Wikipedia:Help desk

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May 21

Registered name not appearing after edition

Hi! I had registered my name on wikipedia.For two days my name did appear after editions,but now only I P No. appears.How to get my regd. name again.My registered name was sudhirbhargava

--117.198.128.108 (talk) 01:43, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Are you logging in? Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 01:46, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

You're not stating quite enough for us to tell what's going on so here's a bunch of answers to possible scenarios your post suggests to me. First, as Wisdom suggests, have you logged in? If you're having trouble doing that because you forgot your password, then you can request Wikipedia email you it (there's a button for this on the page I just linked). However, this will only work if you supplied your email address when you signed up. If you didn't, and can't remember your password, then you pretty much have to sign up for a new account; you password is unretrievable. If you're successfully logging in, but then soon afterwards it switches back to your ip address, make sure your have your computer set to allow cookies. If none of this addresses your issue, please add some detail about exactly what is going on.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:27, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

A small note: by "editions," I assume you mean "additions"? (Remember to always sign on talkpages and other discussions, but not on articles.) $\sim$ Lenoxus " * " 00:54, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

conflict of interest: neutral editor sought to make correction

Resolved

An article about a different company wrongly attributes one of my company's features to them. To avoid conflict of interest I don't want to correct things myself, and no one took notice of a notice I posted on their discussion page a year ago.

In the article "Annals of Improbable Research", the third paragraph, "AIR received attention ..." actually refers to the magazine I now own, The Journal of Irreproducible Results, which also has a Wikipedia article. The article that paragraph is about was published in JIR's volume 25, #4, 1979. That was years before AIR even existed.

If you took that paragraph whole, and changed AIR to JIR, and transplanted it into the article about JIR, everything would be factually correct.

The owner-editor of AIR used to be editor of JIR. He had a big disagreement with the then-owner, and went off and set up his own magazine, AIR. He also had a big disagreement with the next owner of JIR. Then I bought JIR in 2004. Now, AIR and JIR are at peace, and no one is saying or doing anything bad to or about the other. I don't want to violate any conflict-of-interest principles, nor cause a hassle. I just want to correct a long-standing error that misleads readers about which famous articles appeared in which magazines.

I will be happy to supply whatever supplementary information you wish.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by StarryEye (talk • contribs) 01:51, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Please do not add personal info in your message. Thank you. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 01:53, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

You may want to post this on the article's talk page to bring this to the attention of other editors who are involved with that article. You can reach this page by clicking the "discussion" tab that appears at the top of the page when viewing the article. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 02:28, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I've looked into the issue, and agree that the paragraph was in the wrong article, so I've moved the paragraph over and added a rationale on the discussion page. Hopefully I haven't been too bold. - Bilby (talk) 02:57, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

How to allow only Wikipedia editors to edit an article

Resolved

Hi. How do you allow only wikipedia editors to edit an article and block non-editors with I.P. addresses from editing an article? Sonic99 (talk) 03:09, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, you would have to be an administrator or request at WP:RFPP. Hope that helps. :) --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 03:14, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

But note that there has to be a good reason for it, like recent heavy vandalism. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 03:21, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh, and it's called protection, and the relevant policy page is here. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 03:23, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Also, what you are talking about "preventing IPs from editing articles", that is called semi-protection. Admins can actually block wikipedia users also from editing fully protected pages so that IPs and users can't edit them and only admins can.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 03:28, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

What exactly are you attempting to accomplish here. Just a reminder about ownership of all wikipedia content. Tiggerjay (talk) 05:14, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Effectively it's only technically possible in response to an incident, usually high levels of vandalism. The rest of the criteria for semi-protection is in the protection policy. Your page will not be protected if it doesn't meet those criteria. Thanks, PeterSymonds (talk) 06:47, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Also note that everyone who edits Wikipedia is an "editor" whether they have created an account or not. The correct terms are "registered editors" and "unregistered editors." A registered editor can also edit as an unregistered editor by not logging in before editing, so one might also speak of "logged-in editors" and "non-logged-in editors." At the moment, the English Wikipedia has 48,359,341 registered editors, not all of whom are active, distinct, or even necessarily alive (may they rest in peace). --Teratornis (talk) 15:35, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Since unregistered editors account for about 97% of vandalism on Wikipedia, perhaps your question is really a question about your "step" rather than your "goal" (see How to ask questions the smart way for an explanation of "step" and "goal"). If your goal is to fight vandalism, see WP:EIW#Vandal. --Teratornis (talk) 16:06, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

is Kerala land ecsclamated from the sea?

Resolved

There are foklores and stories that God has created Kerala, or the land has ecsclamated from the sea millions ofyears ago when main land of india joined with the northern land. Please give some insight to this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.96.105.117 (talk) 07:46, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

The help desk is only for help needed for USING wikipedia. It seems your question is non-wikipedia related. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 07:49, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

invisible spans

Resolved

Hi !

I just removed 3 span visibility="hidden" from Elderly Instruments (the current frontpage FA), to me it looked like pure vandalism. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing, since this is a high-visibility article currently.

Is there in general any reason to have sections in articles that are invisible ? Or are these always vandalism, except perhaps when they contain information meant for other editors ? Eivind Kjørstad (talk) 08:27, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Okay, let me have a look. Give me a minute. Steve Crossin (talk) (review) 08:29, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Yep, seems to be vandalism to me, no doubt. Generally, I can't see any reason that something should be hidden in an article. Glad I could help out. Steve Crossin (talk) (review) 08:32, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I thougth so. If something was removed for being somehow inapropriate it'd make more sense to simply delete it -- seeing as we've got version-control and thus the ability to reinstate deleted text if needed anyway. Thank you for your help ! Eivind Kjørstad (talk) 09:06, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Uploading Images - size and method question

Two questions both quite simple but I cannot find a definitive answer:

1. A 10MP camera will grab a 5MB JPG file, should I downsample the images first or just upload them 'as-is'? I am guessing you want them verbatim but thought I would check
2. Is there an interactive utility for uploading images? On an ADSL line it takes some minutes with the browser doing nothing. If there is a problem it can take five minutes to find out :) I am using Windows.

RobChafer (talk) 09:55, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

1. Depends on what you are doing with the image and the article. Should it be cropped to better illustrate the subject? If the images are not copyrighted, consider uploading them to Wikimedia Commons.
2. The upload file page is it. Even on a faster connection, it can sometimes sit in dumb and happy mode for a bit.

--— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 10:14, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Need help archiving my talk page.

I have been trying for a long time now to archive my talk page using Mizabot. I tried almost all options given by this bot like, limiting size of the talkpage, archiving the threads based on some days, archiving the talk page based on the days, etc...but none seem to work. These are current settings-
{{User:MiszaBot/config |counter = 1 |algo = old(5d) |maxarchivesize = 10K |archive = User talk:gppande/Archive %(counter)d }} {{archivebox|auto=yes}}
Can someone have a look at it and help me. My talkpage is getting too big to handle. --gppande «talk» 10:49, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I think the archive page needs to be created before the bot will start to archive. Should work now. You can always cut and paste too. -CWY2190(talk • contributions) 15:17, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

• Your user name needs to be capitalized. User talk:Gppande/Archive That is an easy thing to miss. Gtstricky^{Talk or C} 15:22, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I tried to capitalize my username completely - GPPANDE and didn't work. So I have modified to below - let's see if this works today. I appreciate your help here. --gppande «talk» 15:47, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
{{User:MiszaBot/config |counter = 1 |algo = old(5d) |maxarchivesize = 10K |archive = User talk:Gppande/Archive %(counter)d }} {{archivebox|auto=yes}}

Infobox_road map size

Is it possible to scale the map size in {{Infobox_road}} to match the width of the main image at Historic Michigan Boulevard District?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 15:41, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

If you set the infobox parameter map_custom = yes then you can use a standard image link ([[Image:Example.jpg|parameters]]) instead of just entering the image name and having the template set the standard image options. Hope that helps. haz (talk) 15:46, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

