Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 August 7

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August 7[edit]

Why do my edits/external links disappear?[edit]

I'm just beginning to add information to wikipedia. But the external links that I add disappear after a few hours. I'm not sure why they are being taken down or by whom. For instance, under the listing for Robert Creeley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Creeley), I added an external link to a review of his book Life & Death that was published in The Boston Review (http://bostonreview.net/BR23.5/Gander.html). My external link appears for a few hours and then disappears. Same thing happens with an external link to a review published in The Nation (http://forrestgander.com/roberto%20bolano/index.html) that I added to Roberto Bolano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Bolano). These are informational reviews published in renowned journals. What am I getting wrong? Thanks for any advice. 01:10, 7 August 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Forthgone (talkcontribs)

I looked at the history for Robert Creeley and your edits were removed by Spanglej (talk · contribs) with an edit summary of "rv personal website. Please read WP:EL" You should discuss with them why they removed the links. They also removed the links on Roberto Bolaño. GB fan 01:46, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

AWB help[edit]

How do you make AWB update your signature? Thanks, TBrandley 01:45, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

In File:Wikify tag removal by Auto Wiki Browser.png notice that the bottom is split into three sections. The middle section has a dropdown menu that says summary at the top. In this image it says clean up and/or fixing typos. You can choose one of the default messages or type in your own. Ryan Vesey 01:50, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The best venue to ask this is WT:AWB. Regards.--Kürbis () 10:55, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Disappearing Box-with-an-Arrow[edit]

Look at these two examples of sentences with external links:

For the sentence in question, I found substitutes, based on a great new source that I discovered -- BPC's "Indefensible" white paper here.

For the sentence in question, I found a series of substitutes, based on a great new source that I discovered -- BPC's "Indefensible" white paper here.

On my monitor and browser (IE 8.0.6001.18702), the first sentence ends with a "box-with-an-arrow" diagram and the second one does not. (If what you see if different, read further.) The box is replaced on the second sentence with spaces between the word "here" and the period. This is only for full-screen on a somewhat old (read small) monitor at 100% zoom. If I shrink the page horizontally or increase the zoom factor, the box-with-an-arrow on the first sentence disappears as well.

Both have the same external link, consisting of a left-square-bracket, the URL preceded by an http-colon, one space, the explanatory text and a right-square-bracket. The only difference between the two sentences is the words "a series of". Apparently, the explanatory text must fit on one display line. (If you have too large a monitor, try shrinking the page by pulling the right side closer to the left until the second sentence, but not the first, occupies two lines.)

The real trouble is that this also happens in a citation, such as:

Task Force on Defense Budget and Strategy (June 7, 2012). "Indefensible: The Sequester's Mechanics and Adverse Effects on National and Economic Security". Bipartisan Policy Center. pp. 5, 25. Retrieved August 5, 2012.

The box-with-an-arrow is missing between Economic Security and Bipartisan. Again, on my monitor, full-screen, 100% zoom.

Can you think of anything that would avoid having the box disappear, at least for certain display widths? (And, by the way, what is the official name of the box-with-an-arrow?) --RoyGoldsmith (talk) 02:50, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It's called external link icon. See Help:External link icons. I have heard of this browser issue before but don't know a fix. I see the icon in IE9 but it disappears when I choose compatibility view [1] in IE9. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:02, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The icon displays OK for me in Firefox v12.0.--ukexpat (talk) 13:49, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Production[edit]

How do you think Production information for episodes of television? Thanks! TBrandley 02:59, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Could you clarify please. Your question seems like a sentence fragment to me. Dismas|(talk) 03:04, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Well, for Game Day (Awake), my article, I am interesting in finding more information for the "Production" section. For this show, since there is no DVD commentary, etc, its hard to find other than a few sentences, and am requesting help for this. Thanks! TBrandley 03:25, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
It may be that there are simply no reliable sources for this information. If so, then the information may not appear in Wikipedia. --ColinFine (talk) 19:39, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Categories "Art genres" vs "Art movements"[edit]

I was looking for Surrealism under Art genres (which I arrived at by typing WIKI ART CATEGORIES in a search engine) and couldn't find it (but it is under the category Art movements.) I'm just a bit puzzled about the distinction and wonder if these categories should be merged, or at least if there could be some sort of hatnote at the top explaining what the category covers, and suggesting the visitor might instead want to check the other category. Tetsuo (talk) 05:04, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I have added a see also link to Category:Art movements near the top of Category:Art genres. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:52, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Tetsuo (talk) 05:44, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

for zooming wiki page[edit]

how to zoom wikipedia page????the lettes are tooo smaallll.... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.216.70.53 (talk) 06:36, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Which browser do you have? FloBo A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 06:40, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Ctrl++ or ⌘ Command++ usually works. - Purplewowies (talk) 07:43, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Or Ctrl + mouse wheel. Regards.--Kürbis () 10:54, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding 2012 mesh terms[edit]

