Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 November 18

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November 18[edit]

Combining references[edit]

Is there any way I can combine it if I list the same website as a reference for multiple facts? Matt 00:37, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

You can cite the same source multiple times by inserting a name into the ref tag. For example, like <ref name="Source1"> Sourcing Info </ref> . To refer to the source again, just use <ref name="Source1"/>. Cheers, --Bfigura (talk) 00:40, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Main page complaints[edit]

how do I submit a complaint/suggestion to the editors of the front page?

Perhaps this suggestion can simply be forwarded to a proper destination...

My complaint is that I don't think Wikipedia should have an image of lung-cancer on the first page. It is somewhat disturbing, and I imagine that most people who visited Wikipedia today did not want to see it.

Thanks - Jeff

Main page complaints should be made to Wikipedia talk:Main page. I would like to point out though that Wikipedia is not censored. Woodym555 (talk) 01:24, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Log in problem[edit]

Hello, It's been a while since I last logged into Wikipedia, and I forgot my password, so I had a temporary password sent to my email. After I logged in with that, I reset my password, so at that point I was supposed to be completely logged in. However, underneath the notice that I am now being logged in, there is a red box that says that there was a login problem and I should try again. I do, and it doesn't work either with the temporary password or the new one I entered. I have tried this while process twice (having a second temp. password emailed to me) and I still can't log in (I am entering the test words in properly). Can I get some help with this problem? Sorry I'm very new to this, I don't quite understand how I'm supposed to sign my name.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.238.40.188 (talkcontribs)

What is your username? So, you are receiving the emails? Have you made sure you are using the right case, the passwords are case-sensitive. You also might want to check that you are adding in the right CAPTCHA? Remember that it is case-sensitive also. Umm, apart from that I not sure. (Oh, you sign by using ~~~~) Woodym555 (talk) 01:39, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Photo[edit]

I am trying to add a picture to a page. I tried to upload a photo and I think it worked but now I don't know how to find it let alone put it on the page I desire to?

Hi there. It looks like the image is here: Image:Superior-lighthouse-horcapt-tom-mackay.jpg. To link to it, use something like [[:Image:Superior-lighthouse-horcapt-tom-mackay.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]. More info can be found at WP:IMAGE. Best, --Bfigura (talk) 03:35, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Log in problem continued[edit]

Hello, thanks for the suggestions, but in response: - I am receiving the emails, - I am careful about using the correct cases, - and I am putting in the correct CAPTCHA.

Other than that, I don't know what the problem could be. Maybe I should just create another account, I don't know if there are special rules about this. My usename is Imola I — 99.238.40.188 (talk) 02:08, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

userbox[edit]

How do I put the userbox on my userpage?

Just go to a user page which has the userbox you want and click edit this page and copy the code and paste it in your page. That's how I do. Hope that helps
Sai2020 03:14, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Can lyrics be added to Wikipedia?[edit]

I'm a newbie and I got this idea that it'll be nice to add the lyrics of the song to the song pages. I did that to You Are Not Alone and Billie Jean. But in Billie Jean, they were deleted and the user wrote on my talk page that "wikipedia is not lyrics website but u can link it".

Can I put the lyrics or not? Sai2020 03:19, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think this would generally be a copyright issue, unless the lyrics have been released into the public domain. So, in short, no, I don't think so. I think it also might be against the manual of style, but I could be wrong. Best, --Bfigura (talk) 03:32, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(ec) Unless the lyrics are licensed under a free license, which seems unlikely for most, no. You can link to the lyrics on the artists' or record companies' web sites, but linking to a site that violates a copyright isn't allowed either. WODUP 03:34, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks people. I'll remove them. Sai2020 04:15, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, the editor who told you that you can link to a site with lyrics on it is not quite correct. If the site is also violating copyright, WP:EL recommends against linking to it. If the site is to the recording company's website, or some other entity which has the rights to the lyrics, then that would be okay. Corvus cornix (talk) 06:35, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
See Wikipedia:Lyrics and poetry. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:19, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

track searches[edit]

is there a way for me to track the searches ive done? sorry if the answer is obvious but i did look first. thanks baliyaBaliya (talk) 03:37, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm... no one's answered this yet, so I will. There isn't a way within Wikipedia, but if your browser supports autofill, you can probably see the text you've previously entered into the search box. I know I can with Firefox. WODUP 06:44, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

editing a page[edit]

do i need to be a professional to edit a page. I found that there are spelling errors and missing information on "stress". i would like to edit it, but was not sure if i was able to do that —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aajacobs (talkcontribs) 23:20, 17 November 2007

