Wikipedia:Help desk

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May 14

blue background on pages makes wikipedia hard to read :(

Just some user experience feedback - the blue background on the wiki pages now makes it very hard to read the material, particularly blue link text on blue background. Silly, get rid of it. The content is why we're here - and it, along with the rest of wikipedia is EXCELLENT: WELL DONE EVERYONE :) (but please - get rid of the blue background! :( — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.181.251.131 (talk) 00:45, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Hey, the blue background you are seeing is actually a problem caused by Google Chrome. If the zoom isn't set to 100% the page appears to have a blue background. Reset your zoom and it should be fine. Ryan Vesey Review me! 00:47, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

infobox picture

Hi I'm adding a wiki page for a school assignment and can't figure out how to make the image show up in the infobox for a play. I have typed in absolutely everything and nothing ever shows up besides the file name. Right now I have written next to image, File:2587.jpg but i've tried so many variations of this and nothing has worked. The page is due by tuesday so I'd really appreciate a quick answer. Thanks!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Michellekravets (talk • contribs) 01:29, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

The syntax for including pictures in an infobox is a bit different than outside of infoboxes. See Help:Infobox picture for details on how to use pictures in infoboxes. --Jayron32 01:36, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

As best as I can tell, the problem your having is that there is no image on wikipedia or commons with the name your trying to use. Have you uploaded it yet? Monty₈₄₅ 01:39, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Also, as an aside, make sure the content you decide to work on as a school project does not violate WP:COI, or fail any other reasonable standards. Cheers, C_(u)w_(t)C_(c) 02:33, 18 May 2012 (UTC).

Question about Protection

I noticed this on my Watchlist when I logged in tonight:

17:10, May 12, 2012 NawlinWiki (talk | contribs) protected User:Swinquest‎ ‎[edit=autoconfirmed] (indefinite) ‎[move=sysop] (indefinite) (Persistent sock puppetry) (hist)

I have only begun to become more active with Wikipedia, therefore, will you please explain this to me? Thank you!! swinquest (talk) 04:22, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

NawlinWiki has protected your user page against being edited by IP editors and users who are not auto confirmed, and protected the page against being moved by anyone who is not an admin. All that effects is your user page, not your account or any other page in your userspace. You can edit the page because you are autoconfirmed, (more then 10 edits total, and account older then 4 days) in the very unlikely event you ever want to move your userpage, you would need an admin to either do it, or unprotect it first. Monty₈₄₅ 04:30, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Update an image

I wanted to make a change to this SVG file due to recent events in Parliament: File:Australian House of Reps April 2012 Rect.svg

I downloaded it, made the edit ... but then couldn't work out how to upload the revised version. There's a "Create" button but that didn't seem to do what's required. How do I upload the revised version? The name of the resource should remain the same. Ordinary Person (talk) 04:54, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Scratch that, someone showed me ... click on "Upload new version" down the bottom.Ordinary Person (talk) 05:32, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

error on graph of “World’s Most Expensive Cities..."

Hello Line 67 of the first graph has an error. That line on Abu Dhabi seems to need to change the arrow and color coding to go up rather than down and be green rather than red. I didn’t want to try to fix a graph. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.55.159.52 (talk) 05:22, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I fixed both the arrow and the value for Abu Dhabi on List_of_most_expensive_cities_for_expatriate_employees#Mercer. Ravilov (talk) 07:36, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Reliable sources for BLP's

Is there anything that says that a local newspaper is not a reliable source for use in a BLP like User:Salimfadhley stated when he removed information with this edit? Ryan Vesey Review me! 06:20, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Try WP:RSN.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:26, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Uploading a replacement picture

Time for my first contribution. I made an improved version of Cycle_of_pulsed_gamma_rays_from_the_Vela_pulsar.gif. I used the same source as the original GIF, but I think my version is a better conversion and resembles the original video more closely. I made two variants, one that matches the original GIF resolution (226 by 169), and one that matches the resolution of the source video (592 by 592). Here are the images: original from wiki (54 kB), new (383 kB), new, full-res (2.3 MB). (For reference, here's also the source video.)
Now here's my problem - first of all, being a new user, I have no permission to upload files yet. Second, I'm not sure should I use low-res or full-res variant, not sure which fits the WP standards better. Full-res is obviously visually better and offers more details, but is also much larger in terms of file size which might impact loading time. Being quite new to this, I could use any tips or hints. Thanks!
Ravilov (talk) 07:25, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

You should use higher resolution variant. However it is may be better to use ogg format. Ruslik_Zero 09:14, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

You will be able to upload it once you are autoconfirmed. Please, use this link. Ruslik_Zero 09:19, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Normally yes, I would definitely consider converting the video to OGG. However in this specific case the original video shows a single cycle of an otherwise repeating event, so an infinite-loop GIF animation seemed like a better idea. Not to mention, GIFs normally have far less compatibility and usability issues across various browsers and systems than video files (a plugin or an external player is sometimes required for OGG playback, while virtually all web browsers support GIFs natively).

I'm not quite sure if I should use the upload wizard since I want to replace an existing item rather than create a new one. Should I use the upload wizard anyway?

Ravilov (talk) 12:14, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I would upload it as a slightly different name, "Cycle of pulsed gamma rays from the Vela pulsar hi res" or "Cycle of pulsed gamma rays from the Vela pulsar adapted" for example. And yes I would use the UploadWizard on Commons. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 12:48, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

OK, as suggested I uploaded the image under a different name and then edited a few articles to link to the new image. So far so good, that works fine. Now here's a problem - for some reason the image's thumbnail is not animated, unlike the original image. I tried purging, didn't help. For examples see here or even here. I have no idea what I did wrong.

Ravilov (talk) 12:47, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Twinkle

Is it okay to use Twinkle by merely selecting it from Gadgets.Using it for first time.Lankancats (talk) 08:46, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Yes, it is OK (if you satisfied with the default settings). Ruslik_Zero 09:10, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Missing references list in War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

I noticed that the reference list and further reading section at the w:War in Afghanistan (2001–present) are missing. Where are they? --P3Y229 09:17, 14 May 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by P3Y229 (talk • contribs)

Probably the Post-expand include size has been exceeded. You need to reduce the number of references. Ruslik_Zero 09:25, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Warning: Template include size is too large. Some templates will not be included. → i've started a thread on the talkpage: Talk:War in Afghanistan (2001–present)#Template limit. benzband (talk) 09:56, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

British police DIRTY game...

