Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 139

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Archive 135

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Archive 137

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Protection on article

I am a writer of IT book "Fundamentals of Computer" & I am also write my article regularly in monthly magazine "Aap Ke Shabd" of Dainik Jagran. I know about the protection on article. I want that no one can edit my article on wikipedia written by me. 127.0.0.1 12:26, 31 August 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sachin Parashar Sharma (talk • contribs)

You can't do anything-Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia after all.Puntaalpo (talk) 12:35, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Hi Sachin. Protection is only put in place to stop various types of damage to a page, and for the shortest time possible for that purpose. You do not own an article because you wrote it, and the article on Bhayangi is an unsourced stub requiring expansion and citations for verification and has not been vandalized at all, which is the main reason protection is granted. By submitting an article, you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under our licenses and we hold up as a principal the idea that our content is available for public editing and improvement by anyone willing and capable. For these reasons, your request for protection was declined and will not be granted upon future requests unless a likelihood of damage is shown. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:02, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Which wiki project would this article be within the scope of

I would like to review the article Perfection, Nevada, but I'm not sure which wiki project it would be within the scope of. John Mortimore (talk) 00:15, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, John Mortimore. It seems to me that WikiProject Film is the most obvious choice. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 01:16, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

OK, Thanks. John Mortimore (talk) 15:59, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Would anyone like to help me with cleanup/expansion of this article, or...

ANOMALIA 18 This article concerns a Greek punk band. However, I can't find very much information on it to expand what is currently an awfully jejune article. Would anyone perhaps like to help, or is this band not notable enough for inclusion in en:WP? hollyperidol 07:41, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Hi hollyperidol, thanks for your invitation. I did look into whether there were reliable sources that describe the band or its reputation in detail, but I haven't had any success. The band also does not appear to fulfill the notability guidelines for bands, which it seems you were partly expecting. Given that, would it be OK if I nominated this article for deletion? I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 18:00, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Might there be any articles about them in Greek, perhaps by a Greek alphabet spelling? MatthewVanitas (talk) 13:23, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Apparently "ανωμαλία 18". MatthewVanitas (talk)

Any Wikipedia guidelines regarding what qualifies a |native_name?

I'm a little confused by the use of native_name in a template. Logic would dictate that it is the name in the language of the region/nation-state. I removed the Russian name for Belarus from the country infobox as, further down, it is made clear that both Belarus and Russian are the official languages. This was reverted (in a somewhat curt manner).

Is there any information to assist me in determining if there is a substantive difference between 'native' and 'official'? It strikes me that variants wouldn't exist if they were one and the same. Cheers! --Iryna Harpy (talk) 23:32, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

Given that no-one has even approached answering my query, could someone please at least point me in the right direction as to who I could refer it to? Any assistance would be appreciated. --Iryna Harpy (talk) 02:50, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Hi Iryna. Please try to be patient with responses here-- we try to get to questions as a fast as possible, but hosts are not knowledgeable in all areas of Wikipedia. Naming conventions for geographic names is the place you're looking for. There is a convention for cities in Belarus here, but more relevant to your case, Alternative names for places would be something to refer to. I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 03:18, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Sincerest apologies for my impatience, I JethroBT. It was not good form on my behalf. Many thanks for your links! They're precisely what I was looking for and have been duly bookmarked for future reference. --Iryna Harpy (talk) 04:18, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Hello Iryna Harpy and welcome back to the Teahouse. An infobox is a template of a specific kind, and all templates have documentation. Using the Wikipedia search box, I found Template:Infobox country/doc. According to that page, the purpose of this field is "Country's name (usually full name) in its native language, hence in italics (double quotemarks)". The issue here is that Belarus has two official languages. So let's take a look at the infobox for another country with several languages, but one in a less contentious region of the world. Belgium was the country that came to mind. The infobox shows the official name in English, "Kingdom of Belgium", plus that name in the three official languages of that country, Dutch, French and German. Another example is Singapore, where the official name, "Republic of Singapore" is also given in their three official languages, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Accordingly, the editor who reverted you was correct, though the insult was not necessary. The official name of Belarus should be given in both official languages, Russian and Belarusian, in that infobox. One improvement would be to label the languages in English, as has been done in the other examples I mentioned. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 03:33, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Hi, Mike! Thanks for your time and effort, yet again. After the reversion, I checked Singapore, Switzerland and other countries, noting the same thing. I still deem it to be a point of interest. On the Belarus version of the page, they only use the native language (Belarus) in that particular name space, while acknowledging Russian is also an official language. While I understand that, where there are no particular conflicts of political interest, certain conventions are deemed applicable, in the case of Belarus (which has only been a sovereign nation-state for just over 20 years), the concept of 'native language' is a problematic one. My edit, while inappropriate, truly was made in good faith. I think your suggestion of labelling the languages in English is an excellent one. It's always useful to get an outside opinion as that was something I'd overlooked which actually is of importance to an English reader. I'd subconsciously forgotten that not everyone can read Russian and Belarus! I think this is the bit where I say, "Duh, wa?" --Iryna Harpy (talk) 04:01, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Please be aware that each language version of Wikipedia has its own autonomous governance and so it is not surprising to run across such variations between languages. As for countries, Belarus indisputably has two official languages, as does Canada. Belgium and Singapore have three. Switzerland has four. And so on. So we render the official name in all official languages in the infobox. The Canadians are lucky as it is the same in English and French. I think that the redundant "official" name and "official" language led someone to choose "native" for a field name, which is a trifle problematic. But that's just a mnemonic, invisible to the average reader. Documentation and established usage set the precedents. Oh, by the way, my first name is "Jim". Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 05:05, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Sorry, Jim. Sheesh, I knew that!!! I have no idea of where 'Mike' came from! Could this be the advent of dementia? I think I've improved but am still occasionally struggling with the learning curve for Wikipedia (although, being a masochist, I'm thoroughly enjoying it). Old dogs and new tricks, don'cha know. Having spent my working life as a researcher by trade - and pedant by hobby - it's a considerable qualitative change to curtail my predisposition for original research. Hopefully, at some point in the distant future, I might actually become a useful Wikipedian so long as I keep getting pulled up on my mistakes! I've obviously read the 'native' far more literally than it was intended to be. --Iryna Harpy (talk) 06:15, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

