Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 June 3

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June 3

using linux

can you use netzero internet with linux you can email me.4.152.207.17 (talk) 00:33, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean using wikipedia to email others or just email itself? And I have to remove your email address as that is personal info. -- RyRy5 (talk) 00:39, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

What he means is, "Does Netzero internet work in Linux?" 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. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 00:55, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

No, NetZero only works with Windows, Mac, and Linspire. NetZero might work under Wine Antonio Lopez ^(talk) 23:41, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

technical difficulties?

Am I the only one having difficulties accessing editing pages and history pages? (And some image pages?) When I try to edit or view a page history while logged in I get "Detected bug in an extension! Hook CentralAuthHooks::onGetUserPermissionsErrorsExpensive failed to return a value; should return true to continue hook processing or false to abort." and then a backtrace mentioning a bunch of PHP files starting with "/usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.5/includes/Title.php(1156): wfRunHooks('getUserPermissi...', Array)".

I assume this is a server error, but other people seem to be posting with no trouble. 24.2.176.64 (talk) 03:03, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

This question would probably be better asked at the village pump (technical), as we Help Desk volunteers aren't developers or anything... but thanks for pointing it out. It appears to be a problem with Single User Login. You may want to see the technical village pump to see if anyone else has been having this problem, if not, please bring it up there. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 03:13, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Will do, thanks. 72.10.110.107 (talk) 13:07, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

adding categories to my user page

Hello,

I have had a look at all of the FAQs but cannot find the answer to this. I also have comment, but am unsure where to direct.

Q.1: I want to add categories to my user page; I noticed other users pages and copied source code from their page to mine (For example I added myself to the category of "Wikipedians in London") But I would like to browse other categories to which I can add myself. After extensive searching through pages of the categories list**, there seem hundreds of thousands of categories and I cannot find what I am looking for. I read your page about not having a tree structure, which is what I was looking for. I would like to know if there is a specific page on wikipedia which users can draw from to choose sensible* (i.e. *not such categories as "°C-ute members"), particularly categories (that are relevant wikipedians' personal pages.

Q.2: I would also like to know how the 'signpost' boxes for representing a category were invented? As these are really nice. For example the box 'logo' that appears on the "Wikipedians in London".

C.1: The comment I'd like to make (or redirect?) is that it would maye be useful to have categories relevant to user pages separately listed. The nearest I can find to the kind of page I am looking for is in this list **http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ACategories&offset=Wikipedians. Some kind of tree structure would be helpful because there are so many. For example, "Wikipedians by alma mater..." goes on for 1000+ entries; I would find it more helpful to have them grouped under one "Wikipedians by alma mater..." at first and then the specific ones listed as sub-categories. This may already exist and I have simply misunderstood the search function, or another page exists with this information on that I didn't know about.

C.2 It probably is mentioned in one of the help pages somewhere, but would be very useful if this search page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Categories had a reference on it to say that searching categories is case sensitive.

Hope you can help. Thanks.

Applet (talk) 04:08, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

The master category for such things is Category:Wikipedians -- if you browse around it's sub-categories (there are a lot) you may be able to find what you're looking for. Sounds like you're also looking for Wikipedia:Userboxes (page includes a galley of them, towards the bottom). – Luna Santin (talk) 04:14, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

You may prefer to search Wikipedia's Category: namespace with Google, because Google is not case-sensitive with respect to search keywords, and Google suggests alternate spellings. Many folks consider Google to be mostly less annoying than Wikipedia's built-in search feature. I mostly agree with them. See Help:User page so you understand what user pages are for, and see WP:NOT#MYSPACE for what they aren't. Basically, user pages exist primarily to serve the encyclopedia project, not for general socializing, although as you have seen, that rule allows for broad interpretation. Try to at least pretend everything you do on Wikipedia is to make the encyclopedia better, even if indirectly. It helps to study a bunch of featured articles so you can see where we are trying to take all 6,817,379 articles. --Teratornis (talk) 05:23, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

My question

Excuse me hope i am acctually in the write place but i was wondering how do i make my own article for wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ima-m00-c0w-l0l (talk • contribs) 05:16, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Please see Your first article.

