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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 46.176.107.83 (talk) at 11:54, 12 October 2011 (→‎about the article "Macedonians_(ethnic_group)": new section). 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?)


    October 9

    Please remove my name from Wikipedia

    I have edited an article which describes things that I done in ways that i didn't do at all which makes me very angry as my name was not meant to be mentioned, published or known due to the sensitivity of the case. But when i type my name in the search box the article still comes up. I DO NOT want to be searched or found on Wikipedia for this particular article as its untrue and could put me and my family in danger. PLEASE can you remove my name from anything and everything to do with the related article.--Carlsberg75 (talk) 00:24, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    We are not psychic! What are you refering to?--Aspro (talk) 00:29, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    From the above users contribs history, I am guessing this is what they are refering to. --Jayron32 00:35, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) I think the editor is referring to Murder of Jeffrey Howe‎, the only article edited by Carlsberg75. Unfortunately, I'm not sure who Carlsberg75 actually is (his or her name), and I suppose disclosing the name would defeat Carlsberg75's apparent purpose. I reverted the change Carlsberg75 made to the Howe article because it wasn't a proper reason for removing material from the article, but I couldn't look at the source of the material in the article because the website of the source gave me a weird message: "We've hit a problem and we can't show the page you asked for right now. Please try again in a few minutes." Whatever that means.--Bbb23 (talk) 00:38, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    The report is available at an alternative url. - David Biddulph (talk) 07:53, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks, David, I've replaced the cite with the unexplained technical error with the one you found.--Bbb23 (talk) 14:43, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Carlsberg has basis for removing the name in question. See WP:BLPNAME. I have restored part of the edit, but without the name. It is unnecessary to the article and potentially damaging.-- Obsidin Soul 14:25, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    No problem, although I assume you guessed as to the name and we have to assume Carlsberg is that person (or related) - still, you're correct about it not being necessary to the article. I restored a date Carslberg had inexplicably changed - the date was correct before per source.--Bbb23 (talk) 14:43, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Yeah, better to err on the safe side when it comes to BLP names, I guess. I retained the rest per your revision and the source, of course. -- Obsidin Soul 14:59, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Al Hirschfeld photo

    Hi, I just noticed that the main photo for Al Hirschfeld was re-uploaded with an enhanced version almost two years ago, but his article still displays the unrestored version. Not sure why this is. Thanks. Delaywaves talk 02:01, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    It appears to me that it is indeed showing the new version; it's just that the two look similar at low resolutions: image shown on article image from image page scaled to 200 pixels (note the indentical URLs). Hope this helped. Calvin 1998 (t·c) 04:30, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    I fixed the problem. This is a known .jpg issue that the devs haven't fixed yet. The issue only occurs on .jpg files. For some reason, the system sometimes caches a previous version of the image (usually due to some sort of error in the .jpg file encoding). The easiest way to correct this is to open the image with image editing software, resave the image, then reupload the image. Alpha_Quadrant (talk) 04:40, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Dealing with threats

    An anonymous user, operating under several different IP numbers, has been repeatedly deleting a citation to the Leigh Brackett article regarding her script for The Empire Strikes Back. Since this user has never bothered to provide any reason for the deletion, I've been repeatedly reverting the deletion (even though the original edit is not mine). This is a minor annoyance but not worth fussing about. However, in his last edit, the user added the edit comment "Your IP has been pinged. Do you have legal representation?".

    I gather this is an implicit threat. I'm not sure who is being threatened, and it's highly unlikely that the threat is serious, or even meaningful, but I'm pretty sure this is not how Wikipedia is supposed to work. Is there a policy violation here, or is there any sort of way of discouraging users from making (pseudo-)legal threats in lieu of actually discussing edits on the appropriate page?RandomCritic (talk) 02:20, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia:No legal threats seems to be the relevant policy. If the IP users continue to edit-war on that article, then I would suggest requesting that it be semi-protected at Wikipedia:Requests for page protection. Hope this helps. :-) Regards, —{|Retro00064|☎talk|✍contribs|} 02:32, 9 October 2011 (UTC).[reply]

    password reset or compromised account problem

    I requested a password reset and I have not received the e-mail. (It was not intercepted by my spam filter.) Unless this normally takes several hours, there is either a problem with the password reset or my account has been compromised. Since there are no longer any edits (all minor - no great loss) or discussion contributions associated with my account I'm guessing someone has hacked my account, though I don't know why anyone would take over my account just to delete everything.

    My user ID is KADC and I used my real name to create the account so hopefully an administrator will be able to help me regain control of my account whatever the problem may be.

    99.248.238.157 (talk) 08:23, 9 October 2011 (UTC)KADC[reply]

    According to Special:Log/KADC, the account KADC was created in 2006, but according to Special:Contributions/KADC there have been no contributions. If your account had been compromised, that wouldn't remove record of existing contributions, so if you are convinced that contributions have been made previously it looks as if you've not remembered correctly the name of the account. If you know what pages you've edited, the edit history of those pages would tell you the name of the account which made the edits. - David Biddulph (talk) 08:34, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    As an administrator I can also see there are no deleted edits at Special:Contributions/KADC. As David says, it looks like you misremembered the username. You can also look for possible names at Special:ListUsers. I'm not sure what you mean by "I used my real name to create the account". Users are not asked for their real name and I guess KADC is not your real name. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:09, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    If you actually want the username KADC whether the account was originally yours or not then you can request it at Wikipedia:Changing username/Usurpations. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:12, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Cannot re-upload a recently deleted file

    Over at Wikipedia:Upload I uploaded a file with a spelling mistake in the filename (I had spelt "fanciful" wrong). So I had it deleted. But now when I try to reupload the image with the correct filename it won't let me. It keeps saying "A file identical to this file (File:Ragnall mac Somairle, faniciful seal.jpg) has previously been deleted. You should check that file's deletion history before proceeding to re-upload it." When I click either "submit modified file description" or "ignore warning and save file anyway" buttons, it won't let me upload that image again. How can I upload this image?--Brianann MacAmhlaidh (talk) 09:17, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I think the message means that the file content and not the file name is identical. Can you make another version of the file without the same content byte for byte? If not then I can try to undelete and move the deleted file. PrimeHunter (talk) 09:45, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    I re-cropped the original image on my pc, so that the new version could not have been exactly the same as the one deleted, but I still got the same old song-and-dance - that it was identical to a recently deleted image. I double checked the size of the two versions of that image, and noticed they were the same size, so I just sharpened the image which made the file size a bit bigger, and then tried again. It worked. I guess it means that the wiki-software uses filesizes to help determine duplicates. Oh well, I got there in the end. Thanks. I was getting pretty frustrated.--Brianann MacAmhlaidh (talk) 03:53, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    dvorak online typing

    Sir i am a dvorak keyboard user i am willing to edit English Wikipedia I am using internet cafes I want to type English in dvorak layout online. please help — Preceding unsigned comment added by Linangovan (talkcontribs) 11:08, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I compared the two layouts via the following two depictions:
    What is the specific problem? The Dvorak layout seems to contain the same basic characters as the QWERTY layout, so apart from special characters you should be able to type all basic characters also found on a QWERTY keyboard. See Help:Special characters if you need some specific special characters. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 14:37, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    I think the poster is used to a Dvorak keyboard but is using Internet cafes without Dvorak keyboards, and then wants to reassign the keys to the same position as Dvorak so typing becomes more efficient for somebody used to Dvorak. I don't think Wikipedia has any built in feature for this. There may be a general method you can use for the given computers to reassign their keys for all programs, if the Internet cafes allow it. This help desk is specific to Wikipedia issues. You can try posting to Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing. Tell them which country you are in and which operating system and keyboard type the Internet cafes have. You can also try a Google search like dvorak change layout. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:51, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    What is the name of this sign: # ?

