Wikipedia:Help desk

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Clara Hoskins (talk | contribs) at 13:59, 3 January 2008 (→‎uploaded images: new section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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    December 30

    adding images

    okay, i used to be wikiwizzard, and now i cant remember how to add images i find on ggogle image search. will someone please explain to me how i add images from google image search??? i would appreciate the help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Randy6767 (talk • contribs) 01:46, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Generally, adding images from Google Image Search isn't a good idea because the copyright status isn't usually known. You can check the website for some sort of terms of use and tag it according to those terms, but if there isn't any sort of terms, you *may* be out of luck - I don't know if fair use applies to images of unknown copyright status. I'll leave that to an admin or an experienced user who knows more about the image policies. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 01:52, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]


    font/typeface

    The font or typeface in which Wikipedia appears on all three of my computers is almost unreadable when in bold. Is there a way for a reader to change it to Times New Roman or other font that is clearer?70.178.162.67 (talk) 02:15, 30 December 2007 (UTC)cafgol[reply]

    Hello there! Well, Wikipedia doesn't have any built-in methods. However, some browsers allow you to change the fonts that appear on a page. Mind if I ask which one you're using? If it is Firefox, you can just enter the Tools menu, go to Options, and click on the Content tab. There should be a section that allows you to force webpages to render in a font of your choice. Hope that helps, Master of Puppets Care to share? 02:24, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The simplest solution may be to simply make the fonts bigger in your browser. On most browsers, use Ctrl + the mouse wheel or look on the View menu. Additionally, if you create an account and log in you can use the preferences page to adjust the skin that Wikipedia uses. For example here is this page in a different skin. Generally though I don't think the other skins are as nice or as readable as the normal one (called Monobook). There is another way to customize every aspect of Wikipedia's appearance selectively (you will need an account to do this) by creating a user sub-page with a custom stylesheet. There is a complete help page on it; see Help:User style, but it still looks very complicated, unfortunately. But if you try that method I'm sure there will be editors ready to help if you need it. • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 03:19, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    (E/C) If you create an account you can then place a font choice in your account's css code at Special:Mypage/monobook.css. See Wikipedia:Customisation. You can also change the skin your account uses by going to preferences. Skins other than the default (MonoBook skin) use different fonts to display.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:21, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    WP:GA

    There seems to be a broken template at WP:GA. It seems to be transcluded from elsewhere and I don't want to take the time to figure out what is going on.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 03:50, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    The problem was [1]. I have reverted it. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:13, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    creating an article

    how do i create an article —Preceding unsigned comment added by CAP414991 (talk • contribs) 03:51, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
    Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
    If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:09, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Turning off SVG support

    How do I turn off SVG support, even when the browser claims it supports it, and just go back to PNG rendering? —Preceding unsigned comment added by GregChant (talk • contribs) 06:11, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Not being at all technically inclined, I can't help, but I wanted to note that if none of the other volunteers at the help desk today are able to help either you might want to ask the question at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). Good luck. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 13:46, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Searching the Help desk archive for: SVG finds some results, but I don't see an exact match to your question in the first couple of pages of results, and I don't know the answer off the top of my head. But one previous answer leads to:
    Those links suggest that you need to (somehow) tell your browser to turn on its content negotiation with various servers that serve SVG files, since they should (hopefully) also be able to automatically provide a PNG alternative if your browser requests it. Exactly how to tell your browser to do this would depend on which browser you have, so if you can't figure it out on your own, be sure to mention your browser name and version number when you ask for more help. You might find the answer with a Google search of the Web; for example, if your browser is Mozilla Firefox, you could try this search: Firefox SVG PNG content negotiation. However, I don't know whether or to what extent Wikipedia's servers implement content negotiation on their end. --Teratornis (talk) 17:20, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    how do I create a page for wikipedia and where exactly do I start?

    how do I create a page for wikipedia and where exactly do I start?Bridalguy (talk) 06:12, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
    Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
    If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. --teb728 t c 06:38, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Collapsing info on user talk page?

    On my user talk page, I have a box called "Information". The code is as follows:

    {{Userboxtop|Information}}
    {{User Wikimedia Commons}}
    {{user email}}
    {{Template:user engineer}}
    {{User:UBX/architecture}}
    {{User uottawa}}
    {{User:UBX/facebook}}
    {{Userboxbottom}}

    Are there tags which I can place around it which would show the title ("Information") that would collapse it by default and show a little "show" link? Thanks! Charles 07:31, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    See: WP:EIW#Collapsing. --Teratornis (talk) 08:03, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    For userboxes (I don't know if the other one would work on both, or just navboxes) there's [2]. Cheers- CattleGirl talk 08:10, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Thank you, Teratornis and CattleGirl! I've done it now thanks to your help. I will copy this section over to my user talk page for reference if needed later. Charles 08:46, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Thank you for letting us know it worked. As you can see from other questions on the Help desk, most people who ask a question never post a reply (not that this Help desk makes it easy for wiki-editing novices to figure out how to do that), so we rarely know if questioners got what they needed and are happy, or if they just got fed up and decided to end it all. --Teratornis (talk) 19:04, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Removing unneccesary references

    Hello. I have been a member of Wikipedia for nearly two years, but still have one problem. On the article How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, there are unneccasary references in the lead, but if I try to remove them, it messes up the whole reference section. Please help! Thamusemeantfan (talk) 07:45, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    The problem is that the lead section defines some named references, which later sections refer to only by name (you can see in the references section that the first two references have multiple links back to the article). To fix that problem, find another instance of the same reference later in the article, and copy the full version of it from the lead section. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, read WP:FOOT carefully, especially the information about reusing named references. --Teratornis (talk) 08:51, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Please explain to me why my add-on are removed

    Hi

    I am new to your great wikipedia I am a 56 years old 100% no-money founder of Allah.com and I contributed with our free subtited copy in the proper place but it was removed, I even arranged the year order of the collections ... etc

    Here are some examples: the edited link: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_translations_of_the_Qur%27an&action=edit&section=11

    My insertion:

    • 2007, English, "Koran: a Sub-titled Accurate Translation - Free download" "The Koran" by Anne Stephens and Shaykh Ahmad Darwish of Allah.com

    Thank you, God bless you

    Ahmad Darwish Hadithman (talk) 13:06, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Hello. I know it's frustrating to try to improve an article only to have your efforts removed. :( Since the editor who removed the material did not leave an edit summary, I can't be sure, but I suspect that it was removed in consideration of the external links policy. External links that seem specifically promotional are discouraged, even if the material they are promoting is non-commercial. The EL guideline suggests that you propose their usage on the talk page of the article and reach consensus with uninvolved parties as to whether or not they are appropriate for inclusion. Meanwhile, if you would like specific clarification since I can only hazard a guess, you can civilly ask the editor who removed the material at the article talk page or (as in this case it seems the editor is not a regular contributor to the article) at his or her talk page. Please remember to sign your notes on talk pages by typing four tildes (~~~~) at the end. You may also click on the signature button located above the edit window. This will automatically insert a signature with your username and the time you posted the comment. This information is useful because other editors will be able to tell who said what, and when. I hope this helps. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 14:00, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Question by 82.26.79.190

    There is no right of reply. So I will use this medium and if it is wrong pass it to who should see it. My IP address has been mine since I brought it from the apple mac shop. I have never edited or added to this site although I do use it for information. It feels like a violation to be warned and blocked or made to open an account and not given the right to find out how this has happened.

    The subject I was supposed to have falsely edited and vandalised is something I have never heard of. I will not be using this site again, and will warn others against using it for you are named and falsely accused without being given the right to investigate and get your ip address cleared.

    Miss Richards

    You seem to have the ip address should anyone of the volunteers be bothered the email to reply to is (E-Mail removed for security purposes) I will happily carry this conversation I am extremely annoyed at this audacity. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.26.79.190 (talk) 13:42, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Continued at User Talk:82.26.79.190. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 13:53, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    This is, of course, one of the costs of allowing unregistered users to edit on Wikipedia - we end up confusing and distressing lots of people who did not commit the vandalism we accuse their IP addresses of making. Evidently Jimbo Wales is willing to accept the kind of collateral damage Miss Richards reports here (not that he ever experiences it firsthand). Bear in mind that probably only a fraction of people in Miss Richards' situation manage to find their way to the Help desk and ask for clarification. A major challenge for experts in every field is to imagine what it is like to be a nonexpert, and tailor their communication accordingly. --Teratornis (talk) 18:42, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Unapproved bots everywhere!

    According to WP:BOT, users should not run bots without approval. Well, on Wikipedia:Bots/Requests_for_approval, there are a list of approved bots. This list is considerably shorter than Category:Wikipedia bots. So, did they not require approval in the past and allow bots to exist de facto? Did they archive the previous lists of approved bots? Or are there just unapproved bots everywhere that need to be taken care of by WP:ANI? 69.138.16.202 (talk) 13:56, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I don't know the history of bot approval, but they have archived the list of approved bots. (Here's a few more recent requests). --Moonriddengirl (talk) 14:06, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Edit Page Waste

    I have tons of edit pages that I don't care about cloging up your system. How can I get rid of them?

    dmelliott 15:03, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

    Hi, if you're referring to the sub-pages of your user page, there is a simple way to request deletion. Simply put the text {{db-userreq}} at the top of the page. This adds a speedy deletion tag and adds it to Category:Candidates for speedy deletion. Then the next time an administrator checks the category they can delete the pages. There's also a guide on it here. For other types of speedy deletion template have a look at WP:CSD. • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 15:32, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    However, even "deleted" pages will still be in Wikipedia's database "forever" (i.e., as long as Wikipedia continues to exist, and maintain its present policies, which seems likely to be for years to come), so they will still be "clogging up (our) system." Fortunately, Moore's law (or Kryder's Law) continues to push down the cost of disk storage, so it keeps getting easier to store copies of the pages you don't care about. Deleting pages from (the visible portion of) Wikipedia will, however, allow the various search engines to stop indexing them, so you'll be helping someone out by some tiny amount, just not Wikipedia so much. --Teratornis (talk) 18:49, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    • Technically, deleting a page takes more diskspace. If you want to delete because you want to save disc space, don't do it. - 87.211.75.45 (talk) 11:52, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Uploaded images

    How can I see what images have been uploaded by User:Whatever? - CarbonLifeForm (talk) 15:33, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]


    See Special:Contributions/Whatever. Currently this user has no contributions what so ever. For specifically images, see here
    Hope this helps :) Happy New Year! The Helpful One (Talk) (Contributions) 15:43, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]


    For image upload logs, go to Special:Log and enter the username there, and select "Upload log" from the dropdown list. Alternatively you can check edits to image description pages from Special:Contributions by setting the Namespace to "Image". This won't show image uploads if the description page wasn't edited though; similarly, it will show edits to image description pages even if the image itself wasn't touched. • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 15:52, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Clerk?

    Is there any criteria (criterion) for becoming a clerk at any of Wikipedia's numerous pages? EG. WP:CHU?

    VIVID (talk) 15:50, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    This specific case has been discussed at Wikipedia talk:Changing username#How do you become a clerk?. Algebraist 15:53, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Most pages and processes don't use the clerk title. For two others that do, see Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Clerks and Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Clerks. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:08, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Translator

    My friends told me that there is a translator on Wikipedia. Where can I find it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.208.248.29 (talk) 15:57, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    There's no automatic machine translator on Wikipedia, although there are Wikipedias being developed in over 200 languages and you'll notice that many articles have interwiki links to the same article in another language, in the list on the left-hand side of the page just below the navigation menus. E.g., History. For a general translator you could try Google Translate (http://www.google.com/language_tools) or AltaVista's Babelfish (http://babelfish.altavista.com/). Hope that helps. :) • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 16:31, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    As an addition to the above, if you're looking specifically to translate an article from a foreign language Wikipedia into English, you might request assistance at Wikipedia:Translation. If you stumble upon a foreign language article in the English Wikipedia, you may request its translation here. The procedure is described on that page. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 16:54, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    See WP:EIW#Transl for information about translation, although much of that is for people who edit Wikipedia (as opposed to people who only read Wikipedia). --Teratornis (talk) 18:23, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Also, the {{Google translation}} template may be useful. For an example of using this template, see Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 October 19#Translate article. You can effectively use Google's translator to create an automatic machine translator for Wikipedia to or from any of the languages Google recognizes. The quality of machine translation is still a bit rough, but for topics you know something about, you should be able to understand at least half the sentences. Hopefully Google will continue to improve its translation software; Douglas Lenat has lectured in the Google TechTalks series, so presumably Google intends to use Lenat's knowledge-based technology as exemplified in Cyc, which might lead to smarter translation (in particular, more accurately disambiguating words with multiple meanings). --Teratornis (talk) 18:30, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I remember your mentioning that before. I'm going to snag it this time for my personal use. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 18:35, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    A general way to snag anything from the Help desk is to use the {{Google help desk}} template I created. For example, Search Help desk for: translation, which leads to, among other replies, the half-dozen times I have repeated the answer I gave above (humm, sounds like time for another standard response template). A very large fraction of questions on the Help desk tend to be partial or total repeats of earlier questions. Which suggests there are groups of users out there with similar goals and background knowledge, and Wikipedia's design leads them to have similar questions. --Teratornis (talk) 18:55, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    That's awesome. You people who can Do Stuff amaze me. :) (I can halfway program my TiVo.) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 22:07, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Well, {{Google help desk}} wasn't exactly a great leap for mankind. It's a cut-down of {{Google custom}} which I wrote by looking at the {{Google}} template that someone else had written, and adding in the "Google custom" style of searching on a particular site that we use on the Help desk routinely. I had to read a few things on Help:Template and Help:Magic words to figure out and/or remember the things that {{Google}} uses. In any case, don't sell yourself short. You mastered the English language; by comparison, MediaWiki's template syntax is trivially simple. Watch some Tony Robbins videos on YouTube to fill yourself with unstoppable confidence, RTFM a bit, then whip open an edit window and start breaking stuff. Never say something is impossible until you've tried it 700 times (assuming the tries are survivable, of course). --Teratornis (talk) 16:46, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    lyopholize & lyopholizer

