Wikipedia:Help desk

Welcome—ask questions about how to use or edit Wikipedia! (Am I in the right place?)

• For other types of questions, use the search box, see the reference desk or Help:Contents. If you have comments about a specific article, use that article's talk page.
• Do not provide your email address or any other contact information. Answers will be provided on this page only.
• If your question is about a Wikipedia article, draft article, or other page on Wikipedia, tell us what it is!
• Check back on this page to see if your question has been answered.
• For real-time help, use our IRC help channel, #wikipedia-en-help.
• New editors may prefer the Teahouse, a help area for beginners (but please don't ask in both places).

Ask a question

September 19

sonny tufts?

I've been trying to contact wikipedia for an update on the bio of Sonny Tufts, about the 'myth's' origins (without becoming a member), but as to increase the validity and interest of this page... While listening to Bogdanovich's interviews with Orson Welles, Welles lays claim to beginning the name joke on his radio program, while also admitting that Joseph Cotten has also credited himself over the years. Being that two men of Hollywood history claim the same incidental witticism, I'm inclined to believe that this is no longer a myth. Perhaps you'll agree that the subject warrants further investigation. thanks for your time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.95.235.175 (talk) 02:08, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Sonny Tufts (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

You don't have to register to make edits at Wikipedia, though there are some advantages if you do. If you've found some reliable sources that would improve this article, then feel free either to edit the article yourself, or to post them at Talk:Sonny Tufts where they will be seen by any editors interested in this person. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:27, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Aloha i'a oukou, Aloha from Honolulu. My name is Randy Ruff, and I was one of the background vocalists on the Chili Peppers first huge record called "Mother's Milk". I edited so that my name would correctly appear, and was very proud when it appeared correctly. But a couple of days later when I checked to show my ailing mother, it was no longer there. My name appears on the album and the CD of the 1989 recording, and I recieved a Gold, Platinum and double Platinum for the work. Ca

Can you please please help me figure out how to return it to the Wikipedia article to show my mother. Call or write anytime. A hui hou ia aku no, Randy Pilialoha Ruff — Preceding unsigned comment added by Randy Ruff (talk • contribs) 03:50, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

You are correctly listed at Mother's Milk#Personnel. Since you were not ever a member of the band, you probably shouldn't be listed at the band's article, but you have already been correctly listed at the article on the album you worked on. --Jayron32 04:01, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

DYK

Just wondered if someone could check my DYK entry for Vang Vieng here [1] to check if I'm doing something wrong? Mattun0211 (talk) 05:48, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

You missed step III at Template talk:Did you know#How to post a new nomination so nobody ever saw the nomination. However, the article was already much older than 5 days at nomination time so it didn't qualify for DYK per Wikipedia:Did you know#DYK rules. It's no longer relevant but regarding the nomination text, the nominated article should be bold and there should be no link to a disambiguation page. "that tubing in Vang Vieng" should have been "that tubing in Vang Vieng". PrimeHunter (talk) 08:24, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

How do you actually edit the text as it appears on the mainpage?

Todays featured article "Stark Raving Dad" appears on the mainpage as "...Michael Jackson (pictured) guest starred..." - except he isn't pictured. "(pictured)" could do with being removed, but if I go to the article itself, "(pictured)" doesn't appear. I'm sure it's easy to do, but I can't seem to figure it out. a_man_alone (talk) 06:45, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

That detail is in Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 19, 2011, which is protected so we can't edit it. - David Biddulph (talk) 06:51, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

So who can? It looks silly. a_man_alone (talk) 07:04, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Now raised at WP:Main Page/Errors. Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:11, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Cheers - never even knew of that page, or I'd have done it. a_man_alone (talk) 07:16, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

I have removed "pictured" after seeing the report here and not at WP:Main Page/Errors but that is indeed the right place to report. If you click "View source" on a protected page then there should be instructions about how to request an edit. PrimeHunter (talk) 07:55, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

That doesn't seem to be the case on the main page - I originally tried "View Source" but couldn't see anything to help, and I've just tried it again - even now I know what I'm looking for, I don't see anything to point me towards WP:Main Page/Errors... a_man_alone (talk) 09:54, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

I'm an administrator so I have an "Edit" link on the Main Page, but if I log out and click "View source" then I see instructions including "Report errors on the Main Page" which links to Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:21, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Ok, that's weird - and one for discussion perhaps: If I click on "View source" I get the following:

"You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason:

This page has been protected to prevent editing.

You can view and copy the source of this page:"

And that's it.

However, if I logout, and then view the source - ie as an IP editor, not a registered user - I get a huge template telling me that I can, as you point out, raise the issue at the mainpage help. I know what to do now, but it's not very helpful to others. a_man_alone (talk) 15:54, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Why does Wiki always refer to America?

Can someone please explain why Wiki always refers to America in articles? Like eg "in the United States a poll was etc etc" or "According to the United States...etc" or even "The United States Government etc etc", why does the English version of Wiki always refer to the United States in the basis of determining articles, or referencing "supposed fact" in relation to studies and polls in the US, what about all the other English speaking nations and the rest of the world? It seems like if anybody is editing these articles they are in the US? So how can anybody get the general consensus of the entire planets views rather than just what the US Government says? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.7.157.252 (talk) 09:08, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

The short answer is that because most English Wikipedia contributors are from the US it is inevitable that much of the article content would be from US sources. The only way to alleviate this systemic bias is to add material from other countries and to recruit more contributors from outside the US. Roger (talk) 09:30, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

If there are particular examples of pages which you feel represent an unbalanced view, you might consider using Template:Globalize. - David Biddulph (talk) 10:01, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Note that a wiki is a type of website and Wikipedia is only one of thousands of wikis. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:14, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Not all articles on the English Wikipedia refer to America, but it has 6,923,316 articles and nobody has read them all. Most people read articles within a subset of topic areas they find interesting, possibly giving them an unrepresentative sample of Wikipedia as a whole. Perhaps within the subset of articles you have read, there are some articles with an excessive focus on the United States. (This would not be surprising, because in 2007 just over half of contributors to the English Wikipedia were from the United States.) If you link to some of those articles, we can inspect them to see if they need improving, and then improve them so you can study what we did. Also see WP:NOTWIKI. --Teratornis (talk) 15:00, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Issue with article for Bain & Company

The article for Bain & Company includes a section called "The Bain India Incident" that is not relevant to the subject of the article. The section has been deleted by members of the community and re-added repeatedly. The section alleges a Bain & Company connection to India's anti-corruption movement.

A large sub-section entitled "Relationship with the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement" has nothing to do with the subject of the article. Any relevant content should be moved to articles related to the India anti-corruption movement.

The source alleging a connection between Bain & Company and the anti-corruption movement, reference #19 (now deleted), is "^ Unattributable source under Chatham House Rules." References to unverifiable sources should not be allowed. Without a reference, however, the assertion is unverified and I believe it should be removed entirely.

In addition, there are proper references, in the sentence below, but they do not justify the claims being made. "In response to client demands from mounting PR pressure, Melgiri's campaign resulted in the replacement of Bain India's MD and Country Head as well as other re-organizational changes to Bain's New Delhi and Mumbai offices;[19][20] the next day, Bain released an article on implementing more "bias-free" HR practices to the Indian financial daily The Economic Times.[21]"

Sources 19 and 20 are simply announcements of changes to Bain & Company's organizational structure, but have no linkage to mounting PR pressure or client demands. Similarly, The Economic Times article ([21]) is a commentary authored by a Bain & Company author (a U.S. based expert on organizations, according to the article) and is unrelated to any change in the firm's HR practices.

