Wikipedia:Teahouse
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Your go-to place for friendly help with using and editing Wikipedia.
Note: Newer questions appear at the bottom of the Teahouse. Completed questions are archived within 2–3 days.
How to change title of wikipedia page
Hello everyone,
Anyone can help me with how to change the title of the established wikipage. I want to change from "Offshore and onshore reliability data" to "Offshore and Onshore Reliability Data(OREDA)". Thank you very much in advance. Thank you. TAONINT DK (talk) 11:57, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello @NT DK: I have two answers for you. The first is, you probably shouldn't rename it to your proposed title, because your proposal would go against established Wikipedia convention for article titles. Wikipedia:Article titles explains all the guidelines, but basically, we don't include both the full name and the abbreviation in the title. The current title appears to be the correct title. Now, in the future, if you DO want to rename a page, you move it to a new title. Instructions are at Wikipedia:Moving a page. --Jayron32 12:11, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi @Jayron32: Thanks for your quick answer. If I like to change the title to "OREDA", is that okay? The reason why I want to change is that when I use google to search OREDA, it seems the wikipage cannot be easily found and OREDA is the name known to many people instead of "Offshore and onshore reliability data". Cheers,--NT DK (talk) 12:21, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi NT DK. I have created a redirect from OREDA to the article so that anyone searching for it here should find it easily.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:32, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi @Fuhghettaboutit: Thanks very much :)--NT DK (talk) 12:37, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi NT DK. I have created a redirect from OREDA to the article so that anyone searching for it here should find it easily.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:32, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi @Jayron32: Thanks for your quick answer. If I like to change the title to "OREDA", is that okay? The reason why I want to change is that when I use google to search OREDA, it seems the wikipage cannot be easily found and OREDA is the name known to many people instead of "Offshore and onshore reliability data". Cheers,--NT DK (talk) 12:21, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Any reason why the article should not be moved to "Offshore and Onshore Reliability Data"? As far as I can tell articles about similar projects whose names are tantamount to proper nouns are capitalised as such.--ukexpat (talk) 12:40, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Yeah, appears to be a proper noun, but it also looks like the acronym is far more common, meets WP:ACRONYMTITLE, and the article should be moved over the redirect I created. There should probably also be a redirect created from the fuller name with "Project" at the end.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:52, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Thanks for solutions and discussions. However I still couldn't use google to find the page by searching OREDA easily. Any suggestion? Cheers,--NT DK (talk) 12:57, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Yeah, appears to be a proper noun, but it also looks like the acronym is far more common, meets WP:ACRONYMTITLE, and the article should be moved over the redirect I created. There should probably also be a redirect created from the fuller name with "Project" at the end.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:52, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Any reason why the article should not be moved to "Offshore and Onshore Reliability Data"? As far as I can tell articles about similar projects whose names are tantamount to proper nouns are capitalised as such.--ukexpat (talk) 12:40, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
Draft
Can I edit drafts created by other users ? Action Hero 11:52, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Yes, you can, Action Hero. If it is a draft that somebody is actively working on, then it would be polite to start up a conversation with them, either on the draft's talk page or their user talk page, particularly if you're making significant changes. But there is no requirement to do so, and if you're making minor edits (eg correcting spelling mistakes) I would just make them. The relevant guidelines are that nobody owns an article (or draft) and that editors should behave civilly towards each other. --ColinFine (talk) 12:18, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
Language References?
I've tried tweaking a couple of articles e.g. Sun_Moon_Lake to put in pinyin (or possibly missing 繁體 characters) however I have not seen any guides etc on how to do so, or what should\should not be included. While my changes have added to the article(s), I'm not sure they've been a total success. Ideally I'd like to lose the Chinese link but have no idea how to code it out. Anyone able to point me in the right direction? 人族 (talk) 11:36, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hey 人族, This is not an area with which I'm familiar but see Wikipedia:Manual of Style/China-related articles (MOS:CHINESE). Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:41, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
Need help with sources for Wikipedia on living individual
Hello, I have created the following page and need helping with understanding how to properly provide sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Vatanka
I understand that it's difficult to create articles on living individuals, so any help would be great and wonderful. Thank you in advance.
(EL-738 (talk) 08:21, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello! The first question that has to be asked is not how to provide sources; it's whether sufficient reliable, independent, major sources exist to make this person an acceptable subject for an article. In other words, whether the person is notable or not.
- Your article has a speedy deletion notice on it right now because there seems to be no evidence of significant independent coverage of this person. For example, regarding his book, you would need to show that it has received significant reviews in independent, notable publications (the publisher's page simply does not establish notability.) Similarly, the person has to have significant coverage in multiple independent, major media outlets. Currently, the article does not assert that such coverage exists, and the assumption is that it does not assert this because such coverage does not exist; in other words, the person is not notable.
- If the necessary third-party coverage on the subject does not exist, then there is no way to "fix" this. It is then an issue of insufficient notability, and that would mean the person in question is not an appropriate subject for a Wikipedia article.--Ashenai (talk) 09:10, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
I uploaded pictures that were seen yesterday and earlier today but now a permision error appear. Will the pictures will eventually will be seen again??
Additional Info: the following message appears when I click the pictures added to articles Permission error You do not have permission to upload this file, for the following reason:
The action you have requested is limited to users in one of the groups: Autoconfirmed users, Administrators, Confirmed users.Efeliciano ms (talk) 02:52, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi Efeliciano ms. You uploaded a number of pictures to the Wikimedia Commons, a media repository and sister site that only hosts images that are free – "free" meaning either in the public domain or which bear any of a number of highly un-restrictive free copyright licenses. All of them were either deleted as copyright violations, or as non-free copyrighted images and therefore not acceptable at the Commons.
Based on what you've said, it appears that you tried more recently to upload some images locally, that is, at this site, rather than at the Commons. I am guessing that is what occurred because the message you're reporting, that you were blocked from uploading them based on lack of autoconfirmed status would not happen at the Commons but would happen here. Autoconfirmation is a restriction from taken certain actions until an account has made at least ten edits and is four days old. You have a sufficient number of edits but you have not aged out (and will not until after 19:34 (UTC) on September 10, 2015).
Unlike the Commons, we do accept some non-free images here, but the requirements they must meet are very strict. Non-free images can only be used under a valid claim of fair use. The rules are a bit complicated but to meet that copyright exception standard, a (low resolution) image's use in a specific location and for a specific purpose must meet all ten of the criteria set forth at Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria. If you tell us about the images you want to upload, where they're from, who owns them, where you intended to use them and so forth, we can provide more tailored information on use. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:20, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
What to do about a grievance
Hi Tea house, it's Cityside189. Another user is bothering me on my Talk page, sharing her suspicions about me being an unwelcome user. She thinks I am a previous user inappropriately here by another name. It bothers me, but I do have thin skin and I consider each day to be a learning experience. If the one comment was all, it would be one thing. But today she is again posting her ongoing suspicions of me which is unwelcome and uncomfortable, and I have asked her to stop. In good faith I wrote about how certain behaviors were vexing to me, and asked her to stop so we could move along, and said that if it kept up I would consider my attempts at resolving this as failed and would take the matter up where administrators could intervene on my behalf. My talk page lays this all out and concludes with her comment that I'd better just leave this alone, it would be wise of me to do so. I consider this as a veiled threat that she will make things even more uncomfortable for me if I complain about her. I'm aware that there is a forum of administrators who look at these things but I have been warned of the boomerang effect. In my case I don't think there is anything to boomerang because I did nothing to deserve her negativism. Is there something I can do? I don't see this as being a helpful dialog with her and would like to leave it alone but at the same time, I did say I would complain about her behavior if she kept bothering me, which she did in her last post. I realize Flyer22 is an established editor and may have some idiosyncrasy credits to fight the good fight, even if it means there are some unfortunate false positives along the way. I wouldn't think it would be justifiable but then again I'm too new to know for sure what the culture of the place is all about. And if that's what Wikipedia is all about, I will consider Flyer22 in that light. If you have other advice for me I would be grateful to receive your opinions. --Cityside189 (talk) 02:26, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Anyone wanting to see what I stated can click on this link (that's a WP:Permalink). I was explicitly clear that I wouldn't be bothering Cityside189 regarding WP:Sockpuppet suspicions without evidence. He chose to escalate the matter when I was also explicitly clear that I would be standing by my beliefs as far as his editing experience goes. This is similar to a case from earlier this year: Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 355#What have I done wrong?. Since that case involving Sovereign Sentinel, Sovereign Sentinel realizes why I approached him the way I did, and has come to me for WP:Sockpuppet advice. I suspect the reason that Cityside189 escalated this matter is because he doesn't want me to bother him at the Sex offender article and similar articles; he is well aware that I edit sexual topics and keep junk out of such articles. I will eventually get around to clearing out junk at the Sex offender article. I also suspect that the reason that Cityside189 did not take his issue concerning me to WP:AN or WP:ANI is because he is all too aware that a number of WP:Administrators trust my instincts on WP:Sockpuppet matters and he didn't want his editing history to be under such intense scrutiny. He was at WP:ANI defending his account earlier this year, after all, especially to Beyond My Ken (BMK). Flyer22 (talk) 02:55, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Cityside189 I note that with your seventh edit you successfully opened a case at DRN so you should be right to do that again if you feel you cant resolve the issue. You can also request direct action at WP:ANI. Flat Out (talk) 03:10, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- From what I have read in talk pages for articles it seems that there are some that continually will jump to the worst conclusions in order to what I can only assume is bad faith editing. If it becomes very apparent I believe that there are avenues by which to call attention and reach a consensus within all of WP with others commenting. My only concern is that there might be other editors that are willing to side with those that have more editing experience as the offender being more correct and taking personal ownership of an article. Someone more in the know can direct you to consensus building mechanisms within WP. One of the problems I find with editing credits is that some editors only comment on the work of others and seem to be less prone to contributing their own work to an article. There really should be a distinction between mere reverting rather than original contributions. Mind you I did not say original research but original work that others can potentially revert if found outside the WP standards.Srednuas Lenoroc (talk) 03:11, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, Cityside189. Sadly, I do not think that the Teahouse is a very good place to resolve these kinds of disputes among two editors. The best that I can do is to state the obvious:.Because of the concerns raised by Flyer22, and because you have freely chosen to edit a highly controversial article, your editing will be scrutinized closely. Every editor's edits can be scrutinized by any other editor at any time. That is a basic principle here on Wikipedia. So, be careful to edit in full compliance with our policies and guidelines, and all will be well. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 03:20, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- From what I have read in talk pages for articles it seems that there are some that continually will jump to the worst conclusions in order to what I can only assume is bad faith editing. If it becomes very apparent I believe that there are avenues by which to call attention and reach a consensus within all of WP with others commenting. My only concern is that there might be other editors that are willing to side with those that have more editing experience as the offender being more correct and taking personal ownership of an article. Someone more in the know can direct you to consensus building mechanisms within WP. One of the problems I find with editing credits is that some editors only comment on the work of others and seem to be less prone to contributing their own work to an article. There really should be a distinction between mere reverting rather than original contributions. Mind you I did not say original research but original work that others can potentially revert if found outside the WP standards.Srednuas Lenoroc (talk) 03:11, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
I am not sure exactly how to get the look I desire on the page I am trying to create
Compared to other pages I have seen, I am not sure how to get the desired look I am wanting for the page I am trying to create Prettyboy floydstarprettyboy_floydstar (talk) 01:31, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello, Prettyboy floydstar and welcome to the Teahouse. First of all, which page do you refer to? If it is Draft:Prettyboy floydstar, there are several serious content issues to deal with before any "look" becomes relevant.
