Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2024 November 29

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November 29

Adding a Wikipedia page for someone

How do I create a wikipedia page for a relative of mine. He is a well-known author and community figure and it feels appropriate that he has a page on this fascinating site. Could someone please let me know the step-by-step on how to create a page for him? Thank you so much! IsaacGoldin1 (talk) 04:01, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Hello, IsaacGoldin1. You have a conflict of interest regarding your relative, which you should declare on your now blank userpage. Because of that COI, you should use the Articles for creation process to create a draft to be reviewed by experienced editors without a COI. The single most important thing for you to know is that an acceptable Wikipedia biography primarily summarizes what published reliable sources entirely independent of the topic (your relative in this case) say about the topic. You cannot include your reminiscences. It cannot be based on the publisher's author page or any material used to promote his books. We take source independence seriously. Please read the notability guideline for people and the notability guideline for authors. I highly recommend that you spend a few weeks improving other articles to learn about how things work and to get a sense for our Policies and guidelines. Read other biographies of authors that are rated Good articles or Featured articles and model your work on them. Once you have gathered your list of reliable sources, then format them into references with bibliographic detail. See Referencing for beginners. Read and study Your first article several times during this whole process. Now, write your prose in your own words by neutrally summarizing what your reliable sources say, and then submit your draft to Articles for Creation. Cullen328 (talk) 04:26, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Search for articles having titles with specific punctuation-marks.

Hi, I'm trying to find a way of searching for all articles with titles including specific punctuation. Specifically, I'm trying to find all the articles with titles incorporating geographical co-ordinates (Təzəkənd (39° 32' N 48° 24' E), Bilasuvar is an example) by searching for "' N" or "' E". and the wording "(near" (Təzəkənd (near Surra), Davachi is an example of this). However, unfortunately the search tool tends to strip out any punctuation marks when carrying out the search, meaning a search for "' N" returns all the results for "N", and a search for "(near" tends to return all the results for "near".

The reason why I am trying to do this is because these article tend to be non-notable, since if the subject is so obscure as to only be identifiable by geographical co-ordinates or being located "near" somewhere else, typically there is nothing to say about it. Also, often the location-data is wildly incorrect. FOARP (talk) 11:19, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

@FOARP: See regexp at Help:Searching#insource:. It's slow and hard on the servers so it's best to combine it with something else like intitle:near intitle:/\(near/ and intitle:N intitle:/' N/. I dont think it's possible to exclude redirects. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:58, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Many thanks! FOARP (talk) 12:07, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Reference issue

Good morning!

Can someone help me with a citation error I keep receiving? If you're able to look at my sandbox article draft, the issue I'm having is with reference 2. I used the citation tool in visual editor several times to pull the reference, and I've checked the data manually as well and cannot figure out why I keep getting this error at the end of it:

{{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)

I've read through the CS1 error help page and don't see anything under "External link in |website=". I'm betting it's something simple I've overlooked but I'd appreciate any help you can provide.

Thesaltydispatcher (talk) 11:28, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Delete the "https://". The bigger problem is that the draft, at first glance, looks like it fails WP:CRIME. Clarityfiend (talk) 11:36, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

I haven’t gotten to this part yet but I was wondering if I might be able to swing it because the crime led to a law named after the victim. The law was the first of its kind in the state that made necrophilia illegal. Do you think that might be enough to get it published?

Thesaltydispatcher (talk) 12:08, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

That could be enough. Insane that it wasn't already illegal in Michigan, though. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:41, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

It really is mind blowing that it took until this past October for something so heinous to be illegal.

Thesaltydispatcher (talk) 02:26, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

Hello, Thesaltydispatcher. You have added a URL "https://www.wndu.com" in the website field. That field does not accept URLs. It is for the name of the website, which I assume is probably WNDU-TV. Cullen328 (talk) 11:43, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you!

Thesaltydispatcher (talk) 12:01, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

@Thesaltydispatcher: The "help" link says "This error occurs when a URL is found in any parameter that is not one of these URL-holding parameters: ..." |website= is not on the list so the error applies. website should only be used in citations which already have a link to a specific page at the website and then we don't want a second external link to distract. www. is usually omitted so I would just say |website=wndu.com, or WNDU.com as they do themselves. You could also say |publisher=[[WNDU-TV]] instead (not in addition) to link WNDU-TV. Wikilinks are allowed. |website=[[WNDU-TV]] should only be used if the website itself is called WNDU-TV. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:13, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

That makes sense. I appreciate your thorough answer!