No problem, just don't call me "late for dinner". You already are a useful Wikipedian, because trying to answer your excellent questions in a halfway decent way stretches my own knowledge, and for several other reasons as well. I now know that Tamil is an official language in Singapore, and more surprising to me, that German is official in Belgium. I always knew of the Flemish/Walloon split there, but was unaware of a significant German speaking population. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 06:27, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

It really is an invaluable resource. I'm learning so much about areas I've never explored and testing my own abilities constantly... and it's all freely available to anyone with an internet connection. This was the stuff of science fiction when we were growing up. Can you imagine what it would have been like to have it at your fingertips from childhood? Yay, Wikipedia! --Iryna Harpy (talk) 07:11, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Like --Gilderien Talk|List of good deeds 14:35, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

my respon 125.162.230.162 (talk) 04:58, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

How to create a new article

Please forgive me if the answer to this question already exists somewhere but just need someone to either answer or point me to the answer on how to create and/or edit an article. Thanks - Rangarajan122.164.140.252 (talk) 09:02, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse. I've put a few useful links on your user talk page, including various notes on how to edit. For creating a new article, see WP:Your first article. - David Biddulph (talk) 11:37, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

Go near the top of the page on the article you want to edit and click Edit Source. You can edit mistakes and save them.Froggybros (talk) 01:28, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Inserting links to other Wikipedia articles

I just signed up for an account and was asked what I might like to do. I choose the option that tried to teach the addition of adding links to other Wikipedia pages. The instructions weren't clear and I would like to do something like this just to get into the community. Can someone please post instructions or a link to a page better explaining this. (I have made edits before, covering simple spelling errors, without an account but I decided to sign up today.) I know that this was a simply answered and possibly somewhat silly question but I appreciate the responses and help. Nt-501 (talk) 05:55, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Nt-501. This is a pretty easy procedure. If you see "Abraham Lincoln" mentioned in an article, it makes sense to wikilink to Lincoln's biography. Just edit the wikicode, adding two square brackets before and after. The code would then look like this: [[Abraham Lincoln]]. The result looks like this: Abraham Lincoln. It is that easy. Just be sure that what's between the brackets is the exact name of the target article, including upper and lower case letters. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 06:10, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

(e/c) Hey Nt-501. This explanation assumes you are going to be using the regular wikitext editing (invoked by clicking "edit source"), and not the new, very buggy, Visual Editor (invoked by clicking "edit this page^beta")

Linking to existing Wikipedia pages is done by placing doubled brackets around the name of the page. Thus, [[Wikipedia]] produces Wikipedia. A useful expansion of this is done by separating what you want linked, from what you want displayed, with a pipe character ("|"), to create a "piped link". Thus: [[Wikipedia|encyclopedia]] produces encyclopedia, with the displayed text linking to the article, Wikipedia. You can link to internal sections of pages in this way: Wikipedia#name of internal section of that article. By contrast, for external links: http://www.example.org produces http://www.example.org; [http://www.example.org] produces [1]; and [http://www.example.org example] produces example. For more information, see Help:Link, note WP:OVERLINK and consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 06:11, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Need help with Wikitable

When I made a new Wikitable on my SR 623 section in List of secondary state highways in Virginia, all the other sections were on it! Can you please help me? Philroc (talk) 21:09, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Hey Philroc. Broadly speaking, most types of code have something that indicates a terminus – often the reverse or some modification of the starting code. For example, most code "tags" start with <name> and end with </name>; wiki markup templates start with {{ and end with }}; and for tables (the issue here), the starting code is {| and the terminus is |} In other words, I just added |} to the end to tell the table "this is where to end". Hope this helps. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:34, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Please review my article

It is my first article, and I want it reviewed before posting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mslync/sandbox Mslync (talk) 16:29, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Looks like there is already an article Microsoft Lync which covers it? Theroadislong (talk) 16:46, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Mslync. The topic may not be notable enough for a stand alone article and probably should be covered in the broader article mentioned by Theroadislong. Other Wikipedia articles should never be used as references, as they are user-edited, ever changing and not consistently reliable. Please check your account name against our username policy. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 17:08, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

What the hell should I do to it?

I came across a particular type of image vandalism-

File:Good photo of Danny Kallis.jpg

In which criteria does it fall for deletion? ☸ 06:45, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Hey, Sohambanerjee! As a derivative work of a non-free copyrighted image, I believe it's a copyright violation, so there's that; F10 also works. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 06:51, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

I was going to place it under F10 but took a hell lot of time to reload and when it did saw you deleted it. Thanks!! ☸ 06:59, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

How does sub-script work?