<Post removed>— Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.173.27.11 (talk) 11:38, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I have removed your massive post which included all manner of personal details apparently about yourself and others. I'm not sure where you think you are but this material does not belong here. You are at Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia and this page is a help desk for asking questions about using the encyclopedia. If you have s specific knowledge question you can ask it at the reference desk, but I suspect that you read one of our encyclopedia article and thought we were the homesite of the subject of the article, rather than an encyclopedia with an article on the topic you read about.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:52, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

How does one go about getting feedback on an article?

article feedback form

I was browsing today, and I came across a feedback form that had been placed on the Eduardo Saverin article (see pic, left arrow), but I couldn't figure out how it had got there. How does one go about placing it on a page? Specifically, I want it to be placed on Effect of spaceflight on the human body, which I have expanded greatly recently. On another note, how does one go about getting the little 'improve this page' button at the bottom (indicated by the right arrow)? Is it related to the feedback box? Anxietycello (talk) 12:26, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

You can add the feedback box by placing [[Article Feedback 5 Additional Articles]] at the bottom of the article. I placed it in the article you mentioned. It gets placed on many articles automatically. Wikipedia:Article Feedback Tool has info about the feedback system. I'm not sure about the "Improve" thing. I've heard of it but it's never shown up for me. Equazcion ^(talk) 12:38, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Is it okay for us to edit our own page?

Dear Sir/Madam,

We saw our own "TomTom" Wikipedia entry. We were thinking of writing more information on it, such as updating the history and showing more of the product features we introduced too.

Is this however possible? Or does it go against particular guidelines?

We also were thinking of updating our own board member entries to show what they have done in the past.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Kind Regards,

Najib — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.90.76.130 (talk) 13:56, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Take a look at WP:COI - that should have all your answers. MrLittleIrish ^(talk) 申 14:10, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Closing Editor Review

Hello i want to close my Editor review. Like when RfA's and other discussions are over they are then closed for further discussion, just like that i needed the suitable template for closing my editor review. Thanks. TheGeneralUser (talk) 14:13, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

The following should do the trick (from {{afd top}} and {{afd bottom}}):

Regards, benzband (talk) 15:11, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for your response and help Benzband, but when i put in the two templates on top and bottom this is what it shows for the editor review.

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

. What else needs to be done ? TheGeneralUser (talk) 15:30, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Was going to say move it to Wikipedia:Editor review/Archive (2012) but that's already happened. To my knowledge nothing else needs doing :) benzband (talk) 18:23, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Shortening a url

How would the following url look without the http://www.google.de/url? part?

http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=同余式2n-2≡1(mod%20n)的一些新解&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CHUQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.journals.zju.edu.cn%3A8080%2FJweb-zjulxb%2FCN%2Farticle%2FdownloadArticleFile.do%3FattachType%3DPDF%26id%3D245&ei=ow-xT_jPG4jwsgbL7tDFBg&usg=AFQjCNGwwJojdEHJzur46J83sfeYS6Oyvg

I want to save it, but the http://www.google.de/url? part triggers the f...... spam filter. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 14:16, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

http://www.journals.zju.edu.cn:8080/Jweb-zjulxb/CN/article/downloadArticleFile.do?attachType=PDF&id=245&ei=ow-xT_jPG4jwsgbL7tDFBg&usg=AFQjCNGwwJojdEHJzur46J83sfeYS6Oyvg. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:35, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 14:39, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

question about writing with correct wikipedia codes so that format looks correct to reader of Web site

Hi,

I seem to be failing to grasp one minor aspect of formatting material for Wikipedia, and the latest example is a posting I made for the entry of Eugene Field:

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

The reference I added to some new detail about Field is as follows (and I suggest that you go to the Eugene Field entry itself to see what I'm referring to, for the relevant coding for); and I've purposely messed up the initial "<" so that the following will show up as text:

ref>Rosenberg (2004). Cap Anson 2: The Theatrical and Kingly Mike Kelly: U.S. Team Sport's First Media Sensation and Baseball's Original Casey at the Bat. Tile Books. p. 438. ISBN 0-9725574-1-5., p. 123-124.</ref>

My question concerns the extra (I think) three spaces between the "Casey at the Bat." and "Tile Books" Can you tell me what's causing it? I have another Wikipedia entry that has the same problem, and even when I try to piggyback off a seemingly accurate format, that problem keeps arising.

Thanks for your help.

Cordially, Howard W. Rosenberg

Hi Howard, i can see nothing wrong there. If it's the little arrow you mean, that's perfectly normal (indicates an external link); otherwise there only seems to be one space between the "Bat." and "Tile"… maybe it appears as more than one either because of your monitor, either because of the shape of the "T" (whitespace under the outstretched arms). benzband (talk) 19:38, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I tried 5 browsers. It looks normal in Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari. IE didn't display the little arrow after the external link. Instead there is an empty space. My experimentation indicates that this happens in IE if the text displayed on the external link is split between lines. Tests:

Short text. Arrow displayed in IE.

Long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long text. Arrow not displayed in IE.

It's not about the total length of the text but about whether it crosses a line boundary. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:47, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

(This is from Howard, the poster of the original question: Thanks so much to everyone for replying; those are replies I did not expect, and now know that browsers display Wikipedia footnotes in varying ways!) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.97.167.69 (talk) 20:24, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Many things are displayed differently in different browsers. That's one of the challenges of web design. Try displaying Wikipedia in Google Chrome with Zoom level below 100%. (We get a lot of posts about that here). PrimeHunter (talk) 20:29, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Mishpacha

Hi, I tried to italicize the page name with this edit, but I see I did the wrong thing. Now I can't get rid of the quote marks around the page title. Can you help? Thanks, Yoninah (talk) 16:01, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I've moved it back, that should resolve the issue, as I see you have gotten the italicized title to work. Monty₈₄₅ 16:10, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! Yoninah (talk) 17:53, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

vacinations

we have recently found out our 5 month old daughter has been given the wrong vacination .the one given is not supposed to be given untill at least one we have been informed — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.152.144.226 (talk) 16:03, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure why you are posting that here, but we cannot give medical advice, if that is what your looking for you should talk to a doctor. Monty₈₄₅ 16:06, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 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. Roger (talk) 16:07, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

... but, to reinforce the earlier answer from Monty845, even on the reference desk Wikipedia does not give medical advice. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:02, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Audio problem

Resolved

I get no sound when I play 'this audio file on the right, either on Firefox (latest version) or on IE 8.--Bbb23 (talk) 18:40, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Neither does it work for me on Safari. I guess this is a problem with the file on Commons. Perhaps you could ask at Wikipedia:Graphic Lab if someone over there can make a new file from the original on the website and upload it. I don't know how many of the regulars there work with video files. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 19:22, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

(I moved this hear from Talk - my mistake in the first instance) Thanks, Toshio, I've left a message for the uploader and a message at Commons on the file Talk page. The sound works on the original source on the Internet.--Bbb23 (talk) 19:47, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

• I got it from original FLV in Ubuntu through ffmpeg command line tool with -i argument and in and out filenames. I've got a player Totem which played the file correctly, with sound, when I uploaded it. But it turned out to have no sound in browser when uploaded to Commons. However, when the OGV file is downloaded, Totem and VLC play it correctly. Also, I've got a "More" link which allows me to use Totem player within browser instead of "элемент <video>" default player. This is in Google Chrome. In Firefox, I have also no sound with "Native browser support (selected)" but have an option for Totem where sound works. I am unsure of trying to upload another version as this can be also a failure with sound which I can't control. If someone's able to generate better working OGV from the original FLV (it is 45Mb and my OGV is 15Mb) please help. You may want a YouTube copy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYxTMy7UW8U --ssr (talk) 20:08, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