I initially attempted to make these changes, and then saw they were reverted. I then reviewed the revision history and found it has been a persistent back and forth since early September. How can this be handled? — Preceding unsigned comment added by NJmeditor (talk • contribs) 11:00, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

NJmeditor (talk) 13:20, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

I am amazed that 34 of the 55 references cited are to support the paragraphs on this controversy. Checking out the first few of these references, I see they support the bare fact but not the controversy. For example: "In response to client demands from mounting PR pressure, Melgiri's campaign resulted in the replacement of Bain India's MD and Country Head as well as other re-organizational changes to Bain's New Delhi and Mumbai offices;[19][20]", ... references 19 and 20 support the notion that Bain made some senior management changes but not that client demands or Melgiri had anything to do with it. The following phrase: "...the next day, Bain released an article on implementing more "bias-free" HR practices to the Indian financial daily The Economic Times.[21]" is supported by reference 21, but there appears to be no link in the reference to the previous days events. Placing the two phrases one after the other seems like unwarranted WP:SYNTHESIS to push a certain POV. It continues in the same way, copious references supporting the bare facts but nothing actually draws it together into the implied controversy. I'm tempted to add a big "so what" to the lengthy discussion on the talk page but I fear it will be lost under the large chunks of the text being copied there too (complete with copious references). This editwar needs to stop (perhaps the article could be protected for a while and the edit warring parties suitably warned) and the article edited so it complies with Wikipedia's policies on No original research and a neutral point of view. For the time being, I have tagged the whole section with {{Synthesis}} and requested additional citations for the claims made. Astronaut (talk) 14:32, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your help on this Astronaut. That's exactly what I was looking for. I was not aware of the WP:SYNTHESIS concept, but it expresses the concerns I had about the arctile. I'll refrain from making further edits so that I'm not escalating an edit war. Others have tried to pull the content in question onto the Talk page for further discussion, with it being re-added to the article each time. At least now there is a clear label reflecting the underlying concern about it. NJmeditor (talk) 15:13, 19 September 2011 (UTC)— Preceding unsigned comment added by NJmeditor (talk • contribs) 15:05, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

External Links to real estate websites

Hello,

Is it innappropriate to add a link to a real estate website under the external links category? Agents that specialize in a particular city should be able to be listed under the external links part, correct?

Thanks, Matt — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mdjohnson2 (talk • contribs) 16:52, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

No, because Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a business directory nor an advertising outlet. The relevant guideline is at Wikipedia:External links. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:57, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

RICK JAMES/COLD BLOODED (ALBUM)

RUSTYSCAGE 17:13, 19 September 2011 (UTC)THE LINK FROM RICK JAMES DISCOGRAPHY TO HIS ALBUM COLD BLOODED LINKS TO A MEDICAL REFERENCE SITE. NOT SURE I AM QUALIFIED TO CHANGE OR MAKE THE PROPER ADJUSTMENT AS THE PAGE FOR THE ALBUM DOES NOT EXIST. — Preceding unsigned comment added by RUSTYSCAGE (talk • contribs)

Please stop SHOUTING. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:18, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) I've changed the link for the album at Rick James discography to a red link for now. By the way, writing all in capitals isn't always considered good internet etiquette. Singularity42 (talk) 17:22, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

ABOUT STEAM ENGINE........

Actually my question is that... IN SUBMARINERS, WHY THEY MOSTLY USE/PREFER STEAM ENGINE ?? Y NOT DIESEL ENGINE ??? ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES OF STEAM ENGINE ??? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Srikanth2142 (talk • contribs) 17:24, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about 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. Additionally, please do not type in ALL CAPS. The use of all-caps typing is considered screaming in most places on the internet, and screaming at a bunch of strangers of whom you have a question is a bit rude. --Jayron32 17:30, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

See Submarine#Propulsion for a discussion of various technologies. Diesel-electric submarines were the standard design from the first and second world wars. Later, nuclear powerplants driving steam turbines enabled submarines to stay submerged far longer, since they no longer needed to surface for air to run the diesel engines, or use a snorkel. A modern nuclear submarine is able to stay submerged almost indefinitely, with the limiting factors being crew fatigue and running out of food for the crew after several months. --Teratornis (talk) 18:13, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Conflict of Interest

Hi,

I am an employee of Peter J. Solomon Company, a boutique investment bank in New York City, and I would like to write an article about the firm as currently there is none. Of course, I understand there is a conflict of interest since I work for the company, but from reading around it seems that as long as the article's content is completely non-biased and properly cited from reliable sources, then I can still write the article. Can you please confirm?

Thank you! Evan Schindewolf Eschind (talk) 17:40, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Please read Wikipedia's advice on conflict of interest. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:43, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Also see Wikipedia:FAQ/Organizations. An important thing to understand is that once an article appears on Wikipedia, your organization cannot control its content. Other editors might add unflattering content, and it might stick if it is well-sourced. (Putting an article on Wikipedia is somewhat analogous to running for political office. Is there any dirt for someone to dig up?) See WP:OWN. Thank you for your interest in Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 18:18, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

You are correct, so long as the company meets our guidelines for inclusion. It is best to create it as a draft first though and then get another editor to take a look before making it live. If you start it at User:Eschind/Peter J. Solomon Company and drop a note on my talk page, I will take a look for you. SmartSE (talk) 22:22, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Assistance requested with file version

Quick query - with respect to this image, any ideas as to what happened? In the past, I seem to recall being able to upload a file with the same name as an existing graphic and (by doing so) simply add a newer version to the page. However, when I did that today, it seems to have over-written the old page entirely and thus wiped out the existing rationale. To make matters worse, I can't find the page history to undelete my change, even with the admin bit. Thoughts? --Ckatz^chat_spy 18:26, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Somehow you've uploaded this to Wikipedia when the other version is at commons - commons:File:Plutoids compared to Luna.png. -- John of Reading (talk) 18:41, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Ah, that's the problem. Thanks for the quick reply - I've uploaded the revision to Commons and deleted the local copy. Cheers. --Ckatz^chat_spy 18:58, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Dutson

The article for Dutson was recently created and it appeared on my watchlist. This means that it must have been put on my watchlist at some point in the past. Although, when I look at the deletion logs, I can't find any reference to this article at all. What's going on here?

I'm ignoring the question of whether the article even belongs here in the first place, for now. Dismas|^(talk) 18:52, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

You tagged it db-bio on June 20, 2006. --Jayron32 18:55, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

So, why isn't there an entry in the deletion log? Dismas|^(talk) 19:00, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

I don't know, but there are two deleted edits, and you made one of them, which was to add db-bio. The article was deleted by Pilotguy, when I check the deleted edits, it shows this:

• (del/undel) 14:40, June 20, 2006 Pilotguy (talk | contribs | block) deleted "Dutson" ‎ (content was: '{{db-bio}}DutsonName of family who resided in the Bury district of Lancashire from at least 1725. Earlier generations of the family were hatt...')

Old logs have some missing bits in them; I don't exactly know why, but occasionally I have seen similar glitches. Maybe someone at VPT would know the answer. --Jayron32 19:05, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

FYI, I see the same entry in the deletion log:

• 09:40, June 20, 2006 Pilotguy (talk | contribs) deleted "Dutson" ‎ (content was: '{{db-bio}}'''Dutson'''Name of family who resided in the Bury district of Lancashire from at least 1725. Earlier generations of the family were hatt...')