    Could someone please create these redirect pages so that they have the same targets as lyophilize and lyophilizer? Both are plausible typos, and should probably be created with "Freeze drying#Technological_industry" as a target. Thank you. --69.118.143.107 (talk) 18:43, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    checkY Done NF24(welcome, 2008!) 20:19, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Self promotion

    Allegheny County Library Association contains a lot of bragging about accomplishments, most of it from their own web site. How can I post something there to discourage this? Good Cop (talk) 18:48, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    A relevant guideline is WP:PEACOCK. I will look for the messagebox template you can apply. (Must edit fast to avoid edit conflict.) --Teratornis (talk) 18:56, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Another guideline is WP:ADVERT. --Teratornis (talk) 18:57, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    WP:TEMPLATES lists a large number of template messages; something in there will apply. --Teratornis (talk) 18:58, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    It's a copyvio, I've tagged it as such. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 20:20, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Image templates on Wikimedia

    Just out of interest where is the link to wikimedia pictures so you could change the images for the Navigation bars on the userpage. I've been searching but can't find a link. →Yun-Yuuzhan→ 19:58, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Assuming you are talking about Wikimedia Commons, you can access it by typing Commons:Main Page in the search box (and click the resulting link at the top of the page, it should be coloured light blue in Monobook) or by going directly to http://commons.wikimedia.org. Any image in Commons is also usable in Wikipedia, just type the image filename like you normally would. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 20:16, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Perfect, thanks for the reply. →Yun-Yuuzhan→ 21:47, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia "accuses" me of spamming!!! ;-)

    Hi

    I wanted to make a small edit to a page on the Portuguese wikipedia but was told that the page I was trying to save was blocked by the spam filter.

    It said further that the blocking was likely due to a link to an external website and cited the text that triggered off the anti-spam measure as being "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v".

    However, a text-search for the text in question drew a blank. I then deliberately looked for things to change on other pages - to rule out the possibility that the reason for being blocked was some malicious ware on my machine - and was able to do so without any problem. The page in question is "http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patu%C3%A1_macaense".

    [seeing that it is NOT a language-related issue, rather a technical one, I am bringing it up HERE, as I have made the English Wikipedia my home]

    --Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 21:10, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    There's a link to a YouTube video in the External links section. You will have to remove it to save your edit. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 21:21, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    There are two links starting with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v. Many links are displayed differently on the rendered page so you have to search the edit window. I don't know whether all browsers can search the edit box correctly. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:52, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    • There are plenty of valid uses for YouTube videos. That URL doesn't belong in the spamlist. - 87.211.75.45 (talk) 11:55, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    My addition to "alternative theories" in "Gravitation" and to the "Pioneer Anomaly appear to have been deleted.

    Today, Sunday, Dec 30, 2007 at about noon California time, I added reference to an alternative theory of gravitation to the alternative theories section of the "Gravitation" paper. The addition cited a paper on the "arXiv". I believe that I correctly processed the editing, but it now does not appear in the article.

    The same as above is the case for an added reference to alternative explanation of the "Pioneer Anomaly"

    I searched the Deletion Log and found nothing about them.

    Is there a time delay before they appear ? Or, were they deleted and if so why ?

    209.204.186.8 (talk) 21:10, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    (This) is the diff that shows your content being removed, assuming that it's a published paper in a reputable peer reviewed journal you should probably re-add it using a proper citation. Assuming that it's self published, or not formally published then it shouldn't be re-added, per WP:SOURCE.--69.118.143.107 (talk) 21:16, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    For future reference, there's a tab in the corner marked history that allows you to see what edits have been made to a given article.--69.118.143.107 (talk) 22:11, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    If a paper is only in arXiv then it's selfpublished with no peer review and unsuitable as reference for Wikipedia, except maybe if the author is regarded as an expert in the field. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:44, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    power of attorney

    what is the process of filing for power of attorney.. also was the the purpose of it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.96.235.255 (talk) 21:12, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    You might be interested in our article on power of attorney. If that doesn't help, you can always try the reference desk.--69.118.143.107 (talk) 21:17, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Note that Wikipedia does not give legal opinions. If you ask again then say which country it's about, and which state if there are states with their own rules. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:40, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Proposing multiple deletions at the same time

    I'd like to propose a series of deletions at the same time, but I'm not sure how to do it. There is no policy regarded multiple deletions at WP:Deletion, but my proposal makes sense, I think. Category:Economics_books is bloated with books by the heterodox economists of the Austrian school. Per WP:FRINGE and because none of the books are particularly notable, I'd like to propose that they all be deleted en masse. How would I propose this? Zenwhat (talk) 21:40, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Create one AfD, preferably for the first article. Then at the beginning of the nomination, put:
    Also nominating:
    • {{la|Article 2}}
    • {{la|Article 3}}
    etc. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 21:57, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    See more at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion#How to list multiple related pages for deletion. I don't know the details but if the books are by different authors and the articles were created by different users then a large common AfD would probably be problematic. Any multiple AfD can result in some articles being deleted and others being kept. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:36, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Primehunter, they are likely by different authors and the pages were created by somewhat different people. However, the articles all espouse fringe theories and are mostly stubs that can be briefly read, before realizing they should be deleted. Example one, Example two. Zenwhat (talk) 01:06, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The 2 example books were written by different authors more than 100 years apart. The articles were created at different times by different editors. No editor has contributed to both. The article size and number of external links are also very different. They don't look suited for the same AfD to me. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:26, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Possible uncivilness?

    I nominated the article Nintendo GameCube for Lamest edit wars (see WT:Lamest edit wars#Nomination: Nintendo GameCube. The edit war was over two words, but I accidentally put "one word" in my nomination. An IP responded with a one-paragraph post over that mistake. They called it "slanderous" and insinuated that I was manipulating facts to get the war listed. I am deeply offended and would like another user to take a look and see if it is a) a personal attack b) uncivilness or c) just a bad case of overreaction. Thanks. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 22:02, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    A)No NPA. B) Slightly uncivil. C)Yes, an overreaction on your part to bring this up on the help desk. Jeffpw (talk) 22:06, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Slightly uncivil, yes, unless it was meant tongue-in-cheek, which it might have been, since the over the top reaction ("ashamed of yourself"? "slanderous accusation"?) might be meant to demonstrate lame conflict. Reading tone in text is difficult. :P --Moonriddengirl (talk) 14:25, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Actually, reading tone is easy, since the reader is free to read any tone he or she prefers. Worrying about whether someone else is trying to insult us is just a way of submitting our emotional state to them. I recall a televised interview with Ronald Reagan in which the reporter quoted someone who said some bad things about Mr. Reagan, and asked for Reagan's response. Without missing a beat or losing his smile, Reagan sort of chuckled and said something to the effect of, "Now, did (so-and-so) really say that? I've known him for years and that doesn't sound like the sort of thing he would say." Basically, he put the burden on the reporter to prove that he wasn't just quoting the other person out of context, and the reporter ended up backing down when he saw he wasn't rattling his interview subject. One characteristic of highly successful people, especially in rancorous public fields like politics, is that they know how to handle criticism. They have sangfroid. They understand that people say a lot of things in the heat of the moment, and you can't get hung up on every little word. If someone is really out to get you, you'll figure that out eventually. --Teratornis (talk) 17:01, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    How to edit navigation box headings and links

    I need to know whether it is possible (and how) to change/edit the headings and links in the navigation, interaction, and toolbox boxes on my own wikipedia site (the lists on the left of the screen). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.146.160.130 (talk) 22:07, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Your question mixes terminolgy. By "my own wikipedia site", do you mean your own wiki website which is not a part of the Wikipedia encyclopedia but is made with the same MediaWiki software? Or do you mean a page created here at the English Wikipedia website? Or at another language Wikipedia? And do you want everybody to see the chosen names or are you satisfied if you can make yourself see them when you have an account? PrimeHunter (talk) 22:19, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes of course it's possible to edit them on your own wiki. See Special:Allmessages for the system messages, all of which can edited. For example, MediaWiki:Sidebar contains the navigation and interaction boxes. • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 23:58, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    December 31

    article on not-for-profit organization

    I am interested in writing a Wikipedia article on a not-for-profit orgaization that sponsors a self transformative event every year - for the past 17 years. There is an existing community of those who have attended this event, which is loosely connected with various other alternative communities. I would have clear copyright on all materiels. Would this be something that will be appropriate for this venue? Please advise.

    Thank you,

    Kenn Day. --Kenndeigh (talk) 00:00, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.
    Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.
    If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. --teb728 t c 02:16, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Hi Kenn. I see you've also added a mention of "Kenn Deigh" to an article, and that in the past you edited the Kenn Deigh and Lumensgate articles (both now deleted via the Articles for Deletion process. Due to the source and content of that text, and your screen name, I'd also make sure you read up on the Autobiography and Conflict of Interest guidelines. Writing about yourself or events you run is strongly discouraged. Thanks. - Kathryn NicDhàna ♫♦♫ 07:26, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Show/hide

    I cannot view any "show" or "hide" buttons. I run Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP Professional. Thanks, –thedemonhog talk • edits 00:14, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Do you mean you don't see the links, or that they don't work, or that you cannot make your own? What do you see here:
    Click show or hide to the right
    This text can be hidden
    You should have seen a box with a clickable hide or show to the right.
    PrimeHunter (talk) 01:15, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I cannot even see the "hide" or "show." For all I know, it is not even there. –thedemonhog talk • edits 01:21, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    It requires JavaScript which exists but can be disabled in IE6 for security reasons. See Wikipedia:NavFrame#Accessibility and try [3]. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:47, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Yay, it worked! Thanks for the help. –thedemonhog talk • edits 02:48, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Four tildes

    FOUR TIDES After logging on you told me to enter FOUR TIDES to display my user name ................... I do not have any TIDE(s) on my Laptop. I suggest that this TIDES thing is the figment of someone's imagination and should be done away with - it makes a bad beginning to introduce a new user with FOUR TIDES - it is an aberration. Please substitute Four Elephants or Four Monkeys!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Leistina (talk • contribs) 00:51, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    When you edit, look at the edit buttons. One button will have a signature on it. Click that to sign a post. JetLover (talk) (Report a mistake) 00:56, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I first assume you are referring to "Four tildes" as opposed to "Four tides". There is no other name for it, other than "squiggle" (used by some of my former teachers). The tildes (not tides) are located left of the 1 on a US keyboard layout or to the right of the apostrophe or quotation on a UK keyboard layout. The US keyboard requires a shift first. x42bn6 Talk Mess 00:58, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The message at User talk:Leistina says: "Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~)". The tilde symbol ~ is probably on your keyboard but the position can vary. See tilde#How to type a tilde. As JetLover said, you can also make all 4 with a click on the signature button. You can also click at "Sign your username: ~~~~" below the edit box. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:05, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Hopefully Liquid Threads will make it simpler for users new to Wikipedia (and other MediaWiki wikis) to get started. Currently we have our rather novice-hostile talk pages, which are pretty good for experienced users, but they burden the novice user with the need to learn a bunch of wiki editing concepts just to be able to ask that first question. The majority of people who pose questions on the Help desk, and have few or no previous edits, do not sign their questions - this is another chunk of cognitive burden our current system imposes on the probably-already-confused newcomer. Liquid Threads takes care of signatures automatically. --Teratornis (talk) 02:54, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Merlin's beard, real threads would be a welcome improvement! Well hopefully it will not spoil the flat code simplicity of the talk page format, but it would certainly improve the simplicity of use. • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 03:07, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    WP:EIW#Talk_p has a sub-entry with some links relating to Liquid Threads:
    It looks like Liquid Threads provides real threading of replies, but you can still use wikitext markup. Maybe it's the Holy Grail: as easy for novices as every "normal" online discussion forum, but powerful enough to keep wiki editors happy. I don't know because I haven't played with it yet. --Teratornis (talk) 03:30, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    content I add to a page is constantly taken off

    3 times now I have added content to the page <XL Airways> and each time it is taken off. Just a few succint lines in the History and Incidents section. The current version of the page suggests that XL Airways stopped flying deportation charter flights out of 'sympathy' for asylum seekers. There is no mention in the History section of deportation flights that were carried out under Home Office contracts, without 'sympathy', and the subsequent protests against the airline that led to them withdrawing from the deportation charter business completely. These are minor, but essential, facts to give a balanced view of the companies activities. How do I stop my additions being constantly removed? Underbelly12 (talk) 01:40, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    You were reverted by User:SempreVolando (see [4]), with edit summary "Revert: Not an incident / accidnet [sic]." Perhaps you would do best to follow the steps at dispute resolution, of which the two I suggest you take are: Take your concerns to the talk page of the article, Talk:XL Airways or ask the user himself, at User talk:SempreVolando. x42bn6 Talk Mess 01:47, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Or instead of getting into dispute resolution, you could try posting in the History section rather than the Accidents section. Be sure to cite your sources. If it is still removed, then WP:DR is the way to go. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 01:52, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, please include references to reliable sources, especially when you add quotes and controversial information. And note Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons which applies to all articles. Your edits could also easily have been reverted as unsourced. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:01, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    In the aviation industry, the terms "accident" and "incident" have specific technical meanings involving flight operations. Your facts may very well be relevant to the airline article, but they are not aviaton accidents (chrashes, etc.) nor aviation incidents (near-misses, loss-of engines, etc.) As is says above, put you information into the "history" section of the article, but as with any othre importatn fact, please cite your sources. -Arch dude (talk) 02:36, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    How do I change the Title of my article?