And if you haven't memorized the standard image options, see: Help:Images and other uploaded files. Incidentally, Template:Infobox road/doc could do a better job of explaining how to use the map_custom option in conjunction with the map option. At the moment one pretty much has to read the template code to figure out how that works. --Teratornis (talk) 16:13, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Indeed, that's how I had to work it out... the {{infobox road}} documentation mentions the map_custom field, but doesn't give any tips on how to use it. haz (talk) 16:27, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I remember this template from a previous question. The parameter map_notes is not documented at all. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 17:26, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, if we see an internal document on Wikipedia that is missing some needed information, and the missing information generates questions on the Help desk, that situation is crying out for someone to fix it. There is a tendency for people to figure something out, and then once they know the information they need, they don't think about the next unlucky user who will have to reinvent the same wheel. I'm as guilty of that as anyone, but for Wikipedia to advance at maximum efficiency, we should try to feed back our improvements into the manuals as we find deficiencies. On the Help desk we should not only answer questions, but try to figure out why the answer wasn't obvious to the questioner, and then see if we can make it more obvious to the next user who stumbles into the same situation. So I tried. --Teratornis (talk) 23:20, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Wikilinks

Resolved

 – Answered elsewhere.--Tikiwont (talk) 16:46, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't know how to link Peter Tork's name to his page. Someone please explain . . . Hmichele (talk) 16:32, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject

Resolved

 – User appears to have done what is wanted. x42bn6 Talk Mess 22:28, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I've worked on other wikis without WikiProjects. How do you join. Do I add my name to a list or something? Could you give me some links. Its the Simpsons WikiProject I want to join, as I did some work on Pray Anything. Doughnuts...Mmm! (talk) 17:17, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

The Simpsons WikiProject has instructions at Wikipedia:WikiProject The Simpsons#Participants. Follow those instructions; if you need help, fire away. x42bn6 Talk Mess 17:22, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

General information about WikiProjects is at WP:PROJ and WP:PROJGUIDE. More technical details: WP:EIW#WikiProject. --Teratornis (talk) 01:01, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Howto link a definition?

It seems that the only allowed internal link targets are pages, and sections within a page. I would like to link to a definition term (as in a definition list used as a glossary). Is there any way to do this?

If not, might I suggest that the list of internal link targets be expanded to include definition terms, in addition to sections and pages.

jonb (talk) 19:23, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

What exact term are you trying to link to, and in what context? haz (talk) 19:26, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Any definition term that I or others might define using the definition list formatting convention ";Definition Term: Definition Text". I would like to be able to link to such a definition, whether from within a nother definition, or from within another page.

jonb (talk) 19:29, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

You have to create an anchor and link to it— the template {{anchor}} can do that. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:37, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

(ec)You can also link to our sister project Wiktionary by using the following format: [[wikt:WORD|WORD]] replacing the 2 instances of WORD with the term you want to define. So say I wanted to define chicken, I could do this: Chicken. We usually only links terms to Wiktionary when the terms are technical, or not easily understood without defining it. This means that every word should not be linked to a definition, just a select few. Hope that helps. « Gonzo fan2007 (talk ♦ contribs) @ 19:42, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I was hoping for something less formal for internal use than having to add our terms to Wiktionary.

jonb (talk) 19:58, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I tried your suggestion, but the text "Template:Anchor" shows up in the page as a page link. And, linking to anchor does not make the page jump to it. Do I have to enable templates or something? (I've never used them).

In any case, it would sure make a lot of sense if definition terms were automatically made link targets -- what is the point of defining a term if you can't link to it?

jonb (talk) 19:55, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

The definition the OP is referring to is using the definition wikimarkup using ";" and ":" that can be used to build a list of terms and definitions. Example: ;Foo:definition

Foo

definition

By using an anchor, a named link can be created. Example: ;Foo:definition {{anchor|foo1}}

Foo

definition

You can then link to this with [[pagename#foo1]] --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:59, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I tried this and I see "Template:Anchor" where I inserted the anchor in the definition, and I can't link to it. No doubt there is something stupid that I am overlooking.

jonb (talk) 20:04, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

What is the article and what are you doing? --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:08, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

No article in particle. We're using wikimedia for an in house wiki, but such a feature would be good anywhere a definition is used by anyone.

jonb (talk) 20:43, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Then this is a MediaWiki software question, not a Wikipedia use question. You need to let us know that- WP has a lot of custom stuff that can make it very different from a vanilla MW install. You need to copy {{anchor}} to your wiki before you can use it. Just to make it more fun, anchor in turn uses other templates that you must also copy, and they might just use another template in turn. Another way you can encode the anchor is to use <span id="{{anchorencode:foo" /> instead of {{anchor}}, where foo is the name of the anchor. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 21:10, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

See WP:EIW#Naviga for several methods of making anchors. For example, in the Editor's index to Wikipeda itself, we use plain HTML <span id="..."/> tags to create the targets for shortcut links such as WP:EIW#Naviga. --Teratornis (talk) 22:54, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

However, since you are editing on your own wiki, presumably you don't have to follow Wikipedia's Manual of style. That means you can use any page layout you like. Therefore, you could make an ordinary page with a list of definitions. Give each definition its own section, and then you can simply link words to their defining sections. You should not need any tricky methods to put invisible name anchors into text. --Teratornis (talk) 23:01, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Search For User Contributions On A Specific Talk Page, Article Page, Category Page, Etc. Etc.

Is there any way to search for all the contributions by a the same contributor on a specific talk page, article page, category page, etc. etc.? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.148.164.166 (talk) 20:13, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Not really, however you can restrict the view of their contributions to a single namespace. For example, this shows all my recent contributions to articles only. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 20:32, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

You can do this by the use of external tools such as WikiSense Contributors. Have a look at Wikipedia:Tools#Page histories for any others that you might find useful. haz (talk) 20:35, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

External Links for blogs

I understand that the External Links for Wikipedia are discouraging blogs from being posted--But I have looked on another Wikipedia artist page and it clearly shows a blog link for that celebrity. What I am trying to do is display a newly developed blog for Leisha Hailey on her page. What are the exceptions for displaying blogs on Wiki? Here is the link to her blog: leishahaileyfans.blogspot.com

Can anyone assist me with this issue?--Leisha12 (talk) 20:21, 21 May 2008 (UTC)Leisha12

Have a look at Wikipedia:External links (and in particular WP:ELNO) for the policy. I would advise against the linking of a blog site, especially if you have a close link with the site in question. haz (talk) 20:28, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

review new article

Hello,

I was recently advised to create an article at User:N9NE Group/sandbox and then come here to ask an editor to review. I would like to expand on this article, but for now would just like to know if I am on the right track. Thank you N9NE Group (talk) 21:34, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I have made changes to your sandbox, as requested. Feel free to review and comment on them. Here is probably a good place to make any comments, since your username has been blocked as a violation of username policy. haz (talk) 22:10, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, in my opinion, it looks good to me. I just suggest adding the topic's history. Some expansion would do to. The references look good but remember to use reliable sources. Regards, RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 00:08, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

The article is a good start but it has problems. Your first citation (vegas.com) is not a terrible source but it's not great either. It's a commercial site which promotes Vegas. While it is technically a "third party" source it's not wholly independent. I certainly don't think one would describe it as a reliable source with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. All other sources cited are better on the reliability and independence fronts, but all suffer from the same problem: the club is just mentioned peripherally in them as a place where this or that famous person appeared. The base of all notability guideline on Wikipedia is that a topic should only have an autonomous article if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. That would consist of reliable sources substantively discussing the club. This is not to say that those sources should be removed, not at all. But you are going to need sources that actually cover the club itself in order to write a tertiary source encyclopedia article on it. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:16, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Request for new entry?

Is there a place where I can request a new entry? I don't know much about the subject at hand, but would like more information about it from others. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 22:27, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

If you mean making a new page, see Wikipedia:Your first article. If you mean where you can request an article to be made, that's Wikipedia:Requested articles. Hope those pages help. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 22:30, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, 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 Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at 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. Paragon12321 (talk) 22:32, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

You also might wish to consider requesting an article at Wikipedia:Requested articles, although there is a bit of a backlog. (Sorry - I had missed Calvin 1998's post when I added this). - Bilby (talk) 22:47, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Actually, I think that IPs are supposed to make requests at Articles for Creation, which I believe is backlog-free. Paragon12321 (talk) 03:26, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Articles for Creation is for ready-written articles where the user doesn't want to register so that they can put the article into article-space straight away themselves, and as such you'd need to have at least a paragraph of text, including an assertion of notability and at least one source. Requested articles, on the other hand, just needs an article title (but then you have to wait for someone who knows enough about the topic to go there, see that it's been requested, and write the article). Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 03:40, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

help

Resolved

Hello i need help on the steps i need to follow in order to remove a peacock term from an article.

Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ahmed Alhaji (talk • contribs) 22:48, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Simply click on the "edit this page" tab at top of the article, locate the term you wish to remove in the body of the article (or in the lead) and delete it as you would any text. In the edit summary box provide a rationale as to why, in this case WP:PEACOCK. Then click save. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 22:52, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

When you think all the peacock terms are removed, remove the peacock term template at the top/section of the article.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 00:05, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

If you tell us the article, and preferably link to it, then we can show you exactly how to remove the first few peacock terms, and you can learn from our diff to see how to remove more of them. --Teratornis (talk) 00:57, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

You can read WP:PEACOCK for more info. I suggest copy-editing those peacock articles.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 05:41, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

May 22

Status of a requested translation

How long does one normally have to wait to get a response to a translation request, in this case Wikipedia:Translation/Evidence ?

Or, did I not set the request up correctly ?

If there is no one to do it, should I just get the request speedy deleted ?

Peet Ern (talk) 03:28, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Carah Faye, Carah Faye Charnow, Mikey Martin, Michael Martin

Resolved

I made new pages for these people and they are now deleted. I checked the deletion log and cannot see why they were eliminated.Can someone please explain why?

Thanks for your help,

firstyearclay —Preceding unsigned comment added by Firstyearclay (talk • contribs) 04:15, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh, their not deleted. They were just redirected to a different, appropriate article.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 04:20, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

IPs cannot create articles?

Resolved

I was referred to come here about a article I'm trying to create, called GET US OUT! which is about a US organization that wants the US to get out of the UN because it alleges that the UN is corrupt, anti-American, worse, such as that it charges the UN as being part of the World Government, which is denounced AS being Satanic in the Christian religion. Source information is www.getusout.com. I even clicked on the "Start article...." link, only it says Unauthorized, thus that link no longer functions, if any links function at all, because I'm a IP. 65.163.115.254 (talk) 04:52, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

IPs cannot create articles unfortunately. But if you were to create an account, you can then create articles. Do you want to create an account? It's your choice. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 04:54, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

If you do make an account and plan to write an article, you'll want to read Wikipedia:Your first article thoroughly beforehand. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 04:59, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

You can also try WP:Articles for creation or (if you get an account) WP:Requested articles. However, I'm guessing that if the only source is the web site of the organization itself, the article's creation won't be approved, or it'll be deleted if it is created. If you need more info on the subject, familiarize yourself with WP:Attribution. $\sim$ Lenoxus " * "

E-mail as a Source

What's the rule on using e-mail as a source? I'm almost positive that its not acceptable, but an article I watch just had a fact added based on an e-mail correspondence with a company. Is this a specific Wiki page about using e-mail as a source (ex. a more specific page like WP:NOR)? -Zomic13 (talk) 04:57, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

To clarify, since I may not be entirely clear, I'm looking for a page that I can cite in an edit summary in regards to using e-mail as a source. -Zomic13 (talk) 05:00, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

WP:RS maybe? Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 05:03, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't think there is one. I'm not entirely sure though.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 05:39, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm fairly certain that in order for something to be reliable, it has to pass the test of solid and consistent fact checking - an email address certainly does not meet this requirement as it is difficult to check the veracity. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 05:55, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I looked at WP:EIW#Source, WP:RS, and WP:V, thinking that I saw something once upon a time about e-mail as a source. Nothing like that seems to be in there now, except for a footnote in WP:V#Notes and references:

• "Blogs" in this context refers to personal and group blogs. Some newspapers host interactive columns that they call blogs, and these may be acceptable as sources so long as the writers are professionals and the blog is subject to the newspaper's full editorial control. Where a news organization publishes the opinions of a professional but claims no responsibility for the opinions, the writer of the cited piece should be attributed (e.g., "Jane Smith has suggested ..."). Posts left by readers may never be used as sources.

Notice the last sentence that I italicized. An e-mail message might be in the same class as ephemera, i.e. not a reliable source (certainly, it is not a published source, unless someone included it in a published work). I also checked WP:CITET, and it lists a {{cite mailing list}} template. By itself, that does not imply mailing lists are reliable sources. We can also try searching the Help desk for: e-mail as a source; that finds:

• Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 April 2#Citing Sources from an e-mail?

--Teratornis (talk) 07:16, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Unpublished emails are unacceptable as sources because they fail Wikipedia:Verifiability. A template was deleted for that reason at Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Log/2007 April 19#Template:Cite email, where somebody created {{cite mailing list}} instead for published emails which can be used in certain circumstances where the author and content is considered reliable enough for a given purpose. I wouldn't use it for anything remotely controversial. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:54, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

user name - fallrome

i upload a photo and did not provide a copyright. went to unpload a replacement with copyright provided and was blocked. new to wikipedia and didnt know how to do it. figured it out on the other photos. the photes are of my 1973 thunderbird in the article oabout the car. thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fallrome (talk • contribs) 06:40, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi. Is the image you're talking about Image:73tbirdfront.jpg? It hasn't actually been deleted yet so you don't need to upload another copy. Just go to the image, click "edit this page", and replace the no license tag ({{di-no license|month=May|day=20|year=2008}}) with the appropriate tag from this list. Hope that helps!

Oh, and it's helpful if you sign your posts on talk pages using four tildes, like this ~~~~, which produces your signature. Olaf Davis | Talk 10:31, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

ArticleHistory Template

Is it possible to change the {{ArticleHistory}} template to transclude the GAicon just like the {{GA}} template does?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 07:16, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

File an {{editprotected}} request on Template talk:ArticleHistory...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 16:09, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

You would need consensus from the GA project first, or a larger consensu at the village pump. Woody (talk) 16:20, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Image

A request, can anyone please upload these two images from BBC [1], [2] for the article 2003 Algeria earthquake‎. I was advised some times, but still I am facing problems regarding image uploading. In this case a {{Non-free historic image}} tag would be appropriate, as it is a unique historic image, and the copyright for it is most likely held by the person who took the image or the agency employing the person. Otolemur crassicaudatus (talk) 11:10, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I think it is possible that a free alternative could be found so I don't think this image should be used. Anonymous101 (talk) 17:46, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

You can make your request easier for people to understand by linking to whatever you mean by "I was advised some times". On Wikipedia, everything we do is in writing, specifically so we can share everything we do with other volunteers. Before someone else could help, it would be prudent for them to read the same written record that you have read, up to now, about the problem. --Teratornis (talk) 17:53, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

KPI/SWITCH GEAR

please give me a brief description about KPI in the field of iso auditing please give me a brief description about switch gear —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bhuvanesh2k8 (talk • contribs) 11:23, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

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. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:09, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

When you do ask again on the Reference desk, please try to pose your question well, so volunteers do not have to waste time trying to determine what you want. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia about almost everything; therefore, many common words can mean many different things here. Volunteers who answer questions are not mind-readers, so they cannot guess which particular meaning you intend when you use a word with multiple meanings. The phrase "KPI in the field of iso (sic) auditing" is ambiguous with respect to the KPI acronym (for example, "KPI" might mean Key performance indicators, or other things on the KPI disambiguation page), and "iso" looks like it might really be ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, rather than the chemical prefix relating to isomerism (letter case matters a lot on Wikipedia, so try not to be sloppy). You can also search Wikipedia for: ISO auditing and KPI. As far as switch gear, what type of switches do you mean? There are electrical switches, railroad switches, etc. See Switch (disambiguation) and pick one of the meanings of "switch" to clarify your question. --Teratornis (talk) 17:21, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Display most recent history entry on an article page

Is there a way to transclude the most recent entry from the history tab into an article and have it automatically update? E.g. If I were the most recent person to edit an article I would like to have 08:45, 22 May 2008 imandir (Talk | contribs) (2,343 bytes) (+comments) display on the the article page. --IMandIR (talk) 12:53, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Help:Magic words#Page names and related info shows how to display some of this information: {{REVISIONID}} and other magic words below it. You might have to find, or write, a MediaWiki extension to display the rest of what you need, and if you are asking about how to display this information on a Wikipedia article, then there would be the bureaucratic/political challenges of getting the extension added to Wikipedia if it isn't already here. The Village pump (technical) might be a better place to ask this question. If you are asking about a wiki other than Wikipedia, try mw:Project:Support desk. You can also search the two wikis that contain technical information about MediaWiki:

• Search Meta-Wiki with Google
• Search MediaWiki.org with Google

If you need to do these kinds of searches routinely (many technically inclined users probably do), add the {{Help desk searches}} template to your user page where it will always be one click away when you have logged in to Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 17:36, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

IP

does wikipedia know your ip and how does it find out (if yes)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.5.91.181 (talk) 16:24, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

If you do not have an account, your IP is shown, as demonstrated by your signature. If you register for an account, your IP is only available to certain admins under certain circumstances: see WP:CHECK. See WP:REG for other benefits of an account. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:47, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Mike Zito

<text of article removed> 76.195.145.106 (talk) 17:03, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Hello. I have removed the text of the article you posted here. This help desk is for asking questions about using Wikipedia. I see that the subject of the article does not currently have an article. The information posted below describes the process for creation.

