Wikipedia:Help desk

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February 19

pearlscale

my pearlscale is not floating upside down or on the top but is very lifeless tody. Anything I can do or what may be causing this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.188.18.97 (talk) 00:46, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried the Science section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:01, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Seeing edits since last visit or last patrol

Resolved

 – Error corrected in help. --Marc Kupper|talk 09:56, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Watchlist#Recent and related changes, page history says

If one views the history of a watched page directly, without first viewing the page, the edit at the top (the most recent one) may be marked with update marker "updated (since my last visit)" (or the message with id 'updatedmarker' (talk)); this applies if the edit was made by someone else and you have not viewed the page (while logged in) since it was made.

Exactly what does this look like? I can't detect any difference in a watched page's history and there's no difference at all. I also checked the HTML and it's identical meaning it's not an element hidden by a CSS style. I see the word may is in there though without explanation. Is there anything I can/should do enable this?

While "updated (since my last visit)" will be helpful what I really want is a way to remove pages from the displayed watchlist while still watching them. For example, if I'm watching this help page I'd like to be able to flag it as "I've caught up on recent edits" and that it would vanish entirely from my watchlist, including the edits from yesterday and the day before, until someone makes a new edit. At that point it would reappear. That would allow me to clear the watchlist to a blank slate. I don't visit Wikipedia every hour, or even every day, meaning there may be several days of edits to look over in the articles I'm interested in. I'm aware of patrolling on RecentChanges and that method with the ! would also work if it was done with my watchlist. --Marc Kupper|talk 01:34, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Watchlist redirects to Help:Watching pages. Many Help pages have content copied from meta. The update stuff originates from a copy from meta in 2005.[1]. Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 39#Why are some items on watchlist showing as bold and items in history have odd message? from May 2008 says that shortly after being enabled on Wikipedia in May 2008 it was disabled again due to problems. I don't know whether anything has changed since then. I have never seen the message. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:22, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you. The village pump thread you referenced was interesting. I updated Help:Watching pages and removed the reference to the history mechanism. --Marc Kupper|talk 02:50, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Are these persons from this site, notable enough for a WP:ATHLETE article?

http://www.philolympicfestival.com/pofgames_sportprofile.asp?pofgames=NATIONAL&teamid=141&teamname=CAGAYAN%20DE%20ORO%20CITY&sportid=29&sportname=WRESTLING

More particluarly, the two Grecias and one Fernandez in the Bronze Medalist section.

People who have competed at the fully professional level of a sport, or a competition of equivalent standing in a non-league sport such as swimming, golf or tennis. People who have competed at the highest amateur level of a sport, usually considered to mean the Olympic Games or World Championships. Angdl (talk) 02:12, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I would say "no" as this is a regional tournament. The athletes involved are not competing at either a fully professional level of a sport or at the highest amateur level of a sport, usually considered to mean the Olympic Games or World Championships. --Marc Kupper|talk 02:23, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

• But it says "Olympic" on top of the page. And it's not regional, it's national. You have to take into account that "professional" wrestlers are performers such as Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker. "Amateur" wrestlers aren't amateur in definition, but it means that they are the real deal. They aren't scripted like pro wrestling. So, yes, they have competed at the highest amateur level of a sport, wrestling. And if you thought that it was an "inside the city" match, no it wasn't, it was the Olympic nationals and the city's listed there are only to indicate where they came from. Angdl (talk) 03:15, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
  • That's still not THE Olympic Games, the worldwide competition; it's just a national competition called the "Philippine Olympics"; not the same thing. --Orange Mike | Talk 03:20, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
    • (edit-conflict and so this overlaps with Orange Mike a little) The specific example criteria for a notable amateur athlete are the Olympic Games or World Championships. Angdl, I agree with you completely that Wikipedia's "notability" system is skewed towards attention getting people and the odds are far more likely that a WWE/WWF entertainment "wrestler" will qualify as "notable" than the most skilled amateur wrestler. In looking at the news archives it appears the Philippine Olympic Festival itself may qualify as notable for Wikipedia and once that is in place you can add tables that list the medal winners in each event for each year. --Marc Kupper|talk 03:37, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I Messed Up the Title of My New Page-How to Change?

I created a new biography page on John yates beall and left the last two names in lower case letters, it should be John Yates Beall. What is the solution? Thanks, Dubyavee (talk) 02:20, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Move the page. Algebraist 02:21, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

How much research should be use as well as the type needed for a wikipedia

How much research should be used as well as the type needed for wikipedia98.214.171.150 (talk) 03:24, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

To write what we consider our best work, a hell of a lot. I think the best answer to your question would be gleaned directly by examining a few of those top notch articles. They are called featured articles and require rigorous research and sourcing using only reliable sources to meet our verification policy. A full list of them is at Wikipedia:Featured articles. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:32, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Link refers to incorrect person

The Cost of Living article lists the personnel on this LP. The drummer/percussionist is correctly named Tony Fernandez, but the link takes you to the article on Tony Fernandez the former Major League baseball player. BitterbloggerBitterblogger (talk) 04:03, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Tony Fernandez the musician does not appear to have an article so I have redlinked him at The Cost of Living (Rick Wakeman album). – ukexpat (talk) 04:14, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Ready To Launch article

Hello there, I just joined Wikipedia. I used to work at congressional quarterly Press, which would subcontract another company. then I left CQ, and I tried to launch my own Press company. So I went back and got help from the same Contractor "Kevla corporation". I decided to write an article about that company. I dont work for it, nor its my buddies', but I guess i didnt have good citations and they deleted it, can anyone take a look and see how I did on the updated article and if its acceptable?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Linkaland/Kevla_Corporation

thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by Linkaland (talk • contribs) 04:18, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

If you want to avoid deletion of Kevla corporation, you need to demonstrate the notability of the subject with reliable sources. Please read Wikipedia’s guideline for notability of companies. Only companies that are notable qualify for an article on Wikipedia. Please read also Wikipedia’s guideline for reliable sources. The notability and all other facts in an article must be backed up by references to reliable independent sources. User:Linkaland/Kevla Corporation has the same problems, but since it is in user space, it is not in danger of speedy deletion. Your original article was deleted because it read like an advertisment. —teb728 t c 08:22, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

At the moment the draft in your user space does not indicate why the subject is notable. If it is moved to the main space, it will be speedily deleted under speedy criterion A7. – ukexpat (talk) 16:21, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

to find out a medicine

I am looking for a medicine(cream) which i bought couples years ago. Its indications is "An ldorless and greaseless analgesic rub. Its rub in action pin-points its analgesic action. Provides deep penetraring pain relief to those painful areas without aspirins stomach upset. For temporary relief of minor aches and pains of muscles associated with simple backache. I have old and used one, but the printed name on surface of medicine can not be see clear. The partial name is " .....hricreme, m Rub". I need to know the name of cream to tell my kid who lives San Jose to get one of it. My email is <redacted> best regards

shu-leung so —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.230.79.44 (talk) 06:45, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

We cannot offer medical advice. Please see the medical disclaimer. Contact your General Practitioner. Chamal ^talk 11:39, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

• I support the above response. Instead of relying on total strangers to guess correctly, you'd be better of contacting your doctor who will know the name if they prescribed it, or your local pharmacist. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:49, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

email articles

how can email wikipedia articles? Thanks,

RCB —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rbisesi (talk • contribs) 11:43, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

• Write an email and include the link. There is no specific email function to send articles to a friend. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:51, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
  • By link, I beleive Mgm means the article's URL. So if you wanted to email this help desk, you'd include the following text:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_desk

    in your mail. Best, Zain Ebrahim (talk) 12:12, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Shortcut

There is a WikiProject I access frequently that has a rather long name. It is Wikipedia: WikiProject Tamagotchi. As a result, when I am entering it in the search box, I often make mistakes, e.g, capitals, spaces etc. Is there a way to add a shortcut to it, like WP:...? Wikiert ^{talk sign contribs} 12:38, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Redirect an easier term, perhaps? WP:WT is taken. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 12:46, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Actually, WP:TAMA should be what you're looking for. Best, TNXMan 12:50, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I just found that. Thanks anyway. Wikiert ^{talk sign contribs} 12:52, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Just for anyone else that was curious, on any page/section where there are shortcut links, you'll see a small box that lists them. For example, at the top of this page, you'll see two shortcuts to this page: WP:HD and WP:HELPDESK. TNXMan 12:53, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

(e/c x3) I have created a shortcut at WP:TAMA. Most two letter combinations are taken and this name seemed intuitive. If you want something different, simply create a shorcut just like you would an article, then redirect it to the WikiProject, and add it to the project description box at the project page ({{Project|SHORTCUT NAME}}). Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:55, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Cite error

I am attempting to add info to a page and get a cite error that reads Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found. I went back in and inserted a reference tag and it still isn't clearing. I am also comfused about editing an article from a stub to expaned. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bandaidgs (talk • contribs) 13:31, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

As the error message implied, a <references/> tag (often added using the {{reflist}} template) is necessary for references to be displayed. A bot has now added the necessary code. Algebraist 13:38, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm not clear what you are asking about article expansion from a stub, but be bold in editing, try to use references to verify all information added, and you can remove the stub tab once the article becomes somewhat sizable and more information rich. When exactly to do so is a judgement call which has no formula.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 13:43, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Note: The Cite error: part of the message now links to Help:Cite errors. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 14:55, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

How do i request input on an article which has a relatively inactive talk page?

See my comments here: Talk:Shays'_Rebellion

Also, what is the general policy with articles that are sourced and referenced primarily from a controversial book/person/resource? Monolith2 (talk) 16:06, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Asking at the talk page of one of the relevant wikiprojects is probably a good idea. Algebraist 16:08, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

You could look at the history of the article, starting with the most recent editors who have contributed substantially to the article, and leave notes on their talk pages asking them to look at your comments. But please link to the specific section, which might be:

• Talk:Shays'_Rebellion#Other references?

--Teratornis (talk) 22:00, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

What is causing this whitespace?

Resolved

 – ukexpat (talk) 18:10, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

What is causing the whitespace at the top of Jeff Kelly? Mike R (talk) 16:44, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Something in template {{Infobox NFLactive}}. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:57, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

If you use the statweek field, then you must have a reference by using nfl. pfr. cbs. espn or si. I started a discussion at Template talk:Infobox NFLactive. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 17:27, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks! Mike R (talk) 18:07, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Request for Title

I could not find a descritption undes Corporate Titles for Principal Engineer. I wonder if someone would atempt to create one. Mpraca (talk) 16:47, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure to what you are referring. Are you saying there's no article for the job title "principal engineer"? TNXMan 17:26, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Or maybe that the article Corporate title doesn't list "principal engineer"? Note the general principle strongly followed on Wikipedia that if something needs improvement; if there's a missing article; if something needs to be done, well, what are you waiting for? (but if you do create the article, don't forget to cite to reliable sources which verify the content). Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 19:13, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

How do I add a subject into Wikepedia?

I am an author and one of my books is entitled Career Directioning. How do I get it posted to Wikipedia??

Glenn Druhot—Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.245.236.200 (talk • contribs)

Short answer, because of your conflict of interest you should make a request at Articles for creation. And when did "direction" become a verb? – ukexpat (talk) 20:07, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Possibly sometime before Buzzword bingo became a sport. --Teratornis (talk) 22:02, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

And see WP:COI. --Teratornis (talk) 22:05, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Add a Name to "People from Clairton, Pennsylvania" Page

I'm trying to add a name to the page "People from Clairton, Pennsylvania" but can't seem to do it. The name to be added is Ron Lancaster

Here's the information from his bio page on Wikepedia:

Ronald "Ron" Lancaster (October 14, 1938 – September 18, 2008[1]) was one of the pre-eminent quarterbacks of the Canadian Football League during his playing career; after his retirement as a player, he was also coach and general manager in the same league, and a sports announcer for CBC Television. At the time of his death, he was the Senior Director of Football Operations of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is enshrined in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1982), the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1985) and the Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Honour (1985).

Lancaster was born in Fairchance, Pennsylvania but moved to Clairton, Pennsylvania as a young boy. At the time of his death, his mother still resided in Clairton.

Maybe someone can go ahead and add Ron Lancaster to the page mentioned above, rather than just responding here.

--NameThatWorks (talk) 20:03, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

 Done - I just added the Category:People from Clairton, Pennsylvania (ie [[Category:People from Clairton, Pennsylvania]]) to the category list at the end of the article. – ukexpat (talk) 20:17, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Deleted edits

Occasionally I check my "Edit and action count" summary on the SQL's Tools page, and I find that my total number of "Deleted edits" is decreasing. I have also found some people have a negative number of deleted edits. Could someone explain all this to me? How does SQL's Tools' deleted edits tally work? kilbad (talk) 20:03, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

You might want to try this at WP:VPT. Algebraist 03:10, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Career Directioning, A Practical Guide for Job Seekers

I am an author and one of my books is entitled Career Directioning, A Practical Guide for Job Seekers, the ISBN number is 978-14257-6643-6 How do I get it posted to Wikipedia??

Glenn Druhot ==

Hi there. I'm assuming you're talking about creating an article about your book. If that is the case, you have to be an autoconfirmed user to create it, or you can request it at WP:AFC. If you do decide to create it, please read Your first article and the conflict of interest guidelines. Cheers, Hermione1980 20:45, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

See my reply to the same question three threads up ↑.  – ukexpat (talk) 20:53, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

How can I add a book title to Wikipedia?

I am an author and one of my books is entitled Career Directioning, A Practical guide for Job SeekersBold text. The ISBN number is 978-1-4257-6643-6. How can I get it listed on Wikipedia? Glenn A. Druhot

You can't Wikipedia is NOT a directory. Teapotgeorge^Talk 20:59, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Please don't keep asking the same question. Your query has been answered above - twice over. Karenjc 21:00, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Furthermore, your new username betrays a conflict of interest, which means that if you do create an article on your book under that name, the article is likely to be tagged for deletion as promotional material, unless you can demonstrate clear evidence of the book's notability. I will leave some links on your talkpage that may help you. Karenjc 21:05, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Not only does it betray a COI, it is also clearly in breach of the user name policy and has been reported to WP:UAA.  – ukexpat (talk) 21:46, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Welcome to the friendly world of Wikipedia! As you may be gathering from these brusque replies, Wikipedia is not, for many people, what it initially appears to be. To get a solid understanding of what Wikipedia is about, and how to navigate its numerous pitfalls, while avoiding all the stereotypical beginner mistakes, read the book:

• Wikipedia - The Missing Manual (the full text is here)

--Teratornis (talk) 22:11, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

User name blocked. – ukexpat (talk) 01:15, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

printing Wiki articles

I can't seem to find anything in your FAQs directly on point, so I'm sending this message seeking -- imploring -- your assistance.

In general, I find Wiki to be an enormously useful, rich and interesting resource -- a resource I often wish had been available a long time ago. I often read Wiki articles on all kinds of subjects, often simply as a valuable adjunct to my own wide-ranging and eclectic interests.

One of my major interests is mathematics although I am not a professional mathematician (in fact, I've been an attorney and an international banker, and I'm in the process of writing an article on some important areas of international banking and finance for submission to Wiki).

With my interest in mathematics, I have found numerous mathematics articles in Wiki extremely useful in my ongoing study of math, and often wish to print out the articles so I can read and study them in detail at my convenience. Moreover, I am trying to write a book on a math topic/subject and find numerous Wiki articles to be comprehnsive, generally well written and enormously helpful, especially as a research tool for the book I'm trying to write.

Over the past few months I have been encountering a problem in printing Wiki articles (and it seems to be an increasing problem since I seem to be encountering it with increasing frequency). Specifically, when I get to an article I'd like to print, I first go to "Print Preview" in the "File" menu. If there seem to be no problems in reviewing the article in "Print Preview," I print the article and end up with the full article without any difficulty. However, over the past few months (and increasingly the case), when previewing an article in "Print Preview," I get one or more (usually more, especially in the longer articles) blank pages in "Print Preview." At first I tried printing the article anyway, hoping that the fu;; article would print and that what I was seeing in "Print Preview" was only some kind of anomoly having to do with "Print Preview."

I soon discovered that such was not the case. Instead I found that if a page showed up blank in "Print Preview," it also did not print and came out (from my printer) as a blank page (and, especially with longer articles (usually 6 or more pages) several pages failed to show up in "Print Preview" and hence failed to print.