  I recently had some file compatibility problems with File:Laptev_Vladimir_Kirillovich.jpg (see file history: the distorted icons are normal when clicked). --ssr (talk) 20:14, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

• http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html is free and should be able to convert it from .flv. It uses FLAC audio and vorbis audio may fix it.--Canoe1967 (talk) 20:19, 14 May 2012 (UTC)
• I converted a new one from the .flv link above. Slowly uploading now.--Canoe1967 (talk) 20:55, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

  Thank you very much! --ssr (talk) 20:56, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

• You are very welcome. It seems there can be audio issues with some FLAC sound. The file types project page has been edited by a tech to that effect and I added resolved tags to the all pages.--Canoe1967 (talk) 00:24, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Failure of System

Dear Staff, Friends of ours Starr & Tim Kickinwoman and their 4 yr. old "special needs" daughter put in an application at [redacted] one year and almost 2- months ago, they have paid the deposit (check of which has not been cashed) are homeless and are living with my wife and myself. They have and continue to get the 'run around'...day after day week after week. The people in charge locally seem quite irresponsible...(near the point of flagrancy). One has been diagnosed with 'Alzheimer and the other seems unable to deal with stress and in my opinion neither should be holding the positions they are in. This is the very short of the story. We live 5-miles out of town and have one running vehicle and they have none. We are pleased to 'temporarily' provide for them...but really.......SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR THIS LOVING FAMILY. They do not drink or do drugs and are very kind and loving...Can you please help them, or at least find out what the problem of irresponsibility is. The problem with those in charge truly is BIZARRE. I plead and implore you to act swiftly on and in their behalf

Our address is: Bryan "CODY" Van Heel Sincerely Bryan "CODY" Van Heel — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.146.201.120 (talk) 19:52, 14 May 2012 (UTC) Please do not include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you want them to be permanently removed from the page history, please email this address. Monty₈₄₅ 19:58, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

• It sounds like you are trying to contact the subject of a Wikipedia article, unfortunately we cannot help you with what ever problem your having with them. This is the help desk for help editing Wikipedia, not for help unrelated to editing. Monty₈₄₅ 19:58, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 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. Roger (talk) 20:07, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

i need urgent assistancepls

please help me, my samsung galaxy note is locked, the only thing they are asking for is my google accoung and password which i have saved in thesame locked phone — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.206.12.36 (talk) 20:26, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Have you tried the Computing section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:35, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

But, as a helpful hint, I'd recommend using someone else's laptop/phone/device and use the "I forgot my username/password" link on any Google login page :-) MyNameWasTaken (talk) 20:36, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Adminship

Why have so many people objected to my adminship? Also, how do I use wikicode? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dannyboy1209 (talk • contribs) 21:01, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Seems like a self-answering question, but you might consider reading the comments at your (now closed) RFA. Acroterion (talk) 21:07, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

For a few reasons.

1. You have not been here long enough for people to trust you.

2. You have engaged in vandalism.

3. Fair use images in your userspace.

4. Less than 1000 edits.

5. 1/2 of your edits are building your user page.

6. No work in admin areas...

The list goes on. Read this essay. And to learn wikicode you should get a mentor. Hghyux (talk to me)(talk to others) 21:09, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Help with archiving a talk page

Can someone help with creating an archive for a talk page? I want to archive some old discussions on lemon but I am confused. What is the best practice for archiving these old discussions? JoshuSasori (talk) 23:51, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

I suggest bot archiving, its a little bit of setup, but then you can forget about it. See: User:MiszaBot/Archive HowTo or User:ClueBot_III#How_to_archive_your_page. Probably you will want to set the archive time to 3 months due to the low activity, for example with MiszaBot you add: {{User:MiszaBot/config | algo = old(90d) | archive = Talk:Lemon/Archive }} to the page. Monty₈₄₅ 00:00, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

I've tweaked the archiving at Talk:Lemon. (1) The bot doesn't work correctly if you enter the parameters all on one line as displayed here; (2) This simplest form of archiving will lead to the archive page growing without limit. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:38, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks Monty845 and John of Reading for your help. I am looking forward to some automatic cleanup of that page. I guess the robot is busy so it doesn't happen immediately. JoshuSasori (talk) 00:14, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Peter Craven

Hello everyone - this article says he was "0" years old when he died which barring some kind of weird temporal anomaly isn't very likely. I've had a gander at the old infobox and tried to fix it but it's a bit beyond me I'm afraid - can some bright spark with a bit more of a handle on the old syntax take a peek? Much obliged! Quintessential British Gentleman (talk) 23:55, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Fixed.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 00:04, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Much obliged - somehow I completely failed to notice that the birth and death year were the same! Quintessential British Gentleman (talk) 00:12, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

May 15

DNA haplotype of my ancestor

I would like to report an error regarding my ancestor Somerled. I am from the Macdonald Clan and I have DNA evidence that the information provided about Somerled's DNA haplotype is untrue. Somerled had an R1b haplotype and his father was descended from the High Kings of Ireland. He was from Clan Cholla according to our Macdonald history. There had been much misleading information published on the internet regarding his genealogy because the so called 'Chief' of Clan Ranald has an R1a haplotype. This is a blatant attempt to verify his decent from Somerled however we have DNA evidence which proves this is not true. I would like to challenge this information and all of the references to Somerled regarding him having an R1a haplotype and a Norse Father. This is absolutely not the case and is contradictory to all legitimate published information from reputable sources. Somerled was R1b. I will be getting some references together to support this but in the mean time I would like to strongly advise you not to publish defamatory information about our ancestor. If you would like to find out more about our DNA then please contact me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Moidart (talk • contribs) 01:09, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

If you have a reliable source, you can fix the article yourself, or make a suggestion on the article's talk page. Please read the conflict of interest policy before editing. RudolfRed (talk) 02:06, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Protected page warning.