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, 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 Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at 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.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 17:10, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

86.46.7.34 (talk) 18:26, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Thierry Roussel

My boss, Mr. Thierry Roussel, feels that the article about him has errors and exaggerations and would like to set the record straight by submitting his cv to be added. I also have a signed scanned version if that would be preferable. I do not really understand how to go about doing this. Can you insert this article for me? Thanks, Glendap (talk) 18:09, 22 May 2008 (UTC)glendap

<text of article removed>

See policies on conflict of interest and autobiography on why this content cannot be added. What particular errors do you feel are present? haz (talk) 18:14, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I fixed the references, added a reflist, added persondata template, added a couple of categories and removed some unencyclopedic content. – ukexpat (talk) 21:46, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Kannst mir die deine setzen aber als der

Es ist sehr stimmt oder grossen hast dir das geschenk oder kremi. Ist das einer grasse nimmen? 86.46.7.34 (talk) 18:26, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Please post your question at de:Wikipedia:Fragen zur Wikipedia. haz (talk) 18:30, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Es die ersten dritten stock bis zu kremi. Ist das richtig?...86.46.7.34 (talk) 18:32, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Dies ist die englische Wikipedia. Sie sollten ihn fragen an der deutschen Sprache in Wikipedia de:Hauptseite. Sorry, die Übersetzung erfolgte durch Google. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 19:10, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Ancient Egypt

Why can't I find information specifically about one of the Egyptian Kings Amenhemet III on this site? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.106.84.214 (talk) 18:43, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Either due to a misspelling, or that noone's got round to creating the page yet. If you are certain the spelling is correct:

Please see Your first article.

1. Create an account
2. Make sure the subject is notable enough to have their own article.
3. Find references
4. Make sure no article on the subject exists under a different title by typing the subject into the search box to the left (←) and clicking 'Search'
5. Type the page name in the search box to the left (←) and click 'Go'
6. Click 'Create this page'
7. Create the article, including all your references, making sure you adhere to the Manual of Style and our article layout guidelines
8. Be aware that Wikipedia deletes thousands of new articles for failing to adhere to our policies and guidelines. New articles by new users are at extra risk of deletion, due to new users' unfamiliarity with our rules. Consider gaining experience by editing existing articles before attempting to create new ones....... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 18:53, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Names can often be translated to English in different ways. Try Amenemhat III. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:07, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Super/subscripts in verbatim text

In the TUTOR (programming language) wiki page, as in most other programming language web pages <pre> blocks are used to set off source code examples. This works just fine, except in one section of the page, TUTOR (programming language)#Expression Syntax. In that section, superscripts and subscripts are used, because TUTOR (not being confined by the constraints of ASCII) happened to permit super and subscripting in expressions. As a result, it seems impossible to get correct rendering of the subscripting in that example in that section. The content of the cited section contains an in-line gripe showing the problem and inviting a fix.

Someone who understands the strange and wonderful world of HTML style may be required to resolve this. The best possible solution would appear to be a special TUTOR example style that put the grey box and dashed outline used by <pre> in place, but also renders super and subscripts correctly -- which, in this case, should include overriding the font-size change for super and subscripts, since the PLATO System's support for super and subscript didn't do this. If the cost of this includes requiring the user to type explicit <br> line breaks in the examples, that's not a problem. Any help would be appreciated. 128.255.45.57 (talk) 19:10, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

It would appear that you are not the first to come across this because we have {{pre}} to resolve the issue:

ABC123

--—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:28, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! (I speculate the "gripping hand" position too.) Except for the little "pre" hanging out there in the corner, a very minor wart, this is just fine. 128.255.45.57 (talk) 19:44, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I removed that comment as I thought it might be confusing, but it should not be suprising that we have an article on the gripping hand. The little "pre" tag is a backlink to the template. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:54, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Now, I'm confused again -- the wonderful thing Wikiland is that it's all very public. Right after I fixed it, following the above suggestion, Ghettoblaster fixed my fix so the little "pre" went away. His trick was a single leading space on the line. This is discouraged in Wikipedia:How to edit a page by the note that leading spaces wreck the rendering of the entire page in browsers such as IE7, so I'm reverting it.128.255.45.57 (talk) 22:17, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

how safe is floresent twist light bulbs

we bought the twisted light bulbs to save on energy. the other day my husband was at the table when he noticed a burnt smell. he went through the house searching for the corporate. he could not find out where the smell was comming from. the next day he was changing a bulb that had went out when he noticed the bulb had a hole in the base of it about the size of a pencle. the smell was still overwelming. thats where the smell was comming from. the sench made him week and dizzy. he went to the doctor and was found to be ok. but my question is how often have you had bulbs do this before. and is there any longterm effects. if you want pictures of the bulb, i will be glad to send it to you. sam —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.20.88.22 (talk) 19:14, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your question however this help desk is for help using Wikipedia. Please see the reference desk where you may ask your question someone will find the answer for you. Cheers Gtstricky^{Talk or C} 19:38, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Even at the Reference Desk, we cannot offer medical advice per our medical disclaimer. We can only offer general information on compact fluorescent lamps. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:42, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like a defect in the bulb but, yes, you'd probably get better information on the reference desk. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 20:17, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

We have had a couple of these almost catch fire on us. They smell very bad when they overheat. Be aware that the contents of the glass tube are poisonous, and these bulbs should never be disposed of in normal household waste. ^anon 2008-05-24 18:55 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.73.140.247 (talk)

LOGO

Resolved

 – Yes...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 20:59, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Can I use WikiMedia logos in the user namespace? —Preceding unsigned comment added by CyberThing (talk • contribs) 19:58, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Yes...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 20:59, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Technically not, because they aren't free, but everyone does it anyhow... Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 22:31, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Reminds me of a Simpsons comic: "Chief Wiggum also tells me to remind you that lynching is technically illegal, but so is cheating on your taxes, and everyone does that anyway." bibliomaniac15 01:45, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

new user needs help, i am a little confused

I added a relevent "related companies" to an article and when i clicked on it i wrote a stub article describing the company i have read about in two outside sources. the item was deleted before i can figure out what happend. something about spam? I am not a spammer and i wished to add relevent information. I attempted to rewrite the article with less words and to the point, but it will not let me. i appreciate the help on this matter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gunsource1 (talk • contribs) 20:27, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Please provide the exact article name. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:39, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

That'd be Gunvendor.com. That page has been protected against re-creation by the deleting admin, Bearian. I suggest you write a version in your userspace at e.g. User:Gunsource1/Gunvendor.com showing exactly why this company is notable. Pay particular regard to Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies), Wikipedia:Spam, and Wikipedia:Reliable sources. If you have any connection with the website, then you probably ought not to be writing the article anyway - see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. Once you've got a version you're happy with, ask Bearian to take another look. If Bearian disagrees and thinks that the article is still not fit for Wikipedia, then have another think about whether the article is good enough before you ask for the page to be unprotected at WP:RFPP. Good luck! Bencherlite^Talk 20:49, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

How do I make...

how do I make meters that tell me how angry I am? I tried [[Image:Wikistress3D <<A"1">> v3.jpg|right|thumbnail|]] but that didn't work!--Spittlespat (talk) 22:32, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

{{wstress3d|1}}

returns the thing on the right. You've got to replace the <<A>> with a number. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 22:35, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Inappropriate? Usernames

Resolved

I came across a user (was an editor for one or two days a week ago;vandalism), who had "sockpuppet" in their username and whose userpage had "I am a sockpuppet" as it's content (without assertation of legitimate sock use). Is the user a candidate for Inappropriate Username, or is the fact that they havent edited since reason to just ignore? Fribbler (talk) 22:59, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

It's not a candidate for inappropriate username, I don't think. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 23:04, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Thats grand so! Thanks. Fribbler (talk) 23:09, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Of course, if this user starts acting sockpuppet-y, might want to request a checkuser. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 03:31, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

May 23

Non-existant References

How do you handle articles whose references point to non-existant webpages or webpages that return a 404 error now? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Smarter1 (talk • contribs) 15:59, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

