Wikipedia:New contributors' help page

Wikipedia:New contributors' help page

What would you like to do? Ask a question Do something Ask a knowledge question that you cannot find the answer to in the encyclopedia. (e.g. Did Leonardo da Vinci build a working flying machine?) Learn about how and where you can help Wikipedia (information and resources on the basics needed to comprehend, comment on, and contribute to Wikipedia) Ask a question at the Teahouse about using or editing Wikipedia that you cannot find the answer to in the Frequently Asked Questions. (e.g. How can I fix this problem with this article?) Create an article now (see Your first article before you start) Ask a question about a practical problem you have that is not related to using or editing Wikipedia. (e.g. I was cheated by a builder. Please Help.) Request that other editors review your new article   Ways to get help If you place {{helpme}} on your talk page, a helper will visit you there as soon as possible! Join the #wikipedia-en-help IRC channel for real-time chat. New to IRC? Click here to be connected instantly! The template below outlines Wikipedia's help pages and can be viewed at the bottom of most related pages. (Click "show" on the right to expand the template)

• Shortcuts:
• WP:NCH
• WP:NUH
• WP:N?
• WP:NCHP

Would like to make a temporary page

Hello. I'm a metal worker cum programmer, and well out of my depth.
My retirement hobby is philosophy directly applied to a binary machine. Currently all such technologies are completely specified, predetermined, eg "positivism". They all seem to be bumping their OO heads on the ceiling of their Understanding. When IMHO, a simple Copernican revolution in thinking is all that's required. The topic is Kant's Critical Method proven in reality by a binary computer. I have made a few adjustments to the Critique of Pure Reason article, but his "Systematic" encompasses the entire Three "Volumes" Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practice and Critique of Judgment. It seems the separation of the Articles destroy the real meaning of Kant's organism. A industry trained computer analyst, I do not want to leave any of my own pov behind. Particularly if this is a historical first i.e Business, modeled as a dynamic Organism. I have retraced the earliest computer history from the first days, and discovered that serious research of this nature began with Information Engineering, and 2 notables and another who "disappeared" then re-emerged in 1992 when I first met him and saw his unique Critical Method to model an Organism called a Business. I was able to see what others apparently could not, simply because I had read Kant who had died in 1804, and I had, merely, (then) 30 years of main-frame and infant micro-computing experience. Charles M. Richter had never read Kant nor even heard of him. That astounding co-incidence prompts me to join up the missing links.
Am I able to create an Article Charles M. Richter about a person which history has passed by?
He like myself has no interest in advertising, but do need to reach out to others who feel trapped like we do.
My particular interest is unconditionally Free Non Commercial
--Justin2007 (talk) 03:46, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi there. I would like to make a temporary page that is set up as if it were about a celebrity, but instead I would like to have it be about my husband and/or I to have him read on our anniversary (June 3rd). Is this possible? Steph. 75.94.32.121 (talk) 03:17, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

No not really, Wikipedia is not a webspace provider so you couldn't even do that in your own userspace if you registered. You could, I suppose use the preview function to render such a page and take a screenshot of it, so long as you didn't save it. —Elipongo (Talk contribs) 03:45, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

hello appaa —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jokirk2 (talk • contribs) 00:06, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

oh come on ! just for one day ! save it and send him a link, then delete it the next day. I'll volunteer to delete it in case you forget. Machete97 (talk) 20:23, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Did you even read what Elipongo said? Wikipedia isn't a personal website, its a encyclopedia. Sethward (talk) 22:10, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Publishing an article from User Page

I created my article on Seventh-day Adventist Kinship Internation on my user page about a month ago, then have been out of town. Now I want to publish it. How can I do this without losing all my formatting? Carrol Grady (talk) 21:57, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi Carol, simply click edit this page, and copy all the text including all formating and then paste it into the page. Do you know how to create pages? Please let me know. Adam (Manors) 22:23, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, John. No, I can't seem to find specific information on creating pages. Carrol Grady (talk) 23:00, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Excuse me Carrol, but I'm reading your userpage right now, and it's not clear to me that this organization meets the notability requirement. The easiest way to demonstrate this is to note reliable sources that have covered the movement, but had no association with the movement itself, such as independent newspapers or magazines. If notability is not demonstrated, the article is liable to be deleted. Someguy1221 (talk) 22:52, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

This is an organization similar to other gay-supportive religious organizations, such as Dignity USA or Affirmation, which have articles on Wikipedia. Carrol Grady (talk) 23:00, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

That's actually a fairly common argument in deletion discussions, and one that is uniformly dismissed by administrators, unfortunately. It is considered that the existence of articles that do not conform to standards makes evident only that the standards are not being universally enforced, and not that the standards should not be enforced. So that actually doesn't protect the article at all from possible deletion. Someguy1221 (talk) 23:15, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict) That's generally not considered a decent argument to include the article - see WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS. Personally, I think it would be good to get a little feedback on your article before moving it off your user page, which you can do at Wikipedia:Requests for feedback. Once you're fairly sure the article will meet notability standards, the easiest way to get it into main space is to move it with the tab up the top that says "move". This will preserve the exact format of the page as it is now. Once you do that, though, your user page will become a redirect which you will need to undo by following the instructions on the help page under "Changing a redirect". Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:18, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Would a website that lists denominational gay support groups be acceptable for notability requirements? Carrol Grady (talk) 23:35, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Not really; such sources generally fail the "non-trivial" requirement of a notability-establishing source (i.e. it has to be more than just an entry in a list or a passing mention, the source should actually discuss the organization, and the source should meet Wikipedia's definition of reliability). Someguy1221 (talk) 23:41, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

The website, www.religioustolerance.org, discusses the Seventh-day Adventist Church and has a section on homosexuality that talks about SDA Kinship. Would that work? Carrol Grady (talk) 00:56, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately, my searches on the subject of your article results in [1] and [2]. The latter is news. Notice the lack of sources. As for the former, there doesn't seem to be a single noteworthy mention of this organization beyond the scope of run-of-the-mill websites, directories or primary sources. In other words, in a deletion discussion it would most likely fail our general notability guidelines regarding coverage. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 03:04, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi Carol, it is often pointed out that Wikipedia is not the only Wiki website in existence, and many others have completely different rules which accept articles that would not be appropriate for Wikipedia. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 23:02, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, All. I'm working on finding reliable independent references now. I didn't realize self-references weren't acceptable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Carrol Grady (talk • contribs) 23:22, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, they're useful in some cases (see WP:PSTS), but not for determining notability. I think the easiest way to demonstrate that is to tell you that I am, in fact, a world-famous movie actor, and in my spare time I work on a cure for cancer. I could probably even write something about that, and get it published on Lulu. Sadly, you can see why such a self-published reference is not particularly useful for getting me a Wikipedia article. I've even been mentioned in the newspaper at least twice - once when I got good marks for the Higher School Certificate, and once when I got my Honours degree. On both occasions, though, my name was listed with thousands of others, so you can see why even in a reliable source, a "non-trivial" mention is required to establish notability. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 02:23, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

I have now finished writing this article and hope it is ready to move to mainspace. There are a good number (I think) of independent references to help it meet notability requirements. I have listed it on the "Request Feedback" page, but there seems to be a big backlog there. Is anyone here willing to take a look at it and see if it meets muster for posting? Thanks. Carrol Grady (talk) 19:09, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

K. Alonzo Hart

---

K. Alonzo Hart(born June 14 1970) is an American writer and motivational speaker. He has appeared on several American urban talk radio shows such as Los Angeles based KJLH Front Page with Dominique Deprima,Atlanta's WAOK's The Right Side with Shelly Wynter,Philadelphia's 99fm The Sam Sylk Morning Show,and a host of others where he has articulated and fiercly debated many of his most controversial and provocative solutions aimed at restoring the African American family and community.