1. Ensure that you have an account and you are logged in. If you don't have an account, create one
2. Make sure the subject is notable enough to have their own article.
3. Find references
4. Make sure no article on the subject exists under a different title by typing the subject into the search box to the left (←) and clicking 'Search'
5. Type the page name in the search box to the left (←) and click 'Go'
6. Click 'Create this page'
7. Create the article, including all your references, making sure you adhere to the Manual of Style and our article layout guidelines
8. Be aware that Wikipedia deletes thousands of new articles for failing to adhere to our policies and guidelines. New articles by new users are at extra risk of deletion, due to new users' unfamiliarity with our rules. Consider gaining experience by editing existing articles before attempting to create new ones. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 05:30, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Starting new page with existing template

Hi, is it possible to start a new page, for instance:

Today

But when you click on that page, there is content generated automatically with a 'fill in the blanks' kind of scenario?

It's difficult to explain exactly what I mean, so I will try to explain another way.

I want the ability for someone to click on that 'Today' link and when they are presented with the empty new page, there is already data/information there derived from a template.

Thanks Matgraham (talk) 06:11, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I don't think that it could be used for article space, but I do know of someone who uses something similar to this in her user page. Lemme see if I can find it real quick. :) <3 Tinkleheimer TALK!! 06:16, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

User:Phaedriel uses something like what I think you are looking for for her Today is so and so Wikipedian's day. Here is the code I found on her page:

{{{{FULLPAGENAME}}/Today/{{CURRENTDAY}}}}

Hope this helps :)<3 Tinkleheimer TALK!! 06:23, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Brilliant! Thankyou very much, greatly appreciated! Matgraham (talk) 06:36, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

You might be looking for the Article wizard. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 11:34, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

?????

"An article on a topic that has strong ties to a particular English-speaking nation uses the appropriate variety of English for that nation." What if the article has strong ties to a country that is not an English speaking one? 124.181.14.142 (talk) 07:32, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

In that case, just pick a style of writing and stick to it. Or at least that's what I think you're supposed to do ;). <3 Tinkleheimer TALK!! 07:45, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, that's correct. Alternatively, you could judge which English speaking nation it has the most links to- most European topics, for instance, would be in British English. J Milburn (talk) 10:21, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

[[Category:Fractions|*]][[Category:Fractions]]

How is [[Category:Fractions|*]] different from [[Category:Fractions]]?68.148.164.166 (talk) 09:19, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

The first sorts the article on which it is placed under the * heading, where as the latter sorts it under the first letter of the article's title. :-) Stwalkerster [ talk ] 09:33, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Also see Wikipedia:Categorization#Category sorting. Frequently "main articles" are sorted as '*' so that they're listed first in the category (say, Ship and Category:Ships). – Luna Santin (talk) 09:53, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Yes, the * means that the page gets sorted under the * heading. The latter means that it gets orted under "c" (for Category). On the other hand, [[Category:Fractions|{{PAGENAME}} gets sorted under the F heading, for Fractions. Soxred 93 11:02, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Actually, if you don't specify anything with a pipe, it defaults to the name of the page; it never gets sorted under "c" for category. Piping {{PAGENAME}} is used to override magic words, so that the page always sort under the page name. Can you imagine how large the C entry would be for every category page if this wasn't true!--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:19, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Citing encyclopædia

When citing an encyclopædia does one give the editor as the author or do you leave it blank? Harland1 (^t/_c) 13:06, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Just FYI, the Helpdesk is for questions about using Wikipedia, and in the future questions such as these would be better off at the Reference Desk. It appears that it depends on which style of citation you plan to use - http://lib.trinity.edu/research/citing/books/bookreference.shtml has some examples of citing encyclopedias. -- Natalya 13:38, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

If this question is just about citing an encyclopedia, then I agree that it's better placed at the Reference desk. However, I think it not at all improbable that this question is about citing Wikipedia, but just stated in general language. If so, it is a fine fit with this page. To cite Wikipedia, go to the article you wish to cite, then click on "Cite this page" which is the bottom link on the toolbox menu on the left hand side of the page. As you can see, in many of the citation styles, the author is listed as "Wikipedia contributors". For further information, please see Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. I hope this helps. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:09, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