Since I do find Wiki articles so interesting, comprehensive, clear and generally easy to follow, informative and emormously helpful, I find this problem in printing specific articles very frustrating. I would be grateful if you might know of anything I might do to be able to print the articles I would like "hard copies" of. If you do have any suggestions, please let me know what they are, or if the problem is on Wiki's end, I'd be grateful if you would let me know when they might be remedied.

Thank you for your assistance.

David Levine Wiki Account Username: i.is.imaginary General e-mail address: <redacted>

It sounds like you are trying to print from the normal article view, which can be problematic. Click the "printable version" link on the left side of the page, under "toolbox". Doing so removes everything except text and images, allowing you to go to File -> Print and print as normal. Xenon54 (talk) 21:24, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

You are not the only one with this problem. This has been reported before, including yesterday; see #Printing problems. This seems to only be a problem in Internet Explorer. I am looking at this issue.

I would like to clarify how printing works here. Browsers that support CSS will look for certain stylesheets when you select print. On Wikipedia, these are commonPrint.css (editable by developers) and MediaWiki:Print.css (editable by admins). These stylesheets are the CSS rules for printing. When you select 'printable version' in the toolbox, you are applying these rules to the viewed version; this gives you a print preview and lets you print neatly to a browser that does not support CSS2. So: you do not need to select printable version if you have a modern browser.

--—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 21:56, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

If no solution to your printing problem materializes, I'd suggest rethinking the need to print. You mentioned that you are trying to print (which we would call "the step") so you can read articles (which we would call "the goal"). There are other ways to reach the goal. I'm trying to think of a situation where printing Wikipedia articles would be the only way to read them. Do you venture frequently into undeveloped locations where there is no electricity? It seems that in most parts of the developed world, widely available mobile computing technologies should allow you to read Wikipedia articles. Reading articles is much less technically demanding than editing the same articles, so there are more options for reading. See WP:EIW#Mobile. --Teratornis (talk) 00:06, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

To resolve this issue with printing from Internet Explorer 7:

• Create an account
• Open your Special:Preferences → Skin → from your currently selected skin, click on Custom CSS and open it for editing
• Add:

@media print {
sup, sub, p, .documentDescription { line-height: normal; }
}

• Save and bypass you cache using the instructions at the top of your CSS page.

Thanks to RockMFR for his help on this. This will get added to Help:Printable once I start updating that page. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 12:31, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

New Article?

How do you start a new topic or subject? MoonRapper (talk) 21:30, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. TNXMan 21:32, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Divine Service Foundation

Why was this article deleted? Divine Service Foundation Thank you, Floyd

It was speedily deleted under criteria G11, which is "blatant advertising". All Wikipedia articles must be written from a neutral point of view and preferably by someone who isn't involved with the subject. In short, it was deleted because Wikipedia is not a place to advertise a business or organisation. Xenon54 (talk) 21:54, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

In other words, Wikipedia deleted it because Wikipedia failed to inform whoever created it of Wikipedia's rules for content, before letting them proceed. Wikipedia's general philosophy seems to be to prefer reactive rather than proactive regulation. I.e., Wikipedia lets anyone do whatever they want, and then we delete whatever they do that isn't what we wanted them to do. Some people might consider this to be the opposite of what a "well-run" organization would do: give new users only as much freedom as they have demonstrated they know how to handle. For example, if you want to operate a motor vehicle, in most parts of the world you have to get some training and pass a test first. Not on Wikipedia. Wikipedia is like the frontier where everyone can do whatever they want - and pay the price, just like pioneers did when they got eaten by grizzly bears. Apparently this approach is working because Wikipedia is the world's fifth most-visited Web property now. If you were involved in creating the article, read WP:WWMPD to learn about your options now. If you want to learn Wikipedia in a systematic way, rather than by costly trial and error, read the book:

• Wikipedia - The Missing Manual (full text is here)

--Teratornis (talk) 00:18, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

help on paragraphs

i have tried to submit a new paragraph into the section of area 51 the game 2005 on wikipedia and suceeded but when i do a blue box appears around my article and the words streach out longer. i have used the tutorial but this is no help. and in my message box it says it has been deleated by wikipedia.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Rgrgrgrgrobertgordon (talk • contribs)

That is because you have an indent out from the left. Place the text as far left as it will go. BigDunc^Talk 21:59, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I fixed it above as well... – ukexpat (talk) 22:12, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Gothic (Film)

I would like to insert the material from a sub-class article, Gothic (film) to the Lord Byron main page under the section related to other media. How would I do this?

The general guidelines are WP:MERGE and WP:SUMMARY. Whether you should merge content or merely link to it might be subject to dispute. I notice you did not sign your post. If you are new to Wikipedia, you should approach major edits with caution, as there may be other editors who will disagree with you. It's best to discuss changes on an article's Talk page first, to test the waters a bit before diving in. --Teratornis (talk) 00:44, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

February 20

Barackberry Sectera Edge

General Dynamics developed the Sectera Edge. L3 had no role in the development of the Sectera Edge.

Are you referencing an article? Sephiroth storm (talk) 00:35, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Do you refer to the article: Sectéra Secure Module? Can you provide a reliable source to support your claim? --Teratornis (talk) 00:48, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

New double redirect display

Does anyone have a link to a page discussing or announcing the software update that implemented the new double redirect display in the form seen here?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:42, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I believe this is an example of a double redirect that we attempt to avoid. The current revision no longer contains this. Sephiroth storm (talk) 02:05, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

The regulars at WP:VPT are more likely to be able to answer this question. Algebraist 02:19, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Maybe. I'll give it a day. There's no hurry. Sephiroth, I'm not sure you grock. Double redirects are to be avoided; the current revision of that redirect is no longer a double redirect because I fixed it as part of requested move cleanup. I was referring to the display, i.e., the visual listing of the doubled nature of the redirection in the format: Name Name, which is new. Formerly, a double redirect did not announce itself in any fashion.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:56, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Does this chain together in any fashion? For example, if there were a (God forbid) triple redirect, would this show in the same fashion? I find the new display kinda handy. TNXMan 12:49, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

No. It displays double RDs, and navigates through both at once (without mentioning or linking to the intermediate RD), but triple RDs are still not dealt with at all. Algebraist 12:58, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I just tested this as well, and think it would be useful if the same format is used for n-level redirects (i.e. it showed as many as existed). It would certainly help with cleaning up complex redirect-spaghetti! Richard⁰⁶¹² 13:05, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Found it. Algebraist 13:05, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Ah, Good link. Thank you. The display is very useful and at first I thought it would help me with cleaning up double redirects (I do quite a lot of requested moves), but then I discovered that this is not just a display change but a functional change—double rediretcs no longer break the redirection. In other words, while previously when A → B & B → C, clicking on A took one to B, but now A → C directly, do not pass GO. So the question becomes, is there any utility in fixing double redirects at all in light of that they no longer cause a break in the chain?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 10:56, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Anyone still reading this thread should read WP:VPT#Double redirects now work. Algebraist 22:03, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

where does {{at}} go?

I find myself confused on where to put {{at}} when NAC closing SNOW AFDs. Does it go above or below the section header? Like this:

{{subst:at}} '''result'''

=== John Doe ===

blah, blah

{{subst:ab}}

... or like this?

=== John Doe ===

{{subst:at}} '''result'''

blah, blah

{{subst:ab}}

flaminglawyer 04:26, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

According to Wikipedia:Deletion process#Header and footer text after closing, it should go above the section header. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 05:01, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

How do I put a photo on a page that I have uploaded to Wiki commons?

How do I put a photo on a page that I have uploaded to Wiki commons? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wtw100 (talk • contribs) 07:55, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Hi. You can use images in articles that are on Commons the same way you would with an image on Wikipedia: [[Image:<imagename.jpg>]]. Help:Image goes more in depth on embedding images. Regards, Matt (Talk) 08:27, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

How do verify content?

I'm ready to post and I want to know how I do I verify my information. The explanation seems so complicated. You brake it down? Bobbygeeman (talk) 08:07, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I believe the simplest official explanation is given at Help:Footnotes. And if your source is a website, use the http address (see Help:Link#External link for more on that). If you don't get it right, don't worry; Wikipedia is a collaberative project. If you don't get it right, someone else will come along and fix it, and you can look at what they did to figure out what went wrong. That said, I'd recommend reading Wikipedia:Your first article, especially #4. Good luck ;-) Someguy1221 (talk) 08:19, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

• If your reference is a book, give all the information you'd put in a reference template (author, title, publisher, page number, ISBN, etc) If the code is too complicated don't worry about it. The most important thing is that you add the references. Someone else can format them. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:42, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

If this is for a new article, you may wish to start by creating your article as a subpage of your user page (e.g., at User:Bobbygeeman/Sandbox). Put your reference in any which way, and then come back here and ask for help: we can then format the refrence for you and you will then have a worked example. If you intend to add to an existing article, you can put your proposed addition on the articles's talk page or on your own talk page, and again come back here to ask for help. The really important thing is to get the referencin information into the article in some way or other: the exact format can be corrected later. -Arch dude (talk) 14:20, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Images not loading on Wikipedia -- several weeks now.

Hiya. For some reason, when accessing Wikipedia from my computer, images refuse to load. This is only Wikipedia. It is not other websites. It also only seems to be my computer, not others. Does this happen often? I've been using Wikipedia on and off for several years without this problem. It's only been the last couple weeks. 66.53.194.117 (talk) 10:19, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like your browser settings, depending on the browser there could be various solutions. The one that is common throughout is to clear your cache, but this might not work and it could be a setting problem on yoru browser which as i say ther eis many browser and each has there own settings so i aint listing them.--Andrewcrawford (talk) 10:46, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

The most likely explanation is that you have set your browser to block images from Wikipedia. Check your browser's image-blocking preferences and any relevant add-ons. Algebraist 11:20, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Category history

Is there any way to get any history about the former contents of a category (not its edit history)? Such as pages that used to be in it or even when was the last time it had a page in it? --Pascal666 (talk) 11:37, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

The only ways I know are trying Google's cache which may have one recent view, or trying Internet Archive#Wayback Machine for old (at least 6 months) views. I have occasionally tracked down some pages by looking at contributions of editors who added to or edited the category but that takes time and may give nothing useful. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:01, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

IP editor making... weird statements.

This may not be the right place to ask, but I honestly don't know where else to raise this, and it seems... "odd" enough to warrant additional eyes. Just a day or so, I took the knife to an article [2] deleting a lot of stuff, incluing things like this: [3] "To all ex-students of Townsville Primary School and Chongsan Primary School who wish to join the alumni,please make your way to the school at3 .Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 or email us at <e-mail redacted>" which is pretty.. clearly not encyclopedic. The "reply" came today, with an IP editor telling me this: [4]. Note that that was in article space, not on any kind of talk page. I myself don't feel I am good at talking to newbies who don't understand the basics of wikipedia, so I wonder if anybody else could? Because I feel this might possibly escalate. Dendlai (talk) 14:35, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I have also cleaned up some info and watchlisted the page. If the IP editor persists, I will leave him a note asking him to discuss on the article's talk page. Also, a gentle nudge towards WP:OWN would probably help. TNXMan 14:51, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Conflict of Interest, repeated edits

Sorry if this is covered elsewhere! The page Wiliam Ellis Green. Melbourne Newspaper cartoonist, recently passed away. His page is subject to a repeated edits for Wegart.com.au. This is not the only outlet for the artwork as the edits indicate. I do not have any interest in the other link, just to point out another outlet exists. As such these repeated undo/edits are they vandalism?? Where there are two outlets for the artwork then the External refs/links should this be converted to the Open Data Project? Am sorry if this isn't very clear, am new and want to do the right thing. My edits to this page are deleted am now up to two edits and am conscious of the wiki edit war provisons. Help to set up the ODP link is appreciated Zippomk2 (talk) 14:46, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I would say that the insertion of the link in unessasary parts of the article may be concidered vandalism. I will place a warning on the IP User's talk page, outside of that, I don't believe I can take any further action. I would also suggest that you add some refernces to the article. Sephiroth storm (talk) 21:56, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Signature

Resolved

 – ukexpat (talk) 19:12, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm trying to change my signature on my preferences page, but all it says is 'Invalid raw signature. Check HTML tags.' The formatting looks like this: '''''</font></small> [[User:Wikiert|<font color="Pink">'''''Wikiert'''''</font>]]</small> [[User talk: Wikiert|^{<font color="Purple">talk</font>}]]</font></small> [[User:Wikiert/Guestbook|^{<font color="Green">sign</font>}]]</font></small> [[Special:Contributions/Wikiert|^{<font color="Red">contribs</font>}]] I don't get how to put 'HTML tags' on it. Wikiert (talk) 16:49, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I think it's saying that the tags like <font> or <sup> are invalid. It's been a while since I've played around with these, but I believe you are using invalid leading tags. Remember, the first instance of a tag should look like this: <font> and the closing instance should look like this: </font>. I think you've replaced some of your leading tags with closing tags. Best, TNXMan 17:11, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I just tried adding your signature into the box in my preferences. Your sig is too long. There can be up to 255 characters in it, and yours has more, because the 'contributions' bit is cut off at 'contri'. I'll think up a new sig. Queenie ^Talk 18:54, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

You may want to drop the link to your guestbook. You can link to it from your user page and would still allow for links to your user/talk page and contributions list. TNXMan 18:57, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Sound of trumpets please! Here is your new signature: Wikiert ^{T S C}. Copy the code into your preferences; it works, I tried it. Wikiert ^{T S C} 19:08, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Uh.. shoot. That was me above. Sorry, forgot to take your sig out of my preferences - *facepalm* Queenie ^Talk 19:12, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Hey, good job! That's a nice looking sig, even if it's not yours. :P TNXMan 19:23, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

thin blue border?

I just created a small page. How do I get rid of the thin, broken blue border, and what makes each paragraph go on horizontally until its end?

Lines starting with a space have special formatting. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:58, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Removing the space at the beginning of the line should do it. -=# Amos E Wolfe ^talk #=- 18:15, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Creating a Company Page

How can I make a company page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.19.121.227 (talk) 18:11, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. TNXMan 18:58, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

And please also read WP:Spam. – ukexpat (talk) 19:27, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

A tricky move question

In 2007 I created an article on a piece by John Cage, Music of Changes. Up to a few hours ago, I had no idea that a simple search for "music of changes" (something one would use to quickly access the article) now redirects to.. Music Of Changes (note the capital "o"), an article about a compilation of ambient music, created in 2008 by a rarely active user. Now, obviously one of the articles should be moved: not only to avoid confusion, but also every source I can find lists the ambient album as "Music of Changes", not Of. The issue becomes slightly more complicated because the cover of the album says "The Music of Changes" ([5]), even though everyone lists it without the "The".

Suppose I were to move the album article (a decision based on Google, which generates more hits for Cage: compare [6] and [7]) to Music of Changes (album) (I'd prefer Ambient 3: Music of Changes, but this would require renaming other articles for Virgin Ambient series). Naturally, I'd mention the new article at Music of Changes, so that people could find it after being redirected to Cage from "music of changes". But what should be done with Music Of Changes? Should it simply be deleted? Or should it be made into a redirect? The latter seems kind of useless, given Wikipedia's automatic redirects. Should both the Cage and the album articles be renamed and Music of Changes made into a disambiguation, given that there are, apparently, a few other things named "Music of Changes" ([8])? Most of them don't seem particularly notable, but I'm no expert on determining notability. And anyway, if Music of Changes is made into a disambiguation, what is to be done with Music Of Changes? And what about the "The" problem, should we comply with the album cover rather than with most websites that list it without the definite article?

