Wikipedia:Help desk

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October 19

Wish to submit an article for deletion based on lack of notability

The article is for a person named Vince Graham. I have read thru the instructions and such but it is bewildering to me. Need help to submit this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.26.210.150 (talk) 01:59, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Done. -- kainaw™ 02:07, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

user talk page discussion

If someone leaves a message for me on my talk page, and I respond to it there, will they be notified that I've responded? Is it better to post my response on their talk page instead? Thanks for your help. Rckrone (talk) 02:38, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

If you respond on your own talk page, you can inform other editors by leaving Template:Talkback on their talk page. Sometimes other editors will watchlist your user talk and will reply once they notice you have replied. Alpha_Quadrant ^(talk) 02:42, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

And a shortcut, just type TB|[Your Username] in the brackets and it would be faster.

Please reply on my message boards! Larsona 14:39, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Is their an oil essey on the Brent Crude oil

Do you have an essey on the Brent Oil that we can see just what is in the oil

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.194.24.221 (talk) 02:53, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

You might find the article on Brent Crude useful. It's a type of crude characteristic of the North Sea. Somewhat similar to West Texas crude, but a bit heavier, more sulfur, formerly less expensive (that's changed). Antandrus (talk) 02:59, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Semi-protected pages

I am working with a group of actors. I am writing pages for them... I know how to code them protected but need to get verified. How do I do this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mozartchic01 (talk • contribs) 02:57, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean. Only administrators can protect pages and it's only done in certain situations. Autoconfirmed users can edit semi-protected pages. See more at Wikipedia:Protection policy. It sounds like you should also see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:06, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

help me with footnotes

I need help with my footnotes. I am afraid I am going to lose all my work I have done on my current entry. I need to get some sleep. Can you help me with my footnotes? Defgirl666 (talk) 03:52, 19 October 2011 (UTC)Phyllis

Are you referring to the Fiona Bloom draft now at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Green sandbox? I have fixed a few malformed tags there and all the references are now showing. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:08, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

A page listing me, deadends with my link

Hi all,

There is a page that references me as an actress, but the link is a dead end as I don't have a page yet. Should I enlist someone to create a page, or rather let it stay as a dead-end? I believe it could be helpful for my work to have a page.

Thanks so much in advance for all your help!

Cheers! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.93.66.93 (talk) 04:05, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Hello! If you are notable, I would be glad to create an article for you if you tell me your name. Goodvac (talk) 04:12, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Pull article back to edit only - not public

This is my first article and I didn't know it would require such extensive formatting to conform to Wikipedia style practices. I hit save because I was prompted to do so and I did not see any way to edit in the "sandbox" that was referred to. Now the article is public and I am trying to master the Wikipedia conventions and markup language and that's going to take several days. I would prefer to do that privately. Can I pull it back to an edit mode only so it will not be public until it's finished? wmhanks (talk) 05:58, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I take it you're referring to the Thorne Webb Dreyer article. I've moved the article to your userspace, User:Wmhanks/Thorne Webb Dreyer. Feel free to edit it there. And when you're done, you can move it back.

Now, I guess I'll look in to how to get the redirect deleted... Dismas|^(talk) 06:11, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

See WP:UP#Deleting your user page or subpages. Note the final paragraph. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 06:20, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

baker, nevada

I know this isn't a big deal, but in the Baker, Nevada page the Pop Culture reference says "Baker was featured in the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as a meeting point for Benicio Del Toro and Johnny Depp." This is incorrect, the meeting point was Baker, California. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.38.178.150 (talk) 06:09, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Baker, Nevada (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

An editor has removed it. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:52, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Time display

I am using {{Time|CET}} on my userpage, but somehow I feel there is a discrepancy. It constantly seems to display 01:16 and even refreshing the page / clearing my browser cache seems to have no effect. Can somebody help with that or perhaps explain what I am doing wrong (if anything)? My time zone is CEST, so according to this page it should display as ca 08:49 right now, but constantly displays as 01:16 for me. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 06:49, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

The server is showing you a cached version of the page instead of rebuilding its contents every time. I made it jump forwards to the current time by purging the page, but it is now stuck again. I don't know of any way round this. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:44, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Is there a way to redirect the page to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Toshio_Yamaguchi?action=purge? I guess that would make it work if it were possible. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 09:05, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

No, I don't think there is. I suggest you ask your first question again at WP:VPT. It could be that the template was useful when it was first created, but is now useless because of five years improvements to the server caching. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:58, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Please remove tag

Can someone please remove the tag off of the Carl Jackson (filmmaker) page? I have added source info as asked from Wiki.

The one link in the references section, http://www.homemediamagazine.com does not mention Carl Jackson at all. The external link is not a reliable source, so what you added is not sufficient to remove the BLP Prod. GB fan 13:44, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I want to buy some LED Bulbs, but I don't know how can find a reliable online store.

I want to buy some LED Bulbs for Decorate my house, and I was heard that there are many cheaters online, I don`t know how to choose a good reliable online store. Could anyone give me some advice? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jason lei (talk • contribs) 09:27, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

• The Help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please post your question at the appropriate section of the Wikipedia reference desk. - 194.60.106.17 (talk) 09:52, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Remember to tell them which country you are in. -- John of Reading (talk) 10:00, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

How do I add a Tag

How do I add a tag thing that says something like "this article needs citations for verification" at the top of article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.116.77.182 (talk) 09:38, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Add either {{refimprove}} or {{references}} to the top of the article. Dismas|^(talk) 09:59, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Way to retrieve only the top section of an article?

When viewing a Wikipedia article is there a way to view only the "introduction" section? The reason I ask is that I was thinking of writing a GreaseMonkey script that displays the intro section of linked articles as a tooltip. Also, fetching this info via the API would be ideal, but I don't find the documentation very helpful... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.149.97.205 (talk) 11:55, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

As it turns out somebody already created one. If it is of any interest to other people the script is http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/5591 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.149.97.205 (talk) 12:07, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

If you are talking about doing this within Wikipedia, are you aware that if you create an account and login, you can then enable popups, which does just that? --ColinFine (talk) 20:46, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

2 pages with the same title, but with slightly different information

Which one of these pages is the most up to date?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genomic_DNA_library

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_library

They both contain the same information, one slightly more than the other, I was wondering if someone could collaborate both the pages into one, and delete the other, so as to avoid confusion in the future... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.253.175.140 (talk) 13:31, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Both of those links are redirects to the same article, Library (biology). There is no difference in the information. GB fan 13:39, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Readers, especially unregistered users, may sometimes see a cached version of a former page. The two links have different url's and may display different cached versions to some viewers. They are the same to me. If you see an old version of a page then a purge should fix it. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:12, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Opta page

Hello,

I have been asked by my employer Simon Banoub to change the current Opta page to give more insight into the company, but as I have made changes and practically deleted everything he wrote it is saying it is going to delete the page in a week. Saying something along the lines that I need to add information and not take all of it off. So I have altered what I wrote to kind of fit it with what he originally wrote, but still had to delete some lines out of it.

Please can you advise me how I stop the page getting deleted.

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Eparkinson (talk • contribs) 13:39, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

You need reliable *independent* sources that are *about* the company - so not simply mentions that company X uses your stats service but articles that are actually about the business itself (it's formation, development etc etc). Without that type of reference, it's like the article will be deleted. --Cameron Scott (talk) 13:44, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

OK thank you, if I do this will it save my changes? As if I leave the page then go back all my changes are gone. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Eparkinson (talk • contribs) 13:55, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Hello, it is a question regarding the Opta page again, how to you make an organization notable?

The company has been running since 1996 very credible how do i prove this?

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Eparkinson (talk • contribs) 13:53, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Your edits to Opta Sports were reverted because they were not written from a Neutral Point of View (lots of "We"s) and very promotional. It sounds like you have a Conflict of Interest.Vrenator ^talk 14:18, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia operates under some core principles regarding articles. One of those is Verifiability. Briefly that means information in an article previously must have been published elsewhere, otherwise the information is considered what Wikipedia calls original research, which is not allowed on Wikipedia. This leads to another core principle called Notability, which briefly means the amount of existing verifiable information on the subject (for example the organization) must be substantial. For example if I come up with an idea and make a website about it, Wikipedia cannot have an article about that idea, unless the idea has received significant coverage by other sources (such as news websites, magazines, newspapers etc.). Wikipedia has a specific guideline on the notability of organizations and companies (see Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies)). And to make things even more confusing, articles on Wikipedia must be written from a Neutral point of view which can be very diffficult, especially if you have a Conflict of Interest as pointed out in the previous reply. Since you are connected to the company, you are naturally biased in favor of the company. Therefore, the best for you to do is the following: Show that the company has received coverage in sources such as newspapers, magazines or news reports and bring that up at Talk:Opta Sports. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 14:41, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

How To Use "Talk" page

I have been urged to use the "Talk" page for communication with editors, administrators, volunteers, etc. However, when I go to the "Talk" page I see no field or link where I can enter my question or comment. I have tried to do this a number of times and have searched the Help pages and found no step by step guide to talking on the "Talk" page. I see the comments of others so I know there must be some way to do it. I am a writer and film producer whose work has won awards in International competition, has been translated into 126 different languages, and has been distributed world-wide by the U. S. Information Agency. I don't enjoy feeling stupid. I hope someone may help me find my experience with Wikipedia more enjoyable.

I have used the email form several times because it's the only one that seems to have an actual place to enter my question or comment. Then when I do use the email link (which actually seems to work) I am corrected in a way that implies stupidity on my part for not using the "Talk" page. Perhaps if the interface were more "user friendly" my dumb old brain would be able to grasp how to use it. I have used computers extensively since 1984 on several different platforms and operating systems, have designed and published websites, and am thoroughly acquainted with the World Wide Web (WWW) from Tim Berners-Lee's first implementation to the present standards. So, I cannot offer total ignorance as a defense of my lack of skills.

