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April 3

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

Hello,

I have a specific question relating to this biography - it states that Donald Thomson photographed Laurie Baymarrwangga on Murrungga Island in April 1937 - I simply wanted to ask the author the source of this information and whether the photograph is published?

Kind regards,

David — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.184.108.157 (talk) 00:42, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hello,

You should ask this at the Help desk.

Overall your answer is here: The source is Donald Fergusson Thomson, OBE (26 June 1901 – 12 May 1970) Australian anthropologist and ornithologist.--Freshman404^Talk 09:19, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You can also contact with the writer here.--Freshman404^Talk 09:26, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Craigslist

When you are searching for things on Craigslist, you start out by selecting the area (state, city, etc.) in which to search. Is there a way you can search for an item of interest in many cities/states at the same time? Or perhaps a search nationwide? I tried to do so, but I was not able to figure it out. If I was trying to find a relatively rare or obscure item, I would like to see if that item is available anywhere at all. I certainly don't want to do a search city-by-city, or state-by-state. Any way to do a more comprehensive area search? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 18:23, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Searchcraigslist.org does this through a custom Google Search. --— Rhododendrites ^talk | 21:59, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Wow. Amazing. Thanks. I never knew that existed. Thank you! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 23:14, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

New font/font size?

Has Wikipedia changed the font/font size that it's pages are displayed in recently? Looks much bigger/chunkier and more readable to me. Or is it just me? 202.153.41.162 (talk) 21:33, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It's not just you but I don't find it more readable. --TammyMoet (talk) 21:38, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

See this piece in the Signpost: Why we're updating the default typography for Wikipedia. --— Rhododendrites ^talk | 22:01, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I don't like it. 82.44.76.14 (talk) 22:18, 3 April 2014 (UTC) They changed it; now it sucks.50.43.180.176 (talk) 22:27, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

What is the name of the new font? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:50, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That depends on what operating system you're using and what fonts are installed. Your browser will pick the first available font from Arimo, Liberation Sans, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, or a generic sans-serif font. --Carnildo (talk) 01:11, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

As a former professional non-fiction editor, I've always thought that san-serif typefaces are a poor choice for reference works, because the numeral one (1) and lower-case letter el (l) are often indistinguishable, not to mention lower case eye (i) at low resolutions. Zero (0) and capital oh (O) can also be problematical. Admittedly these aren't problems in whatever particular font I'm currently seeing. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 13:35, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

One major problem: The new font does not show italic type. → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 14:49, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Which... shows up on my display. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 14:54, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I did not have an italic version installed. I added Arimo. ... Now Carnildo or anyone, what serif fonts does it choose from for headings? → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 16:15, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The heading font list is Linux Libertine, Georgia, Times, or a generic serif font. --Carnildo (talk) 02:56, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It looks fairly ugly. Was the "community" consulted about this, or did they just go ahead and do it? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:22, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, it's been in beta for ages.

I don't know if they conducted surveys or anything, but there was certainly a lengthy process. APL (talk) 18:18, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

How much time has the human race lost listening to the answering machine lady?

Request for opinion with no reference-able question Rojomoke (talk) 04:59, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

"The person you are trying to call: ONE...EIGHT...ZERO...ZERO...EIGHT...SIX...SEVEN...FIVE...THREE...ZERO...NINE... is not available. At the tone, please record your message. When you are finished recording, you may hang up, or press one for more options. To leave a callback number, press five."

That's what I have to hear almost every time I want to leave a five-second message. It's longer than most messages I leave. Worst of all, after the first time somebody hears it and leaves a message, there is no reason to have to hear it again for the rest of your life; waiting for the beep and talking is one of the easiest things to do in recorded human history.

How much time is wasted on the planet by people sitting through this useless monologue every day? Why can't phone companies truncate it to, say, a five second request: "The person you are trying to call is not available. At the tone, please record your message. *beep*"

I'm just baffled at how phone companies think this 20-second message is necessary on such a common, simple and longstanding system like answering machines. 50.43.180.176 (talk) 22:26, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Same reason they loop the hold music: mind control via sub and superaudible tones, via secret, updated phreaking boxes. Can't have you tuning out halfway. Of course, it's just some stoner on the Internet telling you this without a source, so take it as you will.