- First of all, that draft needs more and better citations to independent reliable sources that discuss the subject in some detail. This means not blogs, not fan pages, not the subject's on site, not interviews, not publications with no editorial control, not press releases, not directory entries, not social media or fora, not brief one-or two-line mentions, not mere event results with no discussion. Newspapers or news sites or magazines or similar sources that devote several paragraphs at least to the subject would be good.
- Secondly, use a more formal tone The subject should be referred to by last name, not first name, as should other people on second mention (full names on first mention). No opinions or evaluations should be included unless these are attributed and cited to named individuals or entities. Phrases such as "setting an unparalled mark in his career", "formed a band of wrestling's notorious outlaws, and "working with wrestling superstar talent" should go. Spelling and grammar must be checked and corrected.
- Thirdly, the reference formatting needs to be corrected. See WP:REFB.
- Fourthly, neither Wikipedia nor any wikia site is a reliable source,
- I hope these comments help. DES (talk) 02:39, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
Is it possble to empty a category after the main cat has been deleted?
Hi. The category [[1]] has about 1500-odd entries and the main category listed there of General Service Areas has been canned. I've been removing a few of these entries at a time and was wondering if emptying the entire cat is possible without leaving the sea of red links that would result on each of the towns and villages listed there.
Regards, Aloha27 talk 23:29, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, Aloha27. Actually, it's not the category that has been deleted but the article General Service Area; and outside of WIkipedia namespace, about the only link to it is in Category:General_Service_Areas_in_Nova_Scotia. Removing a template takes care of that, and I have done it. RockMagnetist(talk) 23:57, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
New wiki page
Is there a simple way to create a new wiki page by, for instance, adapting a template. the only info I could find seemed hugely complicated Ian B Evans (talk) 21:05, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, Tykewalker. I suggest that you read Your first article. Yes, it is complicated. We are writing well-referenced encyclopedia articles for a worldwide audience here, not Facebook posts. Feel free to ask specific questions here at the Teahouse. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 21:12, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- (edit conflict) :You can use the WP:WIZARD to help. Often though, early articles just have some basics and the form and structure evolve to match what the reliable sources have available for the particular subject (ie dont try to fit a square peg in a round hole if that is not what the sources support)-- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 21:15, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Grammar style of dates
Is there any grammatical reason why "on" should precede "Month" and "Year" instead of "in" when a specific day or set of days is not included?Srednuas Lenoroc (talk) 20:29, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, Srednuas Lenoroc. It is customary to say that something happened on a particular day, but in a particular month. For example, I got married on a Friday in the month of May. Note that this is customary American English usage; other Englishes (British English, Indian English, New Zealand English, etc.) may have different conventions. As for why it's that way? Like a lot of English grammar rules, it just is. —GrammarFascist (talk) 20:48, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Missed the mark: "on" should precede "Month" and "Year".Srednuas Lenoroc (talk) 20:56, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Dates have "on" regardless of whether they're written with month or day first. Periods of time of a month or longer (seasons, years, decades) have "in." Valenciano (talk) 21:08, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
So are you saying that it is grammatically correct that a date appear with on such as "on January 2015" rather than "in January 2015"?Srednuas Lenoroc (talk) 01:33, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- I do not think that is what the editor said, Srednuas Lenoroc. They referred to "periods of time of a month or longer". My opinion is given as a native speaker of American English. We use "on" regarding one specific day, no matter the date format: "on September 8, 2015" or "on 8 September, 2015". When speaking of a longer time period, such as a month or a year, the accepted word is "in".
- I am unaware of other variations of the English language that do things differently, but perhaps there are. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 02:14, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
I was speaking of no other example of grammatically correct date style except "on Month Year" as it seems to be a well used style in WP articles especially with the 2000 dates. And another editor seemed to scold me for having change a "on Month Year" correction to "in Month Year". Just wanted to make certain before I corrected any others.Srednuas Lenoroc (talk) 02:59, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
Do established links restrict one's ability to revise an article?
I would like to make major revisions to "instrumental value," but the talk page warns [in 2008] against changing headers coming from linked articles. Should I take this warning seriously? Thanks.63.228.84.26 (talk) 18:56, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, 63.228.84.26. That editor hasn't been active since 2008, so do not worry too much. Before you change a header, simply check for incoming links to that section, and edit those links as well. There is a tool on the left side of the article called "What links here" to help you with that. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 19:07, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Article references in foreign languages
Hello. I am writing articles about lesser known monuments in the area where I live (South Spain). Unfortunately the references that I would like to cite are in Spanish. Can I include them nevertheless? 83.58.17.242 (talk) 17:20, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello @83.58.17.242:: Absolutely! If an equivalent English language source did exist, you should use that, but sources in ANY language are perfectly fine, and if a source only exists in Spanish, there's no problem using your Spanish sources. See Wikipedia:Verifiability#Non-English_sources for more details on how to cite non-English sources. One thing you can do is provide a translation of the relevent passage in the footnote of the citation, which may help English speakers verify it. --Jayron32 17:26, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Objection on secondery sources of the page Masuduzzaman
I made this page: Masuduzzaman. But your objection is: "no secondary sources, nothing to support the claim that he was "one of the leading poets of 1970's of Bangladesh" But this objection is not valid. Because Masuduzzaman published many poems in the newspapers, online news portals and he also published 3 volume of poetry books, so, please remove your objection. If you need, I can give ISBN numbers of his books. Abid11111 (talk) 11:55, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Please add citations to the article as described at referencing for beginners.--ukexpat (talk) 13:37, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello, Abid11111. I'm afraid poems or books by Masuduzzaman do not contribute in any way to his notability, in Wikipedia's sense of the word. What is required is substantial writing about him and his work, by people unconnected with him, and published in reliable places such as major newspapers or books from reputable publishers. Only if such sources exist will it be possible to write an acceptable article about him, because a Wikipedia article should be based nearly 100% on what people unconnected with the subject have written about the subject. --ColinFine (talk) 15:41, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
One of the problems of writing about eastern subjects for the western world is that the way by which people or works are judged of the same quality are not as "available" to the west because the opportunity afforded western subjects are greater, and eastern subjects thought by the western world to be relevant more prevalent say for the ancients rather than the more recent say last 200 years. Ate those subject/person/works included in anthologies for a particular group. Has someone in the foreword commented on how significant is that. Has any one commented on how significant is a particular "native" publisher.
An example. In the US books by a particular person are significant because they are thought to be of such value they are included in university/college reading programs. Comments are made in book reviews and professional journals or in surveys on a particular type of subject/person/work. Find the same in any other nationality/language and you are on your way to a start. It might take some convincing because those in authority may need to be assured what is included in WP is of an unbiased quality and they are unaware of the quality of your source. If you have to rely on western publishers and newspapers then the full context of what article you want to write is probably impossible based on the western avenues of understanding of what needs to be done. There have to be reasons why there is WP in many languages so these reputable sources have to exist, just maybe not in American, or British or Spanish or French.Srednuas Lenoroc (talk) 20:55, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
ContentsVirginia 11:22, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Dear all, How do you get a nice little contents section up? Many thanks! Virginia Virginia 11:22, 8 September 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Virginialharvey (talk • contribs)
- Hi, welcome to the Teahouse! I'm not sure what you mean by "contents section". Are you asking about how to make a table of contents? Or do you just mean you'd like to know how to write an article? --Ashenai (talk) 11:43, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- For each page which has at least four headings, a table of contents (TOC) is automatically generated from the section headings. For details, see WP:TOC. --Gronk Oz (talk) 15:00, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Hello, Can someone help in making my page live asap
Hello, I have a page of Wiki, and I want to make it live asap. The page is of a very famous Indian Television Producer who have made his mark in the industry. Here is the link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Sumeet_Mittal Please help me in making it liveShashank29 (talk) 08:08, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Firstly there is no point in asking again the question that you asked 4 minutes earlier, so your duplicate request has been deleted.