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask such questions, but I've never run into a situation like this before, and apparently neither the Administrator's Noticeboard nor the Village Pump are for this sort of thing. I'm quite lost; even with non-tricky moves I always feel nervous that I'll break something, and now I'm completely confused as to what to do. --Jashiin (talk) 18:33, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I have moved "Music Of Changes" to Music of Changes (album), redirected Music Of Changes to Music of Changes, and added a hatnote there. Redirects are cheap and extra redirects on other capitalizations is no problem. There was only one incoming link to Music Of Changes and I retargeted that to Music of Changes (album). PrimeHunter (talk) 14:05, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you very much! I'll try to be bolder in the future when it comes to handling moves and redirects. --Jashiin (talk) 17:06, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Boldness may not be the best idea when it comes to moving pages - if something looks scary, it probably is. There are lots of technical and political things that can go badly wrong when someone moves a page hastily, and require cleanup by an administrator. You did the right thing by discussing it first. PrimeHunter has a lot of experience with these issues. Be sure to study his changes and understand what he did and why. Refer to the links under WP:EIW#Disambig, for example Wikipedia:Hatnote. --Teratornis (talk) 07:17, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

AfD

per [9] this post - but not sure that admin is online at the moment - not sure what (if anything) I should do next. — Ched (talk) 20:35, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

It appears the article was the victim of some vandalism. I've reverted the page to the last stable version. However, this has made your AfD template disappear. You can re-add it if you'd like to pursue it or close the AfD discussion. Best, TNXMan 20:44, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Also, I have requested temporary semi-protection. The amount of IP vandalism to that page is absurd. TNXMan 20:46, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

(ec)::Thanks there Tnxman, just dropped a note on your talk page about the help. Naaa ... I'm not one for adding delete tags to anything but pure nonsense or attacks. — Ched (talk) 20:48, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

good move - I hadn't thought that far ahead yet - still operating at a slow and methodical rate at this point. — Ched (talk) 20:50, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Wrapping text

I'm working on my first page in a sub page of my user page, so I can learn some of the techniques before actually posting the page public. Afer writing an itro graph and saving it, the text did not show in paragraph form but rather in a long continuous line that stretched way off the page. How do I correct that?

Hobig Hobig (talk) 20:56, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

See the above section entitled "Thin blue border". If you have a leading space, your text ends up the way you described. I've fixed it on your page. TNXMan 21:02, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Hobig, did you mean to create the article on a subpage, or out in the article namespace? Queenie ^Talk 21:05, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

(after) thanks Ukexpat, I had an edit conflict with you, trying to fix that link. Queenie ^Talk 21:19, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

rollback links

Is there a way to make the rollback links on the watchlist disappear? — Aitias // discussion 21:25, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I believe this link should be of assistance. TNXMan 21:30, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

do I just copy those 2 scripts to my monobook file? — Ched (talk) 21:37, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I believe so. Just add it in and reload the page (bypass your cache if necessary). TNXMan 21:42, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

@Tnxman307: Thanks! :) — Aitias // discussion 21:44, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

@Ched Davis: You have to add it to User:Ched Davis/monobook.css. — Aitias // discussion 21:44, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

@all .. Thanks — Ched (talk) 22:30, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Table help

Hello all. I've been adding content to List of Halo media, and I suddenly realized that some of the tables don't properly render. The right table border for the 'notes' section is there on the video games section, for example, but not for any of the tables in the "Printed media" section, for example. Anyone take a looksee at the code and find out what's wrong? --Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs ^(talk) 23:52, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I took a stab. Some tables had three columns, but some of the rows specified a colspan of 5. The tables actually rendered fine for me in both Firefox 3 and IE7, but I could see how a browser could be confused by the over-reaching column span. — TKD::Talk 03:43, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

February 21

Persondata

Is there a way to find person articles needing meta templates? Mjpresson (talk) 01:07, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Not that I can find. A good start would be a category that lists all articles whose talk pages have the |needs-persondata = yes parameter set in {{WPBiography}}. Any chance that a template expert can edit that template to automatically populate a new Category:Biography articles without persondata category? – ukexpat (talk) 03:05, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I asked and, lo and behold, a Category:Biography articles without persondata has just been added to the template. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 21:30, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Downtime?

I was unable to access any Wikimedia websites starting at about 01:20 UTC, recieving only Wikimedia Foundation error messages or perpetual "Waiting for en.wikipedia.org" from Firefox. Did anyone else have this problem, and if so know what the cause was? Xenon54 (talk) 02:07, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

The server admin log has some technospeak that suggests everything was down. Algebraist 02:10, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, there was a file server problem. Log on to #wikipedia on IRC next time for updates! Pretzels^Talk! 04:13, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

hmmm... interesting reading. Guess Brion had an event filled evening. ;) Oh well, a little wiki-withdraw never hurt anyone I guess .. lulz — Ched (talk) 15:00, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

What does Wikipedia say about periods at the end of caption-sentences?

Is there a general rule whether or not captions of images should be placed a period at the end. I actually noted that many articles are inconsistent, meaning some pictures have the period, some don't—even within the same articles. Since I plan to do some clean-up tonight, I thought I'd ask which is preferred (period or no period?). I don't know if I stated this clearly! --Pgecaj (talk) 03:59, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

It depends on whether the caption contains a complete sentence. See MOS:CAPTIONS. — TKD::Talk 04:14, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

A question for template hackers

Is there any way to strip the square brackets from the values in a parameter?

{{#magicfunction:{{{1|[[Los Angeles]], [[California]]}}} }} -> Los Angeles, California

So why am I asking. I was using #titleparts: for passing a string array, which is a great hack for numbers or plain text but it doesn't like square brackets for some reason. So it's pretty useless for general purposes.

If this is the wrong place to axe, can someone point me in the direction where the guys hang out that enjoy such things?-J JMesserly (talk) 06:15, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Not even a pointer? There must be some user pages somewhere that people chat about his sort of thing. Mediawiki is too specific to particular functions. I need a place to ask the general question because I have no idea which if any wikitext feature I could use to do this. -J JMesserly (talk) 01:57, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

WP:VPT, maybe? I don't think this is possible though. Algebraist 02:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Templates can do some intricate things, but in terms of string processing, MediaWiki's template syntax has disappointed me in the past. It seems far below the capabilities of any popular scripting language such as Perl or Python or even any Unix shell (how far can anyone get without regular expression search and replace?). If you are asking about templates on Wikipedia, there are further disappointments as Wikipedia does not have all possible string-processing extensions installed (too demanding of the servers, I guess). As far as where the template gurus hang out, I agree that WP:VPT would be a better bet than the Help desk. Be sure to set aside several months to read everything linked from WP:EIW#Template. There is a Wikipedia:WikiProject Templates, hopefully some template experts are active there. --Teratornis (talk) 07:27, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the pointer, I'll take it up with them. No pressing need- I just keep stumbling over this problem. You are correct- in addition, from what I read from the discussions on the matter, apparently the string function extensions that exist on some wikimedia sites did not meet technical quality standards for foundation wikis. In case you are interested, you could vote for bugzilla:6455. The fallback position is always Bots, of course. But then what you wind up is multiple parameters, and less readable wikitext for human editors. Nonetheless I agree with the conservative approach of the tech staff. Proceed extremely cautiously with additions of further program functions. Better that we have fast servers and a stable system for all until it there are some extremely compelling reasons for adding the functionality and the risk of negative consequences for general users is extremely low. There were some lovely Lisp and Smalltalk based object oriented knowledgebases back in the 80s and 90s, but they required big machines and still ran very very slowly. We really don't need to go there. Regards, -J JMesserly (talk) 16:25, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

It sounds like you are probably aware of m:Semantic MediaWiki, but if not, there's the link. As to my wishlist for fancy toys, I'll be happy if we can get a tool that makes it possible to add footnote citations with just a click on the page you want to cite. Currently it takes about a dozen browser tab swaps to copy and paste everything to fill out a citation template, so the majority of Wikipedia users refuse to use them, opting for the simplest possible "bare" citation. {{Google scholar cite}} is great when it works, but it only works occasionally. --Teratornis (talk) 10:08, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

probe selection.

1. what is the factor consider in probe selection? 2. in manual conventional ut, only 70 deg, 60 deg, 45 deg and 0 deg. TR and normal. why not other degree like 50 deg or other?

This help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. You might want to try asking your question at the reference desk. If you do, make sure you provide enough context for people to know what in God's name you're talking about. Algebraist 10:03, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Objection to Subcategory of Category:Indian fascists

I strongly object the inclusion of a popular Indian political party in:

Category:Indian fascists Subcategories This category has only the following subcategory. [+] Bharatiya Janata Party politicians (1)

I've removed Category:Indian fascists from the Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians page. That should take care of it. Deor (talk) 14:18, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

About Semiconductor memories

Can you send me a complete 6hours lecture note on semiconductor memories for Engineering third year level?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Kajis (talk • contribs)

Hello Kajis. I have removed your personal informaiton, please do not include email or other contact details, as announced at the top of this page. We do not reply by email to posts made here. As for your question, no, sorry, we are an encyclopedia, not a place to ask for classroom notes.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:33, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

wier-tapping

I was recorded with what was said to be an answering machine, the recording was eddited from the other woman and certain words I said. Admitted in Court before playing that it had been transfered TWICE, yet the Judge allowed it to be played, I was given a Protection from Abuse Order against me. A severly handicaped woman of 58 years old. what are my options, I already appealed the judge wrote against me by referring to the tape that the transcripts never picked up. Nancy

• This page is for help with using Wikipedia. I recommend you ask an expert. Lots of countries have places that offer free legal advice from people who actually know what they're talking about. Don't trust a random stranger on the internet to give a true answer, especially when they don't know the entire story. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:45, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

We aren't allowed to give legal advice here, even if we had someone who knows what they are talking about. Xenon54 (talk) 12:36, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I was telling the poster about actual organizations that give free legal advise. They can do it. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:35, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

King's College London Coat of Arms

The quality of the King's College Coat of Arms is really bugging me. The image is of poor quality compared to other university arms, such as Royal Holloway, Cambridge, Glasgow etc. I was wondering how this image could be improved. I had a quick look on the King's College Corporate identity webiste, but could not find a high quality version of the arms. Could somebody knock up an SVG perhaps? I would have a go, but frankly paint is about my limit. 79.75.221.27 (talk) 11:49, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

As a member of WP:HV, I can tell you that copyright on such arms is usually fairly complicated, because of several factors, and lower-quality images are used in order to satisfy fair use. As is stated on the current image's page:"This is a logo of an organization, item, or event, and is protected by copyright and/or trademark. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images on the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, of logos for certain uses involving identification and critical commentary may qualify as fair use under United States copyright law." So no-one creates them for fear of breaching that, which they would. Some universities do release their 'logos' into the public domain, but that's their choice. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 22:11, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Copying text from another article and preserving the GFDL terms

If I want to copy a paragraph, sentence, etc. from another article, I presume I should put something in the edit summary -- is just a wikilink to the other article and a statement that the text comes from that article sufficient? I've looked for guidance about this several times and never found any. Thanks. dougweller (talk) 13:59, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

That is considered sufficient by Wikipedia. Help:Merging and moving pages#Performing the merger mentions the edit summary "merge content from article name". PrimeHunter (talk) 14:50, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Ok, I was hoping it would be enough. I wouldn't have thought of looking at a page on merging. Any suggestions as to any other pages where it might appropriately be added? Thanks. dougweller (talk) 16:22, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

For the opposite of merging, Wikipedia:Splitting#Procedure mentions the edit summary "split content from article name". I don't know whether it's mentioned elsewhere or where it would be relevant to mention it. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:28, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I usually go to the history, and copy the link to the specific revision of the article that i took the copied text from. That is the most accurate that you can get, and if anyone ever reads trough the history in say 10 years to find something specific, he might even have a chance of succeeding. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 22:05, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Change and rename the title of my article

Having made a mistake when creating this page, I would like to change and rename the title of my article. Could you give me the best way forward to change and rename the title of this page. Thank you in advance for your help.--Paulzabouri (talk) 14:27, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Much of your article, currently at User:Paulzabouri, is directly copied, with only minimal changes, from this PDF document and the ICMM Web site. It won't be ready to be renamed by moving it into article space until it's completely rewritten in a nonplagiaristic manner. I suggest that you work on it some more, by which time you will have made enough edits (10) to be able to move it to article space yourself, by using the "move" tab that will appear at the top of User:Paulzabouri. Deor (talk) 14:45, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Copyvios are not permitted even in user space. I have tagged it for speedy deletion as a copyvio. – ukexpat (talk) 17:12, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Primary page & disambiguation

Hello! I'm trying to decide on an appropriate course of action for disambiguating the abbreviation SYK. At this instance, the abbreviation leads to page on an enzyme called Spleen tyrosine kinase. In Finland, on the other hand, the abbreviation is a well-known reference to an educational institution. I find a number of problems to be fixed here: (1) The name of the enzyme article is its abbreviation, not the name of the enzyme itself; (2) the reference to the educational institution seems to qualify as the primary article, since it is commonly recognized in Finland and used consistently by the media, whereas the enzyme article requires sophistication; (3) there must be plenty of subjects in Wikipedia that have reference to this abbreviation. It seems to me that the name of the enzyme article should be changed and a disambiguation page created. Am I correct? masqueraid 15:10, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

A disambiguation page is not needed when there are only two articles. I have added hatnotes to Syk and Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu, and redirected SYK to the latter. If you want to change the name of the enzyme article then see Wikipedia:Requested moves. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:47, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

• I don't fully agree. The key issue is what English speaking people would do as this is the English Wikipedia. The enzyme doesn't require sophistication. It's called Syk because it's encoded by a SYK gene. Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu gives no indication where the K comes from. Also the enzyme is called Syk while the institution is called SYK. There shouldn't be a problem to begin with. - Mgm|^(talk) 15:56, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Is it masqueraid or my edits you don't agree with? PrimeHunter (talk) 16:07, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

• masqueraid. Your solution seems the most elegant. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:10, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

• Your solution is good, PrimeHunter. But Mgm, let me clarify the issue at hand here, because I think there's a misunderstanding: before the changes made by PrimeHunter, people searching for the school with its abbreviation would have not found their way to the article they were looking for. Both articles absolutely have grounds to be connected to the abbreviation, and I don’t think it is fair to say that its connection to the school would be of smaller significance since the origin of the ‘K’ is not obvious or since the name of the school is in Finnish. In fact, anybody acquainted with the major educational institutions of Finland would primarily know this school by its abbreviation, just as anyone familiar with the enzyme would know both its full name and its abbreviation. The school and the enzyme are equal as articles that both have a full name corresponding to the same abbreviation; as such, there is no reason for one taking precedence over the other. masqueraid 16:24, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Edit summary for new sections

When using the "new section" command that appears on talk pages, is it possible to change the default edit summary? Thanks in advance. Martin^Msgj 15:15, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

No. If you want another edit summary then edit the whole page or the last section, add the heading inside == ... ==, and write an edit summary. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:27, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

After you hit the New Section button, it is technically possible for you to overwrite the prefilled text that appears in the edit summary box with something else. But this is not desirable because the section pointer (the small right arrow that precedes the section name in the edit history) will no longer be linked to the section you just created. See Help:Edit summary#Section editing. EdJohnston (talk) 16:05, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I suspect you are confusing the automatic "new section" edit summary with the editable prefilled edit summary when clicking "edit" to the right of a section. There is no edit summary box when you click "new section" like in [10]. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:14, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Oops, you're right. A whole different issue! EdJohnston (talk) 17:45, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I read somewhere a while back about a tool/script that allowed users (maybe adminz only - I don't know) to edit actual edit summaries. I didn't bookmark it, cause I figure if I want to change something - it's just as easy to do a null edit, and post an edit summary - that way I'm not messing with history. — Ched (talk) 18:57, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

See meta:Help:Edit summary#Changing an edit summary and Help:Import. It appears this cannot be used to change edit summaries in Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:24, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Why post rumors?

Dear, Mr.Wales or whomeever

Why do you post rumors? I just curious, if John Cena were engaged it would be mentioned on WWE.Com, WWE Magazine, it would have come from him himself, and it would be in People Magazine, US Magazine, it would be on ET, Access Hollywood, Eonline the legit entertainment news channels it is just a rumor that is so all over the internet he has been quoted that he has no time for a realationship being that he is in a different city everynight, so he is currently single and again if it were true, then he would would have made a public announcement and it would be on the offical site for all things WWE and their roaster, just like the Undertaker is dating Michelle Mcool, yeah don't think so, so you might want to stop reporting false information and rumors because some of your knowledge is misinfomend and untrue and not printed correctly, heck you screwed up a story on Thomas Edison so your just another rumor mill web site, he should sue!

Are you referring to John Cena#Personal life which says: "In an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Cena is currently engaged and intends to marry later in the year."?

Seattle Post-Intelligencer is considered a reliable source by Wikipedia, and the article there says: Cena's engaged and said: "I'm gonna get married this year."

