Wikipedia:Help desk
- For other types of questions, use the search box, see the reference desk or Help:Contents. If you have comments about a specific article, use that article's talk page.
- Do not provide your email address or any other contact information. Answers will be provided on this page only.
- If your question is about a Wikipedia article, draft article, or other page on Wikipedia, tell us what it is!
- Check back on this page to see if your question has been answered.
- For real-time help, use our IRC help channel, #wikipedia-en-help.
- New editors may prefer the Teahouse, a help area for beginners (but please don't ask in both places).
celeration chart
what did I do wrong?
This only my second visit to the site as I came to add some information to the term "urtication" I noticed "I" had new messages and when I clicked on it was immediately warned that I had violated some TOS and one more infraction and I would not be allowed back. I'm afraid to try. Maybe I just need to learn about the site, but it did seem simple enough to add some text to that particular entry. Greatest thing I've seen in a long while, I'm disabled, don't get out much, this is great fun until now.
Kenneth Cheek152.163.100.12 04:09, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Please notice that you are using an AOL IP address. These addresses frequently change and are assigned to various different users. It is likely that another AOL user was vandalizing from that IP address and you were simply assigned that IP address next. If the message was not about you please disregard it. It is unfortunately a pretty common occurence. The best way to prevent that from happening is to register an account with us. I am really sorry that is happened. I hope this does not deter you from contributing to Wikipedia. We appreciate your edits. If you need any help, just let me know. Thanks, Psy guy (talk) 04:18, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- It's probably not you at all, but somebody else connecting to the site from the same IP address - since you're not logged in, that's the only way we have of identifying you. As the top of the relevant talk page states "This IP address, 152.163.100.12, is registered to America Online (AOL) and is shared by multiple users. Comments left on this page may be received by other users of this IP and appear to be irrelevant." In other words, somebody else, also connecting via AOL, has vandalised Wikipedia, but the number has been reassigned to you.
- As the message goes on to say "If you are frustrated by irrelevant comments appearing here, you can avoid them by creating an account for yourself." - and it really is very easy to create an account. You don't need to give us any details, not even an e-mail address - just pick a username no-one else has used, and enter your desired password twice. And then you get several benefits, chief of which is you can claim credit for your work.
- So, I hope we haven't scared you off completely, because we really are pleased to have you here! - IMSoP 04:25, 29 September 2005 (UTC) [written at the same time as the above, I'm just more long-winded ;)]
How to find how long a Wikipedia article is?
Wikipedia's editor has been moaning that Frogman is too long, so I have split parts of it off onto other articles. After that, the moaning has stopped, so how can I find how long in kilobytes a Wikipedia article is? Please answer on my talk page. Anthony Appleyard 06:23, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
If a page is considered too long, hit the edit link and it will tell you the length in kB directly above the editing frame. You could copy the text and put it into Notepad, then save it and check the size. Otherwise, it's probably not too long. also see wikipedia:article size for more details. --Ballchef 07:03, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- I recommended Lupin's navigational popups on his talk page. - Mgm|(talk) 09:37, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
selection sort c example
I think the example of selection sort in c, is not correct, the exchange of values is out of the loop
Signature tab not 'highlighting' on my user page?
Help desk, I tried to change the format of how my user name shows when I leave posts from: 'Wavesmikey' to 'Libb Thims', via Wavesmikey 05:03, 21 September 2005 (UTC) to Libb Thims 05:03, 21 September 2005 (UTC), but after I did this the internal link function stopped working on my user page yet continuted to work on other talk pages? On my user page, presently, when I use the signature function it just shows up as: --Wavesmikey 10:55, 29 September 2005 (UTC)? , where the 'name' is not highlighted nor underlined, nor internally linked? Did I mess up the program somehow on my user page? Thanks: --Wavesmikey 11:04, 29 September 2005 (UTC) (note how stamp works here?)