- Secondly, did you or Ankyth read the answers to your questions at Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive_382#Hello I have recently updated my page and Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 382#Help my article publish?
- Thirdly, is there any good reason why Draft:Sumeet Mittal should have priority over the 600 or so other articles in the queue awaiting review? As was said when the questions were asked a week ago, there is no deadline. - David Biddulph (talk) 09:38, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Ankyth have created this page and I am collecting the information to update the page. The page is not for promotion, it is just to provide information about the ProducerShashank29 (talk) 11:52, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- If you want to help get it approved, you will be looking for reliably published, third-party sources that discuss the subject in a significant manner. Blog posts, entertainment gossip pages and PR firm promotions do not count. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 18:16, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
How to get help with user who deletes Speedy deletion tag on own page?
How to get help with user who deletes Speedy deletion tag on own page?
Happy_Attack_Dog (Throw Me a Bone) 02:20, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Revert them. Then, explain the speedy tag on their talk page, tell them why you nominated it, and ask them to not remove it! If they will not stop after multiple warnings, you can report them
to WP:AN3to WP:AIV, see below (thanks for the correction!) The editor in question has apparently stopped reverting, though, so this shouldn't be necessary. --Ashenai (talk) 02:44, 8 September 2015 (UTC)- Hi Happy Attack Dog See the warning template series starting with
{{Uw-speedy1}}
and escalating:{{Uw-speedy2}}
,{{Uw-speedy3}}
,{{Uw-speedy4}}
. If the user does not stop after a final warning, then report them for a block at Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism (WP:AIV). This is an everyday occurrence almost always done through this track. (This is not a matter for reporting at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Edit warring, Ashenai; it's not that type of "content dispute".) Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:05, 8 September 2015 (UTC)- Hey @Happy Attack Dog:. I was just looking through your recent contribs to try to figure out which user you were having trouble with. What I found, among your contributions, is this warning you left for a long-experience Wikipedia user, who near as I can tell, created a redirect from an alternate spelling and nothing else. I'm not sure what was "inappropriate" about that, as your warning noted. You seem to be interested in new page patrolling and vandalism patrolling. Just a few tips: 1) Slow down and get it right: As that warning shows, it's easy to warn the wrong person, or for the wrong reasons, etc. There's nothing at Wikipedia that is so important it needs to be done so quickly that you get a false positive like that. This is doubly damaging as with new editors, you risk scaring them off from Wikipedia, and Wikipedia has a documented problem with a declining editor base; it's things like this that drive people away more than anything else. 2) Similar to #1, warning templates are not your friend. Templates are easy, facile, and completely useless for helping other editors get better, which should be your first, last, and only goal. Essays like WP:DTTR are important because established editors, like the user you warned above, already know the rules. Engage them in conversation, and ask them what they are doing. New editors to find warnings confusing, obtuse, cold, and easily ignorable. Instead, explain the problem in natural language, be available to ask questions or elaborate. Even if you're warning someone for obvious, blatant, eggregious vandalism, it's not hard to type "Hey, this thing you did here, don't do it again or we will block you." Much more direct and obvious than the templates. Just some tips to avoid problems you are having. --Jayron32 19:41, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi Happy Attack Dog See the warning template series starting with
How do I change an image on the wiki page?
How do I change an image on the wiki page?Ronaldwan (talk) 01:33, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome Ronaldwan, which article would you like to edit? Checkingfax (talk) 02:13, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Ronaldwan (talk) 02:21, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello! If the image you want to change it to is already on Wikipedia, you simply change the image URL to the one you want. If not, you'll have to upload the image you want to use. Please read Wikipedia:Image use policy first, though!
- Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Ronaldwan (talk) 02:21, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- It's best to practice a bit if you're not sure what all the stuff in an image template is for. I've put a picture in your sandbox, feel free to experiment with it! --Ashenai (talk) 02:31, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Thanks!Ronaldwan (talk) 02:35, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Ronaldwan, upload image(s) to the Wiki Commons then change the image name and captian to match your new image, or wikilink to the image. The image upload link is to your left if you're in Desktop view. Do you have images in mind? Checkingfax (talk) 02:41, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Thanks!Ronaldwan (talk) 02:35, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- It's best to practice a bit if you're not sure what all the stuff in an image template is for. I've put a picture in your sandbox, feel free to experiment with it! --Ashenai (talk) 02:31, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Can someone help getting past the drafting process?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:The_United_Videogame_Raffle_Federation — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.87.91.187 (talk) 07:09, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Already answered at the Help Desk - Arjayay (talk) 09:07, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
How to become a member of Wikiproject Canine
I have edited several dog articles and am intetested in doing more, but I can't find the link to Wikiproject Canine to confer with other doggy editors. I'm interested in horses as well, and was able to join Wikiproject Equine very easily, but I'd like to join the dog project as well. Can anybody link me to it? I tried searching for all variations of Wikiproject Canine, but got a blank. Thanks. White Arabian mare (talk) 19:20, 7 September 2015 (UTC)White Arabian mare
- Welcome to the Teahouse. You'll see the link on the talk page of relevant articles; it's Wikipedia:WikiProject Dogs. --David Biddulph (talk) 20:01, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Thank you.White Arabian mare (talk) 20:47, 7 September 2015 (UTC)White Arabian mare
Disambiguation tags in article titles
Many article titles include (what I'm calling here) a disambiguation tag: a word or a brief phrase in parentheses to distinguish this article from others that would otherwise have the same title. Some examples in the general area of entertainment are film, book, play.
Is there any standard for these, and if so where is it? How should an editor know whether to use "film" or "movie", "series" or "miniseries" or "mini-series" ... or one of the latter preceded by "television" or "TV" or "tv"? (That makes 3*3=9 a priori possibilities.) I've looked but without success. Please {{Ping}} me to discuss. --Thnidu (talk) 22:01, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello, Thnidu, and welcome to the Teahouse. The first rule is that such a disambiguator is only added when it is needed. If there is only one Joe Bloggs with an article on Wikipedia, it is at Joe Bloggs but if there are several, they may be at Joe Bloggs (editor) or Joe Bloggs (politician). The second rule is not to get over-specific. If Joe Bloggs (author) uniquely identifies the subject, don't name the article Joe Bloggs (author of cat mysteries) Beyond that, it is a judgement call, and the title can always be changed if consensus to do so forms. I believe that "film" is generally preferred to "movie". In most cases "series" would be specific enough so "(TV series)" would be unneeded. Clarity is most important, followed by brevity, I would think. DES (talk) 23:30, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hey Thnidu. In addition to DES' excellent advice above about precision, many specific areas have internal naming conventions pages that go into the details of what parenthetical disambigators one should use. For example, Wikipedia:Naming conventions (films) (WP:NCFILM) covers film, Wikipedia:Naming conventions (television) (WP:NCTV), covers TV, and so on. See Category:Wikipedia naming conventions. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:44, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- @DESiegel and Fuhghettaboutit: Thank you, comrades. --Thnidu (talk) 23:53, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hey Thnidu. In addition to DES' excellent advice above about precision, many specific areas have internal naming conventions pages that go into the details of what parenthetical disambigators one should use. For example, Wikipedia:Naming conventions (films) (WP:NCFILM) covers film, Wikipedia:Naming conventions (television) (WP:NCTV), covers TV, and so on. See Category:Wikipedia naming conventions. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:44, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Citation for June McCarroll page
While adding more detail for the June McCarroll page, I found several parts have been marked "unreliable source." One, in specific, is of her divorce from Timothy Hill. The newspaper article source I had only listed a one-sentence notice. The citation has been marked unreliable due to not being long enough, although I quoted the full notice. How do I get this to be marked as "reliable source"?? Also, her parents' listings at Findagrave are also listed as "unreliable" despite the fact the images of their stones are there. How do I get these to be approved as "reliable"? Thanks for helping for a newbie. Otrbug (talk) 23:06, 7 September 2015 (UTC) June McCarroll (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)
- @Otrbug: Hi and welcome to the TeaHouse!
- I don't see the divorce citation being marked for "questionable reliability" - it is marked with a request for a "full citation" as the footnote appears to be lacking an article title and page number.
- The "find a grave" is marked for questionable reliability and content source to there should be removed- while once widely used the consensus now is that the site generally lacks the editorial oversight required for a reliable source . Also claims sourced to familysearch.org and to primary source documents like birth certificates etc will need to be removed. familysearch.org is user generated content . Note that Wikipedia is not like writing for anywhere else. All we do is compile what others have written. We do not "put pieces together".
- I will ping @Imzadi1979 (public) and Imzadi1979: who added the notes to see if they have anything more specific to add. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 03:38, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Search and comparison software
Greetz Remind me what the piece of software / page we use to check for copy-vios, without just gogglng it. Cheers! Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi 19:35, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi @Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi:, this is the one usually used for detecting copyvios. Joseph2302 (talk) 19:53, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- That's what I was looking for; many thanks Joseph. Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi 20:25, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Draft:Greger_Huttu was declined due to notability and verifiable references.
I submitted an article recently and it was declined due to notability and verifiable references. Even though the subject has been featured in an international magazine and has had several articles written about them on many websites, which i've already referenced, my submission was still declined. Sim racing is a huge part of e-sports and the subject is the most well known sim racer in the world.
Can someone please have a look at the article and give me some clear pointers on how I can improve it? Any help is appreciated.
Vinodh Moodley (talk) 19:09, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- The basic criteria is here - basically we only care about coverage in reliable sources not random websites. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 19:18, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
The subject is involved in e-sports and by it's nature, is mainly published in electronic media only. Websites are therefore the main source for references. However, I did add an article from Top Gear magazine as a reference if that is considered a reliable source. Also, please don't state that my references are "random websites" since any website can be considered random if you show no interest in the subject matter. The websites that I referenced are mainly websites dealing with sim racing and are far from random.