The truth is that the Wikipedia interface is not intuitive, for example many links do not appear to be "live" until mouse-over reveals the link. It reminds me of the old computer games where to find a secret door you had to walk up and down every wall hitting the "action" key constantly to see what opens. However I am new to Wikipedia and am willing, and actually, even eager to use the interface if I can only find out how. Please help with how to use the "Talk" page (mainly how to enter a question, comment, or response). Thank you for your time. wmhanks (talk) 13:48, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

If you want to edit an existing topic on an article's talk page or a user's talk page, hit the [Edit] link at the top of that section. If you want to add a new topic, click the [Add topic] tab at the top of the page. - David Biddulph (talk) 13:53, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

It's more likely to say "New section" than "Add topic". See more at Help:Using talk pages. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:22, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

As a matter of idle curiosity, therefore, what is it in my settings that makes it say "Add topic"? Presumably something in preferences, but what? - David Biddulph (talk) 14:57, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I believe it depends on which skin you are using. Monobook has different titles than Vector, if I remember correctly. TNXMan 15:17, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

There are two things that affect the name of this tab: skin and language setting. If the language setting is "en - English", the tab is either "New section" (Vector skin) or "new section" (Monobook skin); but if the language setting is "en-GB - British English", the tab is either "Add topic" (Vector skin) or "+" (Monobook skin). --Redrose64 (talk) 15:25, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

There is also Preferences → Gadgets → Change the "new section" tab text to instead display the much narrower "+". ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 15:30, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I'm drifting off topic a bit, but what else is affected by the choice between "en - English" and "en-GB - British English"? Is there a help page somewhere which explains? - David Biddulph (talk) 15:48, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Here is my view: [1]. If you help new users with the interface then I especially disrecommend en-gb. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:51, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:44, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I appreciate the help, wmhanks (talk) 02:56, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

My Watchlist

I have some pages on my watchlist, and it has been telling me when the pages on my watchlist have been edited. But recently, it stopped working. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is an opition in the prefrences that I may have un-checked. I already looked, but I found none.

Thank you for your help!

Larsona (talk) 14:06, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-watchlist has options to hide some types of edits from the watchlist. At Special:EditWatchlist you can check which pages are on your watchlist. Can you give an example of a page that is listed there and should be displayed on your watchlist but isn't? PrimeHunter (talk) 14:17, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Nothing is checked in the "hidden" catagories. Like this page. I had to look at this page to know that it was edited. I don't think thats right.

Larsona 21:48, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Do you see a blue star and not a white star on a tab at top of this page? If you see a white star then click it. Is "Wikipedia:Help desk" listed at Special:EditWatchlist? What does it say at "Days to show in watchlist" at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-watchlist? What does it say at "Maximum number of changes to show in expanded watchlist"? Is "Expand watchlist to show all changes, not just the most recent" checked? Are any pages at all shown at Special:Watchlist? When you say "it has been telling me when the pages on my watchlist have been edited", do you mean the pages were shown at Special:Watchlist when you clicked "My watchlist", or that you received emails or something else? Was it pages at the English Wikipedia with url's beginning with http://en.wikipedia.org? PrimeHunter (talk) 22:47, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I use a different theme in Wikipedia, and it's a little different for me. But when I do find the place that you can watch/stop watching this page, it askes me if I want to stop watching it. 3 Days to show in watchlist, and it does not tell me even when my talk was edited. When you loged in to find my message on your talk page, I'm guessing that it showed you the little yellow box that says "You have new messages (last change)". I have no email attached to my account. On a side note, it shows what looks like a points value be each last edit. Yes it was en.wikipedia.com. Is it even to tell you when there is an edit other than a edit to my talk page?

Larsona 14:06, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

I'm uncertain whether you have the correct understanding of how the watchlist works. There is no automatic notification when a page on somebodys watchlist has been edited. In order to find out whether a page on your watchlist has been edited you have to click the "My watchlist" link displayed on all pages (at the top in the default Vector skin but it may be different for you). See Help:Watching pages. The orange banner seen at Help:Using talk pages#You have new messages is only shown when your user talk page User talk:Larsona has been edited by somebody else. Does this clear up the situation or are you saying that edits to pages on your watchlist are not displayed when you click "My watchlist"? PrimeHunter (talk) 02:10, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I found it works! Its the computer that I primarly use. I opened up wikipedia on another computer and it displayed the message, only it was to let me know that some templates of mine were going to be deleted. I guess I can't go to the help desk for a non-wikipedia problem. Thank you for your help though.

Larsona 14:01, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I still suspect you misunderstand how the watchlist works. You only got the orange new messages banner because somebody edited User talk:Larsona in [2]. The orange banner is displayed if your user talk page has been edited by somebody else since you last viewed it. You would have seen the banner no matter which computer you were first logged in on after your talk page was edited. The watchlist and the orange new messages banner are completely different things. Changes to any other page than User talk:Larsona will not cause the orange banner. The only way to know whether anything on your watchlist (except User talk:Larsona which may be on your watchlist) has been edited is to click My watchlist. Note: Some editors may choose to post a message to your talk page when they edit a page of interest to you so in that case you may learn about the edit via the orange banner. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:34, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia on Andriod; no internet

Hey guys!

I'm working with an orphanage in Kenya. I want to provide them with android tablets loaded up with educational apps. I also want to provide them with Wikipedia as I think it's the most powerful education tool in existence. How would I go about this for locations without internet connections?

What hard drive size would be required?

Your help is appreciated,

Hiram — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.126.125.10 (talk) 14:13, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I don't know the specs of android tablets but see Wikipedia:Database download for some download options. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:31, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Incorrect info on Western Province United FC

Western Province United F.C. (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

The club is owned by the Western Cape Sport School. The official web site is the Western Cape Sport School web site. Colin Gie is not the owner Ndlovu is not the Chairman.

The official web site is that of Cape United , a different team. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.66.138.10 (talk) 15:05, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

You can be bold and make the changes yourself as this is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit, or you can open a discussion on the talk page of the article. GB fan 15:18, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Dragon book

This is an important book in Computer Science, but I don't understand why it has an separate article for each edition. Is there a wikipedia rule I should know? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Book — Preceding unsigned comment added by Architectual (talk • contribs) 15:49, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

"Dragon Book" is an unoffical name. Principles of Compiler Design and Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools are considered different books although there may be some overlap. The article Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools covers both editions of that book. Note that one of the links at Dragon Book goes to the section Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools#Second edition. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:06, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The second and third entry on the disambiguation page Dragon Book actually link to the same article, with the second link leading to a specific section. I think that is okay, as a reader might look for one of the specific editions and in this way is led directly to the relevant information. Principles of Compiler Design is a different article and thus it is appropriate to have a separate link for it. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 16:14, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

sending out multiple notices to talk pages

We are having a page moving poll and we would like to make sure editors from past polls and debates are informed that another is taking place. Is there an easy way to do this or do I have to go to each and every talk page and paste the same message over and over? Thanks. Fyunck(click) (talk) 18:13, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Copy-and-pasting works, but if there are many users you want to post to, MessageDeliveryBot (talk · contribs) does exactly what it's name says. If your message meets the requirements at User:MessageDeliveryBot/Rules, request a delivery here. Goodvac (talk) 18:19, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you... it looks like just the thing. Fyunck(click) (talk) 18:33, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

error on Beauty and the Beast page

Hi. I noticed that on the Beauty and the Beast wikipedia page, it (correctly) states that I was a replacement on the National Tour (Susan Owen).. But I am not the "American Soprano"Susan Owen that is cited when you click on the name. I don't have a wiki page and solely do musical theatre. Hopefully this can be corrected.

Thanks!

susan owen <blanked> — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.247.17.13 (talk) 18:57, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, but I don't see the name Susan Owen anywhere on the Beauty and the Beast page. Presumably it was a page whose title was a variant on that; there are quite a few listed at Beauty and the Beast (disambiguation) - was it one of those? --Redrose64 (talk) 20:08, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

The relevant mention is in Beauty and the Beast (musical)#National tours. I've removed the mistargeted linking of the name there. Deor (talk) 21:33, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Tabs gone "List of NCAA college football rivalry games" page

Resolved

 – Redrose64 (talk) 19:59, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

On the "List of NCAA college football rivalry games" page, there used to be tabs that allowed you to view teams in alphabetical order, but they are gone now. They are very needed for this page. How can they be restored? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.39.180.2 (talk) 18:58, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

 Done, the table headers were misformatted in the {{Start trophy game list}} template. I have fixed it. --Redrose64 (talk) 19:59, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Converting

I'm not sure if this is the proper place for this, but you really need a way for users to easily convert velocity measurements e.g.: meters per second to feet per minute. Those seem to be the most commonly used measurements for certain things on either side of the pond. Or kmph to mph, etc. I'm sure acceleration conversions would be useful also. I checked your pages "Help:Table", "Help:Wikitable" and "Advanced Convert coding", I found nothing there to help with that.

I was editing the table on the page "Chainsaw safety clothing", because in North America, chainsaw speeds are not given in mph (although that may be interesting and somewhat informative). Here they (and the standards regarding chainsaw safety) are expressed in fps. [I added the fps values.] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.91.184.187 (talk) 19:00, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Try the {{convert}} template; for example, {{convert|100|m/s|ft/min}} gives 100 metres per second (20,000 ft/min); {{convert|100|km/h|mph}} gives 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). Add |abbr=on to abbreviate: {{convert|100|m/s|ft/min|abbr=on}} gives 100 m/s (20,000 ft/min). --Redrose64 (talk) 20:03, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Question regarding notability

A family member of mine is a person of historical significance (Macushla M. McCormick- as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, she was one of the first ten women to ever serve aboard a U.S. Navy ship, and the second woman to ever receive Surface Warfare Officer certification), and I know a considerable amount about her career from talking to her about her experiences. There are newspaper articles that mention her that can be found on the internet, and she is referenced in passing in at least one book. Would I need to find outside sources to list information about her career in order to write a page on her? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Snickelfritzster (talk • contribs) 20:21, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes. We can't just take your word for it. You should provide reliable sources if you write the article. Though, it's advised that you not do that. See WP:AUTOBIOGRAPHY for more on this. Dismas|^(talk) 20:24, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I went and reread the rules on notability (thank you, by the way, for the link), and I noticed it said that if the individual is notable only for a particular event (as would be the case with my relative), it's preferred they be referenced in the article about the event rather than by themselves. Would it be acceptable, then, to add a section to the article on the USS Dixon (the ship in question) stating that two female officers (Ensigns Roberta McIntyre and Macushla McCormick) served on it as two of the first females to serve on a U.S. Navy ship (a fact that I can verify by outside sources)? It seems like a significant detail in the ship's history. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Snickelfritzster (talk • contribs) 20:47, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, this would be a proper addition to the ship page, but be sure to use reliable sources. The Mark of the Beast (talk) 20:17, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Using lists associated with surname pages

Hello,

I am having a problem with understanding the rules regarding lists and disambiguation pages in association with surname related pages and lists. Do Disambig rules overrule all list rules? I have followed the advise of other editors and now one associated list created from that surname page is pending deletion.