But yeah, it's annoying and I also wish it'd stop. Whyever it happens. "Too much" is how much. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:53, April 3, 2014 (UTC)

Pay for an Answering machine that lets you pre-record your own greeting and callers will admire you for every precious second you save. If you own a telephone operating company, by all means take the risk of telling thousands of callers that their message will reach only the person they think they probably dialled, because impatient people never make mistakes ^{citation required} and messages of life or death importance are never^{citation required sent by telephone. 84.209.89.214 (talk) 23:23, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
But the repeating of the number lets you know if you have reached a correct number or if you misdialed. Bus stop (talk) 23:37, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]}

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but mistakes should have consequences and patient, careful people should be considered as having paid their dues, thus the world cater to them. Instead, we get this nonsense, and our properly spelled words get AutoCorrected. Good products get recalled (or changed) because careless, impatient people hurt themselves. If I wasn't a stoner, I'd be outraged. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:19, April 4, 2014 (UTC)

Try pressing #. On many voicemail systems, this will take you directly to the beep. Or, you can try telling the person you're calling they should record a personal greeting in their own voice that is shorter. The voicemail greeting you are hearing is a default system greeting. Voicemail systems let you record a personal greeting in your own voice, but some people never bother to do this, or actually prefer the system greeting. --Bavi H (talk) 00:56, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I also find that not caring tends to solve problems like this best. Try that for a while and see how it goes. --Jayron32 01:38, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Funny thing is that if you pay attention the first time, when she speaks slowly in case you have difficulty, and learn the prompts, and press them as soon as you hear the voicemail has picked up the next time you make a call, the system will work immediately, and the mechanical woman won't bite back. μηδείς (talk) 03:02, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It is incorrect that there is no reference available. If you order a service such as voice mail from a Local Bell in the U.S. they will usually send you an instructional leaflet separately or in the next bill. You are free to ignore this, which is what many customers do. But you can also read it, request a new pamphlet by calling your customer service center, and even tell frequent callers how to avoid the time-consuming prompts. μηδείς (talk) 21:23, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

April 4

Featuring Articles

how do i feature or connect my website and blog to you. We help addiction treatment all over the US providing unique photos, reviews, ratings and more at http:www,therehabsearcher.com

Thank you Wiki!

www.therehabsearcher.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jwayneccn (talk • contribs) 06:59, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

We are an encyclopedia. Nothing more, nothing less. I'll tell you this, we're very unreceptive to approaches like the one you've taken. It screams of pandering. That's the one thing you'll find we all agree on... we don't like pandering. Present a real indication of notability, and then create a page that presents that. But until then, we will not host pages for anything less than what meets our notability criteria. Shadowjams (talk) 07:32, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Or, to put it another way: Wikipedia does not allow promotion, no matter how worthy the cause. --ColinFine (talk) 08:36, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You can feature our website or connect to us any time and in any way you wish, which is, it seems, the answer to the question you asked, rather than the answer to the question you might have thought you asked. --Dweller (talk) 13:55, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure, they might have meant it either way. If they do want to provide links to our addiction related web pages, they can do that by first going to those pages, then cutting and pasting the URL address, from the top, into a link at their site. For example, the URL for our addiction page is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction. StuRat (talk) 17:23, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

who preceded Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson

who preceded Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.85.72.238 (talk) 23:25, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

If I'm understanding it correctly, he replaced Murray Costello as president. However, that was when it was known as the Canadian Hockey Association. Bob is (or was, I guess) also the chief executive, but he doesn't seem to have taken on that role at the same time. According to this, Bob MacKinnon (not the one we have an article on) was chairman at the time and Nicholson assumed those duties later. That's assuming the titles of CEO, Chief Executive, and Chairman are all referring to the same post. Matt Deres (talk) 02:17, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

April 5

Anyone know what the item shown in this link is?