- You're saying on the User:Wavesmikey page it isn't doing it? I think it's doing that by design -- preventing a recursive link. Indeed, it does that by design. I just tried it on my User page (I've yet to muck with my signature), and it didn't link my name. See [1]. --Andy Janata 11:20, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- I also see that you're using your user page in the way your user talk page was intended. If you'd have your discussions on User talk:Wavesmikey, your sig link would work fine. --Andy Janata 11:30, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Links to the page you're on are bolded, so if your signature points to your userpage, posting it to your userpage will bold it. - 131.211.210.12 11:57, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
tourism
How does tourism development affects economy of a country?
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.72.184.132 (talk • contribs) 11:20, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Thank you for your question! This page is for questions about Wikipedia. Factual questions should go to the reference desk. However, have you checked the tourism article? Also, please only post your question once; do not go back and re-submit it 3 times. --Andy Janata 11:25, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Urgent fix - predsident to president
pls. fix the DYK entry on the Main page about Gerwani and Suharto. It should spell president and not predsident. Hv put a note on the talk page of main page as well, but thot more admins wd see this. Thanks, --Gurubrahma 13:05, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- It has already been done, thanks --Gurubrahma 13:30, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
lizard
Hi! I think you forgot to actually include your question. However, almost all lizard-related questions go to the Science reference desk.
Possible exceptions:
- Please explain the significance (if any) of lizards in Tennyson's work : A perfect candidate for the Humanities reference desk
- What words rhyme with "lizard"? : Goes to the Language reference desk.
- Lizard! Lizard lizard lizard MWAHAHA CHEEESE COWS MITTENS : Sounds like you want the Sandbox!
Hope you found this helpful. Cheers! :) --Ashenai 14:44, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Is the use of "you" in articles such as those related to activities appropiated?
Reading a number of articles, particularly those explaining certain games (especially video games), activities or software, I noticed that a sizable number of pages have used the term "you" like it is attempting to explain it directly to those who are indulging in these activities. Examples of this include the following:
- ...while (performing a part of an activity), you see an (item or event)...
- or
- ...(the activity/program/game) allows you to (perform capabilities)...
Given that an encyclopedia is intended to be read by readers not interested in participating in the pointed activities, is the use of this word is appropriate for encyclopedia articles? Would a third person substitute (such as the reader, or the player) be more suitable? ╫ 25 ring-a-ding 15:29, 29 September 2005 (UTC) ╫
- It depends on the context, but in a lot of cases substitution would be a good idea. If you gave particular examples this discussion would be easier, though. - Mgm|(talk) 16:13, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Here are examples of the use of "you" I've previously seen in three video/computer game articles for clarification:
- Another performance issue with San Andreas is that the game engine is not efficient at producing smoke effects. As a result, the frame rate can drop dramatically when you are in a situation where fire is present. The most noticeable missions in which this is apparent are the mission where you have to rescue a girl from a burning building, and the final story mission of the game which takes place in a torched factory. This mission is made more frustrating as you are being attacked at the time. - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas#Criticisms, fifth paragraph
- Here are examples of the use of "you" I've previously seen in three video/computer game articles for clarification:
- The career mode, in which the player takes part in one of four television shows, with missions being presented as episodes. There are four different episodes to choose from, each with a set of "episodes" that increase in difficulty. Zippy's Courier Service has you take the role of a simpleton who must make a certain number of deliveries in a certain amount of time, Galahad's Watch tasks you with first weeding out corrupt cops, then discoving an even bigger plot you must stop, Granny's Wild Ride has you playing as Granny, who has discovered alien plans for invasion in her attic and must stop them at all costs, and Race for Your Life has you play a race-car driver trying to win enough money to afford treatment for a terminally-ill child. - Streets of SimCity#Objectives, final paragraph
- Some programming flaws however caused unrealistic behaviour in some special circumstances. For example, in a car chase, the police will chase you for disobeying the speed limit (even driving over pedestrians), ignoring the hostile car. The police also will ignore when you drive in the opposite row, or over sidewalks, or if your co-driver bears a weapon. In fights, the enemy AI is far from perfect: they try to attack you with fists even when you are armed or driving a car, they like to crouch, enter your range before reload their weapons, and then return to their hiding positions to shoot, and finally even if you are shooting, they ignore you since you are not in front of them. - Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven#Flaws and fixes, first paragraph
- I think the more formal language would to replace "you" with "one", but that would be a little stilted for most people's tastes these days. A good alternative woul be "the player" but that would could become repititous. Johntex\talk 18:37, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Right now there is an (in)active discussion about adding something like this into the Manual of Style. I think use of words like "you, your, we, our, or us" in encyclopedias is bad writing practice. — Kjammer ⌂ 19:40, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- I agree that "you" sounds more like a user manual or how-to than like an encyclopedia. I always rewrite such when I find them. Elf | Talk 20:21, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
How to locate Project Manager for a given Category or page?