    How do I change the Title of my article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Casanovafisher (talk • contribs) 04:48, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    To change the title of an article, you move it to the new title. Only users with accounts over four days old can move pages, but you can also place a request at Wikipedia:Requested moves. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 05:01, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Additionally, if moving to a new title could be considered in any way controversial, you should discuss any page moves on the article's relavant talk page to establish a consensus first. Mr Senseless (talk) 21:29, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia "accuses" me of spamming - NOT resolved

    Dear PrimeHunter

    Your reply to the query by the same subject (above) was not helpful at all - everybody is here naturally to give of their time and to contribute to this project. So please take into account that MOST people have only a superficial understanding of how some of the features work.

    So if there is a link to a YouTube page that I cannot see, I am presume it is concealed, why would this be so? If if it concealed, what is the purpose, seeing that noone will see it to be able to click on it. I've looked for this link in all modes, including "View Page Source", where I see all other links, but I don't see one to a YouTube page.

    --Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 08:13, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I don’t know why you can’t see them. They are in the second and third list items here. They are no more concealed than the pt.wikipedia.org is concealed behind the link “here” --teb728 t c 08:49, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I see the youtube link as well. Maybe there is a problem with your internet browser? --Hdt83 Chat 08:56, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    hindi wikipedia

    59.96.101.217 (talk) 09:10, 31 December 2007 (UTC)how do i get info in hindi[reply]

    Here is the link to the Hindi Wikipedia: [5]. You can also look up something in English and then check the lower left language box to see if the Hindi Wikipedia has the corresponding article. --Hdt83 Chat 09:14, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
      • By the way, if while wondering around the Hindi Wikipedia you find an article about the same thing as an English Wikipedia article, and the English article doesn't have a link to it, we would greatly appreciate if you could add the code [[hi:ARTICLE NAME IN HINDI]], and vice-versa. Thank you. Jake the Editor Man (talk) 22:36, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    hi frnd any body over there help

    dear sir, my orkut account always happen that it accept scrap but can't rply frm my scrap book so iwill be help ful to u i u would help me in this matter as its creacting a lot of problem —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.50.218.29 (talk) 09:35, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I don't know what your talking about, this area is for help with using Wikipedia, maybe the Wikipedia:Reference desk might help? VivioFateFan (Talk, Sandbox) 10:09, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Just for quick reference, this user is talking about Orkut, a social networking site run by Google. GlassCobra 10:26, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    adding a page

    how do i add a page

    11:43, 31 December 2007 (UTC)~

    sam moss

    If you want to add a page follow Help:Starting a new page however if you want to add a new article proceed to Wikipedia:Your first article for further details it'll include instructions on what to do. →Yun-Yuuzhan→ 12:01, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Confused about the replies to postings

    Hi

    The posts on "Wikipedia 'accuses' me of spamming refer.


    The people who reply to the queries pos(t)ed here, are they some kind of uber-users with special privileges, knowledge etc, or are they NORMAL users trying to help but not always knowing what to do? If the latter, I could understand and forgive. If not, your attitude and working ethics are a great disservice to the project and I will take this up with Jimmy.

    Whether I can see the links or not is immaterial,* the point is that if you are there to help, then you should be telling me how to work around the spam filter. The first person suggested that I remove the links. Someone put them there for good reason, so having to remove them to be able to edit a page is not a solution. Imagine every link having to be removed each time you have to make a small edit.

    Smart-ass answers to the effect that "the links are there, I can see them" are at best puerile, at worst a great disservice and a disappointment. All that this kind of behaviour accomplishes is to annoy the contributor (unnecessarily) and make them vent out their frustration of this page for all to see - including a substantial phalange of Wikipedia detractors.

    • Ok, why I couldn’t see the links:

    looking for text in links cannot be done on the display page, as the URL is embedded; looking for the text in edit mode with Mozilla, it does NOT search the edit template, only around it - I managed to see it them using Opera; looking for it with your eyes, I did not think of looking all the way down the page, believing that if each 'block' has an edit button, the top edit button would apply to the top block - and in the top block there aren't any links to any YouTube videos.

    So, fine, I can see the links, but no-one has deigned to contribute a worthy solution.

    Have a nice day

    --Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 12:44, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Everyone trying to help out here at the Help Desk is a volunteer. We have no special privileges, knowledge etc. However, perhaps we are a little more experienced with some knowledge of Wikipedia's policies. Astronaut (talk) 13:20, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Looking at the page history, I see the External Links to the two youtube videos were added on 31 jan 2007 by user AdriAg. Maybe the check for such external links is only done when trying to save an edit; and I don't know for sure, but is it possible that the policy to block such external links was introduced after that date? If so, it is unfortunate but removing the links is the correct solution. Astronaut (talk) 13:33, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    As mentioned, those who reply here are just ordinary people. While they may be more knowledgeable than average, they are not mindreaders. If they ask clarifying questions or make suggestions, the correct reaction is not to assume they "do not know what to do" (though, naturally, this also happens), but rather to clarify your situation and explain why the suggestions are uneffective. Threatening to "take this up with Jimmy" is not welcome, and I'm not sure he is even aware of the existence of this desk, or cares one way or the other.
    There is a limit to what people in the English help desk can do to help you. Each language of Wikipedia has its own policies and technical measures, so the problems you are describing might be unfamiliar here. They are also generally incapable of looking at the pages in question and figuring out what's wrong. You really should consider seeking a Portugese Wikipedia help desk and take the issue there.
    The "edit" links for sections relate to the section below, not the section above. The same works here in the help desk - if you want to reply, do not start a new section, but rather click on the "edit" link at the top of the section and add your reply. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 13:52, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks to all who have helped or tried to. Perhaps I do/ did have the wrong idea of the people who reply here, as to the extent of their functions. I was not threatening when I said I would take this up with Jimmy, it is just that other than posting it here, and not knowing what other avenue to follow (I've seen posts about decalring disputes etc, which I feel is not necessary, nor is it the case), all I wanted was to get the feeling that someone would acknowledge that there is a problem here and resolve it, task someone with its resolution or alert the person responsible to look into it. If there is a more adequate forum to report this, then please be so kind as to enlighten me.

    Also, perhaps I did not express myself clearly about the edit buttons - yes, I do know that the button refers to the section immediately below it - what I was trying to say is that I was not aware that the TOPMOST button applies to the whole page. In effect this means that unlike all other sections, the top section does not have its own dedicated edit bitton.

    As for the YouTube link, I've just tested editing page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla_%28Cadbury%29 which contains various external links - including a link to a YouTube video - and I had no problem saving the edits. It would not have occurred to me that such a fundamental issue such as blocking possible spam would differ from language to language in terms of policy to handle it. I'll post the issue on the Portuuese Wikipedia and see if it gets resolved.

    I've until now never responded below responses to my posting in the belief (obviously wrong) that only the editors use this space to answer queries.

    Best regards and have a happy, fun-filled, rewarding 2008 full of personal and professonal accomplishments.

    --Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 14:26, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    The previous posts are at #Wikipedia "accuses" me of spamming!!! ;-) and #Wikipedia "accuses" me of spamming - NOT resolved. You described this as a technical issue with disappeared links and you were told where the links were and that your browser might be unable to search text in the edit window. Whether and how to keep the links is a content issue for the Portuguese Wikipedia and this is the help desk for the English Wikipedia. I don't know Portuguese and cannot say whether the links are worth keeping or how the Portuguese Wikipedia policies are. The link is not blocked on the English Wikipedia or meta which is why it can be saved here. It was blocked by this addition on 20 July 2007 to the local Portuguese blacklist at pt:MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist (on 4 December it was removed for 1 minute [6]). I don't know whether the Portuguese Wikipedia permits to display useful blacklisted links in an "external links" section without linking them. This could be done with <nowiki>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp2HMX2T72k</nowiki> or www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp2HMX2T72k. The Portuguese Wikipedia has a short message when a link is blacklisted. To see the longer English message, try saving a link that is blacklisted here, for example http://automotiveoilchange.net. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:34, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The Wikipedia project is extremely complex, with lots of detail to befuddle newcomers. Even using this Help desk is arcane and unobvious, since the Help desk doesn't work like any other (non-wiki) discussion site. Although Wikipedia poses as "the Encyclopedia that anyone can edit," in practice, not everyone looks at Wikipedia and immediately gets all the correct ideas about how to approach it. You had the disadvantage of trying to edit a page that happened to contain a fairly serious problem that a new user would be unlikely to understand. Wikipedia isn't really designed for beginners; it's designed for the kind of people who design Wikipedia. Those are generally people with thousands of edits, who communicate with each other by reading and writing hundreds of pages of complex manuals. Many of the more experienced editors have high IQs, enabling them to be comfortable with complexity. Complexity is essential to a project of Wikipedia's size and popularity. The English Wikipedia, for example, ranks somewhere in the top 10 or 20 Web sites in the world. Most of those other sites are run by large corporations who employ hundreds (or thousands) of skilled professionals to build them. Many things get more capable and thus more valuable by becoming more complex; for example, a Boeing 747 is vastly more complex than a Wright Flyer; modern medicine is vastly more complex than folk medicine; a Pentium microprocessor is more complex than an abacus; and in each of those examples, there is a large educational infrastructure for training all the people who build the complex things. All of the world's most popular Web sites are extremely complex too, but only Wikipedia invites everyone to wander in and try editing stuff. Many people who accept the invitation will have problems, and their enjoyment of Wikipedia will then depend on their ability to diagnose and solve problems. The first thing to understand is that almost everything a person could need to know about editing on Wikipedia is already written down somewhere. Learning how to search for answers is therefore essential for enjoying Wikipedia. When you can't find an answer on your own, then you need to learn how to ask questions the smart way. Wikipedia is an Open Source project, and therefore it works like other open source projects - the primary motive for people to get involved is fun. When you aren't paying money to get other people to help you, you have to make it fun for them to help you. --Teratornis (talk) 17:49, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]


    You are quite right - I was immediately struck by those high IQs. They knocked me completely off-balance, such was the impact like an unexpected wave when you are standing on the rocks admiring the view!. And I knew at once they could be nothing else but High IQs because I happen to have one myself! lucky for me! --Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 18:36, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I boldly removed the youtube links from the Portuguese page. So now you should be able to make your edit. --teb728 t c 23:28, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    metric conversion

    does 40 milligrams=20 milliliters? 13:39, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

    Grams is weight (or more specific:mass) and liters is volume, so they can not be compared like that in general. However, you can compare it for a specific material if you know its density. In the future, please use the WP:Reference Desk for general knowledge questions, the Help Desk is for question about using Wikipedia. Arthena(talk) 13:42, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    This page is for questions about editing Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. Happy New Year! The Helpful One (Talk) (Contributions) 13:44, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    the diference between static and changing menu

    i just want the diference and that is all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.210.19.83 (talk) 14:51, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    What do you mean by the "menu"? NF24(welcome, 2008!) 14:54, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Well... static means stationary, inactive, unchanging, and changing means..... changing, with the change presumably referring to the content (text) of the menu items. Slightly out of context sort of question, is there any more to it? • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 15:11, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over two million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. If that is not fruitful, we have a reference desk, divided into various subjects areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:44, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Infobox Fashion Designer template & photo

    I have uploaded a photo of Ralph Lauren to which I own the rights to Creative Commons. I've placed that image name and caption into the template, but neither appear on saving the page. What am I doing wrong? Thanks Doc ♬ talk 15:30, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I have fixed it for you. =) Take at look at the edit I made. Even though it says image= in the template, you still have to use the full image syntax after it. This allows for more flexibility (e.g., customizing the image size). • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 15:39, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks so much. I had looked at other template examples and they had inserted just the image name, as in Eleanor Roosevelt so that was what I followed. I'll know next time. Doc ♬ talk 16:41, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Opps...now how do I get the caption to show? Again, I followed the above example of Eleanor Roosevelt. Thanks again. Doc ♬ talk 16:43, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The templates are not always consistent in the way they work you see. If you check Special:Whatlinkshere/Template:Infobox Fashion Designer you can see other uses of that exact template. However it says on the template page at Template:Infobox Fashion Designer that the caption parameter should work.... yet it doesn't seem to be actually used in the template source. Actually it's possible that other pages are using it without the caption appearing too. I think it needs someone who's good with MediaWiki template syntax figure out how to make the captions work. • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 16:51, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I've had a read up on template syntax and fixed the infobox so that the caption parameter now works as it ought too. I'll check all the other pages that use the template to make sure I didn't break something, but hopefully that's it now. Phew! • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 17:30, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks once again, ever so much Doc ♬ talk 17:49, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Citing a PDF document

    How do i cite a PDF document? Thanks.  Sunderland06  17:22, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Assuming it's a reliable source, you'd just cite it the same way you'd site any other URL. WP:CITE#Inline_citations may shed some light on this if you're unfamiliar with wikipedia's inline citation markup.--69.118.143.107 (talk) 17:43, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) You can use {{PDFlink}}, or just cite it like any other online source (I assume it's online). PrimeHunter (talk) 17:45, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Twinkle

    How do i gain access to twinkle, it says my account is too new, although that's true but i'm not new to wikipedia, this account is my secondary account which i want to use for finding vandalism and then fix it. My first account which i tend to use for editing is Yun-Yuuzhan could someone please grant me access. →Yun-Shuno→


    The account that you are using is less that a day old. It needs to be at least 4 days old so that it is autoconfirmed. Please wait 4 days before trying to install Twinkle. Hope this helps! Happy New Year! The Helpful One (Talk) (Contributions) 17:45, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I'll use this account then for the moment and wait until the secondary account is four day's old to start hunting for vandals. →Yun-Yuuzhan→ 17:48, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Good for you, Yun-Yuuzhan! Jake the Editor Man (talk) 22:38, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I've had Yun-Shuno closed down, i'm using this one instead for doing editing or reverting vandalism. there's no-point in having two user accounts on wiki, and it'll be easier on user's who try and post a message on my talkpage. →Yun-Yuuzhan→ 12:10, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Interpreting the different colors associated with an authors works

    What do the various colors mean when viewing the works of an author? Please see the works of James Michner as an example. 216.201.210.204 (talk) 17:43, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Also, where and what is the sandbox?

