Wikipedia talk:Help desk

The Tireless Contributors' Barnstar

Hola Help Desk Team. Thanks so much for helping me each time in the past when I have posted queries here. This forum is perhaps the most amazing place on Wikipedia given the effort you all are taking. One reason I have continued on Wikipedia is because of the wonderful support given by you all. I am sure that must be the same case with other new editors who have been patiently guided by you all. You all are my tireless contributors. Xender Lourdes (talk) 07:05, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Help:Maintenance template removal

We often see questions about maintenance template removal – people not knowing they are not automatically removed and related issues. I've proposed a new process to address this. Please see Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)#Implementing Help:Maintenance template removal.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:28, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

JOB

How can I apply for a position with Wikipedia? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jenyflores (talk • contribs) 14:35, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

All editors (and almost all administrators) are volunteers. If you mean that you are interested in a job with the Wikimedia Foundation, see this site instead. Ian.thomson (talk) 14:45, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

Pinging questioner when answering?

I started lurking around and answering a few questions. To my surprise, I see that help desk volunteers rarely ping the questioner.

I always do that (unless I have reason to suspect the user is a relatively seasoned editor) because I assume newbies do not know about watchlists etc. yet, but I wonder if there is a rule or tradition to not do so. I could not find anything in the archives here or at Wikipedia:Help_desk/How_to_answer.

Hence I ask the following question to the veteran of the HD: is it against etiquette, or are there any reasons to avoid, pinging by default any registered user asking a question (I guess "do not ping the regulars" applies though)?

I intentionally exclude IPs because while an account identifies a person or a group of persons, an IP identifies at best a computer. Pinging an IP could thus leak information to another person using the same computer (the Special/contribs page can reveal it, but many more people will notice the ping notification - I would argue most people do not even know their IP address nor how to retrieve it) so it comes with a whole other pack of problems. Tigraan^{Click here to contact me} 16:10, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

@Tigraan: I always ping when answering questions (unless I forget to), regular editor or no. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 16:17, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

Tigraan, I think only some editors don't ping the questioner. Most do (by what I've seen). In case the requesting editor is an experienced editor, it's okay to not ping as the editor will check back. Lourdes 16:32, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

@Tigraan: IPs don't get pings anyway. As to whether you ping when answering - I do if I remember (and the post is directed at a single person), but I usually don't remember. —  crh ₂₃  (Talk) 16:34, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

Oh well. I remembered receiving an OBOD back in the days I edited under IP. Am I really that old an editor? Tigraan^{Click here to contact me} 16:53, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

OK, I went back on the HD page to do a rough tally of who pings and who does not and I see that the July 1st/2nd have a low proportion of pinging compared to usual. If pinging is agreed to be a good thing, maybe we could add a note at Wikipedia:Help_desk/How_to_answer#Formatting.2Fediting? Tigraan^{Click here to contact me} 16:53, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

• Do it. Sounds really sensible. Lourdes 17:26, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

 Done [1] - I tried to tiptoe around the "don't ping the regulars" issue. Any revisions are welcome. Considering that we decided on that within half a day, I wait to see if the "night shift" (editors in non-European time zones) opposes. Tigraan^{Click here to contact me} 18:11, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

I've edited it a bit. Hope that's alright. Lourdes 02:48, 5 July 2016 (UTC)

My general rule of thumb is to ping the user if the link to their userpage is in red. †Dismas†|^(talk) 11:44, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

What is the Help Desk?

Is the Help Desk now the "I can't make this minor edit that Wikipedia can live without for a few hours, so please make it for me Desk"? I'm referring to Srbernadette, of course. Specifically this request. I don't mind helping people who genuinely need it but I don't see why we need to perform our own edits and Srbernadette's as well. †Dismas†|^(talk) 11:49, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

• Meh. I understand your frustration, and I personally will not be fixing her mistakes. But if others are ready to "babysit", let them do it. What's the worse that could happen, a few reference errors in articles? Tigraan^{Click here to contact me} 12:02, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

I quite agree. This editor (whether editing under his user name or one of the many IPs, such as Special:Contributions/101.182.141.11) is a pain in the backside. He makes no effort to learn from the help he is given, and continually makes the same mistakes and expects other editors to clear up his mess. I did take the view that he couldn't honestly be this incompetent and must be trolling, but other editors disagreed with me. If people keep falling for it and doing everything that this editor asks them to do, it will encourage him to keep making unreasonable demands. I feel that this editor should be topic-banned from the help desk; if some editors wish to spoon-feed him he can make requests on his user talk page. --David Biddulph (talk) 12:22, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

Although I have often fixed things brought here by bernadette or her(?) multiple IPs, I also agree that the help-desk should not really be used with such consistency to request that minor edits, that everyone else does themselves, be completed by volunteers here. Eagleash (talk) 12:44, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

There are three choices. First, help her. Second, ignore her. Third, report her for being a nuisance. The third is extreme and unwarranted, since we can always ignore her. My own thought is we do not need a consensus on what to do, that most of us will ignore her and a few of us will help her, and no harm is done either way. Robert McClenon (talk) 13:06, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

I try to help editors who are less technically competent than me. Unlike disruptive and troublesome users, Srbernadette recognises his own weaknesses, and is not argumentative. He uses the help desk to ask for help, and does so clearly, concisely, and politely – a ban would be wrong. Maproom (talk) 08:25, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

Nomination for merging of redundant help desk templates

Template:Creation and many other similar templates have been nominated for merging with various subtemplates of Template:HD. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the Templates for discussion page. Pppery (talk) 15:36, 8 August 2016 (UTC)

Adding a cause to a medical page

The Wikipedia page for Dysarthria is protected. I'd like to ask the editors to add more terms to the list of causes, including Near Drowning, ALS, and Hypoxic Encephalopathy, to name a few. Here is a link to a research paper. Page 282 lists several causes not included on Wikipedia. I'd really like to be included as an editor for this page because I'm always researching about near-drowning symptoms, causes, and treatments. This is important, and it needs to be included on the page. Any advice on how to proceed would be most appreciated. Thank you, Isabella. Whisperjunkie (talk) 06:00, 11 August 2016 (UTC)