Thesaltydispatcher (talk) 12:19, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Title field when citing a web source without a title (e.g. long-form social media posts)

Hi all. I came across a citation (#24 on Wisdom (albatross)) of a Facebook post from an official United States Fish and Wildlife Service Facebook page that has the Missing or empty |title= error. I looked through some of the help pages for citations and can't find any guidance on what to do when citing a web source that genuinely does not have a title (even the <title> tag of the page is just "Facebook") and the text within the source is longer than, say, a tweet (where you'd use the whole tweet as the title.) Is there any standard here? (I suppose the source could just be replaced with a different source per WP:RSPFB, but the source itself here seems acceptable -- it's an official post from a US governmental agency.) Thank you! Jokullmusic 14:35, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

"we're from the government, you can trust us.." Right.

Regardless, I've thought for many years that cs1|2 should have an |incipit= parameter for those occasions (especially in older newspapers) where the 'article' is a paragraph or three without title. So too, I think that social media posts would be a suitable use for |incipit=. Alas, no such parameter, but you might write:

|title=Wisdom returns to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge...

—Trappist the monk (talk) 15:09, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

The same Facebook post has been used twice in the article, the first time with title=Wisdom returns to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge bringing more Thanksgiving joy to the Midway Atoll staff who celebrate witnessing Wisdom reaching at least 74 years old this coming winter. so the two references could be given a common reference name. TSventon (talk) 15:13, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Thanks all, noticed the first citation later on after posting this. Using an excerpt/incipit makes sense to me. Thank you! Jokullmusic 15:18, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

I looked at the talk page for {{Cite web}} and title=none is also an option, but the incipit is better in this case. TSventon (talk) 15:35, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

There are some cs1|2 parameters where the assigned value none has meaning (|type=, |postscript=). In {{cite web}}, |title=none has no special meaning:

{{cite web |title=none |url=//example.com}} → "none".

Only in {{cite journal}} does |title=none have meaning – is suppresses title display entirely:

{{cite journal |title=none |journal=Journal}} → Journal.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)

—Trappist the monk (talk) 15:51, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Question About Adding Links to Useful Video Editing Guides

Hi everyone, I came across a helpful website that has a guide on using Zoom and [redacted] templates for video editing ([redacted]). I think it could be useful for people reading Wikipedia articles about video editing tools or templates. Before suggesting it, I wanted to check: Does Wikipedia allow links to external guides like this? What should I keep in mind to make sure the link fits Wikipedia’s guidelines? Just want to make sure I’m doing it the right way. Thanks! Elsarichard (talk) 16:23, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

@Elsarichard: Probably not a good idea. Starting with an external link and finding articles for it is too close to WP:LINKSPAM. Starting with an article and finding and incorporating sources is almost always the better approach. -Arch dude (talk) 16:29, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Okay Thanks for letting me know. I'll take care for that. I'll not do anything that will consider me as a spam. Elsarichard (talk) 17:11, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

@Elsarichard: If you have any connection with this spammy looking site, with a URL that does not match either the product name nor its official website, no social media followers or content in its accounts (suspended on Twitter), and its Android app that requires a direct APK install(!), you need to declare it before you post about it here again. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 17:32, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Wrong content

Hello dear Ms./Mr., In the following, there is an assertion that is not true and not even given reference to, which is a bit problematic o share misinformation about a race:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_peoples#:~:text=Genetic%20data%20found%20that%20almost,subsequently%20expanded%20into%20Central%20Asia.

"Genetic data found that almost all modern Turkic peoples retained at least some shared ancestry associated with populations in "South Siberia and Mongolia" (SSM), supporting this region as the "Inner Asian Homeland (IAH) of the pioneer carriers of Turkic languages" which subsequently expanded into Central Asia."

I would like you to direct me in deleting this wrong content that does not even bother about giving reference.

Kind regards,

Wikipedia user 131.104.23.89 (talk) 17:33, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

You are free to delete any unsourced assertion in any article at any time, but there is a ref at the end of the paragraph that might be intended to cover the whole paragraph. it's a whole lot better to try to discuss it first. step 1: add a {{Citation needed}} after the assertion. Step 2: add a section to the article's talk page requesting help to find a source. Step 3: wait about a week. Step 4: If there is no discussion, remove the material from the article. It is very important to avoid being contentious during all this mess: we are supposed to be trying to build an encyclopedia, not acting as battleground. It's especially important for you to do this if the other guy starts getting contentious. -Arch dude (talk) 18:18, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

It looks to me as if that is supported by the source cited at the end of the paragraph (Quote from the abstract: "However, western Turkic peoples sampled across West Eurasia shared an excess of long chromosomal tracts that are identical by descent (IBD) with populations from present-day South Siberia and Mongolia (SSM), an area where historians center a series of early Turkic and non-Turkic steppe polities.")