    What is the name of this sign (#) and why is there no article on it in Wikipedia? Instead the article page redirects me to the Front Page, is this a bad joke or something? --88.112.41.113 (talk) 11:25, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    See Number sign. I'm guessing the redirect to the mainpage is because of the way Wikipedia links are coded.-- Obsidin Soul 11:31, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) Number sign mentions some names for it. It cannot be used in page titles. See Wikipedia:Naming conventions (technical restrictions)#Forbidden characters. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:34, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Oh... I see, but how are people supposed to find the number sign page if they cannot find it with # ? There are no special workarounds for these kind of situations, like disabling formatting for one page or anything? --88.112.41.113 (talk) 11:38, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Can someone with an account there perhaps file a report at Bugzilla? Or is it already listed there? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 12:57, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    It's bugzilla:26766. There is no simple way to find number sign if you don't know a relevant name (see [1] for redirects to it), but that is also the case for numerous Wikipedia articles not about symbols. Some imagination and knowledge may be required. If I didn't know a name for # then I would have entered ASCII in the search box and made a browser search with Ctrl+F to find # which on the second occurrence links to Number sign. I realize most users probably wouldn't think of this or have the required knowledge to attempt it. Redirecting # to the main page is actually logical if you know how url's work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki redirects to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page. If the article title # existed then it would, with our normal correspondance between article titles and url's, be called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#. But # is a fragment identifier in urls. A url starting with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/# would normally be used to link to a section of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ (or wherever that url alone redirects to). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#In_the_news, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page#In_the_news and Main Page#In the news all go to the same place on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page. You can also get there by entering "#In_the_news" or "#In the news" in the search box. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:11, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Erm. Just for the record, it's also called Hash tag. The Mark of the Beast (talk) 20:53, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Hash is a common term for the symbol and mentioned in the lead of Number sign. Hashtag is a Twitter term mentioned at Number sign#In computing. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:14, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Why "Contents" cannot be collapsed?

    Why is the "Contents" in articles cannot be collapsed or minimized?Savolya (talk) 13:04, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    It can for me. The table of contents says "Contents [hide]" and I click on "hide". Is there no "hide" link for you? Is it the same on all pages, for example also this help desk? It requires that JavaScript is enabled in your browser. Which browser do you have? PrimeHunter (talk) 13:19, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Skins other than Vector not working on desktop machine

    Hi: I debated posting this to the Village Pump (technical) but am scared of getting my head bitten off. As of shortly after 04:10 today, on my desktop machine (Win 7 Home Premium, Forefox 3.6.18) non-Special pages on en.Wikipedia will not load with Monobook or any other skin I tried changing my preferences to - except Vector. The sidebar and top of page material appears at the bottom of the page, pages display in a semi-raw state with wikilinks underlined and the caret mark and/or letters at the start of each ref. also underlined. I think what I'm seeing is a page minus skin. de.Wikipedia is unaffected. My housemate on the same IP who runs Unix doesn't have the problem. And dialing up on my laptop - Win XP tablet PC edition 2005 version 2002, Firefox 3.6.20) - I don't have the problem. I'm posting this from the laptop because I'm not sure I can figure out how from the desktop (and I really can't use Vector - if it has the alt. char. tables at all, it hides them in some fiendishly unobvious place). Help! --Yngvadottir (talk) 15:35, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I'm trying Monobook now and it seems to be working. One thing you could try is to refresh your browser cache by pressing Ctrl-F5. Post back here if that doesn't work. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:51, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    That seems to have worked, many thanks! Waiting 11 hours and then rebooting didn't . . . wtf? Glad I posted here and not at VP(T) Yngvadottir (talk) 16:02, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Can I still opt out of ACH deposits of my checks for bill payment?

    I couldn't find the answer. According to AT&T I have lost the option of opting out of electronic deposit, ACH, as of June of this year. I have been trying to verify that but have been unsuccessful. I checked you information on the subject and could not find an answer. Prior to June 1, 2011, I have opted out and do get my cancelled checks back as photo copies which is acceptable. With ACH neither the bank or I have a copy of the check so I get nothing other than the check number, date, and amount. AT&T says that I no longer have that right to opt out so they ACH all my checks for my monthly payment.

    I want to continue to opt out and I need some rule or section from the Federal Reserve or NACHA that I can challenge AT&T's decision. Thank you for your help.

    (Redacted) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.192.59.19 (talk) 18:24, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    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. Goodvac (talk) 18:32, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Does a redirect satisfy a condition for deletion?

    The redirect List of Wikipedia articles about fictional vehicles does not make sense in my opinion. However it doesn't seem to satisfy any of the reasons at WP:R#DELETE. Should I nominate it at WP:RFD? Can someone point me to a policy or guideline covering the appropriateness or inappropriateness of this redirect? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 19:10, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    A "list of wikipedia articles" is a category. It would make more sense to redirect to Category:Fictional vehicles. -- kainaw 19:17, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Special:PrefixIndex/List of Wikipedia articles shows 3 such redirects. If you take it to WP:RFD then I suggest a group nomination. You could also just tag with {{R unprintworthy}}. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:26, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Article: Battle of Franklin, TN 1864

    In the above captioned article: under the sub-heading; Confederate Officers the pictures of the Confederate Officers, which should be on the right cover the script on the left. Also in the Article: List of Civil War Battles you forgot the Battle of Bentonville, march 19–21, !865.

    Thanks:-) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.55.67.182 (talk) 19:33, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Regarding your first concern, article is "Battle of Franklin (1864)" in section "Confederate", a subsection of "Opposing forces"? I don't see any layout problems there. I tried on several different computers (Mac and Windows) using multiple versions of Firefox. What browser are you using? For your second, "List of Civil War Battles" takes me to an article titled "List of American Civil War battles". I see an entry for "Battle of Bentonville" in the table in the "Battles rated by CWSAC" section, dated March 19–21, 1865. DMacks (talk) 21:33, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    "You have new messages" pop-up desktop notification for Chrome

    Hello,

    I recently installed the Wikipedia app for Google Chrome. Since installing the app, I have been receiving a pop-up desktop notification in the bottom-right corner of my screen notifying me of new messages. I have searched for a way to access these messages, but the notification does not give an option for accessing them and, as far as I can tell, after logging into Wikipedia, there is no option for reading messages. I have selected the option to disable the notification from within the pop-up, but it still appears every time I launch Wikipedia.