Occasionally when I return to a book I was reading the screen shows a protected page warning and I cannot get back to the book. The only solution is to delete/return the book to the library and then download it again. Is there an answer to this problem? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.152.248.191 (talk) 09:46, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Have you tried the computing section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps.Template:Z38--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:42, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Too many cooks spoil the broth

I had welcomed a new user and his talkpage was on my watchlist. Recently he was wrongly reverted by several (sloppy vandal fighters) due to an apparent lack of edit summaries in his edits, following which I had left a short message about the benefits of edit summary on User_talk:TheBestZebra#Edit_Summary. Now two other users (one of whom had wrongly reverted him) joined the party with irrelevant text and took nonexistent sides, and the end result was the user was left utterly confused. I am not interested in adding another comment over there for fear of continuing a mindless debate, but I also pity the poor User:TheBestZebra, Someone intrested in handling the newbies can take a look over there, regards-- ÐℬigXЯaɣ 13:07, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

It seems to have been resolved now. AndieM (Am I behaving?) 13:22, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

• I am not sure about that perhaps a concluding note to end the discussion from an uninvolved user would be a better idea. but thats my opinion. thanks for the reply-- ÐℬigXЯaɣ 13:26, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

• UPDATE: sloppy vandal fighting and put the blame on BOTs [2] apparently one of the above user is misguiding new users about bot in an attempt to hide his mistake. -- ÐℬigXЯaɣ 13:26, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

He must have just misclicked with Igloo on its advice. He has apologised for his mistakes so I don't see why this should continue any longer. As for TheBestZebra, since the edition of his talk page you linked his concerns have been addressed. AndieM (Am I behaving?) 14:05, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

reliable sources

My article keeps getting declined because of reliable sources, even though all of my links are to valid news articles from sources like Crain's Detroit Business, the University of Michigan, the Michigan Daily, and Ann Arbor Area Business Monthly. Does anyone have any suggesstions on what I should do to get this article published? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sean P. Dougherty (talk • contribs) 13:37, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

I see you figured out how to a request a new review.[3] The old review was from 28 April when there were no sources. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:50, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Purge

Hi. I tried to purge this file so the correct thumbnail is shown on the wiki page, but to no prevail. It worked on the german wiki, but not here and not on the french wiki. Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers. --Avaholic 15:21, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

I'm seeing the adjusted version in the thumbnail, if your still getting the old version, try opening the thumbnail itself, then Actually, I'm still getting the old one on the french wiki, what I did to fix it is add ?action=purge to the url of the old thumbnail itself, sometimes that helps. Monty₈₄₅ 15:25, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

I tried that multiple times and added ?action=purge to both the thumbnail and the file on commons, no success. I just deleted my browser cache however, and guess what, it worked. Freaking Chrome. :) --Avaholic 15:31, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

The notice "This article has multiple issues" should be reworded.

Dear Wikipedia:

Often, some article will have atop its content the notice "This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page."

As a language expert, I love to see good English used in Wikipedia. And so I am writing to say that

         "This article has multiple issues."

is a very, very poor use of the word "issues".

The problem is that "issues" has many different meanings. For this reason the word "issues" is an extremely *weak* synonym for "problems".

For this reason I suggest that Wikipedia replace this sentence with one that is unambiguous and to the point, without overstatement. For instance:

          "This article has numerous aspects that might be subject to improvement."

Sincerely.

I am a frequent Wikipedia editor, but I have not found any channel other than this one remotely appropriate to convey to you this particular concern.

(Note: I prefer the British style of placing close-quotes just before commas and periods, because it is more logical than U.S. style.)

You may wish to bring this up on the talk page of the template, or just be bold and edit the template. You may wish to read the 6 years of archives of the template first though (kidding).--Canoe1967 (talk) 16:33, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

I think the word is perfectly suited for its use in the template. "Problems" is not a perfect fit for some of the template's listings, e.g., the fact that a major contributor has a COI is not exactly a "problem" that needs to be solved. Your proposed phrase above wouldn't work for the COI listing either.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:47, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

This has actually been brought up before at that talk page but consensus was against a change (the suggested change was to "problems", I think this was a year or two ago). While this use of the word "issues" is more recent, it's still common and conveys the intended message better than any suggested option thus far, even though a pedantic argument could be made that it's incorrect. PS. Your phrasing is still a little weak -- If you're a language expert, you'll probably recognize that it should be, "There are numerous aspects of this article that might be subject to improvement." Although that would still constitute sacrificing succinctness and clarity in favor of pedantic accuracy. See Hypercorrection. PPS. Found the previous discussion: Template_talk:Multiple_issues/Archive_4#Saying_issues_when_we_mean_problems. Equazcion ^(talk) 12:31, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

How do I move my article from My Sandbox to the Main Page?

Hello, I have finished editing my article in "My Sandbox" and I am ready to submit it for consideration. Would you please help me with this? Thank you, JayceeCeejay (talk) 16:00, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Sorry but it's nowhere near ready - if you moved it now it would most likely be deleted within a few hours at most. Roger (talk) 16:40, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

User:JayceeCeejay/sandbox also seems to be a duplication of Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Steven Caras: See Them Dance. Shearonink (talk) 21:33, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

MEE TOO ::

? ie:

How do I now "create" the actual template page?

After all -- it really is cumbersome .. cutting & pasting this entire html (that I had to send to myself as an email in order for me to pre-use it now .. whenever i hit the tildes ~ thingies.. ie:

This user is from Central Otago, NZ.

Central Otago, NZ

QUIX4U (talk) 18:09, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Undoing edits

Hello, I would like to ask how can I undo an undid edit. Basically, I helped improve an album page of the artist Madonna and I improved on the sections: charts, certifications and commercial reception accompanied with so many reference links and sources which took me a long time to find, searching archives and different websites (some which were dead). Anyway, someone undid everything I improved without giving a reason and now I can't undo that user's action. I'm a bit upset since I spent a long time searching and editing that article. Is there a way to undo this? I tried and I got the message "The edit could not be undone due to conflicting intermediate edits; if you wish to undo the change, it must be done manually". Any suggestions or do I have to write it all up again? Or should I just leave it? WWETrishMickiefan (talk) 16:32, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Don't start an edit war by redoing a reverted edit. Discuss the changes on the articles talk page to buld consensus on what the content should be. See WP:BRD. RudolfRed (talk) 16:35, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Mentorship

Hello, How can I get a mentor? thanks *-Ax10m77-* (talk) 17:42, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Just put {{subst:dated adoptme}} on your userpage or choose an adopter from Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user/Adoptee's Area/Adopters and leave one of them a message on their talk page (see Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user/Adoptee's Area for more information). -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 17:53, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks *-Ax10m77-* (talk) 18:01, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Web address for my photos

I am being asked for the web address of my photos and I don't know. What is the web address of my photos?Dee128floyd (talk) 18:21, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

This question is your only edit to any project under the WikiMedia banner as a whole. You have no other edits to the English Wikipedia, any other language Wikipedia, or Wikimedia Commons. Without more information, we can't give you any answer. Did you maybe upload your photos to a hosting service such as Flickr and think that this is their support page? Dismas|^(talk) 19:14, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Update has corrupted page

I have just attempted to update a page about myself (Anna Span) as it contains incorrect information and a bad citation source and the page code has somehow got corrupted. Can you revert the page to its previous state so I can try again please?

Also, how do I get alerts when this page is changed as I obviously have a pernicious follower who is reverting my edits to the previous false information (including incorrect basic info like DOB etc)

Thanks,

Anna Span — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.229.125.231 (talk) 19:19, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

You can add the page to your watchlist. Please read the conflict-of-interest policy before editing pages about yourself or that you are connected to. RudolfRed (talk) 19:25, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Reverted as requested. - David Biddulph (talk) 19:28, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Registered users can make a watchlist. See Help:Watching pages. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:58, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

You have repeatedly removed cited information and replaced it with uncited information. This is regarded as an unconstructive edit. Furthermore, once an edit has been reverted, making the same edit again is edit warring: it should be discussed on the article's talk page before making the edit again (quite apart from the conflict of interest).