2012 mesh terms cannot be updated on wikipedia pages. Please can you rectify it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thedeadlynightshade (talkcontribs) 08:48, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I think this is about MeSH. What goes wrong if you try to update them? Maproom (talk) 09:48, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Help desk/Archives/2012 August 7
Help desk/Archives/2012 August 7
I haven't heard of MeSH before but it appears to be an issue with {{Infobox disease}}. I examined the source code of the infobox. You can add the undocumented parameter MeshYear = 2012 as I did in the second infobox to the right where the MeSH link works. The default year in the infobox is 2011. I don't know whether the default should be changed to 2012. Is there a reason for 2011 or is it just missing a yearly update? PrimeHunter (talk) 10:34, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks a lot. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thedeadlynightshade (talkcontribs) 15:43, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, adding MeshYear = 2013 helped me fix the infobox on the Narrative therapy page. Ramurf (talk) 11:06, 4 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Userbox[edit]

How do I see all the userboxes I can use?Crystalfile (talk) 12:08, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

They are all listed in Category:Userboxes, pick the ones you want. Roger (talk) 12:38, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you. I want to put option 20 of this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:User_in_Israel on my user page. thank you Crystalfile (talk) 13:13, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Add this code to your user page: {{User in Israel|20}}--ukexpat (talk) 13:54, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Missing Article[edit]

Dear all,

Apologies for asking what is probably a simple query. I recently submitted an article to be reviewed but now when i log in and click on My Contributions the most recent changes are not listed. I would be grateful for some guidance as to where to find the article so I can make any neccessary alterations. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.231.203.66 (talk) 14:26, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Can you tell us the name of the article and the name of the account or the exact IP adress under which you submitted it? The IP under which you posted your message here did not submit any articles -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlkctb) 15:05, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]


The article is titled Clive Beer and the account is Rscurlock-Jones. Thank you for your help.

User:Rscurlock-Jones created a page at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Clive Beer and submitted it for review six times. It was declined each time and the page was eventually deleted at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Clive Beer. The last five declines were with the npov parameter at {{AFC submission/comments}}. It seems time to let it rest. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:43, 10 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]


Thank you for notifying me that the article I have drafted has been deleted. I do understand the comments made as to why the article was deleted, however i would be grateful if the article could be made available again so it can be fully edited and improved to meet the neccessary criteria. It is the first time I have attempted to release a Wikipedia entry and to date I may not have fully understood the feedback provided. If the above page could be made available once again, it would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

Question about formatting references[edit]

Where would I post to ask a specific question about formatting references? In the article suffix tree ther are references of the form "([6] page 92)." Where it uses the same reference but then adds the particular page inline. I'm not sure if it would be better to change it. RJFJR (talk) 15:39, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The best way to do this is using the cite book template. Mdann52 (talk) 15:49, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I've asked at Help talk:Citation Style 1 and here, but I don't know if the former is right for this question or not. There's a template where you just cite the whole source normally, then you add the template after the places where you cite it, and it puts something like [Page 19] in superscript. I've never used it, though. Also, if that's the way it's cited throughout the entire article, you might want to get consensus for the change. - Purplewowies (talk) 16:06, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia XML data[edit]

Is it possible to get XML data from certain Wiki pages to keep other software up to date on things like world/country population? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.230.128.211 (talk) 16:25, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You might look at WP:XML. I'm not sure if that's exactly what you want or not (I'm stupid when it comes to this type of thing), but I figured I might as well post it. - Purplewowies (talk) 16:53, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Note that AFAIK there is no automatic mechanism to update such information in Wikipedia, so relying on it in other places may not be a good idea. --ColinFine (talk) 19:42, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I figured it out! I guess you can get XML data on world/country population from CIA WorldFactbook. Wiki rules. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.114.152.9 (talk) 23:40, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

himalayas[edit]

in the himalyan climatic condition soap is used for bathing are not in the himalayas can we use sun glasses — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.133.58.98 (talk) 16:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. FloBo A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 17:23, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

TRAIN TO GANDHIDHAM/BHUJ.[edit]

'NO TRAINS TO KUTCH DISTRICT OF GUJARAT''''

There is no train service available from Ahmedabad to Bhuj or GandhiDham after morning 06.45 am till night 12 O Clock.CAN INDIAN GOVT(MINISTRY OF RAILWAY) LOOK INTO THE MATTER WHICH WILL BE A GREAT RELIEF FOR THE PEOPLE OF KUTCH DISTRICT.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.38.26.35 (talk) 17:46, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This page is for asking questions about how to use Wikipedia. If you're having trouble with train service, you'll need to contact someone else. RudolfRed (talk) 18:00, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
But my, are those weird hours. FloBo A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 05:25, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
You can get contact details for the Ministry of Railways via the "contact us" section on their website here. --Colapeninsula (talk) 14:16, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