    How can I access my messages and/or completely disable the pop-up notification from occurring? Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bigwoodenhead (talkcontribs) 20:30, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    What app? Where did you get it? ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 21:06, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Mouseover not working

    Resolved

    Why isn't my mouseover working on the view history prev and cur links?--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 20:35, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Are you referring to WP:POPUPS? PrimeHunter (talk) 21:02, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    My mouseover was not working for over an hour. It is back up and running.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 21:35, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Liscence for image of something I built which contains very visible parts supplied which are trademarked

    So I am thinking of adding an image of my glorious sukkah to the article about them (it doesn't have any American sukkot in it), and I constructed it from wood I bought as well metal braces, a bamboo roof and a so-called "SukkahScreen" wall I bought from Steve Henry Woodcraft. Mr. Steve Henry Herman has registered his SukkahScreen with the patent office afaik. So what kind of licence do I put for it? Do I just put a note that the parts were supplied by Steve Henry Woodcraft of "The Sukkah Project"? Here is an image of the sukkah [2]. The final one will be taken from a different angle without the pirate flag, but you can see the bamboo roof and the SukkahScreen (the green wall) make up much of the visible structure. (Also, yes, I know the deck is a mess.) Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 11 Tishrei 5772 20:49, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    License it however you want. As long as you are showcasing your work, and not their product, their logos in the image would be incidental and de minimis - so you needn't worry about their copyrights/trademarks. The standard analogy is, if you take a photo of your child while their are wearing a Pooh bear shirt, you can still license the image freely; as long as the focus of the photograph is of the child, and not the shirt. Avicennasis @ 23:21, 11 Tishrei 5772 / 23:21, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm not sure what you're asking. You don't need (and probably shouldn't as it would be classed as advertising) to credit the manufacturer of things in a picture which you took; the licence applies to the picture, not to individual parts pictured. Consider - do pictures of buildings credit the manufacturer of the bricks, or does a picture of a Rolls Royce car need a licence from RR? Per trademark the intent of a trademark is to exclusively identify the commercial source or origin of products or services, not to stop you taking pictures of it. This would be different if you'd signed some sort of an agreement not to take pictures of something (say a secret military installation, or secret details of a patented item such as the Coca Cola recipe), but I suspect this wouldn't apply to a sukkah screen (which, no disrespect intended, looks rather like greenhouse shade netting anyway). Apologies if I've misunderstood your question. Tonywalton Talk 23:27, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah alrighty. Just wanted to be absolutely sure. Yep, other than the wall and roof I built it, so it is my own work; in more ways than one. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 12 Tishrei 5772 18:54, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Making a template with said image if it can be used outside the article under "fair-use"

    This is a less serious matter, but I want to make a template to put on my talk that has m sukkah on the left side with a message I can put in for my talk page. Basically large (but not too large, like 300 px across) sukkah image on the left and then on the right something like "This editor is currently chilling in his sukkah for sukkot; he askes that in keeping with the festival; please do not leave any bad vibes on this page. Thanks!" Anyone know the proper coding?Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 11 Tishrei 5772 20:58, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    This should do it: {{tmbox|text=This editor is currently chilling in his [[sukkah]] for [[sukkot]]; he asks that in keeping with the festival; please do not leave any bad vibes on this page. Thanks!|image=[[File:Example.jpg|200px]]}} Avicennasis @ 23:21, 11 Tishrei 5772 / 23:21, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    That'll do nicely. Thanks very much! :D Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 12 Tishrei 5772 18:54, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Lost subpage

    I opened my account today and began a subpage for a new article on Rose Naftalin. I saved the subpage a number of times while I was writing. I logged out but when I logged in again, I could not find the subpage. Can you help me find it? Thanks, Rip Rhododendron (talk) 22:03, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    The only edit listed in your contributions was this one to the Help desk. Could you perhaps have been picking the "Preview" button each time and never picked "Save"? If you're sure you were logged in, that's the only explanation I can think of. I'm afraid that if that is so, your work was not saved. --ColinFine (talk) 22:23, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    If the page contained external links then you would have to answer a CAPTCHA as a new user in order for a save to go through. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:19, 9 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    October 10

    table sorting

    I'm wondering how to get a table to sort numerically. I asked at the sorting help page, but there was no response. (Most questions seem to go unanswered there.)

    At List of natural satellites I placed a copy of all data in the Mean radius column in exponential form within {{Hs}}, as recommended on the sorting help page, yet it sorts alphanumerically. I tried {{sort}}, which we use in another article, and still no go. Others have reviewed the table, and thought it looked right. What are we doing wrong?

    Thanks, — kwami (talk) 01:48, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Someone pointed out this on MetaWiki, but nothing there seems to help either. — kwami (talk) 06:16, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I extracted a sample of the table in question to Talk:List of natural satellites/table-test, just enough to demonstrate that indeed even with {{sort}} it's not working properly (still sorting alpha rather than numerically). Looking at an HTML dump of that page, the correct hidden sortkey is indeed present. Don't have an answer, but at least do have a simpler test case for experimenting. DMacks (talk) 06:28, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    It works if you use {{ntsh}} to format the hidden sort key; see my edit to Talk:List of natural satellites/table-test. The browser/Javascript/magic(?) can then sort the hidden keys alphabetically. But your edits to the article, adding leading zeroes to the sort keys, have the same effect. Did the {{sort}} method work properly before the MediaWiki 1.18 upgrade? -- John of Reading (talk) 08:51, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Possible wrong image

    Hi, could someone look into this image, please? I reckon it WAY wrong, especially since it's linked with the Dnepropetrovsk maniacs. In my opinion, it's just as easy as to put a 'Wanted' sign on someones forehead. I already notified wikiMedia, but in my opinion this should be dealt with ASAP, for someones privacy really is at stake here. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Igor_Sayenko.jpg 「Robster1983」 Life's short, talk fast 02:18, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Articles that link to an image

    Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous directed me here. I went into the image of "Young Bekie" in Ballad#Classification. In the File links section it says No pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file. Shouldn't it say that Ballad links to it? SlightSmile 02:29, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    We've just upgraded to a new version of the MediaWiki software and there has been quite a few bugs. There's a post about this problem at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#"File links" on media files not updating? Someone posted that they think it may be fixed but I will add a note that it does not appear to be, linking to here.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:37, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Redirecting to wrong country edition

    There must be a FAQ on this, but I can't figure out how to access it.

    I'm in the U.S. and have always been able to access the U.S. edition. After recently visiting a UK blog that had some direct links to the en.wikipedia.org site, I can't access the U.S. edition -- only the UK. This is true on both Firefox and IE, even though I only accessed the site through Firefox. Direct typing of the wikipedia.org address into the address bar just redirects back to en.wikipedia.org.

    I've tried clearing all of my cache, clearing my Google search history, and restarting my computer. What am I missing?

    Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.21.173.125 (talk) 06:15, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I'ma fraid you are mistaken, there is no such thing as a US and UK "edition" of Wikipedia. There are only different language versions. Take a look at the url of this page - it begins with "en.wikipedia.org" - "en" is the language code for English. Roger (talk) 06:21, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    See also WP:ENGVAR. Perhaps you happened to read more articles with US spelling earlier. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:37, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    hallo Bruderrrrrr :*** :****

    hallo kurze frage ...sind bei der entwicklung dieser website auch Juden beteiligt sowie neuapostolen ? freue mich über eine schnelle antwort ..... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ischderrowin (talkcontribs) 07:54, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Dies ist die Englische Wikipedia. Bitte fragen Sie in de:Wikipedia:Fragen zur Wikipedia.-- Obsidin Soul 08:39, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Dies ist der Help desk der Englischen Wikipedia and hier gestellte Fragen sollten generell in Englisch formuliert werden. Davon abgesehen, könnte die Kategorie Category:Jewish Wikipedians hilfreich sein. Grüße.
    (Translation: This is the help desk of the English Wikipedia and questions posted here should generally be formulated in English. Apart from that, the category Category:Jewish Wikipedians might be helpful. Regards.)
    Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 08:39, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    • Wieso willst du wissen ob hier jüdische Benutzer und Mitglieder der Apostolischen Kirche editieren? Ist das relevant? PS: Die Antwort ist natürlich ja! Auch auf der deutschen Wikipedia. Gruß.--♫Greatorangepumpkin♫Heyit's me 10:06, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Translation of the (IMO) somewhat bizarre original question: Hi, a quick question... are Jews as well as members of the New Apostolic Church involved in the development of this website? I'd appreciate a swift response
    The answer, Ischderrowin, is "yes". The Wikimedia statement of values says explicitly Our board of trustees, staff members, and volunteers are involved without discrimination based on their religion, political beliefs, sexual preferences, nationalities, etc. Tonywalton Talk 22:48, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    virus on computer

    I got a virus on your site. someone is sending messages using my friends on tagged to get people to open it it says that tagged is giving away some type of note book. Computer has shut down. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.6.147.162 (talk) 08:19, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    This is Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. Your mention of "messages" and "tagged" suggests you are trying to report a problem with some other site, perhaps Facebook, which you should report through that site's feedback/contact system. But just in case, could you post the URL of the page that you suspect contains a bad link? -- John of Reading (talk) 08:32, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict)You have our sympathy, but this isn't Tagged, this is Wikipedia. If you want Tagged, it is at http://www.tagged.com/ . - David Biddulph (talk) 08:35, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Shortcuts

    If I think that a shortcut currently directing to a page should better direct to another page, can I simply change it or must such a change be discussed beforehand (and if so, should this discussion take place at the current target page of the shortcut or where I want to direct it to)? After all there is no Wikipedia:Shortcuts for discussion. The specific shortcut in in question currently directs to an essay and I would like to direct it to a section in an editing guideline. Should I be bold and change it? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 10:50, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Part of your problem may be that you're looking for the wrong name. See Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion. Dismas|(talk) 10:54, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks. However WP:RFD#The guiding principles of RfD says
    "RfD is not the place to resolve most editorial disputes. If you think a redirect should be targeted at a different article, discuss it on the talk pages of the current target article and/or the proposed target article. However, for more difficult cases, this page can be a centralized discussion place for resolving tough debates about where redirects point."
    I am unsure what a "difficult" case is supposed to mean. Does "difficult" mean "controversial"? And it says it should be discussed at the talk page of the current target article and/or the proposed target article. Which of them is it? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:04, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    I boldly changed it (diff and diff). Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:17, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Ok, really changed with this edit. :) Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:24, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    I would have thought that you were causing some confusion with WP:Navbox and WP:NAVBOX redirecting to different places. The target of the first includes a link to the latter. This is the sort of situation that is might be regarded as "difficult", and therefore worthy of discussion before moving. - David Biddulph (talk) 11:35, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    And for extra confusion, at the target of WP:Navbox you've put a link saying that a shortcut for it is WP:NAVBOX, although WP:NAVBOX goes somewhere else. - David Biddulph (talk) 11:38, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Now both direct to the same place (see diff). Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:45, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    The target uses {{shortcut|WP:NAVBOX}}, which creates an anchor named WP:NAVBOX. The redirect should then link to Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates#WP:NAVBOX. If someone changes the section title, the shortcut will still work. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 12:21, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    See Wikipedia:Shortcut#Changing shortcuts. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:28, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    The book History of Commonwealth Engineering by John Dunn

    While this book is quite informative Mr Dunn fails to mention the contribution made to the growth of the company by my father, H. R (Bert) Davidson who was the first employee brought over from Clyde Engineering in 1938 and was production manager then works manager during the war years and onwards till 1953 when he moved to Victoria and set up the manufacturing plant at Dandenong. {I knew personally many of the men quoted in this book)

    I would like to be able to get in touch with the author to provide further backgroung as I was quite involved in assisting my father in the late 40's and worked for Comeng in the 60's on the Harris train projects.-----


    — Preceding unsigned comment added by Russ Davidson (talkcontribs) 11:17, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I am sorry but this is the help desk for the English Wikipedia. We have no connection with Mr Dunn and we cannot provide off-Wikipedia contact details for individuals. I fear you have to look for the contact details somewhere else. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:36, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    TeenScreen merge request

    Last week I proposed a merge between the articles TeenScreen and Columbia University TeenScreen Program, which are duplicative. And because neither are very good, I've written a replacement draft incorporating what is good about both, with additional research. All of this is explained in the TeenScreen merger proposal. I also posted requests at WikiProjects Medicine and Psychology, and while I haven't received any feedback on those Talk pages, one editor from Medicine has voiced support on the TeenScreen page. As I've mentioned in each of these places: I can't do the merge, because I'm not an administrator; because I'm engaging this page on behalf of TeenScreen, I have a potential conflict of interest with the subject matter. If you are an admin, I'd welcome your input and action if you feel it is appropriate. Looking forward to your response, and happy to answer any questions. Thanks, WWB Too (talk) 14:23, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    • Why do you feel you need to be an administrator? I reviewed the procedure in WP:MERGETEXT and I don't see any steps that require administrator rights (maybe I'm missing something). Everything you need to do seems to just involve copying and pasting. You do not, for example, need to move your replacement draft over the destination page (moving a page over an existing page does require admin rights). It seems you could just edit the content of your draft article into the destination article in step 5 under WP:FMERGE.
    • Note that Help:Merging#cite_note-1 says the debate should be open for at least two weeks before you merge.
    • You could solicit more comments by checking the histories of the two articles to identify the most recent dozen or so editors for each one, and put {{Please see}} on their user talk pages to make them aware of the merge, so they can join the debate. The people who edited the articles might be the most likely editors to have an interest in the merge; they might be unlikely to check the WikiProject pages within the two week debate period.
    Good luck. --Teratornis (talk) 23:07, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    I could add that the two articles look to me like clear duplicates and thus the merge should be uncontroversial (unless I'm missing something). Your conflict of interest would (in my opinion) not really apply to the merge itself, but rather might apply to whatever content edits you make to the resulting merged article. Where is your replacement draft? --Teratornis (talk) 23:15, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    You're completely right, I'd somehow confused deletion privileges with the procedure of merging, forgetting that the thing to do would be creating a hard redirect. And I'd linked my replacement draft elsewhere, but not here. Here it is: User:WWB_Too/TeenScreen. Let me know what you think, if you get a chance. Cheers, WWB Too (talk) 13:59, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Reliable Sources

    Hi..the page I'm trying to edit is Nader Guirat reliable resources I plan to include will be very similar to the ones on this page Lara Scandar a blog and the artist's website, which seem to be accepted and resources referenced are satisfactory since there is no alert for requesting additional citation and warning of deletion. My question is, if I use similar resources would this save Nader Guirat page from deletion? Thank You --Mona MG (talk) 14:52, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Sources are reliable if they are independent, third-party coverage of the topic. You can read more on this page. TNXMan 15:04, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    See Wikipedia:Notability (music). The first thing to find is reliable sources to show that the artist is notable. The requirements for the kind of sources to show a person is notable are stricter than the requirements to show a particular fact is verifiable. Jc3s5h (talk) 15:08, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Those above have already provided links to some of our policies on what constitutes reliable sources and applicable notability requirements. Regarding the article on Lara Scandar, you have fallen into a logical trap of assuming that because something else has not yet been tagged for cleanup or deletion, this means that it has been reviewed and is acceptable, so emulating its sources should be sufficient. This does not work on Wikipedia, which has no central authority systematically reviewing each article that is created, and in fact, which has vast numbers of articles existing which should be deleted or tagged for cleanup but no one has yet done so. Please see, by way of analogy, What about article x? The sources on that other page—a blog and the subject's own website—are not proper reliable sources and should not be emulated. Please see Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published sources and Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Avoid self-published sources.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 17:33, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    What is the talk page for Special:Upload?