Dynamic|cimanyD contact me ⁞ my edits 19:10, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

It's in the logs for the page, but when you check the deletion log around the time in question: [2] it doesn't exist. No idea why. --Jayron32 19:52, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Your link is for June 30. It was deleted June 20 and appears in the deletion log at the time.[3] PrimeHunter (talk) 21:34, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Forgotten

I've forgotten my username and password and need it urgently! How do i find out what they were? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.31.39.58 (talk) 19:07, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

It is absolutely necessary for you to remember your username, there's just no way around that. If you have a general idea of what it was, try searching for the first characters using Special:Listusers, maybe the results will refresh your memory. If you do remember your username, and you still have access to the email address that you registered with, you can request for a new password to be sent to you at Special:UserLogin — frankie (talk) 19:46, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Or if you can remember any articles that you may have edited, check their edit histories and see if any of the names look familiar. – ukexpat (talk) 19:56, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

There are a couple of other suggestions at Help:Logging in#What if I forget the username? -- John of Reading (talk) 20:16, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

The New Update it Wicc 600 Logo thats On The New Web Site at www.wicc600.com thats on the top left

Dear Help Desk, 9-19-11 Here is the Update that On WICC-AM on the top right below City of licenese Bridgeport, Connecticut The New Update it Wicc 600 Logo thats On The New Web Site at www.wicc600.com thats on the top left needs to get put on right away & Would you please keep that in mind & don,t forget to put The New Update It Wicc 600 Logo thats On The New Web Site at www.wicc600.com thats on the top left needs to get put on right away & don,t forget to go On The New Web Site at www.wicc600.com The New Update it Wicc 600 Logo is on the top left & don,t forget. Please Write Back to my E-mail address is <redacted> — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.252.123.170 (talk) 20:39, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Uhhh... what? I'm tempted to remove this whole section as spam. —Jeremy v^_^v ^{Components:V S M} 21:06, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

WICC (AM) (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

I think this is a request to update the infobox logo from the station's web site, but I'm too sleepy to tackle it now. -- John of Reading (talk) 21:13, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

The user is an IP hopper whom has just been blocked. He seems to enjoy removing the logos from various Connecticut radio & tv station pages and has been doing it for well over a month. Best, Markvs88 (talk) 21:47, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

music

who are two dancers in music video another way by gigi d agostino84.41.52.103 (talk) 22:36, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Entertainment 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 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.-- Obsidi♠n Soul 23:08, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

confused about setting up disambiguation

Two quick questions about starting a new article. I'd like to do one about the movie "The Gymnast". When I punch in the title on Wikipedia the article about the Seinfeld episode "The Gymnast" pops up. I know to build an article about the movie I'll have to work with the disambiguation angle. The info page describing disambiguation is a bit confusing. Anyone have an abridged or easily understandable explination of the process? On the same subject, the publicized image of the DVD cover for the movie "The Gymnast" is all over the internet and in print. Can I just use the image for the article? When I download it what licensing notation should I use? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jmasiulewicz (talk • contribs) 23:31, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

You would create the article at The Gymnast (film) and then at the top of The Gymnast use the {{for}} template to direct people to the article about the film. Since there are only the two instances, no diambiguation page is needed. Dismas|^(talk) 23:50, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Which is exactly the solution I gave at Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 September 5#questions about starting new article. Please look for replies to your questions before repeating them. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:06, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Constant Deletion of valid articles by another user

To whomever it may concern,

We have been trying to create an article about "Illinois Articulation Initiative" in order to assist transfer students in Illinois. We are the authority on the subject as evident from this page http://www.itransfer.org/contact.aspx.

Every time this article has been created, it has been deleted.

Please advise !!!

Illinois Articulation Initiative team — Preceding unsigned comment added by [[Asharm4 (talk) 23:38, 19 September 2011 (UTC)User:Asharm4|Asharm4]] (talk • contribs) 23:35, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Per Wikipedia: Conflict of interest you shouldn't write articles about your own organization. The article was deleted correctly. Jc3s5h (talk) 23:44, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

And it was a copyright violation, see the message on your talk page. – ukexpat (talk) 14:12, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

The purpose of Wikipedia is to provide unbiased encyclopaedic information to everyone. If your purpose is to "assist" a particular group of people, especially by talking about one particular organisation, this is not consistent with the purpose - however worthy your organisation's aims may be. An article about your organisation, written in a neutral tone, and based wholly on independent published sources, would on the other hand be completely appropriate. --ColinFine (talk) 18:22, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

September 20

Sander Vanocur - Family

Sander Vanocur (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

In the Family section of information about noted TV journalist Sander Vanocur, the article says that he has one son, Chris Vanocur, a Salt Lake City political reporter. My problem is that I am Nick Vanocur, a former two-time "Best of Gannett" headline winner during years as an editor at The Tennessean, Nashville's alledged morning newspaper. I find the mention to Sander Vanocur odd as I am his eldest son in addition to being Chris' brother and friend to John Seigenthaler. Currently I am helping set up a non-profit corporation to change the overwhelmingly lopsided balance of the sexes in the field of dental Hygiene and near the completion of my first novel. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.179.44.25 (talk) 00:21, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

You can edit the article and fix it yourself. However, please include a reference confirming that he does indeed have two sons. We can not ascertain your identity online, and Wikipedia have very strict rules on biographical articles (Take the time to read: Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons). You can find tutorials on how to add references here: Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners. Also please take care to keep to wording neutral, do not insert promotional content. Remember that the article is about Sander Vanocur, not his family.

You can also simply post in Talk:Sander Vanocur (or even right here if you want) with the exact wording of the changes you want and include a link to a reliable source confirming the information and someone else will do it for you. Cheers.-- Obsidi♠n Soul 00:34, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

I have added a cited reference with your name and some additional information in this edit.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:11, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Image problem

I tried to create a table for personal data as others scientists did. I have uploaded my own picture M.A.P.Rao.jpg from my computer into My talk (ID:Raomap). This answer is provided to the question raised Who has uploaded, and asked its source. I regret for the inconvenience caused. If allowed, please suggest how to create a box having photo and personal details. M.A.Padmanabha Rao, PhD(AIIMS) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Raomap (talk • contribs) 01:50, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

I recommend the page User:ww2censor/IfD, which explains everything more clearly than I can here. You need to go to the file page, File:M.A.P.Rao.jpg, click "Edit" at the top and then give answers to the questions. Don't worry about the formatting; that can be fixed up later.

If the material on your user page is intended as a draft for a Wikipedia article, then the correct way to create a nicely-formatted box at the top left would be to use Template:Infobox scientist. If you follow that link you'll find the instructions for using it. There's an example at Alexander Fleming. But in this case you should stop and read Wikipedia:Autobiography before you go any further.

If you are merely creating your user page, then Template:Infobox wikipedian is probably best. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:02, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Smart Phone editing

(Reposted from above, got lost I guess) Is there a way to get it when i click edit on my phone that it opens in a new window? I've tried 4-5 Android browsers and I don't know if it is my phone or just how it is set up, but I can't scroll down in the edit window on my phone, only down the whole page, so it makes editing impossible. And when I can scroll down, when I try to click on a word to edit, the cursor jumps all over. CTJF83 19:38, 18 September 2011 (UTC)

Since no-one here was able to answer your question two days ago, I suggest you try the Computing reference desk or Village pump (technical). -- John of Reading (talk) 08:06, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, CTJF83 23:06, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

User Name

How can I update how my user name or how it displays? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Smwieland (talk • contribs) 03:31, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

You can change your username at Wikipedia:Changing username. You can also modify your signature when you sign messages by instructions at Wikipedia:Signatures. You should sign your messages using four tildes like this: ~~~~. --Jayron32 03:38, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

iPhone 3GS and mobile wiki problem

Is there any functional radio button on a Wikipedia mobile site that actually works on an iPhone 3GS? I'm jealous of another questioner who is getting "half the time" buttons working. We used to dream of getting the site to work half the time! Would of been Paradise! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.137.15.9 (talk) 03:34, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

potentially slanderous comment

Dear Wikipedia, I don't have much experience with editing and so I'm writing to you. There is a potentially slanderous comment about me on one of your pages. I have gone out of my way to resolve this through an email to the user be he has not responded. I like to think that there was no malice involved. Can you advise me on next steps. The page is here. Simon Young