See WP:EIW#LinkRot for links to some tools and instructions. I don't see that there is one simple tidy answer. The first thing I would try is a {{Google}} search for new locations the references may have moved to, or for new references that document the same information. It will be nice, someday, when the whole world gets over its stupidity and all published information is under the GFDL. Then we can add everything we cite to Wikisource and not have to worry about linkrot ever again, or as long as the Wikimedia Foundation remains viable. --Teratornis (talk) 16:27, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

See WP:DEADREF. LinkChecker is a great tool that will check links, mark dead links and check for archived links. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:24, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Vandalism

Resolved

Why is it that some vandals get away with the vandalism they start, like the false birthday I found on Lee Eun-ju before I fixed it? This wiki needs something that will automatically detect vandalism, so the vandals are not warned so late, like they are nowadays.Kitty53 (talk) 00:20, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, it's not like we can catch every vandal. We try our best to revert all vandalism. Even when one is found late, it would be reverted/removed. Also, it could be that a user adds vandalism one edit at a time, one inappropriate word, hidden vandalism, sneaky vandalism, etc. and it's hard to keep up with. But we do try our best. Also, there are many tools like TWINKLE that helps but no tool can find all vandals. Not even our vandal fighting bots can get all of them. Hope this helps. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 00:24, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

There are a lot of bots that do this (like User:Cluebot) but unlike humans, they are not 100% effective.--Sunny910910 ^{(talk|Contributions|Guest)} 00:45, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

There's really no way a bot can figure out that changing a birthday is vandalism. There are times where an incorrect birthdate is listed for person, and a correct one is added. So it's not as simple as reverting every change of a birthday. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 01:12, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

By the way, bots are not perfect. Our vandal fighting bots have actually made mistakes. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 01:22, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Actually, the bots make tons of mistakes - and sneaky vandalism like fact-changing often doesn't get reverted 'cuz of WP:AGF. So then we have to wait until someone who, say, has the page on their watchlist to review and possibly revert it (which would take a while). Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 03:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Agreed. I actually saved a few diffs just for proof that bots make mistakes. I'll be glad to show it if requested here. Anyway, I've noticed sneaky vandalism being on an article fpr over 6 months. So basically to the requesters questions, there is always vandalism left around wikipedia. That is why vandal fighters, which refers to pretty much all wikipedians, are here to help remove and revert vandalism. What you saw User:Kitty53, was just one of those sneaky edits/vandalism. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 03:42, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Kitty, the something that will automatically detect vandalism is all of us working together. The bots can find the swear words, us humans have to spot the rest. Put lots of articles on your watchlist and check every change. Check if the references support the changes. If there aren't references, find them and add them. If you find vandalism, check that user's contributions and fix everything else they've messed up, and give them a warning if it's recent. Then watch their contributions to see if they're still doing it. It's a team effort, and thanks so much for helping! Franamax (talk) 04:46, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

What happened to the + button?

Resolved

I've been on WP on and off, and just realized the + button at the top of talk pages is missing. Is it my computer, or did they remove it? Voyaging^(talk) 04:05, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

It was replaced with a "new section" button. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 04:11, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

It still works the same way. Click "new section" to create a new section on a talk page as normal. You can go to Special:Preferences and then go to gadgets, and then you click the box that says "Change the "new section" tab text to instead display the much narrower "+"." in the "User interface gadgets" section at the bottom to add the "+" back if you want.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 04:17, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

If your wondering how all this happened, it was mentioned at the village pump and then others considered to change it to "new section" and then have an opportunity to change it at Special:Preferences.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 04:26, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, guys! Didn't even see the new button! Voyaging^(talk) 11:38, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

This illustrates how the brain sees what it expects to see, and tends to ignore anything which is out of place. It would be nice to have a preferences checkbox to enable something like "Notify me when someone dicks with modifies the user interface". I find it extremely annoying when I go to a familiar Web site and someone has redesigned a bunch of stuff without telling me, or for that matter without asking me if I wanted it to change. Imagine if the real world was like that - each day, you would head out on familiar roads only to find someone had rearranged all the familiar landmarks, road signs, and even the road layout. --Teratornis (talk) 16:35, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

It is quite a pain in the ass, but, what are you going to to? When people make a change they want it to be noticed, and the only way to do that is by shoving it down people's throats. --Oni Ookami Alfador^Talk|@ 01:28, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

How about what I suggested, to have a preferences checkbox: "Notify me when someone modifies the user interface". If you check that box, then each time someone changes the standard page layout or site features or whatever, you would get the usual "You have new messages" prompt on your next login, and your talk page would have a new message explaining what changed, or linking to a document that explains what changed, or at least a link to the discussion on the Village pump where a handful of people decided what was best for 48,359,341 users (based on their hunches, I suppose). --Teratornis (talk) 04:36, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Yesterday, news reports about the English Wikipedia.

Yesterday, News reports about the English Wikipedia.

[3] [4]

Korea in the famous English Wikipedia.

English Wikipedia best!

--Stylescene (talk) 07:32, 23 May 2008 (UTC)Stylescene

Is there a question here? If those articles have some newsworthy content, you might write a dispatch for the WP:SIGNPOST, or see WP:EIW#News for a place to report it (preferably in English). --Teratornis (talk) 16:30, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Mark Cavendish, misplaced edit-buttons

Resolved

I'm baffled as to how to fix a problem on the Mark Cavendish article, in which the sub-section edit buttons have been misplaced by a template; is there a solution to this? --Pretty Green (talk) 07:48, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

See WP:BUNCH. --Teratornis (talk) 08:49, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

RSS feeds

Resolved

 – External feed...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 11:51, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi There

Every morning when i get into work i enjoy looking at your "Today's featured picture"

Is there any chance that this section could have its own RSS feed please so that I can enjoy the pictures when im out of the office on Google reader

Hopefully you can accommodate this

Thanks

John —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.196.42.53 (talk) 09:54, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, the way it's set up makes that impossible I'm afraid...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 11:51, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I haven't used Google Reader, but it looks like a standard Web-based aggregator that reads Atom and RSS feeds online or offline. You can find some Wikipedia-related feeds on the Editor's index; browse there, and do a Ctrl-F search for "RSS". For example, there are some RSS feeds under WP:EIW#Watch, but those all seem oriented toward people who edit on Wikipedia rather than the large majority who primarily just read. (This is somewhat understandable because the people who build Wikipedia tend to look first to their own needs, i.e. to the stuff we must have to build Wikipedia.) Strangely, there are no RSS-related entries under WP:EIW#Main. It does seem kind of obvious, now that you mention it, to put Wikipedia's most popular content that updates daily on a fixed schedule into an RSS feed. So I looked more carefully at the links under WP:EIW#Watch, and WP:RSS#Externally hosted RSS Feeds of Wikipedia pages lists this link:

• Wikipedia:Picture of the day (info)

Does that do what you need? --Teratornis (talk) 15:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Syndication. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 15:52, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Err, I was wrong, ther is one at http://jeays.net/wikipedia/picture.xml...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 18:48, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

thank you to everyone..this has really helped me...

thanks again —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.0.85.27 (talk) 09:30, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

How do I merge two articles?

I wrote the article Ramsay Muir about a British Liberal Party politician. There is also another article about Muir under a slightly different name. I have incorporated all the information in the two articles into the one I wrote. Someone suggested the articles be merged but I do not know how to do it. Can someone advise me please, or just merge the article as suggested?

Thanks

Graham Lippiatt (talk) 11:00, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Please see Help:Merging and moving pages. If you have additional questions after reading the instructions there, feel free to ask for clarification here.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:33, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Requesting references

How do i make a request for more references in an article, because the Henry VIII article is good but almost totally devoid of references

You can add {{Refimprove}} to the article. The full code would be {{Refimprove|date=May 2008}}. {{Unreferenced}} and {{Refimprovesect}} may also be of interest.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:29, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Question

Hello Wikipedia, I was wondering, if you can, how can we start our own articles? Thank You! —Preceding unsigned comment added by LiveorDieonJTK (talk • contribs) 13:02, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi there. For a guide on how to create articles, just see here. Good luck, Juliancolton ^{Tropical Cyclone} 13:03, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

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 Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at 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. Paragon12321 (talk) 19:37, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

