Wikipedia:Help desk
- For other types of questions, use the search box, see the reference desk or Help:Contents. If you have comments about a specific article, use that article's talk page.
- Do not provide your email address or any other contact information. Answers will be provided on this page only.
- If your question is about a Wikipedia article, draft article, or other page on Wikipedia, tell us what it is!
- Check back on this page to see if your question has been answered.
- For real-time help, use our IRC help channel, #wikipedia-en-help.
- New editors may prefer the Teahouse, a help area for beginners (but please don't ask in both places).
September 17
Possible malware linked in Solomon's Key article
The first External Link listed for the article Solomon's_Key is the Solomon's Key instruction manual. My avast! antivirus software reported blocking a trojan when I clicked the link. I didn't want to delete the link myself in case it is a false alarm. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.168.218.15 (talk) 02:47, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- There is some JavaScript code in the external page that has been obfuscated by the Dean Edwards Packer and then again using another common obfuscation method. This sort of obfuscation, commonly used on browser exploit sites, can cause antivirus alerts. Without closer examination, I don't know for sure whether the code is malicious or not, yet I removed the link you mentioned and one other as violations of our copyright policy (see WP:COPYLINK). I also removed a third link as going against criterion 11 of our WP:ELNO guideline, which advises that as Wikipedians we should only link to notable fansites. PleaseStand (talk) 13:34, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
Inappropriate Lack of Anniversary on Main Page
Battle of Antietam (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
On September 17th, 1862, 23,000 Americans were killed, wounded or missing at the Battle of Antietam. This was the bloodiest day in American history, so I think it should be mentioned on the Anniversary section on the Main Page. Let us honor those who died for the American cause. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.6.36.115 (talk) 02:57, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- As the 150th anniversary, I'd tend to agree with you, although that should have been suggested long enough ago that the article could have been checked thoroughly before hand. While no anniversary is mentioned every year, it was last listed in 2007, its 145th anniversary. Dru of Id (talk) 03:15, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Hello 108.6.36.115! Your suggestion is a good one, unfortunately it is a little too late for it to be approved to make the main page today. If you are interested in helping pick future events for Wikipedia's On This Day segment on the main page, go to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/September and select the "talk" link under the date you wish to make a suggestion for (other months can also be navigated from that page). Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries has criteria for how OTD items are selected. --Jayron32 04:28, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- While the battle is obviously notable and probably should be a "selected anniversary", it is not the job of Wikipedia to "honor those who died for the American cause" or any other cause for that matter.--ukexpat (talk) 14:40, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
Public domain but not visible
Hello,
why is the public domain file [1] not visible here in my sandbox? Regards.--Kürbis (✔) 12:17, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Because that file appears to be located on the Russian Wikipedia, rather than on en-wiki or at Commons. AFAIK, inter-wiki tags don't work on files, though I'm open to being corrected if someone knows better. I'd suggest asking the Russian user who uploaded it (Участник:Евгений Мухтаров) to move it to Commons so that it can be used here. Yunshui 雲水 12:24, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
What does the MOS say about using descriptors?
Some editors are discussing whether or not it is appropriate to use a descriptor before a linked article.
The Southern Poverty Law Center says.....
vs.
The civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center says.....
Is there a MOS guideline on when such descriptors should be used?
Thanks little green rosetta(talk)
central scrutinizer 14:43, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- It must depend on the context. As a first stab, I would say that "a descriptor should be used if it will make the article easier to understand for a significant proportion of its readers". Maproom (talk) 16:10, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- I think is is pretty easy in this case and little dispute about the aims of the SPLC; but as a general rule I think we should be careful about using descriptors. Remember one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Astronaut (talk) 16:52, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
stop that annoying ad on the top please
It is very very annoying while reading an article...the monument ad. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.201.218.93 (talk) 16:14, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- If you create an account you can disable those banner notices.--ukexpat (talk) 16:42, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
How to "turn off" temporarily a page which should be validated first (before being published)
Hi,
We would like to "turn off" a page temporarily for a client. See the revisions on this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camus_Cognac
Thanks in advance for your answers.
Edouard — Preceding unsigned comment added by Athomedia77 (talk • contribs) 16:18, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- It should actually be deleted as a blatant violation of the rule against promotion. Roger (talk) 16:25, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Other then tagging it for speedy deletion WP:CSD, the only other thing you could do is add __NOINDEX__ to the page so that it wont be indexed. There is no way to 'unpublish' an article short of deletion of some sort. Monty845 16:31, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- I've already tagged it for Speedy deletion as Spam (G11). Roger (talk) 16:33, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Someone else has reverted it back to a pre-spam state. Roger (talk) 16:37, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- I've already tagged it for Speedy deletion as Spam (G11). Roger (talk) 16:33, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Other then tagging it for speedy deletion WP:CSD, the only other thing you could do is add __NOINDEX__ to the page so that it wont be indexed. There is no way to 'unpublish' an article short of deletion of some sort. Monty845 16:31, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- And before you make any more edits on behalf of any of your clients, please read WP:COI, WP:BESTCOI and WP:BFAQ.--ukexpat (talk) 16:39, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Athomedia est une agence conseil et de déploiement de stratégies sur les médias sociaux. They have been blocked. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:30, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Even after assuming good faith, there is a clear violation of WP:DUCK at campuscow (talk · contribs). EngineerFromVega★ 08:22, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Help with Move and Re-Direct Please
Hello,
I need help undoing a move and re-direct that I did today from my sandbox. It wiped out a previous contribution of mine on Francis M. Forster and replaced it with Karl Lennert. I did not intend to do that. Thanks for any help you can give. mrwick1 --Mrwick1 (talk) 16:26, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- This has been fixed, by User:GB fan. Maproom (talk) 17:35, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- I think I figured it out. You probably went to User:Mrwick1/sandbox but since that is a redirect to Karl Lennert it took you there. You then edited that article and changed it to and article about Francis M. Forster, subsequently moving it to that name. I have since moved it back to Lennert and restored that article. Then I created the Forster article and pointed to the history of Lennert to provide attribution for the edits you made. When working on articles you need to watch the title to make sure you are working where you mean to be. GB fan 17:49, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- You should unmerge the history of the Karl Lennert article from that of Francis M. Forster. Ruslik_Zero 18:23, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- OK, I did that, figured out how after a wrong start, but I think I got everything done right now. GB fan 19:46, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- You should unmerge the history of the Karl Lennert article from that of Francis M. Forster. Ruslik_Zero 18:23, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
revamped my article and want to make sure it's ok before I submit??