Do you have a current source saying he is single? I'm not American, have never heard of him, and don't know whether so many sources would report on his status. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:03, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

• The article specifically said that it was mentioned in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. If it turns out not to be true, that is something for the editors of the article to discuss. Newspapers can make mistakes too (just like what you call the legit entertainment newschannels by the way). You'd have to come with better proof. By the way, suing someone for inaccurately reporting your engagement would be ridiculous; you'd suffer no reasonable emotional or financial damage. 0- Mgm|^(talk) 16:10, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

(ec) - I would be more inclined to put more faith in the "news" articles. WWE.com is more of a promotional site for their entertainment shows. They often will write their articles to reflect the various kayfabe the story-lines are proceeding along. Wikipedia articles reflect a more "real life" thing. I don't know about the actual events since I haven't followed that stuff since Cena was doing that rap thing though. — Ched (talk) 16:18, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

• Note many of wwe employees carry their kayfabe story-lines beyond the ring. I remember when Andy Kaughman and Jerry Lawler had everyone going with a skit they perpetuated - even through some of the late-night talk shows. It's entertainment, and often difficult to distinguish fact from fiction in this genre. I'd also doubt Cena would be interested in any legal actions, if anything - he'd probably be glad for any media attention that he'd get. — Ched (talk) 16:25, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

plz solve my problem

Good evening sir,

iam pavan from hyderabad sir iam a regular reader of ur website..... sir ihave a problem with the website www.te.wikipedia.org iam not able to see the telugu words....after u have given instructions to see the script in telugu but after all the download and instructions followed by us....iam not able to see the website can u help me plz....... plz reply me to my EMAIL : [email removed to prevent spam]

thank u sir,

pavan

The top of http://www.te.wikipedia.org says: "Not able to view the Telugu script? Click Here". See also Help:Multilingual support (Indic). Does that help? If not then what is your browser and version? PrimeHunter (talk) 16:34, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

you guys dont have a good idea

why do you guys let people edit your stuff i think its a dumb idea because people can add untrue things and other people who come here are being penalized for that you guys disgust me and i will make sure no one i know comes here anymore!!!!!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.193.97.128 (talk)

See Wikipedia:Replies to common objections#Letting arbitrary Internet users edit any article at will is absurd. Criticism of Wikipedia and Reliability of Wikipedia may also be of interest. If you want full control of what you write then write it on your own website. Is there something in a specific article that has upset you? We may be able to help with that. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:05, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

• Also, people who come here to read articles won't be penalized unless they copy the text for an essay or something without doing the proper checks on where the information came from. You should not trust stuff you read blindly - that goes for any website (and book and newspaper and magazine) including Wikipedia. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:54, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm curious as to how the original poster plans to "make sure no one i know comes here anymore." Even the Chinese government can only make Wikipedia somewhat less convenient to access. Making the would-be censor's job even harder, Wikipedia's content gets mirrored and copied on many sites, including in Google search results. It would be pretty tough to shield the tender eyes of any Internet user from all traces of our nefarious site, and it keeps getting tougher as the Wikipedia juggernaut continues to roll and grow. --Teratornis (talk) 07:06, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Tag for article with non-encyclopedic lists

According to WP:NOTDIR, wikipedia articles shouldn't have gratuitous lists. If a page has offensive lists, what tag should I place at the top of the article to identify it for cleanup? Thanks, Inasilentway (talk) 19:11, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Maybe you can find a suitable template on: Wikipedia:Template messages/Lists or Wikipedia:Template messages/Maintenance. You may want to put {{wikipedia template messages}} on your user page for handy reference when you want to look up a template message to slap on an article. If you have a problem with a specific article, you could discuss it on the article's talk page. Template messages tend to be general, and may not provide enough details about your complaint to guide other editors on how to fix it. After all, if other people could recognize and understand the problem, they would have already fixed it. If the template you add does not describe the problem clearly enough for someone who has never heard of the issue before, add more explanation on the talk page. --Teratornis (talk) 19:30, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

See also Category:List cleanup maintenance templates. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:36, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

• An offensive list? Now I'm curious. I can't think of any offensive lists that don't have a useful purpose. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:50, 21 February 2009 (UTC)
• Keep in mind Wikipedia is not censored. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:52, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps Inasilentway simply meant "offensive to the sensibilities of anyone who thinks that WP:TRIVIA should be respected." Deor (talk) 23:29, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I've seen multiple lists that some consider trivial yet are totally acceptable in the Wikipedia sense because we cover more than traditional encyclopedias. Without a title we have nothing to go on. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

check me

Someone want to check me on this. I didn't rv. as vandalism, cause it may have been AGF edit. I moved to talk page with note - are there better links to use than ones I cited on talk page. Original edit appears to be new user - I dropped welcome template, and was going to drop a note on the edit I did with links. Thx. — Ched (talk) 20:14, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

What you did looks fine to me. It might have been a good faith confusion with another William Hanson, who wrote a guide to coming out for gay men, but since that was first published in 1991 (when this article's Hanson was c.two years old) it can't be the same guy. Or it might have been vandalism. In any case, BLP means everything in the article should be cited; since that wasn't, I think you did quite right to remove it. Links you included seem fine too. Gonzonoir (talk) 20:49, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks - I know BLP issues are serious, and there's even a bold text about not moving to talk page about contentious statements. I'm not even sure if saying someone is gay is considered contentious. I guess some are proud of it their sexuality. Appreciate you taking the time to check my edits. — Ched (talk) 20:56, 21 February 2009 (UTC) (rephrased) — Ched (talk) 20:57, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I guess contention's always in the eye of the beholder, so maybe it's just my personal mores that mean I see the claim as less than eyeopening ;) Still, as a hunch, this edit was plausible enough and innocuous enough to be tolerable on the talkpage: there's also the grounds for possible legit confusion given the other Hanson, so I'd say it's harmless enough where it is. Gonzonoir (talk) 21:01, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Printing

I am using XP and IE 7 Sometimes when I go to print an article some of the pages come out blank and the flow of text is missing. I have been using your printable version option as well as the print option in IE itself

Can I overcome this?

See #Printing problems. It does not happen with IE8RC1, FireFox or Chrome. I see it with IE7 and have not been able to find a fix. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 22:06, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

(e/c) :Somebody reported a very similar problem earlier this week, in a section above: Wikipedia:Help_desk#Printing_problems. As an interim solution, creating a PDF of the article was suggested. But perhaps the editor who helped out with that could help you here too. Gonzonoir (talk) 22:08, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Ah! You were that previous helpful editor. Thanks, Gadget. Gonzonoir (talk) 22:10, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

February 22

Darwin's evolution theory and related ideas

Resolved

 – discussion continued on talk pages. – ukexpat (talk) 01:21, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Sirs,

Have I just MISSED it; when the "Big Bank theory" is discussed it seems the proponents feel that "Natural Selection" or some such Evolution process just followed; NATURALLY! While not an AVID reader of related materials; BUT, keep wondering WHAT exploded; was it an Atomic bomb or Hydrogen bomb type explosion??? THEN, of course; WHERE did the EXPLODING materials originate??? To paraphrase the opening line of Moses Genesis): "In the beginning God..." HOW would Darwin (Dawkins seems to have moved to the head of the class) write that first sentence??? What websites would be most likely to give "the answer" that Darwin (or compatriots) give to this (and related) questions?

Thanks,

Buford Rowe [email removed to protect against spam] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.203.233.235 (talk • contribs) 00:50, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

We have an article about the Big Bang. Have you tried the Science section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:08, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Darwin would have nothing to say about the Big Bang; he was a biologist not a physicist. Big Bang nucleosynthesis outlines how modern physicists account for the original matter in the universe. Stellar nucleosynthesis outlines how modern physicists account for heavy elements like those used in atomic bombs. —teb728 t c 01:36, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Also note that "In the beginning God..." explains nothing, because it says nothing about where God came from. All known explanations for the universe must start with something that nobody can yet explain. Science explains progressively more as time goes on - for example, 500 years ago nobody could explain how bats fly around in the dark without hitting things, so a common "explanation" was that bats are possessed by evil spirits. Of course that explains nothing, because it provides no explanation for what evil spirits are or how they came to possess bats; neither does it lead to testable predictions of bat behavior. Today scientists know about echolocation in bats, so we no longer take the claims of evil spirits in bats very seriously. This is an example of God of the gaps - as science explains more and more things, the set of things that seem to require supernatural explanations shrinks monotonically. Perhaps in 500 years, science will have a more coherent explanation of what came "before" the Big Bang. In the meantime, humanity faces quite a number of more pressing problems: peak oil, global warming, overpopulation, nuclear proliferation, etc., and theological debates are unlikely to help with any of them. In contrast, writing a free encyclopedia might help. If you would like to join our happy project, a good place to start is by reading this book:

• Wikipedia - The Missing Manual (full text is here)

--Teratornis (talk) 06:53, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Of course Wikipedia can help with theological debates too; see for example these search results:

• Search Wikipedia with Google for: why is there something rather than nothing?

I like Daniel Dennett's answer: "Why not?" which becomes more interesting the longer one ponders it. Why would most people seem to regard "something" as being less probable than "nothing"? Where did we get the idea that "something" instead of "nothing" is remarkable in any way? Do we even know that "nothing" is possible? After all, nobody has ever seen "nothing" - we only have experience with "something." We can't even really imagine "nothing", as in real nothingness, nothing at all. Just by being there to observe "nothing" we would be injecting "something" into it. --Teratornis (talk) 07:45, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Also, I have found Aristotle's arguement of the Prime Mover to be compelling. If causality is real, then regardless of how far back you go, there must be a first cause. What is the first cause? It must be God, and it must be taken on faith that it is God, because no amount of observation can arrive at the First Cause, because observation can only determine a First Event. That event must have a Cause... You don't need to disbelieve any aspect of science or empiricle evidence such as the Big Bang or Evolution in order to fit God into the world, nor do you have to limit God or his reach. If you accept God as first the Prime Mover, then all we are doing is describing His Creation. Its a nice, tidy little way to meld Theology with Science. And someone only thought of it 2400 years ago. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 15:38, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Theological debates are fun, but I was wrong to help stoke one on the Help desk. Continued on your talk page. --Teratornis (talk) 21:45, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

New page

How Can I make a Page— Preceding unsigned comment added by The Eagle217 (talk • contribs)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. – ukexpat (talk) 04:10, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

CHURCH WEBSITE ON WIKIPEDIA

We wish to provide information regarding our church in PUNE , INDIA on WIKIPEDIA pages Our website address is www.ChristTheKingChurchPune.org

How do we go about getting the information loaded on to the relevant pages on WIKIPEDIA ( for eg , ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN INDIA , ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN PUNE , ARCHDIOCESE OF PUNE etc )

You can create the article at Christ the King Church (Pune, India), and add it to Category:Roman Catholic churches in India. For more information on creating an article, see WP:My first article. Note that not all articles created on Wikipedia are kept. Make sure to read WP:Conflict of interest, as and note that all articles on Wikipedia must have a neutral point of view. It also must meet our notability requirements. If you need more help, feel free to leave a note on my talk page./ hmwithτ 15:19, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

VAS In Telecom

What is VAS in Telecom? What r top players in this industry? How much scope is there in VAS indutry for a non technical MBA?

• Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps.

A member of congress and I share the same name and he has the listing on Wikipedia for the name tied up...

How would I go about adding my information...

I don't want to step on this persons toes... I just want to have a public profile... (I own a company in NYC) and have been asked about setting up a Wiki for myself and the company...

Thanks for your thoughts on this...

Mike Animationage (talk) 09:11, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

• That happens all the time. We have Disambiguation as a solution to have more articles with the same name, but be careful: it's not recommended to make an article about yourself and your company, because they'll almost always lack the required neutral point of view. Make sure you read WP:COI this page about sources. Write the the article in userspace first and get some opinions from established editors to avoid problems, or just be patient and wait for someone else to create it. Remember, Wikipedia is not a place to advertise the company, it has to meet inclusion criteria. -- Mgm|^(talk) 10:47, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Hi, Mike. You can set up a Wiki for your company: the software to set up a Wiki is freely available. You will have complete control of your wiki and you can make whatever policies you want to on your wiki. If you do not already have a corporate computer thta is visible on the Internet, you can rent space for a very modest monthly fee from any of large group of hosting companies. Hundreds of organizations have done this, and its a great way to interact with your customers and partners. However, your wiki will be completely unrelated to Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a collection of wikis that comprise a not-for-profit collaborative encyclopedia. We only add article that meet our requirements for notability -Arch dude (talk) 21:38, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Getting revision of "lacking references"

I have been working on the article on "The Children's Encyclopedia", adding new material and providing as many references as possible. However, it is still marked (as of December 2008) as "lacking references"... How does one get this assessment revised? Bergerie (talk) 10:50, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Another editor's come along now and removed the {{Unreferenced}} tag: any editor, including you, can do this, so long as you've done the necessary work to correct the problem the tag identifies, and leave an edit summary explaining why you're doing so.

For what it's worth, the article still has a (lesser) problem with references, because it lacks inline citations. It's not possible to tell which detail in the article is demonstrated in which cited source. A good next step for this article would be to go and add those in. Gonzonoir (talk) 11:01, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Aligning Text

Resolved

 – ukexpat (talk) 01:20, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

How do I centre align text? I appreciate that the majority of text is left-aligned but there are specific examples of when centre aligned is appropriate, short excerpt of poetry, for example. How do I do this? Cottonshirt (talk) 12:01, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Put <center> at the beginning and </center> at the end of the text. Note the American spelling; if you spell it as 'centre', it doesn't work. AlexiusHoratius 12:17, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

• There are also quotation templates that provide nice layouts for quotes, but I can't remember exactly what they're called. Someone else might remember... - Mgm|^(talk) 13:06, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

• There are a bunch of quotation templates available at Wikipedia. Here's one, there are more here.masqueraid 13:24, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you very much, very helpful. Cottonshirt (talk) 14:02, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

You can also use <blockquote> and </blockquote> to nicely format a quote. hmwithτ 15:05, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

{{quote box2}} has a lot of formatting options and documentation on how to implement more. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:33, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

A couple of weeks ago I went to a Project page and asked a question. After three days no one had answered so I asked if the Project page was the right place to be asking questions. Four days go by and no one answered that question either so I left a message saying thanks, and "un-watched" the Project page and made up my mind to never edit any articles on that Project again. I came here to ask a question and it was answered in a quarter of an hour, and after an hour and a half there were three really helpful answers. So I left a note to say thank you and even after I had said I had the answer I wanted two more people have added additional answers, one of whom even left a note on my talk page to say he had left an answer. This has completely changed my opinion of Wikipedians. Thank you very much. Cottonshirt (talk) 21:47, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I think it's probably fair to say that a lot of Project pages do not receive the volume of traffic that this page and the other help pages receive. Marking as resolved. – ukexpat (talk) 01:20, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It's much easier to start WikiProjects than to recruit enough users to keep them going. In this sense, WikiProjects inside Wikipedia are like entire wikis on the World Wide Web. The vast majority of wikis that people start tend to languish because they don't attract enough users to form the needed critical mass. This Help desk has the advantage that it attracts users with many different topic interests, whereas WikiProjects by their nature have only a narrow appeal. Most WikiProjects tend not to be great places for users who are very new to Wikipedia, for example. That makes it hard for WikiProjects to get going, because the majority of users on Wikipedia at any given time tend to be new. (For example, Wikipedia has 47,429,522 registered user accounts, but only an estimated 75,000 or so have accumulated enough experience to be able to answer questions such as the one you asked. There just aren't enough experienced users to go around with all the projects and other needs.) Many new users will look at a WikiProject and have an unsatisfactory first experience like you did. This creates a Catch-22, because a WikiProject needs to recruit new users so they can grow into experienced users. A WikiProject cannot really compete with all the other screaming needs for the limited pool of knowledgeable users. --Teratornis (talk) 02:34, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Question

Why do some people block users, delete pages, protect pages, and grant rollback to users without explanation? Filper01 (Chat, My contribs) 12:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

As a general rule, this should not be happening. Have you any specific examples? - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 12:14, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

No. Filper01 (Chat, My contribs) 12:17, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I have not personally seen this happen. If you have a specific complaint about a specific administrator, please take it up at the user talk page of that administrator. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 15:31, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

In cases of extreme vandalism, an administrator may take immediate action in order to prevent excessive amounts of vandalism. If an administrator feels that a user, whom is heavily involved in reverting vandalism, would benefit from Rollback, then they may grant them the right. For deleting pages, obvious attack pages, such as violating WP:BLP, will be automatically deleted. Users who immediately violate BLP without any provocation, previous edits, (ex. meatpuppet) will almost always automatically banned (NOT blocked There is a difference). Cheers. Imperat§ r^(Talk) 16:58, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

For review pertaining to a page deletion go to WP:DRV. For general admin abuse see WP:ADMINABUSE.Smallman12q (talk) 21:35, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Handling contradictory articles

What should I do with two articles that mildly contradict each other, but I don't know which one is correct? Is there any way I can flag it, so others may be able to observe and decide? What should I do? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Teribin (talk • contribs) 14:04, Feb 22, 2009 (UTC)

You can add the template {{contradict-other}} to one of the articles (perhaps the one that attracts the most editorial activity), with an explanation of the contradiction on one of the articles' talk pages. (The template has parameters for the name of the other article and the location of the discussion; see the template page linked above.) Deor (talk) 14:20, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

What is the status of the sourcing of the contradictory content between the two articles? If one is verified and one is not, or one is verified by, say, a blog, while the other with The New York Times, you go with the sourced or more reliably sourced. If neither is sourced, you can try to find a source yourself to resolve the conflict. You can also slap a {{fact}} tag on each and, in some cases, you should just remove the contradictory unsourced content from both based on Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden of evidence (WP:BURDEN). It might be a good idea to tell us what the two articles and what the problematic content is. Maybe we can resolve it immediately.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:51, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

wikipedia toolbar

how can i enter faster in wikipedia (ex: creating a toolbar)?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.114.206.47 (talk • contribs)

I'm not sure I understand your question. If you want to come here quicker, all you have to do is add it to your bookmarks; that, or you could drag this tab up above (Mozilla Only) Cheers. Imperat§ r^(Talk) 17:09, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

And if you have an account, there is the editing toolbar which can be enabled in the Editing tab of your account preferences. – ukexpat (talk) 17:22, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

See WP:EIW#EditSoft if you are asking about editing software that can work with Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 02:20, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Correct way to distinguish two British actresses of the same name?