Please explain how I can get sub-script to work on a page I'm editing. e.g. 'Airframe speed limits such as VA and VFE must be observed' on Slip (aerodynamic)#Forward-slip DescryVA (talk) 01:14, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Greetings, DescryVA. I see that you have figured out how to use <sub></sub> tags on your own. Another way is to use the {{sub}} template. Deor (talk) 09:50, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Userpages

Where can I find a place that mentions the best userpages in Wikipedia. Miss Bono^[zootalk] 18:29, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

How would you define "the best userpages"? Eric Corbett 18:32, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

The nicest with a good design. Miss Bono^[zootalk] 18:34, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Hi Miss Bono. Are you looking to redesign your user page? Your user page seems pretty fancy and decorated right now-- is it really necessary to add additional things to it? I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 18:38, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Hi, Jeth, no I am not looking for adding things, but remove unnecessary things. I am looking for a desing that helps me organize my current page. More elegant. Miss Bono^[zootalk] 19:25, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

once upon a time there was a User:Phaedriel, who designed user pages for people, but she faded away in the wp:esperanza controversy. good formatting there, and some things at Wikipedia:Department_of_Fun#Templates_for_user_pages. 69.254.79.233 (talk) 21:22, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Although out of date, please see Wikipedia:User page design center and its Userpage Hall of Fame. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:30, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

My own userpage design came from just browsing the userpags of various users. I decided that I liked the design of User:Hersfold's page and the colors of User:Fish and karate's page and (with Hersfold's help) combined them. There are really too many different designs for me to be able to recommend a "best" one, though. – Philosopher ^{Let us reason together.} 02:44, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

How to create Classroom Progress Chart

I teach English to second language learners, and I wanted to help them become autonomous learners. I like the idea of a classroom chart that has all the students names listed on one axis and on the other axis would be certain skills the students would need to master during a semester course. Usually this would be a big chart hanging on the wall in the classroom, but I don't have my own classroom and move around a lot, so how could I create this type of chart, and give access to my students so they could note their own progress in their various skills?

178.61.41.163 (talk) 19:21, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Hello and welcome to the Teahouse 178.61.41.163 (talk · contribs · WHOIS)! Although this is likely more of a question you would have done well to do a Google search on or asked on a site that caters to these types of questions, I suggest checking out Goggle+ and Google docs' spreadsheet application (which allows you to create a table as you request). Unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to help you host such a thing on Wikipedia because it is not encyclopedic and we are an encyclopedia. Feel free to email me if you need any further assistance with this and I would be happy to try and help you! Technical 13 (talk) 23:52, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Why my page is still orphan??

I created a page called "Paradox engineering", at the beginning the article was considered for deletion, after i modified some stuff and it changes in orphan; today I have reviewed everything respecting the modality of writing, including external links, wikilinks, references and so on...Why is still an orphan page? How can I convert it into a real page? Please help me I am really desperate...:(

Thank u guys 62.48.123.83 (talk) 16:15, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Orphan means that no other pages link to it. Add links to the page from other pages, and it will no longer be an orphan. Ginsuloft (talk) 16:17, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

In fact I just checked and the page is not an orphan. I removed the tag because it was incorrect. Ginsuloft (talk) 16:21, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply:) You mean that now is everything correct and I have to wait for the approvation? Sunny2888 (talk) 16:27, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

There is no "approvation" - the article is already in mainspace, which means it's already a "real" article, but it's being considered for deletion because someone nominated it for deletion. You can share your thoughts on whether it should be deleted or not at the article's AfD entry. If there's a general consensus that the page should be kept, it will be kept, otherwise it will be deleted. Simple as that. Just wait until the deletion nomination ends. Also, please always remember to log in when editing. Ginsuloft (talk) 16:32, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Copy paste

I have found a wikipedia user constantly copy pasting texts from the websites he cites, including things like 'released today', 'began yesterday' etc. which are subject to change. Should I inform him directly, or am I supposed to report somewhere? -- Sriram Vikram (talk) 12:52, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I think you should inform him directly. I haven't heard of any place where you can report that. Philroc (talk) 13:10, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

You can point him to WP:REALTIME. Note that a direct quote in quotation marks should not change wording, but it should have a reference giving the date it is from. It's usually best to avoid quoting statements like your examples. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:19, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Oh, thanks PrimeHunter. Philroc (talk) 13:31, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

But this user seems to have a history of such edits. Looks like a seasoned vandal. His contributions suggest the same. So? -- Sriram Vikram (talk) 13:40, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

It's hard to give more advice without knowing which user it is. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:24, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

[2] and [3] here is an example. Hope you can find the user from it. Follow the link; the sentence is exactly as in the webpage. His user talk page has many such issues in the past few days. -- Sriram Vikram (talk) 14:29, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Hello Sriram Vikram and thank you for identifying this problem. I agree that this editor does not understand our policies and procedures, especially with regards to copyright. I do not agree that the editor is a "seasoned vandal". This person seems to be acting in good faith. Vandalism is a deliberate effort to damage the encyclopedia by adding false information, profanity, complete nonsense and the like. If this person is blocked from editing, it will be for other issues, not for vandalism. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 16:37, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

So how to sort out this issue? His talk page says he's been warned many times, but still continues to do the same. Are we people supposed to keep correcting his edits? -- Sriram Vikram (talk) 16:53, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Sriram Vikram, looks like you haven't warned him yourself. Not a warning template but just a discussion or a polite reminder since he started editing as a registered user for 20 odd days 1. Add these links to your comment - WP:C-P, Wikipedia:Copyrights, Wikipedia:Copyright violations and WP:PARAPHRASE + Link to list of Wikipedia policies. Sohambanerjee1998 20:06, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Can new editors create a new article immediately?