Please see the discussion at Talk:Carpenter (surname) page. Because the page was getting so big, two primary lists were split off of real and fictional people. While I was on a wiki break the List of fictional characters with surname Carpenter was deleted without discussion. Later I requested the person to restore it. After restoration the list page was then immediately cited as an article for deletion.

Are all fictional characters referencing a surname and cited in Wikipedia off limits to such lists? Or is it a case where an editor or two that makes the associated surname too large when things get deleted? See discussion at: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of fictional characters with surname Carpenter

It would really be nice is the rules for surname pages and their associate lists be made clear.

I am confused and feel that I am damned if I do and damned if I don't. Jrcrin001 (talk) 20:33, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

DYK template help

Greetings. The new DYK system you've got is nice but it seems over-engineered. Can anyone else please fix Template_talk:Did_you_know#Articles_created.2Fexpanded_on_October_16? I can't. I tried to pass the article for the history of the birth control movement and my attempt backfired. Thank you. -SusanLesch (talk) 21:44, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Fixed. In the future please follow the instructions at T:TDYK#How to promote an accepted hook. Also, requests like these will be answered more quickly if you make them at Wikipedia talk:Did you know (the DYK project), rather than here; people watching this page are not necessarily familiar with DYK. rʨanaɢ (talk) 21:47, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

PDF icon in external links

Example: Dorothy-Perkins-announces.

My question is: How is it possible to see, next to the site external link, the Adobe PDF icon instead of the normal arrow? What does it determine the display of this icon?

I think it's a particularly template, but, I think I am wrong.

Thank you very much --Raoli (talk) 21:44, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Quite simply, the URL ends with the four characters .pdf - it happens for totally made-up web pages like http://www.chvjhbcjhcbjfbfjbfjbvnjbkd.pdf --Redrose64 (talk) 22:09, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

ok. But how? (excuse me if insist on) --Raoli (talk) 22:14, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

It's a built-in feature of the MediaWiki software which converts the wikicode into a valid page on the Internet. When an external link is processed, it looks at the first few characters and the last few characters to determine which icon should be shown after the link. --Redrose64 (talk) 22:25, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

"MediaWiki:Common.css adds an icon to all external links ending in .pdf." See this discussion. Goodvac (talk) 22:29, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Ok. You guys are great. thanks --Raoli (talk) 22:41, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Since this keeps coming up, I created Help:External link icons. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 14:16, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

You have had a great idea. Thank you for information. Raoli (talk) 22:45, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Difficulty with reference list

An administrator RHaworth helped by starting marking up the reference list and I went through and did what he did to the rest but the references for the article Thorne Webb Dreyer <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Wmhanks/Thorne_Webb_Dreyer> do not display as intended. The reference numbers are to appear in the body of the article and be listed in full with some formatting (Italics) at the end. I have read the pages that the error message refers me to but there seems to be different forms for different kinds of lists and different kinds of browsers. None of the examples look like the mark up he was using. Could someone just refer me to an example of the kind of reference list that would be most appropriate for this article? I can then just duplicate the form and syntax for my reference list and hopefully it will display as intended. Thanks wmhanks (talk) 22:08, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I don't see any major issues. There is a reference named R15 defined twice. The citations are manually formatted; the titles are using a mix of title case and sentence case. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 00:45, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

I have replaced the remaining occurrences of [NN] with <ref name="RNN"/>, but this has not fixed all the errors. References R7 and R22 are still not used anywhere in the text; there was a [28] in the text but no definition of reference R28; and there are two definitions for R15. You will have to check back with the sources to work out how to fix these. The exact formatting of each reference is not that important, I think, since you have clearly indicated the titles, authors, dates and page numbers of the works you are citing. -- John of Reading (talk) 06:57, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

* Thank you wmhanks (talk) 00:35, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Suggesting a Biography Article About the Artist Lari Pittman

There is a very prominent American painter named Lari Pittman who does not have a Wikipedia biography article. I am not qualified to start such an article, and owing to a medical condition that makes it difficult for me to concentrate, I am not able to understand the instructions for suggesting an article. For the same reason, I am not able to provide references about Lari Pittman. He is widely known and exhibited, profiled on PBS, etc, etc. I would like to use this help question to ask that someone look into doing this, as I am not able to follow up on it, and will not be able to follow any suggestions that anyone might make about going through any Wikipedia processes. Thank you. Stenik — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stenik (talk • contribs) 22:24, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

If Lari Pittman is very prominent, someone will write about him on Wikipedia eventually. Already a number of Wikipedia articles mention him. Most of the other artists featured in the PBS series Art21 have their own biographical articles here; sooner or later the rest probably will too. A better place to request an article would be on Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Visual arts or Wikipedia:Requested articles. --Teratornis (talk) 00:08, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Image Upload

Hello! Could someone kindly upload the image of the "Ice Church" from this article? I would highly appreciate it. With regards, Anupam^Talk 22:27, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

See the existing articles Ice hotel and Icehotel (Jukkasjärvi), and the Wikimedia Commons Commons:Category:Ice hotels in Sweden. If that is not enough images, try searching for more free images with {{Flickr free}}, e.g.: Search Flickr for images with the keywords: Icehotel (Jukkasjärvi) under these licenses: cc-by or cc-by-sa, which you can upload to Commons with several methods (see Commons:COM:EIC#Flickr). --Teratornis (talk) 00:18, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Hello User:Teratornis, I am assuming that the image from "The Telegraph" cannot be uploaded due to copyright issues. Am I correct? Thanks for your reply. I highly appreciate it. With regards, Anupam^Talk 21:35, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Is there anything on that page, or the Telegraph website in general, which explicitly states the conditions under which that image, or images in general, may be reused? If not, we go by what it states at the very bottom of that page: "© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2011". --Redrose64 (talk) 21:45, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Dear User:Redrose64, thanks for the information. I hope you have a pleasant evening. With regards, Anupam^Talk 00:55, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

iCIMS wiki

Can you please change the "ICIMS" wiki to have a lowercase "i" for the title of the page, this is the correct way to spell it. It should read "iCIMS" on the top of the page. Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICIMS — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.35.152.65 (talk) 23:07, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

An editor has fixed this in [3]. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:39, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

List of blues musicians

I have spent a considerable time converting the above 'laundry list' into a {wikitable sortable}, which seems a neater and more easily read option. However, we are now left with a page with text aligned down the left hand side. Could some technical buff 'realign' the article, so that there are columns created to fill the whole page. Sorry, I have not explained myself very well, which perhaps indicates the level of my helplessness. Thank you,

Derek R Bullamore (talk) 23:22, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

What's wrong with the current layout? Wikipedia has lots of list articles that have tall narrow tables. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Stand-alone lists and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists for guidelines. You could peruse Wikipedia:Featured lists for examples of lists considered to be the best on Wikipedia. Maybe there is some better style you can emulate. --Teratornis (talk) 00:25, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

A question that had no heading

This is the most difficult website I have encoutered. I just need to know how or who do i need to contact to report FRAUD in the federal gov't. I can be reached by this email address or my home phone...[removed to protect privacy]. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.163.195.81 (talk) 23:48, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 3.7 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck.

If your goal is to write a Wikipedia article about a case of alleged fraud in a government then it would be inappropriate in most cases. It would at the very least require that published verifiable reliable sources had already written about it, and the article only neutrally stated what they had said without adding original research. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:22, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

October 20

WP Atlanta Braves

I have recently created WikiProject Atlanta Braves and set it up to operate under the WP 1.0 bot. For the bot to start rating articles I need an administrator to add the parameter 'braves=yes' to Template:WikiProject_Baseball. I have already updated the template documentation to account for this. I posted an 'editprotected' tag entry on the talk page (as directed) over a week ago and have yet to receive a response from an admin. Looking at previous entries on that talk page, a response was given either within a few hours or, at most, a few days. I may have made a mistake with using the 'editprotected' template. I'm really not sure what I should do at this point to reach a response from an administrator. This is the only location I know of that may reach the applicable audience. Bbqsauce13 (talk) 00:41, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

You have to only write {{editprotected}}. You wrote {{tlx|editprotected}}. I guess you copied it from an answered request, but it is code an administrator can change {{editprotected}} into when they reply and admin attention is no longer needed. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:32, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

That is precisely what I did. Thank you very much for your help. Bbqsauce13 (talk) 02:58, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

WP:FOUR achievement ribbons

Resolved

EdChem (talk · contribs), who created File:Four Award Ribbon x10.png for WP:FOUR has retired (has not edited since March 7, 2011). Can someone create a 25 and a 50 award ribbon for our project?--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 01:44, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

I have made and . I hope these are what you were looking for. And thank you for awarding me a WP:FOUR award a few months back. Best regards.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 05:00, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks.--108.69.72.226 (talk) 14:04, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Is Wikmedia helping Wikipedia?

Hello,

I made a donation to Wikmedia(UK) [or Wiki UK Ltd with paypal@wikimedia.org.uk] yesterday based on a header-banner on a Wikepedia page whilst browsing requesting donations for which I believed it was saying to keep wikipedia encyclopedia informations free for the public internet users - which would only still be possible if they had assistance from public donatations. The donation request pages cited the slim number of servers and employees wikepedia operated with respect to Google etc.

I am concerned that the header-banner on the wikpedia page I was browsing may be misleading and in fact has no link with wikipedia organisation.

Would you please help to clarify matters.

Kind regards

Jeeva

email: — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.24.112.166 (talk) 08:20, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for helping the project with a donation! There's no need to worry - Wikipedia is one of the projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation. You can click those blue links to find out more. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:11, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Right. Wiki UK Ltd, d/b/a Wikimedia UK is listed at http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Local_chapters. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:53, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Lord ??? comforteth his troops

Gentlefolks:

I distinctly remember (I'm 72 - some salt may be required!) seeing a photo of a painting depiction an English Lord astride his black stallion behind his troops as they went forward into battle. The impression given that 'comfort' did not mean to the characters depicted in the painting what it now means to us.

I would like to make a copy of this painting... and I am virtually certain I saw it on a Wikipedia page... to the right of the main body of the article.

Can you help?