This item was found on a farm. It's about 3 feet long. http://wonderley.com/Misc/whatsthis.jpg — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wonderley (talk • contribs) 03:24, 5 April 2014 (UTC) Wonderley (talk) 03:27, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Did anyone else have a problem with not being able to use the back button after clicking on that link ? StuRat (talk) 03:58, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yup mine too. Richard Avery (talk) 15:29, 5 April 2014 (UTC) [reply]

I'd guess it goes around an animal's neck, perhaps a sheep, to secure it while shearing off the wool ? StuRat (talk) 03:58, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Shearers have for centuries been using a traditional method of holding sheep with one hand while shearing with the other, besides, the pincer end don't seem to open very wide, just the bendiness of the arms, given the block on the left to which the arms are secured. The handle attached to the 'upper' arm looks as though it is to open the arms, but not much. Maybe a device to put into a bovine or equine mouth to administer drenches although searching doesn't throw up much of use. Of course, we should not discount a rural joker making a device that looks old and purposeful but has the main purpose of making them city folk puzzle awhile. Richard Avery (talk) 15:29, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps this device is for particularly mean rams. And it might have been quite a bit more flexible when new (maybe made of green wood) than it is now. And those blocks to which it's attached might be secured with screws, allowing it to be opened up as needed. StuRat (talk) 15:35, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

As for the problem of not being able to use the back button. My domain name wonderley.com reroutes to my current IP address, so "back" just reroutes back to wonderley.com. For any link that reroutes, just click back twice fairly quickly. Sorry for the trouble. Wonderley (talk) 01:22, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Or people could go to Preferences > Gadgets > Browsing and click the check box to have external links open in a new tab. Dismas|^(talk) 04:43, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah although I couldn't confirm because this doesn't seem to be a problem on my mobile browser (although I did see the redirection), I expected and was going to suggest the same thing as it's something I encounter occasionally on a variety of pages which similarly redirect to something. The other alternative if you are having problems clicking the back button fast enough, on most browsers (including IE, Firefox and Chrome) in Windows desktop (probably any computer with 2 button or more mice) you can right/secondary click on the back button which should show you the history. You can then choose the wikipedia page to go back to and skip the intermediate website. On computers without 2 button mice, I guess you'd need to use whatever is the alternative, e.g. hold touch for touch screen devices or command+ or ctrl+ or hold click if you have a 1 button mouse. Nil Einne (talk) 05:10, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Getting back to the subject at hand... it might help if you could describe it a little more. For example, on the right hand side we see two wedges; how securely are they joined to the "arms" of this thing? At the top there's a kind of handle; does it swivel or pivot or anything? Or is it solidly attached? It's about three feet long, but how wide is it? I'm guessing about four inches, but depth can be tricky in this perspective. Matt Deres (talk) 14:52, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Then there's my Q of whether those wedges are attached with screws, so can be loosened up as needed. StuRat (talk) 14:59, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

GOT it!!! Found another one here with more description: http://www.farmcollector.com/tools/january-2013-mystery-tools-d-and-e.aspx#axzz2yBiwKf5S and an answer to what it is : http://www.farmcollector.com/tools/january-2013-mystery-tool-answers.aspx#axzz2yBiwKf5S It is a Leather-work vise. A patent for something like it. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 08:52, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think so. I DO think their item and this one are the same (even though the "handle" is the opposite direction, but did you look at the link to the patent that gave them this conclusion? The leather work vice in the patent is NOTHING like this item. Wonderley (talk) 17:52, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Taoka Mitsuru

According to [1], Taoka Mitsuru was the son of Taoka Kazuo und a filmproducer. Are there any other sources about him? --Dandelo (talk) 12:44, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

How about this? Oda Mari (talk) 15:08, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Car cameras on masts

Automakers finally seem to be figuring out that they can add backup cameras and such to cars. One safety problem I've noticed in heavy traffic is the inability to see past the car in front of you, which reduces your warning of a problem ahead (you can try to increase your following distance to compensate, but other drivers will just pull into any gap you leave open). A camera on a mast on top of your car might solve that problem without blocking the view of the cars behind you (as just getting a taller vehicle would). My questions:

1) Is anybody doing this now or working on it ?

2) Would it be legal in most jurisdictions ? Some rather tall CB antennas were in use a few decades ago, although those had flexible masts, while these would need to be rigid.

3) I'm thinking some type of image stabilization program would need to be run on the image to compensate for swaying. Are such programs cheap and available ? (If not, I suppose you could still see taillights lighting up ahead on it.)