Thanks. Biosthmors (talk) 10:32, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Yes, see Wikipedia:User access levels#New users and Wikipedia:Your first article. --Redrose64 (talk) 10:50, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Problem with my wikipedia biography

I have had a really terrible experience with my biography on Wikipedia. Someone has written a bio of my career which is totally erroneous and incomplete and I attempted to change it. I do not know what to do to have it accepted, because it keeps saying it is not the authorized bio. The one I attempted to submit is written by my management Robert Lombardo Asssociates and myself and has appeared all over the world in newspapers, program notes and articles. Please help me to correct this so that the public is not falsely informed. I have a website: www.carolefarley.com where an up-to-date bio appears. This is a very frustrating experience and I would be most grateful for any help66.65.67.227 (talk) 01:54, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Hello, and welcome to the Teahouse, Carole Farley. If the article in question is the very brief stub Carole Farley, then I see no recent editing activity on either the article or its talk page, and no attempts to expand the biography. Please be aware that this is a neutral encyclopedia, and the subjects of biographies do not control the articles about them. It is very problematic to edit your own biography, or to have a manager attempt to do so. Instead, I recommend that you post an edit request on the talk page, along with suggestions of reliable, independent sources covering your career. Please read the following links, which will help you understand how Wikipedia deals with such issues: autobiography„ conflict of interest, and neutral point of view. Feel free to ask follow-up questions.Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 02:17, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Hi Carole. Thanks for asking your question here. Are you referring to Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Carole Farley? An encyclopedia article about a person is very different from an official biography from a website. They are written for different reasons and will have different contents. Anything published on a website is automatically copyrighted and can't just be copied into Wikipedia for legal reasons. As Cullen328 says the best thing to do is to supply information on the talk page of Carole Farley. If you have kept a scrapbook supply a list of newspaper and magazine articles written about you. Those are the kinds of independent references needed for an encyclopedia article. You won't be able to control the content in the article, however. Good luck. StarryGrandma (talk) 18:58, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Statistics and original research

I am working on statistics for a denomination, see La Luz del Mundo#Statistics. I want reword the second sentence as follows: "The church estimates a total worldwide membership of 5 million adherents. The church, however, does not specify the parameters (e.g. age, attendance, etc.) for inclusion in the statistics." The bold text is the part in question. This is my observation, so is it original research? The number was found on the official church website. Also, can you leave a comment at the RfC on another section: Talk:La Luz del Mundo#RfC: Should the undue weight tag be removed from the Discrimination section?? Thanks. Ajaxfiore (talk) 01:35, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Ajaxfiore. It seems to me that the language you propose is an attempt to cast doubt on the reliability of the church's statistics. Accordingly, I see this as original research. If there is something dubious about the claim, then a reliable source should have commented on the matter. Simply stating that the church is the source is the best solution, in my view. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 02:02, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Thanks Cullen328. I will follow your advice. Ajaxfiore (talk) 13:43, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

How to insert references

I am having the most difficult time trying to insert a reference source. I've read the help:extension/cite page but it's way too technical and doesn't seem to work. The article I'm trying to insert a reference for is Can't Buy a Thrill. Is there a page that actually provides examples instead of instructions? Thanks. russelray77Russelray77 (talk) 03:32, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Hello Russelray77, and welcome to the Teahouse. This can be complex, because there are many acceptable methods and two different ways of editing, the old way (called Edit source) and the new Visual Editor. Read Referencing for beginners for a good overview.

Footnotes are probably the most common method. You can do them manually by editing the source code, and here's how: The article needs a "References" section toward the end. The only item in the Wikicode for that section is {{Reflist}}.

The code to create a footnote goes into the article's Wikicode right after the statement to be referenced. So if you want to reference a statement such as "Jane Simpson designed six major buildings in Kansas City", you add <ref> </ref> immediately after that statement. Those two tags begin and end the reference. In between those two tags, you describe the reference in a logical way: Author, Book title, Publisher, City of publication, Publication date, page numbers, and so on. Separate each item with a comma. You can wikilink to any relevant Wikipedia article, such as a biography of the author or article about the publisher.

In this case, the code for your reference might look like:<ref>Watson, Harold, ''Great Architects of Kansas City'', [[Random House]], New York, 1998, pages 78-83 </ref>. This example is made up, but this technique is the easiest one to create references, in my opinion. Read the link I gave for more sophisticated options. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 04:18, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Thank you, Cullen. That makes total sense, is logical, and is in line with my past 45 years of referencing sources.Russelray77 (talk) 04:24, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

I am glad to have been of assistance. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 05:27, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Pardon me for poking my nose into the discussion, but you can also use standardized citation "templates" to guide you in entering a reference's info inside the <ref> </ref> tags described by Cullen. If you're energetic, dive in to Template:Citation, though as I understand it templates are not required to be used. — RCraig09 (talk) 22:30, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