---

Early Life

K. Alonzo Hart was born the son of R&B entertainer William "Poogie" Hart lead vocalist of the Grammy award winning 70's soul group The Delfonics who penned such hits as La la La means I love you. After leaving West Philadelphia in 1976 as a child K. Alonzo Hart was raised in the South east section of Atlanta, Ga. where he attended High School and excelled as a football and track stand out. On the campus of Norfolk State University, Hart sharpened his writing and public speaking skills while he led the largest campus organization at the time. Under his leadership the Fellowship student organization grew to over 350 members. It was there that Hart began to handcraft his message of “family first" —Preceding unsigned comment added by SwanSong89 (talk • contribs) 03:10, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Hello SwanSong. It looks as though you were trying to create an article but have accidentally placed it here, which is the help page for inexperienced Wikipedians. You might want to read Wikipedia:Your first article, and then click this link K. Alonzo Hart and create the page there. Olaf Davis | Talk 07:21, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Why doesn`t my first article look like other Wikipedia articles?

I created an article several days ago on an obscure person (already mentioned in Wikipedia) for my first attempt at a contributing article to Wikipedia. I submitted the text with my three references listed at the top following the instructions provided in the Help area. My article is displayed, but exactly as I entered it with the three references listed at the top. This does not look like a normal Wikipedia article where the references are listed at the end. Have I made a mistake or does an editor eventually check new articles and reformat them if required and I should just wait? Yameogo (talk) 10:07, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

I've had a go at reformatting it. Have a look at Wikipedia:Manual of Style for more information on how to make your article look like others on Wikipedia. Hope that helps! haz (talk) 13:00, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Thankyou Haz, the article looks much better now. I`ll have to study the Manual of Style before posting another article. I didn`t see this aid when I was writing my first one, maybe it should be displayed more prominently for use by newbies. Another question please - you dumped two of my references in your reformatting but one of them was important to statements that I`d made in the article. Does this matter? Yameogo (talk) 14:00, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

It is more important than almost any other consideration. Unsourced content is a plague. The article would be better off unformatted but with the references than without. I'll go take a look now.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:07, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Okay. I have added in one of the pages you cited as references for the second paragraph. Please see WP:CITE for information on the syntax I used. The other two links didn't appear to have been actually used for the content exactly but are just external links containing related content (the information in the first paragraph still needs citationsm but this is still a stub). Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:27, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Comment - Does one reference, albeit in the People's Daily, make this individual notable per WP:N? Notability is not inherited so being Mao's grandchild does not automatically confer notability. – ukexpat (talk) 15:36, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Thankyou Fuhgh One of my references was simply a photo with caption in a news story which I used to identify a person (the mother) in the first paragraph. But I could not corroborate her identity anywhere else which is why I needed the reference (photo), in case it was disputed. Can a photo and caption be used as a reference for a fact in an article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yameogo (talk • contribs) 15:27, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

adding text from a website from which I am authorized to borrow

Dear Wikipedia,

I recently tried to create my first article on Wikipedia using a text from the website of my workplace, a text which I am, of course, authorized to borrow. The article was, understandably, blocked by the copyright search engine. The text is the artist introduction from the website of a commercial gallery. Is there anyway that I can use this text - for instance, by citing it - or am I required to write a new entry? Thank you in advance for your help. Cosmicgalerie (talk) 14:36, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

You could use it and cite it, but you should rewrite it in your own words. See WP:COPYVIO. RedThunder 15:02, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

edit a page

Resolved

how do edit an artical because i would like to update an artical and i don't know how. please help. thank you Eweelittlechick (talk) 17:26, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

An article will have an "edit this page" tab at the top of the screen. Simply click it and a white box will pop up which you can then edit yourself. See also Wp:EDIT. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 17:28, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Please see Wikipedia:How to edit a page and consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 17:29, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Also, a pretty important point, whenever you make an edit, small or large, use the edit summary box (located underneath the editing space) to provide a brief reasoning. This helps other users understand the changes. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 17:30, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

ok i did all that and it still isnt working. if it helps to give me an answer, then the pag is semi protected whatever that means? please help (Eweelittlechick)

See WP:PROTECTION. If the page is semi protected it means that unregistered users (IPs), and registered users whose accounts are less than four days cannot edit. You'll have to wait it out. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 17:36, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

oh ok then, thanks very much for your help Eweelittlechick (talk) 17:39, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

You are certainly welcome. Happy editing! Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 17:40, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

And please check your edits by clicking on the preview button before saving!! – ukexpat (talk) 15:39, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

pictures

Hi its Eweelittlechick (talk) 17:43, 17 May 2008 (UTC) here and i was just wondering, how do pictures of say drew barrymore or john travolta or someone like that get put on here, because surely they must be copyrighted? and if not then where did they get the pictures from? please answer thank you :)Eweelittlechick (talk) 17:43, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

They're taken by individuals who then release the copyright to Wikipedia under the GDFL licence. For example, the picture of Drew Barrymore here was taken by David Shankbone, who contributes pictures to Wikipedia. _GB^T/C 17:44, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

oh ok then thank you for your help.Eweelittlechick (talk) 17:48, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Contributing to other wikipedia versions with the same name?

Hi! My question is: I'm an English and Greek Wikipedia user. Is it possible to contribute to another version of Wikipedia (for example the Swedish or the French wikipedia) by signing my comments/edits etc with my username without having to create a new userpage in the other wikipedia versions? I mean, can I sign my contributions to the Swedish and French wikipedia as "Pel_thal" without having to create the relevant userpages? Please post your answer on my discussion page. Thanks in advance! Pel thal (talk) 19:38, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Will copy to talk page. You will need to create an account, but not necessarily a userpage...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 19:42, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

My Bio

I've read the requirements and still can't see that what I filled in as far as my bio breaks any rules. I'm getting the sense that the warning to me was an automasted one. Also, what little info on me that Wikipedia displays was not written by me to begin with. Can you help? Robert Florczak. Robzak (talk) 04:54, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Writing autobiographies on wikipedia is generally frowned upon as they can rarely be written with a neutral point of view, one of the cardinal rules of wikipedia. You may also like to see WP:COI 59.94.253.196 (talk) 09:08, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Autobiography for more info. haz (talk) 13:18, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

cover pictures

hi, i was wondering, if i am allowed to put a picture of a dvd case cover on her. please help! Eweelittlechick (talk) 07:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eweelittlechick (talk • contribs) 07:36, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi there. the answer is yes. If you go to Wikipedia:Upload then you can go through the options. As "It is a cover or other page from a book, DVD, newspaper, magazine, or other such source" you would select this option and come to this page where you can upload it in the normal way. If you need more help with this just ask. ·Add§hore· ^Talk/_Cont 08:53, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

How do i do it? (NPOV issue)

I'm really struggling to get information out there without breaking some rule or another so if anyone can offer assistance as to how i do this i'd appreciate it.

Right, essentially i am part of an online international foundation dedicated to spreading information about "ratsnakes". As a result our website holds a wealth of information and photos of just about every "ratsnake" species out there.

What i'd like to do is get a copy (in some form) of an information sheet onto each page and then link in the relevant section of our photo gallery so viewers have access to photos of the species aswell as basic info available to them. An example of the info sheet and photo gallery can be found here on this wiki stub:

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

I tried to do this last year but was met with opposition from someone unwilling to listen to my arguement on the issue. In fairness i did lose my temper so that wont have helped.

The reasoning i was given was that because we charge membership for extra priveledges (ie monthly articles etc) then it wasn't allowed. My arguement was that the information we are providing on here is free for everyone so it made no difference to us in terms of "getting members via wikipedia" - The only people that pay to join are those that have a real passion and not just a passing interest.

So, is there a problem with the above linked example? If so, how can we fix it?

All i want to do is get the information out there so i am willing to listen, unfortunately i can't do anything about the gallery link as the photos are not owned by us. We have permission to link to them but not just post them up any where.