I've been working on this page forever. Can someone please take a minute to look at it to tell me if I did it right this time? Thank you!
Robert Zausner (talk) 16:59, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- It still looks far too promotional in tone to me, like something you would read on the firm's website.--ukexpat (talk) 17:14, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- The article is User:Robert_Zausner/Thomas_R._Kline. I agree with ukexpat – to be accepted as an article, it needs a lot of hype deleted. (And a picture which actually lets us see his face would be an improvement.) Maproom (talk) 17:26, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Thank you so much for your feedback. I will make some changes and then try again. I uploaded a photo and apparently there was a photo with the same name and it keeps bringing that one up. I can access it through the commons but when I paste it with the file name it brings up another photo. I will not let me upload the same photo with a different name either. Any suggestions?
Robert Zausner (talk) 17:33, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- About the picture – what I currently see is an image on Wikipedia Commons (not English Wikipedia), named "Silhouette-red-tall-high res.jpg", with the description "Image of Tom Kline, Trial As Theatre, 2009", uploaded by you on September 12th. I do not think that it would let you upload a picture with the same name as one that already existed. You have also uploaded, on September 14th, an image named "Kline.jpg". This would be a much more appropriate picture, except that it appears (at least to me) with strong grey horizontal lines. I suspect that these are because you used a CMYK jpeg instead of an RBG jpeg – Wikipedia cannot handle the CMYK colour encoding. Maproom (talk) 17:48, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- I have edited the picture on Wikipedia Commons, converting CMYK to RGB, so as to remove the horizontal bands. However I find that when I try to use it in the article I get a picture of a tall building among autumn trees. I do not know how to fix this. Choosing a name as short as "Kline" is likely to result in a clash, but this should have been detected by the Commons upload software. Maproom (talk) 17:55, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- The "Kline.jpg" that you uploaded is in Commons, the autumnal building "Kline.jpg" is in English Wikipedia. That is why you did not get a warning when you uploaded it. I am sure there is an easy way to specify that you want the Commons version in the article, but I do not know what it is. Maproom (talk) 18:05, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- I renamed Commons' file. Ruslik_Zero 18:18, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- The "Kline.jpg" that you uploaded is in Commons, the autumnal building "Kline.jpg" is in English Wikipedia. That is why you did not get a warning when you uploaded it. I am sure there is an easy way to specify that you want the Commons version in the article, but I do not know what it is. Maproom (talk) 18:05, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
I got the picture up. Thank you for renaming it for me! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Robert Zausner (talk • contribs) 20:42, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
Please see this note from my boss:
We can certainly tone down the bio. The idea was never to “promote” Tom Kline but merely to impress the folks at Wikipedia that he really deserves to be on their site on his own merits. He really is the best-known and, by many accounts, the best trial lawyer in Philadelphia, a city known for its lawyering. Just this year he’s been on hundreds of TV news shows such as ABC World News Tonight and Nightline and Good Morning America – showing the news media recognizes him widely -- and he’s won tons of huge verdicts in a 30-year career. Since Superlawyers – and I admit it’s a largely commercial enterprise -- started rating lawyers, he has been their No. 1 in Pennsylvania every year for nine straight years. Best Lawyers says he the best med-mal lawyer in Philly and among the best in America. He’s past president of the Inner Circle of Advocates, which allows only 100 of the best trial lawyers as members from the entire country. He’s on the Drexel Board of Trustees. And he does some things that other lawyers don’t – like his Trial As Theatre performances at the Wilma Theater. For the folks at Wikipedia, I was a reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer before I left to write a book about one of Tom Kline’s (and partner Shanin Specter’s) cases. The book was published several years ago and is titled “Two Boys.” See Amazon -- http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Divided-Fortune-United-Tragedy/dp/1933822155/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347907422&sr=8-2&keywords=robert+zausner That said, it’s good that the folks at Wikipedia have recognized the submission of Tom Kline’s bio – and we appreciate the critique. Now we’ll work on shortening the bio and toning down some of the superlatives so it is suitable for Wikipedia’s pages.
