Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 November 11

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November 11

Watchlist

I see myself in my watchlist. Where is the setting where I do NOT see my own edits.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 00:50, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

I fixed myself!--Doug Coldwell (talk) 00:54, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Complaint?

I would like to file a complaint about what i believe was corporate hunting while Checking my mail in Louvers Colorado. while filing information on Ownership rights with a feral judge state of Colorado, on a machine on the back of Coors beers bottle line Coors lite able. that has my name as original inventor.1975 and a award never paid by the United states navy on a stump mode on hot water heaters on board - U.S.S. Kinkaid DD-965,year 1981- and Patton challenge against Englert INC. 1997. filed in Patton office in my name.....seems when i checked the box someone put out a bola on my tags and i s arrested unlawfully in Douglass county Colo...That is unfair and i belie against my rights too Patton protection out of the U.S. Patton office Arlington Virginia...also the clerk of the court Colorado denied my appeal on this case...I Am Currently seeking legal to prosecute the offender.. case #2012-m-144 div a Douglas county court open. thanks Clay O Wort III. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.171.160.127 (talk) 02:14, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

I fixed the formatting on your question and added a header to seperate it from the one above. I can't quite tell what your complaint is about, but Wikipedia is not the place for it. If you need legal help, contact a lawyer. RudolfRed (talk) 03:02, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

If you assume he means patent when he writes "patton", it becomes a little clearer. It seems to be something about a patent dispute in Colorado that the questioner has gone about in all the wrong ways - eventually resulting in his arrest. He should seek the advice of a lawyer who specializes in patent law rather than random strangers on the internet. I do however like the idea of a feral judge. Astronaut (talk) 19:24, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Userboxes

I have a question about userboxes. As shown on this user's page, the user as many userboxes about herself. I am wondering how I can have those userboxes on my user page. Please answer this question on my talk page. Thanks! CPGirlAJ (talk) 03:29, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Since the answer will benefit you and possibly others, I'll answer here. Those userboxes can be copied to your own userpage. Nobody really gets upset if you use userboxes that you find on their page. They probably copied them from someone else to begin with. Dismas|^(talk) 03:31, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

How about if I want to create my own userboxes? CPGirlAJ (talk) 03:34, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Then create them. Have you read Wikipedia:Userboxes which you linked in your original question? Is there something specific that you didn't understand from that page which we might be able to expand upon? I'm not really sure why you're asking if you've linked to the page where your questions, or what I presume you're asking, are answered. Dismas|^(talk) 03:38, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

User boxes don't have to be created as separate subpages. See User:John of Reading/Userboxes for examples of using the {{userbox}} template to create a collection of one-off user boxes. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:37, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Chess.com

Hi, user Hizzmatte is repeatedly adding incorrect material to the chess.com article, biased against chess.com. Can someone stop him please. Chessrat (talk) 04:30, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

He has been blocked for 31 hours, and I have reverted his latest edit to the page and sorry for the 3rr warning - I can't count today! Mdann52 (talk) 09:16, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Re: Tecoma Victoria page

Hi, Wikipedia has a page called 'Tecoma Victoria'. Tecoma Iis currently at the centre of a local controversy regarding a McDonalds restaurant development. I have a large number of facts and references to add to the page but they are cleared by another user every time I add them and they then include an inaccurate and unreferenced statement supporting the development and referring to 'a small group of residents' (inaccurate representation of the truth) Every time we remove their statement they put it back. Is there any way this can be stopped? Cheers — Preceding unsigned comment added by MsCatherineMary (talk • contribs) 04:35, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

That information doesn't sound very noteworthy and probably shouldn't be included in the article. Also, the paragraph you're adding (for posterity) reads like an opinion, something obviously discouraged by Wikipedia. It also doesn't cite any sources. Scarce2 (talk) 04:41, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Some background: the article Tecoma, Victoria has been the battleground for an edit war between two Single-purpose accounts, MsCathMary who opposes the construction of a branch of McDonald's there, and Ron Mc who favours it. The latter has been permanently blocked, for advertising. Maproom (talk) 11:41, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

