but I just want to report this issue. passport90## (talk) 03:11, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    All fixed. :) But for some reason, it didn't let me type an edit summary.--RyRy5 (talk) 03:16, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    RyRy5 - I removed the div altogether, I think it was a very smart vandal that put it there... Calvin 1998 (t-c) 03:19, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I was going to remove the whole thing after also, but you beat me. This seems resolved. -- RyRy5 (talk) 03:22, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    A div could ruin the whole thing. What a vandal. Thanks for the fast reaction guys. passport90## (talk) 03:32, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Your welocme. An IP added that recently so good thing you caught it. Regards, RyRy5 (talk) 03:38, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Deletion of pages to save server space

    Does deleting pages on Wikipedia really help save server space or improve server performance? I was asking since all pages that are deleted on Wikipedia are not really deleted but saved in history only accessible by admins and can be restored at any time. So what are the advantages of deleting pages that are not obviously vandalism?

    Because we cannot keep pages on non-notable subjects, and server space is saved in the long run because people don't try to make articles that they know will get deleted. I am not an administrator, so I may be completely wrong, but that's how I understand it...... Dendodge .. TalkHelp 07:49, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (e/c)Dendodge is partly right. The pages are still there, just not accessible to most editors. Pages are deleted according to the deletion policy, and redundant pages are removed when there's no need for them. Deletion just helps keep the encyclopedia clean, and keeping them won't make much difference to the server space. PeterSymonds (talk) 07:52, 27 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]