You are correct, RCraig09, that citation templates are very useful. As a matter of fact, I use them often myself. But I was trying to describe the simplest method for a new user having a bit of difficulty getting started with referencing. There are many methods, including semi-automated tools for power users. All methods are acceptable as long as the details about the source needed to verify the information in the article are provided to the reader. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 06:32, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Actually, guys, you can also use VisualEditor. Go to Wikipedia:VisualEditor/User guide. Philroc (talk) 13:13, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

I need someone to review an article I wrote

I wrote the article Mohawk Mining Company, it currently has a start class rating, and I was wondering if someone could re-review it for me. I'm hoping for C-class or better. John Mortimore (talk) 21:08, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Welcome back to the Teahouse, John Mortimore. The article is almost entirely cited to a self-published book. In general, self-published books are not considered reliable sources unless the author is a recognized expert in the field who has previously had books issued by reputable publishers. Have you looked into the author's background? Perhaps you can instead read and cite other sources mentioned in the self published book. In my opinion, that issue should be resolved before re-rating the article. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 21:43, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Don Clarke is a recognized expert in the field, a mine historian who wrote a series of histories of individual mines of the Keweenaw Peninsula. These are included in the historical collection of Michigan Technological University in Houghton. See the Guide To Researching Michigan Copper Mining Companies on the library website. StarryGrandma (talk) 12:33, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, John Mortimore (talk) 01:15, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

I read the article and thought it would benefit from some detail as to why the company closed down. I do not have access to the facts but if you added that I think it would help readers better.WikiWheatyMike (talk) 09:35, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

I Have a Question

I'm looking for an artist who has albums who don't have singles on them could you give me some albums with that? IGotProof (talk) 14:18, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Hi IGotProof. Just for future reference, please note that this page is really geared toward answering questions about editing or using Wikipedia, while your question appears to be a general knowledge question. Such questions are a perfect fit for the reference desk, and in this case probably the miscellaneous section. Anyway, this is a good topic to put Google to work on. A search of "album had no singles" reveals many candidates, including from the first page of results, the Beatles' White Album; Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Reba McEntire's Reba Live. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:32, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to The Teahouse, IGotProof. The entertainment reference desk is where you want to go.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:30, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

i need assistence on writing my page in a neutral tone.

i am a professional documentary photographer undertaking a gigantic task that has never been done before, photograping the entire Historic Center of Quito that stretches over an area over 790 acres with 130 monumental buildings plus an estimated 5,000 smaller properties. For those of you who are unaware, The Historic Center of Quito was built on the ruins of an Incan city in the at an altitude of 2,850 metres in the Andes Mountains. This center was, together with the historic centre of Kraków in Poland, the first to be declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 18 September 1978 and is considered by many over the world as one of the most important historic areas in Latin America. In the Historic Center of Quito is La Compania Church, considered by scholars as one of the best examples of Spanish Baroque Architecture in the Americas.

my page is listed below, thanks in advance & have a great day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/David_Adam_Kess

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Alvarosevilladesign (talk • contribs)

You can begin by reading WP:AUTOBIOGRAPHY. The first problem with your text that sticks out like a huge sore thumb is that it is written in the first person. Word such as "Me, I, my, you, we, us" are not allowed to be used in articles except in direct quotations. You need to change all of the "me, I and my" to "him, he and his". You also need to decide whether the article is about your whole life (a biography) or if it is about your work in Quito. BTW, there is a fairly long and comprehensive article about Quito so your article doesn't need to include a detailed explanation of the history of the city. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 11:41, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Spam removal

In 2013 in hip hop music there are many refs to itunes such as this which I regard as a blatant use of spam because clicking on the ref simply results in an invitation to buy a product. Therefore I intend to remove all such refs from this article and all also from all other similar articles. Do you think I am right to do this. Can there be any objections? Jodosma (talk) 19:49, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Hey Jodosma-- thanks for your question about removing external links. Per Links normally to be avoided #5, I think you made the right call. Thanks for your work, I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 20:13, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Jodosma. I agree that these links are inappropriate per our guideline on spam. Let's hope no one objects to removing them. If so, discuss it on the article's talk page. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 20:19, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Thanks everyone. Lets see if we can make a point. There's far too much spam around. Jodosma (talk) 20:28, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Actually it is being used as a citation to verify the record label the album was released on, it is not an extra external link. Not to mention you cannot buy anything from the source, because it is just an online reference to what is on iTunes. It does not even directly provide any links anywhere to buy it, just links to download iTunes onto your computer if you do not already have it. STATic message me! 21:19, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

The link prominently features the retail price of the recording, and is clearly a promotional page intended to increase sales of the recording. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 01:22, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

These links, or similar links like ones to Amazon's music store, are acceptable to use in the absence of an alternative. They should not be removed wholesale. If a better citation can be found, please replace them. Ryan Vesey 17:51, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

The "absence of an alternative" could indicate that there may be a Notability problem. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 20:00, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

In some situations, not this one. Oftentimes, in situations like these, it is best to raise your questions at the page for the relevant wikiprojects. Consider WP:WikiProject Albums. Ryan Vesey 22:50, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Surely in most cases, the CD/record sleeve will provide the information, and can be used to cite such basic bibliographical (er... musiographical?) facts. The source doesn't need to be online after all! With the caveat that this should only be done by someone who can verify that the information is in fact on the sleeve. MChesterMC (talk) 11:02, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Speedy deletion of Prophet sm dennis

my article about prophet sm dennis was deleated help me make it well.Dianakubo (talk) 10:05, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

Hello Dianakubo, we cannot currently see your draft since it has been deleted for being too WP:Promotional. If you want a safe space to place your draft so you can get advice on it, without danger of it getting deleted, you can paste it at User:Dianakubo/Prophet sm dennis (click on that link to start a drafting space). Once you have done that, let us know and we can take a look at your draft. MatthewVanitas (talk) 13:32, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

You could go to Wikipedia:Requests for undeletion and ask for a copy, but because the article was too promotional, you might have a hard time getting that accomplished.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:24, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Are their discussions regarding the use of British vs English/Scottish/Welsh?