"Minor edit" checkbox is selected by default

I'm trying to help a newish editor who has all their edits marked as minor by default which is causing problems. I can't find anything in "My preferences" to turn it off, but I do have a vague memory of having seen such an option somewhere the details are lost in the mists of time! Roger (talk) 09:43, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

I found the discussion Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 October 26#Minor edit check box is checked in the help desk archives. Hersfold mentions that one can go to this link and check whether minordefault="1" appears. At the linked help desk discussion PrimeHunter mentions that some scripts like AutoEd default to Minor edit. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 10:35, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Search function no longer works!

How do I use WP if the search function no longer works? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.108.207.83 (talk) 11:27, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

As far as Wikipedia itself is concerned, the search function still works. But from what I have read on this page, the search function and many other features of Wikipedia are not accessible using some recent version of Internet Explorer. Maproom (talk) 11:47, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

(edit conflict) You can also use Google to search Wikipedia instead of Wikipedias built in search function. On the Google page, simply click "Options" (where the gear symbol appears). There should be a field called Website or domain, where you can enter http://en.wikipedia.org/. Then enter your search term and hit Search. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 11:49, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

The Science of Reincarnation

The Science of Reincarnation is a book published by Bob Good that makes the case that in light of the discoveries of the last 50 years reincarnation now meets the criteria to be considered a science. It meets the definition of a science as developed by Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and it meets the standard scientific method for analysis. Studies and government links can be found at www.thescienceofreincarnation.com. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.109.121.50 (talk) 12:23, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

It is not entirely clear to me from your post what exactly the intention behind your post is.

Do you want to have an article about the book The Science of Reincarnation be created here at Wikipedia?

In that case, please start with Wikipedia:Article wizard which guides you through the basics of creating an article.

Do you want to have an article about the book included in Wikipedia but don't want to create it yourself?

Please read the instructions at Wikipedia:Requested articles and then make a new request there.

Is it none of the two cases above?

Please have a look at Wikipedia:About and Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not to see what the purpose of Wikipedia is.

Do you have any further questions or is something still unclear?

Please simply ask by clicking the Edit link for The Science of Reincarnation section here at this help desk and place your new question at the bottom of this section. -- Toshio Yamaguchi (tlk−ctb) 12:47, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

I think the OP is seeking to advertise some science fiction books. Maproom (talk) 13:25, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Article up for speedy deletion

ORANG PLANET this is my article..please halp me to do a correction..cause i receive a speedy deletion on my articleI.d saffiq idham (talk) 13:44, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Header added. Keeping the article depends on why it is being tagged in the first place. In this case, it does not meet our notability guidelines, so there's not much that can be done. - a boat that can float! (watch me float!) 14:20, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

What you can do to start is read WP:BAND and ask yourself honestly which if any of the criteria there qualify the band as notable. Most bands do not qualify under any of the criteria; if yours does not, sorry there is nothing you can do. If it does qualify, indicate clearly in the article which criteria, and provide citations to independent reliable sources that verify that it qualifies. —teb728 t c 01:13, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Second opinion needed before reverting 25+ recent edits!

• Related discussion

Now, in this article Shree Venkatesh Films I can see an IP editor has made some edits which got unnoticed. Totally unsourced, also inaccurate, misleading. I thought to revert to this version. But, later thought to get a second opinion here! Can anyone get a second opinion please? --Tito Dutta (talk) 14:48, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Of course, unsourced vague revertable material. I have reverted. --Anbu121 (talk me) 14:58, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the work! But, they'll be back soon! For last few months this is happening in multiple articles! --Tito Dutta (talk) 15:03, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Communication