"sortable" table does not sort[edit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Film:_An_Odyssey_(table)

The Story of Film - TABLE has columns which are supposed to be sortable. Clicking on the header of the columns does NOT produce a sorted list. HOW do I cause sorting to execute? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.138.228.253 (talk) 18:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How are you trying to sort them? (Like, what method? Numeric? Alphabetical?) - Purplewowies (talk) 19:04, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
It appears to sort when I click the headings. Can you explain more what problem you are seeing? RudolfRed (talk) 19:17, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Do you have JavaScript enabled? BigNate37(T) 19:20, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

URGENTLY NEEDS CHANGING[edit]

Someone has edits Taylor Swift's Wikipedia page and has said she died on the 28th June 2012, this is obviously not true and I am disgusted that this has been allowed to happen. She has millions of fans around the world and we all agree this needs changing immediately! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.218.156.76 (talk) 20:19, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See below...--ukexpat (talk) 21:02, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Taylor Swift[edit]

Taylor Swift is NOT DEAD!!!!! shes alive and well PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE change it!!!!!! That IS sssssssooooooooo Wrong D: — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.57.235.208 (talk) 20:21, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This, and other, vandalism to the Taylor Swift article has recently been corrected. Maproom (talk) 20:38, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Sir Arthur Edward Trevor Benson Colonial Governor Nothern Rhodesia[edit]

The list of Colonial Governors of Northern Rhodesia correctly includes my Grandfather, but the link is to an Arthur Christopher Benson and not the same person at all! I would be really grateful if this could be corrected. My name is Elizabeth Yeld. My mother is Jane Galloway nee Benson who is his younger daughter. 86.173.252.251 (talk) 20:46, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

 Fixed - I turned into a redlink with this edit.--ukexpat (talk) 21:05, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
and turned from red to blue with Arthur Benson (governor). MilborneOne (talk) 21:49, 9 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Redirection - Iestism[edit]

Could someone please (create and) redirect Somethingism, Believer without religion and Belief without religion to Ietsism. 77.46.182.116 (talk) 21:26, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Try Wikipedia:Articles for creation/Redirects? 2001:5C0:1000:A:0:0:0:3D5 (talk) 23:21, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Question: Are you sure Ietsism is a better target than Spiritual but not religious or Religious pluralism for the latter two? BigNate37(T) 00:41, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Well, yes, since the SBNR rejects the organized religion while ietsism does not and belief is different than spirituality (which is either religious (like prayer) or non-theistic (like meditation)). As for religious pluralism, it seems to be further philosophy of ecumenism (maybe like interfaith dialogue) and syncretism (like Baha'i Faith in Abrahamic clause), or belief beyond religion, but not without it. 217.65.192.104 (talk) 01:05, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm, your point that SBNR rejects organized religion seems to me to make it a more appropriate target for "belief without religion", whereas ietsism is more along the lines of "belief without specificity." I've included SBNR and ietsism in each other's See also sections, since they are related, so a reader would still be presented with both concepts in any event. BigNate37(T) 01:37, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

 Partly done: I have created the latter two as redirects from synonyms, directing them at spiritual but not religious rather than at ietsism. SBNR has 35 1.4 million google hits, whereas ietsism only has 11 thousand. The more common search term should take priority, where a term is applicable to both. I'll stick a hatnote on SBNR. If you disagree you may wish to raise the issue at redirects for discussion. BigNate37(T) 01:46, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Qustioned → Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion#August 8 93.87.210.14 (talk) 05:41, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Redirection - Jubilee School[edit]

Could someone please (create and) redirect The Jubilee School, Jubilee Institute and The Jubilee Institute to Jubilee School? 77.46.182.116 (talk) 21:29, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Electric Catfish 22:18, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

changing/uploading a photograph[edit]

I'd like to change a photograph on an article I maintain. I don't know how to upload a photo and then replace the existing photo! (I have tried the upload form but it doesn't seem to go anywhere once I fill it out) — Preceding unsigned comment added by PearlyG (talkcontribs) 22:08, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! What you do is just click on that picture in the article you maintain. It will show the page followed by a bunch of copyright information. Down near the bottom of the page, there will be a link that says "Upload a new version of this file". Click it, then you will be able to upload a new version. Hope that helps! :)

ChrisStyles (talk) 23:40, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, but I can't find any link - and someone else put the existing photo up, not me. It isn't a bad photo and is from a good event, but is there a way to upload a second photo and add it to the article? p..g.. — Preceding unsigned comment added by PearlyG (talkcontribs) 00:33, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