The question might be about citing an encyclopedia as a source for a Wikipedia article. Some articles incorporate text from encyclopedias which are now in the public domain; see: {{1911}} and Wikipedia:1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. We also have a {{cite encyclopedia}} template to use in footnotes. So, that's three possibilities and counting for this ambiguous question. The questioner could remove the ambiguity by specifying which encyclopedia, and for what. --Teratornis (talk) 23:13, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Yes, sorry. I was citing an encyclopedia of animals in Long-nosed Potoroo. And I was wondering what to put in the author section. Harland1 (^t/_c) 12:45, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Modifying an inaccurate entry about me

Hi --

I just encountered a wikipedia entry about me (Rufus Griscom) that is inaccurate, and posted by someone with an axe to grind.

I would like to modify it so that it is accurate, or have someone else do so.

I just registered and went to edit but it looks like only the "references" can be edited. Am I doing something wrong, or do I need to appeal to some higher power to fix this mistake?

Thank you for any help you can offer me with this.

best,

Rufus Griscom

email address removed —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rufybaby (talk • contribs) 13:55, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Because editors writing/editing about themselves can sometimes run into trouble, Wikipedia has some good guidelines for dealing with articles about yourself. If you take a look at Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/Help, you should hopefully find the information that you need. If not, please continue your questions! -- Natalya 14:00, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Anybody can edit, click 'edit this page' at the top to edit the entire page. Fix the changes, being careful of WP:COI...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 14:51, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Also, I just removed all the POV and unbalanced material from the page. While some was "sourced", the page was clearly made to shed negative light on Mr. Griscom, and until a more balanced page can be written, the material should be deleted per WP:BLP. Not sure why I'm telling you all this, just FYI. Tan | 39 15:17, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

St. Francis High School (La Canada Flintridge) Notable Alumni

URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Francis_High_School_%28La_Ca%C3%B1ada_Flintridge%29

Addition to Notable alumni:

Carl Verheyen of the Carl Verheyen Band, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Verheyen

Carl graduated from St. Francis in 1972 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.135.0.6 (talk) 15:36, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

What exactly is your question? Mr. Green^{Hit Me Up}Userboxes 16:02, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Boy that article (Carl_Verheyen) is a mess. Corvus cornix_talk 16:50, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Hello

How are you? I was just curious on how i can add someone without getting it deleted. I have all sources needed, and write-ups etc. Please let me know if i am missing something. I am trying to add Joe Sernio.

Thank you very much for your time in this matter

-At —Preceding unsigned comment added by Anthonythorn (talk • contribs) 16:43, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Just click on this link and click "watch" at the top of the article. Mr. Green^{Hit Me Up}Userboxes 16:55, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Are you talking about the box up the top of Joe Sernio that says that non-notable entries may be deleted? Have you read WP:BIO? While I don't think the article is likely to be deleted soon, you need to do two things to make sure: (1) in the article, include claims of notability (that's pretty much covered) (2) back up these claims (and as much of the rest of the article as possible) with references to reliable, third-party sources. I think you, or someone, has tried to put the references in, but hasn't gotten them quite right - take a look at WP:CITE. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:09, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

IP address of sender in google group

Hi, I am a part of a google group.. Is there a way to trace the ip address of another member of google group who has replied to a posted message on google group?? If yes , how?? Its important for me to know somehow..... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.132.3.7 (talk) 16:45, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I think you should try the reference desk.Mr. Green^{Hit Me Up}Userboxes 16:57, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

MostLinked, filter by namespace

Is there a way to filter these results by namespace? http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:MostLinked&limit=500&offset=0 --Rajah (talk) 17:13, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

There might not be a simple way. One not so simple way would be to figure out a command pipeline that could grep for the namespace you want to include or exclude. See Complex example for a way to do something that is somewhat similar. --Teratornis (talk) 23:20, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

citation for personal communication

On the Beaver Trilogy Wikipedia page there is a citation needed here: "The original filmmaker self-distributes DVDs in the Salt Lake City area." [1] I am trying to provide that citation since I, myself, have ordered DVDs from Trent Harris in this manner. My question is, how would I provide a citation for this kind of information?