    A Wikipedia search on James Michner found nothing and I don't know which page or colors you refer to. "The sandbox" refers to Wikipedia:Sandbox. The term is not made by Wikipedia as Sandbox (software development) shows. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:51, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The question probably refers to noted American author James A. Michener. --Teratornis (talk) 17:54, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm guessing the "colors" are the red links for many of Michener's book titles. --Teratornis (talk) 17:57, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    (Some people amuse themselves by solving crossword puzzles; a few of us like to decode questions on the Help desk.) To the questioner: the red links on many of Michener's book titles mean that nobody has written articles about them yet. If you would like to write about one or more of Michener's books, you will need to create an account, and then read a bunch of instruction pages about how to edit on Wikipedia. You should also join Wikipedia:WikiProject Books to see how other Wikipedia users have written articles about books. --Teratornis (talk) 18:02, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks. Blue text has a link to an existing article. The blue may turn purple if you have viewed the article. Normal black text means there is no link (but in some cases there may exist an article which hasn't been linked yet). PrimeHunter (talk) 18:10, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Editing References

    On "Mario Strikers Charged" page, I wanted to add a review from a gaming website. I added the review under external links. I was then going to put the link under references as well. When I went to add the reference, for some reason or another, the other references got erased. It was unintentional. Is there anyway to reboot the references that were there? And how do you add a reference without having to enter all the references that were previously there? When I clicked "edit refrences," it left me a blank page and I thought I just needed to add the reference I used and all of a sudden when I saved it, everyone elses was erased.Deasterday1 (talk) 18:59, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    You accidentally deleted {{reflist}} in [7]. {{reflist}} tells the software where to display previously written references. See more at Wikipedia:Footnotes. Another editor has restored reflist. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:18, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I want to make an edit to the opening sentence on a page.

    This is the sentence that I want to edit: 'Kinetic art are sculptures that contains moving parts.' At this url: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_art

    Hitting the edit button at the bottom of the Kinetic art section where that sentence appears takes me instead to the editing page for the section on Kinetic sculpture. Usercode9623 (talk) 19:04, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    The edit links to the right are for the following section. The lead has no edit link to the right. Click "Edit this page" at top instead. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:11, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Another way to edit the lead section is to select My preferences > Gadgets > Add an [edit] link for the introduction section of a page. It is unfortunate this is not the default. --teb728 t c 21:08, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Yet a third way (a bit esoteric) is to copy the url of one of the side edit links on a page, change the last digit to zero, i.e., "http://www....edit&section=8"--->"http://www....edit&section=0" and then go to that address.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:21, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Having trouble with citing info on Bob Eubanks page.

    I added some info that I thought was sorely missing from the Bob Eubanks page. It had to do with his famous antisemitic quote that he gave in the documentary Roger & Me. I cited the quote from IMDB, but it doesn't seem to list correctly in the references section. There is no hyperlink, and the page keeps telling me that the citations need work. Any solutions? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.250.207.9 (talk) 19:47, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Fixed. The url needed the initial http://. If you think the article is now sufficiently sourced, you can be bold and remove the tag yourself. Algebraist 19:53, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]


    Thank You!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.250.207.9 (talk) 03:39, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Template for canvass-prone xFD discussions

    I though there was a template with a name like {{Notapoll}} to place atop deletion discussions prone to new and single-purpose accounts. Can't find it, and {{spa}} doesn't really explain enough. / edg ☺ ☭ 19:59, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Are you thinking of {{Not a ballot}}, perhaps? (Alternatively, {{!vote}} or {{rally}} might serve.) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 20:08, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Moonriddengirl has hit it on the head I think with {{Not a ballot}}, because {{Not a Vote}}, which you've probably seen in the past, is a redirect to that template.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:15, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    {{Not a ballot}} is what I was thinking of, but {{rally}} looks useful as well. Thank you much! / edg ☺ ☭ 20:53, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Revised Peer Review

    O.K. where do I go to see currently on-going peer reviews. WP:PR seems to bbe revamped and I am at a loss.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 20:45, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    A list is present at User:VeblenBot/C/Requests for peer review. Where are the discussions are transcluded is beyond me. Sephiroth BCR (Converse) 20:47, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Username Usurpation question

    The first instruction for the Username usurpation is: "Be sure the account you wish to usurp has no edits or log entries (except in the account creation log)." I wish to Usurp User:Spencer, who has only made one edit, to his userpage. That was ~5 years ago, and has not made an edit since. Before I waste my time trying to change my username, I was wondering if it would work, based on that one critea. S♦s♦e♦b♦a♦l♦l♦o♦s (Talk to Me) 21:31, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I'm assuming you mean changing usernames by username usurpation? If your proposed new username has been previously created I don't beleive that you can change your username to it, regardless of whether edits have been made or not by that account. If you want to change your username, find a name that isn't in use and do not create it yourself, request the change and a beauracrat will create it for you. Mr Senseless (talk) 21:36, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    You could also ask a developer, though I'm not sure they would do it, even if the only edit made by User:Spencer was five years ago. Mr Senseless (talk) 21:38, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    You can usurp usernames. See Wikipedia:Changing username/Usurpations. S♦s♦e♦b♦a♦l♦l♦o♦s (Talk to Me) 21:38, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Okay, I didn't realize that adopting a dormant username was even possible! (I'm fairly new!) It says users with GFDL contributions can not be usurped, userpage contributions I don't believe are considered GFDL unless specifically said so. You could give it a try, it may be possible, make it clear that the only edit by your proposed account was a userpage edit. Mr Senseless (talk) 21:43, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks dude! S♦s♦e♦b♦a♦l♦l♦o♦s (Talk to Me) 21:46, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Is there a limit to the number of ((citation )) entries per page?

    Hi, and Happy New Year,

    My "thing" with Wikipedia is appending lists of source materials to articles on New Zealand place names.

    Yesterday I created a fairly large list for the article "Hawera": more than 100 entries. The last section of the bibliography is headed "schools" and has from a dozen to twenty entries in it. However, instead of displaying these citations, it gives "Template:Citation" in place of each entry.

    Given that these citations are formatted in the same way throughout the list - I'm stumped as to why this is happening. Is there perhaps a limit to the number of (( citation ...)) permitted per page??

    TIA,

    Boethius65 (talk) 21:44, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Yes, there is limit problem with many {{Citation}}. See Template talk:Citation#COinS. Hawera#Further reading also seems far too long for a Wikipedia article. I suggest to shorten it a lot (not just enough to get below the template limit). PrimeHunter (talk) 22:18, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Can somebody good with tables help me?

    Tables and divs are very difficult to use. I have a simple task I'm trying to do. If someone could help me, I'd appreciate it.

    On my talk page, someone please make it so that my table of "guidelines" is on the top right, while the table of contents is on the top left. If you don't want to do it, please refer to me to someone who can. Zenwhat (talk) 22:04, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Help:Tables has tons of information and tutorials on table syntax. That might have the information you need. Mr Senseless (talk) 22:10, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia: External Links in need of policy revisement?

    Recently, there were varying opinions on whether Opeth should get links to both their MySpace and Facebook pages. I realized that number 11 of Links normally to be avoided at WP:EL states that MySpace pages should be avoided, yet several bands with featured articles (such as Slayer, Godsmack and Megadeth) all have Myspace links in their EL sections. I was just wondering what to do in this scenario; the Facebook page for Opeth is linked to on their official site, so authenticity isn't an issue. Any help would be appreciated. Master of Puppets Care to share? 23:25, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    January 1

    First edit of the year

    Hello, does anyone know what the first edit of 2008 was? Thanks. JetLover (talk) (Report a mistake) 00:21, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    In what timezone? Arthena(talk) 00:24, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Probably UTC. --Silver Edge (talk) 00:35, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, Wikipedia time is UTC and would be the natural choice.
    The current Wikipedia time is:
    08:49, Thursday, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
    To update time purge the cache!
    According to recent changes this edit is right. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:37, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Is there any way to check Recent Changes beyond the past 5000 edits? Whenever I try only the last 50 get returned. I made an edit at 0000; I want to see where I stand. -- RattleMan 00:42, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I don't know a way. I hit recent pages after seeing the question and 5000 was enough then. I kept the window. You were number 63. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:53, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks for finding that out for me. -- RattleMan 01:54, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Another way to find out is to do a narrowing search with the oldid parameter. For example, this way I can find out that the first edit of 2007 was [8]. —Random832 21:31, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    What atonement means

    WHAT It MEENS the WERD ATONEMENT —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.5.119.173 (talk) 00:45, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See Atonement (disambiguation). --teb728 t c 00:57, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Typo on email

    When I registered I made a typo on my email address. How do I correct it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mleebarnes (talk • contribs) 00:54, 1 January 2008

    Go to Special:Preferences and make it right. --teb728 t c 01:03, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Project Deletion?

    Is there currently any system in place for suggesting/nominating Projects for disbandment/removal, like a "Projects for Deletion" or something or to recommend a project be changed to a task force under a larger project? Collectonian (talk) 01:26, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion. What are you nominating? –thedemonhog talk • edits 01:32, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The MfD page recommends marking the Project as {{Inactive}} or demoting it to a task force if possible (an example is Wikipedia:WikiProject South Carolina Highways) before deletion. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 01:38, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah. That's more what I'm thinking. There are several projects for TV shows that I feel need to be demoted to task forces under the Television project rather and was curious as to whether there was some method for attempting such a change. Collectonian (talk) 03:14, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    reuse of wikipedia content?

    there is a magazine (Scientific American) that has reused an image from wikipedia without proper attribution. i have written them two letters asking for a correction to be printed, but they have not responded. (it has been two months.) i was hoping to enlist the aid of wikipedia in getting a correction printed, but i don't know where to ask. any ideas where i can start? tia, 70.116.27.249 (talk) 02:01, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia is GFDL, meaning it is free. However, depending on what the copyright of the image was, it might not have been legal. Do you know which image it is? Soxred93 has a boring sig 02:04, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    thanks, but i already know the reuse was improper. i know wikipedia content is "free" to be reused; however, it must be correctly attributed. that is the issue.

    i appreciate your eagerness, but i'm not too keen on debating copyright law here. i'm just looking for the appropriate forum to ask about the image's reuse. 70.116.27.249 (talk) 02:14, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    i would add that the same question (what to do about improperly attributed, reused content) has been asked several times at Wikipedia_talk:Reusing_Wikipedia_content by several different users -- but without any response. 70.116.27.249 (talk) 02:15, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I wonder if you might find an editor at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions who has experience with this issue. Otherwise, you might want to mail the Wikimedia foundation to inquire about it. This would seem to suggest to me that the burden of handling the situation may fall upon the contributors, but I don't know. I've never encountered this situation before. Good luck. :/ --Moonriddengirl (talk) 02:59, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The image might also have been used under the doctrine of fair use, the legal restrictions of which are far less than Wikipedia's restrictions. Mr.Z-man 03:03, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    This sounds like a question that only Jimbo Wales can answer, since nobody but him likely has the authority to hire a lawyer to investigate the matter or send a cease & desist. Follow Moonriddengirl's advice and also, try contacting Jimbo Wales. His contact information is on his userpage. Zenwhat (talk) 03:34, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Issues like this have been discussed on the Commons-l mailing list, for instance in this recent thread: [9]. Arthena(talk) 12:14, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    raice strow pluping

    i want to know every thing about the best way of raice strow plulping in manifactsur and ways of tretment of raise strow black liquor —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.232.27.39 (talk) 02:12, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 02:49, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) I appreciate that English might not be your first language, but I am having problems understanding your question. If I was to guess, I think your question might be about using rice straw as an animal feed. However, this page is the English Wikipedia help desk for questions about using Wikipedia. You might do better asking your question at the reference desk. Astronaut (talk) 02:51, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You can also try a Google search, for example on "rice straw" "black liquor" pulp. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:09, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    How can I request help for an article? (Nightmare)

    I've been trying to improve the nightmare article, but there's one individual making it difficult. The page, for example, contains a list of the word Nightmare translated into 21 languages. This list has been removed by me and other editors, only to be replaced by this editor. Also, an expert tag was put up, only to be removed (by the same editor). Now I don't consider myself an expert, but I'd like to get as many editors to see the page as possible, because it seems neglected. How do I request experts, as well as just regular Wikipedians, to take a look at the article and try and clean it up? I don't think it's getting enough traffic to keep it up to par. Also, I find it hard to find wiki-policy; does anyone know if there's a specific policy against lists of translations? All I could find was the 'Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a dictonary,' which kind of covers it, but I don't think this editor will be convinced. Any help appreciated. Chris b shanks (talk) 02:29, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You can file a request for comment. Though I would think that it would be best to invite both you and this other editor to the talk page of nightmare to discuss its appropriateness before this. I for one think that there is no real reason to include a list of translations - as you say, Wikipedia is not a dictionary. x42bn6 Talk Mess 02:40, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    A couple of places to look. :) You may want to read the dispute resolution policy to get an idea of how to handle this. Requests for Comment is one avenue. As x42bn6 says (and that policy emphasizes), the best place to start is by discussing the matter civilly on the article's talk page. As far as finding an expert is concerned, I usually head over to the list of WikiProjects. Once you've found one that seems relevant, you can make your request at the talk page of the project. Do pay attention to how much activity the talk page has. Some WikiProjects are not particularly active, and you may not find much assistance at one of those. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 02:48, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    usernames

    (This may not be the right place to ask this so sorry if i'm being a pain...)