StuRat (talk) 16:09, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You haven't seen the Infiniti Q50 commercial (ad nauseum) boasting of the feature that warns you about a possible collision "two cars ahead"? (Oddly enough, it's not mentioned in either that article or Collision avoidance system.) It sort of talks about it here, but doesn't really explain anything. It does say "Radar scanners, laser scanners, and cameras are installed around the car to constantly capture the car’s surroundings", but in reference to a different feature. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:46, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Unless that radar can pass through the cars in front of you, I don't get how it could do what they claim, unless they do intend to use a mast, as I suggested. StuRat (talk) 04:27, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Stu, how would your rigid "mast" cope with low clearance bridges? One I'm familiar with is 1.9 metres (6 feet) high. HiLo48 (talk) 04:42, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That is one low bridge. We have trucks here, and bridges are designed to let them fit under, so any reasonable length mast ought to work. I did think that having the ability to fold it down would be smart for places like parking garages with low clearances. Maybe it could unfold, then telescope up, to fully deploy it. StuRat (talk) 06:01, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It could raise and lower like a periscope. → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 11:46, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That would require a vertical tube in the passenger compartment to receive it, and that might not be welcomed by consumers. StuRat (talk) 15:01, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Here we go. Infiniti says it sends "a radar pulse underneath the car just in front of you that locks onto the second vehicle". Clarityfiend (talk) 15:35, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I'm a bit skeptical that such an approach would work reliably. How about low ground clearance sports cars ? How about rises, dips, potholes and bumps in the road ? If it's trying to bounce off the pavement under the car in front, those things would be a problem, not to mention gravel or dirt roads (or paved roads with snow or salt on them). If trying to send a direct signal under the car in front, the radar signal and detector unit would need to be very close to the ground, making them likely to be damaged. StuRat (talk) 15:44, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It doesn't necessarily need to be central on the car, so it could retract into a side pillar rather than the passenger cabin. MChesterMC (talk) 08:16, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It need not even be that tall. Even just six inches would give you much more of a view when you factor in the distance between the roof and the eyes of the driver. Dismas|^(talk) 08:56, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

6 inches might not be enough to see over the SUV in front of you (although, admittedly, if there's a commercial truck in front of you, it may not be possible to see over that). I do think a central location would be better, too, as that makes it less likely to hit things on the side, like overhanging trees in need of a trim. If it were placed on one side, the driver's side would be better, giving a view more in line with their location and being less likely to hit anything there. StuRat (talk) 15:15, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

People who married each other more than once

I seem to be forever coming across cases of notable people who married someone, divorced them, then married them again (and sometimes divorced them again). Liz Taylor and Richard Burton are one well-known example, but there are a whole heap of others. We can do with a comprehensive list, but I don't want to recreate the wheel, as it were. Is there a handy list somewhere already? I've had a look around but nothing's coming up. Thanks. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:03, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

See 26 Celebrities Who Married the Same Person Twice. Wikipedia can have Category:People who remarried the same person and "List of people who remarried the same person".

—Wavelength (talk) 20:20, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Just pointing out that it double counts the Burton/Taylor marriages since it is listing individual celebs and not couples. Dismas|^(talk) 01:45, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Wavelength, that's a good starting point. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:31, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The new category and the new list can be in Category:Married couples.

—Wavelength (talk) 00:51, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

April 6

Mothman

At the moment, the article Mothman doesn't reconstruct the origin of the term. According several sources, the term was created in analogy to Batman or inspired by his criminal counterpart Killer Moth. It seems more plausible that it's an amalgamation of the two... can anyone confirm or refute this? Was the Watchmen character Mothman influenced by either the "real" Mothman, or by Killer Moth? And after all, more important: Who invented the term, and when? --KnightMove (talk) 09:24, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I noticed the 1966 newspaper citation in the Mothman article (fn 1) is no longer valid. I found this list of articles about the sightings from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. The November 19, 1966, linked article from the Huntington Herald-Dispatch -- "That Mothman: Would You Believe a Sandhill Crane?" -- uses the term and ascribes its origin to people who spotted the "monster."--Dreamahighway (talk) 17:48, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Selling items on eBay