Robert Zausner (talk) 20:49, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- I don't want to be rude, but who is "we"? If you are the Robert Zausner who wrote that book, then you are currently the "web writer" for Kline & Specter, which makes Tom Kline your boss. If so, then you have a massive conflict of interest and should not be writing a Wikipedia article about him. If I'm wrong about this I apologise unreservedly, but please see WP:BESTCOI. - Karenjc 21:16, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Promotional language doesn't impress us. Sources that prove notability without fluffing up the subject impress us. - Purplewowies (talk) 22:25, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- How exactly would you distinguish between "impress the folks ... that he really deserves" and "promote"? I can't see a difference. --ColinFine (talk) 23:29, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
September 18
Show Currently Viewing User
Is there a way for a show the currently "viewing" user in Wikipedia using something special or a magic word? Sort of like Special:MyPage or Special:MyTalk, except all it does is show the username (or if anonymous, the IP address). For example, I could place something like {{CurrentlyViewingUser}}
and it would automatically update it to whoever is viewing this page (in this case, me or you). This could allow users to make boxes in their user/talk pages that say something like "Welcome to my page, (Viewing User's Name)". Is this possible? User talk:76.10.241.86/Sign 06:40, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- You can substitute it when saving a page with {{subst:currentuser}}, but as noted here, there isn't a good way to do it with wiki markup, because it would break caching. There a couple of MediaWiki extensions that do it [2] [3], but they're not enabled here. You could write some JavaScript… —Kerfuffler harass
stalk 07:02, 18 September 2012 (UTC)- I don't think it can be done with JavaScript either, because the software does not allow your JavaScript to run when I view your page. That would open up a big security risk. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:06, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- I've actually seen JavaScript spam on WP that did run in my browser. I was most unhappy about it. But it's probably not supposed to work. —Kerfuffler harass
stalk 07:08, 18 September 2012 (UTC)- Thank you both. User talk:76.10.241.86/Sign 07:32, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- I've actually seen JavaScript spam on WP that did run in my browser. I was most unhappy about it. But it's probably not supposed to work. —Kerfuffler harass
- I don't think it can be done with JavaScript either, because the software does not allow your JavaScript to run when I view your page. That would open up a big security risk. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:06, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Page lost several sections - no deletion found in history
Hi,
The page 2008–2012_Irish_financial_crisis has lost several sections from the bottom starting from 'See Also' and 'References'. These were there on 8th September version. The page was edited on 03:28 18th September (the most recent edit), but the edits do not show these sections have been deleted, however viewing the current page clearly shows these sections are missing and displays 'Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{Reflist}} template or a <references /> tag'.
Please help explain what has happened.
- I've fixed the error. A
</ref>
tag was missing, so that the software thought the rest of the article was part of the footnote. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:42, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- Many thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by John a s (talk • contribs) 11:04, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Collapsible List has been mucked with (broken)???
I have a personal page which uses a Collapsible List, as follows ~~
Markup | Renders as |
---|---|
{{Collapsible list|bullets=yes|expand=yes |title=CDC Disease Info lookup |framestyle=background-color:#EEF |{{CDCDiseaseInfo|typhoid_fever}} |{{CDCDiseaseInfo|shigellosis}} |{{CDCDiseaseInfo|ecoli_o157h7}} |{{CDCDiseaseInfo|/////}} (A-Z Index) }} |
CDC Disease Info lookup |
except of course the parens are curly brackets.
Before editing this page today, it was perfectly fine.
Now, the [hide] link is stepping on my title, and so is the first bulleted item.
What the heck is going on?
— Mwr0 (talk) 10:00, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- Possibly worth noting that even the examples at Template:Collapsible list are exhibiting the problem. —Kerfuffler harass
stalk 10:11, 18 September 2012 (UTC)- I started a discussion at Template talk:Collapsible list#Borked?. I took the liberty of reformatting the example so we can see the markup and rendering. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 10:19, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Fixed A problem with the HTML5 switchover; now fixed. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 16:30, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- Yay and Thank You! I have never reported a problem on the web that got fixed so fast. I did EDIT and SAVE and my page is fine now. — Mwr0 (talk) 21:35, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- I started a discussion at Template talk:Collapsible list#Borked?. I took the liberty of reformatting the example so we can see the markup and rendering. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 10:19, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Trolling
Just describe what is the exact meaning of trolling here in one sentence. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.201.218.116 (talk) 10:54, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- "In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion." - from Troll (Internet). Trolling is what a troll does. You can read our article for more information. --Colapeninsula (talk) 11:44, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Wikipedia List available for download
Hello,
I was wondering if the Wikipedia featured lists was available in a format that can be downloaded other than PDF and in one spot. Any help would be appreciated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.174.199.97 (talk) 12:01, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- Hi there, 110! First, browse to the featured list. In the sidebar (to the left), you should see a section called "Print/export." Right now, your only options are to Create a book (which could be an eBook, for reading on your iPad/tablet/etc), PDF (as you said), or "Printable version." If there's a specific type of format you'd like to save the page as, you could theoretically save the printable version and them convert it to any format you'd like (using your computer), but I'd need to know what format you're trying to convert to first. Happy editing, Theopolisme 01:23, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
creating article
Hello! I want to create the following article: Servigliano prison camp. It won't let me because it's in a list of Italian concentration camps (which links to the village article, not the camp!). There is no article about it, so I don't understand why it won't let me create it. Thank you! FoCuSandLeArN (talk) 16:29, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- What exactly do you mean by "it won't let me"? There's an article, Servigliano, as you say, about the village, but there's nothing stopping you creating Servigliano prison camp and changing the link in List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Italy. Rojomoke (talk) 17:27, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- (edit conflict) I don't see why you should be unable to create Servigliano prison camp. Just a wild guess: Are you confused because there are both blue and red links at List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Italy, and the Servigliano entry has a blue link to the municipality Servigliano and not a red link to Servigliano prison camp? See Wikipedia:Starting an article#How to create a page for ways to create a page when you don't already have a red link to it. If you create the article then link it in the camp column at List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Italy. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:32, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Why is this image so big?