Vinodh Moodley (talk) 19:34, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- You can keep banging your head against the wall wailing: WHY IS MY ARTICLE NOT BEING ACCEPTED - I HAVE LINKED TO WEBSITES!?!?! or you can read WP:RS and WP:42 and realize that random websites do not matter at Wikipedia and focus your efforts on finding the reliable websites with reputation for fact checking, accuracy and editorial oversight. If there are not such Reliable Sources that cover the subject, then the subject is not suitable for an article for Wikipedia. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 20:02, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
I was told that the Teahouse is a friendly place to learn to edit Wikipedia but your attitude is far from helpful. You keeping bringing up "random websites" but cannot explain to me why they are indeed random since they deal with the subject matter. Also, i'm not "wailing" but genuinely asking for pointed advice on improving my article. Linking me to the same sources on what makes a subject notable is not actually helping but just brushing me off with a minimal amount of effort. If you don't actually want to help, please refrain from replying to my question. Vinodh Moodley (talk) 20:15, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Vinodh Moodley, "Random" was perhaps an unfortunate term, but what is needed to establish notability for a Wikipedia article is sources which have reputations for editorial control and accuracy, publications where someone stands between the writer and the public. One-person sites, fan sites, and blogs, for example, are none of them useful to establish notability. Some of the sources you link to at Draft:Greger Huttu seem to be vendor sites, which are generally disfavored here. Others seem to be mere lists of event results, which even if reliable do not add significantly to notability. Yet others seem to be closely associated with the subject of the article and so are not independent. DES (talk) 20:15, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. I did include a link to one magazine article but it probably isn't enough. Finding reputable websites that are up to Wikipedia's standards is going to be extremely difficult for this specific subject. The one article I was hoping to find that was directly related to the magazine article has been removed. I'll keep editing the draft with the aim of finding more reliable sources. Vinodh Moodley (talk) 20:20, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Bob Welch (musician) has a broken table
not my metier. Xb2u7Zjzc32 (talk) 16:03, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Done - a matter of a " |} " in the middle of the table instead of a " |- " - Arjayay (talk) 16:22, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Talk page tag templates?
I've seen a tag on a few article talk pages reminding folks with COI to not edit the article directly. What's the template for it? (Or, even better, what's the secret search trick I should use to find it in our help files?)
I have the reference list for article tags. I can't find a corresponding list for talk pages. I also can't remember any articles that have this specific tag, which is my usual go-to for things I don't know. Thanks! Alaynestone (talk) 14:45, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi Alaynestone - please see Wikipedia:Template messages/User talk namespace - there are several sections to this page - standard and specific warnings - I find the quickest way to find the one I want is to use a word search for items like "COI" or "spam" - Arjayay (talk) 14:49, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- I believe that the OP was asking not about warnings on a user talk page but on an article talk page. Perhaps the template being referred to is {{COI editnotice}}. To find it I merely used a search for COI and specified the template namespace. --David Biddulph (talk) 16:28, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Good point - apologies Alaynestone, I missed that.
The main list for Article talk pages is Wikipedia:Template messages/Talk namespace and the main list of standardized discussion templates is Wikipedia:List of discussion templates.
Interestingly, neither of those includes the COI template referred to by David Biddulph - perhaps it should be added ? - The COI template does, however, appear in Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup - Arjayay (talk) 16:55, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Good point - apologies Alaynestone, I missed that.
- YES. Thank you! That's also probably why I didn't find it (I was solely looking for that one thing and getting lost in links and wiki terminology). I'll see about adding it later if I can do so without destroying any tables. Alaynestone (talk) 17:28, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Using Templates
Creating a page using a template (specifically school), and the result has numerous "if" statements (parser functions?), after the infobox categories. This does not match up with the Help pages, and I am confused how to use them.
For example, instead of "Hours in a school day = ..."
There is
label119 = Hours in school day
data119 = if : hours_in_day
Should I be removing the if function? Should I be defining hours_in_day elsewhere on the page?
Thanks, teahouse hosts!
Sjcraig (talk) 12:10, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi Sjcraig, welcome to the Teahouse. {{School}} and most other templates should never use
subst:
. Only use subst if the documentation says to use it. I have copied Template:Infobox school#Basic syntax to St. Joseph Regional Catholic School instead so the parameters can be filled out in the article, but it would be better to start with a draft at Wikipedia:Article wizard. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:32, 7 September 2015 (UTC)- Thanks PrimeHunter. I will keep working on it! Sjcraig (talk) 12:34, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Fair use
Can I upload pictures from National Geographic website, by reducing their size and mentioning the source under Fair Use criteria? Action Hero 11:16, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Without examples it's difficult to say for certain, but I would be surprised if such images passed the first of the Fair Use criteria; that is to say, no free equivalent could exist. It seems unlikely that NG have images of things that no-one else could possibly take a photograph of. Yunshui 雲水 11:20, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- You mean; it can be used only for those articles-without any images? Action Hero 11:22, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- No; I mean that if a free photo of the thing shown in the picture could be taken, we can't use it under Fair Use. For example, the NG homepage has a picture of a chameleon on it - since Wikimedia Commons already contains many free pictures of chameleons (and even if it didn't, there's no reason you couldn't go down to your local zoo and take a snapshot of one), free alternatives are readily available. Non-free images can only be used on Wikipedia if and only if no free alternative picture of the subject could exist. Yunshui 雲水 11:31, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- To be acceptable, under Fair Use, the image woul need significant third party commentary about that specific image from Nation Geographic. Afghan Girl is acceptable use because there has been lots of discussion in reliable sources about that image. However that image cannot be used under "Fair use" in an article about green eyes or Afghanistan because the specific discussion about that particular image would be out of scope for those articles. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 11:42, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- No; I mean that if a free photo of the thing shown in the picture could be taken, we can't use it under Fair Use. For example, the NG homepage has a picture of a chameleon on it - since Wikimedia Commons already contains many free pictures of chameleons (and even if it didn't, there's no reason you couldn't go down to your local zoo and take a snapshot of one), free alternatives are readily available. Non-free images can only be used on Wikipedia if and only if no free alternative picture of the subject could exist. Yunshui 雲水 11:31, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- You mean; it can be used only for those articles-without any images? Action Hero 11:22, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Also note that "fair use" is a copyright law doctrine. Wikipedia's non-free content criteria are actually more strict than "fair use".--ukexpat (talk) 13:44, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Cancelling an article submission
Hello! :-) Yesterday I submitted two article stubs related to a company and one of its subsidiaries. They are both in the submission queue. After some thought, I think that the article about the subsidiary is unnecessary. Is there a way to abort the submission? StarEye2000 (talk) 10:44, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Do not cancel them... Watch them fail, observe the disintegration of dreams, the crushing of hope, the death of desire...
- ...or you could just undo the AfC template of the article of course. Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi 10:48, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi StarEye2000. If you're not going to pursue the articles for creation submission because you think the the draft is unnecessary, ask for it to be deleted by placing this code at the top of it: {{db-g7}} and then saving the page. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 13:25, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Arttalk1984 Neutral Tone
Please tell me which parts of the article are not neutral? Arttalk1984 (talk) 09:12, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Do we assume you are talking about Draft:Nahem Shoa ?- it would help to know - Arjayay (talk) 09:38, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi. I've responded to this editor on my talk page, where he also left a message. Onel5969 TT me 14:03, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
arttalk1984 Citation, References, Footnotes?
I am a new editor as can be seen from the rejections of the article! I need HELP. (In addition, please format the citations as per WP:CIT before resubmitting. Onel5969 TT me 15:23, 5 September 2015 (UTC).) I thought all my (citation) references were correct as they had the opening and closing tags on them. I had clicked on the reference icon on the bar. What do I have to do? Or should some be Footnotes and if so how to format them for Wiki correctly? Arttalk1984 (talk) 09:08, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
I was wondering too: There are tools which helps me to add references as cite book, cite web and also there is Proveit. There is no tool under Gadget tab which allows editors to add footnotes directly. References are very easy to add. Adding notes and footnotes, Bibliography is very difficult. Action Hero 11:27, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- I've responded to this editor on my talk page, where he also left a comment. Onel5969 TT me 14:06, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Onel5969's reply is about User:Arttalk1984's comment on his talk page. Action Hero 14:47, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
CSS and JavaScript
Hello! I want to ask if I can have a sub page of .css and .js in order to use it in template.
Actually, I don't need it for this project, but a sister project. Since the software is same, I guess I will get a quick response. Please do tell me how can I import that CSS and JavaScript for the template.
14.139.242.195 (talk) 06:39, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, IP editor 14.139.242.195. Please use pages here on English Wikipedia only for improving English Wikipedia. To work on a sister project, use pages on that project. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 06:42, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Cullen328: Unfortunately, those discussion pages don't have much viewers.