    Why do the usernames get changed to start with a capital letter, and is there a way to request that a username be changed?

    My actual username is vIQleS. Its the same name I use everywhere and, being a bit of a pedant, i'd really like it to be standard...

    Cheers

    vIQleS VIQleSthe2nd (talk) 02:52, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    It's within the MediaWiki software, I believe. You can put {{Lowercase}} on your user page and talk page and it will force the capitalisation on that page to be lowercase (see my userpage for an example), and note that User:VIQleSthe2nd and User:vIQleSthe2nd both point to the same page, so you can put that in your signature too. So you will just encounter the capitalisation occasionally. x42bn6 Talk Mess 02:56, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Neglected articles

    Is there a way to find out which of our 2 million articles have been untouched for the longest time? It occurred to me that maybe they need some care and attention. Astronaut (talk) 02:55, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You can try Special:Ancientpages, though it hasn't been updated for over a year. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 03:02, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You can help at Wikipedia:WikiProject Abandoned Articles. Mr.Z-man 03:05, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Which, ironically, is starting to become abandoned.Darn. Beat me to the save page button. NF24(welcome, 2008!) 03:07, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    durple

    I want to login in under my name (durple) but when I ask for a new password I do not get a response? No new password is emailed to me? Doug Gerrard


    What's a durple?

    A durple is any physical device of any size or material used to temporarily join two things together. The word can be used as a noun or verb. Some examples; a paper clip, clothespin, trailer hitch, safetypin, snaphook, harness, velcro. There is no one word in the English language that rhymes with purple so I made this one up in 1963 so poets have a whole new area to explore. Doug<email address removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.158.103.60 (talk) 04:26, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    A few questions:
    1. Are you sure that you set an email address in Special:Preferences?
    2. Do you still have access to that Email?
    3. Does your email use a spam filter? VivioFateFan (Talk, Sandbox) 08:51, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]


    Not so it doesn't rhyme
    • There is disperple
    • Also bepurple and empurple but really related words
    The emperor's purple to the crowd did disperple did'st them all empurple
    See - didn't have to use durple even once.
    Spinningspark (talk) 12:47, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You are confused with orange which only rhymes with Halib-orange.
    Spinningspark (talk) 12:49, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Hm? Orange rhymes with mange, range, arrange, derange... -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 12:58, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Not really, same spelling of ending but different pronounciation. Orange is pronounced "orənj". See schwa for the correct pronounciation of ə.
    It makes me cringe
    Like a squeaky hinge
    That there's nowt in the world
    That rhymes with orange

    Spinningspark (talk) 13:34, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Shouldn't the third line be "That there's nought in the world"? Anyway, back to the original question. If you do have a spam filter, there's a way to turn it off. (Some ISP's, like mine, have a way to mark messages as "spam" and still deliver them to your inbox. Try that if you don't want to disable your filter.) In the event that you mistyped your e-mail address, you can usurp your username by creating a new account and going to WP:CHU/U. NF24(radio me!) 14:42, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Nought might well make a better poem, but I did mean nowt. It is a word from an english dialect spoken in Yorkshire, England. Spinningspark (talk) 00:25, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Though generally accounts such as durple (talk · contribs) who already have edits can't be usurped. There's somewhat of a gray area though, as it's usually left up to the discretion of the bureaucrat who reviews the request. Two minor edits may be well bellow the threshold for which problems with the GFDL emerge.--69.118.143.107 (talk) 14:44, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Under what conditions should politics be included in an article?

    Someone suggested that I work on Private highway. At the the bottom, the "Supporters" and "Opponents" sections just seem kind of silly to me. I'd like to remove them, but I don't know what specific policy they're violating. Does anyone have any suggestions? The important fact is that there is no mainstream debate over whether to privatize roads. Zenwhat (talk) 04:27, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I'd remove both. They violate the neutrality police and are border line original research as they are mostly using sources to push a specific point and seem to be using sources out of context, both no-nos. Collectonian (talk) 12:25, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Deleted Pages

    Hi, I was just wondering if anyone knows of a way to view pages or the history of pages which have been deleted? Because a few pages which I was interested in have been deleted and if I knew they were going to be deleted off wikipedia, I would have save them into a word document so I was still able to view them. TeePee-20.7 (talk) 05:13, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Administrators can view the deleted history of pages. Leave me a note on my talk page about which pages you want and I may be able to provide the content. Mr.Z-man 08:29, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Sweet thanks! Will do. TeePee-20.7 (talk) 13:05, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    As some additional information (always beneficial in the event that Mr. Z-man should suddenly win an all-expense paid cruise to Antarctica and be unavailable when you need it ;)) you may also find other admins willing to provide copies of pages at Category:Wikipedia administrators who will provide copies of deleted articles or by going through the process at Wikipedia:Deletion_review#Temporary_review. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 13:29, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    LOL well even if that doesn't happen, thanks heaps! :D TeePee-20.7 (talk) 13:05, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Unblock

    Why use "Requests for unblock" to find users asking to be unblocked? You can also find such users by clicking that question mark image. After all, not every page with that template is in the "Requests for unblock" category. 58.168.147.119 (talk) 08:24, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wherever it is, it's important to have some fairly reliable means of quickly locating and isolating active unblock requests; people have been looking to that category for some time, while the image may not be shared between all unblock templates, may be present on other pages, or may even be changed in favor of another. Is there some specific example where an {{unblock}} (or sibling) template has failed to add a user talk page into CAT:RFU? – Luna Santin (talk) 11:55, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    identity

    Can I hide my identity?08:52, 1 January 2008 (UTC)08:52, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

    If, by identity, you mean your IP address, all you need to do is register for a free account. See Wikipedia:Why create an account? –thedemonhog talk • edits 09:15, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Question re page deletion

    Why is that page called "Wikipedia:Why was my page deleted?" when it is clearly stated that no one owns any articles? 58.168.147.119 (talk) 10:02, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    As the person who originally proposed the page title, the idea at the time was to try and be "familiar" with the person, with the idea that a more friendly, personal approach might succeed where several others over the years have quite clearly failed. Certainly no single person does own pages, but many people feel that way, at least at first; we can't expect people to become instantly accustomed to Wikipedia's attitudes and norms all at once, realisitically. Something like that, anyway. :) – Luna Santin (talk) 11:33, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The word "my" allows for several meanings, in keeping with the general ambiguity of natural language. For example, a married person might refer to "my husband" or "my wife," but in most nations a married person does not own his or her spouse. Similarly, one might say "my college" to refer to the college one merely attended, rather than the college one owns. If we wanted to be technically correct, the page title should be "Why was the article that I created deleted?" Even though that is awkward, you could create a redirect from that title to the existing page. Interestingly, even this lolcat caption is more technically correct, although not grammatically correct. --Teratornis (talk) 20:39, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Search

    how do i find a search option? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.150.102.205 (talk) 13:09, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    There's a search box in the upper-left-hand side of any page. You can not only search Wikipedia but several search engines as well. (Clicking "Go" will take you directly to a title you typed in if it exists, while clicking "Search" will search Wikipedia, whether the title exists or not.) NF24(radio me!) 13:15, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) I'm not sure what you want but see Wikipedia:Search. It's often better to search Wikipedia with an external search engine like Google. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:18, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    β barrel --> Beta barrel

    Could someone create a redirect page at β barrel with a target pointing to Beta barrel? There is a similar precedent with Beta sheet and β sheet. Thank you.--69.118.143.107 (talk) 14:42, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    checkY Done It unfortunately had to be created as B barrel due to technical limitations. However, B sheet is the same so there shouldn't be a problem. NF24(radio me!) 14:44, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    It really is a capital beta (Β = Β barrel) rather than a Latin B (B = B barrel). They look very similar. --h2g2bob (talk) 15:02, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Username trouble

    Is there any way I can edit my username?If there is,do inform me.I would be more than glad.And also can you tell me how to delete my account incase i cannot edit my user name,i will have to make another account by deleting this one. Thankyou. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nolabel17 (talk • contribs) 14:59, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Admins can change your username - ask at Wikipedia:Changing username --h2g2bob (talk) 15:07, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    {edit conflict) You can ask an administrator to change your username for you, see Wikipedia:Changing_username for more information. I hope this helps! Happy New Year! The Helpful One (Talk) (Contributions) 15:09, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    To be exact, it requires a bureaucrat (and they respond at Wikipedia:Changing username). PrimeHunter (talk) 15:27, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Note though that if you've only just registered, they tend to suggest you just create a new account with the correct name, because it's normally much easier than going through the fussy change username procedure. It isn't possible to delete an old account, but unused accounts are harmless and can be left on the system. • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 17:27, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    mayo v/s salad dressing

    I am looking for info on the handling of these products in a salad dressing. Would the dressing have to be refrigerated after rebotlling--Yiannispano (talk) 15:00, 1 January 2008 (UTC)JOHN SPANOUDAKIS--15:00, 1 January 2008 (UTC)Yiannispano (talk)[reply]

    This page is for questions about editing Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. Happy New Year! The Helpful One (Talk) (Contributions) 15:06, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    How do I find MY wikipedia page?

    I just went on wikipedia and signed up and created about a paragraph titled Spencer and Carrie Storer. However when I search that exact thread nothings found. Can you tell me where I screwed up? I want to be able to tell my wife to search her name on Google and have our Wikipedia page pop up. Thanks!

    I know they said no emails to but I am not sure where you'll respond to when answering this or how I'll find it. So if you want, you email me at <e-mail removed>

    Thanks a lot Spencer —Preceding unsigned comment added by Storers1 (talk • contribs) 16:48, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    On the top of the page while signed in, look at contributions and it should be there somewhere.  Sunderland06  16:52, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    It's on your userpage. Each Wikipedian gets their own page in the User: namespace. Your userpage can be found at User:Storers1 or Special:Mypage. NF24(radio me!) 16:54, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    An article written about yourself or your relatives will have been considered non-notable and will have been deleted by an administrator. That is the most likely possibility if you can't find it now. Lradrama 16:56, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    OK, it appears that NASCAR Fan24 has found the solution. ^ It is on your userpage. See his comment (2nd reply down). Lradrama 16:57, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I don't think that they were expecting a response here. Continued on user talk page. NF24(radio me!) 17:08, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    back pain

    does anxiety & sress cause back pain

    Unfortunately, Wikipedia does not give medical advice. You may be interested in our Back pain article, however. NF24(radio me!) 18:44, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Editing of protected page Cold fusion

    Cold fusion was protected yesterday, yet today User:JzG has made two edits for which he hasn't sought consensus (and would be unlikely to get it). This seems to be against policy. Also, I don't see the page mentioned in the Requests for protection so I can't see how it came to be fully protected. How should I take these questions up? Itsmejudith (talk) 18:36, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    The Administrator's noticeboard? Though JzG (or Guy, as he calls himself) is an admin, and the edits were probably in good faith. The first was correcting factual errors and the second was removing unnecessary information. Also, page protection does not need to go to RFPP; that's only a place where normal users can request protection. Admins can prudently protect pages at will, AFAIK. (e.g. several admins have fully protected their userpages so only they can edit). NF24(radio me!) 18:51, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) Wikipedia:Protection policy does specify that "Administrators should not edit pages that are protected due to a content dispute, unless there is consensus for the change, or the change is unrelated to the dispute." If the change is not unrelated to the dispute or is against consensus, you might start by civilly approaching the admin at User talk:JzG or Talk:Cold fusion as recommended at Wikipedia:Administrator#Dealing with grievances. It is always possible (and should be presumed until demonstrated otherwise) that the change was well-intentioned if (in fact it is) misguided. That failing, I suppose you might next want to consider WP:ANI or Wikipedia talk:Protection policy for additional feedback. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 18:56, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thank you. I see that other editors have taken the case to the ANI. I also asked him to revert on his talk page and User:Uncle Ed independently asked him on the article talk page. Please note that the statements that he was correcting factual errors and removing unnecessary information are just his opinion. The result was to put a slightly different spin in the summary of a crucial source, so hardly uncontroversial. Itsmejudith (talk) 20:11, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    May I suggest that you weigh in at the ANI conversation to explain your perspective, in that case? I've read it over, but I lack background in cold fusion. (That's a bit of an understatement, actually, along the lines of "I have yet to master breathing water.") If you want to talk about Oscar Wilde or Sutton Hoo, I'm your (wo)man. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 20:23, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks, I'll do that. I'm also completely out of my depth with the science, but I can see that this is a question of how to present an official report, dealing with science policy rather than science itself. I have only been involved with the article because there was a posting at the Fringe theories noticeboard and I thought I could help get it back towards NPOV. Itsmejudith (talk) 20:31, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Triple H