They are currently Lucy Griffiths (born 1919) and Lucy Griffiths (II) (born 1987). The II doesn't feel right to me. Would date of birth be a better way to distinguish the two? I.e. the first article would stay as is and the second become Lucy Griffiths (actress born 1987).Itsmejudith (talk) 17:23, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I thought that Equity had rules to prevent this sort of thing happening. DuncanHill (talk) 17:29, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Just a thought, but at the moment neither actress is DAB-ed with "(actress)" - so Lucy Griffiths (II) could become Lucy Griffiths (actress). Slightly odd, but less ugly than the "II" DAB. (e/c) Per DuncanHill it might be worth double-checking spellings; I'd be surprised if the Equity comment wasn't correct (though it is possible that the later Lucy isn't an Equity member). Cheers, This flag once was red^propaganda_deeds 17:32, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

(E/C) The first actress's page says aka Lucy Griffith, which may give a clue. It may be worth moving the page to that, keeping the disambiguation links at the top of both articles. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 17:36, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for suggestions, and I think it needs a bit more unpicking. I'm uneasy about moving the article for LG1 to Lucy Griffith because I don't trust the unreferenced "aka" statement in the article or the IMDB entry it probably came from. I'm not sure about moving the article for LG2 to Lucy Griffiths (actress) either, because it's not really logical when both were/are actresses. It's useful to know about the Equity rule, but it may not be applicable because LG1 had died before LG2's career took off. Would there be any problem if I implemented the solution I proposed above? I'd raise it on the talk page first. Itsmejudith (talk) 17:45, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Footballers with the same name are handled in a way similar to your suggestion. – ukexpat (talk) 17:54, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm for disambiguating with birthdates in this situation. As ukexpat said, it works well with footballers - cf. Andy Gray (footballer born 1955), Andy Gray (footballer born 1964), and Andy Gray (footballer born 1977). Whether someone is looking for the pundit, the manager, or the Charlton Athletic striker, it can be easily figured which one is which by birthdates. Xenon54 (talk) 18:09, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Really, helpful, thanks. I also like the neat progression of the football career: playing, managing, punditing. Itsmejudith (talk) 20:49, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

But I'm back again, to check on the correct sequence of the page moves to keep the histories and talk pages manageable. We should end up with three pages: Lucy Griffiths, a disambiguation page; Lucy Griffiths (actress born 1919); Lucy Griffiths (actress born 1987). Any guidance would be helpful; in the meantime I'll leave messages on both talk pages. Thanks. Itsmejudith (talk) 20:55, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Should be OK to move LG1 to "LG (actress born 1919)" (and move talk page too), then LG2 to "LG (actress born 1987)" (and move talk page too), then finally create a new "Lucy Griffiths" page to serve as a DAB page. That should keep everything sweet, but hopefully someone will chime up if I've forgotten something ;-) Cheers, This flag once was red^propaganda_deeds 21:17, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Correct, except that you won't be creating a "new Lucy Griffiths page", you will be editing the page move redirect to turn it into a disambiguation page. – ukexpat (talk) 01:17, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Collapsing talk page discussion

Resolved

 – ukexpat (talk) 01:13, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

What is the template for collapsing talk page discussion? I'm on a talk page where there are a lot of rants that have nothing to do with the article that were made by and about a banned editor, and I'd like the talk page to focus on the article, rather than the personal dispute. THF (talk) 18:53, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

You can collapse a particular section with {{hidden}} and you can close a discussion with {{Discussion top}} / {{Discussion bottom}}. You can also archive discussions per Help:Archiving a talk page. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:42, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks: hidden top and hidden bottom were what I was looking for. THF (talk) 19:53, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

1993 Brazilian Referendum

I require information pertaining to the 1993 Brazilian referendum for my politics course. I need to the know the reasons for the referendum, campaigning and outcome, with the results. Any information would be greatly appreciated. This is my last attempt as there is no other information that I can find on the internet. Thanks

See WP:DYOH. The only reference we have to it is Elections in Brazil#Referendums. – ukexpat (talk) 20:06, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

This is the page for questions about Wikipedia. You may want to try at Wikipedia:Reference Desk, but, I agree with Ukexpat: do your own homework. There doesn't appear to be good discussion of the issue in the Wikipedia articles on Brazil or Constitution of Brazil, where articles tend to be biased toward recent events that happened since Wikipedia was created. There's always the library. If you do find reliable sources about the subject, how about adding an article and filling in that hole? THF (talk) 20:09, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

What administrators do..

Can administrators lose their rights for only working on articles they have interested in? This one sometimes do delete articles, or block users (mainly who vandalise the articles they themselves work on). It's not really administrator-like to just work within one wikiproject. --99.227.230.197 (talk) 21:13, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

To learn more about admins, please see WP:Admin.Smallman12q (talk) 21:27, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

And lots more information is here: WP:EIW#Admin. --Teratornis (talk) 21:46, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

As far as I know, there is no requirement for administrators to work on any particular part(s) of Wikipedia. Different administrators will specialize in different areas, just like all Wikipedia users do. Nobody can comprehend all of Wikipedia - it's just too huge. It doesn't matter whether an administrator edits one million articles or only one article. Every edit by every user has to comply with the same set of policies and guidelines. If you have a dispute with an administrator, you should be able to resolve it without regard to the rest of the administrator's editing (or lack of editing). Looking at an editor's other contributions may help shed light on why an editor made some particular edit, but the other contributions neither validate nor invalidate that particular edit. Wikipedia has to work this way because we allow unregistered users to edit, and with floating and shared I.P. addresses, it can be difficult to associate a single user with a collection of unregistered edits. Therefore we must be able to evaluate any edit by itself. --Teratornis (talk) 02:12, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Auto named refs?

Is there a script of some kind available that would allow me to convert bare refs to named refs? I'm looking to do this for William Barley, an article I wrote. There are a bunch of refs that could be combined into named refs, but I don't really want to do this manually if I can avoid it. Thanks, BuddingJournalist 22:32, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

You can use

<ref name="refnamehere">

which will replicate the ref it names whenever

<ref name="refnamehere" />

is used.  GARDEN  22:39, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I know that; I'm asking if there's a way to automatically convert bare refs that are repeated (asdfasdf.<ref>blah blah</ref> asdfasdf.<ref>blah blah</ref>) to named refs (asdfasdf.<ref name=blah>blah blah</ref> asdfasdf.<ref name=blah />). BuddingJournalist 22:43, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

And you can use reflinks.py to do this for you, the script will create <ref name="autogeneratedNUM"> labels for you. The web version of Reflinks is also available which will do the same for URL/Webpage references if required. Nanonic (talk) 22:45, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Not exactly what I'm asking for either. Those links are concerned with formatting bare URLs in ref tags (<ref>http://google.com</ref>). BuddingJournalist 22:56, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

reflinks.py will do them though if you try (e.g. [11]), but to be honest I haven't found anything that's perfect. Nanonic (talk) 22:59, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Ah, I see, thanks! BuddingJournalist 01:08, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Machine translation

Hi. I'm currently using Google Translate and Babel Fish (website) as an aid to translating in preparing articles for wikipedia.

Having read the user agreement I could see any problem with this - but am not sure.

Is anyone aware of any problems in this respect - or perhaps someone can tell me it's ok?

Thanks.

As long as you proof the, ah, interesting English that comes out and make sure it makes sense, I don't know of a problem. Hermione1980 22:52, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Specifically I couldn't find anything in the 'user agreement' about 'for profit', or indeed 'not for profit use' - so I guess it's ok?

I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that if you use an automatic translation tool to translate a work that is licensed under the GFDL, the translation will be a derivative work and also under the GFDL. But I'm only guessing here. To be on the safe side, just be sure to reword every sentence, which you probably have to anyway given the uneven output of machine translators at their current state of development. It seems unlikely that a professional (human) translator would emit many of same sentences, verbatim, that a machine translation gives. --Teratornis (talk) 02:18, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I was thinking the other way round - though unlikely - that the translation service might prevent the use of it's service for other than 'personal use' - (an article that may be read by more than 1 person is not for personal use).

The user agreements don't seem to cover this at all - but I'm not a lawyer too, and tend to find it very difficult read a whole one without falling asleep - I suppose as I am definately not using them for personal profit (which is often a restriction) - I'm ok? (I use the translation as a guide - obvious I need to type my own text - the grammar is atrocious etc.)FengRail (talk) 02:53, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

February 23

Are these references enough to add a new article?

Hi. I would like to create a new wikipedia article for westside church sydney. Nothing to do with advertising, only informative of its history and stucture, similar to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsong_Church but obviously a bit different and no where near as big.

Are these sources/refereces enough for it to be credited of being worthy enough to be allowed to have a wikipedia article?

h**p://www.westsidechurch.com.au/
h**p://www.australianchurches.net.au/church.html?i=184
h**p://achurchesdirectory.com.au/directory/church.php?i=248&cn=westside-church
h**p://www.worthylinks.com/churches/australia-new-zealand-churches/
h**p://www.hnlc.org.au/holroyd-churches/contacts.htm
h**p://www.youtube.com/user/WestSideChurchSydney -- —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.25.243.2 (talk • contribs) 09:03, 23 February 2009

Without having actually looked at the links, I would suggest that they look like they might be ok for providing some information about the church in an article, but would probably not be sufficient to satisfy the notability guidelines, which require multiple non-trivial references in reliable independant sources. To translate that bit by bit, "multiple" is obviously "at least two, preferably a few more", "non-trivial" means "not just a passing mention or a listing in a directory, but actual discussion of the church itself", "reliable" means "not likely to have just made it up or gotten the information from a man in a bar" and "independant" means "not directly connected with the church itself". So the church's own website and YouTube accounts are not independant, and neither would any self-submitted entries to directories. A good reference is something like a newspaper or magazine article on the church, or at least one that devotes several paragraphs to the church. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Also note that no one will own the article about your church, which means anyone who wants to write something critical or unflattering about your church will be able to do so, as long as they can provide reliable sources to support their claims. If your church is not very notable, then it probably hasn't accumulated many critics yet, so this might not be an issue for a while. (If your church has been involved in any sort of notable controversy, expect it to find its way into the article here eventually.) When you put information on Wikipedia, you are submitting it to the potentially brutal marketplace of ideas. See the articles Criticism of Microsoft and Criticism of Microsoft Windows to get an idea of the kind of content that appears on Wikipedia but probably does not originate with anyone with a vested interest in portraying a company like Microsoft favorably. Microsoft is something of a special case, in that it is a very large company whose profit-maximizing decisions impact many people, and not always favorably. Thus lots of people publish criticisms of Microsoft, creating reliable sources which may then support the same criticism on Wikipedia. You might also look at other wikis such as Conservapedia which make no attempt to be neutral and might be friendlier to your point of view (depending on which flavor of Christianity you believe). You can create articles about your church on as many different wikis as will allow it, and then observe the different reactions you may get from the various user communities. I cannot predict which wiki you will like best. --Teratornis (talk) 01:48, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Defense vs Defence

Wiki redirects Defence to Defense .... Should we use defense then to stay consistent? What are the policies on this, if any? (The Pirate Bay Trial) JeremyWJ (talk) 00:27, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Manual of Style#National varieties of English. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:34, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

To elaborate a bit, Wikpedia guidelines basically say this isn't worth fighting over. Both are valid spellings of the word, and therefore there is no compelling reason to change one to the other. If an article uses one spelling, continue to use the same spelling already established before you came along. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 13:11, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Most people look at what the article is talking about. If article relates to Europe, I'd use the British English, and if it relates to the United States, American English, then for Canadian topic I would use the Canadian English. If not constant over the whole Wikipedia, just keep it constant within the same article. --staka.^talk 20:24, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

creating table

I can't seem to create a table in an article I'm trying to write. When I type in the headings and data using the symbols Wiki automatically produces, the footnote that is supposed to contain the table just shows the same symbols and information (in very non-readable form), not a table. EAFAAT (talk) 01:32, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Your contributions show only this Help desk edit, so it's not clear where this article is that you are trying to write. It's easier for us to diagnose problems if we can see exactly what you saw when you had the problem. (If you have been experimenting in the sandbox, a better place would be to develop your article in a user subpage such as User:EAFAAT/Sandbox.) However, it sounds as if you are trying to put a table inside a footnote. I can't recall ever having attempted that myself, and neither can I recall seeing such a thing in any article on Wikipedia. Therefore I would guess the MediaWiki software does not allow it. Why you want to put a table into a footnote? There may be another way to reach your goal. Also, what is your article about? Are you aware that Wikipedia has rules for content, and we delete thousands of articles that violate our rules? --Teratornis (talk) 02:03, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

how do you add citations?

It says citation needed and I found on a official city site where it says it, so yah. I don't get the coding and such. Thank you.  :) --207.177.111.99 (talk) 01:36, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

The instructions are in WP:FOOT, WP:CITE, and WP:CITET. If you cannot understand those instructions, tell us the article you have in mind and your source, and someone can tell you how to format the citation. Citing sources on Wikipedia is one of the harder areas for new users to learn, and this leads to an awful lot of articles with "citation needed." --Teratornis (talk) 01:53, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

• Just make an external link and name it ref 1 or something similar. Someone else will come along to format it. The important thing is that you add it so others don't have to hunt for the source. - Mgm|^(talk) 05:42, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

My username

Is it possible that i can have the same username like on the Dutch wikipedia? Do I have to abandon this username or does it needs to be renamed or what? Thanks for the help already :)Meaghann696 (talk) 02:41, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Unified login. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:11, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HBO#History

Hello,

Not sure if I am submitting this to the right place. Sorry if not.

This article has the name of the company wrong.

It was never Time Life but Time Inc (NEVER Time Inc. - Henry Luce banned the period) or, in full, Time Incorporated

Thomas Smith— Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.16.247.37 (talk • contribs) <e-mail address redacted>

According to this and this Time Warner pages, the names are “Time Inc.” and “Time Life Inc.” —teb728 t c 05:55, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Moving information from talk to main page?

I received a notice that I had misplaced my information, I was wondering how to move it and where to move it.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Jesuswithaz (talk • contribs)

If you are asking about this edit, it doesn’t belong in the article because it is your personal opinion and speculation. And it doesn’t belong on the talk page because it is not about the content of the article. I am sorry, but I really can think of no place for it on Wikipedia. —teb728 t c 06:17, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Citations and references not showing at the bottom of the page

Why aren't my ciation showing up at the bottom of the page?