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Italian_cuisine#External_links_deleted — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.203.251 (talk) 07:39, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

I don't have the experience to advise you, but I have notified Ian Spackman (talk · contribs) about your post here. He hasn't edited since the 15th so may be on holiday. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:29, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

What action do you want? I had a very quick look at the article talk and it looks like an editor has attempted an analysis of whether a particular external link (to a blog) would be useful for the article. The editor (I think, from my very quick look) suggested that the blog was unsuitable as it appeared to include information copied from another blog (that's in addition to WP:ELNO which mentions that links to blogs are generally not used). The normal response to such a comment would be to briefly explain that the suggestion is wrong because in fact (I think, from my very quick read) that the same person wrote the original material, so no plagiarism was involved. It is hard to see what better outcome might be wanted. Please review WP:NLT because any editor who hints that legal action may be contemplated is blocked since none of us are qualified to deal with such a situation. Johnuniq (talk) 08:48, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

I hope this edit resolves the issue. Ian Spackman (talk) 16:31, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

How to add our company profile page on Wikipedia ?

I would like to know,can we add our company profile page on Wikipedia, if yes how can I add my company details. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sraatim (talk • contribs) 12:02, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:FAQ/Organizations. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 12:05, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Note that there are no "profiles" on Wikipedia, nor is Wikipedia a business directory or an advertising medium. Wikipedia has encyclopedia articles about notable subjects. If your company does meet the notability guidelines set out at WP:CORP someone will write an article about it eventually. You may find WikiCompany more suitable for your needs. – ukexpat (talk) 14:17, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Facebook

when i open facebook in my computer my email address and password are seen in the log-in box. so anyone can enter into my account. how to remove it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 14.194.121.131 (talk) 13:54, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6.9 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. We have nothing to do with Facebook. --Orange Mike | Talk 14:03, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

It's a function in your browser to store the data for another visit to the same site. If you post to Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing and tell them which browser you use then they can probably help you. Also tell them whether you want such data to be forgotten for all sites or only for Facebook. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:44, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Permanently Delete Page

Hello,

Someone has posted my personal information on Wikipedia and it was unauthorized. The posting went to deleteopedia and is still available to view and is being picked up by other websites and reposted. I would like the page completely deleted, if possible.

Please provide instructions for permanently deleting pages with personal information.174.252.1.184 (talk) 15:31, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

The fact is that we have no control over what is done by other websites. You will have to contact those websites directly to request the removal of material from their pages. --Orange Mike | Talk 15:48, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Template help needed

Can someone help User:Jimrowanisjimrowan who tried to create a course page on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:United_States_Education_Program/Courses page but the course description does not seem to transclude although it has been created. Shyamal (talk) 15:34, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:United States Education Program/Courses/2011 Q3 (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

I believe User:Jimrowanisjimrowan has solved this one? The page looks ok to me now. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:19, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, it does appear to be ok now. Shyamal (talk) 02:13, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Creating new artical - where is link?

I have not been able to licate the link to begin a new artical. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stutyr (talk • contribs) 15:37, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

There is no such link. You can create an article by entering the title of the new article into the search box. For example, when you enter "Test page" into the search box, the following text will be shown:

You may create the page "Test page", but consider checking the search results below to see whether the topic is already covered.

When you click on the red wikilink, you are editing the page Test page and you can add content to it.

Please remember our guidelines on notability and verifiability when creating a new article. It might be helpful to first develop a new article in your userspace by creating a userspace draft (see Wikipedia:So you made a userspace draft). You might also want to use the Wikipedia:Article wizard which guides you through the steps required when creating a new article. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 15:50, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Based upon your post's content, it is unlikely that your English writing ability is at the level needed to construct an article yourself.--108.27.97.25 (talk) 15:56, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Cant find it !

Hi.........I purchased 1985 Holiday Rambler Class "A" motorhome. It has a 7000 watt koular generator.It has its own battery for starting. I have looked everywhere. Cannot find battery. Feel like an idiot. Know it has one. Disconnected other 2 battery sources and generator still turns over. Where might I look to find the mystery battery????................Jerry Kozak 18:34, 20 September 2011 (UTC)18:34, 20 September 2011 (UTC)~

<redact> — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kanuk0007 (talk • contribs) 18:34, 20 September 2011 (UTC) 18:37, 20 September 2011 (UTC)18:37, 20 September 2011 (UTC)Kanuk0007 (talk)

Have you tried the Science 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.Template:Z38 TNXMan 18:49, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Add material

i would like to add that Therese Titjens sang in Darwen (Co-operative Hall Darwen Lancashire England) on Thursday January 9th 1871. Source Blackburn Standard January 18th 1871, an advert for Darwen Subscription Concert Third in Series of Four. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.40.232.180 (talk) 18:38, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Go for it! --Jayron32 19:29, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

How to wikilink to a section if two sections with identical title exist

Suppose I want to wikilink to a section here at the help desk, but there are two different sections with the same title. How can I specify the correct section to link to (in my case the second section)? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 19:27, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

You would have to either change one of the section headings or use {{anchor}}. – ukexpat (talk) 19:38, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

An anchor does the trick. Thanks. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 19:56, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

You can also add " 2" (a space/underscore and a number), but this will break the link if an earlier section heading is removed, for example because it's archived first. Here is a more extreme example: User talk:PrimeHunter/Archive 1#Thanks 13 (gee, I got thanked a lot). If you click on the table of contents then it goes to the right section and shows the right number in the url (if somebody also made a section heading ending with a space and number then things can still get messed up). PrimeHunter (talk) 20:48, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Very informative answer. That gets you another thanks from me. :) Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 21:36, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Vicki Roberts erroneously is redirected to Amy Alkon

Vicki Roberts - typing in this individual's name erroneously redirects one to the page of Amy Alkon. This needs to be undone. Please advise. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.168.12.21 (talk) 20:03, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Right now, the only notable thing about Vicki Roberts is that she is the lawyer in a lawsuit against Amy Alkon. If you want to, you can work on a proper article about Vicki Roberts. She has been on a few minor television shows. -- kainaw™ 20:10, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Have I messed up an AfD?

I have just gone through the process of starting an AfD [4], but somehow it doesn't seem to show up properly on Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2011 September 20. I've probably done something daft, and rather than make things worse by trying to 'fix' it, can I ask someone less incompetent to see if it can be corrected? Thanks in advance... AndyTheGrump (talk) 20:30, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

I fixed it for you. You didn't have the header on the actual nomination page, Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Pakish Identity. GB fan 20:37, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I think I see now what I did: clicked on "this article's entry" when I should have clicked on "Preloaded debate" when creating the AfD discussion page. Apologies for this - one day I'll get it right... AndyTheGrump (talk) 20:40, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

That would do it. If you click "this article's entry" then you have to add {{subst:afd2 | pg=PageName | cat=Category | text=Why the page should be deleted}} ~~~~ as described in II at WP:AFDHOWTO. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:55, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Yup. I can see that now - evidently my brain was only half-engaged, or I'm finally going ga-ga... AndyTheGrump (talk) 21:02, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Deleting old draft copies from Userspace

I have the tag for requesting that an admin delete an old draft page from my userspace (I have a pile of drafts in there to delete). But does that also delete all the versions of that page from the userspace? I was doing a lot of save-save-save etc. Thanks,