Dan - (Editor) The Ratsnake Foundation 20:56, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Dan, firstly, I should point out that what you are proposing is in potential violation of Wikipedia's conflict of interest and advertisement policies. Also, your username is in violation of Wikipedia's username policy, and as such you may be blocked from editing under this username, but you are welcome to create a new name or edit anonymously. However, if you wish to release your content into the public domain for use in Wikipedia articles, you can file a request using the Wikimedia OTRS system. If you get permission from the owners of the photographs (using the same system if you wish) then you could also upload a couple of selected photos to Wikipedia for use in articles, but adding mass links to your photo gallery is not advisable. I hope that helps you. haz (talk) 21:10, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, didn't i just get off on the best footing!! Yes, the COI policy was probably also mentioned before. The OTRS system wasn't though so i'll go look at that shortly. As a side note, bit annoying that my example has been altered so my link looks a bit daft now. Can i just confirm though that while mass links to the gallery are not "advisable" they aren't forbidden or am i just clutching at straws?

Would i be able to "copy and paste" our information sheets into the stubs as a lest resort? Dan - (Editor) The Ratsnake Foundation 21:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Hilton

Please fill in the subject box above, then replace this text with your question, and don't forget to sign by leaving the following four tildes (~'s) in place which automatically formats to your signature once you click "save page" below. 24.31.170.48 (talk) 23:09, 18 May 2008 (UTC) How did the Hilton Hotels get started and how much is their stock?23:09, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

You might find what you are looking for in the article about Hilton Hotels. If you cannot find the answer there, click here to post your question at that article's talk page. If that does not solve your problem, you can try asking your question at Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They will be glad to try and answer questions about anything in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for). I hope this helps. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 03:54, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

How to search for a newly uploaded article

Hi,

This is Ketan here. I wanted to know that I have created a new article on wikipedia about a company MSPL limited on Saturday. I wanted to know that what would be the procedure to get it pulished in the search engine so that all the people searching wikipedia can review and edit the article. As I tried to search after two days but I found that the article cannot be searched until we put the username like User:______*. Please do let me know if there is any other formalities to be done from our end.

Thanks & Regards,

59.98.176.10 (talk) 04:25, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Could you provide a link to the present location of the article? Someguy1221 (talk) 04:36, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Here is the link to the present location of the article. Please do let me know if you need more information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mspleditor

Thanks, 59.98.176.10 (talk) 04:57, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

The article had to be moved into the correct title. Only accounts older than four days may do this, and IPs cannot either, so I've done this for you. I've also removed quite a bit of content that appeared to be advertising. Such material violates our neutral point of view policy, which maintains that articles about companies, for example, should report factual statements about the company, as referencable to reliable and independent sources; it is generally inappropriate to devote any appreciable space to the company's own opinion of itself, and especially inappropriate to present the company's opinion of itself as fact. I've also removed the omnipresent links to the company's website (this should only appear once in the infobox, and once in the external links). I've also marked it as needing footnotes, which it is completely lacking. In any event, it is now viewable to anyone who types MSPL into the search bar. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:48, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks a lot for all your help. Also, please do let me know if I can add some more data about the company which is not an advertising data and can I upload the company logo and other images in between the text. Looking forward to your help.

Thanks & Warm Regards, 59.98.176.10 (talk) 06:10, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

It is permissible to upload a low-resolution version of the company logo, and this should be placed in the article's infobox (there is an element called company_logo). You may also upload other images, but only images that are freely licensed (i.e. anyone can use it for any purpose without paying the copyright owner), so you can generally only use photos that you have personally taken, or photos owned by the company, lets say, with notification of release of copyright emailed to Wikipedia via OTRS. So if you want to put photos in, it's easiest to only put your own in (our arcane practices are necessary to comply with US copyright law). As for more information, anything that is mentioned in a reliable source can potentially be placed in the article. The best sources for MSPL are probably going to be any newspaper or industry magazine articles that discuss the company or its activities. There should also be references provided for the statements on MSPL's revenue and output; while a source outside the company would be ideal, you could also use a public report the company filed with the state (some equivalent of form 10-K in the United States), if such a report exists. For future reference, I have placed the article on my watchlist, so I will see any comment you post to Talk:MSPL. If you place new content or references in the article, I will see your changes and review them. When I have time (been very busy lately), I plan to read the references and see what else can be added, or citations made. I'll also do this for any new references you add to the article. Someguy1221 (talk) 06:35, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks a lot for the response. Also, I just got confused as the text at the top of the page of MSPL says that: This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. I am not able to get the point out here. Does it mean that we have not given the reference link in order to confirm that the data given out here is valid or not. Also, please do let me know how and where to put these citations in the article.

Mspleditor (talk) 09:17, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

That notice means that although there are references, since they all appear in a list at the end it's hard for a reader to tell which fact in the article appears in which reference. The solution to this is inline citations (see here and here), which produce little footnote marks in the body of the text to show which reference has been used. As for where to put them, they're most helpful after significant or controversial facts, or say at the end of a paragraph to indicate that that section is from a new source. If you want to get a look at footnotes 'in action' why not look over a few featured articles, since those are pages which have been rated as the best on Wikipedia. Happy editing! Olaf Davis | Talk 22:25, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks a lot Davis for your feedback. But in the article of MSPL could you please guide me as which data can be put in citation and which data can be put in references. However, I am trying to screen the data at my end but I'll really appreciate your help to solve the citation problem. Look forward to your feedback and help.

Thanks & Regards,

Ketan Vaidya

203.187.229.181 (talk) 04:22, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

hide a segment of an article from younger viewers

My daughter, nine years old, wants to reasearch Jane Addams. I'd prefer to omit the section on her love life. It's just not relevant for my kid yet. Can I delete just what we look at without changing the article in database?Devepedia (talk) 04:58, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

No, there is no ability to do that, although you could click the "edit this page" tab at the top of that article, remove the section, and then click "preview" (DON'T CLICK SAVE PAGE). Upon clicking preview, you can then print the article, if that meets your fancy. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:44, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Someguy is correct. However in case it comes up, you can prevent certain images from displaying: see Wikipedia:Options to not see an image Olaf Davis | Talk 08:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not censored for minors. If you wish to not allow your child to see a section of text, I suggest that you copy the page to a word processing document and edit it locally to remove any content you do not wish your child to see. Hope that helps. haz (talk) 08:37, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Someguy's idea is much better than Haza's. Haza's was a pretty pointless post. Or you could - you know - stop being so oppressive and let her read what she wants. Machete97 (talk) 20:30, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

That wasn't a nice thing to say ("pretty useless post"). I have frequently copied text from the web to word processing documents for editing and printing. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 04:27, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I have. I used to do that all the time, but Someguy's idea means she could look at it on screen in a browser window, and if printed direct from the preview, it would look more like a printout of the original article.Machete97 (talk) 08:56, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

reporting a mistake

Hi, I just wanted to report you a mistake I've found in a page, I'm a newbie and actually don't know if I'm able to change it. The page is: [3] in the first line there's a link to Pepper Martin, but Eric Martin's father was not that famous baseball player, he was Frederick "Pepper" Martin, a U.S. officer, I've found it here: [4] and here [5] (english version at the bottom, question "your memories of Italy"). Thank you for your help! Dewi75 (talk) 19:37, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! To change an article, all you have to do is edit the page by clicking the "edit this page" tab on the top of the article, and press "save page" when you're done with your fixes. Good luck! Juliancolton ^{Tropical Cyclone} 19:40, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

adding picture to article

I have uploaded a jpeg photo (my own) and I want to insert it into an article on Fossil Falls. I have no idea how to do that. please advise. Thank-you Honorsgeology (talk) 21:46, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Uploading images#Adding images to articles. Someguy1221 (talk) 22:06, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Notability questions?

Please fill in the subject box above, then replace this text with your question, and don't forget to sign by leaving the following four tildes (~'s) in place which automatically formats to your signature once you click "save page" below. RosettaLady (talk) 08:35, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Afer readingl the guidelines, it is my understanding people must be notable to be in Wikipedia???