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.251.46.77 (talk) 08:48, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

(I have removed your email address to protect your privacy). For the old meaning of "comfort", literally "with strength", see wikt:comfort. I'll have a try at finding the picture for you and will post again here if I am successful. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:15, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Are you remembering the panel in the Bayeux Tapestry that shows a leader "comforting" his troops with a spear? This google search may lead you to the page you have in mind. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:28, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Creative commons image

May we add to an article a photograph released under a Creative Commons license? Here it is: [[4]] - please point out whether there are any other issues I am missing. Garald (talk) 11:06, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

No, the "non-commercial" stipulation of that image's licensing is not compatible with Wikipedia's requirements. See Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/Deprecated#Non-free Creative Commons licenses. You might try contacting the image's owner to see if he would be willing to change the CC licensing to a version that would permit the uploading of the image to Commons. Deor (talk) 13:23, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) No, I don't think so. There are various types of Creative Commons licenses, and in the right margin of this photo I see three symbols plus the text "Some rights reserved". The sticking point is the , which means that the image can only be reused for noncommercial purposes, which excludes Wikipedia. If uploaded, such images are liable for speedy deletion under WP:CSD#F3. --Redrose64 (talk) 13:37, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Add a third link to the two existing links of magnetic "Toys" in the "Magnet" article

In the (protected) "Magnet" article I wish to make a small addition.

From:

Toys: Given their ability to counteract the force of gravity at close range, magnets are often employed in children's toys, such as the Magnet Space Wheel and Levitron, to amusing effect.

To:

Toys: Given their ability to counteract the force of gravity at close range, magnets are often employed in children's toys, such as the Magnet Space Wheel, Magnetic Tower of Hanoi, and Levitron, to amusing effect.

Please advice. Thanks, Uri — Preceding unsigned comment added by Uri-Levy (talk • contribs) 11:34, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

You should discuss this on the Magnet Talk Page. There, editors who maintain that page can evaluate the addition you want to make. I am not sure that Magnetic Tower of Hanoi belongs in Wikipedia. All of the sources appear to be self-published or primary sources. GB fan 12:26, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

IPA Rendering

Hi, I have a problem, no matter what I do, the English Wikipedia article on the International Phonetic Alphabet, and all pages using IPA, continue to display IPA characters in the Doulos SIL font, despite I've tried using all different typefaces on all my browsers. What to do?

Cheers, Victor — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.219.182.160 (talk) 16:03, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Altina Schinasi

After this article was approved it was removed with the following comments:

• This article's citation style may be unclear.
• This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it.
• This article's tone or style may not reflect the formal tone used on Wikipedia.
• The neutrality of this article is disputed.
• This article may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.

There is no indication as to why the article needs to be wikified. The Talk page only cites the standards for biographies of living persons and has no other guidance as to how to improve the article. As Ms. Schinasi is deceased, I am unsure how the biographies of living persons applies. I am also unclear on how the article could better adhere to said policy.

I would appreciate any suggestion on how to improve this article as I would like to post a revised version that meets Wikipedia standards.

IeWilson IeWilson (talk) 16:30, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

I don't know what you mean by "approved" and "removed" - some copyright material was removed from the Altina Schinasi, but the article is still there. Each of the maintenance tags you mention contains blue links to pages which explain what they mean. I suggest you also look at the five pillars of Wikipedia.

As for whether the subject is living or not: the principles of biographies of living people apply to all articles about people; it's just that we need to be more careful that they are followed in the case of living people. --ColinFine (talk) 22:52, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

How to remove quality flags on a Wikipedia page

A page I recently edited has three flags from early 2009 that warn about 1) missing citations, 2) factual accuracy, and 3) may require clean-up. The issues mentioned on the talk page seem to have been resolved since then. What is the process for removing these warnings from the page? Can any user do this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.157.214.131 (talk) 16:30, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, any user can do this. Try to give a clear explanation in your edit summary so that other editors can see your reasoning. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:56, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Just edit the page, simply remove the {{citations needed}} or similar tag, and save, with a clear edit summary. Rcsprinter (tell me stuff) 18:57, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

List of Companies in Atlanta

Can you add HD Supply to your List of companies in Atlanta? It looks like it then links to another Wiki page so I don't know how to make this edit.--Afbcampbell (talk) 17:13, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

 Already done, I think. You do mean HD Supply, right?--Unionhawk ^{Talk E-mail} 17:51, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

AND vs PHRASE

When I search Wikipedia, I noticed that it may fail to find something that I think it should be able to find. I believe that this is because it is searching everything I type in the search box as a phrase (since when it fails to find what I searched for, in the message it shows my search query in quotes), instead of as an AND operation, meaning that all of the words simply need to exist in the page. But I see no way in the search settings page in my account to change this behavior. In my humble opinion, all users, registered or not should be able to pick the type of search they wish to perform and registered users can save a certain type of search as their default in their search settings page. Or is there a way to change the search method it uses and I just missed it? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Giant Waffle (talk • contribs) 19:05, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Please see Help:Searching. If your question is not answered there, feel free to come back. Rcsprinter (tell me stuff) 19:10, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Here is an example of a two-word search. The result list shows that the software has treated this as an AND search and not as a phrase. Here is the same search with quotes, yielding just one match. -- John of Reading (talk) 19:14, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Column width on a table

Very frustrated. For the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball Wiki site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamptons_Collegiate_Baseball), under MLB Draft History, it drives me crazy that the table is dumping things down to a second line rather than having "Toronto Blue Jays" or "Sag Harbor '08" on ONE LINE. What's more frustrating is the table further up on the page (Teams etc.) doesn't seem to have this problem AND when I preview the changes for this table, it looks terrific (!) but when I save changes, it reverts back to the old version

I feel like I've tried everything but obviously there's an answer. Please help.

Lastly, why the heck does the line for Division Champions extend all the way across the page but the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League Champions line does not??? Baffling. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bpmauser (talk • contribs) 19:33, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

There were unclosed <div> tags further up the page. I have removed them, and I think the page is OK now. -- John of Reading (talk) 19:52, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

monobook.js editing tools not a working

I've tried to install some editing tools to my monobook.js page but none of them want to work. Yes, I've dumped cache, restarted browser, uninstalled and reinstalled the tools, dumped cache, restart browser many times. Yes, I'm using the monobook skin setting. Using Firefox 3.6.23 sigh. Brad (talk) 20:01, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

You need to add a closing parenthesis and semicolon to the first line, i.e. instead of this:

importScript('User:Cameltrader/Advisor.js'

put this:

importScript('User:Cameltrader/Advisor.js');

--Redrose64 (talk) 20:09, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Ok thanks but now the tools work in preview mode but not after saving. Brad (talk) 23:02, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Resolved

. Like a dummy I forgot that I had tried getting the custom.js to work to fix the problem. Once monobook was fixed the custom.js was still there so I cleared it. Brad (talk) 00:41, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I'm guessing that you actually mean common.js, not custom.js - assuming that you're using Monobook skin, you can put custom javascript into either Special:MyPage/common.js or in Special:MyPage/monobook.js but it's pointless to put the same code into both. Note that you can put different code in both, and if both pages exist, the common code is loaded before the skin-specific code. --Redrose64 (talk) 09:52, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Has Preview got mucked up or is it me?

Today I had to reconstruct a complicated edit. What I have been used to doing is previewing, then going back in my browser to make changes. Today I find that takes me back to an unchanged version of the page in edit mode; my edit is lost unless I instead go forward by editing in the edit window under the preview. That's what I've been doing for the remaining edits today, but it feels unnatural and I don't like concatenating my edits in that manner, so it's going to be hard to break the habit of going back to tweak the same edit and then looking at it again. Is this a bug, a feature, or is it my browser playing silly bugger? Firefox 3.6.18, Win 7. I'd have put this at the Village pump (technical) but there's nothing there about it, either, and so it may well be me . . . (Yes, it just did it again with this edit, gave me a blank new section edit window) Yngvadottir (talk) 21:17, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Me too. This has been happening since the MediaWiki 1.18 upgrade in early Oct (Windows XP, Firefox 3.6.23, Monobook). What I do find is that going to preview, then using the "back" button always behaves; but when going to preview, then clicking something, then going back twice will sometimes lose the edit. The risk of losing the edit increases with every click further from the initial edit screen. This particular one remained OK when going three pages away, but lost it on going four pages away. --Redrose64 (talk) 21:38, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

It's been happening for me consistently with preview + "back" button, no further forward clicking. But that does confirm it's at Wikipedia's end. Yngvadottir (talk) 04:02, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

spammy external links in wikipedia whose language I ignore

Recently I noticed that IP 195.136.61.162 in 2006 worked on dozens of wikipedias in different languages. The IP added in each instance the external link www[dot]zlotehotele[dot]pl to articles about Poland and polish cities. The said external link is spam in whichever case, since it advertises a service for hotel searching. I know portuguese well, so I cut this spam off in https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vars%C3%B3via. But what can I do in http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7, where this external link still is unchanged after more than 5 years? I know no arab, but this link is clearly spammy in wikipedia regardless of the context. I could easily cut it off too myself, but I would have to write the summary in some other language, for instance, in english. Is it all right to do this? That would take care of the matter pretty fast. Or should I rather leave a message in the talk page to that article with a request for someone fluent in arab to cut it off? This request would have to be in a foreign language again, let's say in english. Is it all right to make entries in a wiki in a language foreign to that wiki? On the other hand this way could take again 5 or more years to take care of the matter, untill someone decided to show. By the way, the talk page to that page in question is itself full of crap: take a look http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B4:%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7 and follow the links Garsd (talk) 22:06, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Cross-Wiki problems (as in, problems that stretch across many Wikipedias) can be brought up at Meta. I don't often use Meta, but the main discussion page seems to be here. If anyone can help you, someone there can. --Jayron32 22:23, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

By the way, I'm impressed when people whose language is not English post in English, so I don't normally offer corrections; except when I see a word that is likely to be misunderstood. The word "ignore" is a false friend: in English it never means "not know", (as it does in French, and perhaps other languages): it means "deliberately not take notice of" or "pretend that something is not there". English readers who do not know these other languages will be likely to misunderstand you. --ColinFine (talk) 23:04, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Good point, well made, Colin. The "ignore" was definitely confusing to me. Garsd, the IP address is registered to Exatel S.A. in Poland; I'd guess the language is Polish. My very limited knowledge of Polish makes me think that "zlotehotele" may mean "Golden Hotels". Wikipedia:Translation links to a number of pages, including lists of very kind people willing to do translation – perhaps someone there can provide you with translations of "deleted spam link" (or similar) for use in edit summaries. Tonywalton ^Talk 00:10, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I make the occasional edit on other projects, usually the in same kind of situation, and I generally use an English edit summary rather than trying to hash something together in the native language which nobody will get, so far its never been problem (and I just removed the link from the page in question)--Jac16888 ^Talk 00:32, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Creating a new entry on a person who hasn't received much attention

I have just published a website on a little known figure from the San Francisco Beat era (www.shigmurao.org). Shig Murao's 15 minutes of fame has to do with his having been arrested at City Lights in 1957 for selling a copy of Allen Ginsberg's Howl to an undercover San Francisco police officer.