I've been looking up some British actors recently and was wondering if their was a consensus on what to use, especially since people can be equally adamant about being British as they are about any of the other nations.

And while I'm at it we rarely use the British-Indian or British-African (especially! we would say the country) and I've seen that used in a few places. I'm sure this has been discussed before and I'd love to read the debate.

86.7.193.184 (talk) 14:04, 28 August 2013 (UTC)

Hi. There's no real consensus as far as I am aware. The essay Wikipedia:Nationality of people from the United Kingdom covers some of this (as an essay it has no real weight of policy behind it; it's just a slightly-formal opinion piece). British is technically correct (the best kind of correct) so I use that when I'm editing. The UK/Britain is the nation state while England, Wales, Scotland and so forth are nations but not states. So, unless describing a historical actor, I would go with the strict "British" for all of them (it is what it would say in their passport after all). Other editors are likely to have different opinions. If this happens, just try to be consistent within the article, which is the approach used with different spelling and dating formats.

Ethnicities are a problem as different people use words differently. For example, "Asian" means something different in the UK and the US. That said, as long as the term is wikilinked to an article that explains the phrase (ie. Asian) it should be OK. - AdamBMorgan (talk) 19:52, 28 August 2013 (UTC)

OK, thanks very much!

86.7.193.184 (talk) 10:27, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

I would be very cautious about describing people as British as opposed to Scottish or Welsh, ideally one should go with their self declared nationality. However most English people are unbothered as to the difference between English and British. Of course things are different for historic people, before the Act of Union England and Scotland were separate states. Ϣere SpielChequers 05:39, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

There's almost no debate about English language variations in the West coast of Europe. There's a huge amount of swapping between US and GB, but within the broad "british isles" there's very little. There's more traffic between English / Ulster Scots / Gaelic in the NI articles.

As Indian editors are a large group on en:WP, there is a lot of editing that introduces Indian grammar (rather than spelling) rather than British (or US). I revert this on non-Indian article – this is possibly a problem in the future, as en_IN obviously has a large readership, but en:WP isn't ready for it yet.

There's also Wikipedai, the Cwmyraeg Wikipedia. That could use a lot of assistance from siaradwyr Cwmyraeg, if anyone reading has the language skills to offer. Andy Dingley (talk) 11:08, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

Andy Dingley: I think you are answering a different question. 86.7's question was about use of the words British, English, Scottish, Welsh in describing people, not about varieties of English. --ColinFine (talk) 23:09, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Issues Box Question

If I fix the problems that were put at the top of the page in an issues box, can I then remove the box? Thanks. Glenburne (talk) 21:24, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Yes, you can. It's a good idea to explain your action in the edit summary, so that it won't look like vandalism. (Of course, another editor may disagree that you have fixed the issue adequately and restore the tags. Then you can have a discussion with them on the talk page. --ColinFine (talk) 22:36, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

In addition Glenburne, to avoid conflict as much as possible be sure to check and double check that the issues mentioned are genuinely fixed/improved. What you could do if you like is raise your concerns on the talk page of the article in question, potentially allowing other editors to offer their feedback on whether any tagged issues still remain. - Xerooz (Leave a message!) 04:36, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Translation of an Infobox: Linking to an already uploaded image

Big thanks to anyone who can help me with this. I'm creating an English version of a German page. An image has already been uploaded on the de site and I'd like to link to it rather than upload it twice. Does anyone know how to do this? �Formalmind (talk) 18:30, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Hey, Formalmind! It depends on where the image has been uploaded. If it was directly uploaded to de.wikipedia.org (which I would guess is the case), then I'm afraid there's no way to link to it on en without re-uploading it here first. If it was instead uploaded to Commons, and then linked to from de, then it should be possible. Can you give us the link to the image in question? Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 18:34, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

You are speedy!! Here's the link: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/e/e2/Logo_Requirements_Modeling_Framework_%28RMF%29.png

It doesn't look like it's in the commons. So I guess I will upload it again. This time I'll upload it into the commons.

Thank you again. Formalmind (talk) 18:39, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

It's at de:File:Logo Requirements Modeling Framework (RMF).png - German Wikipedia, not Commons. --Redrose64 (talk) 19:49, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

file not found for book creation

Can you help? Please? When I press download in pdf or word for my book creation it goes through the rendering process, tells me the file is ready for download and then the file is not found. Anyone? thank you RogerHodgepodge25 (talk) 15:09, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Hi Rodger-- the Teahouse is for asking question related to editing or improving Wikipedia, not for software-related troubleshooting. You might consider going to the Reference Desk for computing issues. Thanks, I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 15:34, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

ok thanks and sorry for asking here!Hodgepodge25 (talk) 15:38, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Jethro, I think Roger is asking about using Wikipedia, specifically the Book Creator. If that is so, Roger, then this is indeed a suitable place to ask. However, you may find more people with expertise in that area either on the technical section of the Village Pump or at Help:Books/Feedback.