14.139.242.195 (talk) 06:55, 7 September 2015 (UTC)- I am sorry to hear that but my request still stands. Pages on this project are for improving this project only. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 06:59, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Anyway, .css and .js pages cannot be imported by a template. There might be other ways to achieve whatever you want but it would depend on the specifics. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:32, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- I am sorry to hear that but my request still stands. Pages on this project are for improving this project only. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 06:59, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Help me improve content to reflect neutral style
Hello Roger, As you would have noticed the article that I submitted was declined due to lack of neutral approach in writing. Is it because, the references that I have used in the article, are not enough to qualify as independent, reliable, published sources? Appreciate if could help me figure out the ideal sources that I can use as cite references or any other specific areas that needs improvement. Thanks for your helping me edit this article.Cooey Tech (talk) 05:04, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, Cooey Tech. I am not Roger and questions here at the Teahouse are answered by anyone who volunteers. All I had to do was read the first sentence of your draft, which includes the claim that the company is a "healthcare technology enabler providing end-to-end health monitoring solutions that empower patients to safely and securely manage health information from a single spot." That is marketing and promotional and advertising language which is the exact opposite of how an encyclopedia article should be written. Remove every trace of it. Any article must be written from the Neutral point of view and must be based almost entirely on what Independent, reliable sources say about the company. Your user name hints that you are affiliated with the company. If so, our terms of service require that you declare your Conflict of interest openly. Your account name may be in conflict with our username policy. If you work for the company, it is incumbent upon you to familiarize yourself with our paid editing policies, and comply with them. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 06:55, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Roger is Dodger67 the reviewer of Draft:Cooey Technologies. Cooey Tech, along with changing your name (I have left instructions on your talk page), contact him at User talk:Dodger67.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 19:08, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Names of kind-hearted/helpful Administrators
I am a new editor. As wikipedia is a collaborative project i gave barnstars to two administrators few days ago. They didn't thank my edit or replied. I checked their contributions and found that they have edited after that ignoring my message. I want the names of those administrators who help and guide new editors. I am not logged in, as users can see my contributions and find out the names of those administrators.112.79.38.76 (talk) 04:18, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, IP editor 112.79.38.76. Did you have a productive interaction with those administrators that led you to give them the barnstars? Did you give the barnstars, which are just keystrokes and electrons, with the expectation of receiving thanks? Do you think that the recipients of barnstars are obligated to thank the giver?
- The Teahouse is a place where experienced editors (whether or not they are administrators) help and guide new editors. Administrators have no special tools to help and guide new editors. Administrative functions have to do with deleting inappropriate articles, blocking disruptive editors, removing copyright violations and libel, and cleaning up a variety of messes on the encyclopedia. In my experience, a large percentage of administrators are helpful to good faith editors, but their role requires them to be tough and businesslike with disruptive editors. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 04:45, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- A barnstar is really a way of giving thanks, not getting it. If you need help or guidance then you're in the right place, though. What would you like help with? --Ashenai (talk) 05:41, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Where can I learn wiki markup
I want to change my signature to look cooler. So said The Great Wiki Lord. (talk) 21:53, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Check out Help:Wiki markup! --Ashenai (talk) 22:10, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- TheGreatWikiLord, also put this {{talkheader|search=yes}} at the very top of your Talk page and your Talk page will have more functionality. Cheers! Checkingfax (talk) 22:17, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Citation vs Cite Book
What's the difference between the two? -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 20:20, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, Capankajsmilyo. In general, we use "citation" to describe the various processes and tools that we use to generate references to reliable sources. These citations can be created manually, but many editors use citation templates, which are fill-in-the-blanks forms to create standardized references. We have many such templates. One is the generic, multi-purpose citation template. You can see a list of many of these templates at WP:Citation templates. There you will find two versions of cite books templates. For a more in-depth discussion of these processes, please see Referencing for beginners. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 20:47, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Thanks, is there any field supported by cite book and not by citation? If all book fields like name, last, first, ISBN etc are supported by citation as well whats the use of cite book template -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 20:52, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
I also wants to know the difference between reflist using }{ and references using >< -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 20:52, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello, Pankaj Jain. {{Citation}} formats citations slightly differently from {{Cite book}}, {{Cite web}} and the other Cite xxx templates. It uses "CS2" style rather than "CS1". In my view the differences are fairly minor. The Cite xxx templates existed before the Citation template was created. I believe it was an attempt to replace all of them with a single template, but it never caught on as widely as the creator hoped.
- {{reflist}} formats references in slightly smaller type than the references tag by default, and has some additional options. Otherwise it performs the same functions. It is now very widely used, and one rarely sees a references tag in an article. DES (talk) 21:08, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- If that is the case, shouldn't {{cite book}} and < references/ > be depreciated and replaced with newer templates using a bot? -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 21:18, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- There is the ROI question: What is gained by the process? Who has to relearn what? How easy would it be to get a bot to make the changes? Are enough people interested enough to make the changes required technically, behaviorally and culturally? -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 21:29, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- What is ROI? Sorry, but I'm not familiar with WP shortforms. -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 21:33, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- that is not a Wikipedia jargon, that is businessspeak. "Return on investment".-- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 21:35, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- (edit conflict) Also, Capankajsmilyo, among those editors who do care greatly about details of citation formats, many prefer CS1 format. Also, the use of Cite book, Cite news, Cite web, etc can help document the editor's intention. Moreover, many tools such as ProveIt are designed to generate Cite xxx templates. I doubt that approval for such a bot would be obtained at WP:BRA. As to the references tag, it is part of the MediaWiki software itself, and indeed reflist generates a references tag internally, so it can't/won't be deprecated. It is common for an editor to replace such a tag with a call to {{reflist}}. DES (talk) 21:38, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- What is ROI? Sorry, but I'm not familiar with WP shortforms. -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 21:33, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- There is the ROI question: What is gained by the process? Who has to relearn what? How easy would it be to get a bot to make the changes? Are enough people interested enough to make the changes required technically, behaviorally and culturally? -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 21:29, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- If that is the case, shouldn't {{cite book}} and < references/ > be depreciated and replaced with newer templates using a bot? -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 21:18, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Footer
I prefer using sfn for citations in WP. However, I'm still confused about the words to be used for sections. For reflist is it notes / references or some other word? For cite book is it references / sources / bibliography or some other word? Which word to be used where? What's the difference among these words? What's there so much inconsistency on WP regarding this? Isn't standardisation better? If it should be standardised, is there a possibility of a bot for this? -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 19:37, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi Capankajsmilyo. The most common usage I have seen is "Notes" for the "reflist" part and "References" for the list of books themselves. Wikipedia is actually many different encyclopedias - popular culture, geographic, natural history, military, sports, science, biography, and so on. Different areas have different styles of doing references, which is why we have so many difference ways of making references. Standardization isn't always better. And people are always better than bots in reading the source and filling in details of references. StarryGrandma (talk) 20:30, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Vandalism
An article I created has been vandalized with some rude remarks that I removed. I am trying to figure out how to request semi=protection. I am told to make the request on the article talk page. I do not see how to add anything to the article talk page.
Also, I just noticed that the talk page says the article is in the category of biographies of living persons. The person who the article about has passed away. In fact, the person was dead before I created the article. What should I do to change this?
Dchittur (talk) 19:35, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi! You can request semi-protection at Requests for page protection. However, a page will only be semi-protected if the vandalism is persistent, and comes from many different users. Neither of these seems to be the case for your article, as far as I can tell (assuming you're talking about James Taranik.) Occasional incidental vandalism is common, and should simply be reverted, and the vandal warned on their talk page.
- You can edit the article talk page the same way you edit the article, by clicking the "edit" button on top. You can get to the talk page by clicking the "Talk" button at the top of the article (or by following my link, if it's the James Taranik talk page you're looking for.)
- Also, you seem to be involved in an edit war on that article. Please stop it. If you have an issue with another editor's contributions, discuss it on the article talk page, or on the editor's talk page, instead of edit warring with them. Thank you! --Ashenai (talk) 20:36, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi:
I am trying to discuss this with the warring editor, but he has been blocked for sockpuppetry, so I cannot send him a message. I do not know how to stop him. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks. Dchittur (talk) 20:39, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- He has not been blocked for sockpuppetry (or for any other reason, I checked the block log), and I'm confused why you think he was. --Ashenai (talk) 20:45, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- When I click on his name, it takes me to a page that says he is blocked for sockpuppetry.
- He is now leaving me messages on my user page, but I cannot see how to respond to him. I found another page with a slightly different name and left a message for him, if that is the same person.
- Are you NTHEP?
- No, I am Ashenai. Also, you appear to have found the correct user talk page, so that's good! I'm still mystified whose name you clicked on to get to a block message, but it was definitely not the editor in question (unless there's some extremely odd bug I don't know about.) He is an experienced editor in good standing; please listen to what he has to say! --Ashenai (talk) 20:55, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- There are dozens of impostor accounts created under variations of my name that have been blocked as socks. If User:Dchittur is attempting to write on my User page rather than my User talk page, they wouldnt be able to because that has been create protected. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 21:33, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- No, I am Ashenai. Also, you appear to have found the correct user talk page, so that's good! I'm still mystified whose name you clicked on to get to a block message, but it was definitely not the editor in question (unless there's some extremely odd bug I don't know about.) He is an experienced editor in good standing; please listen to what he has to say! --Ashenai (talk) 20:55, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- OK, let me explain. If you go to the History page and click on his name on one of his revisions, you get to a page that says "this user does not exist" Then it says, Do you mean "TheRedPenOfDooms?" Click on that and you go to a page that has been banned for sockpuppetry.
User NTHP has gone into the page and written that the death date has, indeed been cited, as I wrote to the editor in question. I thought it was you helping the warring editor understand. I guess it was another user helping the warring editor understand.
Now the warring editor has left another message on the article page with information that I cannot decipher. I do not know how to reply to these messages to ask for clarification. Can you understand what he is telling me or explain to me how to reply so I can ask for clarification?
I believe you are a volunteer and thank you for your assistance.
Dchittur (talk) 21:14, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Dchuttir: I moved your comment as it appeared to be in the wrong section. Rubbish computer 21:40, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Dchuttir: User:TheRedPenOfDoom is a very experienced editor who doesn't have a user page. User:TheRedPenOfDooms- note the s- is a banned sockpuppet, probably set up by somebody trying to imitate, mock or annoy TheRedPenOfDoom. Rubbish computer 21:42, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- He's helping you: giving you potential sources, and saying the article's subject may not be WP:NOTABLE. What happened with this edit war is, you added content without a reference: you need a reference to do that. You're not in any trouble but technically, if you were the second user to revert, you started it. I see how you confused him with a sock now, but he is not. Rubbish computer 21:47, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Alrighty, I checked out TheRedPenOfDoom's messages. Basically, his concerns are that it is not clear if James Taranik, the subject of the article, is notable enough to be included in Wikipedia. In addition, he would like you to provide sources for various claims (such as the subject's birth date.)