Hi Aajacobs. Please be bold and make your improvements. You might want to check out a few introductory pages, such as Wikipedia:About, Wikipedia:Introduction and you might try taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial to be introduced to the markup we use and the formatting we recommend. In answer to your question, I quote from the first link: "Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. Visitors do not need specialised qualifications to contribute, since their primary role is to write articles that cover existing knowledge; this means that people of all ages and cultural and social background can write Wikipedia articles. With rare exceptions, articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet, simply by clicking the edit this page link."--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:43, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A deletion.[edit]

Just wondering why the "Sydonia" (a music group) entry was deleted ? If it didn't have references it wouldn't hev been hard to find some. There are even links to the entry from stonesours (a very large American band) entry that now lead to a dead end, weird....

Can someone please write a decent entry about this band ? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.222.246.188 (talkcontribs) 23:31, 17 November 2007

From your question, I would hazard a guess that it was deleted because it didn't have references - or at least didn't have references to establish that it was notable. It is the job of the author to provide references. If you are interested in such an article, it would be good if you gathered the references, then request that the article be undeleted so you can add the references. Sbowers3 (talk) 04:48, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It should be also noted, that not just any site is a reliable, third-party source, which is what is needed to demonstrate notability. You can read through the policies and guidelines to get an idea of what articles are appropriate for an encyclopedia, and what articles are not appropriate for Wikipedia. Cheers! ArielGold 04:51, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cumberland Ward[edit]

There is a new article named Cumberland Ward, describing a city ward in Ottawa, Canada. My first thought is that Ward should be lower case. Then I looked at Cumberland, which points to Cumberland (disambiguation), which points to a Cumberland (ward) in ancient England. Then there is also a Cumberland, Ontario (city) amalgamated into Ottawa and probably the current Cumberland ward. So all in all there perhaps should be some moving, merging, and disambiguating but it's a bit beyond me. Would WP:EAR be a better place to raise this issue? Sbowers3 (talk) 04:35, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A quick Google search indicates the full name name of the city is "Cumberland Ward", as opposed to England's ward of Cumberland. Another words, the whole name is a proper noun, and as such, should be capitalized (just as the "city" in New York City should be, as opposed to the city of London.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:53, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Ah! Of course. Sbowers3 (talk) 13:05, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I cant edit a page[edit]

I am trying to edit some mistakes out of the page on 'Anna Span' but there is no option to edit, please can you help me? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Porndirector (talkcontribs) 11:31, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There is a tab at the top of the page, that says "edit this page". Click that, or alternately, click the [edit] link to the right of a section to edit a particular section. See How to edit, Manual of style, Layout guide, Article development, and First article for assistance. Hope that helps. ArielGold 11:43, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

my user name[edit]

I just joined wikipedia, and gave my user name as hughhill but what came back was Hughhill without the option of accepting or refusing. I would rather use HughHill or hughhill, but not Hughhill, is there any way that I can resolve this.


yours sincerely


Hugh Hill

Sure. Since your edit here is your first, you have no contributions that need attributing to another name, so just create a new account with a differently capitalization scheme. Keep in mind that the software automatically forces the first letter to be capitalized. By the way, please sign posts to discussion pages such as this by typing four tildes (~~~~) at the end, which automatically formats to your signature and a time stamp upon saving. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:05, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Spaces are allowed so you could also choose Hugh Hill. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:14, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How to you create a new addition to wikipedia[edit]

Dear Sir/Madam, How do you create a edition to WIKIPEDIA? ie not add something to an entry but create a new entry Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.149.176.91 (talkcontribs) 14:22, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See Help:Starting a newpage - that will give you all the information on starting a new page. Good luck! Qst 14:28, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(e.c.) Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:Articles for creation (since you have not logged in, you must request the article be created) will be of interest to you. Also, please sign comments by clicking the button above the edit window (but not on articles). NF24(radio me!Editor review) 14:30, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Details about a company-Relegare[edit]