    I am interested in adding a section to his page entitled "Controversy". I was wondering why I can't add it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.228.208.107 (talk) 19:21, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi. The article was protected in October of 2007 following a rash of vandalism. Only users with accounts at least four days old are able to edit it. You may register for an account or, if you'd prefer, request unprotection. Hope that helps. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 19:28, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    2023

    there is pornography on 2023 can you take this off, thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.200.110.207 (talk) 19:55, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I don't see any pornography on 2023. Wikipedia is not censored; however, that would be an unlikely place to legitimately find material that might be deemed pornographic. Quite often, such material results from simple vandalism and can be reverted by any editor, so long as the page is not protected. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 20:03, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Looking back through the diffs it is clear to see there was never any pornography in the article. WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDENwe need to talk.• 20:56, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    But looking at the templates used on that page, I find that Template:C21YearInTopic was indeed vandalised, and has since been semi-protected as a result. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 21:52, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Which would make sense, if it wasn't for the fact that the vandalism is now being continued by an autoconfirmed user.--69.118.143.107 (talk) 22:30, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Although it does seem to provide a nifty way to uncover the sock farm. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:55, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Preventing line break

    Is there a way to prevent a segment of text to be broken into different lines. For example, if I write "1 + 1 = 2" this segment can be broken into "1" at the end of a line and "+ 1 = 2" at the beginning of the following line. In this case, I would prefer if the browser can treat the entire segment as one entity and put it at the beginning of a line if it cannot fit it at the end of the previous one. Can I do this? --KYN (talk) 20:16, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    An ugly workaround is <div>1 + 1 = 2</div>. Or you can simply use <math> tags, i.e. <math>1+1=2</math>. x42bn6 Talk Mess 20:43, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, there is a way. There is a tag called nbsp which prevents "wrapping". You use it like this:
    1 + 2 = 2

    You'll have to go into the code to see it, though. WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDENwe need to talk.• 20:53, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See also nbsp. The code used above looks like this:
    1&nbsp;+&nbsp;2&nbsp;=&nbsp;2
    You'll have to go into the code to see how I displayed it, though. ;-) PrimeHunter (talk) 22:35, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks, --KYN (talk) 23:20, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    There is also a template called {{nowrap}}. —Random832 21:38, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia links in Multimap

    Multimap now optionally displays Wikipedia links. Are these inserted by Multimap or by WP editors, and if so, how? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dhyandeva (talk • contribs) 23:06, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I believe that Multimap inserts the links. NF24(radio me!) 23:28, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    January 2

    An article with serious issues I can't address

    Nedley_Mandingo: I came across this article while browsing the category Obscenity Controversies. I'm fairly certain this article has been vandalized, from bits such as this:

    "Manson's Father in law is the oldest of the show's crew with an estimated age of over 60. (He plays Ned at Live appearance, when Ned and Manson have to appear together, to continue to steal money from you, weird how this "Ned" never has anything to say)"

    and the first sentence under "Neds Interest" (sic), which I won't dignify by pasting it here.

    Unfortunately (well, unfortunately for the ARTICLE, anyway) I have absolutely ZERO knowledge of the mechanics and characters of the "Bubba the Love Sponge" show, and I'm thus unable to do anything with this article other than report it here. (I did consider putting it up for AfD, but I couldn't find a valid criterion...)Gladys J Cortez 00:20, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I've removed most of the content per WP:BLP. In the case of biographies of living persons, all content should be reliably sourced. Thank you for reporting this here. Mr.Z-man 00:34, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Ooh! WP:BLP...of course!!! Why didn't I think of that??? (foreheadslap) Thanks!!!Gladys J Cortez 00:43, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    need to reverse a page move

    I am looking for some assistance on reversing a page move I did. The page is Hamilton Centre (provincial electoral district). I was looking at the undo feature on the history listing, but when i tried it said it was unable to do, so I did not want to mess it up any further. I came across what I thought was a missed move in the listing of Ontario provicial electoral districts, but it seems someone stopped converting them at Hamilton Centre's page. Thanks in advance for the help. --Jordan 1972 (talk) 00:28, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I believe I've fixed it. Take a look. ~ Bella Swan 00:37, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    No, you did a copy and paste move, which breaks the page history. You should always use the "Move" tab to rename a page and if that doesn't work, ask on WP:Requested moves for an admin to do it. I've fixed this one. Mr.Z-man 00:41, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Just as an additional note, on those rare occasions when a copy & paste is appropriate, as when one article is being merged into another, you must note the source of the material in order to comply with GFDL. This is done with a wikilink to the original article in the edit summary. Then the redirect includes the template {{R from merge}}. This makes sure that the redirected article is not deleted. All things considered, it's much better when we can simply move the article as Mr. Z-man did. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 00:46, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    FACTS ABOUT "GUIt AM" ON WIKIPEDIA

    To Whom it may Concern:

    Your current opening paragraph about Guam reads as follows:

    'Guam (Chamorro: Guåhan), officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the Western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States. It is one of five U.S. territories with established civilian government.[1] The island's capital is Hagåtña (formerly Agana). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands.

    The Chamorros, Guam's indigenous inhabitants, first populated the island approximately 6,000 years ago.[citation needed] The island has a long history of European colonialism beginning in 1668 with the arrival of Padre San Vitores, a Spanish missionary. The island was captured from Spain by the United States during the Spanish American War in 1898. As the largest island in Micronesia and the only American-held island in the region before World War II, Guam was occupied by the Japanese between December 1941 and July 1944. Today, Guam's economy is mainly supported by tourism (primarily from Japan) and U.S. military bases.[2]

    It should read as follows:

    'Guam (Chamorro: Guåhan), officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the Western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government.[1] The island's capital is Hagåtña (formerly Agana). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the [Mariana Islands Archipelago].

    The Chamorros, Guam's indigenous inhabitants, first populated the island approximately 6,000 years ago.[citation needed] The island has a long history of European colonialism beginning in 1668 with the arrival of Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Spanish Jesuit missionary who founded the first Catholic church on Guam. The island was ceded from Spain to the United States following the Spanish American War in 1898. As the largest island in Micronesia and the only U.S. Navy administered island in the region before World War II, Guam was occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army between December 8, 1941 and July 21, 1944. Today, Guam's economy is mainly supported by tourism (primarily from Japan and other Asian countries), U.S. Department of Defense installations and locally owned businesses.[2] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.98.163.2 (talk) 01:13, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Thank you for your suggestion. When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the Edit this page link at the top. The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes — they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to). Mr.Z-man 07:59, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Edit help: How to put paragraphs within a single bulleted item?

    This is an editing-style question. Some editors like bulleted lists for long lists with short descriptions. However, when the material for a bullet gets to be lengthy the bullet text becomes a huge tedious run-on, and the text can be hard to follow without paragraph breaks:

    • Item 1
    • Item 2
    • Item 3 with a really long boring block of text that really should be broken into two or more paragraphs but there's no apparant way to do it. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
    • Item 4

    I want it to break that into two or more paragraphs, except with the second paragraph indented to be part of the paragraph above it:

    • Item 1
    • Item 2
    • Item 3 with a really long boring block of text that really should be broken into two or more paragraphs but there's no apparant way to do it. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

    Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

    • Item 4

    Embedding text within single-cell tables can be a workaround to formatting problems. But a wikitable is incompatible with a wiki-bullet list. This attempt fails miserably:

    • Item 1
    • Item 2
    • {|width="100%"

    |- |Item 3 with a really long boring block of text that really should be broken into two or more paragraphs but there's no apparant way to do it. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

    Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. |}

    • Item 4

    I can FORCE this into working by using raw HTML markup like this: <ul> <li> <table width="100%"> <tr> <td> . . </td> </tr> </table> </li> </ul> and it does work correctly, but now I've contravened wiki conventions by not using the wiki's markup language and is not likely to sit well with other editors..

    • Item 1
    • Item 2
    • Item 3 with a really long boring block of text that really should be broken into two or more paragraphs but there's no apparant way to do it. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

      Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

      Raw HTML works! This is all part of one giant cell within a table. But alas the bullet doesn't align with the first paragraph. Oh well.

    • Item 4


    What can be done to do this "properly" using wiki markup? Or is it not possible to do what I want here with pure wiki markup? DMahalko (talk) 02:04, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You could probably put a colon : to indent the text.   jj137 ♠ 02:07, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    • Testing 1
    Testing 2
    • Testing 3
    Testing 4
    Alas this does not work under FireFox 2.0.0.11 and Internet Explorer 7 -- the indent for a colon is different from the bullet-item ident. :-/ DMahalko (talk) 02:14, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'd say the best option to use is partial HTML. Have a standard bulleted list, but use <p> tags on the long item. Example:
    • Item 1
    • Item 2

    • Item 3 with a really long boring block of text that really should be broken into two or more paragraphs but there's no apparant way to do it. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

      Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

    • Item 4
    This method keeps the bulleted list while allowing for paragraph breaks. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 02:40, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]


    Another method: You can just add a <br> in the text, and just keep writing on the same line. The paragraph will still be long in wikimarkup, but will look fine on the screen (at least it does in IE6):

    • Lorum ipsum whatever whatever (I can't remember how it goes). Here comes the break.
      Next line, aligned with the first.

      If you add two breaks, it aligns correctly, but adds a blank line.

    See? --barneca (talk) 12:12, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    If you can't remember "how it goes," we actually have (incredibly) a Lorem ipsum article. --Teratornis (talk) 16:43, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    A article with muttiple page design?

    I have an article with large contents and I prefer to have it in multiple pages where a user can move from one page to another and back rather than one very long page.

    It is possible to create such mutliple pages in Wikipedia? If it possible, does anyone has guiding instructions or sample example as to how this can be done?

    --Jamesccs (talk) 02:32, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See these entries under WP:EIW#Article:
    --Teratornis (talk) 03:30, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Spacing

    Is there a way how i can make get these tables to be even and for the references to be right in this article? Thanks Hatmatbbat10 (talk) 04:51, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I don't know, but you might find something useful in Wikipedia:How to fix bunched-up edit links. Another possibility might be to put those three "loose" tables into cells within a larger containing table. --Teratornis (talk) 07:03, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    CANT ACCESS

    UNABLE TO LOG IN WITH MY PASSWORD. HAVE CONFIRMED MY ACCOUNT. PLEASE ADVISE. THANK YOU.

    —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.162.67.59 (talk) 05:04, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I hope that some of the suggestions at Help: Logging in will be able to give you assistance. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 12:56, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I think the answer is simple, you have CAPS LOCK on, and passwords are case sensitive. Turn it off and try again. --69.118.143.107 (talk) 12:59, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I botched myf irst attempt at editing.

    I tried to edit the article about Ernie Vandeweghe. I noticed that some of my attempted edits seemed to be "bracketed" by the name "Nowicki" (What does that mean?) Those edits never went through, but others did. Therefore, some of the article seems a bit garbled, and while some of the punctuation has been improved, much has not. What did I do wrong? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pepecoco (talk • contribs) 05:09, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I reverted your edit; try it again. What were you trying to do when you got the nowiki tags? If you wanted to delete text, just delete it; don't click on the that tool bar button. --teb728 t c 07:02, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    See Help:Magic words#Default for explanation of <nowiki>...</nowiki>. --Teratornis (talk) 07:06, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Using Wikipedia

    Can I use Wikipedia as a reference source for my school projects without violating its copyrights? Cyberina 11 07:27, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

    Yes you can, see Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. --Silver Edge (talk) 07:34, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    But it's not really a good idea, most teachers won't accept their students using Wikipedia as a source, like my old English teacher. Jake the Editor Man (talk) 22:49, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    how do i post a picture

    how do i post a picture?

    See Help:Images and other uploaded files. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:52, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    group discussion related

    should there be job resrvation in private sector? please answer pointwise. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.91.178.247 (talk) 09:28, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    This page is for questions about editing Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. Happy New Year! The Helpful One (Talk) (Contributions) 11:03, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    group discussion

    is america a rogue superpower? please answer pointwise . —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.91.178.247 (talk) 09:30, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    This page is for questions about editing Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. Happy New Year! The Helpful One (Talk) (Contributions) 11:02, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    The Reference Desk is not an appropriate place for this question, as this is a polemical question and not one properly addressed at the Reference Desk, which is for factual information, not opinion. Corvus cornixtalk 18:24, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Ummm...