To help resolve a dispute over inclusion in a Category, with someone who by his own admission says he doesn't know the proper definition of the Category, and thinks it should be abolished anyway, but who also believes he is entitled to delete the Category reference from the Page. Will provide details if you wish. Thank you. Steve Harnish 16:24, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Details would be very useful indeed. Bring it up either here, at WP:ANI or at my talk page, if you prefer. Cheers, [[Sam Korn]] 16:35, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- There generally is no "project manager" for any particular page or category. I would discuss this on the talk page of the article involved, at first, just as with any other edit dispute. If thinngs can't be rsolved there there sis WP:RFC and various other ways to get more people involved who could help. DES (talk) 17:05, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- There might, however, be a project related to the category. If so, posting on that project's talk page might wake up people who have an interest in, and are familiar with articles in, that category. See Wikipedia:List of WikiProjects. Elf | Talk 20:31, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Permission to use Images
To whom it may concern,
I have been looking for pictures of Tulum in Mexico and the Sun Pyramid, in Mexico as well. I found some nice pictures of both at the following addresses (respectively): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tulum.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pyramid_of_the_Sun_%28Teotihuacan%2C_Mexico%29.jpg Now, I'd like to use these for a website on Mexico and I'm wondering who I can approach on the matter. Any ideas? Thanks, Vanessa
- You can click on any picture you are interested in, to see what is claimed for its copyright status. If it says "public domain" you are free to use it in any way (assuming the claim is correct; if it is not, you may find yourself liable). If it says "fair use" you probably aren't able to use it. If it's anything else, read carefully. In at least one of these cases, the picture has been put into Wikipedia without copyright information and will be deleted very soon. Notinasnaid 17:20, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Of the specific imags you linked to, one has no source or copyright tag, and so you should not use it. The other has a tag that permits use for "noncommercial use only" (which means it will probably be deleted from this site before too long) and the person who uploadfed it, and who has a user page on wikipedia, sseems to claim to be the photographer. You could leave a msg on that person's user talk page if you wanted to get explicit permission. DES (talk) 19:10, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
what are three differences between a peer to peer and a client server network?
What is three differences between a peer-to-peer and a client/server network?
- Please read the top of the page. Factual questions like this belong on the reference desk. That said, you could read peer to peer and client-server to find out. - Mgm|(talk) 19:01, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Thank you for your question! This page is for questions about Wikipedia. Factual questions should go to the reference desk. However, have you checked the network article? Johntex\talk 19:03, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
THREE RIVER GORGE DAM...
GOOD AFTEROON, MY NAME IS NODAS PAPADIMAS AND I AM AN INSTRUCTOR AT THE COLLEGE OF MOUNT STAINT JOSEPH. I RECENTLY SAW THE PICTURES YOU HAVE ON YOUR SITE ABOUT "THE THREE RIVERS GORGE DAM" IN CHINA. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAVE MORE PIC'S (BEFORE DURING AND AFTER) OF THAT PROJECT SINCE ALL MY ARCHITECTURE/INTERIOR DESIGN STUDENTS WILL BE THRILLED TO WATCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP, NODAS...
- Hello, one way to see if we have more images is to go to the article of interest and click the Discussion and History tabs - these would show if any other images have been part of the article in the past. Johntex\talk 18:17, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- I CAN'T QUITE HEAR YOU! CAN YOU SHOUT A BIT LOUDER? — JIP | Talk 07:51, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Is it possible to put my personal biography in wikipedia for observation?