DoctorRocket (talk) 17:52, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Personal experience, etc. is not verifiable, and thus cannot be used in Wikipedia as a source. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:56, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Are there any other sources that could be used to back up that statement? A newspaper, magazine, or reliable website would make a good cite. This guide can show you what sources are appropriate. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Cheers! TN‑X-Man 19:25, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Could you help out this editor, most courteous ever

I'm taking a break from editing, but found this on my talk page. Could you help the editor out? It seems he can access pages and will probably be looking at my talk page, so you could reply to him there. And I'll look here too. Thanks very much.

Dear Madam,

I had been able to sign up and login an year before in Wikipedia using my username Lutfullah. I had made, if you can kindly remember, a few contributions to the talk page on the article on Shaikh Shafuddin Bu Ali Qalandar of Panipat, India and had answered to your queries on those contributions.

Since yesterday I am finding that every time I try to login to Wikipedia by merely pointing the cursor to the login/create account button and right-clicking it, my browser responds with an error message telling me that Internet Explorer can not access this webpage and I get automatically removed from the Wikipedia portal.

As I could not approach the Wikipedia helpdesk directly, I am requesting you very humbly to take some time out for me and find if I have been blocked out by the Webmasters or contollers for any trespasses of mine yet not known to me. Is there any remedy for this problem? It shall be highly appreciated if you send me a note in reply to my Email address <email address removed> and oblige.

Thanking you with all my heart.59.180.122.229 (talk) 19:25, 3 June 2008 (UTC)Lutfullah

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Itsmejudith"

Itsmejudith (talk) 19:46, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

It looks like there is a problem with login at the moment and brion is looking at it. We may get more problems like this soon. There is more information at WP:VPT#Log in aborted -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 20:00, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your help with this. Itsmejudith (talk) 20:15, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Should be fixed now. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:47, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Comparing pages for criteria

Hi, I recently came across a page for Zyvex, ( a private company ) which looks and reads like marketing material. Why hasn't their page been tagged and deleted? It's hard to know what is correct when there is so much variability on the site. Isn't the Zyvex page considered spam given the Wikipedia guidelines?

Your input would be greatly appreciated as it will help me learn by example.

Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Susiemauceri (talk • contribs) 20:31, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Be bold and add the tags yourself, if you think the page needs them. This page could be edited to become more neutral, so I would recommend the {{advert}} tag. — Insanity Incarnate 20:36, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Plenty of articles exist that probably should not and many others are in a bad state that haven't yet been tagged for cleanup that should be. There is no central authority that cleans up articles and because of the huge number of articles that are created every day, many slip through the cracks upon creation and may sit around for a very long time without anyone loking at them. So generalizing from any article's existence or state to conclude that it meets policy or has been inspected and "passed" or is "grandfathered in", is faulty. Please see WP:OTHERSTUFF by analogy. You found it, you've read our policies; go right ahead and judge for yourself and do what Insanity Incarnat advised above. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:57, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I asked because I modeled the page I wrote after theirs and mine got tagged within the hour and deleted by morning b4 I had a chance to fix it, even though I did post the HANG ON tag after the Speedy Delete banner was posted. However, theirs is still there with no tags at all. How does that work? Pretty confusing. Can anyone offer insight? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Susiemauceri (talk • contribs) 15:51, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Single User Login

If a registered user doesn't make a global account will it at some point in the future be forced on everyone to have Single User Login by the WikiFoundation? 79.76.201.239 (talk) 20:43, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I don't believe so. It's just optional at the moment, and I think it will stay that way. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 20:51, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

The plan is that eventually, creating an account on one wiki, will basically give you an account on every wiki automatically. It won't really be "forced" as the process will appear the same as creating an account now, except it will create the global account at the same time without having to manually merge accounts. That probably won't be done until existing conflicts are resolved though. Mr.Z-man 00:01, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Video

Is it appropriate to include a video from say, YouTube in an article? Thanks, Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 21:04, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

It helps if you give us specific examples of the article and the video in question. In general, is it a reliable source, is it relevant to the content, is it a copyright violation? See Wikipedia:External links for full information on linking. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 21:08, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Ok, I would like to embed the video of Russell Means found on [2] into the Republic of Lakotah article. It shows his views, opinions, and reasoning. Should it be in the article? Furthermore, how does one embed a video on Wikipedia? The embed code given by YouTube doesn't work. Thanks, Ζρς ι'β' ^¡hábleme! 21:29, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