Nobody is entitled to remove properly cited information just because they don't like it; though if it makes the article unbalanced and there are independent reliable sources that give a different view, then what these sourcces say can be added as well; but you should cite them on the talk page, not in the article, because of your conflict of interest. --ColinFine (talk) 21:46, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Notice, new script for help desk regulars

I don't have a question, but I thought I would direct you to Wikipedia talk:Help desk#Help desk talkback script. It is an incredibly useful script in my opinion. Ryan Vesey Review me! 19:40, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Just a note for anyone who wishes to use this. It currently doesn't work when the talk page for an editor has not been created yet. Ryan Vesey Review me! 20:33, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

The problem was resolved. Ryan Vesey Review me! 00:14, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

I hope you won't mind if I try it out--SPhilbrick(Talk) 13:52, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Dealing with borderline vandalism

I and a few others are trying to improve a serious article. We are serious editors. A few other editors are hampering the efforts by frivolous edits, asserting that there are BLP concerns when there apparently are not, refusing to discuss the concerns they have, etc. I need some guidance in dealing with this situation. How can I get it? Lou Sander (talk) 19:43, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Read the guidance at WP:DR on how to handle disputes. RudolfRed (talk) 20:31, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

May 16

How do you make a category hidden?

Is a category automatically hidden if {{Hidden category}} is placed on the category page or does something need to be done when adding the category to a page? In addition, if an admin sees this can they modify Category:Articles that need to be wikified with reasons given to be just Category:Articles that need to be wikified with reasons given? It is on the 4th line, right after {{{reason}}} Ryan Vesey Review me! 02:04, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

I think in addition to that tag you need to follow the instructions at WP:HIDDENCAT RudolfRed (talk) 03:46, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Links

How do I make a link from an article to a specific point in another article? For example, there's an article about the basketball team Harlem Globetrotters. Wilt Chamberlain was on that team. Let's say you wanted to make a link on the Globetrotters' page to a section in the article about Wilt Chamberlain that's dedicated entirely to his career on the Harlem Globetrotters. How would you do that? (And I would just like to say that I was providing an example, this is not what I'm using it for). — Preceding unsigned comment added by TheBestZebra (talk • contribs) 02:09, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Hey, most of the time you will be linking to another section at which case you would write [[Article name#section title]] So for Wilt Chamberlain you would type [[Wilt Chamberlain#Harlem Globetrotters (1958–1959)]] which would give Wilt Chamberlain#Harlem Globetrotters (1958–1959). If you wanted it to still only say Wilt Chamberlain you would type [[Wilt Chamberlain#Harlem Globetrotters (1958–1959)|Wilt Chamberlain]] which would give Wilt Chamberlain. Ryan Vesey Review me! 02:18, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

DYK length criteria

Do timeline sections about the article's subject matter formatted kind of like this article overall count towards the length requirements? Abyssal (talk) 04:11, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

I would say that it would not count, Wikipedia:DYK#Eligibility_criteria only the prose portion of lists are counted. The timeline looks like a list to me. --kelapstick^(bainuu) 04:49, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Well, where is the boundary between list and prose? What's the difference between a history section and a timeline besides the linebreaks? Abyssal (talk) 05:13, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Autobiography

Greetings! My name is Craig Holiday Haynes. I am the oldest son of Roy Haynes and although Ive played music professionally for decades, other than bare mentions in my fathers biography (and another mention or two), there is no written evidence of me on your site. I (like most) consider your site to be of much significance in todays digital world and I therefore would like to be validated by your site more thoroughly. I understand that it is not appropriate for one do write an "auto"biography here. So what do I do? Would you do it for me, by simply going to a site such as "All about jazz (.com)" or do I need to find a professional to have it written? Thank you for your consideration, time and advice! Best regards, Craig 'Italic text' — Preceding unsigned comment added by Craigholiday (talk • contribs) 04:13, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

To have an article, the subject (you in this case) needs to be notable. See the guidelines at WP:NOTABLE, and WP:BLP. If you feel you meet those critera, you can request an article at WP:REQUEST RudolfRed (talk) 04:42, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

The most important thing you could so to increase your chances of having an article written any time soon is to identify reliable sources on your request, containing information from which an article could be written. This is not so crucial on a request where lots of reliable sources are easily found, but here, I just checked Google News Archive and Google Books and did not find much material to work from. You are in a much better position to know where you have been written about than we are. If those reliable sources do not exist, I'm afraid an article that will "stick" is not a possibility.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:54, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Keep in mind also that in every profession there are hordes of solid, reliable professionals who are just not notable enough to have articles written about them, from musicians to journalists to teachers. --Orange Mike | Talk 13:26, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Question on sandbox

On your own sandbox can others look at your sandbox or it's history, can they edit it also. Is there a way not for people to look at it cause I want to write stuff in it and highlight blue to link it to wikipedia articles it will look like a little story — Preceding unsigned comment added by Plasma laser (talk • contribs) 07:27, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Others can see your sandbox and edit it but people generally don't unless there is a problem you have stated. AndieM (Am I behaving?) 11:33, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Forgive me if I've misinterpreted your question, but it sounds as though you need to read WP:UPNO, where "extensive writings and material on topics having virtually no chance whatsoever of being directly useful to the project, its community, or an encyclopedia article" are discouraged. Wikipedia is not a Web host, and a "little story" that is unrelated to building the encyclopedia does not sound like appropriate content even in a sandbox (and especially if it's intended to remain there more or less permanently). Deor (talk) 13:08, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Dumfries, Virginia Wikipedia site

On the Dumfries, Virginia Wikipedia site the Mayor listed in the right hand block (Fred E. Yohey) passed away in November 2011. The current Mayor was elected May 1, 2012. The Mayor's name needs to be updated to Gerald M. Foreman II.

Reference: Prince William County Election Results http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/vote/Pages/Election-Results.aspx Town Elections May 1, 2012 http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/vote/Documents/ER%20Current.pdf — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.204.10.50 (talk) 08:31, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

 Done. (Since this is an encyclopedia that anyone can edit, you could have made this change yourself.) Deor (talk) 10:46, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Updated notice

Hi, I was wondering why lately the words "updated since my last visit" are appearing in green beside many edits in the page history. I thought this jargon was confined to administrator updates on Wikimedia Commons. Also, what button are the editors pushing to get this to appear? Thanks, Yoninah (talk) 09:05, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

This is one of the changes that were introduced in the most recent software update. See WP:VPT#Now getting green "updated since last visit" message in page history for some reactions. Deor (talk) 10:51, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

It doesn't appear to be a popular move. Until they get their act together, you can remove those notices now. Just add this to your skin.css page:

.updatedmarker { display: none; }

Equazcion ^(talk) 11:02, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

• Thanks, Equazcion, I think I'll do that right now. Yoninah (talk) 13:43, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Search suggestions

Hi, I really want to find out in what accordance are the "suggestions" in the search bar shown, as in, what order? For example the first article that comes up for 'A' is 'Animal', then 'Association football', 'Australia', etc. How is this determined? By article size? Popularity? What what what? Thanks. Till I Go Home (talk) 09:47, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

It is number of links to an article. --rainman (talk) 09:56, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Thank you very much. This has been irritating me for a while now, Lol. Till I Go Home (talk) 10:12, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Book Creator

Dear Help Desk,

I am having a problem with the option "Book Creator". I can bring up the book I have already created, with all of the added pages, but when I then search for a new article that I wish to add to the book, I often do not get the option at the top of the page to add the page to the book. Is there something I am doing wrong, or is this a bug in Wikipedia?