OttawaAC (talk) 23:49, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

What do you mean by "all versions"? If by "version" you refer to all revisions in the page history, then yes, if an admin acts on the {{db-user}} tag placed on a subpage, all revisions of that page will be deleted. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 00:04, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

• Yes, unless you ask an admin to leave specific revisions, they will delete the entire page and its history. If someone else offered additional content while your draft was in userspace, you should either move the page to its new location or mention them in an edit summary so their contribution is properly attributed. - 194.60.106.38 (talk) 07:39, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

September 21

Babel "es"

Hi. I´m using the template {{Babel}} "es", but I notice the translation (or better, the text) is wrong. It says "Este usuario tiene el español como lengua materna." It should say "La lengua materna de este usuario es el español", or "El español es la lengua materna de este usuario". I have no idea how to fix it, if I can or who to tell. Can someone do it or at least tell me where to discuss the change? Thanks. --Andreateletrabajo (talk) 02:48, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

The text is from Template:User es. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:02, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

OK, thanks. --Andreateletrabajo (talk) 03:16, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Horizon League

Horizon League should not have its article title italicized. Template:Italic title appears to be transcluded onto the article, but I can't find it in the text to remove it. Jrcla2 (talk) 04:32, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Fixed. Infobox Television italicizes the title unless you add 'italic title=no' to the infobox code. Dismas|^(talk) 04:37, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I appreciate the quick help, thank you. Jrcla2 (talk) 04:46, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

np. Dismas|^(talk) 05:26, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Accidental disable

I accidentally disabled the mobile view how can i re enable the mobile view? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.253.78.57 (talk) 06:21, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Enable mobile version. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:58, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Mobile wikipedia feedback

Hello,

Mobile wikipedia is great to read on small screens, but it lacks language switcher. Since English is not my native language and I would prefer to read articles in my language when possible, I miss this functionality very much. Is there a chance translation links will be implemented on mobile wikipedia too?

Thanks, Yurii — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.233.12.15 (talk) 06:42, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

What language are you trying to access? I was just able to pull up an article on my iPhone in German with no issues whatsoever. Dismas|^(talk) 07:46, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I haven't said it's not possible to access it in other language. But you can't switch easily from page in English to the same page in Russian, for example. On main wikipedia there's "Languages" bar on the left side of window which allows to do it in one click. On mobile wikipedia you have to go to address bar and replace "en.wikipedia.org" with "ru.wikipedia.org" and replace English term with Russian term (you have to know exact translation though). 94.233.12.15 (talk) 09:27, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I see now. You're looking for an interlanguage link. Got it. Though I don't have a solution for you. Sorry, Dismas|^(talk) 09:34, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Tray asking this at Help talk:Mobile access. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 14:05, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Show/Hide buttons not working on iPhone.

Hi,

For the last few days the Show/Hide buttons for sections of articles have not been working on my iPhone. This means I can't read the full articles. Wondering if this is a problem with the site or something else.

Many thanks Rik 212.183.128.100 (talk) 06:56, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

They work fine for me. It may be your iPhone. Dismas|^(talk) 08:02, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Table formatting problem

Resolved

In a draft in my userspace User:Toshio Yamaguchi/State libraries of Germany I encounter a formatting problem. In the fifth entry (the one for Hamburg), the wikilink to Landesbibliothek der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg does not appear correctly (it should appear as a redlink) but I can't figure out what the problem is. Any help would be appreciated. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 09:24, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Fixed -- John of Reading (talk) 10:16, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks a million. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 10:18, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Screenshots

Hello! I've searched through a lot of Wikipedia help, and I don't seem to be able to find a definitive answer to this...

I'd like to add a screenshot or two to some articles about some computer software that I have; in particular I'd like to use screenshots taken by myself. Is this as simple as screen-dumpinging, saving etc. myself, or am I getting onto dodgy copyright territory here? The software that I'm using is freeware.

I tried uploading one to Wikimedia Commons to use, but it got Speedy deleted.

OrbiterSpacethingy (talk) 09:45, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

• Yes, the fact you take the screenshots yourself isn't really relevant. The copyright of the program owners still applies, so you're difinitely in dodgy territory there. Whether screenshots of freeware are allowed in the article really depends on a lot of factors (WP:FU). I think it got deleted on Commons because they have stricter image rules. Try uploading on Wikipedia with a solid fair use rationale and keep the number of images limited to what is really needed to understand the article. - 194.60.106.17 (talk) 10:04, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/Non-free content#Screenshots and the link "a screenshot" at Wikipedia:Upload where you choose a screenshot license tag. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:48, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks!OrbiterSpacethingy (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 12:24, 21 September 2011 (UTC).

Regina Louise article got rejected

I recently submitted a article about Regina Louise and it got rejected because some of my information i think the person who edited my page knew that I took my information from regina louise's website. But she gave me permission to take the information from her website for the wiki page, because she wrote everything on her website. Is there a way to submit my wiki article seeing as though she gave me permission to make the page and to take information from her website for the wiki article. --Adrian-lashay morris (talk) 08:16, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I moved your post to the bottom of the page and added a section heading. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:23, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

The permission must be verified by following the process set out at WP:IOWN, but note that even then the text may not be suitable for a Wikipedia article. Her website exists to promote her so a word for word reproduction will like fall foul of our "no promotion" policy, see WP:SPAM. – ukexpat (talk) 14:54, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Asking question again...was not answered.

Original question / answer

Hello, Someone has posted my personal information on Wikipedia and it was unauthorized. The posting went to deleteopedia and is still available to view. I would like the page completely deleted, if possible. Please provide instructions for permanently deleting pages with personal information. 174.252.1.184 ( talk) 15:31, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

The fact is that we have no control over what is done by other websites. You will have to contact those websites directly to request the removal of material from their pages. -- Orange Mike | Talk 15:48, 20 September 2011 (UTC) ↑Jump back a section

New question

Orange Mike, I did not ask about removing material from other websites. I've already accomplished that with the other websites. They told me to have the source page deleted also so my info isn't available for random sites to pull from. That's my question...could you provide information about how to permanently delete a page on deleteopedia?

Thank you.174.253.244.237 (talk) 13:47, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I've reformatted the layout above to make it clearer what's new and what's not, hope you don't mind. Wikipedia has no association with Deleteopedia and no powers to do anything about its content, so you will need to deal with that website to get the information removed. The Wikipedia help desk isn't here to help you with problems with other websites. If the material is still visible on Wikipedia, or if it is located in the accessible page history, you need to follow the instructions at WP:OVERSIGHT to get it permanently removed from Wikipedia. If the page on Wikipedia has already been deleted, then you probably don't need to worry further. Please don't tell us what or where the personal information is, otherwise you'll just compound the problem. Bencherlite^Talk 13:58, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Deletionpedia is a Wikipedia mirror; we have absolutely no control over its content. I poked around, but don't see any deletion process there. I suggest you use the email contact at http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 14:02, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

As others have said, Wikipedia (or the Wikimedia Foundation which runs Wikipedia) has no control over Deletionpedia. It is one of thousands of independently run wikis, many of which happen to use the same MediaWiki software as us so they may look like us but they are not. The lower right corner of this page has an image saying "a WIKIMEDIA project". http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com does not say that. However, I looked around and found http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Deletionpedia:Archive which has a link called "Report a page" to http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Special:GrimReaper. I know nothing about how requests there are handled. Also note that http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Deletionpedia:Archive says they copy articles before they are deleted. After a Wikipedia page has been deleted, the former content can only be viewed at Wikipedia itself by Wikipedia administrators, but we cannot prevent external sites from copying pages before they are deleted. If "deleteopedia" in your post refers to some other site then we might be able to find contact info at the site if you post a link to the main site. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:59, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Email contact