I was wondering and it would be nice if wikipedia let me put my biography (or some 1 elses) in the database
- propbably not. Vantity articles are not popular.Geni 18:43, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- See, in particular, Wikipedia:Autobiography. The issue is whether the accuracy of such content could be verified. -- Rick Block (talk) 18:49, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- As you'll see at the above link, not everyone is notable enough to be included in an encyclopedia. After reading Wikipedia:Autobiography, if you think the person (E.g. yourself) does fit the criteria for inclusion - you can feel free to create the article. Either, way, thanks for checking with us first. Johntex\talk 19:00, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- See, in particular, Wikipedia:Autobiography. The issue is whether the accuracy of such content could be verified. -- Rick Block (talk) 18:49, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
How do I add a picture to an article
How do I add a picture to an article
- See Wikipedia:Picture tutorial for detailed instructions. Please sign your name on discussion pages with four tildas. DES (talk) 19:13, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Dragon's that really live on island that are major killers
What is the name of the dragon that lives on an island that is to be like a lizard who is to be the most killer animal on earth? My daughter who is 10 never heard of them, but I can't recall the full name of the animal. They are suppost to be almost extict?
Theresa
- The reference desk would be the better place for this question. The help desk is for questions about Wikipedia and its software. But you may find more info at the dragon and Komodo dragon articles. Dismas|(talk) 19:56, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Declaring an entry a stub
I recently edited an entry that should be declared a stub, but I don't know how to do this (if possible). I've read other entries that are stubs, but this is the first time I've looked at one and I'm new to editing. Is there something I can do on my end or is there something in place that labels stubs?
--SailorAlphaCentauri 19:43, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- You can put {{stub}} at the end of the article and it will label it as a stub. But to go the extra mile, it's preferred that you categorize the stub for instance if it's a stub about an actor it would be {{actor-stub}} or about a structure it would be {{struct-stub}}, etc. See Wikipedia:Stub for more info. Dismas|(talk) 19:52, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Vietnam
When were the first US military personnel sent to Vietnam?
- Our article on the Vietnam War states US troops fought from 1965 to 1972. Please send factual questions like this to the reference desk in the future. - Mgm|(talk) 20:35, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
co2 in the atmosphere
bacteria and fungi
- Please leave factual questions at the reference desk. Our articles on carbon dioxide, bacteria and fungus may help though. - Mgm|(talk) 20:37, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Wikifying links becomes bold text.
I've been editing a few pages, and when I try using double brackets to wikify links, the links instead become bold text. I don't see my error, and it doesn't make sense, because the code for bold text is three consecutive apostrophes, not two brackets. Look at my recent contributions to see what I'm talking about.
- I haven't looked at your recent contributions, but I have a feeling you're linking to the article you're editing. In other words, if I typed in [[Wikipedia:Help desk]] , it becomes Wikipedia:Help desk. Thus, if you link to an article within an article, it becomes bold. I hope this helps! Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk | WS 20:51, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Whoops! When you're viewing several articles at once, sometimes you forget which one you're actually editing. Thanks for the help! Stalyuchka 20:55, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
protecting content
How is wikipedia protected against somebody going in and deleting valuable information that is already there? Also how is it protected against from people taking baloney?
Well, I know that if someone tries to vandalize a page (delete all of the information and/or replace it with nonsense), another user can simply revert the article back to the un-vandalized version. Stalyuchka 20:51, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Check out Wikipedia:FAQ and Wikipedia:Replies_to_common_objections. Thanks! Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk | WS 20:52, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Thanx! I was just curious coz I love the Wiki's idea and I was tottally impressed how up to date some of the atricles are.
research
My question is quite simple, and yet I still have trouble with he subject: how would you list a Wikipedia article as a source for a formal bibliography of a research paper?
- Read the top of this page. The first line under "How to ask a question". Dismas|(talk) 23:00, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
Change my user name?
Who do I ask if I want to change my username?--Luspari 23:25, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
- Please see Wikipedia:Changing username. However, please note that this is currently not done. If you wish to have a different username, you must sign up a new one. Note that changing attribution for edits is also not done right now. If you only wish to change what ~~~~ puts on the page for you, you can change it in your preferences. --Andy Janata 23:35, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
source data for world map
http:/upwiki/wikipedia/en/b/bf/Country_positions_Iraq_war.png
I'd like to get the source data for this (rather than look up locations for all the countries in the world). Is there a way to do this?