But I haven't read it carefully.

You certainly should bring this up on the talk page, as Arch dude suggests. ColinFine (talk) 18:21, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

The quotation in the highlighted text ("pioneer carriers", etc.) is taken from the paper cited at the end of the paragraph. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 19:33, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Discussing unification of article and category title

Members of the Senegalese Lebu people are collected in Category:Lebou people. The different spelling is certainly not helpful. Where is a place to discuss which spelling should be used? --KnightMove (talk) 17:49, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Probably in Talk:Lebu people. You could do it in Category talk:Lebou people, but I doubt if many people will see if there.

There is a redirect Lebou people which directs to Lebu people so the difference is not a problem. But I agree it would be neater if they agreed. ColinFine (talk) 18:24, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Swap article and redirect that differ only by capitalization

At present, the article is Wikiwoods and the redirect is WikiWoods. These capitalizations should be swapped. The German version is correct at w:de:WikiWoods. I tried moving the main page but the target exists — so catch 22. Can someone assist? TIA, RobbieIanMorrison (talk) 21:10, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

WP:RM/T is the place to request this. Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 21:14, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

@Lee Vilenski: Thanks, I'll head over there. RobbieIanMorrison (talk) 21:20, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

The citation I added does not show on the page (Inside Aircraft specs)

Hi all: The citation of my recent edit is not shown on the page after I saved (inside aircraft specs). Hopefully someone tells me what I've done wrong. Thanks! Now wiki (talk) 22:31, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

My guess would be that "combat range nmi" is not a valid field in {{Infobox aircraft}}. If you enter an invalid field the infobox will just ignore it. Just Step Sideways ^{from this world ..... today} 22:46, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

@Just Step Sideways The template in question is {{Aircraft specs}}, where these parameters are valid. As far as I can tell the ranges are showing correctly but it is the citation that is not. Is this because there is a single citation at the top of that section which is supposed to cover all the data? Mike Turnbull (talk) 22:54, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Thx. But there is note #61 (IIRC) in the aircraft specs. Any thoughts? Now wiki (talk) 22:58, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Thx. I checked, I believe it's a valid field. See here. Now wiki (talk) 22:57, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

@Now wiki: Some template parameters are processed in a way which doesn't allow references, e.g. if calculations on the value are performed like here to make conversions. If a template simply displays a parameter as it was written then references are allowed. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:49, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Thx. Prob this is the reason. Any suggestion where should I put a citation? Now wiki (talk) 23:53, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

@Now wiki: See Template:Aircraft specs#Usage. It has already been fixed with combat range note.[1]. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:40, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

I see. Thx. Now wiki (talk) 00:45, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

Search bar behavior while logged in on mobile

I've noticed some unusual behavior with the search bar when logged in on a mobile browser (Firefox on Android) and using the mobile view in the last couple of days. When I type search terms, the search bar populates a list of results as expected, but when I click on a result, the browser does not navigate to that page. Instead, it closes the search bar menu while leaving the search terms I typed in the bar the next time I open it.

Pressing Enter does still go to the first result (if it's an exact match) or the search page. The search bar works the way I expect when using the desktop view (on the same mobile browser) or when I am logged out.

I rarely use the mobile view, so I don't know whether this is new behavior. Is this a known issue, or is there something I can configure differently to avoid this? Opus 113 (talk) 23:03, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

I've seen similar behavior on the desktop Chrome, though it has to do with navigating to specific populated results with the arrow keys. JayCubby 00:17, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

need help with formatting a list in a wiki-article

please take a look at this page: Employment of autistic people.

In the Intro I am trying to add:

6. In addition, other studies showed, that students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder, including average to above average language and academic skills, may be a risk for having their social competence deficits attributed to lack of effort rather than lack of ability.

but it comes out with a dot instead of 6. Any ideas why? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Walter Tau (talk • contribs) 23:32, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

For a numbered list, use # instead of *. However, it shouldn't be part of that numbered list, which consists of 5 items sourced to a Forbes article. The source explains 5 items. Adding a sixth, cited to a different source, would be confusing and misleading. The content makes more sense in the Social skills section of the article and I've moved it there. Schazjmd (talk) 23:50, 29 November 2024 (UTC)