    Can you block an account's account creation and/or e-mail without blocking the account itself? 58.168.147.119 (talk) 11:54, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    There's no easy way to do so, that I'm aware of. – Luna Santin (talk) 11:55, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    No, if an account is blocked, the creation and/or email are extra things to be blocked. The first and main part of blocking is not being able to edit. Happy New Year! The Helpful One (Talk) (Contributions) 12:00, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    How to help in preventing vandalism

    I am a new wikipedian and wish to help in arresting vandalism. but how do I do that?? Maanush (talk) 12:45, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You cannot prevent vandalism, but you can revert it. Check out How to respond to vandalism for a complete guide. --Yamanbaiia(free hugs!) 12:52, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Thank you for asking to help tackle vandalism (: the recent changes on the left shows 'recent changes' surprisingly enough, that's a bit slow though, clicking on every link to see whether its vandalism or not, a better way is to use a tool I find this is the best just follow the instructions on that page and you can try this, hope that helps. Harland1 (t/c) 13:19, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    If you are really ambitious, perhaps bordering on being gripped by hubris, you could try to persuade Jimbo Wales to require users to log in before editing. Some 97% of vandalism comes from non-logged-in users, and while requiring all users to log in would possibly motivate some vandals to create accounts, it does appear that semi-protecting pages (i.e., requiring users to log in before editing those pages) reduces vandalism to those pages. In other words, semi-protection is like a limited experiment to test the effect of requiring users to log in before editing, but I am not aware of any systematic attempt to analyze the results of this experiment, to see if requiring users to log in before editing the whole encyclopedia might yield a net improvement (that is, to see whether the reduced vandalism might outweigh the loss of constructive non-logged-in contributors who for some reason might strongly resist creating accounts). Having actual data on the impact of requiring users to log in before editing could elevate the currently faith-based debate to a debate about facts. --Teratornis (talk) 16:39, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    And for everything you could want to know about vandalism and more (other than vandals' real names and addresses), see: WP:EIW#Vandal. --Teratornis (talk) 16:45, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Mistake

    Recently in attempt to adding a photo of terry brooks I by mistake uploaded a different image the file is saved in wikipedia commons under the name "Terry Brooks" I dont know how to delete it please delete it.Thank you Maanush (talk) 12:54, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    If you still want to upload an image under that name go here, if not, the image will eventually be deleted because it doesn't show a link to a valid picture in Flickr. --Yamanbaiia(free hugs!) 13:03, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    How to handle conflicting birth date information

    A Wiki user claiming to be the step-daughter of Florian ZaBach reported that the birthdate shown in the Florian ZaBach article (1931) was incorrect, it should be 1918, and cites the Social Security death index as confirmation. I checked all of the referenced sources and found that most of them report 1931 and a few report 1921. See Talk:Florian ZaBach. How should we handle this type of discrepancy? Truthanado (talk) 14:49, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Well, with an approximate date, according to MOS, one would add "c." before the date. I'd probably be inclined to suggest at the talk page going with the most reliably referenced with a footnote reporting on the discrepancy and directing to references that provide other dates. Or you might go with the most likely in the date range, possibly with a "but see" footnote" and report the discrepancy, with proper notes, in the biography section, with a lead along the lines of "ZaBach's year of birth have been variously reported as...." In your position, I'd probably propose one of those at the talk page. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 16:21, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Style guidelines: lists

    Wikipedia:Lists#Title_of_list

    It says As a matter of style, list items should start with a capital letter. They should not have a punctuation mark such as a period, a comma or a semi-colon at the end, except if a list item is one or more full sentences, in which case there is a period at the end.

    What about if I want to say, for example:

    Simple things that people can do to reduce their environmental impact include:

    • using energy-efficient light bulbs and switching off lights when they are not required
    • using lids on cooking pans to reduce the heat-input required for cooking and not ferociously boil when simmering will achieve the same effect

    According to the rule state above, it should read.

    Simple things that people can do to reduce their environmental impact include:

    • Using energy-efficient light bulbs and switching off lights when they are not required
    • Using lids on cooking pans to reduce the heat-input required for cooking and not ferociously boil when simmering will achieve the same effect

    but this a problem because each bullet point starts mid-sentence.

    Also, where it says that a period at the end is only permitted at the end of a bullet pointed sentence if there is more than one sentence to that bullet point, wont this look inconsistent in contrast to bullet points with only one sentence?

    • Blah blah blah blah
    • Blah blah blah blah
    • Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
    • Blah blah blah blah

    --Seans Potato Business 16:07, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi. (Almost) everything is contextual. If you feel certain that the article on which you're working would benefit from deviations from standard style, you may wish to implement those deviations, so long as you are prepared to explain your deviation (and perhaps even do so proactively, on the talk page of the article). If the article is actively edited, you might wish to discuss it before implementation on the talk page. If the article is not actively edited, but you aren't particularly bold in deviating from norm (I'm not), you might wish to seek consensus for your idea at a relevant wikiproject or the talk page of a relevant guideline. (On the latter page, you may even wish to raise the question of whether consensus exists to alter the styleguide to account for such deviations.) Good luck, and happy editing. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 16:29, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    citing sources

    where can i find the copyright date —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.190.233.236 (talk) 16:33, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Is it a websource? If so, they don't usually have one. Rt. 16:53, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    If it's Wikipedia you want to cite in another work then see Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:35, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Details of currencies

    I want details of denominations of currencies of all the countries in the world. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.95.71.87 (talk) 16:58, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    There's a page at Currencies. But to see what country uses what, see List of currencies. Please remember though that this desk is for using Wikipedia. Rt. 17:05, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Go to the the reference desk or do what Rudget said. Just out of interest, why do you want details of every denomination of every currency in the world? Jake the Editor Man (talk) 22:52, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Why was my article deleted?

    I find using Wikipedia bewildering. I simply want to post an article. I know absolutely noting about codes. I signed up and logged in then I created the following page: Nouveau nous (Nous from the Greek meaning mind, thought or soul) or new mind refers to persons who recently acquired a taste for intellectual or philosophical thought and discussion. The nouveau nous often engage in intellectual one-upsmenship, pedantic discussion, misuse of concepts, and philosophical “name dropping.” Like the Nouveau riche (see Wikipedia entry), the nouveau nous lack the intellectual experience to properly utilize ideas, philosophical concepts and texts which have been newly acquired. Often they are the first in their family to go to college, or at least the first in their family to focus on abstract ideas. They often appear to be intellectually insecure; hence, they make special efforts to make up for this by excessive or incorrect philosophical dialectic. Without a long familial history of experience with philosophical or intellectual abstractions, they often conspicuously utilize abstract ideas, and avail themselves of abstruse quotes, taken out of context.

    It was deleted with the explaination that it did not show itself to be important. I think the term is very useful and clever. Anyway, I was unable to contact the person who deleted it. How can I simply add this page? Perhaps Wikipedia is too complicated for a non-geek like me. please advise. -Bullwinkle19 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bullwinkle19 (talk • contribs) 17:05, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Is this a term already in use? If so, did you provide references to uses of this term in reputable sources? Wikipedia is not a venue for original research, nor for neologisms. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:18, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    edit conflict Hi. With regards to the article, there are two significant obstacles to overcome. First, you will have to create an article that is more than just a dictionary definition in order for Wikipedia to host it; Wikipedia is not a dictionary. Wiktionary, on the other hand, is, and it may be very interested in an article on the term. The second obstacle is that Wikipedia has a policy against articles on neologisms. Can you demonstrate through reliable secondary sourcing that this term is in widespread usage? If you can demonstrate widespread usage of the term and can write an article that is more than simply a definition of the term, then it may be appropriate for Wikipedia. Otherwise, even if the page is not speedily deleted, it is likely to be brought up for deletion through another process.
    Onto your other note: when you check the log of a deleted article, which you can find when you enter the title of the article (for example, here's one that I deleted: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Suresh_vaithianathan&action=edit), you see the name of the deleting administrator, followed immediately by a "talk" link. If you press that link, it will take you to the administrator's personal talk page, where you can ask your questions. (Please remember to sign all notes on talk pages or boards--but not articles--by typing four tildes (~~~~). This will input your name & a time stamp, which is helpful to other editors communicating with you.)
    As a final point, if after reading the speedy deletion policies, you feel that the deletion of an article was done outside of policy, you may choose to ask the administrator to review his or her decision. If he or she disagrees with you, you can invite wider community review of the choice at the deletion review board. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 17:21, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Also see: Wikipedia:Why was my article deleted? Wikipedia is complicated, but not more complicated than the real world we must all deal with every day. The difference is that in the real world, we have our social upbringing to help us navigate the intricate system of do's and don'ts we must follow to stay out of trouble. In contrast, Wikipedia is unlike everything which existed before, so our past experience causes almost everyone who is new to Wikipedia to form some misconceptions about it. It's remarkable that many humans seem to vastly overestimate their expertise when forging into new fields they initially know nothing about. In the early days of Arctic exploration, for example, this led to many fatalities among explorers, as they assumed they knew how to survive in the hostile environment. Fortunately on Wikipedia, we don't have to pay for our mistakes with our lives, but the key to survival is the same as it was for the Arctic: learn from the people already there. After enough Arctic explorers died to demonstrate the value of intellectual humility, the later ones began asking the Inuit how they had managed to live in the Arctic for thousands of years, instead of dismissing them as primitive savages. It turns out the Inuit had a whole array of clever technological innovations to keep themselves alive and relatively comfortable in the harshest environment humans had yet inhabited. Similarly, Wikipedians have come up with an array of innovations to facilitate collaborative editing on the largest scale ever done, i.e. to keep ourselves "alive" in the harsh online environment, and the way to learn about these innovations is to Read The Friendly Manuals. Wikipedia is designed for people who can self-educate by reading manuals and following instructions. Everyone else is likely to have a difficult time participating here. --Teratornis (talk) 18:28, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Alerting when article contents is changed

    How can I track a particular page so that I get an alert when it is updated - i.e. each time the page is saved? Does Wiki either have such a feature or is there some recommended external page content tracking software/webservice?134.24.147.144 (talk) 18:42, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi, and welcome to Wikipedia. I'm not sure if there are external trackers to let you know each time a page is saved, but one of the benefits of registering an account is that you will have access to a "watchlist" which allows you to see the most recent change to an article. This does require you to log in and view your watchlist on occasion, but perhaps this will help? --Moonriddengirl (talk) 18:45, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The basic idea of a watchlist is that when you're logged in, an extra watch tab appears at the top of each page. If you click that tab, it'll add the page to your watchlist, which lists all changes to pages on your watchlist. When you're logged in, there's a link to your watchlist in the corner of each page as well. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 18:55, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Question about uploading photos

    I own & operate a website devoted to autographs, primarily political. I have many, thousands, of signed photos of various politicians and use your website for information for the various listings. I have noticed that you do not have photos of many of the older politicians and would like to contribute the photos I have. Almost all of these photos have come diretly from the various politicians offices themselves as promos over various years. I do not want to violate any copywright laws but believe I can make a signifigant contribution with these images. Can someone advise me if it's ok to upload these to Wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vidalhoward (talk • contribs) 19:37, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See WP:FUC (perhaps not the best shortcut abbreviation, but oh well). You can also search the Help desk archive for "fair use" to read previous answers to questions like this. --Teratornis (talk) 20:35, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia editing software

    Does there exist, akin to an HTML editor, software to make editing easier through the use of colour-coded tags and hiding/showing of inline citations etc? ----Seans Potato Business 19:57, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See WP:EIW#Tools for what's available. --Teratornis (talk) 20:31, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Wikipedia API

    Is there an API for Wikipedia? If not, is there a project to create one? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.225.91.110 (talk) 20:14, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See the entries under WP:EIW#Query. --Teratornis (talk) 20:24, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]


    Accounts across language sites

    Does my account in English transfer to the Wikipedia sites for other languages? Insert name here (talk) 20:40, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Unfortunately no it doesn't. I am part of the Simple English Wiki and I have accounts on German Wiki and Meta-Wiki, but the same account isn't on all of them. You can register on to each wiki if you want and then add something like [en:User:Tinkleheimer] to that page. That will link to my Userpage on the English Wiki. I hope you understand :). Trevor "Tinkleheimer" Haworth 20:44, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    For background on this issue, and on the work being done to make it so that you can use a single login on all Wikimedia sites, see m:SUL. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 21:20, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Editors falsely claiming to be "experts." What's the policy?

    I've come across this twice now. First, there was a sockpuppet whose main account had been saying things like, "I have a Ph. D in X. You have no idea how many academic awards I have for X." On the other hand, I've come across another user who has some pretty big credentials on his userbox. While he hasn't invoked his credentials in our discussion, I am skeptical based on some pretty silly edits of his.

    What's the Wikipedia policy on user credentials? Should they be ignored or not? And should users be blocked for falsifying them? Wikipedia has no way to verify credentials. Therefore, even though WP:Ignore all credentials was rejected as a policy, it seems to be implied by WP:Verifiability. I plan to write an essay on this issue. Zenwhat (talk) 23:01, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    The policy on Wikipedia is that just about anyone can edit it. Therefore it's hard to understand what difference credentials could make. Mentioning one's credentials will probably not, for example, stop many vandals from being bold. A handful of users might be having a discussion on a talk page, thinking they are settling some issue, but anyone else could come along later and clobber everything. --Teratornis (talk) 23:29, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I've been doing some reading. Mentioning one's credentials can make a difference on Wikipedia, as shown by the Essjay controversy. It doesn't seem clear to me, then, how the Wikipedia community could reject both Credentifial verification and WP:Ignore all credentials. It's such a contentious issue (not to mention it's used by vandals) that it certainly deserves to have some kind of guideline, don't you think? Most people that opposed both of those proposals before seemed to believe Wikipedia needed some kind of guideline. Zenwhat (talk) 23:57, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The editor doesn't matter. The references matter. If you have a degree in X that may qualify you for having more books and references available to you on that subject, but other than that it's null. - Carbon [Nyan?] 23:59, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Category question

    In Category: Medical equipment, you will find an interesting item: User:Owain.davies/Defibrillation. This appears to be a userfied version of Defibrillation, which is also listed. I haven't the foggiest notion as to whether WP:BOLD includes messing with whether the list-item lives in article space or user space, esp since the history of the non-user-space article seems to imply some sort of edit conflict involving that user...not wanting to step on toes, I'm bringing it here. (Also, since I couldn't get the link to work, how does one link to a category? I tried putting "Category:Medical_equipment" into double square-brackets, like any other wikilink, but it just gave me a blank, thusly: "In, you will find..."--obviously not what I was trying to convey.) Gladys J Cortez 23:18, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    What you want to do here is link to the category. You probably should consult User:Owain.davies first (to be bold! but courteous as they may not appreciate edits to their userspace). To link to a category, insert a colon before the category name, so it looks like [[:Category:Medical equipment]]. This returns Category:Medical equipment. (The same works with images {Image:Example.svg} and templates {Template:Db} as well.) NF24(radio me!) 23:32, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    1. Thanks for the category tutorial. I'll get all this straight eventually! :) 2. Re: contacting the user--since it's the CATEGORY I want to change, and not the article in his userspace (except to delist it from the category), should I still contact him? He's more than welcome to his article; I just think it's confusing to have 2 versions of Defibrillator in the list. Gladys J Cortez 00:00, 3 January 2008 (UTC) (Oh, and NF24? GREAT username. Go JG!)[reply]
    I have often boldly commented out categories for mainspace articles in userspace, with an edit summary explaining it. Nobody has complained about this. Usually I also leave a note in the comment explaining it. See for example [10] where I also commented out a template which added a category. Wikipedia:User page#What may I not have on my user page? says to not add categories intended for articles to userspace. By the way, [[Template:Db]] without an initial : only gives a link to Template:Db. A common way to display the template syntax while only linking is {{tl|Db}} which produces {{Db}}. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:18, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Table column widths

    I have just created the article Combination puzzles. It contains a number of tables where the second column is labelled 'Data'. In every case I have used;
    ! width="250px"|Data
    to specify 250 pixel column width. However, the column is not the same width in every table. I have a particular problem with this one, where the second column text has been crushed. Deleting, or partially deleting the third column text on the first line seems to fix that particular table. I am completely baffled - help!