Thanks.
Kevin
Biographical Data on "Leslie Glass"
Found wiki bio on "Leslie Glass" is an exact duplicate of information provided on answers.com Since I cant tell which is the original I'm reluctant to edit out the wiki version. Whats the solution?
- Answers.com is a mirror of Wikipedia. The article here is the original. — File:Ontario trillium sig.pngmendel ☎ 00:05, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
What are the "big ideas" in Wikipedia?
I was asked this question by my IT instructor and I am not clear if this is a particular type of reference in Wikipedia or if we are just talking about ideas in general. Can someone please advise? Thanks. --anon
- There is not any special type of reference or article known as a "big idea" here. I don't know what your instructor means (you might try asking your instructor) but if he want the core or basic principles of wikipedia, try looking at Wikipedia:Five pillars. DES (talk) 14:16, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Citing scientific knowledge
This may be an utterly naive question from a complete Wiki novice, but I thought I'd err on the side of caution.
I recently found the page on the star V838 Monocerotis on Wikipedia after doing a Google image search. I am an astronomer studying this object and noticed that some of the information is incomplete. I would like to contribute to the page and Wikipedia in general, but I am concerned that much of the astronomical research on this and other objects is published in copyrighted journals. What is your policy for information that someone acquires someplace else (e.g., a scientific journal or newspaper or any other form of media) and would like to place that information in Wikipedia? I am not concerned with verbatim excerpts from journal articles or even images, but the scientific knowledge itself that is presented in the journal article. If you are happy to allow it, how should I go about citing a reference within the journal to validate my edit/addition? I can place a URL link to the journal article, but only subscribers would be able to access the article. Kind of defeats the purpose of a citation.
Thank you,
The Astrogeek
email removed
- (1) Neither knowledge nor facts are copyrightable, only specific phrasing. So it's OK if you crib it from publish journals (e.g., use them as references). (2) Although we're not big fans of citing subscriber-only sources, it's better than nothing, so go ahead and cite away. →Raul654 03:29, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- In manyb ways you treat this just as if you wewre writing a papaer or say a survery article for a professional journal and wanted to cite facts contained in someone's published work. Give the facts, and cite your source, but do not use other people's words except in an explicit quote (indicated by quottion marks, or the like) and quotes should be relatively brief. DES (talk) 14:13, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
how do encyclopedia entrys work
- Could you give us a better idea of what you mean? Do you want to know how the software that runs Wikipedia works? Do you want to know how to start an article? Just exactly what do you mean by "work"? Dismas|(talk) 12:35, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
The Letter People --searching for
I am trying to find copies of The Letter People series that aired on Public Broadcasting in the 70's. I am not interested in the reproduced versions that are being sold on Ebay. Thanks for your help. SR
- First off please read the top of the page where it says that this page is for questions dealing with how to get things to work here at Wikipedia. Secondly, we don't sell videos here, if that's what you thought, so you might have better luck at www.amazon.com or www.amazon.uk Dismas|(talk) 12:38, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Excessive Internal Links
How many internal links (links in Wikipedia articles that link to other Wikipedia articles) is considered too much? I've seen some articles where it's just bad, messy, and gives a headache when reading it just because of all the internal links; it just ruins the flow of the reading. I've also seen internal links for some pretty ridiculous things. Is it really necessary to have links for every couple words, and then for trivial things like dates and such? Sorry if this has been asked before, is there a FAQ or policy page about this that talks about how to gauge how many is too much? FistOfFury 04:44, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- See Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(links)#Internal_links. Short answer: link full dates, so preferences for a user can kick in, important years, and anything relevant to the article and jargon mentioned in passing that might need explanation. - Mgm|(talk) 04:56, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- Thanks for the links. - FistOfFury 07:39, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
About image
How to use an image from my system in the article
- Assuming all the copyright issues are not a problem, you upload it, and then modify the article (see wikipedia:Picture tutorial) →Raul654 05:07, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Foreign Language Redirects
Hi, I just stumbled accross this IP address 68.72.116.165 who has been responsible for creating a large number of foreign language redirect pages. [2] Are these types of pages acceptable for the English wikipedia? They seem like pointless clutter to me. Martyman 05:06, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
electronics/transistors
1. in transistor ce cb and cc configurations
- in active region: emmiter base junction is forward biased and base collector junction is reverse biased.