    I'm trying to find where I can raise some attention from the editors who are able to change Special:Upload. I'd like to see some of the features on the Commons upload form migrated here, and the big image preview that was JUST added removed because it jerks the page around (and if I want to preview the image, I'll open it before I upload it to make sure its correct). However, there is very little information at Special:Upload on where to post suggestions/comments - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ τ ¢ 16:18, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    MediaWiki talk:Uploadtext, assuming you really do mean Special:Upload and not Wikipedia:Upload. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:31, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Which you can actually see if you enable the new Preferences → Gadgets → Create a toolbox link to show the page with messages from the user interface substituted with their names. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 21:18, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    My Removed Article

    Well i just wrote my first article(The cloud Roads) with taking permission from the author of the book herself for writing the same plot that is written at the back of the book, then someone removed it and said i added copyrighted material to Wikipedia without permission from the copyright holder. what should i do to bring it back? --Maged1995 (talk) 17:00, 10 October 2011 (UTC) (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 16:47, 10 October 2011 (UTC).[reply]

    The author can donate the text, see Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials. However, such text won't be must use here as it's usually written in such a way as to promote the book, which violates our policy on maintaining a neutral point of view. Яehevkor 17:00, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Also, remember that back-cover blurbs are not written by the book's author, but rather by some anonymous marketing intern or other harmless drudge. Thus, their copyrights belong not to the books' authors, but to the publishers; and are, as Rehevkor points out, NPOV-violating efforts to sell the book. --Orangemike (talk) 20:13, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    One more point: if the only thing there is to say about a book is a plot summary, the book is almost certainly not notable, and shouldn't have an article in Wikipedia. --ColinFine (talk) 22:07, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    on what ellipsoid are the coordinates of Wikipedia?

    Wikipedia gives the coordinates of locations, top right, but it is not specified what kind of coordinates are them? for example, the paris observatory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Observatory are those coordinates expressed in WGS84 or? And is it possible to have a reference?

    thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.163.48.72 (talk) 17:51, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    They are latitude and longitude coordinates. Is that what you mean? TNXMan 17:53, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    (ec) The question is a bit more subtle than that. The original poster is well aware that the coordinates are latitude and longitude values, but there are a number of possible ways to convert given latitude and longitude values into a physical location on the surface of the Earth. WGS 84 is one standard for doing so. (See also reference ellipsoid.)
    As far as I know, there's no 'official' process for verifying or reporting coordinates on Wikipedia, though I'd be glad to be corrected on that; mayhaps there's a Wikiproject? What you see in articles is most likely whatever that article's editors have entered, or whatever values were pulled from an assortment of public databases. In practice, I would expect most to be WGS 84, just because it's widely used. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 18:21, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    The documentation for the template that displays the coordinates is at Template:Coord/doc. The best place to ask your question is Template talk:Coord. I am curious about this too, so I will ask my own interpretation of your question there. Jc3s5h (talk) 18:12, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) The coordinates at Paris Observatory#Constitution are identical to those at [3] and those comply with WGS84 according to the note at the top of the page. That's all I can say given the fact that I am not familiar with this matter. If you need more information, you can discuss this at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Astronomy. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 18:25, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    WGS84 is the standard datum for the global positioning system, and would therefore be what map providers reference. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ τ ¢ 18:31, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    GPS may use WGS84, but that is not the only datum a user may set a GPS receiver to display. Also, latitude and longitude may be taken from paper maps, which may use a different datum. So it is likely that most, but not all, coordinates supplied by editors are in WGS84. In many cases the feature is large enough that the differences among systems is insignificant. Jc3s5h (talk) 18:48, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Indeed. The difference is negligible so long as you aren't building something. It would depend where the coordinates came from. If they were taken from Google Maps, its WGS84. If, however, they were taken from a book or somewhere where the coordinates were written, it may be the 1920s datum. Unless there are seconds and points of a second in the lat/long, there would be no difference between the different datum. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ τ ¢ 19:01, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Just for reference, "the 1920s datum" may refer to the North American Datum of 1927, i.e. NAD27. --Teratornis (talk) 23:24, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    See WP:GEO but bear in mind some of our Wikcoords are in error, not by mere seconds of arc but by minutes (miles, km) as here. Jim.henderson (talk) 19:35, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    On the {{coord}} page there is a box headed "Quick how to"; in the third section of that box it states:

    --Redrose64 (talk) 19:37, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Footnote code

    What is the html or code for adding a footnote? This is a source I want to use as reference. How do I code it, so it becomes a footnote? http://cultureshark.blogspot.com/2011/06/rtv-responds-to-competition-by-making.html Thank you.

    Defgirl666 (talk) 20:36, 10 October 2011 (UTC) Phyllis[reply]

    See Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:38, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Richard Winsor Biography

    In the Richard Winsor biography it states that he played "Toby" in the movie StreetDance 3D. In fact, he played "Tomas." Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.238.10.85 (talk) 21:53, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Taken care of.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:33, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    How to make a list of contents?

    How do you make a list of contents and the top of the page because I am writing an article, and I don't know how. Please help. Iluvselenagomez1234 (talk) 22:29, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    For each page with more than three headings, a table of contents (TOC) is automatically generated from the section headings. See WP:TOC. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:31, 10 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    October 11

    Is non-free image proper?

    I recently created the article Man With A Mission. I wish to use a picture of the band for the infobox. In that regard, i've sent an email or two to them through their website, asking if they could release some picture of them into the public domain or by CC-BY-SA, but i've heard no response in over a week.

    I was wondering if I could use an image of the band's first album, shown here, as a non-free image to illustrate the band? Or can I only do that sort of thing if it's in an article about the album itself? SilverserenC 00:17, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Correct. You could use that image on an article about the album but not for the band's infobox. Dismas|(talk) 00:44, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    not being allowed to upload a file

    I went to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Files_for_upload because it said that was where to go to upload a picture if you don't have an account. I followed all the steps and chose "upload without registering", "image doesn't exist on wikipedia", and "public domain" since I would put it in the public domain.

    Then it asked for a whole lot of information which I filled in except for where it asked for a url because, as I explained in the form, I made the image myself so it is not on the internet, it is on my computer. There wasn't any interface to upload the image so I pressed the save button which was the only one around. I really feel I followed all the instructions!

    But now when I go back to the page it says I am not allowed because my file is corrupt and I am also not allowed to change the page again to ask why. This seems very unfair, and it also doesn't make sense. If there was nowhere to upload the file how could the person know it is corrupt or not?