Much of what I discovered is based on original research, but isn't something anyone seems likely to challenge.

The date of his death, for instance: Shig's nephew didn't have the date, but he requested a copy of the death certificate, which I have. Is that acceptable, and how can I cite it? (Or his birth date, which I also got from his nephew, though I don't have a copy of his birth certificate.)

I have also collected many examples of a zine Shig published, have scanned several issues, and have compiled a catalog of issues. I believe a few published sources have mentioned that he produced such a zine, but there are no details in any published materials I know of.

One of the key events in his life was a dispute with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, which resulted in Shig leaving City Lights. I have sent my account to Ferlinghetti, who deemed it a fair account, but no one has ever written about the dispute before.

How do I deal with this sort of stuff? Do I simply have to avoid referencing anything that hasn't been previously written about, even when I have the original source material?

I have begun to sketch out an entry in my sandbox.

RichardReynolds (talk) 22:09, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Don't write anything unless you can back it up with references. It would be horrible to write a detailed, thoughtful article and then have it deleted in a week because you hadn't established notability. Wait till you are sure of your material before you start doing any serious writing. There are quite a lot of google hits for Shig Murao, but I'm not sure how reliable the sources are. Tigerboy1966 (talk) 22:18, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes. - firstly, 'a person who hasn't received much attention' is almost by definition not going to meet the Wikipedia notability requirements to merit an article. And secondly, articles need to be based on published reliable sources - we don't allow the use of original research. So, sadly, your little-known man is going to remain unknown on Wikipedia unless and until he becomes well-known elsewhere. AndyTheGrump (talk) 22:20, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps you need to ask yourself why this person "hasn't received much attention", and read carefully the Wikipedia guielines on notability, particularly this. Wikipedia isn't the place to redress this, WP is intended as a tertiary source, that is it collates and references reliable, verifiable secondary sources. It is not a place to publish primary research. Tonywalton ^Talk 22:28, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Let me just note that people go to Wikipedia for information that sometimes could not be found on google. If it can not be found on google, no books, nothing, then Wikipedia should be the first to feture it. Just something to think about.

Please reply on my message boards! Larsona 14:36, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

No, Wikipedia should never be the first to feature it: that would be directly contrary to the principles of verifiability and notability. It is possible, though unlikely, that Wikipedia could be the first online site to feature something, if it had been discussed in printed sources but never before mentioned online. --ColinFine (talk) 17:09, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Is Shig worthy of being included in Wikipedia? In researching my project I found that Edsel Ford Fong, an abusive waiter at a San Francisco Chinatown restaurant called Sam Wo's, which Shig used frequent, has a Wikipedia entry. If Fong deserves a Wikipedia entry, Shig is certainly worthy, if only for having been jailed for selling Ginsberg's Howl at City Lights in 1957. Shig's role in that incident has been well documented, but if I'm to include anything beyond that it's going to be tough. The only comprehensive published piece on his life is a brief memoir published in the San Francisco Chronicle by Gordon Ball, a filmmaker and historian who edited Ginsberg's journals. There are a couple of other pieces published online, one by the San Francisco Historical Society, the others by a Japanese woman who has been researching Shig for her own biography. Would those be considered acceptable references? RichardReynolds (talk) 19:15, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

October 21

Re-establishing speedy deleted article name

Hello. An article titled UTC+01:30 created by TZ master was recently speedy deleted because it duplicated the article South African Standard Time. I agree that is a violation of WP:A10. In addition, TZ master also added a link to UTC+01:30 in Template:Timezones, in italics indicating it is a historic time zone (which is accurate). The South African Standard Time article does have a history section which mentions the +01:30 offset. It is my opinion that UTC+01:30 ought to exist as a redirect to that history section (not as its own article), which would eliminate the redlink on the template. However (with all due respect to WP:BOLD), I am reluctant to add back anything that has been speedy deleted, even if it is different content or just a redirect. Could someone advise if my thinking is correct? And if not, what is the flaw in my suggestion? Thank you. — Michael J 02:32, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Uh, ... It appears TZ master has re-created the page UTC+01:30 with information again taken from South African Standard Time, and there appears to be some edit-warring going on there. I don't want to step into something like that, but can someone take a look please. — Michael J 07:52, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

... and now UTC+01:30 is gone again! — Michael J 08:26, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I can re-create the page as a redirect and lock it (i haz magic admin powerz), but is it a plausible search term. Is South Africa unique in that GMT +01:30 timezone? It strikes me that there are probably too many variants on how it could be written to justify creating just that one redirect. --Elen of the Roads (talk) 11:05, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

It is a half-hour offset which is relatively unusual. I have not been able to determine any other usage than South Africa. If my research comes up with something else, I will contact you and would then make it a page that references all the locations that the offset existed in. Thank you. — Michael J 13:39, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Apparently Namibia also used it for a time. The way it is set up now seems to work. — Michael J 14:50, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Hindi logo - reads "CHIKRI" instead of WIKI

Hi,

sincere appeal to scrap your hindi logo, and have it redesigned. it reads CHIKRI (first letter which should be WI, looks kike CHI because of the top stroke, and secong letter, because it is joined at the bottom with the first, converts KI into KRI as the bottom joined-stroke lends it the R sound)

Please rectify it. i have spent days trying to figure out how to contact you after seeing that hilarious logo, an have finally managed to trace a window ehere i can send you a mail from. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mandevian2003 (talk • contribs) 06:01, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

This is the English Wikipedia, we have no control over how the Hindi Wikipedia is set up. --Redrose64 (talk) 10:01, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Question regarding sources/citations

Hi, I was wondering, is a biased citation allowed on wikipedia? Because on the homeschool article, it uses HSLDA (which is an extremely biased pro-homeschool group) as a citation quite a bit. So can/should I remove all biased citations? This would take some time, but I would be willing to do it. LIbertyInSpace (talk) 07:10, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Articles should remain neutral in overall tone. If there are various sides to the issue, those views should be given equal treatment. If it were me, I wouldn't necessarily remove any content or sources but I would find reliable sources that contradict the original sources and provide both sides of the argument in a neutral way. That said, if the source isn't reliable at all, it shouldn't be used. See WP:RS for more on that. Dismas|^(talk) 09:43, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Take a look at the article yourself, do you think things like this needs to go?:

"58.9% report that they are "very happy" with life, compared with 27.6% for the general U.S. population. 73.2% find life "exciting", compared with 47.3%."

That just doesn't sound neutral to me and the citation is a highly biased right-wing Christian organization. LIbertyInSpace (talk) 09:54, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Can you find another source that challenges the findings? If it is itself reliable, you could add information on how the survey has been challenged. --Elen of the Roads (talk) 11:10, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

The website of a campaigning organisation isn't necessarily a reliable source, and I would seriously consider deleting references if you're not confident of their accuracy (and delete controversial claims if they have no references). You should read the source, look at how they acquired their information, and see if it is likely to be truthful; you could also look at the reputation of the organisation in general (e.g. Amnesty International reports are usually considered valid sources even on controversial topics, but a lesser-known campaigning organisation would not be). If there are controversial claims without any references or any indication of the methodology used to obtain the information, then the information is probably not reliable. WP:RS warns you to be particularly careful with "views that are widely acknowledged as extremist, or promotional in nature"; organisations promoting home-schooling would obviously fall under the second of those, and it sounds like HSLDA may possibly fall under the first. --Colapeninsula (talk) 12:59, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Having said that, I don't think it's necessarily wrong to cite the results of their survey, as long as you specify that it's only the result of a survey, and maybe give information on how it was done, when, by whom, how many were surveyed, etc. --Colapeninsula (talk) 13:00, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Deletion of article Lotte Pakistan PTA

An article Lotte Pakistan PTA has been deleted. The article was written in good faith about a company which is registered on three (Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad) exchanges. The company is also included in three indices (KMI-30, KSE-30 and KSE-100) and neither any information nor any interwiki link was available to cover up information about the company on wikipedia. Can someone explain why this article was deleted? Can someone help me to retieve the article?Altafqadir (talk) 08:21, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

The discussion on the deletion is at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lotte Pakistan PTA. - David Biddulph (talk) 09:00, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Altafqadir, why did you not speak up at the deletion discussion listed above??? It was open for two weeks. Now your path is much harder. There is a procedure called deletion review, but you cannot go there now -- that is only for entities that have been deleted wrongly, and this article was deleted properly, following a two-week discussion at which no one objected to deletion. What you could do is this:

• Ask yourself, do I have, or can a get, a substantial number of good references from truly notable and reliable sources that are about Lotte Pakistan PTA. For instance, articles in the New York Times (or at any rate in major, important Pakistani newspapers like the Daily Express etc.) that are about Lotte Pakistan PTA. Not just listing it or mentioning it in passing, but articles that are substantially focused on Lotte Pakistan PTA.
  • If the answer is "no", then game over. Articles must meet the WP:GNG in order to exist. Even it it is large and famous in Pakistan but does not meet the GNG, it should not have an article.
  • If the answer is "yes" (in which case I would question, why didn't you put these references in the article in the first place, but whatever), then it is possible that the article may be re-created and re-discussed, but only by going through proper steps. If you want to do this, message me on my talk page and I will help you through this process. But only if you can come up with good references. Herostratus (talk) 15:56, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I have deleted a part of Vijay Mallya's webpage by mistake

Hi, I have deleted a part of Vijay Mallya's webpage by mistake. Can't figure how to restore the change. Please help.