Hi. I have a quick question. If a user has poor English-language skills, what is the best possible way to communicate with them without getting them upset? Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 15:23, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Poor English-language skills...as in, they have trouble understanding/comprehending what you say? Or just can't speak/type it proficiently? —Theopolisme 15:27, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes. Sometimes, they have trouble understanding what I say and sometimes they cannot speak/type it proficiently. Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 15:29, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Hmm: There are a number of ways of dealing with this...could you give me a link to the user in question? If they can't speak or type a level of English that could actually be useful to the encyclopedia as a whole, it might be in both our and their best interests to redirect them to another language-specific Wikipedia...I've done that a few times. But if they are useful — i.e., they create content/revert vandalism/what have you — then sometimes just trying your hardest and being semi-compassionate is the way to go. Another tip: Just asking them to rephrase something is a good method as well. —Theopolisme 15:40, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Wait, is this in regard to these/related incidents/discussions? —Theopolisme 15:41, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes, this is in regard to the incidents with the user 188.242.61.168 (talk · contribs · WHOIS). I am usually semi-compassionate towards any user who can speak English that could be useful to the project and will try my hardest to help point out relevant information on the English Wikipedia as well if they are useful. Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 15:46, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

If you can find out what their native language is we might be able to find someone who can communicate with them effectively. Roger (talk) 20:08, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

The IP's language in question is Russian. Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 21:29, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

• First of all, I understand overwhelming majority (99%) of what you write. And I don't think that my english that bad as you think or trying to show here. Really, in the whole life, nobody was complaining that he don't understand what I mean. You are nearly the first. In the high-school it was "5", in university it was strong "4" appreciation. More than that I can easily read, understand and translate english. Well, sometimes (very rare) have some complexity. Well, just have not many practice. And english wp is good experience for me in that way too, you see? :) And what difference in question which language is my own native? I know several languages. Of course not that perfect as native. But why you just could not ask me, Sjones23? Strange. Well, so, you think I members of english wiki can't communicate with me effectively? Is that so? I can't believe it. I want to say that I don't need special attitude. Let's communicate how it is now. I think it's fine. You think different or something does not suit you? "Anonymous with IP" 01:09, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't think different, as I am a native English speaker. I apologize if I was misunderstood. Good communication with other users helps work out positive solutions here on the English Wikipedia. I was only concerned about your language skills, which is excellent by the way. I am not complaining that I do not understand what you mean, I am just trying to help you out in order to become a more experienced editor here at the English Wikipedia and learn all of the ropes here. Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 01:37, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Search Box won't work.

All seems to work on main page EXCEPT the Search Box. I enter word and/or words to be searched > hit SEARCH Nothing happens........ HELP

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.54.185.176 (talk) 15:55, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

This seems to be a problem on Internet Explorer. Try another browser, like Firefox or Chrome. - a boat that can float! (watch me float!) 04:36, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

I was looking at the list for the Silver Mother 's and

I found a mistake in it. As in 1980 my Great Aunt Greta Steeves from Elgin, New Brunswick is listed that she was from Elgin, Nova Scotia. I know they are not far from one another but it would be better if the right province was listed in the right place.

1980

Greta Steeves

Elgin, Nova Scotia

I am Judith V Steeves; Great Aunt Greta was my Grannie Violetta Steeves sister from my father Reginald Leon Steeves's side.

This must be about the article Silver Cross Mother. Maproom (talk) 17:06, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

The Veterans' Affairs site referenced agrees with you, so I've changed the line. Thanks for letting us know. Rojomoke (talk) 17:21, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Infobox Settlement

Does anyone know why population_total fails to show up in the settlement infobox at Anthem, Arizona? Thanks! -Brycehughes (talk) 20:50, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Two lines later there was a second parameter named "population_total". If a template parameter is specified more than once, only the last instance has any effect. -- John of Reading (talk) 21:30, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks again -Brycehughes (talk) 22:04, 11 November 2012 (UTC)