"Tasks" or "Things to do" page

I came accross a stub-sized page a while ago on wikipedia that said "Here are some tasks you can do...." then listed about 15-20 links to pages with tasks required (x needs rewriting, y looks like an advert, z bot decision needs to be checked by a human etc.) . I have been looking for it again but i cant find it, and i dont remember if the title was "Tasks" or "things to do" or "to do list" or something else. Has it been deleted ? If so then can we bring it back, it was a great idea. It would make a good addition to the column on the left (Community Portal, Recent Changes, Things to Do etc.) Machete97 (talk) 13:16, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Have a look at Wikipedia:Community Portal/Opentask. You could add a link to it in your Monobook toolbar, like you've suggested, by use of a short snippet of Javascript. haz (talk) 13:20, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps template {{todo}}? --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 15:43, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Can you recall any of the pages that the to-do list linked to? Or even their general topic area? If you can think of something to search for, you can search various parts of Wikipedia with the links on {{Help desk searches}}. There are lots of to-do lists on Wikipedia. See WP:CLEANUP and WP:BACKLOG for a generous sample. Maybe what you saw is on one of those lists. Or maybe not. --Teratornis (talk) 16:11, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Add picture to page

Hello I added an entry to Wikipedia for an organization that I am a member of last year. Today I edited the page by adding a link to the organizations webpage which went through. I also tried to add a image file of the organizations symbol but I get a message that I need some sort of access I do not have to add the image. Can you please tell me what I need to do to include the image on the page? Thank you very much. The item is: IABPFF

Eddie Hicks —Preceding unsigned comment added by EddieHicks (talk • contribs) 14:44, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Presuming the article is International Association of Black Professional Firefighters. What image are you trying to add? Is it on Wikipedia or a different site? What is the exact message you get when you try to add the image? --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 15:10, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

You have only made four edits to Wikipedia, so under the recently-changed rules, you need to make six more before you're allowed to upload images. Algebraist 11:17, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Ghost text

I'm come across some really bizarre text in the Waratah Football Club article. There is paragraphs and paragraphs of something that has nothing to do with the topic but when I go to delete it by clicking 'edit this page' it doesn't appear. Anyone have any idea what is going on? Cheers. Crickettragic (talk) 15:21, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

The text had been added to one of the stub templates. Should be gone now. --Onorem♠Dil 15:26, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks mate. Crickettragic (talk) 15:27, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

See Help:Template for more information about templates on Wikipedia. Most likely, the user who added text incorrectly to the {{Australia-sport-stub}} template had not read our Help:Template instruction page. That might not bode well for the expedition to the steppes of Asia that the improper text describes. On Wikipedia, the consequences of most mistakes are minor, thanks to our revision control system that lets us revert any change to the previous correct revision. In contrast, the real world often allows only one chance to get things right. --Teratornis (talk) 16:05, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Steven A Lee

Steven A Lee was born and raised in Rigby, Idaho. After graduating from Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, he moved to Utah. He married Marilyn Williams in 1981, and had four daughters. For a brief time he resided in Southern California while working on the TV shows WereWolf and Something's Out There. In 2000, Steven and Marilyn separated and later divorced. In 2002 Steven married Merry Purser.

Steven's goal from the time he was in high school was to work in the entertainment business. After college, he toured with several Utah based theatrical companies from 1980-1985, at which time he started to work in the film business. After spending nearly twelve years working in the art department on Hollywood-produced films (he has worked with Fox, NBC, CBS, Tri-Star, Columbia, and more), Steven moved out into the independent feature film market. He has produced films that have been on HBO, DISNEY, and SHOWTIME. He continues to work in various producer roles in both television and the independent feature film market. He is currently the co-owner of Lonesome Highway Productions.

More information: IMDB data —Preceding unsigned comment added by Salupm (talk • contribs) 16:09, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

This Help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. Do you have a question for us? --Teratornis (talk) 16:38, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

We have a Stephen Lee (disambiguation) page already, but apparently no article about the Steven A. Lee you describe. See WP:BIO, WP:EIW#Bio, and {{HD/new}}. The first three letters of your username suggest you may be the same person. If so, also see WP:COI and WP:AUTO. --Teratornis (talk) 16:45, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Research Method

why is access important in research method. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.138.15.180 (talk) 16:38, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Access to what? What type of research? And see {{dyoh}}. If you can formulate a question which admits an answer, try the Reference desk. This Help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. Use the Reference desk for general knowledge questions. --Teratornis (talk) 16:47, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

article does not show up in search after 72 hours

I was wondering why my article still does not show up in the search engine AFTER 72 HOURS??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by DundeeParkDist (talk • contribs) 16:59, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

What is the title of your article? Is it possible it was deleted? Juliancolton ^{Tropical Cyclone} 17:09, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Your contributions do not show that you created an article under your current username. What is the exact name of the article? --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 17:10, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

You created your article as a user page, not as an article in the mainspace. Would you like to request that it is moved to the article space? haz (talk) 17:11, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

yes I would, please. Thank you! How do I request to move the information to the article space? —Preceding unsigned comment added by DundeeParkDist (talk • contribs) 17:41, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm just copyediting the article; once I'm done, I'll move it for you. haz (talk) 17:53, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Looks like someone has been copying/pasting - article exists at Dundee township park district. – ukexpat (talk) 17:56, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Moved edited article to Dundee Township Park District and tagged Dundee township park district as a copyright violation. haz (talk) 18:40, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

And deleted. :) PeterSymonds (talk) 18:46, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

An article's "importance"

I understand the quality ratings, but an article I like has been rated as "mid-importance" on the assessment scale. Is there a link to a description of the criteria for "importance" ratings, and who is it who decides? Grumpy otter (talk) 18:58, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Assessment is usually determined by the WikProject shown on the article talk page. Check out their portal for more information. If you have more questions, please provide the name of the article in question. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:19, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

When I click on "assessment," all I get is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Version_1.0_Editorial_Team/Assessment, which states nothing about "importance," only quality of the article. Grumpy otter (talk) 19:45, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

The ratings are relative to the projects. See, for example, the biography project's scale. Mr.Z-man 19:52, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Everything is relative. For instance, take the article on, oh I don't know, some big shopping precinct in townsville, country. That might be of high importance to wikiproject townsville, but low to wikiproject country. -mattbuck (Talk) 19:55, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you all--I get it now. And gee whillikers--that projest page is a MESS! I may have to go there next! Grumpy otter (talk) 20:12, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Two items on same line, should be on different lines

I was looking at the Belmont Stakes article and noticed something that needed fixing.

When I found a source to confirm what I fixed, I indicated where that source starts and ends by using {{fact}}, which has somehow disabled the ability to move to the next line. I know because when I took that out it worked fine.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:25, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Fixed. If that happens again, just add < /br> to the end of the line to make a line break. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 20:34, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:38, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Two items on same line, should be on different lines

I was looking at the Belmont Stakes article and noticed something that needed fixing.

When I found a source to confirm what I fixed, I indicated where that source starts and ends by using {{fact}}, which has somehow disabled the ability to move to the next line. I know because when I took that out it worked fine.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:25, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

{{fact}} uses {{fix}}— it looks like fix has another problem that I will report. You can fix it with a break, but this should probably be a bullet list. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:33, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I probably should have thought of that. Thanks.

If someone will look at this topic and the one above it, it looks like we may have a tehcnical problem of some sort.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:39, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm trying to characterize the issue, but when I copy it to my sandbox, the darn thing works. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 22:14, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia on DVD

Resolved

 – Question answered with link to WP:1 given Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 21:37, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm about to go on a sailing trip with a few friends in the Caribbean for 5 weeks. It's going to be a great time reflect on things, ponder about where to go next in my life, get ideas, etc. Unfortunately, we will not have internet access on the sailboat. We will have power and computers though. It would be amazingly useful if there was a way to purchase the current archive (or at least most of it) in a DVD format for use on my trip. I get lots of ideas and like to look things up, but I won't be able to without internet access. Wikipedia on a DVD is the next closest thing. I feel like this could be done on a single DVD and could sell for around $50. I'd buy it. Just an idea... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.56.12.229 (talk) 21:05, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, we don't have a DVD version yet. And as Wikipedia is "free" (as in copyright-free as well as you can access it for free), I don't think it would be ethical to "sell" a DVD. But I'm sure there was this CD of a few of the articles... Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 21:08, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Indeed. See Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 21:15, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

If you will have computers, you can download some or all of Wikipedia in various formats for offline reading. See: Wikipedia:Wikipedia-CD/Download, TomeRaider, WP:DUMP. --Teratornis (talk) 22:58, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

New page tool

Resolved

I have seen before a tool that shows which pages editor has created - I think it is at tools.wikimedia.de somewhere; does anyone have a link to it? Thanks, EJF (talk) 21:10, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Try escaladix's tool. I think that's what you're after. haz (talk) 21:13, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Cheers, that's what I was looking for. Regards, EJF (talk) 21:19, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

May 24

Templates in their own auto-categories

Recently, a lot of auto-categorizing templates I've been working on seem to be deliberately categorized in the very categories they use, even when this ultimately doesn't make any sense given the template. For example, a redirect template might itself be categorized as a redirect. I'm quite convinced this isn't an error, because the same categories are printed twice, inside both the noinclude and the includeonly. Adding to my confusion, they are often given the sort key {{PAGENAME}}, which seems to be a redundant thing to do -- isn't that automatically the sort key of every single categorization?