Find below the link to the webpage i am referring to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijay_Mallya — Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.16.159.242 (talk) 10:02, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I've undone your edit for you. If you make such a mistake again, go to the View History tab at the top of the page, check that yours is still the top edit on the list, and click the (undo) link next to it. Cheers, Yunshui (talk) 10:04, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Richard Davisson/ bio

Richard Davisson (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Here's something for you Wiki people to understand and maybe help me sort out---I don't know how to do it--- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.40.199.17 (talk) 10:47, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I have tried my very best to honor the role of Dick Davisson's biological family in his life, how much he loved them, how much they meant to him. I wrote all of the family and personal part of the article myself, half of the entire article---others wrote the technical and professional pieces.

I spoke first of the wonderful time that Dick had with his wife Betty while they lived on a houseboat raising their infant son Gordon, how he always spoke of that as one of the best times of his life.

I listed her first among his family members, noting her achievement as a Psychiatric Social worker.

I truthfully used the word "successful" to describe their son Gordon.

However, my own role in Dick's life is continuosly being called into question---my one line reference to myself has variously been noted: "Self Advancement" (one hardly advances oneself by being connected to a deceased man---particularly when one has one's own achievements, however humble, "apocryphal"---I assure you I exist---"dubious" and so on---if I happen to check the article now and then of a year, I find a new insult denying my role in his life and this is history after all, even if it is apparently upsetting to some---I grieve too and my being frozen out of the grieving and death and dying process while terribly painful never did cause me to vindictively deny the existence of the others.

Eleven years after Dick and Betty separated but remained on friendly terms, I began an Autumnal emotional relationship with Dick. I list myself as his "companion"---not his lover, his floozy, his girlfriend or any term other than that appropriately describing our relationship. Older men often have young companions who enrich the latter part of their years as he enriched my life as well and i was NOT paid (except a token joke of $20 a month) for my presence.

Because I was so distraught by his death, I did not act appropriately while being frozen out of the death and dying and grieving process. This is likely to happen under such circumstances---but I am nevertheless sorry i did not handle it better. I am sorry for that. Great lengths were made and are apparently still being made to deny my existence or my importance in Dick's life, while I doubt very much that it is in this culture shocking that a man separated eleven years from his wife should start breakfasting twice a week, having dinner four or five times a week, sleeping for part of the time cuddling in the same bed with and drinking frequently at a local pub with another woman for a total of fifteen years---there's nothing wrong with it, nothing was hidden from Betty about it, I would go out, she would come in and so on. There was a two year period of separation in the middle sometime after which the relationship resumed but was somewhat emotionally less intimate than it had been, but still quite intimate. During the last two years before he left to take care of his sister who had had a stroke however, his son moved out of the house and this gave us the time and space to begin to become again closer. During the relationship we had two apartments very close to one anohter so that walking between them could be an almost daily activity.

I can verify the fact that I was Dick's Companion in two ways:

1)The will released six months after Dick's death from the King County Courthouse was only one page long. I had asked him not to mention me or make me a beneficiary because I did not, as a member of his family of choice, wish to upset his legal family unnecessarily. Regardless of this he did make me a beneficiary in his will against my will, slipping me into a subtle private joke in a sentence where his son was mentioned in hopes of letting me see he loved me while hoping also not to anger the others too much. The one page document contained four names only: these names are listed in the article. Three of the four names are people related to him by blood or marriage. One was not. A man leaves a one page will. Three of the beneficiaries are related by blood or marriage and one is not. Under such circumstances, how likely is it that the person so named was unimportant to the deceased? It's not possible at all. The person so named has to have been close to the deceased---or at least it is highly unlikely that any other truth exists.

Further, how can someone not close to the deceased write half of the article about his life, including details which would be difficult to find by research alone?

Finally, large numbers of witnesses observed our relationship over a fifteen year period. They, could, I suppose, be produced.

Gordon, you froze me out of a process I needed to be part of and I was told I was being intrusive when in fact I loved your father and enriched his life greatly over many years, whether you liked me or not or whether you understood the dynamics of the two year separation in the middle or not. I know that you are the person who keeps causing me indignity by putting things like "dubious"/"apocryphal"/etc. next to my name. Hell, you even knew we were thinking about trying to have a baby at one point. You were there when we were discussing it.

I have treated all references to you and your mother with tremendous respect in this article half of which I wrote---and I think you must admit that I have done a good job of overviewing Doick's personal and family life.

I'm asking you to have some compassion and at least let me be acknowledged appropriately and without question in an article I myself am co-author of. Your Mother is surely dead or very ill by now and the truth hurts no one thereby. Denying the truth is not part of Science---and your father and all of us value Science---while History is a soft Science it should still be told truthfully if told at all.

Stop hurting me. Stop freezing me out. How lonely your father would have been without me, whether you care for me or not. How much I will always miss him, whether you care about that or not. He was a Humanitarian. Please be one also. — Preceding comment added by Ginamarie Emanuel 67.40.199.17 (talk) 10:44, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

We are not "Gordon" and certainly have nothing against you. We are a bunch of random people from all over the world who can not ascertain truth by "personal knowledge" alone and must be provided with a reliable published source in order to verify the information ourselves. In biographies, a reliable source is a requirement, especially for extraordinary claims. A will, sad to say, is not accessible to the public and thus can not be considered a reliable source. Unless the information in that article can be sourced, they can be challenged and deleted by anyone. Please understand why. The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. See Wikipedia:Verifiability.-- Obsidi♠n Soul 11:39, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Ok, a will is a PUBLIC document. "In the matter of the estate of Richard J. Davisson". Anyone can look it up at the King County Courthouse. If people see us on the street every day for years and years surely that's a lot of witnesses, also. Also, why is my existence in Dick's life continuously challenged in this article whereas nothing but a couple of minor citations are demanded in the rest of the facts? Further, of course I would think it was Gordon doing something like that and I was sort of free associating in expressing myself about it---being human. I don't know who you are. I but most people don't speak for "we", they speak for themselves. As to the person with the tremendous maturity and compassion to tell us we all suck, thanks---this is still pretty hard for me---your decency is appreciated. The man felt connected to two women, should he divorce one? Should the one that comes second demand that he do so? Especially if the first one needs health insurance and I don't at the time? I never thought she would freeze me out to the point where I could not say good bye when they had been separated for 26 years at the end of it all. He couldn't afford a damn divorce anyway, the rest of them all lived off him---which he did not mind: two of them were disabled and one was working hard starting a successful business. If that's why I in particular suck, the world sure is Puritanical, now isn't it? I'm gratified to learn that truth matters when it's about photography or houseboats or fun with infant children, but does not matter when it is about publicly documented, witnessed connections between human beings. Could someone from actual Wiki, who can help me in a gentle and civil way, please tell me how to resolve this problem? Maybe I shouldn't care about the truth---Dick himself would probably say screw it---I'm trying, but every time I see one of those insulting words next to my name it does hurt and I do want to be able to occasionally, once a year or so, look up the article and remember this man who meant so much to me without I myself being the ghost. It occurs to me that I am myself a witness and that affidavits are a form of documentation also: I certify under penalty of perjury that all of the above authored by me, except the spelling and grammatical errors, is true and correct to the best of my knowledge, signed, Ginamarie Emanuel.

Now let's try to work this out in a civil and caring way---the man's been dead a while, you know, it's not worth hurting each other over and it really shouldn't hurt so much that I exist at this point. I value the legal next of kin's contributions in the life of this amazing man and am only asking, as family of choice, for reciprocity in this matter. I work now for the legalization of non-traditional marriages, including for gay, lesbian, bi, transgendered and nonmonogamous marriages so that others do not have to go through this same kind of suffering. If I had demanded such rights while he was alive then this would not be happening now, but everyone makes mistakes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.40.199.17 (talk) 15:25, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

If you can provide a reliable PUBLISHED source that confirms what on earth ever it is that you are trying to say, then you have some prospect of having the information included in this encyclopaedia page. If not, not. It's that simple. Wikipedia is never going to just take anyone's word for it. If you want a memorial on the web - get a blog. We are an encyclopaedia. Elen of the Roads (talk) 16:12, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

By the way, if it's any consolation, the IP editor who posted the rude message has been blocked. Elen of the Roads (talk) 16:16, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Message at top of editing page.

I come to the help desk alot actually, and I was wondering how you get a notice at the top of your edit page. I would like one at the top of mine.

Please reply on my message boards! Larsona 14:32, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

• Reply on this page for this topic only. Thats my signature.

For a user or user talk page, an editnotice is created with a /Editnotice subpage (i.e. Special:MyPage/Editnotice and Special:MyTalk/Editnotice). Editnotices on other pages can only be created by administrators and account creators.--Unionhawk ^{Talk E-mail} 16:52, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Amy nuttall

Amy nuttall played Stella in a streetcar named desire at the Bolton octagon after playing the lead role of Emily in the hired man. Please could you update her page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.132.213.233 (talk) 15:32, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Only if you can provide a published reliable source for the information. Roger (talk) 15:58, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Also note that these are biographies, not detailed lists of every part an actor has played in their entire careers! --Orange Mike | Talk 15:59, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

User name not recognize

Hi,

My user name FML198 is not recognized. I wonder what happen? Can you please help?

I have a page created at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Bmi_bmi

so i don't know why when i try loggin in with fml198, they dont' recognize me.

thanks, — Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.118.167.144 (talk) 15:54, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Usernames are case sensitive; User:FML198 is real; User:fml198 is not (nor would User:FML 198 be). --Orange Mike | Talk 15:58, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Multiple people with same name

How do you create a "summary" page to list multiple Wiki pages for individuals with the same name? For example, a search for "James Jones" brings up a page listing all the "James Jones" individuals who have Wiki pages. Thank you.

Carmen33128 (talk) 17:06, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

They are called Disambiguation pages and there is a lot of information on them at Wikipedia:Disambiguation. Hopefully that will have the information you need.Naraht (talk) 17:09, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

adding something to my page

Hello, I have a Wiki bio page (Dennis Ferry) that I created for myself for informational purposes. I recently got married. Would I be allowed to add this to my page - "Dennis is married to flutist Stephani Stang-Ferry."