At the bottome of the page it states in red type "<ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found"

I am following the insertion instructions i.e. clicking on "insert a reference" and then pasing in the ciation into the highlited space. It show a citation number but at the bottom of the page there is no citation. What am I doin wrong? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chinarail (talk • contribs) 05:53, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

In order to make the references appear, you need to add a <references/> tag after the last reference (presumably in a separate "References" section). I did it for you; see what I did here. —teb728 t c 06:01, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

INLAND STEEL - RoHS Compliance Data Collection

Dear Customer Service,

My Name is Diana and I am working with Agilent (Agilent Technologies, Inc) to gather the environmental compliance information. We have few parts that Agilent has purchased from INLAND STEEL, which has become part of you, but I could not find any product info related to the parts that are in use by Agilent. Two components that Agilent is in use are listed below -

• P/N: LEDLOY AX • Description: STEEL ROD .25IN LEDLOY AX • P/N: LEDLOY A • Description: STEEL ROD .188IN AISI 12L14

We need to know the detailed environmental compliance info as -

1. Life-Cycle Status: (Active, Obsolete) 2. RoHS Status: (Yes or No, or Yes with Exemption) 3. Exemption Index: (if exemption is applied) 4. Replacement P/N if the original P/N is not RoHS compliance

Thank you for your help and hope to hear from you soon.

Best Regards,

Diana Lee Q Point Technology Project Engineer XXXXXXXXXX

• Based on your question, I suspect you might have read one of our article and mistaken us for the company you searched for. We are Wikipedia, a user-built encyclopedia. To contact Inland Steel, I'm afraid you'd have to look further. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:03, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Why my wikipedia english pages so strange like this

Why my wikipedia english pages so strange like this? JustbeBPMF 10:46, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

This is only occur in Firefox and in English pages? using IE displays normally?

What's wrong? I didnot change any setting?

Here is a image for that I despict that: JustbeBPMF 10:46, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

(miniturised your image)

That's normal - nothing wrong with your browser. If you are refering to the white gap between text and the table - that's because the table doesn't fit in the gap.FengRail (talk) 15:03, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Oops, sorry - you must have meant the overwritten text - that's the browser not displaying correctly - it's a common problem with browsers on a wide variety of sites - the solution would be to use a browser that displays as you wish. You could contact firefox and make them aware of the problem - I'm sure they often update to fix minor issues.FengRail (talk) 15:06, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

For a more detailed response you should try Wikipedia:Reference desk - the computing section.

About elements

What are the physical and chemical properties and uses of the following metals? Are they may be found with alloy or mixture with copper,silver articles,utensils,coins etc? How they can harm human beings?

Irridium,Platinum, Paladium 59.93.165.207 (talk) 11:10, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. You might want to try the reference desk with your question, although they won't do your homework for you. Sarcasticidealist (talk) 11:21, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

• Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. You can find the answer to your questions by looking up the articles on the metals in question. The search box is in the bar to the left of your screen. - Mgm|^(talk) 12:16, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

gold rate

what is the current rate of 24carat gold per gram in saudi arabia

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Gonzonoir (talk) 13:42, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Racist Article?

I find this list rather racist. List of Brown University people

Nah, I don't find anything racist on the article. Its just a list of notable alumni and staff of Brown University, named after its benefactor Nicholas Brown. E Wing (talk) 12:27, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

You know, I think the OP likes that method of fishing where you throw several lines out the back of the boat, and drive around waiting for something to bite the hook. What is that called? --Jayron32.talk.contribs 13:06, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Something from that old "Rawhide" song .. rollin, rollin, rollin, .. keep those doggies rollin ... <*thinkin here*>, let me get back to ya when the memory pill kicks in .. then I'll have the exact word you're looking for ;) — Ched (talk) 16:37, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

What is the term for taking the bait while pretending not to? --Teratornis (talk) 01:02, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Article Author on these two articles?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arya_Ambekar Arya Ambekar Birth name Aarya Sameer Ambekar Born June 16, 1994 (1994-06-16) (age 14)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prathamesh_Laghate Prathamesh Laghate Birth name Prathamesh Umesh Laghate Born June 16, 1994 (1994-06-16) (age 14)

12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)12:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)89.148.55.101 (talk) Dear Sir, I want to know from writer of articles mentioned under above links , that the Birthdates of both the participants is same.

is it by coincidence or by mistake?

Pls confirm Mihir <blanked>

Here it is, respectively:

• Shan wazza (talk · contribs)
• Mskadu (talk · contribs)

To answer your question, its not coincidental or by mistake, rather it is intentional. They are participants of a certain reality show called "RE GA MA PA" wherein participants are aged between 8 and 14 years old. E Wing (talk) 12:43, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

pallbearers

How many pallbearers are needed````````

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Gonzonoir (talk) 13:42, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Novels with identical names

Sword Song is the name of two different novels by Bernard Cornwell and Rosemary Sutcliff respectively. Right now Sword Song (novel) is about Cornwell's. I would like to create a stub for Sutcliff's. How should they be now sorted, by author name or date? Sword Song (Cornwell novel) / Sword Song (Sutcliff novel) or Sword Song (2007 novel) / Sword Song (1997 novel)? How should Sword Song (novel) itself be handled? Made a redirect? Both authors are famous for historical fiction. 222.127.219.100 (talk) 14:50, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

They should be disambiguated by author's last name (see Wikipedia:Naming conventions (books)). I would make Sword Song (novel) a link to Sword Song and add information about the new title there. Please be sure to check "what links here" in the toolbox of Sword Song (novel) so that you can correct any links to the moved title. (Since you're not logged in, I can't tell how familiar you are with Wikipedia; please move the original page; don't just cut & paste the contents. :)) --Moonriddengirl ^(talk) 14:57, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

P.S. Adding that if you know one of those novels is more likely to be sought, the proper handling is to put the more search-likely book at the main name "Sword Song (novel)" and place a hatnote pointing to the other. Given how many incoming links are pointing to the original, that may be the best option. --Moonriddengirl ^(talk) 14:59, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Can I at least correct a page about myself?

If errors or ommissions are contained in a page about me, what can I do about it?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.141.89.69 (talk • contribs)

This guide should be of assistance. We want to have an article that is accurate, well-written, and neutral, so if there are errors, let us know. TNXMan 15:06, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

In case of unsourced libel or other factual errors such as birth dates etc. you are encouraged to be bold and fix it yourself. Also see this –Capricorn42 (talk) 04:59, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

replacement battery

I need a replacement battery for a carrier co detector. 8v lithium ion p/n 810 1958 cc rev b

Have you tried the Science section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. TNXMan 16:49, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Uploading an image

My account isn't yet autoconfirmed, but I want to upload an image (a CD cover). Do I have to make 10 edits and wait four days? Or just make 10 edits? If the former, if I show someone where the images are can they upload them for me? Ezio fan | black boots | latin feet 16:42, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, you have to make 10 edits and wait 4 days before being autoconfirmed. What images would you like to upload? Master&Expert (Talk) 16:44, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

The first one is the album cover for Das_Bootleg_-_Live_in_Mannheim_(Part_1) - there's an image on the band's website here which can be used under fair use (like all the other album covers used for this band have been, I think). The second one is for Ten Thousand Bars - Live which can be found here. Ezio fan | black boots | latin feet 16:56, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Any chance anyone could help me by following the links and uploading the images? Ezio fan | black boots | latin feet 16:50, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia is in no rush, so we can just wait the four days. Nothing bad will happen in the meantime. However, while you are waiting to be autoconfirmed you should familiarize yourself with Wikipedia's Image Use Policy and especially the use of copyrighted images at Wikipedia. There are strict rules about using copyright images which requires you to carefully document, on the image information page, where the image comes from, and EXACTLY what its use will be at Wikipedia. This is called at fair use rationale. If you do not correctly do this, the image you upload will be deleted. Please try to follow the instructions carefully, and be scrupulous about following the rules. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 18:43, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Annote an entry as violating the principal of neutrality

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaru_Emoto

This article seems to me to violate the Wiki principle of neutrality. I'm a newbie and not prepared to edit the article, but I would like to flag it as needing editing.

What is the appropriate means for doing this? Rommer (talk) 17:27, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

You can add {{npov}} to the top of the article. However, I'm not sure why you would want to add the tag, the article seems balanced to me. Your best bet may be to discuss the issues on the article's talk page. TNXMan 17:30, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Table formatting help

I stumbled upon the article for Imran Khan (actor), and noticed a broken table at the end that I can't manage to fix (see Imran Khan (actor)#Filmography). Would someone who knows about table formatting, etc, take a look? Thanks -M.Nelson (talk) 18:02, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I fixed it - it just needed a |} Dendodge Talk^Contribs 18:16, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Indian Reserves

how can I get a list of indian reserves in ontario specifically Kawartha Lakes area

I think that this list is what you need. TNXMan 18:12, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Can I add my self to wikipedia?

I always thought it would be kinda cool to be able to google my name and have a full on wikipedia page come up with history and such with a photo on me. Can I do that?— Preceding unsigned comment added by Ocgraphics (talk • contribs) TNXMan 18:37, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Generally, no. Wikipedia has a policy on conflict of interest, which basically says that if you have vested interest in the article, it's usually best not to edit it. If you're notable, then someone will create an article about you. You must have received significant coverage in independent, third-party, reliable sources first. TNXMan 18:32, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

(edit conflict with Tnxman's response) If you are notable then people who don't know you personally will have written about you extensively. Under those conditions, it is likely that other people who do not know you can create a Wikipedia article about you. Unfortunately, if there are not reliable sources outside of Wikipedia that discuss you, then you likely do not merit an article. Additionally, it is pretty much against the rules, known as conflict of interest rules, that you don't create articles about yourself. You can create a userpage (click link for instructions), but this userpage is not in the article space of Wikipedia and will not show up on search engines. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 18:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

There are other options such as Wikipopuli and Wikibios. – ukexpat (talk) 19:36, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

"Fazle Haq"

I have edited this item to indicate that there is no evidence to suggest that Fazle Haq ever profited personally from the heroin traffic. Then (today) I have added a reference which leads to a clarification making the same point which I have posted elsewhere. My reasons for making this clarification are explained in my post -- essentially I have slowly become persuaded by the objections raised to an earlier article of mine by one of Fazle Haq's sons.

I have two questions:

1) I am not sure that I have entered the reference correctly. (I have no experience doing this.) 2) I am not sure that I am within the guidelines by citing a retraction written by myself. But once upon a time this item quoted me to suggest that Fazle Haq deposited his drug profits at BCCI. That is why his son contacted me, and why I have done what I have done.

I am not worried about my security --

Peter Dale Scott <email redacted>

1. You haven't added any reference (see the edit history http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fazle_Haq&diff=271661063&oldid=268983077)

You probably shouldn't have removed the reference you did. If you have issues with the reliability of the reference provided you should bring it up on that articles talk page.

2 ? Probably not. see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest

Bring this issue up on the talk page, citing the source and more info for this retraction you mention. And let others decide.

If you do not recieve any replies you could use Wikipedia:Third opinion to seek a neutral person to edit the article acccordingly.

• Comment in the interest of historical perspective it would/might be best to leave the accusations (or whatever they are) in, with any subsequent disprove or clarifactions after the accusations (assuming the accusations were considered notable at the time)

It seems clear that part of this persons reason for being in an article relates to this issue. So it is important that the issue is covered. If the person is shown to be innocent later on then let the article say so.— Preceding unsigned comment added by FengRail (talk • contribs)

Username Red

My username shows up red, and I have a feeling this is because I didn't confirm the account before the link expired in my email. Is there a way I can ask wikipedia to send another email so I can confirm? I can still sign in, but I don't know how long that will last. I could do it over with another username, I guess, but I'd kind of like to keep this one. Thanks.Manray00 (talk) 19:07, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

No, your username is confirmed. The reason your username shows up in red is because you have never edited your user page. You can check out this page for details. TNXMan 19:14, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

And see WP:RED. --Teratornis (talk) 21:32, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Page Moved?

I've been editing a new page on the Chuitna Coal Mine Project within my user page as a subpage. I understood, perhaps incorrectly, that the page would not go public until I was ready. I last worked on it Saturday, Feb. 21. This morning the subpage was blank, though I found a copy of the last edited page. However, it appears the page is now public. How did that happen, and are their remedies?

hobig Hobig (talk) 19:26, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It appears that RHaworth has moved the page from your subpage to the main article space. You may want to inquire on his talk page as to what happened. TNXMan 19:28, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

(e/c)Actually, it looks like you did create it in the mainspace at HOBIG/Chuitna, if it was userspace, it would be User:Hobig/Chuitna - note that the capitalization is also important. It has now been moved to Chuitna Coal Project so you can work on it there, or you can request that it be deleted by adding {{db-G7}} at the top of the article, then when it has been deleted ask for it to be undeleted to a proper user subpage. – ukexpat (talk) 19:32, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Page moved

Adding Db-g7. Is it enough to add the code to the first line of the article. And can you explain more about ensuring the article is on a proper user page for editing prior to going public?

Hobig (talk) 19:38, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Make sure you add {{db-g7}}, that is all that is required. When you created the draft it looks like you did so in articlespace at HOBIG/Chuitna which is why it was moved to a proper articlespace title. When you ask for undeletion, it should be undeleted to User:Hobig/Chuitna - which is userspace, as denoted by the User: prefix. – ukexpat (talk) 20:00, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I've moved the page to User:Hobig/Chuitna. No redirect was left behind. Hermione1980 20:02, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

For the last question, see Help:User page and Help:Subpage. Also read the book at: H:TMM to learn many details of editing on Wikipedia - there is far too much to explain in a short response to a Help desk question, so the answers you get here will necessarily be sketchy. Reading the book will give you the background to know when to start an article as a user subpage, or when you can start it directly in the main article space. --Teratornis (talk) 20:05, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Removing an article to a user subpage

Hi again. Still trying to resolve a small problem. I would like to have an article removed until it is ready. I thought I had set up a user subpage properly, but apparently not. The article was moved to the public domain. This is not critically a problem, but I would have liked another day to add some references. I was told the way to get the article removed was to add Db-g7 to the top of the article. I did, to the first line. Was that the proper place. The article is the Chuitna Coal Project. If not, please let me know the proper format. Than I was told there was a way to have the article undeleted in a properly formatted user subpage, which I have created. Please, a little more information about how to to that.