- To understand what we mean by notability, please read Wikipedia:Notability.
- It's important to understand that we are an encyclopedia, and we can only include information if it meets our criteria for notability and verifiability. Articles have to prove that their subjects are notable, and that the statements about them are generally agreed to be true. This last part is what sources are about.
- If you can give me a more concrete example of what you're having trouble with, I can probably give you more specific advice! You can also talk to me personally if you like, here is my talk page. Simply edit it (click "Edit" up top) with any questions you may have. Don't worry about messing anything up, just let me know what you're having trouble with and I'll see if I can help. --Ashenai (talk) 21:59, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
submitted for approval
I finishing an article but am not sure if it is submitted for approval. I searched Wikipedia and it hasn't shown up yet. Am I forgetting to do something? Comicsutragame (talk) 18:53, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello @Comicsutragame:
- Are you talking about this page User:Comicsutragame/sandbox? If so, you had not submitted it. I added a flag so you can press the green button when you are ready. As it stands now, it will be either declined for failing to meet the basic requirements for a stand alone article or be immediately deleted as overtly promotional.
- Please also read our conflict of interest rules. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 19:02, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- That stinks. Thank you. Comicsutragame (talk) 19:05, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Well, it may "stink" from the position of someone who was hoping to utilize Wikipedia as an advertising platform. However, from the position of someone who wants to read/create encyclopedic content, it's pretty necessary and doesn't "stink" at all! -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 19:11, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- That stinks. Thank you. Comicsutragame (talk) 19:05, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Görnau, see (Zgierz)
Hello, my problem is, don't can redirect this. Who can do it, because the existing redirect is wrong. My attempts fails...Thanks in advance and regards -- Sweepy (talk) 18:33, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- I'm sorry, I'd love to help but I don't fully understand the problem. Which article should be a redirect, and what should it point to? --Ashenai (talk) 18:43, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Görnau (the German name for Zgierz can't be redirected to Zgierz, because the redirect goes to Gornau and is wrong! I hope, you understand now. Thanks and regards -- Sweepy (talk) 18:52, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- I see! Interesting. I have created the redirect for Görnau. The problem wasn't that it redirected to Gornau (there was no redirect), it was that the search box apparently doesn't accept diacritics, so when you search for Görnau it thinks you're looking for Gornau. The link should work and redirect correctly, though. Cheers! --Ashenai (talk) 18:58, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Many thanks, now it's correct, congratulation for understanding and helping! Is it able for you to correct/let correct this problem? All the best for you in future. People like you are indispensable for the en-WP (or others)...regards -- Sweepy (talk) 20:40, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Thank you for your kind words! I'm not a MediaWiki developer, so no, I can't fix the behavior of the search box. I will report it, though. Happy editing! --Ashenai (talk) 21:01, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Many thanks, now it's correct, congratulation for understanding and helping! Is it able for you to correct/let correct this problem? All the best for you in future. People like you are indispensable for the en-WP (or others)...regards -- Sweepy (talk) 20:40, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- I see! Interesting. I have created the redirect for Görnau. The problem wasn't that it redirected to Gornau (there was no redirect), it was that the search box apparently doesn't accept diacritics, so when you search for Görnau it thinks you're looking for Gornau. The link should work and redirect correctly, though. Cheers! --Ashenai (talk) 18:58, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Görnau (the German name for Zgierz can't be redirected to Zgierz, because the redirect goes to Gornau and is wrong! I hope, you understand now. Thanks and regards -- Sweepy (talk) 18:52, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Please help me understand why my draft was rejected.
On August 22, I created a draft for an entry on professional wrestler Matt Riviera, an accomplished wrestler and promoter who has also been a cast member on two reality television shows.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Matt_Riviera
It was just declined on the grounds of the subject not being notable and I don't understand why. If I messed up on the references, okay, that can be fixed. But what more does the guy have to accomplish in order to be "notable?"
Can someone please help me understand.
COPrimeaux (talk) 16:16, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello @COPrimeaux:
- In order for there to be a stand alone article about a topic, the specific subject of the article must meet basic criteria outlined here. Reliable sources not related to the subject must have discussed the subject in a significant way. Professional Wrestlers would also fall under the special criteria at WP:ENT.
- And note that it cannot just be you stating "He's famous!", the claims must be Verifiable as having been previously published in a reliable source -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 18:47, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Yeah, it wasn't just me saying "Hey, he's famous." I'm asking what are the objective qualifications for notability in this case.COPrimeaux (talk) 19:29, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- I am not familiar with wrestling and its sources, but looking at the list most do not seem appropriate, for example fansites/blogs and IMDB. There appear to be a couple of local papers which would generally satisfy for verification of non controversial facts, but to establish notability you would need coverage in major metro regionals or nationals. The ProWrestling Illustrated is probably a good source, but the link doesnt go to the article so it is impossible to verify whether there is significant coverage of the subject.-- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 19:35, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi, COPrimeaux!
You have a good start of an article. Look for more sources that have substantial written information about Matt Riviera (rather than just listing his name in a directory format).
Good luck!
Prosekc (talk) 03:42, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
Userbox clutter
Is there a way I can keep my userboxes aligned even when I add new ones? They're a bit all over the place at the moment. Thanks, Rubbish computer 15:03, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- See here: Template:Userboxtop. (Add the userboxes after that template and then add {{userboxbottom}} at the end.) — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 15:22, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Jeraphine Gryphon: Thanks, but I've already done that and it still isn't working. Rubbish computer 19:31, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Rubbish computer: You might want to remove the "multicol break" templates if you want them all in one column. — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 05:04, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- What about this? — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 05:06, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Jeraphine Gryphon: Thanks again, but they're still unevenly on one side: it could be only like that on mobile, though. Rubbish computer 06:45, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Jeraphine Gryphon: Thanks, but I've already done that and it still isn't working. Rubbish computer 19:31, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Jeraphine Gryphon: Sorted now, thanks. --Rubbish computer 09:31, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
Regarding Wikipedia page
Hello!!! I hope you are in good mood, I need your help, to include Idrees ul haq into Wikipedia, I made an article which is being repelled by an author, The article is basically for a person who is renowned in our state ( Jammu and Kashmir India ), I wish you help me... I would be waiting for your reply... Jkinnovators (talk) 09:57, 6 September 2015 (UTC)Jkinnovators
- Jkinnovators, The article does not seem to clearly establish the notability of the subject, nor does it discuss him in much detail. Additional high-quality reliable sources that are independent of the subject would be helpful, and the article should not read like a resume or CV. Do not use blogs or personal websites as sources, nor publications without a good reputation for fact checking, please. DES (talk) 14:22, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Also, if, as it seems, you have a conflict of interest you should be very careful in editing the article at all. Please read our conflict of interest guideline. DES (talk) 14:34, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Unauthorized removal of images!
Hi, i am the editor of the Wikipedia page of "DJKAM". I have all the legal rights from this artist to use his pict materials. Someone just removed all images from the article about a week ago!!?? Can someone please help me with this? The artist got very upset with this!!! Many thanks for support, P. Pati Rojas (talk) 09:45, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Pati Rojas, you are not the editor of that or any other page. Neither is anyone else. No one needs your authorization to edit it. The images were removed because they are not free, and no non-free images may be uploaded to commons. Also, external links should be removed from the article prose. DES (talk) 14:41, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- See Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials for the proper procedure. Note that the artist must grant permission for not just Wikipedia but anyone in the world to use the images for any purpose, including selling them, and grant permission for anyone to create altered versions of them. DES (talk) 14:49, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- I have also removed the massive number of spamlinks to I-tunes, and other external links from the bodytext of the article - we are not here to boost your sales. - Arjayay (talk) 15:55, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello, Pati Rojas. It is perhaps worth making the point to you that Wikipedia has almost no interest in what the artist (or the subject of any other article) wants, or says about themselves. Wikipedia is almost exclusively interested in what other people, unconnected with the subject, have published about the subject in reliable sources. --ColinFine (talk) 19:00, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
French equivalent of the Teahouse
Is there an equivalent of this teahouse in the French language section of wikipedia? StarEye2000 (talk) 09:05, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- I do not think so, but there is a French equivalent of the Help Desk, which can be found at fr:Wikipedia:Questions techniques. — Bilorv(talk)(c)(e) 10:47, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello StarEye2000 and welcome to the Teahouse. The French equivalent of this page is called Le Bistro. Most Wikipedias in other languages have some sort of cozy forum to discuss things. Depending on what is considered a nice friendly place in that culture, the names vary. Many are called Café. w.carter-Talk 11:37, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @StarEye2000: Wikipedia languages are edited independently with different practices so it can depend what is considered equivalent. Under "Languages" in the left pane of Wikipedia:Teahouse is a link to fr:Wikipédia:Forum des nouveaux. Click "Wikidata item" under "Tools" to see wikidata:Q11059110 where the interlanguage links are maintained. fr:Wikipédia:Le Bistro is paired with Wikipedia:Village pump. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:46, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello StarEye2000 and welcome to the Teahouse. The French equivalent of this page is called Le Bistro. Most Wikipedias in other languages have some sort of cozy forum to discuss things. Depending on what is considered a nice friendly place in that culture, the names vary. Many are called Café. w.carter-Talk 11:37, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Reflist templates
Can someone explain to me the difference between the {{Reflist|2}} template and the {{Reflist|30em}} template? For me, they seem to display identical results on the page, but I wonder if that would be the case for other browser configurations, especially for mobile-device users... Basically I'm wondering which one I should use, and why. Thanks! —GrammarFascist (talk) 06:16, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Welcome to the Teahouse, GrammarFascist. The official answer is that the 30em version is preferred, as it is claimed that it produces the best display on the widest variety of devices. I have a slightly different view of things. I edit most commonly using the desktop site on an HTC Android smart phone held horizontally. For me the 30em template displays references lists inconsistently. If the list has more than 10 references, 11 will display as 1, 12 as 2, and so on, and some information is truncated. But {{Reflist|2}} displays reference lists in two properly formatted columns for me. I do not understand the underlying technical issues, so take my observation as initial and provisional. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 06:44, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi GrammarFascist. We call it the same template {{Reflist}} with different parameters
2
or30em
. The template has documentation at Template:Reflist. The discussed parameters are mentioned at Template:Reflist#Columns. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:55, 6 September 2015 (UTC) - Please use 30em, using bare numbers like 2 or 3 is deprecated now. — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 15:23, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Jeraphine Gryphon I've use the reflist template with the two column parameter dozens of times. While I have occasionally seen the 30em option used I have the same experience as Cullen328 - I often haven't liked the look. I see the note at the template documentation that the two column option is deprecated but I don't see any discussion of the problems identified by Cullen. How can we make sure they are addressed because I am not happy about using an inferior option.--S Philbrick(Talk) 15:38, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- If you don't agree with this then it's probs best to bring it up on the template's talk page. Maybe someone there knows where to find the initial discussion. — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 16:14, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Jeraphine Gryphon I've use the reflist template with the two column parameter dozens of times. While I have occasionally seen the 30em option used I have the same experience as Cullen328 - I often haven't liked the look. I see the note at the template documentation that the two column option is deprecated but I don't see any discussion of the problems identified by Cullen. How can we make sure they are addressed because I am not happy about using an inferior option.--S Philbrick(Talk) 15:38, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hey GrammarFascist. To answer your initial question, you may not see any difference if you're using a relatively small screen width, but for someone using a large screen width, the major difference in display, AFAIK, is that using 30em results in any number of columns "appropriate" to the screen, whereas "2" forces two columns. Using my large screen on my desktop computer (where my browser window is set to full screen), an article using 30em displays 4 or 5 columns depending on the text size I have set. It also only displays one column if I drag my browser screen very narrow. If set to "2", it forces two columns at any size.