    Please explain how I can do this without getting the bad result. The file is called PortRoyalEarthquake1692.jpg and I would like to give it to Wikipedia/public domain.

    184.147.120.196 (talk) 00:37, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    In order to upload a file without registering, another user needs to be able to access it via the internet because uploading files requires an autoconfirmed account. You're welcome to create an account and make some edits to be allowed to upload it, but since you're going to release it to the public domain, I suggest that you create an account on commons, a free-use file repository used by all wikimedia projects.--Unionhawk Talk E-mail 00:52, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    The reply at Wikipedia:Files for upload#PortRoyalEarthquake1692.jpg was made with Template:ffu which has no "File is inaccessible" option, so the editor chose "corrupt". A hand-written statement would probably have been better. You can make a new request in a new section if you are able to place the file anywhere accessible on the Internet, but uploading it yourself to commons: would be better. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:13, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Thank you. I think I managed to do it. Is there any way to change the instructions to explain that if you are not registered the file has to be on the internet? (Given that it offers an option for people who are not registered). Or the template thing (If I understand you right, that the person who replied on the upload page did not have an option to talk to me normally and explain)? Regardless, thanks again. 184.147.120.196 (talk) 01:30, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I have posted your suggestion to Wikipedia talk:Files for upload#Clarify file must be online. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:50, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    article on dead island console game

    hello,

    i have tried a few times now to edit a page on dead island the console game, but it just keeps getting changed back, presumably by the owners or who ever they're paying to do so.

    it clearly states on the box that the game is single player and offline/online co-operative.

    this is a lie! there is no offline co-op mode which makes a huge difference and is illegal to advertise, tricking people into buying a feature which simply doesn't exist.

    please can you change the article to stop more people being tricked into a purchase!!! thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.148.166.161 (talk) 02:36, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    First off: I have the game for the American PlayStation 3 - and no where on the box does it say anything like that. Second, even if it did, you need to cite reliable sources for that - we do not accept original research here, which means you can't just add something you think is right. It has to come from a reliable source. Avicennasis @ 03:48, 13 Tishrei 5772 / 03:48, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Wrongly deleting article because of copyright infringment (it was published but I am copyright holder)

    My submission (Wyatt Hanks, Judge, Texian Patriot)was deleted because of copyright infringement however I am the original author. The biography, which I wrote, appeared in "The Handbook of Texas" which is the definitive source for Texas History. The fact that I permitted "The Handbook of Texas" to publish the article does in no way diminish my original authorship and copyright authority. In fact appearing in such a respected publication removes any question as to accuracy, significance, "notability" or sources. My name appears after the article as the author. I am a professional writer and historian and am familiar with copyright guidelines. I certainly have never violated them. Please respond as soon as possible as I am working on several other articles and if they will not be published I don't want to waste my time. Sincerely, William M. Hanks Wmhanks (talk) 06:08, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Have you read WP:COPYVIO, and have you released the copyright using the procedure in Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials? - David Biddulph (talk) 06:22, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Also keep in mind that WP is an encyclopedia, not a general publisher. It could be that the article as you wrote it may have problems in terms of terms of style, tone, neutrality, etc. Roger (talk) 07:06, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Search Photos Sgt. Robert J. Lingo

    I am searching for current photos of Sgt. Robert J. Lingo MOS B11 Camp Eggars, Kabul, Afghanistan . Please email to [details removed]

    Thank You for your help and efforts. Sincerely,

    Thomas M. Brown PHONE: [details removed] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.249.131.251 (talk) 07:54, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    This help desk is intended for asking questions about using or editing Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. I suggest you ask at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous; the volunteers there may be able to help you.
    I have removed your contact details to protect your privacy. When you ask at the reference desk, please don't include those details there either, as any answers will be be given just below your question. Good luck! -- John of Reading (talk) 08:26, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Determining the source of a huge spike in "Page View Statistics".

    I believe this question is, in a sense, about "how to use Wikipedia", but otherwise maybe I can be pointed in some other direction.

    The "Page View Statistics" for the Wikipedia entry for the giant geoglyph "Marree Man" (viewable from the "History" page of the entry), show an enormous leap from an average of around 150 visits per day previously, to 22,200 on July 3rd 2011, fading away back towards the previous average over the next few days.

    This indicates that the subject was covered in some significant manner, in some major, major media outlet, presumably on July 3rd. Does anyone know of any way to determine where or what that coverage was???

    The very sharp fall-off in visits, after the initial spike, suggests that it was not via some "viral" internet-based coverage. The sudden, large spike suggests it was most likely via coverage by TV or newspaper in a major market (US, China, India, Germany, UK etc). But I've conducted all internet searches I can think of, with no sign of what the source may have been. Is there any mechanism for determining the main country of origin of all those visits, or of any internet site from which numerous links through to the Wikipedia entry were made?

    That the spike was real is shown by the "fade-away" over a few days, and by a small spike in visits to the Wikipedia "Geoglyph" entry on that same day.

    Many thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.109.97.6 (talk) 11:52, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    User:Darac/Books/The 50 most interesting articles on Wikipedia mentions a list topped by Marree Man, War Plan Red and Vela Incident. The list is apparently from 2009 and has been mentioned in many places but I haven't found a notable mention in early July 2011. However, http://stats.grok.se/en/201107/Marree_Man, http://stats.grok.se/en/201107/War_Plan_Red and http://stats.grok.se/en/201107/Vela_Incident show similar huge spikes on July 3, 2011, so I assume a mention of the list is responsible. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:34, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    http://www.saveyourrazer.com/?p=111 has a mention of the list on July 3, 2011, but it's a low traffic site. Given the date, the author may have seen it on a high-traffic site and copied it - or a high-traffic site may have copied it from http://www.saveyourrazer.com/?p=111. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:45, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    On July 3 there was a story in the The Advertiser (Adelaide), covering the fifth-largest city in Australia, which mentions the Maree Man in the first line: The farmer woos a wife which was also apparently picked up by The Daily Telegraph (Australia) here, which serves all of Sydney.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 13:40, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    The stories are dated July 3, 2009. The traffic spike was July 3, 2011. Also, the stories don't mention War Plan Red and Vela Incident so it wouldn't have explained why they spiked on the same day. It must be connected to the list at User:Darac/Books/The 50 most interesting articles on Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:49, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Oops. I thought I limited my search to 2011 an didn't notice the date.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:37, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Error when attempting to create new book

    When I attempt to create a new book I get this error:

    Unexpected non-MediaWiki exception encountered, of type "UsageException"
    badtoken: Invalid token
    
    #0 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/includes/api/ApiBase.php(1205): ApiBase->dieUsage('Invalid token', 'badtoken')
    #1 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/includes/api/ApiMain.php(590): ApiBase->dieUsageMsg('sessionfailure')
    #2 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/includes/api/ApiMain.php(678): ApiMain->setupModule()
    #3 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/includes/api/ApiMain.php(340): ApiMain->executeAction()
    #4 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/extensions/Collection/Collection.body.php(867): ApiMain->execute()
    #5 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/extensions/Collection/Collection.body.php(225): SpecialCollection->saveCollection(Object(Title), false)
    #6 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/includes/SpecialPageFactory.php(460): SpecialCollection->execute(NULL)
    #7 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/includes/Wiki.php(224): SpecialPageFactory::executePath(Object(Title), Object(RequestContext))
    #8 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/includes/Wiki.php(624): MediaWiki->performRequest()
    #9 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/includes/Wiki.php(531): MediaWiki->main()
    #10 /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.18/index.php(57): MediaWiki->run()
    #11 /usr/local/apache/common-local/live-1.5/index.php(3): require('/usr/local/apac...')
    #12 {main}
    