Why can't I shrink the large image of Humphrey Lyttelton on the Amnesiac (album) article? It's using the same formatting as the other images on the page. Popcornduff (talk) 17:57, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- The 300px parameter is the width of the image, and this is a very tall and narrow image, which is why it is outsized. I changed the size parameter to 300x300px, the first number imposes a height restriction as well, which brings it back into scale. Does that help? --Jayron32 18:25, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- Great! Thanks a bundle. Popcornduff (talk) 19:54, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Erroneous facts about our client Aaron Zigman that can affect his career
We are Costa Communications who represent Aaron Zigman and I need access to his main page to correct the erroneous facts that are listed. How do I gain access to the main paragraph to edit it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by CostaCommInc (talk • contribs) 18:07, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- If you can tell us which information is incorrect and a link to a reliable source which shows it to be incorrect, we can help you fix this! --Jayron32 18:23, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- {ec} Please read WP:COI to explain why we would prefer you to discuss the changes first rather than make them directly. Also, you may not be aware that we don't permit role accounts on Wikipedia. Accounts must represent an individual, not an organisation, so if you want to edit any other Wikipedia articles you will need to do so personally and create a new account with an appropriate username. I've left a message about this on your talk page. Thanks. - Karenjc 18:32, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Citing sources without pages
I'm trying to cite an online interview transcript that does not include page numbers. I've been able to use "|nopp=y" and "|at=" successfully to override the "p." in the full length citation using the Cite Web template, but it doesn't seem to work with the shortened footnote template. For example, sfn|Oral history|at=Tape 1 (surrounded by the double brackets) displays simply as "Oral history", and sfn|Oral history|page=Tape 1|nopp=y becomes "Oral history, p. Tape 1". Should I be formatting the code differently, or is there another template I should use instead? Thank you in advance for your help. LLPPK (talk) 20:12, 18 September 2012 (UTC)LLPPK
- This is where it pays to read the template documentation. For {{sfn}}, use
|loc=
. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 21:25, 18 September 2012 (UTC)- Oh, that's where it was hiding. Perfect! Thanks so much! LLPPK (talk) 15:38, 19 September 2012 (UTC)LLPPK
Question a fact
How does one question something in an article? There are two related articles which contain questionable material, which I believe I would have first hand knowledge of. However, given certain imprecision in timelines, I cannot be 100 percent certain, but certain enough to want to question how it was referenced or attributed. But I'm not an editor, so apparently have no access to querying through the "Talk" page. The Talk page is full of editors closer to the main subject, so it would be a question to them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.186.23.164 (talk) 21:12, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- Everyone is an editor here. You should be able to edit the talk page, and that's the best place to ask. Just click the “Talk” tab at the top of page to go to the talk page, and then click the “Edit” tab. If you're not getting a response and you're certain it's wrong, you can also add {{citation needed}} in the article. —Kerfuffler harass
stalk 21:19, 18 September 2012 (UTC)- See more at Help:Using talk pages. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:24, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- To broach a new subject in a talk page, use the “New Section” tab — Mwr0 (talk) 22:08, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- See more at Help:Using talk pages. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:24, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
September 19
I don't know how to add a source to the information I edited
Under the article Extemporaneous Speaking, I modified the Body Paragraph to look like this: "It is common that Extemporaneous speeches will have good deal of structure. Upon figuring out the main points you wish to present, your next step is to decided how you are going to structure your speech. There are five basic patterns of organization: Chronological Order, Spatial Order, Casual Order, Problem-Solution Order or Topical Order. One of the most frequently used pattern of organization is Topical Order, which will accommodate three contentions or points, each containing two or three sub-points[2]. A popular and easy to follow method of composing contentions includes the three sub-points: Theory, Application and Case Study."
I have a source for my information and noted the last part that I edited with the [2],
ref name="mbankers">Lucas, Stephen E. (2012). The Art of Public Speaking. 1221 Ave of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: The McGraw-Hill Companies, INC. pp. 169–173. ISBN 978-0-07-340673-2.{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link)</ref
For location I put the location of the McGraw-Hill Company. I'm not sure how to add the [2] to get it to go to my source.
If you could let me know how to do this in the future that would be nice, but for now please add it so there's a correct source in the information.