You can't embed media directly from external sites. If the video's licensing is appropriate (see commons:Commons:Licensing), it's possible to upload a video in Ogg Theora format and use it as if it were an image. Otherwise, just linking makes more sense than trying to embed, which creates legal problems (copyright) and technical problems (using bandwidth from another site and introducing a security hole). --ais523 21:47, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

You can use the {{YouTube}} template to link to a video. If someone else thinks the link is improper, they will remove it. --Teratornis (talk) 23:01, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

length of contributions

I've been contributing as a user for the last 2-3 years, but with a different user account. Now, this new one has been only around for 6 months; do i count as an editor for 6 months or 3 years? Ironholds 23:32, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Well, you yourself as a person have been an editor in total for 3 years, regardless of user accounts! In the technical sense, you've only been editing on this account for 6 months, but you can always reference that you edited under another account before. That's sort of subjective, though... did it help answer your question? -- Natalya 00:03, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

german to english

Hello, I'd like to view this page in English:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Stauffer

I want to read about Teddy Stauffer, but cannot find anything in English. There is this German page, but I can't figure out how to translate. Can you please help me? Thanks so much. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.170.15.177 (talk) 23:38, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't look like there's an English Wikipedia article, but you can use various web translators to translate it into English. Here is the translation that Google did. -- Natalya 00:01, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

A Google search reveals many English language sources where you can read about him. I find machine translations hard to take.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:09, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

There is a certain sad poetry to "After his lonely death, his ashes into the waters of the Pacific dispersed, as his last will". DuncanHill (talk) 00:45, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

What days do we get paid.

I am doing this because I love the gers adn am no worried about the money but I was just thinking wtha you get money and when do you get it? My mate says that its on friday but cant remember how is it weekly or every 2 weeks  ????? Like a said its not the money that is the reeson why I doing it, but I was just wanting to know? Will it be send to my email? Thanks. Douglas1690 (talk) 23:57, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

It has already been explained to you on your user talk page by another user that this is a voluntary project.♦Tangerines♦·Talk 23:58, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

It doesnt say that on my user page !! ! ! ! Douglas1690 (talk) 23:59, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

As I said above, it was on your user talk page. This is what it says near to the bottom of the page, under the heading "Opinion" and added by the user Rockpocket, in answer to your remark about "clocking in" - "By the way, you don't need to clock in because we don't get paid". Hope that is clear now.♦Tangerines♦·Talk 00:05, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

I feel like a am being bullied cos am new, by celtic and dundee unt fans because they know that I am a gers man. My article has a banner on it, and I feel like there all grumpy and tryiong to scare me off. What can I do? I am doing this cos I love the gers and I want to stop the spam from celtic fans, but IO feel like am being bulied......

Even they make sarcastic things like "we're glad you're here" aye, right! then they say I dont have references on my articles.

Douglas1690 (talk) 00:06, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

[First], the users that contribute to Wikipedia aren't paid, this is a totally voluntary project. No one is forced to contribute to the encyclopedia, and [Second], comments like "we're glad you're here" are for welcoming users to the Wikipedia project, not to disturb users. macy^talk 00:11, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

I presume you understand now that this is voluntary? With regard to your last comments, no-one is bullying you and I am sorry you feel that way. It is just how things work on wikipedia that some articles get proposed for deletion, it isn't personal against you, it happen every day. When you say you are new though, on your user page you say that you have "many years editing on Wikipedia as annonymus. So Im not exactly new at this." I would very much doubt that Rockpocket was being sarcastic with the welcome message.♦Tangerines♦·Talk 00:14, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

I accept your apology Douglas1690 (talk) 00:16, 4 June 2008 (UTC) :)

See another won making fun lokk!!!!!!!!! Fair enough then. The big tag "the free encyclopedia" on the front should really have been a hint :P. byn Rocket!! !!!!!!!! Douglas1690 (talk) 00:20, 4 June 2008 (UTC) I is done with your website now you try and help out and get a bunch of sarcasticness cos Im new. You said you one it before etc.