Thanks, hobigHobig (talk) 20:04, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Please see my post above in the previous section. Hermione1980 20:05, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Read this chapter:

• Help:Wikipedia: The Missing Manual/Editing, Creating, and Maintaining Articles/Creating a New Article

It gives a detailed tutorial about how to start a new article as a user subpage and then move it to the main article space when you have a first draft ready (to throw to the wolves). As I noted in my reply to the previous section, the answers you get on the Help desk are necessarily brief - often too brief to make sense if you don't know all the background details. Thus a book like H:TMM is necessary. --Teratornis (talk) 20:10, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

COMMENT as an alternative (and what I sometimes do) Create the article in MS word/ notepad or whatever, whilst you are working on it, and then upload when it is as good as ready. If you have to work on a shared computer why not make use of one of the free file storage faciliies that are offered free with most e-mail accounts - I know hotmail (microsoft) and Google (G-mail) both have them, I imagine Yahoo and others do. I saves you having to be 'on' wikipedia... (Otherwise read the secret manual describe above)FengRail (talk) 20:35, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

At the risk of digressing, I have to ask: when you edit an article offline in a text editor or word processor, at what point do you become frustrated by not having access to wikitext markup? (So you can see your footnotes, infobox(es), navigation box(es), layout, categories, (edit: I can't believe I forgot to mention images) etc. - all the various gizmos that keep the {{Wikify}} complaint message away.) --Teratornis (talk) 22:01, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It doesn't bother me - when working on the text.. I usually find I've missed a } when I add it in though...FengRail (talk) 22:48, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I think OpenOffice has built-in Wiki formatting. – ukexpat (talk) 21:58, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

That's interesting. (I haven't looked at OpenOffice for a while. Dare I hope they've improved their DocBook support to the point of usability too?) If someone really wants to edit Wikipedia articles offline, one can install the Real McCoy: mw:Manual:Wiki on a stick, but that is not the most beginner-friendly option. --Teratornis (talk) 22:07, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Displaying only a portion of an image in a thumbnail

Is there a way to show only a portion of an image which is stored in the commons as the thumbnail in an article? For example, if an article could use the image Media:Beetle_(PSF).png, but only the rightmost beetle is relevant, is there a way to thumb only the rightmost part (while keeping the link to the image page with the full content and source)? I can download the image, crop, and upload it as a new image, of course, but besides creating a redundant file, in some cases that violates copyright. TarichaRivularis (talk) 20:31, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

No. The MediaWiki software has no provision for that feature. One issue that I can see: what if someone uploaded a new version at a different size? --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 21:21, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that if the image is on Commons, you will not violate copyright by creating a derivative work. Commons accepts only Free content; see commons:Commons:Licensing and commons:Commons:Project scope. Commons requires its users to license their contributions under one of the free licenses (public domain, GFDL, CC-BY, CC-BY-SA) specifically to allow reuse and modification, including commercial use. Wikipedia allows images to have more restrictive licenses, so if an image is on Wikipedia and not on Commons, you would need to check the license before hacking away at a copy of it. --Teratornis (talk) 22:25, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Both good answers, thanks. The first reply gives a very good reason not to do this, the second a good reason why it shouldn't normally be necessary. The image I am working with (not my example) is on an older 'no derivative works' license, but it seems clear the right thing to do is look for an image with a fully-free license and then crop it to a new image for the Commons. Thanks. TarichaRivularis (talk) 19:39, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Content removal without stated reason

User talk:MZMcBride is deleting others' sub pages if they're titled "secret page" with no reason given or giving the editor a chance to transfer their data from a hidden Secret page to regular userpage. Several of us have lost our information due to this. User adamantly states "discussions have established secret pages are inappropriate". I would understand that but the user is not able to provide where these "discussions" took place. This seems to be a very unbalanced issue. I need my information back. I would have gladly moved these pages to the surface if I was notified and given a chance. And why would someone consider this type of "contributing" a priority?Mjpresson (talk) 20:36, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

• There is currently a discussion about this issue here. You may want to bring it up there. Best, TNXMan 20:41, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
  • I also tried to generate some interest at the WP:NOT board. May not carry the same short range drama, but maybe it could have some long range policy adjustment effects. — Ched (talk) 21:20, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
    • Just a word of advise, MZM is an admin - be very polite, ask very nicely. You'll catch more bees with honey than ya will with vinegar. — Ched (talk) 21:23, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
      • Sorry but this isn't the Bush administration. I don't care if MZM is Jimmy Wales. He's being disruptive and inappropriate. Don't tell me to address admins with deference. They can and have become non admins for disruptive activities. What you just said is the most ridiculous "advise" [sic] I've ever gotten. PS - it's spelled advice, and I don't need yours.Mjpresson (talk) 21:34, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
        • Ched, the admin in question seems to reject your advice. Speaking of bees (while we still can), deleting other people's work without warning them first is a lot like jabbing a stick into a beehive. --Teratornis (talk) 21:54, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
          • @ Teratornis LOL - yep! Funny part is, I've been one of the ones trying to support the 'yung-uns' youthful editors' game pages. I can see I'm gonna have to get a thicker pair of gloves (and maybe some disinfectant). I guess I'll advise myself not to give anymore advice. ;P — Ched (talk) 22:08, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
        • And a note to Mjpresson - Ched is not asking you to stand in awe of an administrator, just be aware that you don't have to go in with guns blazing immediately. This is not the Bush Administration indeed - on Wikipedia, we give diplomacy a chance before calling in airstrikes. --Teratornis (talk) 22:15, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
        • You need mine. Don't snap at people who are genuinely trying to help you, and who are only reiterating the principle of Wikipedia:Civility. You're at a help desk manned by unpaid volunteers. The people who see how you responded to the person offering help this time will remember the next time that you come asking for help. Uncle G (talk) 02:07, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

(undent) Wouldn't it be great if everyone was as reasonable as Jimbo? As the link shows, Jimbo doesn't like userboxes, but he doesn't go around wiping them out, either. Instead, Jimbo tries to reason with people before pulling rank. Participants in this secret user page debate might do well to study the somewhat analogous userbox debate. --Teratornis (talk) 22:31, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

→ moving to Tetatornis talk. — Ched (talk) 22:48, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

One question. What is the problem with fun? What's wrong with the Myspace category things? If there is a reason for them not being here then please state it. The only time thy should ever be deleted by users is when that user cares more for the MySpace other than hey edit more to that than the articles. Chubbennaitor 16:20, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

SFRoH Meaning

I am looking for the meaning of SFRoH. It is mentioned in the page for Denis Rake:

Actor at Drury Lane [Source: SFRoH]

It is also listed in the excerpt below:

Adolphe Rabinovitch (section Sources and external links) Sources and external links: 4115 | Adolphe Rabinovitch Michael Richard Daniell Foot, SOE in France. … Notes : The SFRoH site gives 2 or 3 March. 2 KB (306 words) - 16:39, 22 February 2009

Thank you 22:39, 23 February 2009 (UTC)76.91.57.110 (talk) 22:39, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It is likely the Special Forces Roll of Honor, but I cannot find a page on Denis Rake to be sure. -- kainaw™ 22:49, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Regarding the various conflict, cleanup, etc icons

I'm working on a new page in a subpage of my user page. Atop the article are several panels with icons and descriptions of things that should be done to articles, such as conflict of interest, cleanup, etc. Are these associated with my article as it is now -- I'm judiciously adding references and the like and trying to stay neutral -- or are they their to alert me to the meaning of an icon should it appear within the text? hobig Hobig (talk) 23:39, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I took the liberty of removing them : http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User%3AHobig%2FChuitna&diff=272838229&oldid=272835989

Somebody else must have added them when they prematurely published your work - carry on as normal.

When you actually put the article out as a page on wikipedia itself other editors might add tags such as these - if they think the article needs improvement

The things you saw aren't machine produced - another editor added them.FengRail (talk) 23:46, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

These things are usually called 'tags' - you can read about them here Wikipedia:Responsible tagging.

I'd suggest adding a lead section though - that's the brief introduction to the topic - this article Chuquicamata has a fairly good example of an introduction.

See WP:LEAD and WP:LAYOUT. --Teratornis (talk) 00:41, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Getting hold of a developer

Unresolved

I need a developer to look at Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#Smaller_Wikipedia_Logo_files. I have created smaller image files, and I need someone with developer status to update the pictures around Wikipedia.Smallman12q (talk) 23:49, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd guess that developers are less inclined to look here than on the Village pump (technical). You might find some clues under WP:EIW#Logo; that's where I would start looking if felt motivated to try turning this particular battleship. --Teratornis (talk) 00:45, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

While that link is on logos, it doesn't help me with this. If I can't get a response within a few days, I'll be bold and post a request to jimbo's page.Smallman12q (talk) 01:09, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

This page lists them. Your best shots for active devs on Wikipedia are probably Brion Vibber, and Tim Starling, both of whom are still fairly active. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 04:06, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I've tried both of them and still no response.Smallman12q (talk) 20:02, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, either wait a day or two, or try WP:VPT or look at the list I linked to above, and find another Dev. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 02:05, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

February 24

The lede

Does the lede section have its own heading? I'm a bit confused. I have written a four-paraghraph section in an article that is meant to be the lede. Shouold it have a heading like "overview" or just go under the page title? Hobig (talk) 00:03, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

It just goes under the page title. Hermione1980 00:04, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Hello again. It looks like you've had a confusing start.. (by the way you know that the reason your work-page got confused for a finished article was that you created it at HOBIG/mine rather than at User:HOBIG/mine - you're not the first person to make this mistake.)

If you're interested in mining specifically have a look at Wikipedia:WikiProject Mining - there are "wikiprojects" for all sorts of subjects, and the talk page is a good place to get specific help - (keep coming to this page for more general help though) Often the project talk pages tend to attract chatterboxes but there are usually some helpful people there - see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Mining

You can leave a message there when the article is done, more often than not someone else will tidy up any mistakes you have made, and maybe add more info.

Good luck.!FengRail (talk) 00:28, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

See WP:LEAD (or WP:LEDE if you prefer). --Teratornis (talk) 00:46, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

By the way, thanks very much for all your help. Can you tell me if this is the proper way to respond directly to those who have provided help? Hobig (talk) 01:17, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

This is good enough. If you want to go into more detail with a particular user, you can respond on their Talk page. --Teratornis (talk) 01:23, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

OK, when I do that, do I just hit edit on their page, or is there a procedure for opening a new dialogue? Hobig (talk) 01:37, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• You either hit edit and tag a new message to the bottom of the page or use the new section tab to automatically make the new discussion appear at the bottom of the page. - Mgm|^(talk) 05:46, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

You can learn how to communicate with other editors by reading this chapter:

• Help:Wikipedia: The Missing Manual/Collaborating with Other Editors/Communicating with Your Fellow Editors

Note that everyone who can answer your questions learned most of the answers by reading manuals. The best way to thank them is to read the manuals like they did, so you can pay it forward by helping the next wave of new users. This is how Wikipedia works. --Teratornis (talk) 20:00, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Cinema's Exiles

Did Wikipedia delete the article on the PBS documentary "Cinema's Exiles"? I would have SWORN I looked it up in here a few weeks ago, but it's not there now.

I don't see a deletion log entry by that exact title. Are you sure you have the page name right? Also check your Web browser's history. It might go back a few weeks and let you recall the exact page you viewed before. --Teratornis (talk) 00:58, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

change e mail address

PLEASE TELL ME HOW I CAN CHANGE MY E MAIL ADDRESS?

If you're referring to the email address used by Wikipedia (if you provided one), simply go the "My Preferences" link at the very top of the page. If you're referring to something outside of Wikipedia, we have no idea. Best, TNXMan 03:09, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

File:Urantia logo.png

Isn't it PD-textlogo? It has simple geometric symbol and simple text. It seems to be ineligible to be protected by copyright.--Kwj2772 (talk) 02:55, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

According to my understanding of Wikipedia policies especially Wikipedia:Logos, would be that while the circles would normally not be considered "Non-free" content... the context (having both the company name and the "circles") would make it a trademark, thus it would be non-free. (Hope that isn't too confusing). NanohaA'sYuri^{Talk, My master} 00:25, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Ways to handle non-cooperative IP user

Please let me know how to handle this case.

There is an IP user who refuses to adhere to the Chinese Naming Convention in relations to naming. In particular, the naming convention says when the name of the country is used, use "Republic of China" and when the location is used, use "Taiwan".

The edit dispute relates to Developed country and High income economy, when this IP user keeps changing the name of the country to "Taiwan". I have asked this IP user to use edit summary and the related discussion page, but he or she has refused to. This IP user keeps on giving me warnings when I reverted his or her edit.

Can Wikipedia rules be used to resolve this? Can blocking be used on this IP user in this case? If it is possible, what are the warning templates to use? Thank you.--pyl (talk) 04:46, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

{{uw-3rr}}, WP:3RRN.. Although in most cases IP editors like these are not editing in bad faith, they are just not aware of the policies so unless the editor is being totally non-responsive its best to try and discuss things with them on talk pages first. –Capricorn42 (talk) 04:49, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply.

This IP user is totally non-responsive. I left a message on his talk pages referring to the Chinese Naming Convention. But he still reverted my edit and left warning messages. Please see User_talk:211.179.112.158. As you can see, this user has a series of warning messages from a number of other editors.

Are there any other things I can do other than the 3-rr rule? Does his behaviour constitute vandalism or removal of content? Is it possible to get an administrator to leave a message on his talk page and ask him to use talk / discussion / edit summary? Thank you again.--pyl (talk) 04:58, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Apparently this is not vandalism but a content dispute. You can get quick administrative attention at WP:ANI or WP:3RRN–Capricorn42 (talk) 05:09, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• The naming convention doesn't say editors are forbidden to use the term Taiwan. In fact, it says the term is often more accurate and Republic of China has a note at the top saying: "The Republic of China was commonly known as "China" or "Nationalist China" until the 1970s when it has since been commonly known as "Taiwan"." In light of the higher 'use the most common name' policy, I don't see any violations here except perhaps 3RR but they'd have to be told about its existence too. - Mgm|^(talk) 05:43, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

It is a convention, which means users *should* stick with it. What you are doing is exactly the type of discussion that I would like to be involved with the anonymous IP user, which he has so far refused to do.--pyl (talk) 05:53, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I think I will refer this matter to the administrator's notice board and see if they can do something about this.--pyl (talk) 05:53, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Article Merger/Starting a new project

Hello wikipedia! I am a student currently enrolled in a Pharm. D. program wishing to contribute to an article on wikipedia. The article is Antibiotic. I have also noticed that there is an article entitled Antimicrobial. Both of these articles contain similar information. I have seen article merger suggestions attached to wikipedia pages in the past. That might be the best thing to do here. The problem is the classification/definition of these title articles are confused. Currently wikipedia lists antibiotics as a subset of antimicrobials. This is not the case. They are separate entities under a broader classification, Chemotherapeutic Agents. This is a common misconception, and I think it should be correctly distinguished. I have some free time for a few days and would like to do some work on them. So this might also be a good time to ask another question. Can I start a project to revamp these articles, maybe list some goals? Thanks for the help--Mrdeath5493 (talk) 05:28, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• You'd need sources to back up the idea the definition isn't correct. I wouldn't support a merger. Both articles are already large enough on their own and merging them would cause unneccesary bloat. - Mgm|^(talk) 05:34, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
• Since you are suggesting big changes I suggest you discuss them first on the article talk pages and with the Wikipedia:WikiProject Microbiology. - Mgm|^(talk) 05:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Sources won't be a problem. --Mrdeath5493 (talk) 06:34, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• I spent a few hours trying to reword the Antibiotic intro, and now I'm confused. It is truly difficult to arrange all that information in a clear manner. --Mrdeath5493 (talk) 07:37, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

":::*Try using a userpage subpage. That way you can work on it without any problems. That way you can work on it without leaving half-finished work lying around in articlespace. - 131.211.210.209 (talk) 08:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Release Item to "Public"

Hi there !

I have constructed a page "MrChrisShaw" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Keakea123

It is acessable to others thru that link,

 but what else do I need to do please to have it "public"
 so that anyone doing a Search on "Chris Shaw" would have it show up ?

Regards, Frank Keakea123 (talk) 07:16, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• Answering on talk page. - 131.211.210.209 (talk) 08:37, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Vandalism

I've tried searching all over this and haven't found an answer, so I thought I'd ask. If you see certain users who are repeatedly vandalising pages, such as Kingsofshuffling12 (I've now undone all his vandalism), how can you block them, or at least request that they are blocked so they cannot cause more damage? Thanks. Ste900R (talk) 07:17, 24 February 2009 (UTC) Just to make it clear, he has been warned twice on his talk page, and the contents of his edits are truely in bad faith. Ste900R (talk) 07:20, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• WP:AIV is the place. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:53, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Chandigarn open arm monument 23.02.09

wikipedia do you know whom we can get intouch with, if we need to get permision to use the Chandigarn Monument jpg. If you have any idea kindly send me the link or phone number, email address and we will greatly appreciate. The organization which i work for has to get the permission directly from the individual copyright holder or company in written form for the right attribution. i will greatly appreciate you help —Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.9.197.28 (talk) 07:51, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The question has been answered earlier - here and here. Jay (talk) 08:47, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

no cross, no crown.

WHat does it mean? Does "cross" mean tough things that we have to experience, and "Crown" mean the fruit that we can get. No cross, no crown means that if we don't experience tought time and try hard, we cannot be successful. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Stone86326 (talk • contribs) 08:12, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• Have you tried the Language section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:55, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Unknown File Type

When I click on wikipedia links ... instead of opening, IE brings up a save file box .... for file type 'unknown' Even if I save it, the link still does not open.

For example ... search Google for Leslie Bevis .. It returns the Wikipedia link ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Bevis

But if you click on it, all I get is 'file save dialogue'

It's the same if I type ... Leslie Bevis in the search box within Wikipedia.

This happens on many searches, just using this as a 100% repeatable example.

I am running XP with IE 7.0

Sargan99 (talk) 11:14, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• Please check your Wikipedia preferences (Editing section) and check if "Use external editor by default (for experts only, needs special settings on your computer)" and "Use external diff by default (for experts only, needs special settings on your computer)" are switched off. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:29, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
  • That is often the solution to another problem which mentions the file index.php. For your type of problem, somebody said it could help to select "No preference" under the Date and time tab at Special:Preferences. Or does it help to manually add a '?' character to the end of the url? PrimeHunter (talk) 12:22, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I have checked ... "Use external editor" and "Use external diff" are both off ... interesting that the exmple link I gave above does work when I click it .. but not when returned in Search .. Wiki or Google. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sargan99 (talk • contribs) 12:37, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I would like to ask a question concerning the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act on that page, how to?