    At first I thought it might be an issue with Chrome, but I get the same error with Firefox too. If this isn't the right place for this kind of issue I apoligize. I didn't know where else to go. There isn't really an obvious way to report this kind of stuff on Wikipedia. --Sabre ball (talk) 13:31, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    In general, the best place for technical problems is probably WP:VPT. There have been a number of problems with the new version 1.18 of the software, so it may be worth checking whether yours is one of the problems already reported there. - David Biddulph (talk) 13:45, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks! I'll try there. --Sabre ball (talk) 15:28, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Seriously broken article

    The article Icariin seems seriously broken. Could someone have a look? Electron9 (talk) 14:14, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Can you give a better description of what is wrong with the article? I do not see any major problems with the formatting. GB fan 14:18, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    While rendering the article, the IUPAC name covers most of the page. HurricaneFan25 14:21, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Correct, the IUPAC name covers most of the page.. Electron9 (talk) 15:24, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) I don't see anything particularly wrong with the article. Do you perhaps mean the appearance of the references in the 'References' section? You could arrange the references in columns if that is what you mean. For example {{Reflist|2}} would arrange them in two parallel vertical columns. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 14:24, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    ..., but only on some browsers, see Template:Reflist#Browser support for columns. - David Biddulph (talk) 14:35, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Chitra Singh, w/o Jagjit Singh

    Hello

    In the biography of Chitra Singh, it is mentioned that she passed away. In fact, when I was watching Jagjit Singh's funeral pictures and on TV, she was alive. So it needs to be corrected.

    Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.223.136.5 (talk) 14:59, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    That resulted from misleading wording and punctuation in the edits including the report of her husband's death yesterday. I have corrected it. Note that this is Wikipedia, the encyclopedia that anyone can edit, so you could have done the edit yourself. - David Biddulph (talk) 15:09, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    David Willey

    I am trying to get the "David Willey" page so that it has no problems. However, I am having a difficult time doing so. Can someone help me change the article so that the issues in the article go away. How do you know what needs fixed. I am very new to this. I work for David Willey and he wants me to fix it. I have no idea how to though! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.142.226.108 (talk) 15:49, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Are you either of the editors Dgwilley and/or Dai Willey? --Orange Mike | Talk 16:02, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    If you work for the subject of the article and he has asked you to fix it, the first thing you need to read is WP:COI. - David Biddulph (talk) 16:02, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Adding book title to a Further Reading section

    I would like to add a book title to an article for further reading on a specific topic. Is that permissible? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Laura P Wright (talkcontribs) 15:54, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    What article? What book? Are you connected to the book or its author in some way? We need specifics. --Orange Mike | Talk 16:05, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Editing name

    How do you know what your editing name is? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.142.226.108 (talk) 16:31, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    This help page has some suggestions for recovering a forgotten account name. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:44, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm not sure what you mean. If you don't log in to an account then edits are attributed to the IP address used at the time of the edit such as 136.142.226.108 above. If you don't have an account yet then you can create one at Special:UserLogin/signup and choose the username. See Wikipedia:Username policy. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:42, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Missing User page

    DELETED. Sorry! GeorgeTSLC (talk)

    I see that you've worked this out for yourself. Your user name is shown as a red link because you haven't created a user page yet. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:42, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Dangerous Links

    Is there a policy as to what to do if an external link comes up with a red warning - "high risk of infection" on a virus programme such as Norton or McAfee?
    Is it OK to just delete the link? - Or should it be kept but tagged with a warning? - Arjayay (talk) 17:09, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Usually we just delete malicious links. If it becomes persistent, then the link can be added to the spam blacklist. Alpha_Quadrant (talk) 17:12, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks - I assumed so, but didn't know if there was any merit in keeping them, like with a [dead link] - Arjayay (talk) 17:24, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    See also point 3 at WP:LINKSTOAVOID. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:36, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    getting a page published

    Hello,

    Can you please advise why this page hasnt been published, and what I need to do to get it published?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Dbrezenoff/Robert_Garcia,_politician — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dbrezenoff (talkcontribs) 17:48, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Try reading WP:SYMUD. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:58, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Musicals/theatre

    Hi, I have had an idea about a musical of a well known, old, childrens story. How do i get the rights or permission to make a musical of the story and songs that is on the DVD, version. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.221.125.100 (talk) 17:51, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Have you tried the Miscellaneous 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.Template:Z38 HurricaneFan25 17:55, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Mata Hari Page

    Under the reference list on the Mata Hari page, number 3, www.praamsma.org is listed as a "dead link". This is because we changed service providers. We are up again at the same web address (www.praamsma.org). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.112.179.79 (talk) 18:24, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I still get a 404 error when trying to access the site. I've never been there before, so it's not a caching issue. Dismas|(talk) 18:28, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    It looks as if the url has changed. Try http://www.praamsma.org/personalities/MataHari/MataHari.html . - David Biddulph (talk) 18:48, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    You may have to remove the old link and enter the name again.

    There is a lot of talk about Mata Hari and her ancestry. On my site I have her family tree, which proves without a doubt, that she is of Dutch (Friesian) ancestry. I have included below the direct link to her page on my web site.

    http://www.praamsma.org/familytrees/Margaretha_Gertruida_Zelle.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by Linda Praamsma (talkcontribs) 18:42, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    If you go to the personalities page, you will only get the family link between Mata Hari and me. You have to go to the "family trees" page, and click on her name in the column on the left. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Linda Praamsma (talkcontribs) 18:57, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Since the link to www.praamsma.org is broken, how do I update it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Linda Praamsma (talkcontribs) 19:54, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    The link is in an inline reference so you would have to edit the section where the reference is used. See Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:32, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    OK. I have added the new, improved link to the family tree website for Mata Hari. Now, how do I get rid of the "dead Link"? I did not originally add it to this page. Also, the addition that I just made, has got itself a tag as possible vandalism. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Linda Praamsma (talkcontribs) 23:10, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    I have fixed it. Goodvac (talk) 23:20, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Printing suggestion

    Hello, I would like to request that a print button which would display an article's text without the leftmost frame. It saves space and makes for a more readable copy. Microsoft uses this for their knowledge base and many of their articles. Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by Arptro (talkcontribs) 19:52, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    This is already available. In the left-hand frame is a heading "Print/export"; click that and a menu option "Printable version" should appear. --Redrose64 (talk) 20:11, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    As a registered user you can customize Wikipedia in many ways. The skins Chick and Nostalgia at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-rendering have no left frame. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:29, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Just use your browser print function. Printable version is mainly for older browsers; see Help:Printable. You may also install Sharebox. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 21:35, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    spam on my page

    Someone posted the following line:

    "Death: Bill Gates passed away on 11th October 2011 in his home. The cause of death is not confirmed but expected to be from a reaction to a nut allergy from nuts posted through his letterbox. The funeral will be a private ceremony on 13th October 2011.[1]"

    on the page that was written about me - bernie dekoven

    I tried to edit it but can't find where the text might be.