But perusing randomly through the site, I notice all kinds of people who seem less than notable.....porno actors (e.g. Christy Canyon, etc) who could not be known to any large mainstream segment of the public..... or musicans (eg. Marina V etc) who are obscure unsigned artists. It seems these kinds of listings also violate NPOV guidelines since the listings seem designed by the subjects and agents for promotional purposes?

It seems the notability guideline is very arbitrary and inconsistent, isn't it? Can you clarify the policy and explain some of these aberrations? Why are certain individuals branded with Wikipedia guideline breaches while others are immune from any notability requirements?

Hi RosettaLady. While you're correct that notability is required, being 'known to a large mainstream segment of the public' is not. Many subjects deemed worthy of inclusion are of interest only in very narrow areas. For example, I doubt many of the mainstream public care very much about the amino acid Phenylalanine but it's notable within biochemistry.

To address the example of Christy Canyon which you brought up: the specific policy page most relevant is WP:PORNBIO, which states that pornographic actors are worthy of inclusion if they've won notable awards for their work. Since Christy has, she's deemed notable - simply being in porn films is not what qualifies her.

You say that these listings are designed by the subjects and their agents. Although that does sometimes happen, such pages are usually deleted when found or overhauled to assume a more neutral tone. The vast majority of biographical pages on Wikipedia are written by unconnected editors who happen to have an interest in the subject or their work.

Finally, I don't deny that there are many unencyclopedic articles on Wikipedia, many of them biographical. This is inevitable given how the project works: people can't check every article immediately and poor ones do slip through. However, the fact that policy will never be perfectly policed does not mean the policy itself is insufficient. (As an analogy, consider the argument that since there are many unpunished criminals in the world, the criminal justice system must be arbitrary and inconsistent).

I hope that helps answer your questions. Please let me know if not, or if you have more. Olaf Davis | Talk 09:08, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

I understand the concept of what you say but I still find the guideline extremely inconsistent. I mean, if awards are the determination of notability, shouldn't those awards be coming from well known entities (e.g. Nobel, MacArthur, Fields Medal, etc), comprised of genuine disinterested third parties, where a huge public holds interest? After all, porno awards are created by a single peripheral agency whose honors go unreported in MOST media....or in the case of unsigned music artists, the awards are often of a niche variety, the kind that can be purchased for a fee or provided through friends, bed-mates, etc. They are more in the vein of popularity awards than awards recognizing genuine achievements. I find it strange to discover certain people missing from Wikipedia while it includes many unknowns who are using it for PR purposes only and who so obivously violate your NPOV guidelines.

Notability is not synonymous with popularity. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 22:25, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

The general notability guideline, on which all the others are based, is located at WP:N. Essentially, we want Wikipedia to have articles on as many topics as is physically possible, while maintaining the core policy of verifiability, and the notability guidelines are an interpretation of that policy. If there are people who are somehow "more notable" that don't have articles yet, that's just a function of the fact that all Wikipedia content is user-generated; if no user has been interested in that person's field, then the article hasn't been created. If you feel that there should be an article, then the standard response is {{sofixit}}. (And if you find an article that doesn't meet the notability guidelines, then you're well within your rights to put it through the deletion process.) Also, please remember to sign your posts on this page with four tildes (~~~~) to make it easier to follow the discussion. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 01:40, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Wisdom and ConMan are correct. If there's a particular person you have in mind who's obviously violating the conflict of interest and NPOV policies, or a particular award being used to confer notability which you think is purchasable or otherwise a bad indicator, by all means be bold and propose them for deletion or cleanup (be prepared to provide justification, too). If you think the problem is so endemic (and I personally don't, but you may) that only a change in policy will do you can also propose that. However, I'd recommend spending a more time working on Wikipedia before doing anything too drastic: you might come to change your mind about the policy, and if not the experience will allow you to argue against it all the better. Finally, bear in mind that if we restrict notability to people like Fields medalists or those with a huge public interest, we'll be excluding many thousands of articles even a traditional paper encyclopedia wouldn't hesitate to include. Olaf Davis | Talk 07:56, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I am now blocked from uploading files. Please help

Please help. Am blocked from uploading files.

Thanks,

pkapreli Pkapreli (talk) 01:10, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Accounts must be autoconfirmed (at least 4 days old) to upload files. A new rule has just been implemented: Accounts must also have at least 10 edits to be autoconfirmed. I guess already autoconfirmed accounts with less than 10 edits lost their status. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:23, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

You have uploaded five files, all now deleted. Presumably the creation of the image description page counts as an edit, but I'm not sure if deleted contributions count for auto-confirmation. I don't see any attempt to refer to these PDFs in articles, which would also have counted as edits, even if they were reverted. Before uploading new files, please check that you know how to record their copyright status correctly, and think about how they will be used in articles. Cheers, Bovlb (talk) 19:38, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Uploading

I'm trying to make my own page, but I have no clue anymore, first I had to wait before I was an automatic user or something, I waited longer than that and I still can not upload.. I think i'm doing something wrong. I can just click on upload in my toolbox and then make an entire new page? Please help Tascq (talk) 11:02, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I see you have created Tascq since your post. Upload restrictions for new users are only for uploading files (typically images), not for creating pages. Please see Wikipedia:FAQ/Business. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:19, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

External Links

I just joined Wikimedia and I have been trying to post on the External Links a newly formed blog for Leisha Hailey. But I have been having the hardest time going through the proper channels to get my blog displayed on this page under "External Links"--Can someone please take me step by step through the process.. Leisha12 (talk) 19:08, 21 May 2008 (UTC)Leisha12

"Per our guidelines for external links, blogs are to be discouraged in this section. Usually the only exception is if it's written by a professional in their field and is secondary to the topic at hand, and even then it should be used with caution. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 19:38, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Blog External Links

I saw under a Rose Rollins Wikimedia page that she had a blog spot on her page, which is what prompted me to inquire about a blog spot on Leishas page. Is there anyway possible to get her blog featured. What would be the exceptions? Is there anyone we can contact to try to get displayed? --Leisha12 (talk) 19:49, 21 May 2008 (UTC)Leisha12

Rose Rollins doesn't have that anymore; generally, fan pages aren't considered to be acceptable under the external links guidelines. Tony Fox (arf!) 20:10, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Response also posted at Wikipedia:Help desk#External Links for blogs. haz (talk) 20:32, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Automatic Archiving: "Greenhouse Effect"

I have been following the "Greenhouse Effect" talk and I find that a large part of it has now been archived in a way I think is inappropriate, material contributed in 2008 has already been taken away. I do not know if this archiving can be reversed as I am not very experienced, can you help please? Damorbel (talk) 11:26, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Busy talk pages should be archived more often than others to keep a reasonable size. In [6] you wrote: "I might accept it if the archives were directly accessible." What do you mean by "directly accessible"? The box at top of Talk:Greenhouse effect has archive links on the text "Archives: 1, 2". The archiving was done in [7]. Do you think something is missing from the archive? PrimeHunter (talk) 12:18, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh silly me! I thought I might find the archives for "Greenhouse Effect" in a similar place to those here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Ivor_Catt Having checked the GHE archives, I still find them unsatisfactory, archive 1 has three items from 2008 and archive 2 has about 17, the last on 29 April, not at all conducive to discussion. This is a shambles and it should be revised. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Damorbel (talk • contribs) 12:50, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