Oh sheesh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea Book Creator was an actual thing and I completely misunderstood. I'll ping @Hodgepodge25: now. I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 16:15, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

How to render thumb correctly

I'm wondering if someone can direct me to the correct resources to learn how to rectify a situation such as that existing in the article on HMS Ambush (S120) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ambush_(S120), where the flowing text's bullets are superimposed on the image? I've studied the Wikipedia:Picture Tutorial, but I don't believe it or its linked resources provide just what I'm looking for... Tech77 (talk) 14:14, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

This is a known problem where left-aligned images are followed by lists. There are several solutions:

move the image further up so that there's sufficient plain text before the list - the problem with that is that since screen widths differ, you don't know exactly how far up you need to move it
move the image further down so that it begins after the list ends - the problem with that is that it might protrude into the next section where it's not relevant
alter the image from |left| to |right| - the problem with that is that the infobox might push the image down into the next section where it's not relevant
add a {{clear left}} just above the list - this forces the list to start when the left margin is clear, that is, after the bottom of the image

Personally I'd pick the third (if there is space) or fourth (if there isn't). --Redrose64 (talk) 14:46, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

What action should be taken regarding erroneous or biased history?

What action should I take when I come across a page regarding history that is erroneous or biased? Should I just edit, or should I seek out peers to make a case and proceed with community support?Peter A Garcia (talk) 03:14, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Hey Peter A Garcia, welcome to Wikipedia! My suggestion in a situation like that is: start by editing it and being certain to provide good sources to support the change. If you're reverted, discuss the changes on the article's talk page. Howicus (talk) 03:27, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

and be careful not to include any personal research, argumentation, analysis, or synthesis. These may be in an article only if directly summarising arguments in reliable published sources. --ColinFine (talk) 16:04, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Cancel/rescind move request?

I requested a move request (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:AAP_DTD) but after reading up some more and having received a few comments on the talk page, I would like to rescind this request. Is there a way to rescind/revoke/cancel a move request? Is this necessary and/or best practice? Thanks in advance G74793 (talk) 02:57, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

I would suggest that you merely add a comment to Talk:AAP DTD#Requested move, saying something like "Request withdrawn by nominator", & including a link to the rationale for withdrawal (presumably WP:SINGULAR). - David Biddulph (talk) 03:10, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Sounds great, thank you for the advice! G74793 (talk) 03:22, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

"Owning" an article...

Hello! I've been around Wikipedia for a while, and opened an account yesterday. I am concerned about an editor who persistently inserts information without reliable links (or any explanation at all) and then reverts the information (without explanation) when it is corrected. I attempted to discuss this with him/her on an article talk page yesterday, but the editor just briefly stated their view (again without back-up) and continued to revert the information in the article without explanation. This puzzles me as the article is now apparently "owned" by the editor. I appreciate that some people are very enthusiastic, but I don't really think this is in keeping with the spirit of Wikipedia. If anybody can offer advice, I would be very grateful.

(Etheldavis (talk) 22:47, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

I'm pretty new here, but here's my two cents:

If you've tried talking with the user but to no avail, you can bring it to the attention of the admins. Especially if the user has violated the WP:3RR. I am not sure if this is over one particular subject being added to an article or not, but if so, there is also WP:3O and WP:DR. EvergreenFir (talk) 01:04, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Hello and Welcome! NO one owns any articles or pages here on Wikipedia as part of the conduct policies. You should try to warn the user again on their talk page about adding content you feel is not right for the article or page. Then go over to the dispute resolution as User:EvergreenFir said to discuss the issue and see how the members there could help you out. If this is persistent, you should go to the Administrator's Noticeboard, start a new discussion and see what could be done. ///EuroCarGT 02:38, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Is there a quick way to turn a long list into a multi-column table?

Hi,

I have a very long list (see long list here) in an article I'm developing. The list, in my opinion, looks too awkward because of its vertical length and I'd like to restructure it into a multi-column table. Is there a quick way to turn a list into a multi-column table without having to manually code the table using Wiki markup language?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

-- My Best --FGuerino (talk) 20:13, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Good question and something that is not often asked, in my experience. Does Help:Columns help?--ukexpat (talk) 20:26, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Hi ukexpat,

This definitely helps. Thank you! --FGuerino (talk) 21:02, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Autobiography

Hi everybody recently I found a very interesting Autobiography. The name's Ravi Solanki - Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Ravi Solanki. The man first created an account for himself and then went about to create an Autobiography with Facebook and Wikipedia articles as sources, which don't contain the info BTW. I got to know about it from this picture - File:Ravi solanki.jpg. The sandbox link has the article. I don't have much experience with AfC so can't comment on it much. But its a clear Wikipedia:Autobiography and or Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. What to do with this user and apparently autobiographer? Sohambanerjee1998 18:04, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

I don't think Facebook is a reliable source and we cannot add reference of Wikipedia itself. As far as I know... Just drop him a message telling him something like this:

Hi, you are dealing with a topic with which you may have a conflict of interest. In other words, you may find it difficult to write about that topic in a neutral and objective way, because you are, work for, or represent, the subject of that article. Your recent contributions may have already been undone for this very reason. -- Those are Theroadislong's words but it is applicable to the situation. Happy editing. Miss Bono^[zootalk] 18:09, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