More generally regarding the comments above, and possibly a starting point if further discussion is to be had – maybe at the Village pump technical – there's quite a bit of information to glean from Template talk:Reflist/Archive 22#Basis 30em standard for multiple column, including links to prior, related threads.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:15, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Help for getting article approved
Draft:Smilyo Educational Charitable Society Is the article I am working on. Firstly I want to change the name / link of page to Smilyo and secondly I want to get it approved. Can u please help. -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 04:37, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- 1) get rid of blogs as sources and use only high quality sources with a reputation for fact checking and editorial oversight and make sure that most of the content is sourced to highly reliable sites with minimal content of non promotional nature sourced to the subject of the article and its affiliates. 2) get rid of the "hurdles" section. if the event is one that has been covered by the reliable sources, then include it in the History. 3) very likely you will want to get rid of the section on the design of the website as per the "hurdles" section. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 04:44, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Capankajsmilyo: I've noticed a couple of other problems.
- Smilyo's mission is given momentum by a solitary idea that youth can bring positive change to their community if they are empowered through education.-- This is unsourced and sounds like advertising, so will probably need removing. See WP:SOAP about advertising not being allowed on Wikipedia.
- In the Internships section, many is very vague wording; as this is sourced this can hopefully be replaced with specific statistics.
- --Rubbish computer 15:08, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Thanks everyone, I am trying to resolve as per the suggestions. Meanwhile, the title Smilyo would have been more apt, so I have copied the text to Draft:Smilyo. -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 18:47, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- --Rubbish computer 15:08, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
I have removed the hurdles section. Also replaced 'many' from the internships. I read that blogs are sometimes reliable sources and it all depends on the context in which it has been used. Can you please help me identify, which in my article can be considered as a reliable source and which can never be a reliable source. Regarding mission of an organisation also, what can be a reliable source for that? I read uncited mission statements on few ngo pages on WP so added this organisation's mission. -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 19:23, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Capankajsmilyo: The fact that something is on some articles does not make it acceptable: unfortunately, many Wikipedia articles are badly written or sourced. Generally to say what an organisation intends to do, it would be okay to use the organisation's own website. However, it would be preferable to talk about this as a stated aim, e.g. "Smilyo Educational Charitable Society states that..." rather than saying something that could be seen as less neutral, like "Its mission is..."
- As for a reliable source, that would be, per WP:RELIABLE, a source with a reputation for accuracy and fact checking, more commonly a newspaper or other formal publication. Blogs are sometimes acceptable sources on Wikipedia but are usually seen as poor sources of information because they are self-published, and therefore much more likely to be biased or inaccurate. If you publish something yourself, this could mean nobody else checks its accuracy at all.
- "Many" is still in the internships section. Are you working on it in your userspace? If so, this is perfectly acceptable. Rubbish computer 21:27, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- I am working on Draft:Smilyo now. Please see the latest version there -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 21:30, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- "Many" is still in the internships section. Are you working on it in your userspace? If so, this is perfectly acceptable. Rubbish computer 21:27, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Capankajsmilyo: Another vital point to do with sources is having secondary sources: see WP:SECONDARY. These are sources that are entirely independent of the subject, such as a newspaper reporter talking about this charity because it is newsworthy, not because of any other reason, such as them being connected to it. Regards, Rubbish computer 21:32, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Capankajsmilyo:: It's good to see you working on it. The "Internships" section is still a bit vague: it would be preferable if you could use a specific number, e.g. "243 internships in 2014", if this is supported by the sources.
- If you include news websites, make sure they aren't all local, per WP:NOTABILITY: the subject's overall impact on the world. Rubbish computer 21:37, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- Rewording done for mission section. Will try to find source for intern numbers. -- Pankaj Jain Capankajsmilyo (talk · contribs · count) 21:56, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- If you include news websites, make sure they aren't all local, per WP:NOTABILITY: the subject's overall impact on the world. Rubbish computer 21:37, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- @Capankajsmilyo:: It's good to see you working on it. The "Internships" section is still a bit vague: it would be preferable if you could use a specific number, e.g. "243 internships in 2014", if this is supported by the sources.
@TheRedPenOfDoom and Rubbish computer:
Dear Capankajsmilyo: Your user name suggests that you have a personal involvement with Smilyo, and your user page (giving your name as Pankaj Jain) together with your draft article (listing Pankaj Jain as president) confirm it. That being the case, you should not be writing this article. Please see WP: Conflict of interest (often called COI for short). --Thnidu (talk) 00:41, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
How to prove notability and make sure a page sticks around?
I recently started a bio page for the graphic designer Michael Gericke. Our page has since been flagged as possibly not being notable enough to keep. I've also been asked to mention my own conflict of interest in editing the page (I work for Michael).
I'm wondering how to make sure the page sticks around and also how to expand the bio with additional information and sources. He is a notable designer; he is a senior partner of Pentagram, widely considered to be one of the most important design firms in the world. Many if not most of our other partners have bios on Wikipedia. He has designed many iconic logos, symbols and graphic systems. He's a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, the association of the world's top designers.
I've helped edit pages in the past but have never started one of my own.
Thanks for any help!
Kurtck (talk) 23:52, 4 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hi Kurtck and welcome to the Teahouse. Notable means already known, having been noticed enough to have been written about (or broadcast about) elsewhere. You need to provide several sources (references) that talk about him in detail, not just a mention. They need to be reliable sources (books, newspapers, not blogs.) They need to be independent of him and of Pentagram. See WP:42. The article has lots of references but most of them just to show existence of things or about things that don't have much to do with him such as the history of a company that he previously worked for. Look for articles in the design literature discussing designers that are independent of press releases. StarryGrandma (talk) 01:18, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello, Kurtck. One approach would be to forget absolutely everything you know about Gericke, and write your draft article entirely from third-party sources: if you can't find an independent source for a piece of information, you don't put it in, period. If that approach generates an article (rather than a collection of a few unrelated facts) then you can judiciously add some factual information from non-independent sources. --ColinFine (talk) 18:51, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
Please help! Submission declined by 3rd time
Dear Teahouse members,
I would be more than grateful if somebody may bear a hand with my article. It has been already 3 times declined and I have always contacted with the reviewers due to understand the problems and try to solve them.
This is the article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Kaiho_Sangyo
First I was said the article was written like an advertisement, I could correct it, then the Timeline of History had not reliable references, I could correct it, and now the article has not formal tone...
English is not my mother tongue, but I am trying my best in write it in a proper tone.
Please, I need some help!!!
Thank you very much in advance for your advice and time.
Kind regards,
Alejandro R Moreno (talk) 03:11, 4 September 2015 (UTC)
- Alejandro R Moreno hello and welcome to The Teahouse. The part of the article before the timeline looks like it could be accepted. That's just my opinion. However, it's not clear that all facts are referenced. Using the same reference several times might help. Each paragraph should have at least one reference. There are numerous problems with spelling, grammar and commas, but if your first language is not English, that's understandable. These could be corrected. And of course you could link words and ideas to other Wikipedia articles. Like [[this]]. Or [[That|this]].— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 20:30, 4 September 2015 (UTC)
- Vchimpanzee Thank you very much for your advice. I was thinking in using same references several times, but I was not sure if that was proper or not. I will try also to link words to other Wikipedia articles. I hope it will work this time! Thank you again for your help!--Alejandro R Moreno (talk) 00:19, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
new article question
Hi - I have one article already on Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_G._Gerteiny Now I have a new one that I need a bit of help submitting. It's about Keith Schooley - who, as a former stockbroker with Merrill Lynch in Oklahoma, sued the firm all the way to the Supreme Court and 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, after he blew the whistle on corruption there and was fired as a result. He wrote and published a book about his account there and the book was later translated and republished in China. SO my question is: under which category would this be submitted and what are the steps to do this as a second-time submitter? Thanks so much, Hillary Chase - (email redacted) Hillary Chase (talk) 17:46, 28 August 2015 (UTC)
- Same as last time - use the Article Wizard to create a draft and then submit it for review. --ukexpat (talk) 18:39, 28 August 2015 (UTC)
For reference: Draft:Keith A. Schooley
- Don't worry about categories yet, Hillary Chase, get the draft into good shape and notability clearly established.