Is there any company, European, britsh or American, having a part of its name as Relegare? If i want its details.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.184.183.209 (talkcontribs)

Sorry, this is for Wikipedia-related questions only. The helpful folks at the reference desk will be sure to help you with this matter. —Qst 15:34, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Certainly this question is better asked there than here, but I think availing yourself of a Google search is your best option.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:39, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Assamese Key board[edit]

Dear Sir, For typing Assame…se Scripts in the Key Board, how can I get it . And how to change the Size of the Scripts ?

Rgds kmdeka

Sorry, your question appears to be unrelated to Wikipedia. The Help desk is for Wikipedia related questions, only. I suggest asking the friendly folks at the reference desk. Regards, —Qst 15:32, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ipatinga kits[edit]

I don't really have the resources necessary for the job so I was wondering if someone could make the following pictures able to go into a football (soccer) article. To do this someone would have to break them up into different sections, see here. And please remove the red as well, Wikipedia kit designs are not suppose to have a lot of detail. If someone isn't able to do it or if this isn't the place to ask can you point to me someone who will be able to do it. Here are the pictures: . Thanks, AJSDA115 (talk) 16:55, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Map as reference?[edit]

In Baltimore, Maryland, I inserted the fact that the city is at the northern edge of its climate zone. After some resistance, I decided to list a map as a reference.[1] I was never sure about using maps as references, but after I saw it in Climate of Florida (see the first reference), I went ahead and put it in. Is this sufficient for WP:V? and is listing that the city is at the northern edge unencyclopedic (I have also seen this in other articles)? JScott06 (talk) 16:59, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I should think so. I've used it lots of time. Although that might not mean it's the right thing to do. :) Rudget.talk 18:04, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Biographical article[edit]

Hi ,

I want to know how I can write about a person about whom there is nothing in WIkipedia. I person whom I want to write is a famous researcher in Robotics and I want to add him and his achievements in the wkipedia. Please help me understand how I can do this.

Thanks, Krithika

Hi Krithika. Please click this link: Wikipedia:Article wizard/biography.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 17:39, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
To add to the above point, you can go to Help:Starting a newpage - that will give you all the information on starting a new page. Also Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:Articles for creation may be of your interest. First you may want to register an account in wikipedia, though this is not necessary to create an article, but this will provide you several benefits. So, happy editing. DSachan (talk) 18:51, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Pakistani serial killers.[edit]

Javed Iqbal (serial killer) and three persons more are Pakistani serial killers but the category Pakistani serial killers doesn't exist. Can you create this category?

Done: Category:Pakistani serial killers. Will you add them? Also note List of serial killers by country#Pakistan. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:00, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I just edit conflicted with the answer: No category is needed (see Wikipedia:Overcategorization#Small with no potential for growth). I think the category just created should be deleted.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 18:07, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Me too. It would have a limited content inclusion. Rudget.talk 18:08, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia:Overcategorization#Small with no potential for growth says: "Avoid categories that will never have more than a few members, unless such categories are part of a large overall accepted sub-categorization scheme". Category:Serial killers by nationality has many subcategories with one article. The poster wanted a category for 4 Pakistani serial killers (but it's unclear whether the other 3 have articles). There is currently no category for serial killers without specified nationality, and I think serial killers should be categorized in some way. You could suggest a reorganization at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Criminal Biography/Serial Killer task force. I support the current system. Categories of form "Type X people in nation Y" are very common and practical. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:48, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

About Pakistani serial killers again[edit]

Thanks to the Danish wikipedian for create Category:Pakistani serial killers but I have a question:

Javed Iqbal (serial killer) (42 years old) is the first but he had accomplices: Sajid Ahmad (17 years old), Mamad Nadeem (15 years old) and Mamad Sabir (13 years old). Do can I create three articles by Ahmad, Nadeem and Sabir?