So, um, can anyone enlighten me here? What, if anything, am I missing about templates and categories? $\sim$ Lenoxus " * " 00:47, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

You asked two questions, and somewhat tricky ones at that, so check my answers carefully:

• The {{R from abbreviation}} template does not seem to categorize itself the way you describe above, judging from the template code. What templates are you talking about? I looked at Category:Redirects from abbreviation and saw that it contains links to some redirects to templates (the actual templates are not in the category):
  • Template:R from alt name (a redirect to: {{R from alternative name}})
  • Template:R from abb (a redirect to: {{R from abbreviation}})
• With respect to the sort key question, that causes the template's entry on the category page to sort by the portion of the template's name to the right of the colon character. Without the {{PAGENAME}} magic word, every template would sort under the letter T, because of the Template: namespace prefix. See: Help:Category#Non-main namespaces.

--Teratornis (talk) 04:17, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for answering -- yes, that sounds right for the second one! As to the first, here's an example that's popped up: Template:R comics naming convention. I'm pretty sure there are others; in fact, I believe there were others, but I changed them in my haste, but since I've now seen so many of them, I'm wondering if there's some sort of convention I didn't know about, or if it somehow helps the maintainers of those categories. $\sim$ Lenoxus " * " 18:20, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh, here's a more prominent (and probably older) example I just found: {{R from other capitalisation}}, which is currently in the categories Redirects from other capitalisations and Unprintworthy redirects. I asked about it on the talkpage there, too, so answers should maybe come any day now...$\sim$ Lenoxus " * " 18:33, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Transwiki bot?

Does anybody know why the automatic transwiki to wiktionary doesn't seem to be happening? I tagged this article with {{dict}} at 0:31 on May 21st, and when nothing had happened by 11:36 May 23rd switched over to {{Copy to Wiktionary}} just in case the first template I used was the problem. Since it's still here, I had a peak at Category:Copy to Wiktionary and see articles there that have been tagged since early May. If I've done something wrong, I'd be grateful for advice on how to fix it, and I'll go see what I can do for that backlog. :) --Moonriddengirl ^(talk) 02:00, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I have no idea, but I looked on Template talk:Copy to Wiktionary#Two bot-killers... which seems to suggest that User:Connel MacKenzie might have something to do with it. I would be surprised if I'm telling you anything you didn't already know. I've never used this bot, but your question was looking lonely there with no answer, and I figured even a stupid answer is better than no answer. --Teratornis (talk) 04:28, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I persist in technical cluelessness, so any answer you could provide is better than what I could do myself. :) Alas, Connel hasn't edited in a while, and I don't do IRC. Maybe I can figure out how to transwiki to Wiktionary manually. --Moonriddengirl ^(talk) 17:25, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Disambiguation page needed

Resolved

Would some kindly editor please create a disambiguation page for the term "Silver Comet"? There is an existing article by that name, which is about a roller coaster, and now an article I just created a few minutes ago about the former passenger train; I titled it "Silver Comet (train)."

There's also a "Silver Comet Trail" which might or might not need to be included on the disambig page, too.

This editor would be mighty appreciative of the help. I've been working about 10 hours today creating good content, and though I could probably figure out the disambig process eventually, my brain is fried and it's time for some grub. Thanks in advance.  :-) Textorus (talk) 02:55, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Done! Since it didn't seem like either article was an obvious primary topic, I moved the rollercoaster article to Silver Comet (rollercoaster), and created the disambiguation page, linking to all three articles, at Silver Comet. -- Natalya 03:03, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I was creating it, but Natalya was ahead of me.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 03:09, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Odd reference formatting

Cass Lake, Minnesota has some odd references, using coding that I've never seen before, and the references to the odd coding at the top don't display properly on the article itself. What is up with the coding, and what can be done about it? Nyttend (talk) 04:41, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

That coding is the {{cite web}} coding. Nothing really needs to be done really. It's no harm.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 04:52, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Nyttend wasn't, I think, referring to the use of {{cite web}} but to the old and long deprecated {{ref num}} method of footnoting. I have converted those present in the article to the Cite.php, <ref></ref> format. Nyttend, if you come across this again you might find User:Cyde/Ref converter useful. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 08:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Photos of dead people

Since Carol Willis is deceased, can we use the image found here for her article? Dismas|^(talk) 05:09, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Copyright only expires when the work was published before 1923, and is not affected by the subject's death – see Wikipedia:Image use policy#Public domain. The image copyright is therefore still owned by Playboy, but if you sized down the image then it would probably work under a claim of non-free use. You'll have to have a better look at the site's copyright policy, though. haz (talk) 06:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I didn't say it would be public domain just because the subject of the image is dead. Thank you for assuming that I can understand the copyright policies. If it's wrapped in red tape, I don't get it. That's why I came here. Dismas|^(talk) 06:37, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Patrol

How do you mark an article as patrolled? Interactive Fiction Expert/Talk to me 09:16, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi IntfictExpert. Marking pages as patrolled can only be done when you approach the article from new pages. Another words, if you serendipitously typed into the search bar an article that was just created and clicked go, that article you land on will have no link to mark it as patrolled, whereas, going to that same page from new pages will give you the option to mark it as patrolled. All pages at new pages which are highlighted in yellow have not been marked as patrolled. The actual process of marking a page is to click on the link which looks like this: [Mark this page as patrolled], which appears on the bottom right hand corner of a new page. For more information, see Wikipedia:New pages patrol/patrolled pages. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 09:28, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Also remember you can't mark as patrolled pages which you have created yourself. Fribbler (talk) 12:41, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Note that when patrolling article, you have to see if they need any tags, cleanup, etc. The whole point of patrolling articles is to make sure they have no problems. If they do, add a tag or fix it yourself. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 16:03, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Unblock rules

Several months ago, I was wrongly accused of being a sock of a banned user and blocked. (I think the admin was just trying to win a content dispute) A few weeks later, another administrator reviewed what happened and correctly concluded that I was not a sock and unblocked me.

If the first administrator finds out, he will certainly block me again. In essence, he is trying to censor an article. I have looked over my edits and they are not POV. I did ask a former arbitrator and he said ArbCom will almost never look into this situation.

I have not edited since the unblock. I created this user just to ask the question and prevent stalking. I don't intend to use it to edit. Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:18, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

So, what's your question? Do you mind clarifying a little? -- RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 16:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Question is 2 possibilities: #1: Can we conclude that if I am really the sock of the banned user, the banned user is no longer community banned because I have been unblocked? If so, then re-blocking can only be done for disruption or POV pushing, not by pointing out made up similarities.

Or #2: Since the first administrator (wrongly) stated that I am a sock of a banned user, there is no recourse - I can be blocked on sight for no reason when the first administrator finds out that I am editing again after being unblocked. Again, a former ArbCom member said ArbCom is too busy and will almost certainly ignore any requests for help. How to prevent this except by accepting the first administrator's original purpose, to censor any opinions in an article other than his own (he even objects to neutral wording that has reliable sources). Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:31, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Q1 has made me slightly suspicious, and no - we cannot conclude that. If an administrator has reviewed and accepted an unblock request, another administrator should not reblock without good reason (in this case, most likely a CheckUser...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 16:38, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

So are you saying that #2 is what is likely to happen? That the original administrator can re-block on whim? I need to know because I refuse to help Wikipedia if too many Wikipedia representative (administrators) are bullies. Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:43, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Side note: What needs to happen is that all adminstrators should have a 6 month term followed by 6 months of editing. Many admins stop editing and some of them become bullies. Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:46, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

To refocus the question----Creating a new user and ending use of my current account is not a solution. The checkuser will rightly conclude that "new user" and "current account" is the same person (even if one stops editing and the other starts). Using the current account is not a solution because the old admin will find out the unblock and reblock. The only solution to avoid re-block is to accept that the first admin has effectively become a censor for a group of articles. Is this true? Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 16:49, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

No. You cannot be reblocked at whim, only when a request for checkuser is accepted and the result is that you are a sockpuppet. This is unlikely to happen unless you bear a striking resemblance to the alleged puppetmaster...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 17:02, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for your answer even though it does not really answer the question. You say that you cannot be reblocked at whim. This is not a true statement. The original admin has the opinion "anyone who does not agree with my POV is banned". So any editing in the article results in the admin saying that there is resemblance and blocks. This admin has blocked others without a RFCU request. Carinsuranceismandatory (talk) 17:09, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

But once you have been unblocked, (s)he cannot reblock without a RFCU, so the first time was OK but they cannot reblock...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 17:17, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Arb Com Unblocking

OK. I have editied with sockpuppets. I contacted Jimmy Wales, and the volunteer contacted Arb Com. They gave me this reply:

Hi,

Jimbo Wales passed your request here to review. I am copying my reply to the Arbitration Committee, so that they can read it as well. This is the situation:

You have edited with many sockpuppets, and different accounts, and now a lot of people don't have patience for it. Your last account, " Doughnuts...Mmm!", pretended to be new, and did other things that weren't helpful, and got blocked.