Confused! I have in my profile that others may contact me thru my personal Email, however when I display my userpage, I don't see any option whereby anyone could do that. (Where is it found to contact off-WP?) Thx for answer. Ihardlythinkso (talk) 14:05, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

It should be in the "Toolbox" section of the left hand sidebar. You have enabled email correctly, as I can see the link when I visit your user page. -- John of Reading (talk) 14:18, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

TOOLBOX ! Thanks for answer. (Didn't think of looking there; was looking at upper-right clickables where the heart thingy-dingy is, etc. [Which raises Q, s/ the Email clickable be there instead!? But I'm not asking.] Thx again for your answer!) Sincere, Ihardlythinkso (talk) 14:59, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

The Email-options at Special:Preferences link to the "E-mail this User" feature where you can see more. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:31, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

How to find my wikipedia account that i have created when using the search key

I have created an account but when i get into wikipedia itself and i search the name of my account, it doesn't find it at all, so how will other people find it on wikipedia?

```` — Preceding unsigned comment added by WoodFoundation (talk • contribs) 14:53, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Your question is not entirely clear, but your only contribution apart from your question here is your user page at User:WoodFoundation, which I have tagged for speedy deletion as far too promotional for a user page or a draft Wikipedia article. – ukexpat (talk) 15:06, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Editing specific pages

Hello,

I am trying to edit our company page of Wikipedia. I believe the person who created this page has now left our organisation. How can my edits be approved if they are no longer here?

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.189.98.170 (talk) 15:08, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Nobody owns an article. See Wikipedia:FAQ/Organizations. If you need further advice then please post a link to the article. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:24, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I cant move my article, why?

Dear Sir/madam,

i ve edited a new article in wikipedia. I wanted to move it but i suprisly encountered a message as "you re too new and cant move an article". How long should i ve to wait for moving my article or what should i have to do?

thanks,

Turkerahi — Preceding unsigned comment added by Turkerahi (talk • contribs) 15:28, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Your account must be autoconfirmed before you can move pages, ie 4 days old and 10 edits. I have looked at your draft and at the moment it is not ready to be moved. Please read WP:CORP, WP:BFAQ, WP:SPAM and WP:RS. – ukexpat (talk) 15:56, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Signed baseball from HARLAND KENTUCKY,1952 MOUNTAIN LEAUGE

Hello,my name is Ronald Hayes,i have a autograth baseball from the HARLAND SMOKIES,from the 1952 leauge.I remember this era in baseball.Can you help me in searching if the ball is worth anything.My email address is <blanked>. This ball brings back many memories for me.Hope to hear from you soon.Thanks Ron — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.46.249.229 (talk) 15:48, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

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.Template:Z38 TNXMan 15:49, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Non-English Language Source Citation

I am curious as to whether primacy is given to an English-language source as opposed to one making the same point in a non-English language. I looked at Wikipedia:Citing sources and couldn't find anything there about it.

If there is a case that the primary source is in another language and there is no secondary source in English that makes the same point, it is acceptable to use (and cite) a non-English source? If a secondary source does exist in English that backs and accurately covers a point made in the non-English primary source, is it preferable to cite the primary source from another language alongside the English secondary source or should it be omitted entirely in preference for the English material?

More specifically, let's say there is an Egyptologist who has done original research and delivered a paper in a German-language journal. Then another Egyptologist references the German article in their own English-language article. Which article (or both) is preferred from a citation standpoint? (Or does it matter?)

Could someone please point to me to guideline on this (if there is one)? Cheers! Captmondo (talk) 18:14, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

English sources are preferred but foreign language sources are perfectly acceptable provided (as with any of other source) they are verifiable by someone minded to do so. In your example, I see no harm in citing both sources. See also WP:NONENG. – ukexpat (talk) 18:44, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the response! Cheers! Captmondo (talk) 19:12, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Moving appearance of screen

For some strange reason, my laptop is displaying an image at the top of the page tonight (Wednesday 21 September) - so I can only just see the icons saying "History" and "Edit".Is there any way I can move the screen appearance down the page? I have tried using a cursor key, but if there is a Control key you can press, that may be more effective. Thannk you for any help, ACEOREVIVED (talk) 18:42, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I think I might have managed to move things now, but I would still like to know whether pressing "Control" with any keys does move the screen appearance. ACEOREVIVED (talk) 22:52, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

If you don't get an answer here, you could try asking at computing section of the reference desk.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:06, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Comparing Versions

I am helping a teacher out who is doing a wikipedia based assignment. We were planning on having students write articles in their sandboxes prior to moving them. The issue is for students wanting to make edits to already existing articles or stubs. The teacher wants to be able to distinguish between what a student is adding to an article and what was already there. Right now we are planning on having the students cut and paste the existing articles into their sandboxes and just go through and make their changes. I know that you can compare versions, but this prints out in kind of an ugly fashion. Is there a way to clearly distinguish between a student's added content and the already existing article so that the teacher could accurately and easily evaluate the students' contributions? Any suggestions would be helpful.

• Leejohnson898 (talk) 19:45, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

The differences are displayed on the "history" section of the article, accessed by clicking the "history" tab at the top of your screen when reading the article; or by going to the "contributions" page for each student. I cannot urge strongly enough that students should not cut and paste entire articles, as this messes up the entire editing history for the article, making it appear that the student is the author of the whole new article. I'm sorry if the display seems "kind of... ugly"; but preserving the edit history of the article must take precedence over printout aesthetics. --Orange Mike | Talk 19:50, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, I appreciate and understand your concern. The students are not cutting and pasting their sandbox material back into the articles, however. They are using the sandbox as a way to get to know wikipedia and experiment with making edits to pages. They will then edit the most recent version of the article and insert their changes like any other wikipedia user. Also, I have considered using the "history" section but as I mentioned, this is not conducive to grading for the teacher. We have decided we will just print out the version of the article before the student's changes were made and then the newly edited article along with a separately written word document narrating the changes.

• Leejohnson898 (talk) 21:58, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I just want to make sure you understand something. Once you are in the history of an article, you use the radio buttons to select two different versions of an article, and then you click on the button at the top marked "Compare selected revisions", which shows you exactly what was changed between the two versions, side by side (example). You could also use a different (in my opinion often better) kind of comparison provided by this tool.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:10, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Cross project wikilinks

Resolved

Is it permitted to cross-wikilink to non-english Wikipedia articles instead of using a redlink? For example in User:Toshio Yamaguchi/State libraries of Germany, is it permitted to wikilink to de:Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt instead of Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt (see that entry in my draft)? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 19:53, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Does Help:Interlanguage links#Inline interlanguage links help? – ukexpat (talk) 20:01, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. {{Ill}} seems to be a good solution. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 20:05, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Way to create coordinate links without the annoying little globes

I am making a list of ~900 settlements (List of villages in Hinthada Township), most of which have coordinates, and the little globes that come with the {{coord}} template break my page (too many so the later coordinates don't have the raw data at all, just a link to {{coord}}) and make it very slow to load. I don't need the little globe but would like people to be able to click the link to get through to the map page. I tried just doing the URLs but those automatically generated the globe too. Help!! Calliopejen1 (talk) 20:18, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

There's a script that adds the globe next to the coordinates when pagename is used in a link to toolserver.org/~geohack. You can force a link without the image by omitting that parameter (17.5373°N 95.3548°E). You could make a template (if one doesn't already exist) that would form these links using the same input you used with {{coord}}, then you could just replace "{{coord|" with "{{customcoordtemplate|" in that big table. — Bility (talk) 23:24, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

What to do with Collaborative_writing

I've spent some time over the last couple of days attempting to improve Collaborative_writing and I've got nowhere, the text needs an overhaul and it turns out all the references are about collaboration rather than collaborative writing. I don't think there is anything in the article that isn't in either Collaboration or Collaborative_fiction so I'm tempted to propose delete, any opinions? AdamCaputo (talk) 21:51, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