The bot is configured to archive all threads that have had no new comments in two weeks. Since the page is not too busy, we could up this to four. However, the talk page is for ongoing discussion with the aim of improving the page. It's not there to document old discussions forever. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 13:27, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, but two weeks is wildly oppressive. I do not see that Stephen Schultz is a contributor or editor to Greenhouse EfFect but perhaps like me you are intending to do so, good! Nevertheless all interested parties have surely got a right of direct access to discussion on this subject, a subject which is being ratcheted up the political rather than the scientific scale. Your proposal of upping the archive limit to 4 weeks would only re-include one item in the direct Talk. Currently there are items from 2006. The original archive proposal was made by someone whose first contribution seems to have been made 3 weeks ago, I am not sure his intentions are informed by a deep experience. I suggest archiving discussion items closed before 2007. At present I am not experienced enough to do this but after 4 weeks? Don't they call that vandalism in Wikipedia?--Damorbel (talk) 14:12, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Talk:Greenhouse effect is currently 34 kb. That seems reasonable to me and the archived pages are only one click away. Archiving inactive discussions to reduce talk page size is common and certainly not called vandalism. Some Internet connections and browsers have problems with long pages. Wikipedia:Article size has something about article size but doesn't mention talk pages. You can suggest a change at Talk:Greenhouse effect#Automatic archiving but please don't imply that people are vandals or may have bad intentions just because they prefer another archive age (see Wikipedia:Assume good faith). The time is easy to change in "algo = old(14d)" at top of the page. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:58, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

It is easy to undo any archiving, and it's perfectly fine to continue an old discussion if you have something new to add that would benefit the article. There were discussions no one had commented on since 2003. Maybe two weeks was unnecessarily short? I don't mind setting a longer delay (a month, two months, etc). Again, you are free to continue any discussion that's in the archives and you can move it back if you want (or I'm sure someone else will be happy to help you do it if you don't know how). Regards.
— Apis (talk) 15:33, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Password not accepted; how to make one upload listing

I registered several days ago and received an email confirmation, yet when I attempt to log in I continually get "password not accepted" I initially found out my nickname was not accepted and I changed it to one that was. Once you tell me how to get around this glitch, I need to know how to upload a listing for a magazine to the magazines section. It is not currently listed and is similar to two others that are; it is written exactly the same way as the other two listings. 216.99.209.77 (talk) 18:53, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Is Help:Logging in of help? What is your username? Being similar to existing articles isn't necessarily good. See Wikipedia:Other stuff exists. And some magazines are less notable than others. See Wikipedia:Your first article before creating an article. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:21, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

If it's a web magazine like Audiophile Audition then see Wikipedia:Notability (web), and if you are associated with it then see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest and Wikipedia:FAQ/Business. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:33, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

"Mike Cejka" entry

This referenced article has been flagged as an autobiography. What is the process for elimination of the autobiography flag? Thanks in advance for your assistance. Mcejka (talk) 20:28, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

You can remove the autobiography tag by deleting the text {{autobiography}} which appears at the top of the article. It might be wise to address the issue to which the tag refers before doing so! Nk.sheridan   Talk 20:54, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Delete a Wikipedia Account

How can I delete my Wikipedia Account? Gesz (talk) 20:48, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

It's not possible to delete accounts. Amongst other reasons this is because all contributions need to be assigned to an identifier. However, you can request to have your userpage deleted by adding the tag {{db-userreq}} to the top of the page. Nk.sheridan   Talk 21:04, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

But you may have the right to vanish – ukexpat (talk) 16:21, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

paul borgman

I wish to edit the entry on me, Paul Borgman. I have a new book from Oxford University Press, for example. And some of the wording could be improved and slightly expanded for clarification.

Please instruct

Paul Borgman

Hi Paul. It's generally not recommended that you edit your own biography, due to the conflict of interest involved. However, you are welcome to make suggestions on the article's talk page, or you could try contacting the Biographies WikiProject or leave a message on the Noticeboard for issues with biographies of living persons. This helps to ensure that your article is updated but kept within Wikipedia policies such as verifiability and neutral point of view. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:37, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Etiquette for a major change

There is an article I'd like to completely rewrite. It's not very active as far as talking or editing users go--may I just post a notification on the talk page? And if yes, then how long should I leave it up before I proceed? I plan to incorporate some of the previously-posted info, but would like to rework it, then add major additions. An answer here or a link to a discussion would be appreciated. Grumpy otter (talk) 16:21, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Hello Grumpy otter. (Nice name!) I would recommend you be WP:BOLD and make a start on your rewrite. The fact that you've come here and asked about the etiquette first is a pretty good indicator that you have the right attitude. Yes, if your changes are likely to be major it is considered courteous to open a discussion on the article's talk page, setting out your plans for the article and inviting discussion and contributions from other interested parties, but there's no set period of notice you are required to observe before embarking on changes thereafter. With any luck, you'll arouse interest in previous contributors who may wish to offer help or suggestions. If they have the article on their watchlists they'll see when you start making changes and show up to have a look. If nobody comes along, don't be discouraged - just make your changes and perhaps summarise what you've done from time to time on the talk page as an update to your original posting, so other users can follow your train of thought. If you need any help, there are some very useful links at WP:Article development. Have fun! --Karenjc 17:24, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you so much for the info! The article development link is especially appreciated! Grumpy otter (talk) 17:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Paul Tansley

Paul Tansley (21 July 1959) is a radio broadcaster for Sheffield Live 93.2fm which transmits in The Sheffield area and on line at www.sheffieldlive.org every Friday. His show generally concertrates on dance and is unique in radio because the track lists are voted in by the listeners unknown on any other station. The highest voted tracks are selected into the Sheffield Live dance top 10.

Peronal Life.

Paul is married to Gillian since 15 Decemeber 1979 and has 5 Children, Chantelle, Dominic, Paul, Xavier and Lucien. Eldest being 27 and youngest 8.

Latest

Paul is currently working on the Rock n Roll years a new radio show which concerntrates on music from 1954 to 1963 and will be broadcast this summer on Sheffield Live. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.38.190.164 (talk) 08:42, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Are you trying to create an article? You can do this here. After you create an account. WikiZorro^sign 10:51, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Also, before you do so, be sure that your subject meets Wikipedia's notability standards, otherwise it's highly possible that the article will be deleted. -- Natalya 13:35, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

My Article Was deleted As Soon As I Tried To Submit It

I took over an hour to include a new article and as soon as I hit the button for submitting, it told me that i was not authorized and I was not able to retrieve any of my info. That was alot of my personal info< that i really need to create stories for the foundation. Tlapr (talk) 20:24, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Your article wasn't deleted, as articles can only be deleted once they have been created, which requires you to submit the page. What has probably happened is that your account login has timed out, due to the length of time which it took to write the article; this would either manifest as a "session error" or, as seems likely in your case, you were seen as an anonymous user (logged-out or anonymous contributors are unable to create pages). I don't think there's a way of retrieving the article draft if you've already closed the browser window. If you still have the original window open, then you could try using your browser's "back" button and see if you can retrieve it. haz (talk) 22:14, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

What is internet-capable devices

219.93.152.11 (talk) 05:42, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Your question lacks context. An internet capable device very broadly is just what the words mean: a device that is capable of using the Internet in some manner. If you have a more spoecific question on this topic please clarify you question but not here, please ask it at the miscellaneous or computer sections of the reference desk. This page is for questions about using Wikipedia.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 10:38, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Biography boxes and Song boxes

I know this seems silly, but can't figure out where to find the little boxes we use for musicians' information at the top right of their pages.. Likewise, I don't know where to go to find an "info box" just to create a page for a song. Would someone please help me? Thank you! --leahtwosaints (talk) 13:36, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I believe the musician information box is Template:Infobox Musical artist. Most of those boxes are templates. If you want to find out the specific name of one of the templates, if you click to edit the page, you can find the name of it there. (You may already know some of this), but templates are implemented by putting the name of the template, and any required information, between curly brackets: {{ }}. Different templates require different inputted information, which you can usually find out about on the template page. -- Natalya 14:24, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

NPOV

I have been working for some time trying to get an article on Seventh-day Adventist Kinship, International ready to publish. It is currently on my user page. The most recent suggestion I had (on the feedback requested page) is that I may have a problem with NPOV. I would appreciate it if someone could point out where this is a problem. Although this is a controversial subject (a support group for glbti Adventists which is opposed by the Adventist Church), I have tried to present any conflict in a factual way. Carrol Grady (talk) 18:09, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I noticed a similar problem - I think the reason for the NPOV issue is the tone and wordage of piece. It reads like a borderline advocation of the group. For instance, the lead section should start with an objective definition of the group, not what they strive to accomplish or a mission statement rewritten in your own words. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 18:46, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. I'll keep working on it! Carrol Grady (talk) 19:33, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

You are welcome. I noticed you've decided to play with the wording of the article. That's good. I was WP:BOLD and did a little tweaking to the lead. Let me know what you think. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 00:38, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Oops, I guess I didn't notice and I may have changed something myself. I have now gone through the entire article and hopefully used NPOV language. I think I am ready to move it to main space now. I've copied the document to a file on my computer in case it is deleted right away! Carrol Grady (talk) 06:16, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

image appearing in article

I can't get the picture I have added to the article to appear. I have tried to follow the rules about the copyright, but all I get is a big copyright box, not the picture.