- I fixed the reference - you have to put the ref inside the body text - not under the References heading. The software automatically creates the "ref number" - editors don't do that. I also fixed the other references - they all had problems. See WP:Referencing for beginners. Roger (talk) 19:38, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
I need help creating an article about..
this, but I do not understand what this video is actually about? Thanks. --Hurting Flashtire (talk) 00:30, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Something to do with Football. The artist is Paul Gascoigne AKA Gazza. The song and video brought 15 minutes of fame as a pop culture idol but sadly, he returned to football. As the Wiki page fails to even mention his "music career", it is a serious omission. --Robert Keiden (talk) 00:53, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Preview references when editing a section
Is there any gadget or trick to show references in the preview of a section? It's extremely tedious to keep adding <references/>
at the end and keep forgetting to delete it before actually saving. The idea is to somehow add a virtual "<references/>" to the previewed source that won't persist on save. — Vano 01:48, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- You can use User:Anomie/ajaxpreview.js on Special:MyPage/skin.js. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:39, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
wildlife artist listing on Wikipedia
I was looking for wildlife artists and found a listing of wildlife artists on Wikipedia....Is there a submission process in order to be included on this list? Pencilartist01 (talk) 02:24, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- The people on that list are wildlife artists, wildlife painters, wildlife photographers, other wildlife artists, society of wildlife artists, museums, or exhibition of wildlife arts that have article's on Wikipedia. To have an article on Wikipedia they must meet our notability guidelines. The basic criteria to be considered notable is that multiple reliable sources have written about them. Hope this helps. GB fan 02:31, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Articles appearing in a template category
The Avengers (2012 film), Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, List of films based on Marvel Comics are all appearing in Category:Film templates.
- I'm not seeing that. Can you clarify what you're seeing? RudolfRed (talk) 03:42, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- {{Theatrical Marvel Comics films}} had that category included in the transclusion. It's been fixed. - Purplewowies (talk) 04:51, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Discussing a possible deletion
Is there any way to have someone look at an article to see if it is a candidate for deletion, without actually nominating it for deletion? I am reluctant to name the article, because it obviously involved a lot of work by a lot of editors, with dozens of sources, but to me it seems un-encyclopedic. However, I do not trust my judgement enough to post it as AfD. Maybe there is a far-wiser editor who would be willing to take a look and advise; I could tell which article on your talk page. (I know, you'll say be bold, but I'm not certain enough of what I see there.) Thank you kindly. → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 04:16, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Without knowing which article you're talking about, there isn't really any way to check it. You could perhaps draw attention to the problems you see with cleanup tags; most of these categorise the page as problematic and might get another editor's eyes on the page. I've got an essay that might help you decide which way to go here; that pretty much sums up the basic requirements and processes for deletion. But as I said: if you won't name the page, there's not a lot anyone can do. Yunshui 雲水 13:32, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Fair enough. The page I am referring to is Comparison of e-book readers. Admittedly, a lot of work went into this, which makes me reluctant to simply toss it aside. However, when I first came across it, it jumped out at me as something very un-Wikipedia-like. I just don't know if it belongs here or not. The information is valuable, but quickly dated. I apologize for being so obscure at first; I just don't like criticizing people. → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 14:39, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks for posting. Outstanding use of BOLD. However, I'm afraid I don't quite see what you're seeing. Is it the format of the list? Or the tone of the text accompanying the list? Or more basic- that the subject is not notable, or something you'd expect to see in an encyclopedia? Is there something in Wikipedia:List that could help clarify what you perceive wrong with this article?--Robert Keiden (talk) 16:49, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- To me, it seems to be an elaborate version of a pro-and-con list. I am not claiming any violation of NPOV, though; it seems the editors have gone out of their way to prevent that. It also does not appear to fall into any of the Types of Lists categories. There also seems to be a lot of OR, in that many of the references link to individual product specs provided by the manufacturers. Finally, to me it seems to be somewhat of a directory or catalog, but here I am uncertain because the editors have made a sincere effort to include as many models as possible. The list looks very much like one that someone would find in Consumer Reports magazine. Would Wikipedia accept a similar list on "Comparison of automobile models"? Again, these are my observations, but I don't know if they are arguments for deletion, or is it just an article/list that is unique in style and content. Thank you for your help, Robert. → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 09:37, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
a poet's biography with the evaluation pf his work
Can a fullfledged article be published with the above mentioned text? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mausmani042 (talk • contribs) 04:42, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Certainly it can. But if you are asking "can it be published on Wikipedia", I'd recommend reading Wikipedia:Notability (people) first. Our articles are based on external reliable sources, and the best poet (or philosopher, or pogo-stick-performer) will only get recognition here after receiving it elsewhere. If a poet meets our (arguably arbitrary, but useful) criteria for inclusion, descriptions of any 'evaluation of his/her work' would seem a necessity. But first you need the recognition. AndyTheGrump (talk) 04:52, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Free BMD
Why is using FreeBMD classed as "original research"? Brakn (talk) 06:57, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Not a rhetorical question: Why would you post this without providing context? For others, that context is Talk:Tim Wonnacott#Birthdate. See also Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 September 13#No correction allowed? The issue of original research comes in because you are assuming that the birth record in the index ("Births in March 1951, starting with W"; "1951B1-W-0379") is of this Timothy Wonnacott, and thus assuming the date a secondary source (which may have been provided the date by the subject, though that too is speculation) is wrong. I'm not sure why you would even draw that conclusion when the birth record does not provide the name of the father and I cannot see that you have connected that this Timothy Wannocott's mother's maiden name was Ford – the only information provided in the index I can see that could be used as a corroborating fact. So it is not that the BMC index is classed as "original research", but that the BMD index can only be used here for you to make an assumption of fact that is not directly provided by that source, in conflict with the direct information on the birthdate provided in another source.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 09:46, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks for that. In one of the references given in the article it gives his father's date of death, his mother's first name and the length of their marriage. All I did was look up their marriage, it's not a common first name or surname, and then looked up their children.