The proper basis for deletion is that a better article can't be written; that reliable sources can't be found, that the topic is not notable or is unverifiable, not that notability or verification hasn't yet been shown. In other words, bluntly put, barring overriding concerns such as copyright violations, we generally don't delete articles that don't meet the speedy criteria because the current version sucks if it can be improved. Please read WP:BEFORE. A seach such as this one indicates there are just scads of targeted sources to draw from. On the other hand, if indeed the article suffers from the problems you say to such a degree that most of the current content should go, you can boldly and ruthlessly cut it down to a sourced stub but I would propose doing so first on its talk page.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:18, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Thank you :) , let me clarify - my issue was that everything that could be in the article, is either already covered in the two I mentioned, or could be covered in the two I mentioned...I'm certainly not suggesting that it wouldn't be great to have the information on wiki. AdamCaputo (talk) 11:31, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Semi existence!

Hello Wikipedia,

I have a weird problem. I created the account Ishtar1949 literally years ago, and have just picked it up again to do a few edits. On the one hand it's reminded me of my password OK, and let me get on with editing - but on the other hand it remains in red, and no editing history has attached to it. I've never done any very controversial edits or otherwise been rapped over the knuckles, so I can't quite work out why it's not just a normal live account - and if there's anything I can do about its twilight status. Any advice? Cheers, Ishtar — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ishtar1949 (talk • contribs) 22:18, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Your user status is OK. Your username is shown as red because you have not created your userpage. Yes, however, you do have edit history attached (for 2010).Jasper Deng (talk) 22:20, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

And just to confirm, your account has no deleted edits. Do you remember editing from it prior to the first edit shown in the history from August 31, 2010? The only thing I know that could account for that is if the edits were oversighted for some reason.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:27, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

The account was created when it first edited August 31, 2010 at the Simple English Wikipedia: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Log/Ishtar1949. It was created here at the English Wikipedia the same day: http://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&user=Ishtar1949. By the way, I have finally solved your mystery at Wikipedia:New contributors' help page/Archive/2010/September#Article I wrote apparently disappeared... You originally created the page at the Simple English Wikipedia at simple:NHS Alliance instead of here at the "normal" English Wikipedia. After the discussion you created it here at NHS Alliance. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:55, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Donating copyrighted materials

Hi Helpdesk,

I understand why the:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nethercutt_Collection

page was removed, because of worries about copyright issues.

This is arguably one of the finest collections of functioning art (cars and musical instruments) in the world. And it doesn't have a wikipedia article. It is little known and has few visitors, even though it has 33 out of 34 five star reviews on Yelp.com.

One of the reasons, I feel, it is relatively unknown is that it doesn't have a wikipedia article. lol

I have no connection with this place other than, I am a frequent visitor and a big fan.

So I went to see the chief curator of the museum, Skip Marketti (lucky guy) and informed him of my intention to produce an initial Wikipedia article about the museum. He was enthusiastic about the prospect and on my request for written and graphic material to be potentially included in the article, he basically said I could have anything I want. They have hundreds of photos and reams of written documentation about every important piece in the museum, and of course a complete written history.

So the question is:

How do I communicate their release of copyright, of the digital material they give me, that might be included in the article?

If they give me 1000 photos and 500 word documents, and I copy and paste a few paragraphs from the Word documents and choose 7 photos from the images provided, how do I/they satisfy your need to see that they wish these items are being placed in the public domain for use in Wikipedia?

Do you need a letter from the above mentioned chief curator? Or a letter from the president or CEO of the organization? Is this faxed to you? Do you need a scan of a piece of paper, with a signature? And do they need to release copyright for each individual text/image used, or can it all be released in mass?

Lastly, how do I convey their intention of releasing copyright, of all text and images, from their website, that may be used in the new article?

Thank you for your kind consideration.

Jeff Roehl Jroehl (talk) 22:28, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

See WP:DCM for the instructions on how to properly license copyrighted materials. I would caution, though, that it is always better to write an article in your own words then to just copy and paste someone else's work. Singularity42 (talk) 23:40, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Also, keep in mind that Wikipedia's policy on verifiablity requires that any new content be sourced to a published, reliable source. If no one else has access to the material (which is not the same as whether it is online or not), then it cannot be verified. Singularity42 (talk) 23:47, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Informal article help

I have been working on an article, John's Phone, which is currently stored in my userspace. I'd like to get it up to DYK-level, so could an editor please look at it and give me some informal advice on my talk page? Warmly, Kudu <sup>~I/O~</sup> 23:44, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

September 22

Disputed facts and veracity of sources

I have made an edit to an article which has been changed a couple of times, regarding the birthplace of a person. I added the reasoning for my edit, which is supported by the person's birth certificate. Each time the edit has been changed by the same user. In response to my comment, he posted "it doesnt matter, on Wikipedia we go by what the sources say. Unless you can find a reliable source online that says Iosco Township, this stays"

1st question: How do I contact the user to discuss the topic?

2nd question: Really? An online source trumps an official government document? I was under the impression we were supposed to provide accurate information, not just what has been repeated ad nauseum on the internet, even if it's incorrect.

I'd like to know more about these topics. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mgrimm59 (talk • contribs) 00:08, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Charlie Gehringer (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

1. Your edits were challenged by Yankees10 (talk · contribs), so you could begin a discussion at User talk:Yankees10. Alternatively, if the discussion would be of general interest to all editors maintaining that article, you could begin a discussion at the article's talk page, Talk:Charlie Gehringer.
2. Yankees10's comment is 99% correct. For a longer explanation you should look through the policy page Wikipedia:Verifiability. My one quibble is with the word "online", as reliable sources do not have to be online. Offline sources such as books and newspapers are fine, provided they are cited in enough detail; see Wikipedia:Offline sources. However, a birth certificate is not a reliable source because a reader would not be able to verify the information for himself. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:20, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Respectfully John, I disagree in part, or at least I don't think it's nearly so straightforward. First, I agree that of course the person got it entirely wrong about sources having to be available online. But a person's birth certificate is I think pretty clearly a reliable source. Birth certificates are normally official records, with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. They are, of course, primary sources, which is also allowed, but primary sources needs to be used carefully, especially to avoid original research, and one aspect of that that could be relevant here is: How do we know this is not the birth certificate of someone else with the same name? The bigger question here, though, is whether it provides verifiability, which requires that sources be published and, in interpretation, moderately accessible to public review—only available in a library is fine; only one locked in a vault somewhere, not so much. Birth certificates may be publicly available in some places (even available for ordering online for a not inconsiderable fee by anyone through services like vitalchek), but in others, only accessible by family members and government officials. So I think the question is thorny and requires an examination of particular context: It's not straightforward to use a birth certificate as a source, but it's not straightforward to dismiss one either as a source.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:38, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for your correction. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:47, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Revert error - help needed

I screwed up and moved the Harry Strauss page to Henry L. Straus and can't undo it. Can somebody do it it? Hialeah Harry (talk) 01:16, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

 Done I moved the page back to Harry Strauss. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 01:45, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia app on iPhone and other mobile devices

First, when opening app, please do NOT go to Today's Featured Article. It takes a long time, and wastes bandwidth, which costs us real money. Please fix that ASAP. I don't know who's responsible for that, nor should I have to care. Second, Bugzilla? Get real. There seems to be a trend to force even casual users to use horrendously complex systems like Github. Please don't go that route. Just let us submit a form and let a developer sort it out. If you're short on developers, don't try to get users to do your work for you. Love Wikipedia! Wish there was an offline version to use when net not available. (Email address removed) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.137.143.146 (talk) 03:39, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