If you are really serious about change, we can help you, but you have to be serious. The best way is to be very honest with people. Your absolute best way, if you mean what you say about changing, is to be honest with the community.

What you would do is say on your talk page or user page, "I was blocked for sock-puppetry, but I have asked the Arbitration Committee and they have given me another chance. If I need help, I will ask for it. I will not use multiple accounts again" Other editors are very helpful if they see you trying, and if you say that and mean it. It will mean you don't have to worry about being blocked by accident, or if someone notices you, either - big reward!

Let me know if this would be o.k.

The User SimpsonsFan08's talk page is currently protected, so how can I get unblocked now (since I got a second change).

Also, can I merge accounts: SimpsonsFan08, SimsFan, Doughnuts...Mmm!.

Can I get an admin to unblock me today?

Thanks, 92.5.91.181 (talk) 17:06, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

OK, I'll file a WP:RFPP (unprotection) and hopefully an admin will get there. Then, you can use the {{unblock}} template to request unblocking. If an administrator comes along, they can do it straight away but I'll do this as I'm not an administrator...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 17:15, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

 Doing... RFPP filed, pending. You can then use {{unblock}}. And in response to your earlier query: No, accounts cannot be merged...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 17:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Merge discussions

What are the policies/guidelines/etc. that cover merge discussions, which occur on the Talk page of one of the affected articles? In particular, I am interested in the proper procedure for closing a merge discussion. I've read Help:Merging and moving pages#Closing/archive a proposed merger (vague), as well as Wikipedia:Consensus, Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines, and Template:Discussion top, but I have not found anything directly helpful.

For XfDs, the closing editor must be uninvolved and may be a non-admin when admin tools are not required to implement the decision. Some merges may require history merges, while others can be done with cut-and-paste. Should an uninvolved editor be requested at WP:EAR, WP:AN, or elsewhere, or should the merge tags and their associated categories be relied on to attract this uninvolved editor?

Is it ever acceptable for an involved editor to close a merge discussion as no consensus following an extended period (1-2 months) with no new discussion, or does this involved closing always constitute a conflict of interest, as it would in the WP:Deletion process? If it may be acceptable, what constitutes a reasonable "extended period"? Flatscan (talk) 17:44, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Mergers are generally done by someone who has an interest in the topic. Deletion requires distance, but mergers require knowledge of the subject in some manner to have an idea of what needs to be kept. -mattbuck (Talk) 17:55, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

New user - problems re-finding articles

Hi, I'm a new user and can't work out if there's any way to add a 'bookmark' to an article so hat I can easily find it again in the future without saving it as a favourite using my browser. MonkeyMark (talk) 17:55, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

If you don't want to save it as a bookmark in your browser, you could link to it on your userpage, but if you do, anyone in the world can see it... Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 18:00, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

It's not really what it's for, but you could add it to your watchlist. That's more private, if you care about that. Algebraist 18:01, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

(ec)You can watch list the article so you can always see whats happening on that article. You can than "edit raw watchlist" to see what's watchlisted.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 18:03, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

(e/c) :Hi MonkeyMark. There is no internal bookmark feature per se, but you do have a watchlist which when you access will show whenever a change is made to a page you have watched. It is a link at the very top of the page whenever you are on Wikipedia and logged in. Right next to that link is another called "My contributions", which will show you your editing history. You also have a user page which you have not yet accessed. It is at User:MonkeyMark. That link is currently red because you have not yet posted any content there. Once you do it will turn blue. You can post there links to any page you want to access again (thus making a form of bookmark). To make a link to an article, simply type the exact name and surround it with brackets, like [[this]]. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 18:10, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Requesting Attention

Very Recently, a WP:RFPP was submitted for User talk:SimpsonsFan08. How can I get a attention as, for the start, there was edit conflicts in the discussion, where now, there hasn't been an edit for 10 minutes. 92.5.91.181 (talk) 18:05, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Just because it hasn't been discussed for 8 minutes doesn't mean it won't continue. Just be patient. Page protection requests can take a long time to just a few minutes.--RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 18:07, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Characters

How can I get Greek characters in my signature? Will I have to use HTML or something or is there a way to get table like is under the edit window that has greek characters? Thank you, Zrs 12 (talk) 18:19, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

You can copy-paste the Greek characters from the table under edit windows into the "signature" section in your preferences. That should work. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 18:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Tucurinca contributions

How can I deleted all my contributions and my account? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tucurinca (talk • contribs) 18:57, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

You can't delete your own contributions unless an admin deleted the page you edited. Your edits on that deleted article will also delete your contributions to it. Hope that helps. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 19:04, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

While your account cannot be physically deleted, you do have the right to vanish, which is "about as good as it gets" when it comes to deletion. x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:16, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Due to the fact that Wikipedia content is licensed under the GFDL, all edits must be kept for attribution purposes, and so your account cannot be deleted. You do, however, have the right to vanish, which you can exercise by (1) requesting your user page (found at Special:Mypage) and/or user talk page (found at Special:Mytalk) be deleted, by adding the {{db-userreq}} template to them; (2) requesting to change your username to something that is unconnected with you (possibly a random collection of letters and numbers); (3) never logging in to your account again. If you do this, you are still free to register a new username if you wish to continue editing Wikipedia. Woody (talk) 19:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Prevent nosy onlookers from knowing your username

Resolved

When logged into Wikipedia your username appears at the top right hand corner of the screen. Is there a way to obscure the username from being displayed, to prevent nosy onlookers from knowing what it is. I was thinking along the lines of something similar to the way the UTCLiveClock works? Any suggestions? Thanks. 79.75.137.77 (talk) 19:10, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

My answer to your first question: As far as I know, you can't remove it. Also, do you mind clarifying when you said, "to prevent nosy onlookers from knowing what it is" Thanks. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 19:13, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

You'd probably have to write something to your Special:Mypage/monobook.js file. The busybodies are probably, say, if you're in a library and people are looking over your shoulder. x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:15, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for clarifying. Well, I don't think there's a script that let's you remove it either. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 19:16, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Actually, the interface makes this easy. Try adding this to Special:Mypage/monobook.css:

 #pt-userpage { display: none; }

x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:20, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I'll clarify that you have to be logged in to add it to your monobook. You can't be an IP while doing this. --RyRy5 (talk ♠ copy-edit) 19:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks x42bn6 and RyRy5, I'll try it out. I still want Talk, Preferences and Watchlist to show, but the actual username to say something like "Logged in" or "My page", rather than telling the world who I am. 86.157.9.253 (talk) 19:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I didn't realize I'd been logged out. Sorry about that. 86.157.9.253 (talk) 19:24, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

If you don't get a response here, you can try at WP:VPT because it's probably a technical issue. For that, you'd need to write something in JavaScript. The one above hides the username. x42bn6 Talk Mess 19:26, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

The above code doesn't work. 86.157.9.253 (talk) 19:29, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

This should work in your monobook.js:

addOnloadHook(function(){document.getElementById('pt-userpage').firstChild.innerHTML='My page';});

-- zzuuzz ^(talk) 19:30, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Shit, I logged out again. Something is seriously screwed with my cookies. Thanks zzuuzz, I've give that a try, if I can stay logged in that is~ 86.157.9.253 (talk) 19:31, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Getting the Admins Attention

Hi. I said above about Requesting Admin Attention. There is a request for unprotection at WP:RFPP, for User talk:SimpsonsFan08. However, no one has responsed to this. How can I get an admins attention for this matter. There has been requests added and solved, in the time I have been waiting. 92.5.91.181 (talk) 20:22, 24 May 2008 (UTC)