Andrew Carroll, Dublin, Ireland — Preceding unsigned comment added by Artwarden (talk • contribs) 11:05, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia Loading Issue

Earlier this morning, I tried going on Wikipedia, only to have it either not load completely, or not load at all. I use Firefox, and until this morning, the site was loading fine. Nothing has changed with my computer, so I am asking what is wrong with the site in that it is now loading oddly on Firefox, if it loads at all. Note that all other sites I go to are working fine. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.89.104.255 (talk) 11:13, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

I just tried it with Firefox 11.0, and it works fine. Which version is yours? AndieM (Am I behaving?) 11:36, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

There were some server problems earlier. Try clearing your cache (usually Ctrl-F5) to resolve any lingering issues. Equazcion ^(talk) 11:48, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, I was at school and didn't know that. AndieM (Am I behaving?) 11:49, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

No apology necessary, we all fill in each other's blanks :) Equazcion ^(talk) 11:53, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

I tried to clear my cache. That didn't work. I use Firefox 3.6, but that shouldn't matter, because like I said, up until that time, it was loading fine. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.89.104.255 (talk) 12:58, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

posting my own original literary works

how do I post my own original literary works, e.g., prose, adages, axioms etc I want to make public on wiki RobertOnTheRocks (talk) 13:26, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Check out the sister project wikisource--SPhilbrick(Talk) 13:38, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia Loading Issue Continued

Since I do not know how to reply to the users in my previous question, "Wikipedia Loading Issue", I will repost with updated information.

Earlier this morning, I tried going on Wikipedia, only to have it either not load completely, or not load at all. I use Firefox, and until this morning, the site was loading fine. Nothing has changed with my computer, so I am asking what is wrong with the site in that it is now loading oddly on Firefox, if it loads at all. Note that all other sites I go to are working fine.

I tried to clear my cache. That didn't work, as Wikipedia was still loading oddly. I use Firefox 3.6, but that shouldn't matter, because like I said, up until that time, it was loading fine. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.89.104.255 (talk) 13:47, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

To reply to a question, click the "edit" link next to the title for that question. I've been seeing Wikipedia page errors intermitently also, but not so far today. The problem might be on Wikipedia's end and not your browser. RudolfRed (talk) 16:53, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

He had replied to his earlier post; he just wanted fresh users to respond. AndieM (Am I behaving?) 13:21, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Apparently there were still more server issues when he was asking this, but now they have apparently been resolved :) See Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#Error on loading page (2) for the discussion. PS. WP:VPT is a good place to check for current technical issues in the future, or to post new ones if you don't find them there already. Equazcion ^(talk) 13:31, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Feedback

Hi, just a bit of feedback:

If you're going to go to the trouble of having a massive advertising campaign (such as the one that uses various people's photos at the top of every Wikipedia page) you might want to make the photos less creepy. Seriously. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.5.156.252 (talk) 14:55, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Ralph Nader

What is Ralph Nader doing today, and where is he. Miss his commentations. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.46.32.246 (talk) 17:29, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Maybe the Ralph Nader article will help, though I doubt it contains his day-to-day schedule. I'm also not aware that Ralph Nader has ever commented on Wikipedia. Astronaut (talk) 17:59, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

I assume the questioner meant today as in these days. You could possibly do a google news search [4]. Ryan Vesey Review me! 22:08, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

How do I mark two pages as translations of one another?

Tire balance is the English version of the Russian page Балансировка колеса, but one does not appear under the "Languages" rubric of the other. how do I fix that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 8.18.54.254 (talk) 20:17, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

You can add [[ru:Балансировка колеса]] to the English page, or [[en:Tire balance]] to the Russian one. (I believe that you only need to add on of these and a bot will add the other, but I'm not certain). This can go anywhere in the article, but you'll find existing language links all together near the end, and should add it in that list. --ColinFine (talk) 22:05, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

wrong info for sister sledge

Correct birth dates, Debbie 7-9-54, Joni 9-13 56 Kim 8-21-57 Kathy 1- 6-59 ADD! Sister Sledge has close to a billion digital downloads of their music Take out that Kathy is our lead singer and report that she left sister sledge to pursue a solo career 24 years ago, ADD Sister Sledge has over one hundred awards and commendations. ADD We are family won a Grammy for song of the year and ADD Sister Sledge;s African Eyes CD won a Grammy nomination for best produced CD — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.35.33.79 (talk) 23:07, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Please use the article's talk page to make change suggestions. Be sure to read the policy on conflict of interest and reliable sources. RudolfRed (talk) 23:19, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

May 17

Sultan

Good evening, In describing a word (in this case sultan) it would seem to be useful to show it's firts use or origin if possible.

The first person called "sultan" was Mahmud of Ghazni, over 1000 years ago, who led the Ghaznavid "empire". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.225.106 (talk) 01:52, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Please use the article's talk page (Talk:Sultan) to make change suggestions. Be sure to read the policies on reliable sources and neutral point-of-view. --Orange Mike | Talk 01:58, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not a dictionary. Articles are about subjects, not about words. In this case, what you suggest might be relevant, but history of a word is not necessarily significant in an article about a subject. In any case, follow OrangeMike's suggestion. --ColinFine (talk) 08:19, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

adding star name

I just used Star Deeds to name a star. I see the constellation on one of your pages and a list of its stars. I don't see our star's longitude and latitude listed, it is probably not a "notable" star. But it is now name after me and another person.

The information on the deed:Be it known to all that the Star herein designated in the scientifically renowned SAO Star Catalog as 110052 Cetus and residing within the boundaries of the constellation Cetus "The Sea Monster" is hereby named in honor as Mike & Susie's Star The Star's astronomically verified position is Right Ascension 01h 40m 51.26s, Declination +00° 24' 35.5", Type F8, Magnitude 8.9, Distance Unknown The public record is listed in The Millennium Chronicle on the World Wide Web at www.starcatalog.com and is copyrighted with the United States government. A duplicate of the star record is maintained in a secure vaulted location.

How can I add it to the Wiki page for Cetus' Stars. Or since I am not good at editing pages, would you please just do it for me. It would truly be lots faster for all us.

We named the star using http://www.stardeed.com/digitaldeed.html.

It is not really advertising if you don't name them, but we officially have a star that is copyrighted.