I have only bought – never sold – items on eBay. Hence, my question. As a (potential) buyer, I can select a certain item to "watch". So, it is placed on my "watch list" and I can monitor its activity. When a person is selling an item on eBay, is that seller given any information about whether or not his item is being "watched"? Is the seller made aware simply in general terms that the item is being watched? How many people are watching that item? Or is the seller given specific information indicating which individual buyers are watching that item? So, in other words, will the seller know that it is me specifically who is watching his item? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:44, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It tells you how many people are watching your item - but nothing more than that. You can't see who in particular is watching. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 17:28, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

A seller may receive questions via eBay from interested potential buyers. 84.209.89.214 (talk) 17:17, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Trying to find what the Indians called "Rocky Mount"

Trying to find information on what place or area the Indians called "Rocky Mount". Location possibly in or around the areas of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba.206.174.112.127 (talk) 22:19, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia has articles on several places named Rocky Mount, though none are anywhere near the Canadian Great Plains. Do you know which Indians/First Nations people they were? --Jayron32 00:58, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Rocky Mount is mentioned as a place of birth for two of 11 children(from an 1886 Metis/Canadian scrip). Chippewa/Ojibwa/Cree. Other places of birth mentioned are Swift Current, St. Francois Xavier, Wood Mountain, Cypress Hills, Milk River. Considering the areas I kind of figured it had to be somewhere around these places. There were 9 living children. The family left St. Francois Xavier in 1864 for the Northwest Territories. Does that help Jayron? There are ages listed for each child and place of birth if you think that may be of any help. ?206.174.112.127 (talk) 01:33, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I did some Google searches and can't find much. Perhaps this gazetteer: [2] could help... --Jayron32 11:04, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Further: Found a searchable gazetteer run by the Canadian government. Here indicates that there is no record, in their data bases, of any Canadian place ever being called "Rocky Mount". --Jayron32 11:06, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

April 7

Pattern to English sentences

I thought the math desk might have been the best place for this. But then I thought computers because of the cryptographic possibilities. Though it deals with language too. So here goes...

Is there a pattern to English sentences as far as where shorter vs. longer words traditionally fall? For instance, if I were to take some sufficiently long book, say the latest Stephen King novel, and graph each sentence with the length of the sentence (in words) on the X axis and the length of each word (in letters) on the Y, would a pattern emerge? Would there be more short words at the beginning or end? Or would they fall in the middle more? Has anyone looked into this? Dismas|^(talk) 10:55, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I don't recall coming across mention of this specific pattern, but such analysis would fall within the discipline of Stylometry. That article isn't very detailed, but you might find further information in links from it, of by using the term to web-search for more detailed treatments. As usual, I have some possibly relevant dead-tree texts at home, but I'm currently at the office. (Lunch break – honest!) {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 13:12, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yes such patterns are detectable. See Word lists by frequency. There is abundant software available for word frequency analysis which has been used to investigate Biblical authors and "who wrote Shakespeare". Frequency analysis of text similar to encrypted text can be exploited by a cryptanalyst to attack a simple Substitution cipher because frequency distributions of letters and word lengths in the plaintext are preserved in the ciphertext. Author Stephen King sets out each day with a quota of 2000 words and will not stop writing until it is met. The language distribution in his books might be ascribed to a combination of these factors: English language, an author who is paid by the word supplying an established demographic of readers, and King's conscious and unconscious choices of style. Generic patterns in a written language without idiosyncrasy would be better detected in text from multiple authors. The Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives could offer a valuable accessible non-copyright source for analysis of representative modern English prose used by educated speakers if publication of this research were not being suppressed by administrator(s) aware of their lapses over time being revealed. 84.209.89.214 (talk) 13:17, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Why Did You Make Your Content Hard To Read?

I know there is a very lazy trend about which has a lot of websites using this bold sans serif type, but Wikipedia should know that it makes the content VERY DIFFICULT TO READ. CSS3 and HTML5 support readable type very well.