Thanks. Dennis Ferry 17:20, 21 October 2011 (UTC)~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Trombasolo (talk • contribs)

Do you have reliable sources you can use? Every statement in Wikipedia needs to be backed up with a citation to a reliable source, doubly so for articles about living people. You need to read Wikipedia:Verifiability before proceeding any farther to understand why. We'll ignore for a second that you should not be creating articles about yourself (please please please read, besides the links I put above, Wikipedia:Conflict of interest and Wikipedia:Autobiography). Wikipedia strives to be a good source of information, and can only be trusted as such if and only if Wikipedia articles rely on good, previously published information. For this reason, Wikipedia doesn't take anyone's word on anything. Verifiability is required. --Jayron32 18:11, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your response. Sorry for the misuse of Wikipedia. I thought autobiographical material was permitted. I, of course, have a certified copy of my marriage certificate. DennisTrombasolo (talk) 18:19, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

You have a copy, but has it been published? And you were told about WP:Autobiography and WP:COI, on the article talk page and on yours, more than a year ago. - David Biddulph (talk) 18:41, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

As a notable musician, I imagine your marriage would have been reported by a reliable source; perhaps the newspaper in your hometown, perpaps a national newspaper, perhaps a magazine; perhaps the official website of Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Take care though: your previous edit to the article about you was quickly reverted due to your choice or wording. ie. if you add news of your marriage, even if correctly cited, it may still be reverted if it is buried in the addition of a whole lot of PR-speak. Astronaut (talk) 14:23, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Donation in INR

Hi, I am a final year student at Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay. How can I make a donation via my credit/debit card in INR? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 14.139.97.4 (talk) 22:49, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Contact us/Donations#Do you accept donations in Indian rupees?. Visit the Ammado page for Wikimedia, click on "Donate Now", and the dropdown bar for the currencies will include INR (India - Indian rupee (Rp)). Thanks! Goodvac (talk) 22:55, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

HELP! I fear that I have done something wrong!

On 10/1, I uploaded a file to Wikicommon that was not up to code. (please delete, if not already) On 10/14, I uploaded a corrected file. On 10/16, I received a Bot report requesting more info. On 10/17, I added the requested info to My Talk page because I didn't know how to edit it?? (I had hope to receive some feedback on what I was doing wrong, but received nothing?? On 10/21, I checked My Talk page and still nothing?? Please help me Gregory L. Chester 22:50, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

This question regards Wikimedia Commons, not Wikipedia (here), so is better asked at Commons:Help desk, but I will answer your question here anyway. The bot on your talk page is just reminding you to add categories to images you upload. To add categories, use the syntax [[Category:Category name]] and place it at the bottom of the image page. The bot on your talk page gives a clearer explanation with ways to find categories. Goodvac (talk) 23:03, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

October 22

Editing an article based on magazines

Hi there,

I am a video games collector of all things PlayStation and in my possession I have over 300 magazines with lots of juicy information that I can use to expand stub articles and generally articles that don't have much information. I consider myself a connoisseur of PlayStation and I am very knowledgeable about it and games released on its platform.

But if I was to expand the Alien Trilogy article for example, using information from these magazines, how exactly would I reference the material since it isn't electronic? Equally I written articles before with plenty of information and sources and they've still been deleted, so I would very much like advice and guidance. Would it be similar to referencing something using the Harvard system?

Many thanks all. 81.110.228.229 (talk) 00:32, 22 October 2011 PlayStationConnoisseur (talk) 00:36, 22 October 2011 (UTC)PlayStationConnoisseur— Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.110.228.229 (talk) 00:30, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

I've cited magazines many times. I use {{cite journal}}. A problem that you might run into is using too much trivia and fancruft which may be why your previous efforts were deleted. Dismas|^(talk) 00:48, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Also, to be taken seriously you should register with a username. GeorgeLouis (talk) 01:01, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Contact Wikipedia

How on earth do you contact wikipedia? There seems to be no way to do that, every time I click on a "contact" button, there is absolutely nothing there about contacting Wikipedia. Put an email address or phone number some where.

Why make it so damn hard? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.0.150.145 (talk) 01:51, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia is a website of the Wikimedia foundation. You could try their contact info at http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Contact_us GB fan 01:55, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict)There is a Contact us link at the foot of this page. Remember that Wikipedia is produced by many editors, so a single email address or phone number would be meaningless. The Contact us page explains what to do in which situation. - David Biddulph (talk) 01:59, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

You found a way to contact Wikipedia: Right here. Wikipedia is the fifth most visited website with billions of monthly pageviews. It is run by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation which has a small staff for running such a large site and many other sites. Many things are handled by volunteers like us here at the help desk. If your issue can be discussed in public then you can post it here. Or you can say what it is about and we may be able to direct you to a better place. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:13, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Error

See also: Wikipedia talk:About the Sandbox § Error

At Wikipedia talk:Sandbox, the template's “clear this page” link clears Wikipedia:Sandbox, instead of Wikipedia talk:Sandbox. Is there a fix to this? 71.146.20.62 (talk) 03:16, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

What do you mean? The sandbox is located in Wikipedia:Sandbox, not on its talk page. You don't need to clear the talk page...--♫GoP♫_T^CN 14:12, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, you do. When someone wants to use the Wikipedia talk:Sandbox, they would want to clear it, such as what I had attempted to do the other day. The link on the template on Wikipedia talk:Sandbox leads to Wikipedia:Sandbox. 71.146.20.62 (talk) 18:00, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Talk pages: out of topic discussions - should we archive or simply delete them?

I refer to WP:NOTFORUM and WP:TPG, which I read thoroughly. One of the guidelines regarding talk pages is that out of date discussions should be archived and not deleted. I agree with this, mainly because, even when today a discussion about a subject seems to have ended, tomorrow the same subject may be raised once again. What should we do though with discussions that have nothing to do with the editing of the article? For instance, an article about Paris, and people start a discussion about how beautiful Paris is, or that they think that the authorities of Paris should rather change the traffic direction on a particular street. And then they develop these subjects further. This kind of discussions has nothing to do with the development of an encyclopedic article about Paris. These discussions should not even ever have started, less they should be continued or restarted in the future. I think such discussions should simply be deleted from the talk page, and not archived. Is there a policy in wikipedia about this? I couldn't find anything about it. Garsd (talk) 07:59, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Did you read the note at WP:TPG on "Refactoring for relevance"? I don't know of any additional formal policy or guideline other than this and the note at WP:NOTFORUM that such content is "subject to removal". As indicated at TPG, some users delete them outright, some don't, but we do act to end them and archive them if not deleting. What the page doesn't say as far as I can see is that many time such discussion are closed to forestall continuation with one of a number of templates sets for doing so, e.g. using {{archive top}}/{{archive bottom}}, often with a note that says why, maybe referring directly to WP:NOTFORUM, and many times they are closed and collapsed to hide the discussion from view using a template set like {{Hidden archive top}} ({{Hat}})/{{Hidden archive bottom}} ({{Hab}}). There is a how-to page: Wikipedia:Refactoring talk pages. Also note {{Not a forum}}, for placement on talk page where treating it like a forum is a problem, and the user warning template series starting with {{uw-chat1}}.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 10:58, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Hi Garsd, I've left some comments on your talk page -- Marek.69 ^talk 23:35, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Double-neck guitar player Ian Ethan

Ian Ethan is a musician who plays the double-neck guitar. He has produced a CD in 2008 and will release a new CD in 2012. He obviously is not as well known as Jimmy Page, so does that mean an article about him should not appear in Wikipedia? He is coming to our college shortly to give a concert and we were wondering why there was not anything in Wikipedia about him. Thanks. FYI: The is the link to his website http://ianethan.com/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by ItascaCC (talk • contribs) 11:08, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

I think you want to create the article "Ian Ethan". If so, please first read our notability guideline about musicians. It also must meet WP:GNG in any case; if not, someone might put a CSD tag on the top of the article, and the admin decide whether it is true it doesn't meet the notability guidelines or not. If you are new, try WP:WIZARD. Regards.--♫GoP♫_T^C_{N 13:50, 22 October 2011 (UTC)}

The relevant question is whether he is notable, as we define that word on Wikipedia, generally meaning whether there are multiple third party reliable sources that have published material about him, and whether there is sufficient information in those sources that can be used and cited to write a verifiable article. When a topic meets these policies, but no article exists, this generally means nothing more than that no one has yet created the article. Wikipedia is a volunteer effort. Our articles are written by people who have the ability and are interested enough in some subject to sit down and start writing.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:59, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Under-edited articles

Hi,
I'm just wondering if there is a list of articles that have no or few editors other than the article's creator and bots, or if there is a tool to generate such a list.
Thank you. ClaretAsh 12:38, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

I don't think that there is a list of pages with low edit counts, but you can see Wikipedia:Pages needing attention

Please reply on my message boards! Larsona 18:59, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you. I'll see what I can find there. I may even wander on over to the Village Pump later, for a chat with the techies. Thanks again. ClaretAsh 03:05, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

miscellaneous

This morning i am attempting to locate information concerning a photo that i located when researching a specific suybject. The subject in question is as follows. while researching military "parachutists badges of the world",i, was shown a picture with the necessary information being searched , I am attempting to locate any information as to were this poster in the picture might be located as it is to be a gift for someone retiring from the military. Are you able to provide me with any assistance or direction?12:54, 22 October 2011 (UTC)68.9.147.58 (talk)

I suspect you're referring to the image in the Wikipedia article Parachutist Badge. If that is the case, you can find further information about that image at its page on Wikimedia Commons, here. Unfortunately, the person who uploaded that iamge no longer appears to be an active user. Nonetheless, you might still be able to contact them via their talk page, located here. Best of luck. Regards, ClaretAsh 13:35, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

why was the reference i added removed

why was the reference i added to rolex sea dweller removed, it was new well researched and detailed information — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikivdb (talk • contribs) 13:30, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Because you were adding links to blogs, which are not regarded as reliable sources for an article. --Orange Mike | Talk 13:40, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Why was the link to the website removed ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikivdb (talk • contribs) 16:36, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Read what Orange Mike said, blogs are not allowed to be linked to for a reference. -- AGWolfpack55 | 17:41, 22 October 2011

Creating an article with no references

Is it appropriate to create an article with no references and hope that that will attract people looking at the article to add references and more information, or are you supposed to just put an article request in on the appropriate pages and hoping it gets made by someone else?500Afs (talk) 15:23, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

There are a very few very obviously notable subjects that could be reasonably accepted without references. The vast majority of those subjects already have articles, so chances are your topic is not one of those subjects. It might help if you told us the subject in which you are interested in writing. Powers ^T 15:34, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

It is never appropriate. It will sometimes be effective though, and other times not depending on the subject. Is your question related to Afghan Baseball?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:48, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes.500Afs (talk) 16:24, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Capitalization error in the Title

Hello, I entered a biography page for Jens Klok but the last name in the entry was not capitalized. I cannot seem to be able to change the small (k) to a capital (K). Can that be corrected? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Venturawiki (talk • contribs) 16:54, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Looks like User:GB fan corrected it for you. For future reference, you can visit WP:MOVE about moving an article. -- Luke (Talk) 17:01, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Alternative for Reflinks

hello,

I search an alternative tool for Reflinks, which isn't working correctly. Thanks.--♫GoP♫_T^C_{N 21:05, 22 October 2011 (UTC)}

Can you be a little more specific? What are you looking for? A way to cite a outside source? If so, you can just use the template tools for that. For a link, I would put it in one bracket and [(URL) what you want it to say]. It will look like this with the example of wikipedia:

Wikipedia

Thats what I find works. If you can be more specific, maybe I can get a little closer to what you want.