They're not my words exactly, they are the standard twinkle message for users with a conflict of interest. :) Theroadislong (talk) 18:25, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Ohhhh... where can I find those little but helpful messages? Miss Bono^[zootalk] 18:29, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Install/enable Twinkle, see WP:TW.--ukexpat (talk) 18:33, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

The article should not be created because the subject does not meet the notability guideline for creative professionals. Very few of the citations listed reference reliable sources, and the ones that are left either do not mention him prominently or do not mention him at all. See WP:ARTIST. DPRoberts534 (talk) 21:53, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

kane123155

how do you start a page (Kane123155 (talk) 14:25, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse. The link you need is WP:Your first article. I have added some other useful links on your user talk page. - David Biddulph (talk) 14:30, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Multiple Media Sources w/ Same Name

Howdy Folks,

I was interested in writing an wiki entry about Outpost Magazine (the Canadian world travel magazine). However, there seems to be multiple Outpost Magazines.

What should I do in this circumstance. The current entry on Wikipedia for Outpost Magazine is for a monthly magazine published "by Americans for a Safe Israel."

Cheers!

Danskiiii (talk) 13:55, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

You would use a disambiguating title such as Outpost (Canadian magazine).--ukexpat (talk) 14:02, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Subjects with the same name are differentiated by a process called disambiguation. The example you gave however is a redirect page and it is acceptable to usurp the redirect for the article in that name provided the subject meets all other Wikipedia guidelines for inclusion. I suggest you create your article as a draft on a user sub-page, for example User:Danskiiii/Outpost Magazine, and move it to the appropriate title after an experienced user has a look to assist you where possibly needed.—John Cline (talk) 14:15, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Thanks so much for your help folks, I'll get on this pronto.Danskiiii (talk) 20:20, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Conflict of Interest & Disruptive Editing by Spammer

Hello Teahouse Mentors: I've been gone for a few weeks due to business & medical. When I returned I was notified of a conflict of interest and spam situation which I am going to ask you for your help and expertise. We have been working on the Article Warm Mouse

IP address 99.151.22.177 is the owner of changes made below and has a clear conflict of interest: 1. added their product's name 2. removed images uploaded to Commons

http://myip.ms/view/ip_addresses/1670845952/99.151.22.0_99.151.22.255

The owner of WarmMe Warm Mouse is trying to SPAM this article for self serving purposes. The owner resides in Ventura California. New user (99.151.22.177) making two changes only to that page to include the name of the product they sell online and it is not mentioned at all in any of the references listed on the page.

Special:Contributions/99.151.22.177

Can we monitor this page a little more closely so it does not turn into a disruptive situation? I also added this info to the article's Talk page. As you know, I am fairly new here and am turning to you because of your level of expertise in this area.

Thank you for your guidance and support. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you, 301man (talk) 09:39, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

301man Good spot, Report the user to an admin looks like to be a promotion only. Sohambanerjee1998 13:50, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Sohambanerjee1998 Thank you! I sent an email to Help. I don't know how to submit to an Admin. Appreciate your guidance. 301man (talk) 18:35, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

I made a few (early) edits to the subject article earlier today, and have expressed some initial thoughts on the alleged spammer and the focus/scope of the article on the article Talk page. I will monitor the article for a few days/weeks going forward and help 301man learn the ropes of Wiki-editing in this situation, while endeavoring to keep all editor interactions quite civil and constructive. I may in the future propose an article move to make the article cover an entire class of products rather than, as it is now, cover just a single company's product. Cheers. N2e (talk) 21:27, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

:-) Thank you all! I really like the way you think. I truly enjoy your idea to create an entire "class" of products!! I'd love to help with that, too. Please keep me in the loop. I use many of the heated products because of a medical condition I have, so I'd be more than happy to do research!!!! Thank you! Great Idea N2e!!! 301man (talk) 22:40, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Changing the heading

Hi..i'm working on my first page and would like to know how to make changes in the heading of the article. It is a company page; recently the company has changed its name. Kindly guide me.Swati.vemp (talk) 09:01, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Hello, Swati and welcome to the teahouse. The answer is that you change the name of an article by moving the article. There is an option next to the 'edit' 'read' and 'history' tabs, though you have to pick a down-arrow to see it. --ColinFine (talk) 10:03, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

I have moved Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd. to FINO PayTech.--ukexpat (talk) 20:50, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

What can I do here?

Hi,

I was just wondering if someone could give me a few links of things that I could do here. I have been on the getting started page and I find that useful, but they are 3 things out of however many things there are you can do. Please could someone provide a few more options that I could look into? Thanks for reading and taking the time :) MrBauer24 (talk) 07:24, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

That all depends what you want to do! There's a lot of great articles on here but also a lot of articles that could be improved. You could click Random Article and just look for grammar/spelling errors and maybe see where general improvements can be made. I'd also advise making use of the search feature to find articles that you can personally relate to and support. Just always try your best to assume good faith, most of our contributors aren't malicious and while some may see vandalism, generally a bad edit is a test or a mistake. Patrolling Recent Changes can also keep you busy. I personally usually patrol IP edits (users not logged in), however new and even old registered user accounts are commonly seen to have published errors or non-constructive information. Remember, we're all about working as a community, so never be afraid to ask for advice at the Teahouse and on talk pages! - Xerooz (Leave a message!) 10:03, 4 September 2013 (UTC)