- I didn't include the name in the original question because all I wanted to know was - is using FreeBMD not a good source for reference. Brakn (talk) 10:38, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- It's not only the "original research" aspect that is a problem with using FreeBMD in this particular article. My reply to your last post linked you to our policy on biographies of living persons. On privacy, it says With identity theft a serious ongoing concern, people increasingly regard their full names and dates of birth as private. Wikipedia includes full names and dates of birth that have been widely published by reliable sources, or by sources linked to the subject such that it may reasonably be inferred that the subject does not object. On public records, it says: Do not use public records that include personal details, such as date of birth, home value, traffic citations, vehicle registrations, and home or business addresses. I have seen Wikipedia articles about non-living persons that use public birth records to support a birth date. But in this case, with the living subject of the article clearly endorsing a particular published birthdate, the use of FreeBMD to try to support a different birthdate in the Wikipedia article is clearly against BLP policy. - Karenjc 16:41, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Thank you. Brakn (talk) 08:43, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Urdu Language
THERE IS NO URDU LANGUAGE IN LANGUAGE BAR. PLEASE ADD URDU FOR PAKISTANI USERS AT YOUR PORTAL. THANKS, ADNAN JAVAID — Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.186.35.83 (talk) 10:24, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- The Urdu Wikipedia is right here. Dismas|(talk) 10:48, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- The Urdu Wikipedia does not satisfy the condition at Template:Main Page interwikis. Click "Complete list" under languages at Main Page to see hundreds of languages including Urdu. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:25, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- So when the Urdu wikipedia has another 30000 articles (it currently contains nearly 20000) it may be added to that list. In the meantime, many other Wikipedia articles have Urdu links, when there happens to be a corresponding article in the Urdu Wikipedia. --ColinFine (talk) 17:23, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Article creation: copy / paste a chart
Hi,
I have created 2 charts and a table (docx file) for an article which I want to create but the charts are not pasted into the text box.
How do you paste a chart in the text box when you create an article?
I have tried it several times but it does not work: the chart is simply not copied.
Thanks.
Ben — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ben Gavron (talk • contribs) 11:13, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- I am afraid you cannot do that. You will have to convert the chart to wiki mark-up language and paste that into the article. See Help:WordToWiki.--ukexpat (talk) 14:04, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
bullock family
i added a fact and put in the cue and used the template and then the site says all the references have gone! What did I do wrong? cheers — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.168.128.201 (talk) 12:34, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- You started the citation correctly with
<ref>{{...
but didn't close the template with double curly braces (you used one), and didn't close the citation with</ref>
. See this diff. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:51, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Editing in progress
Is there any way to display on an article stub that the expansion of the article is in progress?
Thanks
Ronodeep.srimani (talk) 13:34, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Perhaps {{In use}} or {{Under construction}}. -- John of Reading (talk) 13:52, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Redirects
I guess this question could be in regard to policy but am unsure. The page Hockey in the Olympic Games currently redirects to Ice_hockey_at_the_Olympic_Games. However the person searching (Me in this Instance) could have also meant Field hockey at the Summer Olympics. How to address this issue? --HarshAJ (Talk)(Contribs) 17:08, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- I have changed Hockey in the Olympic Games to a disambiguation page. Roger (talk) 17:12, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
User ratings
Why do the Hail to the Thief and Amnesiac (album) articles have zero user ratings? They should be relatively popular articles. Do the ratings reset to zero every time the page is edited, or is something else going on? Popcornduff (talk) 18:04, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Hm. I just rated Hail to the Thief with four 3s, and it now reports there are 32 ratings for it. That doesn't seem right either.--Robert Keiden (talk) 20:14, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- mw:Article feedback/FAQ#How will out-of-date ratings be handled? says: Your rating will become "expired" after 30 revisions of the article. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:35, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Hm, that's... interesting. Do you know if it just completely dumps these, or does it store them somewhere? Theopolisme 20:42, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- mw:Article feedback/FAQ#Is data generated by the Article Feedback Tool publicly available? has a data link but the data dumps don't appear to be updated. I don't know whether there is a way to get data for a given page. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:02, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Creating a PDF shows HTML markup in the result
When creating a PDF from the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisp_%28programming_language%29#Language_innovations, the resulting PDF contains HTML markup.
E.g.