- For one thing, citations such as "Tell-tale risks." Chicago Tribune. 18 August. 2002. are incomplete. Add the page and column in the print edition, or a link to an online edition, or both. Add n author if a byline was published.
- A citation such as "Building Effective Whistleblowing Programs." Control Solutions International. June 2003. is significantly incomplete. Where can a reader find this to verify it? Was it published? A link would help, or some data which indicates how it might be found in print, or both. Other citations have similar issues.
- Turn these into proper inline citations, either using ref tags or one of the other acceptable methods discussed in WP:CITE.
- Wikipedia does not normally cite public records such as marriage and birth certificates, but rather mentions of such events in reliable sources, which may be primary (such as the subject's own web site or autobiography) or secondary (such as a published news or magazine account).
- I have broken the draft into sections for you. Of course you may rearrange or rename these if you choose.
- Information and citations over a period of time would help to establish notability. Otherwise it might be argued that our one event rule disqualifies this subject.
- I hope this is helpful. DES (talk) 23:23, 28 August 2015 (UTC)
- Thanks DESiegel. The reference section was incomplete and I had yet to get the authors, page numbers, etc. In some cases I don't have the page numbers but I do have the authors. All of these references were published except for his marriage-- and he doesn't seem to have anything other than a marriage license to prove it. Can I just say that he was married but give no wife name and offer no proof? I don't seem to be able to find the draft you said you broke down-- how would I access it? As for information and citations (are you referring to what was written about him in the press?) there are dozens of published articles about his case over 10 or more years. Thanks so much for your help. Hillary Hillary Chase (talk) 00:25, 31 August 2015 (UTC)
- Hillary Chase, please add whatever information you can to the references, when you can. There is no deadline or due date. That a bio subject was married is usually considered uncontroversial and can be left uncited, the same with the fact that he has children. Details about the children such as names should usually be omitted unless they are themselves independently notable or very significant to the article.
- by "citations" i mean the notes in the article that cite specific sources to support the facts of the article. These also serve to establish notability.
- When you "started over" you overwrote the changes I had made including dividing the draft into sections, and a number of formatting changes. I have now restored these.
- Online citations can do with just the link, although full or fuller data is better. Offline print publications need enough information to allow a reader to verify the citation -- it is not fair to expect a reader to read an entire book, say, to verify one reference.
- I hope this is helpful. If I have been confusing, or if you want further information on any point, feel free to ask again here, or to ask me specifically on my talk page. I look forward to seeing the fully developed article. DES (talk) 02:28, 31 August 2015 (UTC)
- Oh sorry I didn't see your changes. I had just gone back and deleted everything I'd cut & pasted because I had been told that cutting and pasting from my word doc would result in the entry vanishing... that's what happened with my first submission but I didn't know why. Also there I had to prove the subject had been married (so I guess it depends on the fussiness of the editor). I haven't yet looked at your changes but will I have to rewrite everything again from scratch if I modify or change it? And if everything has to be written on Wiki (without using the conversion program) will I be able to at least cut & paste the long, confusing web links? 67.86.10.100 (talk) 15:25, 31 August 2015 (UTC)
- Hillary Chase, there should be no need to delete everything and start over in future. It is a poor idea to 'move pages by using cut&paste, use the move feature instead. But if you have links or plain text in a word document, or links in a web page, it should be fine to copy and paste them into a Wikipedia edit box. Check for special quote marks -- Wikipedia uses straight quotes. Check for %s and other escape codes in URLs. but otherwise that sort of pasting should cause no problems. A Wikipedia entry never just vanishes. It must be deleted or changed by someone, or some mis-formed code may hide its content. You should go forward by working from the current version, now at Draft:Keith A. Schooley. If you click "view history" you can see the edits made so far. If you write using Word extensively, save your work as plain text and then copy from the plain text file, this should avoid most conversion issues. Feel free to ask anyu further questions. DES (talk) 16:14, 31 August 2015 (UTC)
- That was very helpful. Thanks. I didn't even know about the Move feature. And you are also saying that you don't have to download a conversion program -- just convert into plain text? Wow. No, the last Wiki entry got all kinds of misinformation in Talk. That was why I copied the same style (from the finally-accepted Wiki) for this new entry. Haven't looked at your draft yet, will in a while. Thanks again. 67.86.10.100 (talk) 18:16, 31 August 2015 (UTC)
- Okay-- I have tweaked the draft using your helpful suggestions. I also entered the references in Reference section at bottom but did not use the system to automatically insert the references with numbers. Therefore, I have written numbers in the draft edit that correspond to the numbers in the reference section, which may be wrong. Is it? 67.86.10.100 (talk) 22:05, 31 August 2015 (UTC)
- Help!! I can't seem to get the ref marks to Wiki's liking. Can't figure out what I did wrong. (I did reference section by hand without using the program) Hillary Chase (talk) 16:03, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello, Hillary. It's best not to do the numbering manually, because the numbering will break if people add or remove references, or text with references. The way it works is that each reference is defined at the point in the text where the number should appear, between <ref> and </ref> (note the slash in the end tag). The Wiki software will automatically generate the number, and put the reference in the references section. If you have multiple references to the same source, you can used a "named reference" - this is all described in referencing for beginners. --ColinFine (talk) 11:06, 4 September 2015 (UTC)
How do you play the games and how do you start up the game anyway because it won't work!!!' — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nodinee (talk • contribs) 15:13, 4 September 2015 (UTC)
Hello i find it difficult to add a picture on a biography I need help please — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cpride (talk • contribs) 17:45, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
- I'm now trying to save draft but it seems to vanish in edit box as it asks me to hit save button... is this normal? Hillary Chase (talk) 01:06, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
interlanguage links
I am wondring how to link a page in a certain language with a page in another language with the same object. I have created a page about the famous egyptian composer Riad Al Sunbati in English, and I know there is asimilar page in arabic named رياض السنباطي and other pages in differnt other languages, but i didnt know how to link this with that, i have read a bit in the help:interlanguage links, but i didnt see what they described, may be its because im working on my mobile, but i didnt see anything on the right side as they said, if anyone knows about this and can help me, please answer me(and sorry for my mistakes in writing) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Moueenneeuom3.14 (talk • contribs) 00:56, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
- This is handled in Wikidata. I have made the link, so you should now see the interlanguage links. --Randykitty (talk) 21:58, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
How to filter only the pages with new edits
In the Special:Contributions page, one may search for the one's contributions. There are some filtering options, but they does not help me find what I want. I am interested in the pages that have newer edits after my last edits to them. In other words, I would like it to hide all the pages whose latest revisions are my edits. This would be helpful to find out those talk pages with new comments and articles updated by other editors. Note that the option "Only show edits that are latest revisions" is doing quite opposite to what I mean above. Can anyone help?--Quest for Truth (talk) 08:27, 6 September 2015 (UTC)
How can I Upload Images to Cartoons, Movie posters, video game covers, etc and make it look good with a caption?"
Hello, this is Buddyboy521. A few weeks ago I uploaded a image to the page The Three Little Wolves (film) but the caption didn't look good, but thankfully another user fixed it for me. I just want to know how I can upload images to pages like those and make the caption and image look good. Thank you, Buddyboy521 (talk) 17:35, 6 September 2015 (UTC)Buddyboy521
Help About Editing My Page Looks Good Like Other Celebs
How can i edit my article and showing live on google as an other celebs, becouse im also a new rapper wanna edit and upload my picture infront of my information? thank u wikipedia letter from Papist emce — Preceding unsigned comment added by Papist emce (HQ) (talk • contribs) 15:31, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello! Unfortunately, unless you are already notable, I'm afraid you are not a suitable subject for a Wikipedia article. The subjects of all of our articles must have significant coverage in multiple major, independent, reliable sources. --Ashenai (talk) 15:37, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Also, Papist emce (HQ), please be aware that any attempt to use Wikipedia for promotion is likely to be strongly resisted by many of the volunteers who are her to create an encyclopaedia - a summary of information which other people have already thought it worth writing about.
- You appear to be trying to create an article in your user page: don't do that. Your user page is for sharing some information about you as a Wikipedia editor, and is not the place for creating articles. You are very strongly advised not to create an autobiography on Wikipedia, but if you insist on going ahead, you should use the Article wizard to create your draft somewhere where it can be reviewed. But first, as Ashenai and I have already indicated, you need to find the substantial, independent, reliable published sources about you which the entire article must be based on; and if you cannot find these, then it is a waste of your time and our time for you to try and write it. --ColinFine (talk) 15:52, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
language
I made a page in english nes Al-Atlal and there is a many pages about the same object(a famous arab song for Umm Kulthum) in many languages arabicالأطلال french, spanish........ how can link them with the english page — Preceding unsigned comment added by Omianos1492 (talk • contribs) 16:49, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
- Hello, Omianos1492. You can link to articles in other languages by picking "Add links" in the "Languages" section in the side tab. However, I must tell you that the article Al-Atlal is likely to be deleted unless you add some references to reliable published sources which talk about the song. All Wikipedia articles should be based almost 100% on reliable published sources, and an article with no references at all is very likely to be deleted. The sources do not have to be in English, but they must have been published somewhere reliable. Please see Referencing for beginners. --ColinFine (talk) 17:01, 8 September 2015 (UTC)