I am editing the article Betsy Atkins, could you help? Orlo1234 (talk) 15:45, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

I fixed the photo in the article (you had put .jpeg instead of .jpg, and unless you type in the file name exactly right, it will only appear in red). However, it looks like you may still need to work on the attribution part for the image. My guess is that you were trying to do this with the attribution tag, but this needs to go on the image page, not the article. AlexiusHoratius (talk) 16:06, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Dear AlexiusHoratius - thank you for fixing the picture. I have been reading through the copyright rules, but they are very confusing. Here is the situation, Ana Leon is a colleague of Betsy Atkins and Ana took the picture. Both Betsy and Ana have given permission for the picture to be used. How do I do that? Orlo1234 (talk) 16:16, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

"Drive by media" is not the same as "Media Bias"; Create its definition, don't re-direct.

"Drive by media" is currently re-directed to "Media bias". It should have its own definition. It has nothing to do with bias. It has more to do with describing the irresponsibility and recklessness of certain media sources. It is analogous to "drive by shooters". The scenario is as follows: --The "drive by media" become aware of a discussion area. --They spray a hail of incendiary words at the crowd of readers. --The words do not have to be accurate and may be intentionally misleading. --It causes mass hysteria, confusion, mistakes, and misinterpretation. --Sometimes people and their careers actually die. --The drive-by media ride away, unnoticed in the excitement. --They're never blamed, they're never held accountable. --Wabrahams (talk) 17:25, 27 May 2008 (UTC)William Abrahams, email address commented out

If this is indeed the case, you are welcome to create the appropriate article!. Help:Starting a new page may be of some assistance to you in this endeavor. If you go ahead to make this article, please be sure that you can cite reliable sources about the topic. -- Natalya 18:03, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Help

I hope this is the right place. I have a question. Are my pages supposed to jump to scott free when I click on them? - I see (Redirected from User:Skyelarke). What does that mean? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Skyelarke (talk • contribs) 20:54, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

That name was previously used and redirected after a name change. I removed the redirect. Gtstricky^{Talk or C} 22:41, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

how do i get the green light that says #1 on the right hand side of my computer

Please fill in the subject box above, then replace this text with your question, and don't forget to sign by leaving the following four tildes (~'s) in place which automatically formats to your signature once you click "save page" below. 69.29.72.64 (talk) 22:33, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

This help desk is for using Wikipedia. Please see the reference desk if you need help with your computer or ask you question here again if it has to do with using Wikipedia. Gtstricky^{Talk or C} 22:44, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Can't upload an image

Hi, I just signed up to upload some photos I took (later on I might add some more detail on the articles in question) because hey, I've got 'em so may as well use 'em, but I'm not able to until I make 10 edits and wait 4 days. While I can understand the need for this, it's a PITA. Anyway around it? I was going to start by adding a pic to this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Sumner —Preceding unsigned comment added by ProcyonNZ (talk • contribs) 00:15, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi ProcyonNZ. Thanks for your interest. We definitely need more good images for illustration in articles. There would be no way around the autoconfirm restriction if the best place to upload these images was to Wikipedia; it isn't. Free images (I assume you are going to release these into the public domain as you took them) should not be uploaded here but to the Wikimedia Commons using the license {{PD-self}}. In fact, when free images are uploaded here, we import them to the Commons and delete them from here. We allow such uploads here because we don't want to discourage anyone from providing free images and there's no easy way to explain that this isn't really the right place to upload them, but it actually adds work because they get transferred to the Commons anyway. Anything uploaded to the Commons can be used on all other Wikimedia projects which includes Wikipedia. As far as I know, there are no time or editing restrictions before uploads are allowed there (though you must register for an account, which takes just a minute). Once an image is uploaded to the commons, you can immediately use the image here. Just go to the article and use normal image code, i.e., [[Image:name|thumb|caption text]]. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:01, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Excellent, I'll do that now. Thanks for the quick response. ProcyonNZ (talk) 01:03, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

You're welcome.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:11, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

How to reference a link a particular way?

I've found out how to edit text so that a number is inserted next to the text (like [1]), and a reference at the bottom of the page (eg. http://www.yahoo.com), with the number leading to the reference at the bottom of the page when clicked.

I've also found out how to cause the number to lead directly to an internet link instead when clicked.

But how do I combine these? For example, suppose I have two seperate (reputable) links, and I want to put two numbers in the article that lead to those links at the bottom of the page?

For example: Article text: 'Yahoo is on the internet [1][2]' < how do I get those numbers to lead to the following at the bottom of the article: 1. http://www.yahoo.com 2. http://www.uk.yahoo.com ?

Or suppose I just want to put one number that leads to a reference that has two links in it?

For example: Article text: 'Yahoo is colourful [1]' < how do I get that to lead to the following at the bottom of the article:

1. http://www.yahoo.com , http://www.uk.yahoo.com ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lionseeker (talk • contribs) 01:10, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi Lionseeker. Please first look at the text below, which shows examples of what you want to do, then look at the text in edit mode (click edit this page and see how I did it. I find that a working example provides the easiest answer. If you have any further clarifying questions to ask, please do not hesitate.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:29, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Example 1: three separate citations

Example 2: multiple use of a single citation

References

All the citations above appear here because of the template below which you can only see in edit mode)

I hope this helps. For further information please see Wikipedia:Citing sources. (Signing again)--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:29, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Upload an essy about "Fairouzeh"

Resolved

Please help me uploading an essy which I have written anbout "Fairouzeh". I like to inclue this write up under Syria,known town which shows Fairoueh in red but the field is empty and not developed yet. I was born in this town and would like to add my write up under "Fairouzeh". Please notify me on my Talk page ,Your feedback is appreciated . Thank you for yor help. --GeorgesNasserDeeb (talk) 01:18, 28 May 2008 (UTC)DEEB

Hi George. When a link shows up in red like that, clicking on it will take you to an edit window where you can type in content for the page. Just enter your text, click "show preview" to check it looks fine, and then click "save page" and the page will be created. You might like to look at Wikipedia:Your first article beforehand for some instructions on how to write the article, and maybe read some good existing articles to get an idea of how the formatting and text should look. Let me know if you have any more questions. Happy editing! Olaf Davis | Talk 08:42, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Reply copied to user's talk page. Olaf Davis | Talk 08:46, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

How to edit a Semi-Protected Wiki document

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gta4

There is semi-protection. I've created an account and don't think that my IP is hidden (it's not deliberately anyway), but can't edit this file. What do I have to do? Thanks.