(f arg1 arg2 arg3)
becomes
<font size="12">(f arg1 arg2 arg3)</font>
in the PDF file. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.118.133.27 (talk) 18:48, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- I see this in the PDF as well -- I assume it is some incompatibility with the {{Lisp2}} template. Looking into it some more... Theopolisme 20:45, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- There is no <font> tag in HTML 5.0. The pdf writer is just not compatible with this standard. Ruslik_Zero 10:01, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- <smacks head> So simple - duh! Would it be difficult to turn it into a <div>/<p> template? I doubt it. Theopolisme 11:16, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- I researched the usage of HTML 5, and the solution would be to use <span style="font-size: larger"></span>. I tried it in a sandbox and it works; it gives a bigger font on the Wikipedia page, and the PDF is generated in a correct way. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Uve bianche (talk • contribs) 13:26, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- <smacks head> So simple - duh! Would it be difficult to turn it into a <div>/<p> template? I doubt it. Theopolisme 11:16, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- There is no <font> tag in HTML 5.0. The pdf writer is just not compatible with this standard. Ruslik_Zero 10:01, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Article ready for editing and possible inclusion in wilkapedia
My article submission is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:The_Beta_Test_Initiation. is it in the right place for review and inclusion in wikipedia? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hardy1956 (talk • contribs) 20:48, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- I moved it to mainspace. Roger (talk) 21:05, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
Thank you Roger ~~
Script for article size
Hi, User:Dr_pda/prosesize#To_try_without_installing used to work from the URL line. Is it still working? I could not get it running any more when I tried it on Jesus. Any ideas? Thanks. History2007 (talk) 22:29, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Not working for me either using Firefox or Safari. Though you probably know this already, you could actually install the script. It's got a tiny footprint, only providing a toolbox link when you hit show preview, and I can report it still works. Anyway, if you need it, the statistics for Jesus are:
Prose size (including all HTML code): 231 kB References (including all HTML code): 61 kB Wiki text: 249 kB Prose size (text only): 102 kB (17604 words) "readable prose size" References (text only): 4488 B
- Meanwhile, I'll go post about this at User talk:Dr pda/prosesize.js, but the script owner is not very active. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:12, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- At least Firefox requires you to bookmark the javascript: URL first. See the relevant Bugzilla entry for details. They did this to neutralize malicious JS code from attackers who convinced Facebook users to copy and paste it into the address bar. PleaseStand (talk) 00:23, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Thanks. User:Shubinator/DYKcheck does work however, FYI. History2007 (talk) 07:32, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Font size
Hello,
when reading a page in Wikipedia (ANY page) in English, the Font size is very small and hard to read.
In ANY other language (for example: German), the Font is much larger and easier to read
How, if at all, can I change the Font size in English?
Thank you in advance!
Dennis Baker — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.110.189.200 (talk) 23:10, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Your browser is probably remembering a change you made by accident at en.wikipedia.org. In most browsers: Reset the zoom to 100% with Ctrl+0 or adjust it with Ctrl++ and Ctrl+-. Ctrl and mousewheel is a common way to change it accidentally. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:21, 19 September 2012 (UTC)
- Also note that some laptops have multitouch touchpads that, by default, react to iPad-style "pinch" and "spread" gestures. This is also an easy way to zoom out unintentionally. PleaseStand (talk) 00:06, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
September 20
Jpeg image in monument contest and in commons? How? Thanks
Uploaded a photo to commons and then wanted to use photo on wiki monument contest. When I upload I get a warning that the image is already in the system and gives me one option of deleting the photo. How do I link a photo in commons to one of the photo request for the contest? The contest only gives you the option of uploading a jpeg. Confused in key west. Thanks John — Preceding unsigned comment added by Capedoryus (talk • contribs) 00:15, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- You uploaded an image correctly at commons:File:Customs House Key West.jpg. It was automatically submitted to the contest for Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 in the United States. It has been reviewed [4] but was unfortunately not nominated for best picture. Here is an example showing how it looks when an image is nominated: [5]. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:27, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
How do I request an article?
Please have someone create an article about nectresse, a new product from Splenda, not related to sucralose. It is "made from monk's fruit," but has to have a chemical composition. Benhowe30 (talk) 02:37, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- A "new product" is unlikely to be notable enough for an article unless it received substantial third party media attention. Roger (talk) 07:14, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Some info on Chinese ruling cliques with US/UK/Canadian passports/PR
<<<very long post removed>>
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.134.89.14 (talk) 06:50, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- Do you have a question about using or editing Wikipedia? -- John of Reading (talk) 06:57, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
DAB link
Someone please fix the link at the top of Paradise Island, the DAB I created has a lowercase i for island, and not sure how to fix it. CTF83! 10:53, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- Sorted. You needed to add an extra parameter, like this:
{{Other uses|Paradise island (disambiguation)}}
Yunshui 雲水 10:57, 20 September 2012 (UTC)- Thanks, actually should island be capitalized? CTF83! 11:34, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- Yes, when all entries say Island the page name should clearly also. I have moved it. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:33, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks, actually should island be capitalized? CTF83! 11:34, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
hlist template displayed with nowrap - apparent bug
The hlist template:TRW instance at the bottom of the TRW article was very wide since there was no text wrapping of the displayed contents of the list. This was observed in Firefox, Chrome, and IE9(64 bit). I apparently fixed it with this change. After that change, viewing the previous version showed no template width problem. I found the same problem with the hlist template:MSNBC Personalities at the bottom of the Joe Scarborough article. I apparently fixed it with this change, but again the previous version shows no problem. Is this a bug? Overjive (talk) 11:08, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Would a block hinder a username change?
Right now I'm about 5% serious about changing my username to User:Boat. Although it has never edited the English Wikipedia, it does have a sockblock on the German Wikipedia. Would it be a problem? A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 12:59, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Status of Created Article
D ear Sir/Madam,
I have created an arcticle about Geomedical Engineering, last updated on 11-September and sent for review and publich on Wikipedia. Until now there is no response abOUT its status. I doubt, there is some problem in creation.
Would you please check and let me know the status of this article.