That is only if you want to replace the photo with a new version. That's not how I read your request. You simply want to upload an additional photo and then replace the one that's in the article with the new one while leaving the original photo on our servers for use in other places.
What you need to do in this situation is go to WP:UPLOAD and upload your photo. Once done there, you would go to the article and find the place where the current image is used. If it's in an infobox, then it should look something like "image = SomeImage.jpg". Simply replace the SomeImage.jpg with the file name of your image that you've just uploaded. Provide an edit summary saying that you're replacing the image, save the article and you're done. Dismas|(talk) 01:34, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

That sounds very helpful, thank you. Is it ever acceptable to have two photos within an article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by PearlyG (talkcontribs) 01:36, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Certainly. Without looking, I'm sure the article on Earth has many images. If it's justified and not just eye candy then that's fine. If the article is short and would actually be lengthened just by having another image, it's likely not worth it. And some articles even have a WP:GALLERY. But it should be justifiable. It should have a reason. So an article on, for example, Jennifer Aniston shouldn't have a gallery of her face again and again. Meanwhile an article on a precious gem might benefit from a gallery due to the gem coming in different colors and such. Dismas|(talk) 02:47, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Avant Garde filmmakers[edit]

The link to Saul Levine on the Marjorie Keller (filmmaker) page takes you to the wrong Saul Levine. The correct Saul Levine is an avant-garde filmmaker who was from New Haven, CT. and taught film at Tufts University in the late '60s and early '70s, still teaches at Mass. College of Art and lives in Boston. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2002:18FE:C3E8:0:21F:F3FF:FEBE:F98E (talk) 22:16, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I can't find an article on Saul Levine (filmmaker) in Wikipedia, although we do have a Saul Levine (US broadcaster) and a Saul V. Levine (Canadian author). I've pointed this to Saul Levine (filmmaker) as a red link for now. 2001:5C0:1000:A:0:0:0:3D5 (talk) 23:29, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

My image[edit]

Hi,

My image appears in the article on Margaret Thatcher and I am wondering if the picture could be removed. The image is here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lady_Thatcher_at_dinner_2008_crop.jpg. I discussed this on the talk page of the main article and managed to get the caption changed (it did say that Thatcher was "surrounded by Young Conservatives), but I was directed here to see if the picture could be removed. Five years ago my friend's parents, who are Conservative councillors, asked if I could help out at local council event. They knew that I was interested in politics and knew that I was a Labour supporter, but said that the event would be interesting whatever your political stripes. I got to the event and it was very Conservative, but it was still quite interesting to talk to people with different views. I didn't want to be rude so I helped out and poured drinks as agreed. The other helpers (I don't know if they were Young Conservatives) and I were fed, and then this picture was taken. Now, I am not and have never been a Conservative and could not have anticipated this photo finding its way onto Wikipedia. The whole experience was quite surreal and Mrs Tatcher was old and frail, and I think that it would have been very rude to make a fuss about not having my picture taken with her. Now, I am actually about to finish my masters and I'm interesting in getting a job in progressive politics, and I'm worried this might really obstruct my efforts. Mrs. Thatcher is a very controversial and divisive figure and I never actually consented to have my image associated with her on the internet in this way. I realise that you cannot totally manage your image on the internet and I recognise that wikipedia is a about sharing information - and I appreciate the great work that you do. But given that this photo adds nothing of great substance to the article, has not received the consent of those in it (my friend is also in it and I know that she has not consented for her image to be used in this way), and could have quite unfortunate consequences, do you think that it could be taken down? It could even be replaced by a far less controversial image by the some Author from the same source (I've checked and there is one).

Sorry to be a bother and thank you for your time. Ogwikitem (talk) 23:09, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I sympathise with your position - but that, unfortunately, is not a reason for removing the picture. However I also feel that the picture detracts from, rather than improving, the article, and am inclined to remove it (I am an admirer of her achievements). Just above it there is a picture of her aged 80, among eminent politicians, so we don't need another of her, aged 82, surrounded by anonymous teenagers. What do others think? Maproom (talk) 23:40, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Well as for what consensus might be, the discussion has already been started on the talk page (see Talk:Margaret Thatcher#Incorrect and inappropriate photo). Ogwikitem was sent here to see what else could be done rather than to do some forum shopping; to that end, a look into dispute resolution might be advised (with the dispute resolution noticeboard being a likely next stop). However if Ogwikitem feels that this is a personality rights issue rather than a content dispute issue, s/he ought to contact WP:OTRS regarding the image itself (my advise is do not bother complaining about its use in the article but rather object to the image directly, as you are not the article's subject). I do not know how OTRS will view this matter, but I do know that they are rather prompt. BigNate37(T) 01:11, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I support the removal; I see that it has already happened.SPhilbrick(Talk) 12:11, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]