Thank you for your help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Susiii2u2 (talk • contribs) 02:07, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

 Not doneThose and all similar schemes have no official or scientific status; they are not notable, and are not to be inserted into any article. --Orange Mike | Talk 03:11, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

How can any rational person think that it is possible to copyright a star? Ridiculous... AndyTheGrump (talk) 03:13, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

That is not the point. It is the romance. Hope you find someone too. So you look up at the stars and know that a loved one 2 states away looks up and sees it too. It hurts nothing and adds some love and fun. Not a bad thing. So romantic. We are not going up there and planting flags and colonizing it. Just being romantic. What fun. What love. Wish some on you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Susiii2u2 (talk • contribs) 07:25, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Please read Star designation#Sale of star names. Singularity42 (talk) 03:19, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Also consider that only about 5,000 stars are bright enough to be visible to the naked eye, and that these bogus "star naming" scams have "named" many, many times more stars than that. Even allowing for duplications between the various rival companies, nearly all the stars they "name" for gullible customers cannot be seen without a telescope. From personal experience, the "maps" they sometimes provide to their customers may be incomprehensible, and the stars therefore unidentifiable, even to experienced amateur or professional astronomers. </rant> {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 84.21.143.150 (talk) 12:13, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Star#magnitude 8.9 is not visible to the naked eye, SAO 110052 Cetus is not currently listed in the Millennium Chronicle at http://www.starcatalog.com/catalog.html, and I get no Google hits on "Mike & Susie's Star". Even if you could produce a verifiable listing it wouldn't belong in Wikipedia. But if the romance works then good for you. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:26, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

No mention of American Medical Research Expedition to Everest (AMREE) 1981

AMREE was focussed on research in human physiology at high altitude. Not only was the research very successful, but the Expedition placed 4 people on the summitt.Ref: "Everest, Testing Place" by John West.

Thanks, John Evans AMREE Climbing Leader (ret) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.9.3.5 (talk) 04:05, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

If you have reliable sources to back up the information you could be bold and add it yourself to Timeline of climbing Mount Everest and possibly Mount Everest. Just make sure you look at Wikipedia's conflict of interest guidelines first. Ryan Vesey Review me! 04:10, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Login error

When I try to log into my account, after I entered my login details and click the Login-button I get an error saying

[43ab6fce] 2012-05-17 08:55:45: Fatal exception of type MWException

What is the problem and what can I do? 87.168.255.187 (talk) 08:58, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Funny, it works again now. I've no idea what the problem was. 87.168.255.187 (talk) 09:00, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I had the same problem trying to edit a page, but it's back to normal now. Bencherlite^Talk 09:02, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Broken AfD log

The page Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2012 May 16 is broken from Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Log/2012_May_16#River_Skerne downwards: there's a big blue box that goes to the bottom of the page, including about 50 articles, rather than just going around the closed River Skerne AfD which I think is what was intended. Sorry, but I've no idea how to fix it. --Colapeninsula (talk) 09:29, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Fixed. "subst" must be followed by a colon, not by a vertical bar. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:33, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! --Colapeninsula (talk) 12:51, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

movie Stars In My Crown

It was stated that in the movie Stars In My Crown James Arness was uncredited but this is now true. I would like you to edit this and change this.√ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.83.176.202 (talk) 10:19, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Hi. Do you have a reference which confirms this information? Cheers, Nikthestoned 14:12, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

My page is not being searched on wikipedia

Hello,

Sorry for bothering but i am facing a weird problem and thought to discuss with you.

I am sure you can track my pages on wikipedia through my login details. We had recently updated our pages at "pictofigo".

Although google search result shows the Pictofigo pages of wikipedia but when we try to search "Pictofigo" on wikipedia search the pages doesn't show up. Is there any specific reason to do so? Or is it that i am doing something wrongly.

Please advise so that we can make corrections and our pages shows up on wikipedia search as well.

Look forward to hear from you.

Regards,

p! Pictofigo — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pictofigo (talk • contribs) 12:25, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

The default in Wikipedia search is to search only in article space, and there isn't an article Pictofigo, but if you change the search option to "Everything" it will pick up your user page User:Pictofigo. You do, however, need to read a number of Wikipedia's policies, including WP:SPAM, WP:COI, and WP:CORPNAME. - David Biddulph (talk) 12:33, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Note, I just removed the information on that page due to the above mentioned policies... Nikthestoned 12:34, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Speedy delete template not showing on image

I moved a file and have attempted to flag the redirect page with a speedy tag. However, File:Sunset5.JPG is still showing as a redirect page even with the {{db-f2}} tag present... Any ideas why this might be happening? Cheers, Nikthestoned 12:26, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I tried deleting and adding it again using Twinkle, but for some reason it doesn't seem to work. AndieM (Am I behaving?) 13:15, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Weird! User:RHaworth appears to have found and deleted it regardless! Cheers for taking a look though. Nikthestoned 14:05, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Referencing two different pages in the same paper

Suppose I have two statements which are cited to two different pages in the same paper. Is it somehow possible to create one reference (for example using {{Citation}} or {{Cite journal}}) and easily identify which specific pages are being referenced? I don't want to use Harvnb and Sfn. I want to have something like

<ref>{{Citation | last1=Dilcher | first1=K. | last2=Skula | first2=L. | title=A new criterion for the first case of Fermat's last theorem | journal=Math. Comp. | volume=64 | issue=209 | page1=363 | page2=388 | jstor=2153341 | publisher=AMS | year=1995}}</ref>

where I can link to each of the page parameters (highlighted through embolding) without having the reference appearing two times in the reference section. Is something like that possible? -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 12:53, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't think we have anything that will let you create two footnotes that link to the same reference in two different ways, as far as I know; and if I'm understanding you right. You would have to use page=363,388 and link (plainly) to the same reference both times, or create two different references. Equazcion ^(talk) 13:04, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Does {{Rp}} work for you? Ryan Vesey Review me! 13:08, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

It appears I'm mistaken (happily) :) Equazcion ^(talk) 13:09, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Thank you Ryan. I tested it here at it works great. And also thanks Equazcion for your help, much appreciated. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 13:36, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Overlapping geo coordinates

Could someone who knows about geographical coordinates please take a look at River Cole, West Midlands. In Firefox I am seeing two different overlapping coords at the top of the page, presumably caused by both the mouth and the source being defined in the infobox? Thanks.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 13:53, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Both had the "title" parameter specified, so they were both set to display at the top. I removed that parameter from one set of coordinates, so only one would display at the top. My choice was arbitrary though, if there's a standard one that's used for the title display anyone can switch it, cause I'm not privy. Equazcion ^(talk) 13:57, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Serial killers