Ahmadgp (talk) 02:35, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Accounts need to "mature" - If yours is less than four days old, you cannot edited semi-protected pages. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 02:36, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Less than four days old and with less than 10 edits (the edit threshold is new).--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:00, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Question about Requirements for a Parody Religion to get onto the Parody Religion page

What does a parody religion need to get a mention on the Parody Religion page as I've attempted to put about Pieism before but it was soon deleted. Pieism has over 2400 links on Google and lots of followers (almost 50 have signed the Pieism petetion on Petetion Online and over 20 more are known who haven't) . There are many different Pieism sites including http://www.jojo-pieism.tk . If this isn't enough to get a mention, what is would a parody religion have to do? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.79.190.241 (talk) 15:14, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Generally, you would need coverage in independent media sources. The Flying Spaghetti Monster has been listed in several news outlets, including the New York Times and USA Today. If you could list some sources, your entry would have a better chance of being kept. TN‑X-Man 15:20, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

I see you have also posted to Talk:Parody religion. That is a better place for discussion. Note that the article Pieism was deleted at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Pieism and other times since then. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:24, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Confusion

I thought I had clicked the link to my talk page and came to a page called User talk:Talk. It has two vandalism tags, and two entries that sound like they were written to me they are both in response to edits I made. My recent talks have been archived and there's just one entry on my talk page from an admin. How did this page get made? How did I find it, how did the entries end up there? I wouldn't assume the entries were written to me except that the ones from User:Kinkyturnip and User:JMalky are related to the edits I made on those same days, and I communicate with these editors occasionally Mike P ^(WHAT?) 15:51, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

By Jove, I found it! There was an error in my signature link which created a new page...brother...Mike P ^(WHAT?) 16:13, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Your sig still points to User talk:talk instead of User talk:Mjpresson – ukexpat (talk) 16:30, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

parapsychological contact

Moved to Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous -- Karenjc 18:36, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Size of an eprom

Please fill in the subject box above, then replace this text with your question, and don't forget to sign by leaving the following four tildes (~'s) in place which automatically formats to your signature once you click "save page" below. 63.77.54.126 (talk) 20:29, 28 May 2008 (UTC)how can i tell the size on a eprom

Hi 63.77. This is a place to ask questions about using Wikipedia. We do have an article about EPROMs, which contains information about the different types and their capacity, so you may find your answer there. Otherwise, you should ask your question at the Computing reference desk, which deals with knowledge-related questions in the area of computing. -- Karenjc 11:03, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Deletion

I had an article marked for speedy deletion then deleted regarding the group 4Peace with code "A7". I think deleting was overzealous. This group is well established in the Boston area. Many of the members have their own Wikipedia articles which I linked including Edo G who once had the #1 song on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles Chart and was #1 on the YO ! MTV RAPS also. Just this weekend a concert was hosted in Boston that sold out a large venue. They got a lot of local coverage including feature articles in the Boston Globe. they are working on a full length album. The amount they did to stop violence in Boston was huge. I think that the person who flagged it for deletion was out his area of expertise.Loudshea (talk) 03:00, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi, welcome to Wikipedia! It sounds like you put a lot of work into this article. Maybe reviewing something like this guide may help you recreate the article. Also, you can create the article on your user page and have other editors review it without worrying about a possible deletion. If you do choose to put it on your user page, let me know and I'll take a look. One of the reasons it may have been deleted was due to a lack of reliable sources or a non-neutral point of view. Also, you may want to look at the notability guide. Cheers! TN‑X-Man 03:04, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

• We get a lot of bands appearing on Wikipedia, many of whom may not have even played their first gig yet. So they tend to get deleted fairly quickly, and unless the article is able to clearly show why the band is notable you can get the occasional mistake. You could ask User:Anthony Appleyard, who deleted the page, and explain why you feel the band is notable. You can also take it to [{WP:DRV|deletion review]], but that process can take a while, and certainly might not be a good first step. Otherwise, as TN‑X-Man mentioned, one very good option is to make the page in your userspace first, then move it across once it is ready and you've added the references. To be honest, though, I don't think it will be too hard to show notability, as there seem to be some good, reliable sources around for the band. - Bilby (talk) 03:15, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

(E/C) Hi Loudshea. The person who deleted it was not out of there area of expertise because one needs no expertise to apply A7. The standard is not whether the subject is notable or important, but whether the article asserts notability or importance. We have to be able to delete material without having any person knowledge of it because we get thousands of articles on non-notable topics every day. Now, the article did arguably assert importance by implication, by saying it had members of legendary status, and if that was a clear assertion of importance then it was a missaplication of the policy, but I think it was on the bubble. What you can and should do is make an article that clearly does not meet the speedy deletion criteria. That should be any easy task if they are well known. The best way to insulate the article against speedy deletion and start it on the right track to become an encyclopedic article is to cite to reliable sources in the article which speak about the group with some detail. In the meantime, I am going to post the content of the deleted article to a subpage of your talk page, here. Work on the article there and when you are ready to "go live" use the move button to post it to the article namespace. If you have any questions on citing sources or anything else, feel free to ask me on my talk page.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:20, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Singer-Songwriter

HI there. My first contribution to Wikipedia was quickly deleted. 9:26 28May 2008 . It concerned adding the Bee Gees to the Singer-Songwriters category. It was deleted with the comment "out of place peacocking" I kind of get the idea of your criticism. I guess I added to many what I thought were supporting facts. The Brothers Gibb, especially Barry is and has been a truly prolific singer-songwriter. Their roots will bare this out. I'm just wondering if there is any wording possible that would allow for their inclusion. The article did mention the Beatles and other English groups who were not nearly as prolific or successful. Or is there an unspoken prejudice against the Bee Gees for some reason? Thanks. Please notifiy me on my talk page if possible. Markw1947 (talk) 10:27, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Hello Mark. It's easy when you first get here to think of others as some monolithic group who could be referred to as "your" (as in "your criticism") but we are really thousands and thousands of separate editors all operating by our own lights within the structure of Wikipedia which has many policies and recommendations. A single person reverted your edit, not Wikipedia as a whole. Putting that issue aside, I don't think his edit summary used the right words; your edit doesn't appear to me to come under "peacocking" (what he was referring to was Wikipedia:Avoid peacock terms by the way) but I too would have changed your edit (rather than deleted it entirely) to make it a much less detailed treatment of the Bee Gees. The focus of the article is on singer-songwriters in general. In writing about that subject, the focus is not on great detail about any single group. I don't think anyone would argue that the Bee Gees were anything but one of the most important and famous bands in history (they're The Bee Gees, with a capital T!), but you went into much more detail about them than has a place in the article in my opinion. You'll notice that all the other superbands are not described with this level of detail (not even the Beatles). It's an issue of context. If you're writing an article on the Bee Gees, you go into vast detail. If you're writing an article on singer-songwriters in general, famous examples are discussed, but treating them with high levels of detail is out of focus for that article's subject.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:33, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Use of "No image" silhouette in personbox

Is there a consensus on this? It's definitely not consistent across the board. Is it permitted to remove them when working on an article? Mike P (talk) 19:27, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

It's usually there as a way to encourage other editors to try and procure one. You can be WP:BOLD and remove it if you see fit. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 00:01, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

citing references

I created a page for my favorite pro baseball player, Charlie Williamson, and I included numerous references to other wikipedia entries, notes to back up my facts, and links to websites for more info. But I was told there were no references in the article. How should I put my references in there properly, so the pages I write don't get deleted?