Larsona 22:28, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

No, I am not that stupid. I need a tool which converts bare urls into {{cite web}}, {{cite news}}, {{cite journal}}, etc. For example <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&action=edit&section=43]</ref> into <ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&action=edit&section=43...}}</ref>. Of course I know how to put external links. The creator isn't very active, and hasn't answered on the talk page. This tool has just too much errors, some of the issues were pointed out on the talk page, including the error in which the tool put the work into the "publisher=" parameter, which is totally incorrect.--♫GoP♫_T^C_{N 10:13, 23 October 2011 (UTC)}

User:Citation bot? It's the only one I can find off hand. I can't vouch for how well it works though. Яehevkor ✉ 11:10, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

I just tested out reflinks on Watch and it seems to be working. I do however see some bug reports at User talk:Dispenser/Reflinks. I know of no proper alternative tool. User:AndyZ/peerreviewer.js will convert naked urls, if they are in ref tags, to cite web only and will try to recognize and convert other information into the fields such as title and date if they are provided by the citer but it will not mine the external source for data to fill in.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:01, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for that script. It seems to be working, but you can see that it doesn't correct all bare urls, just a few. On Halloween (1978 film), it didn't do it for all references, just for one, although it has a lot of bare urls.--♫GoP♫_T^C_{N 12:21, 23 October 2011 (UTC)}

Tab:Talk or Discussion

A number of years ago I was part of a group trying to get consensus to change the "Discussion" tab to "Talk" because that's what everyone calls the pages. We were shut down hard. I just noticed today that User pages now have "Talk" tab instead of a "Discussion" tab, though all the other pages, as far as I have checked, are still "Discussion". First, does anybody know when this happened and why now? Second, does this signal a new attitude towards the talk pages of users? Was this discussed somewhere that I just missed? Thanks Bielle (talk) 21:09, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Page top tabs and [5]. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:44, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you, PrimeHunter. Interesting how just the passage of time (and the intervention of the techs) brings about something that I thought would have been argued about forever. Bielle (talk) 00:27, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

article shows old version

According to the version history of Magic: The Gathering, ClueBot reverted some vandalism on Oct 18 (repeated "GAY"); when I visit the page, it is still there. Why is that? --MarioS (talk) 22:23, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Try to bypass your cache or purge the page. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:25, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

How to restrict access to a user subpage

I want to find a way for me to have protection on one of my pages so that only me (the account creator) and I'm open to admins, being able to see the page. Is there such a protection?

Larsona 22:38, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Generally, no. What would be the purpose of such protection? "If you do not want your writing to be edited, used, and redistributed at will, then do not submit it here" applies just as much to a user subpage as to anywhere else. This is not Facebook or LiveJournal; you do not own any of the space here for use only by you. --Orange Mike | Talk 22:42, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

If you want a private page which still uses Wiki markup, you'll need to create your own wiki - see MediaWiki for information about that. Otherwise, you'll have to use off-wiki means to store information which only you can see/edit -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\^{[alternative account of Phantomsteve]} 05:17, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

It seems user:Larsona is trying to discourage other people from editing their user or talk pages. It is currently a confusing mess of links to other subpages, and each page has a request to "Do not post here" or similar wording; something I, and I suspect most others, will ignore if a message needs to be left. I notice they have also spent some time creating templates for use on these subpages. If someone wants their own templates, shouldn't they be stored in the user or user talk space rather then the main template space? Astronaut (talk) 11:49, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

I've turned down previous requests to protect Larsona's user and talk pages - he gave a very peculiar reason. He claims to offer some facility to check people's edits. If he doesn't like them, he claims he will report them to an admin. He doesn't want IPs to use this facility. Elen of the Roads (talk) 11:56, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

What is the benefit to the project of this confusing morass of sub-pages? It seems the aim is to make conversation with this editor difficult. --Cameron Scott (talk) 11:59, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

October 23

Move page back to original titled page.

Actor is going back to using previous credited name Cal Rein. Move page: Cal Giardina To new previous title: Cal Rein Eyephoto08 (talk) 02:42, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

The best place for requests such as this is at WP:Requested moves. Though, even then you'll need to provide a reliable source for why the article should be moved to the other name. Dismas|^(talk) 02:45, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Adding images

I have uploaded the image "Matched.jpg" and now don't know how to put it into the article Matched. MyKingdom200 (talk) 11:44, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

I've fixed it, but you may need to clarify the copyright status of the uploaded image. - David Biddulph (talk) 12:04, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Are two references enough for a biography article?

I am new to Wikipedia and have recieved the "This article is an orphan complaint". I have added two new references and three external links. Please look over the article and see whether it has become reliable enough to not be deleted or I should add more references. Thanks. My Article : Shamim Haider Tirmazi — Preceding unsigned comment added by Intermediate-Hacker (talk • contribs) 12:42, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

You haven't actually included any references in your article as inline citations; look at WP:CITE. The orphan tag is saying that no other articles have links to your article. - David Biddulph (talk) 12:58, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I have now added inline references. Though I don't think there is anything I can do about my article being an orphan. Do orphan articles get deleted? 82.178.82.229 (talk) 14:20, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Orphan articles do not get deleted. —Jeremy v^_^v ^{Components:V S M} 16:21, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

No, there's nothing wrong with orphaned articles; but usually it means that there are places which readers might find the article from, but they can't. See WP:ORPH. --ColinFine (talk) 18:02, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Changing article name

Hi, I've written an article about two artists called 'Bonafide', however as other pages exist with the same name I called the article Bonafide (Manchester), but I think Bonafide (Maz and Ziggy) is more relevant. I don't seem to be able to change the name though, help please! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bia-17 (talk • contribs) 16:07, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Where do you think you have saved it? Bonafide (Manchester) doesn't exist, and your contribution record was blank before the question above. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:54, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

It was speedily deleted as an A7 by me. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:05, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

It got speedied. The redlink Bonafide_(Manchester) has a template explaining the deletion. Roger (talk) 18:05, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

• If Orange Mike had bothered to leave a message on the article creator's talk page it might have removed some confusion. Still, such basic courtesy has never been a feature of his use of deletion tools. Likewise, just posting "deleted as an A7" doesn't help anyone who isn't sad enough to have memorised all the speedy codes. DuncanHill (talk) 18:20, 23 October 2011 (UTC)
• I'll add to that - nobody bothered to explain to the original creator what was thought to be wrong with the article, thus denying him the chance to improve it. Very poor show. DuncanHill (talk) 18:21, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Frank Sinatra's song

Hello! What's the name of the Frank Sinatra song, played in the ending of this commercial? Doncsecz^talk 17:25, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Hello, please direct this question to the Entertainment Reference Desk where the users will be more equipped to answer your question. Happy editing, hajatvrc with WikiLove @ 17:35, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Logged out

Why am I loged out — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.71.8.154 (talk) 19:13, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Have you tried logging in? GB fan 20:12, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

See Help:Logging in. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:00, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Tink

I've created a new dab page for Tink at Tink (disambiguation). It should really be named Tink since it is a disambiguation page with no primary topic, according to WP:DABNAME. However, when I try to move it to Tink I get the message "You cannot move a page to this location, because the new title has been protected from creation". Can you move it for me please? Thanks — Hebrides (talk) 21:41, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

I believe WP:RFUP is the correct avenue but someone here may still unprotect for you. Яehevkor ✉ 21:51, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

I have moved it. Moves needing an administratror can be listed at Wikipedia:Requested moves. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:11, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Exquisite Scents article deleted

Hello,

I just worked several hours on this article and had it deleted within minutes. I am wondering what I did wrong and is there any way that I can have it placed back on Wikipedia without having to worry about it being deleted again? I see it mentioned something about showing lack of importance, but I've read plenty of articles that did not seem to important to me. I've read an article about my old classmate who use to play college basketball and but did not get drafted. It talked about what he accomplished in college and the NBA teams he had a tryout for. The article about him was much shorter than the article I drafted about my company. My company is up and coming and meanwhile, my old classmate is unemployed and living with his father.

I'm just frustrated and need an explanation on how my article can be placed back on the Wikipedia. If there is no way that it can be place back on there, then please let me know, that way I won't have to waste my time trying to inform people about my company using this site.

Thanks!!!

Anthony Humphrey — Preceding unsigned comment added by Uniquehump (talk • contribs) 23:20, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

The article was deleted as it failed the notability criteria as detailed here. WP:CORP gives more detail on what the Wikipedia guidelines consider as "notable" for a company; in particular note that the company must have "significant coverage in reliable, independent secondary sources." The article as you created it does not mention any coverage at all in any sources. One of the things that Wikipedia is not is a vehicle for promotion of anything, including companies. There are further problems; your username appears to indicate that you are intimately connected with the company (both the "key people" you mention in the article are named "Humphrey") which falls foul of the conflict of interest guidelines at WP:COI. In a nutshell, please don't (as you put it) waste any more of your time trying to use Wikipedia as a vehicle to "inform people about your company" (as an advertising medium, in other words). Best of luck in your venture, but you'll have to get advertising space elsewhere. As for "XYZ has an article, so why don't I?" please see WP:OSE. Tonywalton ^Talk 23:46, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

October 24

Subjects of a Photo I took.

My wife took a photo some years ago of my sister & her husband, and posted it on Flickr, then added it to a Wikipedia article on the RCMP (They are RCMP officers and were posing for family photos). When they discovered their photos were being used in the Wikipedia, they asked me to take it down, stating that they had allowed us to take photos only for personal use.

The Photo in question is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RCMP_with_serge.jpg

How do I request it for deletion? I have already reverted it's rights on Flickr.