Why do we categorize people as serial killers without any reliable sources? I understand, this is not a BLP, but it seems weird to me to categorize someone as a serial killer who confessed after being stretched on the rack. We have a source that claims he confessed before "actual" torture commenced (the rack does not count for some strange reason), but that source was written a couple of hundred years later. The method of execution seems to be an indication that he was not treated very kindly, and that treatment may have contributed to his decision to confess. This guy also confessed he had sex with a female demon sent to him by Satan. Should we trust his confessions? Should we make a distinction between convicted serial killers and alleged serial killers? Bruno Lüdke is categorized as a serial killer and a necrophile. I want to see some reliable sources that prove he was a serial killer and a necrophile. Lüdke was never put on trial for any of the killings and it is likely he was used as a scapegoat. He is also categorized as "executed by lethal injection", do we have reliable sources that confirm the claim the intention of giving the injection was to kill him? Arcandam (talk) 07:01, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I think the categories for serial killers are just to group those people who have been convicted as serial killers throughout history, rather than being an indication of actual guilt. You may want to ask this at the article's talk page to get more informed input though. Equazcion ^(talk) 14:22, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Please reread what I wrote and follow the links. Peter and Bruno are not convicted (in the modern sense of the word). Peter died in 1589. Bruno was accused by nazi's, and he was never put on trail. Arcandam (talk) 14:28, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

You're right, I skimmed. But, Ludke's fate could be described as a de-facto conviction since he was put to death (by the state, it would seem). Amend my observation to say "...convicted and/or punished..." Again I think the category isn't intended as some sort of assertion of guilt, just a grouping for convenient locating of similar articles. WP:VPP might be a good place to start a discussion on this, if you want to pursue it further. This help page is more for asking questions than proposing changes to practice. Equazcion ^(talk) 14:35, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I do not believe in de-facto convictions. Do you have a reliable source that supports the claim that the fact he was murdered should be considered a de facto conviction? If we follow that logic we should list everyone who was punished for something as being convicted for that particular something... right? Isn't there a big difference? I was unaware I was proposing actual changes. I was under the impression I was asking questions. Arcandam (talk) 14:38, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't have anything :) I'm just a guy who saw your question and am offering a possible explanation. In other words, since you've brought a few examples of the same problem, you seem to be taking issue with the way these categories tend to be used on Wikipedia in general. That's probably better addressed at a page where policy is discussed in more depth, like WP:VPP. Equazcion ^(talk) 14:43, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Sorry if I come across rude, I was just a bit unhappy with an answer that looked like a tl;dr response to me. I know where to go if I want to change policy, but right now I just want answers to my questions. Arcandam (talk) 14:46, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

If your question is "Why do we categorize people as serial killers without any reliable sources?" then that's questioning practice and this isn't the place. You're much more likely to get a satisfactory answer elsewhere, and I'm just trying to advise on that. But you're welcome to wait here if you like. Best of luck. Equazcion ^(talk) 14:55, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Questions. I don't think WP:VPP is going to be the right place to ask the question "He is also categorized as "executed by lethal injection", do we have reliable sources that confirm the claim the intention of giving the injection was to kill him?". Unfortunately the talkpage isn't watchlisted by a lot of experts who reply immediately, so that talkpage isn't going to be very helpful either. I fear the chance that I get a helpful reply here is slim to none now, because people will assume my questions are already answered and because we have many tl;dr-people here. Can I delete your comments? Arcandam (talk) 14:59, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Input: a list of our articles. Output wanted: page views for each (over x period)

Hello. I've got a list of articles. Is there somehwere I can feed it into which will then give me the articles back with a figure for page views?

Presently, we can go to article history -> page view statistics ; and there we can see page views over 30,60,90 days.

Reason: I have a little project on the go to review articles on a topic and it would be nice to prioritise them according to how often the blimmin' thing gets looked at. It'd give me an idea where to invest my time.

I have an idea that such requests are not catered for as it tends to cause work for over-stretched servers but I thought I'd ask. --bodnotbod (talk) 14:20, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't think there's a tool to do that right now (but I've been wrong before). You would need some programming ability to do something like that. I have a script that will give you the stats link on the main page though, instead of having to go to the history page first, which might at least make your job slightly easier should you choose to go ahead with this manually: See User:Equazcion/SidebarHistoryTools. Equazcion ^(talk) 14:27, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Great script, i've added it myself! The direct link though is http://stats.grok.se. benzband (talk) 15:05, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Thank you! Have added the script, it works, and that will certainly help. But if anyone does know of something even closer to my requirements please do reply. --bodnotbod (talk) 17:08, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

How to close a Request for Comment?

Please see my question at Template talk:Rfc#Closing RFC. Jc3s5h (talk) 16:10, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Closing discussions. Monty₈₄₅ 16:15, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I want to improve an article

I have discovered what appears to be a complete list of the works of Richard Scarry, whose article on Wikipedia states that the list you have is incomplete and readers "can help by expanding it." I tried to do that once before, and nothing happened. I have an account, but I guess the software doesn't believe it. You can add the list yourself by going here: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rscarry.htm. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.54.228.95 (talk) 17:07, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

What do you mean by "nothing happened"? If you made the edit but could not see the changes then either you did not save the edit (easily done: hit the "Preview" button instead of "Save page") or somebody undid your edit afterwards. You can find out which by looking at the history for the article; and if somebody reverted your changes, they ought to have explained why in their Edit Summary. If they didn't, you could ask them why on their User Talk Page. --ColinFine (talk) 17:46, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

That URL is mentioned in the external links section. Having an account is usually not necessary to be able to edit a page, but in this case the page has been protected because of vandalism. No worries, I will ask the person who protected it to unprotect it. Arcandam (talk) 19:12, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Trying to add an award to a page.. but the alignment is always off.

Under: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbra_Streisand#Film_awards

There is an award missing. There are 2 awards listed for Yentl - but there should be 3.

Under the 1984 section... How can I add the following award:

1984. Golden Globe Awards. Best Motion Picture - (Comedy Or Musical) - Yentl. WON. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Craignewcastle (talk • contribs) 20:44, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Does User:John of Reading/Sandbox have the extra line that you want? The trick is to increase the "rowspan" of the boxes that you would like to be one row deeper -- John of Reading (talk) 21:08, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks John! That is perfect. Craignewcastle (talk) 21:31, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Deleted

My article, PLushicles, was deleted. I am very sorry if I am causing trouble for you but I was not actually done editing and would be so grateful if you would let me officially submit it before it was deleted. Thank you so much for your time — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alliejacob123 (talk • contribs) 20:56, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I can't see the deleted article. The copy at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Plushicles still exists, but it has a long way to go before it could be a Wikipedia article. Have a look at the reviewer's comments and especially the links to the "guidelines on the notability of websites and the golden rule". -- John of Reading (talk) 21:14, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Can you enable a sharing feature on wikipedia so that people can share a wikipedia page on to facebook?

I find Wikipedia so very useful in finding information. Sometimes I want to share some knowledge that I've gained from Wikipedia on facebook. This can be done with online newspaper articles. Can we do this with Wikipedia? I think it will increase wikipedia readership very much. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.143.71.128 (talk) 21:23, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

You can do that with a little script, if you make an account, but I do hope we will never have such a sharefeature. How is that easier than just sharing the URL? Arcandam (talk) 21:31, 17 May 2012 (UTC)