Best Regards, Atteeq — Preceding unsigned comment added by Atteequr (talk • contribs) 13:11, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- Normally there is a backlog of articles at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation. I'll review it for you now. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 13:28, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- Hmm, I'm on the fence about this one. It certainly seems like a good topic, but there are small formatting issues and I'm not too sure what you're talking about. A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 13:31, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- I have fixed some of the formatting issues and added section headings per WP:MOSHEAD. It still needs to be wikified and inline citations added, see WP:Referencing for beginners.--ukexpat (talk) 14:27, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Unified Primary references vs. Diffuse Secondary references.
I was looking at cleaning up the Southern Polytechnic State University section on Fraternities and Sororities on campus. The section when I got there had references for each fraternity to a place on their National web page, mostly simply to the main page but a few to a chapter search page or chapter list on the Fraternity/Sorority web page. I found lists in the Student Organization section of the SPSU web page specifically indicating what Fraternities and Sororities were on campus in each of the councils. I agree that in general secondary references are superior to primary, but I'm not sure the National Fraternity/Sorority web pages count as secondary sources for the fact that the chapters are there and I think a smaller number of pages with exact lists are superior to the diffuse National pages. Comments?Naraht (talk) 14:04, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Changing my company's logo
I work for Camp Fire, a youth development organization (recently Camp Fire USA). We have undergone a recent re-branding and have formally changed our name and our logo. I would like our Wiki to reflect that but cannot find a place to edit this information.
Help! Hannah — Preceding unsigned comment added by Camp FireNational (talk • contribs) 14:40, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- I have confirmed the name change and moved the page, leaving the previous title as a redirect to the article. I have also removed the old image from the article. To upload a new image, your account needs to be autoconfirmed, i.e. to be four days old and have made at least ten edits. Your current account is not autoconfirmed, but there is a problem - your username violates Wikipedia's username policy because it is the name of an organisation and could be seen to represent that organisation rather than an individual. You cannot continue using this name, which will shortly be blocked, and since you have so few edits I would suggest you just create a new account. If you would prefer someone else to upload the new logo instead of waiting for your new account to be autoconfirmed, please go to Wikipedia:Files for upload. Take a look at the image page for File:Camp Fire USA.svg, the old logo, to see how the new one should be described and licensed. Please bear in mind that as someone who works for the organisation you should be very wary of editing the article - see WP:COI - and should request that someone else make any changes to the wording, which is already flagged for being too promotional in tone. Feel free to ask for more help with the image if you get stuck. - Karenjc 15:31, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
translations
How to add a translation to a page whic does not exist in my language? How to edit a page in my language, translatin untranslated parts from the English page? — Preceding unsigned comment added by GalyaV (talk • contribs) 14:45, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- You can find links to all the different Wikipedias at http://www.wikipedia.org. Just go to the one for the language you're interested in and start editing. RudolfRed (talk) 15:42, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
problem with image upload
Well, all I wanted to do was upload an image of the singer Valdy onto his page. It's my photo, taken in 1976, and yet I can't get it to appear on the page, and I keep getting semi-helpful messages that actually don't help me at all. The photo is now (somewhere, god knows where) on the Wikipedia site. But I can't find it, and for sure I can't get it to go to the Valdy page, in spite of another semi-helpful suggestion. And really, what good is it to have someone suggest that I put a scrap of code on the page if (a) I'm not told WHERE on the page it needs to go and (b) if the code isn't really linked specifically to the image. It would be very helpful if somewhere, and preferably in an easily findable location, e.g., on the upload interface, there were step-by-step instructions on how to make the image appear where one wants it to appear. I'm now in the absurd position of having successfully uploaded a photo – a unique image, btw, made by me and therefore mine to do with as I wish – which I can neither find nor use. Theonemacduff (talk) 15:40, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- Valdy (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
- I found the name of your uploaded picture by checking your contributions list, and I have edited the article so that the picture is displayed. There are probably too many "help" and "how-to" pages for images. The one you needed was Help:Infobox picture. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:54, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- (More) Since this is a picture that you created, there is a problem with uploading it as a "fair use" image. You should visit WP:ICTIC and choose one of the acceptable licenses listed there. Then visit File:Valdy performing in 1976.jpg and edit it to add the license code. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:02, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Is my submission in the correct spot?
Hello,
On 9/7 my article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/Howard_J._Buss was submitted. Since it has not been accepted or declined to date, I was wondering if it was in the right place. The header on the page states that it would take several days because of the backlog, but it is now nearing two weeks. Is my submission on the right page to be considered for acceptence into Wikipedia? Thanks.
SusanSuemanning1972 (talk) 16:25, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
Democratic Party extending from Democratic Republican Party
The page on the Democratic Party, the History section seems bias. It claims that the Democratic Party arose from a split in the Dem-Rep party with the Democrats holding closer to Jefferson's views. This is an attempt to connect the Democratic Party to Jefferson. I understand that the Dem Party is often referenced as the "party of Jefferson." But, if you look back to what the Dem-Republicans stood for and What Jefferson stood for, the Dem Party has only a little in common. More importantly, the primary views of free-market and small government are most certainly not held by the Dem Party of today. Rather, the Dem Party and the Republican party are parties that have some elements of most parties through history and cannot truthfully be attributed back to one party. Thus, the bias slant to make the Dem party an extension of Jefferson's party should be scrubbed.