    Using IE6. Spinningspark (talk) 23:25, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    It looks fine in Firefox 2.0.0.11. That would indicate a problem with IE6. Upgrade to IE7 or Firefox if possible and everything should render correctly. NF24(radio me!) 23:38, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Looks good in IE7 also. Malinaccier (talk) 23:44, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks, I was afraid that was going to be the answer. Spinningspark (talk) 00:34, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    January 3

    Personal database

    How do you create your own personal list of articles you're interested in and want to retrieve quickly? It's like bookmarking a page, but the link isn't saved on a specific computer but on the internet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bartvannuffel (talk • contribs) 00:01, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Help:Watching pages may be of interest. The watchlist also has a link to display all watched pages. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:22, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You can create a list on your own userpage. You should have a link to it at the top of the page when you are logged on, but if not follow this one: Bartvannuffel.

    To edit your page, click the "edit this page" tab. To create a link to an article, write the article name between two square brackets like this: [[Dinosaurs]] which will get you this: Dinosaurs. Voila

    When you post to the help desk, or any talk page, you should always sign with four tildes like this ~~~~ by the way. This will create a signature like mine below;

    Spinningspark (talk) 00:32, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]


    "Born in" such and such a place . . .

    What is the policy or guideline on the inclusion of a "Born in" section in articles about cities? I refer you Inglewood,_California#Born_in_Inglewood. Sincerely, GeorgeLouis (talk) 00:29, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    There are different opinions. See Wikipedia:WikiProject Cities/Guideline#Notable natives and residents, Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Cities/Archive 6#Proposal to delete "Notable natives", Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Cities/Guideline#Questions about these lists of notable people that live in town X. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:52, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    info needed for the crazy wiki editor

    can the crazy wiki editor insert downloadable virus-free audio clips into articles? —Preceding unsigned comment added by The Crazy Wiki Editor (talk • contribs) 00:36, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi there! Downloadable, no, but they can be played inside the article, like the one at Bloop. See Wikipedia:Media help for complete tips on media. Cheers, Master of Puppets Call me MoP! 00:57, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks for the politesse

    Kudos to the people answering the questions here. Generally the responses are quite respectful to the questioner. Sincerely, GeorgeLouis (talk) 00:53, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    As sometimes one of those people, I thank you. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 03:19, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Likewise, thank you. I try to assume that even a question that is in the wrong place, with atrocious spelling and grammar, and more full of logical holes than logical Swiss cheese, is written by someone who, if treated courteously, could become a great contributor here. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 05:40, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Using the IUCN Red List

    Hello, I've been struggling for half an hour with the Red List home page[11] trying to decide whether or not Prosthechea cochleata var. triandra is endangered, since it concerns the article I have just created concerning that subject. Could anyone who is familiar with that website (since I understand Wikipedia relies mostly on it for endangered species classification) help me search or search and tell me what they consider it (Least Concern, Vulnerable, etc.)? --♦♦♦Vlmastra♦♦♦ (talk) 00:11, 3 January 2008 (UTC) Edit: Let me be more specific: My message was:[reply]

    No results were found for the criteria you specified:

    • Text search: Prosthechea cochleata var. triandra
    • Modifier: Exact phrase
    • Search in: Whole database
    • Results type: Standard
    • Taxa: Species

    If these are correct, then the species you are searching for may not be in the database.

    I changed the database, taxa, modifier, etc. extensively, to no avail. Taxa should be listed whether or not endangered (and in that case as Least Concern) so I don't think this means it isn't endangered, and since P. cochleata var. triandra has been considered endangered elsewhere I imagine it has been reviewed by the IUCN. I would like to use this source, so any help will be appreciated. I assume that I am not searching correctly because common genera such as Cattleya and Paphiopedilum were similarly unlisted, and I know for a fact that Paphiopedilum rothschildianum is endangered. --♦♦♦Vlmastra♦♦♦ (talk) 00:28, 3 January 2008 (UTC) NOTE: I cross-posted this at the reference desk, since I was unsure which would be better.--♦♦♦Vlmastra♦♦♦ (talk) 00:59, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi. Thanks for asking at the help desk; however, you'd probably have more success at the reference desk, which is for more specific knowledge-related questions. The Help Desk is only for questions on how to use Wikipedia; i.e. how to format articles or do technical things. You can find the reference desk here; Wikipedia:Reference desk. Good luck, and I hope that helps! Master of Puppets Call me MoP! 01:02, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah, you added your note about the reference desk while I was adding this, it seems. Yes, the reference desk would be a better choice per the reasons in my above response. Cheers, Master of Puppets Call me MoP! 01:04, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    IAST diacriticals and font display problem

    On, for instance, the samsara (Buddhism) page, certain words marked as IAST (like this: Saṃsāra) display in a different font on Firefox. On IE, it seems to display correctly; Opera seems to substitute the ṃ; so does Safari. Why should this happen? What is the need for adding the IAST tag? The word Saṃsāra displays correctly without any such tag. Thanks. Devadaru (talk) 03:14, 3 January 2008 (UTC) correction: IE seems to substitute the ṃ, while Opera and Safari seem to display correctly. Devadaru (talk) 03:20, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    how many people are in the world

    how many people in the world —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.125.5.166 (talk) 03:59, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    See World population. Note that this page is the Help desk for learning how to use Wikipedia, and factual questions such as yours should be asked at the appropriate Reference desk. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 05:25, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Question

    What happened to when IP addresses could create pages? 58.168.147.119 (talk) 04:23, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    One of the resolutions from the Seigenthaler controversy in 2005 was to disable anonymous* page creation as an experiment, to see if this would aid in cutting back the number of pages that got created, and hence making it easier to patrol them. It was also hoped that this would cut back on the number of articles that would need to be deleted, since theoretically at least some proportion of people would be discouraged from creating a vandalism article due to the extra step of bureaucracy.
    In October 2007, it was proposed that anonymous page creation be re-enabled, which provoked a large number of different reactions (most of the discussion took place in one of three places - the wikipedia-en mailing list, the Village pump, and this RFC). In response, the developers stated that it would be re-enabled only if there were a clear consensus to do so, something which there definitely wasn't, and most likely will not be.
    If you want to create an article, there are now two main avenues: (1) Create an account, or (2) Submit your article to WP:Articles for creation. (1) is most certainly the preferred option (and gives you other benefits as well).

    * Of course, while by anonymous I mean IP addresses, even though a username technically grants more privacy in many ways. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 05:37, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Please help me post an addition to missing persons for 2007

    Hi I am having dificulty adding my fiance to the persons missing list. Every time I put it up it vannishes.

    this is what I have been trying to add...

    Jarrett Lee Burton a 58-year-old man was last seen about 7:30 p.m. 04/04/07 when he walked away from his driveway in the 1400 block of Seidersville Road in Salisbury Twp. Jarrett Lee Burton is a black man, who stands about 6 feet tall and weighs about 190 pounds. When last seen, he was wearing beige dress pants, light-colored dress shirt and glasses. He has silvery-gray hair, brown eyes and a freckle on his nose. Anyone who sees Jarrett Lee Burton is asked to call Salisbury police at 610-797-1447

    I would like to add links to the national center for missing persons but do not know how but do have the link this is it...

    http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200705256S


    Thank you, Jean-Christine —Preceding unsigned comment added by EstroJean (talk • contribs) 04:32, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi Jean. The reason your addition keeps disappearing is because the Wikipedia article List of people who have disappeared is for notable disappearances, and, sadly, a case like Mr Burton's is far from notable when it comes to disappearances - hundreds of similar disappearances occur every year, all over the world. So when you add the text, someone else is reverting your addition. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 05:23, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, User:Vidor reverted and added the explanation "(not notable; lacks own Wikipedia article)." If you disagree, you should go to the Discussion Page for that article and explain why. Sincerely (and with great respect for your search), GeorgeLouis (talk) 08:14, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'd add that Wikipedia is probably not the best place to alert people to Jarrett's disappearance as the article is not going to be read by the right people at all, certainly not by many people who live in Salisbury. Simply targeting the local area with flyers with a photo will be far more effective. • Anakin (contribs • complaints) 12:48, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    I messed up a little while contributing an edit - please help me fix it

    I just contributed my first edit -- adding a fact (and citation) to the article on "Dudly Field Malone." Obviously I missed something in the "how to edit" department, since when I inserted my reference, it had the effect of moving the next sentence of previously-existing text into my reference/footnote, followed by the reference for that sentence. My bad. can you help me fix this and restore proper formatting? Thanks. --Peter Goldberger, Ardmore, PA <peter.goldberger>(not yet a registered user) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.110.174.130 (talk) 04:35, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    You forgot to close the reference tag ("</ref>"). I tried to find a case-cite template since the one you chose doesn't exist; I'll keep looking. For now, just use a plain-text cite. -- RattleMan 05:15, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    CHINA;Yunchen, China. Need City Map

    Locating the North gate at Yunchen, China, from a map and/or a graphic to show grave sites. On april 14, 1945, Lt.Ernest W Gardner, jr.,A US Army Air Force Pilot was shot down 5 milses south of Taiku, China near the South Highway of Mats'un, six miles North of Yunchen , Lt. Gardner was buried outside the North Gate of Yuncheng City, Shansi, Province, and the grave marked with a wooden plaque. Needed, a city map to define where the North gate is located, and a photograph if possible of the graves in a possible Burial Ground. Thanks for any information from anyone. Barbzz —Preceding unsigned comment added by Barbzz (talk • contribs) 05:27, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Have you tried the miscellaneous section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:29, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    FAC

    If an article is already good enough for WP:FAC, can it skip WP:GAN? Lex T/C Guest Book 06:38, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Yes. –thedemonhog talk • edits 06:47, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Good articles and featured articles are quite separate processes and a listing at good article nominations is not normally a prerequisite before taking an article to WP:FAC. Most articles that go to good article nominations do so because for various reasons they can't or are unlikely to ever achieve featured articles status. What is a good idea is to take an article to peer review review before listing it at WP:FAC.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:26, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    ok to copy website text?

    Hi, is it ok to copy web site text if it is in the public domain? just checkin :D Stupid2 (talk) 06:39, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    If it is truly in the public domain, yes. But it should be placed inside of quotation marks and credited as to source; otherwise, it is just plagiarism. Even a paraphrase should be credited. Still, one has to ask: "How do you know it is in the public domain? There's plenty on the Web that is just plain stealing." Sincerely, GeorgeLouis (talk) 08:01, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    monobook.css

    Can someone give me a link to my page of this? Ive been looking every wwere for it. P.S pleasae respond on my talk page as ill most likely forget. BonesBrigade 07:50, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    User:BonesBrigade/monobook.css.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:16, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    dams

    dams are very important can some one tell me name of all pakistan dams —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.103.11.246 (talk) 08:16, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Try here - Carbon [Nyan?] 09:03, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Can't create new page

    I did a search for "Orbisoft" and it came back with 0 pages that matched that title. However I can't see on the search results pages anywhere with the mentioned link "Create this page" which I am trying to do.

    MarkBrownlee (talk) 08:44, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Its' the red link at the top where it says You searched for Orbisoft [Index]. KTC (talk) 10:20, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You should also see just below the search box the text "No page with that title exists." followed by a bulleted list. The last bulleted item should say: "• Create the page including your references."--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:10, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    You only get that part by clicking "Go" below the search box. This may have been changed recently. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:30, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    Why Deleted, I dont understand

    Hi, I spent 2 hours researching links and info, to submit an article on a known uk model and it got deleted within like an hour of me savig it, saying "no relevance etc"

    So what does this mean, that this person is not important enough to be submitted? If so, then why is it that various other UK and International models are featured on Wikipedia? I would like to know "what makes someone relevant" ???

    Can someone let me know please, also how do I contact the editor that delted it (I have their ID). Can pages be retreived? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Creativeenterprises (talk • contribs) 11:52, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    some articles have photos of the subject to the right of the page, in a kind of table with stats etc, how do I get that on my articles?

    The only option we seem to get is imputting text and formatting.

    I would be grateful if someone could explain simply how I can create this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Creativeenterprises (talk • contribs) 11:56, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    The article was Saffron Taylor. It was deleted with reference to Wikipedia:CSD#A7 but I see you have found and contacted the deleting administrator, so I will just give a couple of standard links for now: Wikipedia:Why was my page deleted?, Wikipedia:Notability (people). PrimeHunter (talk) 12:23, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

    uploaded images

    how do I delete images that i have uploaded? They have not been added to any pages. user name: Clara Hoskins

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&oldid=181856523"