You may wish to read Wikipedia#Accessing Wikipedia's content. Many contributors never use Bugzilla, you might just wish to leave a note at wp:VPT. LeadSongDog come howl! 04:08, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

i want to help from people

sir i want to study higher studies but i dont have that much of amount please help me because my family background was poor. please help me — Preceding unsigned comment added by 115.117.192.99 (talk) 05:13, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

You are at Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, and this is the Help desk for people using or editing it. I'm very sorry, but we are unable to help you financially. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:24, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

list of satellite crashes

i would love to see a list of satellites that have fallen to earth, where, when, and so forth. also satellite collisions. i have searched for such a list everywhere and haven't found even a partial one. yet someone MUST keep such a record already. 72.208.127.111 (talk) 12:12, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia. If you have sources for such a list and already can write up some verifiable content, you can submit it to Wikipedia:Articles for creation. If you don't already have sources or any content for the article but still would like to see it included in Wikipedia, you can try Wikipedia:Requested articles. Just follow the instructions on these pages. Also it might be helpful to read Wikipedia:Introduction. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 12:19, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

You can start with Category:Artificial satellites formerly orbiting Earth, which is probably incomplete and includes Skylab which was not a satellite. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) <sup>talk</sup> 14:51, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

As a matter of interest, why do you say that Skylab was not a satellite? - David Biddulph (talk) 14:59, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Foreing exchange

If pound transfer to my account there will be any charge taken by rbi — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.97.127.227 (talk) 12:34, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Wikipedia: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.-- Obsidi♠n Soul 12:37, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

birth date (previously archived thread, revived to allow reply)

Dear editor,

My bio is listed with birth date and birth place. I think these are confidential information. I wonder if they can be deleted from mine and others who are listed?

Thanks,

Ken Chong — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.96.197.139 (talk) 12:48, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

The information should not appear in Wikipedia unless it has already been published in reliable secondary sources. - David Biddulph (talk) 12:56, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Privacy of personal information and using primary sources. Are you referring to Ken P. Chong? PrimeHunter (talk) 14:04, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

The information appears to be cited in a reliable source - can someone verify this? If the information is not in the cited publication, it should be removed; if it is in the source, but it can be shown that the source is unreliable then it should be removed. If, however, it is a reliable source and the information is accurate in the article, then the information is available in a public source, and so should be left in the article. If I get a chance, I will look into this further. -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\<sup>[alternative account of Phantomsteve]</sup> 15:48, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

Further, if that is the only source, I would suggest that the DoB should be just given as the year. If other reliable sources give the full date, they should be cited and the full date left in the article. As I say, I'll look into this more when I have more time, hopefully tomorrow -- PhantomSteve.alt/talk\<sup>[alternative account of Phantomsteve]</sup> 15:52, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

The date of birth of Ken P. Chong does not appear to have been "widely published by reliable sources" so it should be removed on request from the subject per Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Privacy of personal information and using primary sources. The IP originally signed as "Ken P. Chong" [5] but later removed the "P." [6] I don't see why he would change the name away from the title of the article if that was the bio he referred to. I cannot find other Ken Chong's in Wikipedia but this help desk gets a lot of posts from people who think we represent other websites or organizations, and my question whether it is him has not been answered so far. I'm uncertain whether we have a request from the subject of Ken P. Chong. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:39, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

I'm the person responsible for putting the place and date of birth together with the supporting reference. I'm sorry – I didn't mean to cause distress. The data is clearly given in the source [redacted]. I genuinely regarded this publication as a reliable public source, and apologise if that is not the case. Best regards, — Hebrides (talk) 13:58, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

I redacted part of your post since the help desk is indexed by search engines and the poster (who by the way never confirmed he was actually the subject of the given article) may want the date removed from all Wikipedia pages. The source is public and nobody has questioned the reliability. I don't think you did anything wrong but per Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Privacy of personal information and using primary sources we should remove the date now when we (probably) have a request from the subject. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:26, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Replace minus signs with endashes

How can I replace minus signs in an article with endashes? Is the character included in the special characters dropdown menu in category "Symbols", second character after m³ an endash? I guess it is, but unfortunately there is no description of the symbols included in the dropdown menu, so I want to be sure. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 15:13, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

If you're using a PC and Windows, you can type an n-dash from the keyboard. Hold down the Alt key while you type 0150 on the numeric keypad. When you release the Alt key, the – appears. Hope that helps. — Hebrides (talk) 15:20, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, but I only have a laptop (which does not have a numeric keypad). Is there a solution not requiring a numpad? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 15:30, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

You can type &ndash; into the edit window and it will show up in the page as –

Does that work for you? — Hebrides (talk) 15:35, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Most laptops have a way of turning on a numerical keypad using the normal keys. On mine it is the FN key with the F10 key. GB fan 15:43, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

The specific problem is the collapsible table in the article Wilson prime. In the column titled B some of the negative numbers are preceded with minus signs, while others seem to be preceeded with endashes. I want to replace all minus signs with endashes there. However, even in the places where I see endashes in read mode, the markup in the edit window is simply -. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 15:45, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Can AWB do the replacement? If this is the case, could someone with AWB simply go through the table and replace the signs? Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 15:52, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

I entered significant changes to Swietenia humilis a few minutes ago. All have disappeared.

Please trace. I entered several hundred word text to mahogany tree species Swietenia humilis in the edit section. I attempted to advance to the discussion section to ask questions and clearify my editing. When I did that all my changes (which took over an hour to input because of all the coding for scientific names etc.) disappeared. Can the editing be recovered? I don't know how to do that. Thank you. Clyde A. Hill (talk) 15:26, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

No. Your contributions page is blank, apart from your question here, so it looks as if you didn't save your edit. The button is "Save page". - David Biddulph (talk) 15:30, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

To add to the above, in future if you want to dive off to another page when you are part way through the edit, it is safest to open another tab or window, so perhaps use the "Duplicate Tab" button on your browser (or equivalent depending on what browser you are using). - David Biddulph (talk) 15:37, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Did you save the edits? The last edit to Swietenia humilis was in November of 2010. As a new user sometimes the software requires a CAPTCHA and you would have needed to enter the letters and then click save again. Did this come up? GB fan 15:34, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

As others say, you have to click Save page or open other pages in a new tab or window (for example with Ctrl+click or Shift+click in many browsers). If you accidentally go away from the editing page then many browsers will remember what you had typed if you use the browser back button, but that would probably be too late now. Some technical things can also go wrong when you try to save. Many editors copy large edits to another window, for example a text editor, before saving. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:56, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

Login: temporary password expiration time? And a request.

It has been noted in the archives that unused temporary passwords (which have been emailed by the "Email new password" button on the Login page) expire after "a few days". What is the specified timeout period? Please add this information to either the "Email new password" button response text, or to the email that is sent to the user. Thanks! --Lexein (talk) 15:54, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

New page not coming up in google searches

Hi all,

I created a page for the Washington Bar Association which was approved and is appearing in Wikipedia searches.

However it is not coming up in Google searches for "Washington Bar Association."

Is there something I need to do, or will it eventually become Google-able without further action?

Thanks.

New page not coming up in google searches

Hi all,

I created a page for the Washington Bar Association which was approved and is appearing in Wikipedia searches.

However it is not coming up in Google searches for "Washington Bar Association."

Is there something I need to do, or will it eventually become Google-able without further action?

Thanks.