Thanks Ospreyfan (talk) 23:57, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

I find the most straight foward method at WP:FOOTNOTE. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 00:00, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Linking to other Wikipedia articles is good (and indeed recommended), but it is not the same as citing reliable sources - because Wikipedia itself isn't considered a reliable source for its own articles. For this article, you may also want to take a look at WP:N and/or WP:BIO to see why it has been proposed for deletion and what you can do about it (on that note, WP:WWMAD is a good summary of why pages get deleted). One other thing - it looks like you have actually put in some references, but they aren't showing up because you also need to manually create a references section, using the following code:

== References ==

{{reflist}}

There are alternative templates to reflist, but I think it's the easiest one in this case. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 00:06, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

The other thing that I found helpful is WP:CITET, citation templates are good because they give you a structure for your references. The other thing I found helpful is to go into My Preferences, click on the gadgets tab and enable refTools, this will add a CITE button to your editing toolbar, just click it, then pick you citation type, fill in the fields that are applicable and click add citation. --Captain-tucker (talk) 00:55, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't have anything to add, but as a new contributor, I must say that this page is a wonderful example of what Wikipedia represents and I'm incredibly grateful to people like Captain-tucker and so many other people who help on this page and bring new contributors into the community with their constructive, generous support. The demeanor of this page is all-too-uniquely positive in the Wikipedia realm, and is the kind of interaction that will help make Wikipedia thrive and expand with new contributors feeling welcomed, appreciated, and supported as they try to contribute what they can to Wikipedia. Thank you all for helping on this New contributors help page. If I had a cheesey medal to give you all, I would. Deproduction (talk) 17:35, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Disputing the Neutrality of the article Battle of Culloden

I wish to dispute the neutrality of the Wikipedia article titled Battle of Culloden. Please inform me how to do so. Thank you. MacLennon (talk) 01:54, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Instead of placing a {{NPOV}} template at the top, the best thing to do is to go to the article's talk page and voice your concern there. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 02:11, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

User Page

What, precisely, is my user page? I'm terribly unclear on how to write it, or even what should be written in it. Can anyone provide me with some guidelines or something similar? Lordofmodesty (talk) 02:08, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

User page guidelines is exactly what you're looking for. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 02:12, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Pictures

What if you want to add a photo or two to an article? Bluepencil1969 (talk) 04:00, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi. Help:Images explains them in detail. If the picture is already on Wikipedia you can add it to more articles by writing [[Image:filename|200px|float-over text]]. If it's not already on Wikipedia you can upload it at Special:Upload. Be sure to check the guidelines in the first page I linked to to see if the file is suitable though - if the image is copyrighted it's likely it can't used on Wikipedia. Hope that helps. Best, Olaf Davis | Talk 09:51, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Sandbox

How do I get information for a page that is in my sandbox resaved into the main Wikipedia site so that when people search on the company name they will find it?

Laramie51 (talk) 19:07, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Simply click the edit tab at the top of the sandbox page. Physically cut and paste the text you wish to make into an article. Search for the article. When you receive the message that the article does not exist. Click the "create this article" link. Paste your text into the space. Click preview to see it, then click save to create the article. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 20:16, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Citation question

Our public library offers access at home access to the EBSCO database that provides access to many publications, articles, journals, etc... Is it 'proper' when creating a citation using the citation templates such as Template:Cite journal to include the EBSCO URL to that citation? Since the EBSCO databases are not available to everyone some people would not be able to access that URL? Thanks in advance. --Captain-tucker (talk) 16:22, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

If it's not available to everyone because it requires an account or log-in process, then it should not be used as a citation. I'm not certain that's what you're saying. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 18:07, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Whyever not? It's fine to cite a journal or book with no online presence at all, and I can't see how a url makes the citation harder to verify. Algebraist 10:11, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

I was unsure since the URL would not be accessible to everyone that it would not be 'proper form'.--Captain-tucker (talk) 12:16, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

How Can I Get Back to a "Saved" Sandbox (Draft) Page?

I'm a new user. This is a question about how to use the software.

I decided to use Wikipedia to air some ideas of mine about "health care reform in the United States." This is a Wikipedia topic with subheadings. I hadn't figured out where in that grouping I wanted to put it yet--since it was a call for theory, I thought it belonged near the start--but anyway I was well into writing it when disaster struck.

BTW, I'm an accomplished writer; I know what I'm doing in that regard. It's software (yours and others'; Cox's email software has been especially bad) that repeatedly trips me up. Seems as if software packages ignore the way that real writers write, assume that everyone writes in soundbites that take 30 seconds to compose, and therefore don't make it obvious or intuitive how to save, and return to, work in progress. Doing that task seems tacked on as an afterthought.

So here I was writing an essay in Wikipedia, using Sandbox as my drafting space. I was going to submit pure old-fashioned text. I knew I wouldn't be done in one sitting. I was thinking of Sandbox as analogous to, say, Notepad, where I could draft what I wanted to say, revise etc., then shoot it to the actual article I wanted to add to.

So I got to a stopping place. I hit "Save Page" in Sandbox. I run Windows Vista, and I watched the little green bar at the bottom of the screen behave as it does when it is saving something. But--to my horror no dialog box came up asking me where, or how, I wanted my work saved. Instead, my page disappeared! Have you any idea at all how traumatic that is for a writer??! Now I've spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to find my work. I'm ticked. Please advise.

American99robin (talk) 05:39, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Hello American99robin, and welcome to Wikipedia! I'm sorry your first experience at writing here hasn't gone well so far. I'll do my best to help.

The first thing I checked was your contribution list, to find the edit in question. But it looks like you made the edit while logged out (unless you did it from another account?) so it's not there. I then looked at the Sandbox's revision history, but as you can see it gets a lot of edits from people trying out the software and I couldn't find your work there, either. I might be able to find it for you if you can find out the IP address of your computer or tell me roughly what time (in UTC) you made the edit.

I'm slightly puzzled that your writing just disappeared when you hit save. Are you sure it didn't appear on the sandbox when it refreshed, maybe at the bottom of the page? And you're certain that you did press save?

Finally, this won't help recover your work but here are some comments that will hopefully prevent similar future mistakes. While you were basically right about Sandboxes, the main Sandbox is available to anyone who visits Wikipedia, and so gets a huge number of test edits (and, yes, people messing around). A far better place to store your work is a personal sandbox which you can make at User:American99robin/Sandbox (just click the red link and then create your page and save it there) - other people should leave that alone, so your work won't get lost in such a dense edit history. The reason that no save dialogue appeared is that when you click 'edit page' you're telling the software you want to edit this page, and clicking 'save' will save it to whatever page you were on.

I hope all that makes sense. If you have more questions or anything that might help me find your edit, you can reply here or contact me on your my talk page. I've also left a few links that might be of help on your own talk page. Good luck! Olaf Davis | Talk 10:20, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

I meant my talk page, not yours. Also another thought just struck me: if you know or can find your IP but don't want to publish it here, you can just check the contributions yourself. Olaf Davis | Talk 10:28, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi American99Robin. Like Olaf, sorry to hear you've had a frustrating time with the software. Losing a contribution you've worked hard to create is infuriating! I can't add anything to Olaf's excellent summary of how to tackle the drafting/sandbox issue, but one thing did strike me about your query: the line: I decided to use Wikipedia to air some ideas of mine about "health care reform in the United States.". If you do decide to redraft your contribution and add it to the article, you may wish to have a look at Wikipedia:No original research first. If a contribution consists, or appears to consist, of someone airing their personal ideas or theories on a particular topic, it's sure to be reverted very quickly by another editor, and that too is infuriating for the contributor. WP:NOR's guidelines may help you couch your contribution in terms that reduce the likelihood of this happening. Happy editing. --Karenjc 14:34, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Creating a New Article, and self-serving entries

I'm a fairly new contributor and want to create an article for Denver Open Media, the city of Denver's Public Access TV station. DOM operates 3 TV channels in Denver and was a recent recipient of the Knight News Challenge award. However, I am the founder of DOM and am unclear if my role in the organization represents a conflict of interest that should preclude me from authoring that article. Any guidance? Deproduction (talk) 17:23, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

I just read through NPOV and it seems there's nothing against me creating this article...

Read WP:COI and WP:FAQ/Business. Those will give you better guidance. Gtstricky^{Talk or C} 19:46, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Please fill in the subject box above, then replace this text with your question, and don't forget to sign by leaving the following four tildes (~'s) in place which automatically formats to your signature once you click "save page" below. 200.17.143.33 (talk) 22:50, 1 June 2008 (UTC) Hi My name is Jadd