Thanks again. Ahmed987147 (talk) 18:31, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • Yes, but I can expand the articles of Javed Iqbal and the three accomplices..
If they meet the criteria of WP:BIO, then yes you can. If there isn't much to write about them, it'd be better just to include descriptions of the accomplices under an article with a name that depicts what the killings were referred to as. Lradrama 18:48, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

merging an old account with a new account[edit]

I had an old account (mrnmibrc) which I never used. Recently I accidentally logged in and edited a page (inflammation) with this old account. Is it possible to merge my old account and my new (read: active) account so that there is no further confusion, and so that the credit for my recent edit on my old account goes to my current (and more recognized) account? Thanks, Ibrmrn (talk) 19:30, 18 November 2007 (UTC).[reply]

I believe you want to check out Wikipedia:Changing username/Usurpations. Good luck! GlassCobra 19:34, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Cobra. I checked it out. I need to acquire the edit records on my old account, but not the name, so the usurp page doesn't fit my needs. Thanks for your help. Ibrmrn (talk) 19:39, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Replied on users talk page. Tiddly-Tom 19:50, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]


Improving Trivia Guidelines[edit]

Some editors have been deleting Trivia text from articles without consideration of the lost content. The style guideline should be made clear, do not just delete text, re-edit it into another form. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.65.0.34 (talkcontribs) 16:17, 18 November 2007

That is how the style guideline is written, see WP:TRIVIA. If you come across editors who are doing this, you may wish to politely speak with them about the removal. Hersfold (t/a/c) 21:21, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The user is User:EverybodyHatesChris and they've been involved in editor spats and currently blocked from editing so I suspect they've moved on to a new alias; furthermore they heavily edited Everybody Loves Raymond and I couldn't locate the lost text.

How do I shot web? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.65.0.34 (talkcontribs) 16:29, 18 November 2007

You can go to the History of that article, find the version (here it is[2]) just before he removed the trivia, edit the old version, copy the "lost" text, then cancel editing, edit the current version, and paste back into the current version. Sbowers3 (talk) 22:39, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I received a message claiming vandalism, yet I wasn't logged in nor were the accusations correct?[edit]

I was browsing through wiki articles, when I was approached by a yellow box claiming I had a "new message", though I was not logged in nor have an account for that matter. Confounded, I clicked and the message indicated a bot had cleared out some vandalism for the article on "Carrot"'s of all things. I've never visited that article before, and it claimed the phrase "we love the Jews" or something totally absurd like that had been written and was removed. I really could care less since I've no idea what it was talking about, but was the message being sent to me a glitch? Or have you stored my IP address and this could somehow affect my future use of wikipedia?

Just trying to keep my name clear of any false charges that might affect future editing (though I've yet to contribute anything) or usage. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.66.97.204 (talk) 21:50, 18 November 2007

The IP you are currently edited from has made no edits other than this and has never received any warnings. So, this must mean that you were edited from a dynamic IP address. This means that since your IP changes, you may inadvertently receive messages intended for someone else. To avoid this, you can create an account. By creating an account, you ensure that all your edits are attributed to you and only you, and you will never receive messages meant for someone else. And don't worry about that earlier warning: if you didn't make the edit, you won't be blamed for it. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 22:14, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You must have visited Wikipedia with IP address 72.66.94.241 which is in the same IP range as you used to post here. The message you saw is at User talk:72.66.94.241. The vandalism was this old blanking of the Carrot article in 2006. "We love the Jews!" was not part of the bot message. It was added afterwards by the IP itself.[3] Don't worry about it. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:03, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Question on fair use review[edit]

I have a question on fair use review. Suppose I have doubt whether an image qualifies as fair use or not in an article. There is a tag called {{fairusereview}} so I think one places this tag on the image. When done so, it displays the following:

Review requested A user has requested a review of the status of this image under our policy for non-free content. Please do not remove this template until an independent review has taken place.

Now what is this "independent review" mentioned here? Is this an admin looking at the situation and deciding? Or is it a discussion for consensus at WP:FUR much like, say, an WP:AFD discussion? As far as I see, placing this tag does not automatically generate a discussion section at WP:FUR so should the tag placer also make such a section when placing this tag? I ask this because I saw many images with this tag but no corresponding sections at the WP:FUR so was wondering what the official procedure is. Thank you... --Kudret abiTalk 23:00, 18 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]