    Majorfun (talk) 20:14, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    It isn't on the page. It is in the marriage template. Technically, it is buried in one of the templates inside the marriage template. -- kainaw 20:21, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    Found it [4], should be good as soon as everything refreshes. Thanks for bringing the problem up. Monty845 20:23, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Communicating with Wiki admins

    I'm new to Wikipedia as a contributor but I have refereed to it as a resource for many years. A few days ago I established an account to get my feet wet in submitting articles. The difficulty is that I'm not familiar with the interface and it is not like anything I have seen before. It is certainly not intuitive nor, no offense intended, particularly well designed it seems to my unknowing eyes. However I have made a commitment to compensate for that with some extra work on my part because of the good that may be accomplished.

    My question is this: is there an overview that would clarify the arcane system of communication that seems to be in place? For example if I ask a question I don't know who I'm asking. And, if I get an answer it seems to appear as a link on a small line of text, perhaps several lines and several links ... but which link? some just lead to someone's personal description. Others lead to a column of issues that seem to be addressed by an almost anonymous administrator.

    I haven't been able to just have a straight exchange of information in a coherent way with anyone as yet. My article was taken down within an hour before I could even respond by someone going by the name of "Fastly". When I asked questions, several others seem to have contributed their remarks. But I'm not sure because all I see at the end of the question are a series of links to something else. But so far no one has been available to carry through and actually help resolve the issue other than the obvious "read the guidelines". I have read the guidelines and found nothing that fits my circumstances.

    The article I submitted was my original work representing many months research and many miles traveled. I had previously allowed it to be published in "The Handbook of Texas". Therein seems to be the problem because The Handbook carries a copyright. However, as the original author I have prior and preeminent claim to ownership of the material.

    I feel like I'm putting a message in a bottle here and casting it on the waves but I am determined to at least make every effort I can to work with Wikipedia. It seems to be a reasonably accurate resource that is freely accessible by the people, and that's a good thing.

    Wmhanks (talk) 20:47, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    You asked a question further up the page at #Wrongly deleting article because of copyright infringment (it was published but I am copyright holder), and were given a link to WP:COPYVIO. You were asked whether you had released the copyright using the procedure in Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials, but I don't think you've answered that question. - David Biddulph (talk) 20:55, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    And just to clarify the situation, in case it isn't sufficiently clear in the link you were given: Copyright violation is a serious legal matter, and Wikipedia cannot risk laying itself open to the penalties which might arise if it isn't seen to be taking steps to protect the rights of copyright holders. If it isn't clear that Wikipedia has the right to publish the material, it must be taken down. The process exists whereby a copyright holder can donate the material to Wikipedia, but unless the correct process has been gone through, Wikipedia must be cautious. - David Biddulph (talk) 21:05, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) I see that you raised a post on this page earlier today, at #Wrongly deleting article because of copyright infringment (it was published but I am copyright holder). There are two replies to your post, each containing several links:
    • WP:COPYVIO is a policy document on violation of copyright;
    • Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials explains how copyright material may be licensed for use on Wikipedia
    • David Biddulph (talk) - these are two links found in most signatures, the first is to the user's page about themselves, the second is to a page where messages directed at that user may be left;
    • Roger (talk) - two more signature links.
    The deletion log states
    There are some more links here.
    Wikipedia takes copyright very seriously. We have no proof that you are who you say we are, so we err on the side of caution in order to avoid legal proceedings. --Redrose64 (talk) 21:12, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    For your more general question, you might find Help: Wikipedia: The Missing Manual helpful. --ColinFine (talk) 22:16, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    americas

    How many countries are there in the americas — Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.250.242.153 (talk) 23:29, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Americas says 35 but it may depend on the definition of country.
    Have you tried the Humanities 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.Template:Z38 PrimeHunter (talk) 00:14, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    October 12

    family tree coding

    Hi, I am editing part of a family tree of mine that someone else put up here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Berngardovich_Struve#Partial_family_tree_of_Struve_family

    I got the extra lines in but when I tried putting the names of descendants in, it didn't work. I used the same formula I did for adding Julia at the bottom, but I don't know why the next generation won't go in. Please help. Thanks, MeredithMerelinden (talk) 03:31, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Before you make Template:Struve any larger than it is already, I think you should discuss whether the extra descendents belong there. I see that Materialscientist (talk · contribs) has asked you a question on your talk page, so I suggest you discuss it there.
    If your mention of "a family tree of mine" means that you are a descendent of the Struve family, then I suspect the names you are hoping to add are unlikely to be relevant to an encyclopedia. The tree shows the links between those members of the family who are notable enough to have Wikipedia articles. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:30, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    locate

    How would i beable to get in contact with The DRS.com, to ask them a question??? Big Daddy, Chuck!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.236.250.253 (talk) 04:36, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Is this The Doctors (2008 TV series)? Wikipedia has no contact information for the show beyond what is on display in the article. The article does have a link to the show's home page, http://www.thedoctorstv.com/, which has a "Contact the Show" link at the top right. I suggest you try that. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:37, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    flocking

    i'm trying to find companies which manufacture flocking equipment which is used in the spraying of nylon hair like carpeting onto a glue base electro-statically.e.g.car dashboards,door panels,toys,etc — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.246.55.142 (talk) 06:17, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    Sorry, in case you haven't known, Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia dedicated towards providing free knowledge to everybody. We are not a directory – there's a thing called "Google", you know. Sp33dyphil ©©

    Adding new product to List of object-relational mapping software article

    Dear Help Desk,

    My firm has a new object-relational mapping software dbFrameIT, website http://www.dbframeit.com.

    Since there is an article in wikepedia on List of object-relational mapping software, would it be considered advertising to add dbFrameIT to that list and add an article about dbFrameIT.

    Thank You

    76.104.27.228 (talk) 11:51, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

    about the article "Macedonians_(ethnic_group)"

    The whole article is based on a fake fact. Macedonia or to correct it Makedonia (in ancient greece the letter k was written with a line and a conjoint curve like the letter c in the latin alphabet) existed there long before the Skopjens went there. TO correct what I say the Slavs ethnic group came there about 2500 years ago when the real Makedonians lived there long ago about 4000 years ago. The Real Makedonians had emigrated southwards in the land that stand as north Greece today about 3000 years ago. They left behind buildings and many ancient artifacts that belong to them but could not be carried away (such as tombs with ancent greek writing etc.). Today's Slavs alphabet was created by 2 men Cyril and Methodius which they tried to civilize and evangelize the slavian people. Today's Skopjen people are descendants of the slavian people that came to that land. So they can not be descendants of the Ancient Makedonians because of that historic truth. Skopjen people cannot be named as Macedonians ethnic Group. It is not true at all. It is a fake fact that some people created and the Skopjen people accepted as true.

    Also there are other articles posted maybe by the Skopjen people inside Wikipedia online Encyclopedia that are not true. It is not my responsibility to find them all and report about them. Your organization has a mecanism to find true or false article posts. Please use it in order to remove all false articles and help the world to learn true history and not the history that some people want the world to know.

    Thank you very much for your time.

    With respect for your efforts to give people knowledge.

    P.S.

    If someone believes that I am wrong, then as my people in Greece say: "let him eat vinegar.".

    P.S. 2

    The word Greece may be a mistake the real name of my country is Hellas and my people is not called the Greeks but Hellines or Hellenic people.

    Thank you again.