The information on the page concerning the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not include the statues of limitations. I would like to have those that have contributed to include this information. The page tells how they may collect but not how long they have before they may not come after the debt at all and thats what I need to know. How do I ask this? Do I ask on the page or somewhere else in Wikipedia? Robmar6148 (talk) 11:24, 24 February 2009 (UTC)robmar6148

If you would like to include the information in the article, I suggest starting a discussion on the article's talk page. If you're simply looking for the answer to your question, you may want to try the reference desk (possibly the miscellaneous section?), where they answer specific knowledge questions like yours. Best, TNXMan 11:29, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

LANGUAGE

DO YOU HAVE TOPICS IN AFRIKAANS?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.145.30.84 (talk) 13:09, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The Afrikaans Wikipedia is at http://af.wikipedia.org PrimeHunter (talk) 13:13, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Referencing Press Releases not on the web?

How do I reference articles etc that are not available on-line? —Preceding unsigned comment added by IrishTV (talk • contribs) 13:53, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

It depends. You can use {{cite book}}, {{cite journal}}, or various other methods of citing print releases. However, you may want to check out the reliable sources guide first to see what Wikipedia looks for in a source. TNXMan 13:57, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

or even Template:Cite press release - there's a list at Wikipedia:Citation templatesFengRail (talk) 15:28, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

If it's not online just leave the "URL" part blank - it's optional.FengRail (talk) 15:30, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

opening a file

nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_(elektronica)

Hi, I looked for "bus", found the one i need ( in dutch) between several other meanings of "bus" but then when i click on that link, it says i need to save a file ....??? So i do, but then since the type is unknown, i cant open that file.... Whats going on? Do i really need to save the page i want to see? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.248.22.6 (talk) 14:54, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

This usually happens when you attempt to edit a page, but have "Use external editor by default" enabled in "My preferences" (link at the top of the page). Uncheck that box and see if that fixes your issue. TNXMan 14:59, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Creating A New Page [HELP!]

hello,

i have been trying to make a page for ages now (about a week) and cant work out how to make a page go live...

i created the entire page in my sandbox, and entered the code to get it reviewed, but was told it need to be moved to a pages for submission section. when i click the button to do so, it doesn't allow me...

also i want to name the page, how do i do so? as at the moment it is still my username.

i would also like to add categories so that people can find it.

i know wikipedia is supposed to be detailed and stuff, but i do find your help pages in trying to make a page somewhat confusing, and there's too many pages showing different things. i think a 'dummies guide to wikipedia' needs to be made!

thanks for reading and look forward to hearing from you.

Stuart

Stuoccupier (talk) 15:38, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I've moved User:Stuoccupier/Sandbox to Nemhain (band). --Orange Mike | Talk 15:51, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

For future reference, I hear Wikipedia: The Missing Manual is a good place to start. Hermione1980 16:17, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

thanks very much, just adding a few changes now and will then post it for review. many thanks! Stuoccupier (talk) 17:14, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

In particular, read this:

• Help:Wikipedia: The Missing Manual/Editing, Creating, and Maintaining Articles/Creating a New Article

--Teratornis (talk) 19:51, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

SVG not showing

I just uploaded File:WandJlogo.svg, and I can't seem to get it to show up correctly. The image thumbnail just shows up as text saying "File:WandJlogo.svg." If you click it, you can see the image (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/WandJlogo.svg). Is this just processing or something? Or did I save it incorrectly? --Jwilkinsen (talk) 16:07, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Resolved

Display fixed by User:AnonMoos. NanohaA'sYuri^{Talk, My master} 22:35, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

dissertations

an evaluation of pricing decesions in small manufacturing enterprises —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.74.239.30 (talk) 16:13, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you're asking. However, it seems that you may want to ask at the reference desk, where they answer specific knowledge questions. This desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. TNXMan 16:19, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

chemistry

How does metals have low characteristics in order? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yuvhacker (talk • contribs) 16:42, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you're asking. However, you may find the answer you need in our articles on Metals, Chemistry, or the Periodic table. If you have further questions, try our Science reference desk, where they deal with specific knowledge questions. TNXMan 16:48, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Infobox pictures

I recently added a picture to the wiki page of the National Jewish Democratic Council. For some reason, on top of the image it says "image" and on bottom it says "200px." I thought I had followed the directions correctly but I must be making a mistake. Any advice on this issue would be very helpful. Thank you very much. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.9.231.91 (talk) 16:52, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

 Done - you don't need the Image: prefix or the square brackets. There is no consistency among ibox templates unfortunately - some require the prefix, some the prefix and brackets, some neither... – ukexpat (talk) 16:57, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

(after two edit conflicts) I have fixed the image for you - take a look here to see how [12]. DuncanHill (talk) 16:59, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Question put on discussion page of List of statues by height never answered

I wonder: who reads the discussion pages of single articles? I put about 2 weeks ago this question:

I have some doubts about the location of the Spring Temple Buddha (no.1 in world's tallest statues). Perhaps there was confusion between Lushan, in the province of Henan, and Lu shan (= Mount Lu in chinese), in the Jiangxi Province. The page http://zhai.fosss.org/goto_zy.asp?id=5421 should tell the exact location, but who knows chinese??.

This matter should be verified by someone, the two locations are quite far from each other too. Greetings, --Gabodon (talk) 17:22, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

You can estimate the readership of a talk page by noting the frequency of edits to it. More people will usually look at a page than will edit it, although for talk pages the reader-to-editor ratio may be lower than for articles. If a talk page gets a lot of edits, like this one: Talk:Barack Obama (even before I bother to look, I know that page will be busy, and what do you know, it has 51 archive pages), then the page probably gets even more readers. Page views on Wikipedia follow a Pareto distribution: a few pages get enormous numbers of views, some pages get quite a few views, and most pages get few views. Talk:List of statues by height shows a modest level of editing activity, and a correspondingly modest number of views. Another factor is what fraction of readers might have an interest in a particular topic. Your question is somewhat specialized; given the grab-bag nature of a list article, possibly only a small fraction of people who have interest in some statue on the list would be interested in a particular statue on the list. Given that the talk page in question appears to get only on the order of 30 views per month, that's not a large pool of distinct users. You might have better luck if you track down the editor(s) (perhaps by using WikiBlame) who made the edit(s) you want to change, and ask them on their user talk pages. --Teratornis (talk) 21:22, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Who knows Chinese? Google sort of does. --Teratornis (talk) 21:25, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

How do I direct someone to another page by clicking on an image (versus clicking on text)?

How do I direct someone to another page by clicking on an image (versus clicking on text)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.29.43.1 (talk) 17:57, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Add the code {{click|link=article|image=image|width=15px|height=15px|title=Title.}}, filling in the article, image and title.

The code {{click|link=Bohemian Rhapsody|image=Symbol support vote.svg|width=15px|height=15px|title=This user helped make Bohemian Rhapsody a Good Article.}} shows up as . Queenie ^Talk 18:37, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The HTML equivalent is the <imagemap> family. —The ed17 (talk • contribs) 15:10, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

<imagemap> is not standard HTML, it is a MediaWik extension; see mw:Extension:ImageMap. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 23:21, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Incorrect heading on Page

THe page entitled "Ohio Wesleyan Arts Castle" misrepresents our organization, The Delaware County Cultural Arts Center, as officially associated with Ohio Wesleyan University. We are an independent, non-profit arts organization with no ties to OWU. The title of the page should read "The Arts Castle" .

Thank you for your assistance. Kevin L. Greenwood Executive Director Delaware County Cultural Arts Center 190 West Winter Street Delaware, OH 43015 <e-mail and phone # redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by ArtsCastleED (talk • contribs) 19:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I will move the article to The Arts Castle. – ukexpat (talk) 20:05, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

 Done.  – ukexpat (talk) 20:07, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

HELP! Please rename this image

I just posted File:AHP Hierarchy01 w-Priorities.png and used it once. I mistakenly included two spaces in the filename. The spaces mess up a coordinated file name scheme, so I want to remove them. I don't know how to rename an image file, so I need somebody's help. No redirect page is needed, provided I learn about the change so I can fix the single occurrence of the old name. Thanks in advance for your help. Lou Sander (talk) 20:19, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The easiest thing to do is reupload it with the correct file name then tag the old one for deletion with {{db-author}}. – ukexpat (talk) 20:21, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

New double redirect feature

Hey I noticed that double redirects now act like regular redirects ([13]). When was this implemented and could you link me to the relevant discussion? Just curious, thanks a million!--Patton^t/c 21:35, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Here is the link to the Village Pump thread. Best, TNXMan 21:41, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Appeal against a claim of vandalism

I am not a regular Wikipedia editor, often just adding a link or correcting a spelling. I added an (admittedly unsubstantiated) sentence or two to an article. I was reported for vandalism. However, I immediately logged on to Google, found 3 references that backed my edits (not the best sources, perhaps, but newspapers, nevertheless). I consider that, at the very least, I could be accused of an over-trivial and even perhaps impolite edit - but not of vandalism. I would like to appeal the charge and perhaps have the vandalism reduced to some lesser "crime" - eg a good faith edit. How should I do this? Professor J Lawrence (talk) 21:53, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, you've tried talking to the admin who issued the warning, and he responded very rudely and not in the least constructively. I suggest blanking the warning from your talk page, and ignoring such bitey and unproductive editors in future. DuncanHill (talk) 21:59, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for your prompt reply - and maybe I was silly and maybe hasty and maybe a little ignorant of procedure - but is it possible to get the vandalism charge overturned? As I said, i am not a real editor in any sense of the word, generally just correcting spelling, grammar or adding a Wikipedia link or two (eg on the Cream article, making Ginger Baker a link, or in the Fall of France article making Stuka a link ). I do admit my Beckham insert was not substantiated and I do not really want to reinsert it (or get into trouble) - but I would like my name cleared....Any advice gratefully received... Professor J Lawrence (talk) 22:10, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Unless the editor who issued the warning agrees to remove it, then not really, but you are entitled to remove it from your page, and if anyone refers to it again, just point them to the facts and your attempts to correct it, and any reasonable person would understand. DuncanHill (talk) 22:13, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I have refactored my warning from a {{uw-biog3}} to a {{uw-biog1}} and apologised to the user. --Rodhullandemu 22:42, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Professor Lawrence, you are a Wikipedia editor by the only definition we recognize: you clicked on the "edit" button, made a change, and then clicked on the "Save page" button. You have all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of any Wikipedia editor. There are more than six million of us. While some of us have more experience than others, we are all equally responsible for Wikipedia. A particluar editor made an incorrect assertion of vandalism. That assertion was at best overly harsh. since you ask for your name to be cleared, I, by my authority as a Wikipedia editor and after careful review of your actions, hereby clear you of the charge of vandalism. More realistically, Rodhullandemu responded on you talk page. The only place the "charge" is still recorded is in your talk page history, and that same history records his response. Please do not get discouraged by this incident. we are all volunteers, and we all occasionally make mistakes of the type your accuser made. -Arch dude (talk) 02:20, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Special:Newpages

I was trying to access this and every time I try clicking on it gives me an database error:

“ A database query syntax error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software. The last attempted database query was:

   (SQL query hidden)

from within function "IndexPager::reallyDoQuery (NewPagesPager)". MySQL returned error "1054: Unknown column 'ts_tags' in 'field list' (10.0.6.24)".

”

I don't think that I can fix this (maybe an administrator can?) so... NanohaA'sYuri^{Talk, My master} 22:32, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

It's a bug, which is now fixed.  GARDEN  22:46, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

February 25

Augmentation to article: People's Park

The last section of the article, I feel, is absolutely unfair to the people who call this place home. I wanted to add the following but could not, can you please tell me exactly how it is unacceptable so that I can tweak it. It isn't exactly neutral, but that IS the point--I wouldn't call the rest of the article exactly neutral anyway...

“ -

While the infamy of the park is well known, those willing to experience it first-hand and suspend prejudice will find a close community of neighbors (street people that is) unlike any other in Berkeley.

- - Living half a block from the park on Regent st., my car has been broken into twice, the homeless shoot up in the empty backyard near mine, and I get hit up for cigarettes and cash on an hourly basis.

- - It's frustrating, yes; but on the other hand, my non-transient neighbors (who honestly spend most of their time maybe hundreds of feet away from me) don't know my name and will not respond when I greet them. Conversely, there are street people (whom I've known only months) who would gladly give me whatever they own if I needed it--even their lives.

- - I'm not even among their ranks.

- - There are lot of gifted Cal students, but most of them are sheltered. Getting their stereo stolen might just be the best thing to ever happen to students who intend to be something resembling an adult by the time they leave Cal.

- - The dream of the People's Park is quite alive; it's a shelter from the storm. It's a safe place where you can be different without schoolyard-like ridicule for crazy clothes and hair (or just plain craziness), where people who just want to get drunk and compose poetry li-po style do so. Most impressively, it's a place where rules and material goods aren't nearly as important as people and friendship.

”

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.152.166.74 (talk)

I suggest you read Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, as from my analysis none of the material seems to be able to be integrated into the article as they are just your personal opinion on the subject. In order for content to be added to Wikipedia, it should be verifiable and based on reliable sources. Unless you can find some reliable sources that say this, the content cannot be added. NanohaA'sYuri^{Talk, My master} 00:15, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

burningadvdvialaptop

my toshiba laptop assures me it is capable of burning dvds but i cannot figure out how.CAN YOU HELP ME PLEASE.sammymac —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.194.67.212 (talk) 00:56, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

This page is for questions about editing Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 01:00, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried the computing section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. – ukexpat (talk) 01:01, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

didn't see a post over there - was gonna say look for a Nero, or Roxio folder; unless we're talking about ripping - that's a whole different thread. — Ched (talk) 02:33, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

wikimedia commons account mysteriously created automatically

I'd been using wikipedia recently with this account (user:thegoodearth).

At some point, I was browsing wikimedia commons, and soon thereafter I see one of those messages notifying me that someone has written in my user talk. I assume they wrote to my IP, because I never signed up for a wikimedia commons account.

Strangely enough, I click on the message, and realize that I do have a wikimedia commons account with the same username as my wikipedia account. It was the talk page of my wikimedia commons account that someone wrote a welcome message. According to my commons user log, my account was "created automatically" the same minute that I received the message.

Why did this happen? Do wikipedia users who browser wikimedia commons get automatically created accounts there?

--Thegoodearth (talk) 01:22, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Your account on commons was automatically created as part of a process known as "single user login", which basically creates accounts at different wikis based on your user name (thus you don't have to sign up at commons/meta/etc when you want to make an edit there. See this page for more details. NanohaA'sYuri^{Talk, My master} 01:39, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Fair use

Can a historical image of a currently standing building qualify under WP:NFCC #1? A free photo can be taken, but not one that portrays what the historical image may. Grsz¹¹ 04:23, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it can qualify under WP:NFCC#1, but it also has to qualify under WP:NFCC#8: Seeing the historic appearance of the building must significantly increase readers' understanding of the topic. —teb728 t c 04:37, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

If the historical photo can show, for example, architectural elements which are no longer present on the building, AND such elements were important to the building, such that external reliable sources say so, then the picture may be claimed under fair use, since such elements no longer exist at the building. If, however, the picture is simply there to show "Hey, here's what the building looked like in 1965" and the building has not significantly changed since 1965, or any changes made are not significant enough to have been discussed, then it probably cannot be claimed under fair use. The key is that the older, copyright picture has to be vitally important to illustrate or understand something specificly mentioned in the article, not just "Hey, here's another pic of the building". If you are just showing the building in general, then a new picture should be taken and appropriately liscensed. This is at least my understanding. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 04:44, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

What about these examples: File:Idlewild Depot.jpg and File:Idlewild Carousel.jpg show the historic appearance of these two buildings, the surrounding significantly different from that of today. Idlewild Depot shows the building as a functioning as a railroad station, which it does not do anymore. It was the smallest full-service station in the country. Grsz¹¹ 04:42, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

See above. It is my understanding that if that role of the building is specifically discussed and referenced to reliable sources, and the role is clear in the old pic, but it would be impossible to take a picture of the building in its old role, since it no longer serves that purpose, than this could be claimed as "fair use" so long as such information is CLEARLY described in the fair use rationale. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 04:46, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Actually, I looked at your pictures, those two pictures are in the Public domain, and as such, are actually free to use for any purpose. There is no need for a "fair use rationale" as their use is completely open and free at Wikipedia. It is not necessary to invoke fair use in their use. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 04:48, 25 February 2009 (UTC)