Is there any way to get the pages back to normal type now that you have done this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by EShanak (talk • contribs) 19:22, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Sort of. I think what you have to do is go to Preferences | Appearance and set it to "Monobook" instead of the default, "Vector". That will give you the old-old version. Give it a try. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:52, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Also, see a few sections above, "New font/font size?" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:55, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And you could join my (so far very poorly organised) campaign to have the people who introduce these sorts of changes actually learn something about effective Change management. HiLo48 (talk) 22:14, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Was there any kind of attention-getting notice at the top of the page? (Like when they ask for money?) Or is it as someone said above, "It's been in beta for months", i.e. Wikipedia users are somehow supposed to be aware that they need to review "beta" in order to keep the owners from pulling a fast one. That's what I might call "passive notification". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:05, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

No broadcast notice. That would have told too many people about it, wouldn't it? Apparently there was something at the Technical Village Pump page. Don't you look there every day? HiLo48 (talk) 00:36, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, I look there two or three times as often as I look at the beta page. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:30, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Are there any questions that could theoretically go in ANY of the Wikipedia Reference Desks?

Could a single question somehow touch upon all the various topics that get their own reference desk? If so, what are some examples of questions? 50.43.180.176 (talk) 22:37, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Something about the technology and algorithms behind those pesky Floridan voting boxes, and how it affected the state's cynical art scene and national media vocabulary, perhaps? InedibleHulk (talk) 22:48, April 7, 2014 (UTC)

This is a reference desk, not a chat desk. We don't make up questions. μηδείς (talk) 01:36, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

We do when someone asks for one. It's called an answer. Even if it's phrased like a question. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:39, April 8, 2014 (UTC)

Sometimes we need to ask questions of the OP to elicit more information so that we can better provide references to answer their questions. --Jayron32 02:14, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And sometimes I fart and blame it on the dog. The issue here is that we don't do open-ended speculation. The user is free to search the archives himself and form his own opinion. But we don't make up fictional answers. μηδείς (talk) 02:21, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

A particularly ambiguous question might fit every desk. I can't come up with anything good, but for a stupid example: hey, wot duz cardinal mean? ... (Science desk ... Computer desk ... Humanities desk ... Language desk ... Entertainment desk ... Mathematics desk ... Miscellaneous desk). ---Sluzzelin talk 02:27, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The most obvious example I can think of is, "I have a question about [insert topic here]. Which ref desk page should I post at?" Posted on all the ref desk pages, of course. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:28, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

My computer has an entertaining quirk. For all the humanity in me, I can't fathom why the language I type into it, is not the same language that comes out of it. I've checked the mathematics of the algorithms and all the science seems about right. Does anybody know why whenever I type French on my computer, it comes out as English? And also—which Reference desk should I post this on? Bus stop (talk) 02:36, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

April 8

Future of Bangladesh.

Under the leadership of Sk.Hasina the prime minister the country will develope very fast. But the oppositions and other group of the country trying to resist it.I want to put some valuable advice for PM.How can I do that. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.226.37.112 (talk) 00:00, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Do you want to send him a letter or email ? If so, maybe we can find an address for you to send it to. BTW, I would advise him to prepare for global warming, since, with the low elevation there and yearly monsoons, Bangladesh is extremely vulnerable. StuRat (talk) 00:05, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

other wikis

is there other wikis? I would like to have a list. thanks for your help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.56.200.125 (talk) 01:00, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

There's pretty much a Wiki for every general topic. List of Wikis is what you asked for, but Googling anything+wiki will find more. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:25, April 8, 2014 (UTC)

You didn't ask for List of wiki software, but you can have it. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:27, April 8, 2014 (UTC)

can you get a degree in Spokes?

Other than celebrity or ex officio, what career track leads to "spokesperson"? —Tamfang (talk) 02:54, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Journalism would help. Many spokespeople (especially in the political realm) are either trained as or former journalists. See Press secretary, Press agent, Attaché, etc. Many of the people who held those jobs were journalists by training (André Laguerre, Pierre Salinger, Stephen Early, etc.). --Jayron32 02:59, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I should also note that in the EXACT article you linked, it states "In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and public affairs..." So, if you actually read the article, you'd have answered your own question. --Jayron32 03:00, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

If AVG is #2, who is #1?

Here AVG is marked as the #2 anti virus. Who is number one according to this roster? 50.43.180.176 (talk) 03:22, 8 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]