- in cut off region: emmiter base junction and base collector junction both are reverse biased.
- in saturation region: emmiter base junction and base collector junction both are forward biased.
On which context we conclude above biasings.
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.226.57.217 (talk • contribs) 01:56, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- Did you have a question? --Andy Janata 11:31, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Is there a central starting point for Computing (Application development)?
Hi I am a new member and I am wondering whether there exists a Computer portal entry. Something similar to listings in Category:Portals), for Computer Application Development (related to Software_development but more focussed on applications for business organizations). I had been active at WikiWikiWeb for over a year prior to coming here.
I have seen WikiProject related to Computing but it appear to be quiet (meaning little or no significant update activity looking at histories) at this moment.
Other visited pages / topics include:
- Software_genre (no Talk page)
- list of people with Computer interests (not much activity)
- Update history (Talk:Computer_stubs)
- Update history (Computer architecture)
- Software_engineering
Have I missed any other "(IT) community watering-hole"? at Wikipedia?
Thanks in advance for your help. Dlwl 05:58, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- Have I missed any other "(IT) community watering-hole"? at Wikipedia? - Yes -- Wikipedia:IRC channels →Raul654 06:00, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Minimum criteria for band articles
I recently found a page outlining minimum criteria for inclusion of articles about bands (the musical kind). Now I can't find this page anywhere. Can anyone help?
I am a newbie here and so far am frustratingly finding this a common experience. The information areas are difficult to find, and I just seem to stumble over things only to never find them again. Is there a site map or some way of easily tracking down info? --DarbyAsh 09:19, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- You're probably looking for the excellent WP:MUSIC. --fvw* 09:21, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- You could leave links to interesting pages on your userpage for easy reference. Once you've been here for a while, finding stuff becomes easier. - Mgm|(talk) 09:43, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- I agree with Mgm that it gets easier the longer you've been here. If I need to find info on something that I haven't encountered yet I usually just try typing in the search box "Wikipedia:" and then one or two words about what I'm looking for. If I wanted info on reverting an article to an older copy to erase some vandalism I would type "Wikipedia:Revert" or "Wikipedia:Vandalism". There are so many redirects set up that I've only had problems with my method a few times. I also agree with putting links to stuff that you want to reference often on your user page. See the bottom of my user page for an example. Dismas|(talk) 12:24, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Folks, thanks to all of you for your excellent comments. I not only found the page I was looking for (thanks Fvw) but now know how to search for more such helpful pages. Cheers. --DarbyAsh 23:52, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
What is Engineering
Waht is engineering?
- Try reading engineering and the top of the page which notes questions like these belong on the reference desk. - Mgm|(talk) 11:40, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Link unsigned editing history and comments to my account name?
After contributing for a while I finally discovered how to create an account. Can I replace my IP address and history of comments and revisions with this account name?
— Preceding unsigned comment added by DutchSeduction (talk • contribs) 07:23, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- Wikipedia:Changing attribution for an edit. Note however that this has been dead for months and may never come back to life. Andy Janata 11:34, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
wikipedia in megrellian language
As you know megrellian is a language spoken in west Georgia, in districts of Zugdidi, Khobi, Senaki, Martvili, Chkorotsku, Tsalenjikha, Abasha, Gali, Ochamchire, Poti. About 1 000 000 people speaks this language. It's non-literary language, but some people started to write novels and verses in this language. Also, first megerlian writer was born about 150 years ago. first megrellian newspaperwas KAZAKISHI GAZETI was issued 70 years ago. Nowadays we have no media sources, except web-site www.phazisi.com. We want the wikipedia to be in megrellian also. It willhelp our people to start reading, writing in it's mother tongue. But we don't know what to do for this. Do we have to go over some official proccesses? Is it free to make wikipedia in every languages, if even it's non-literary language? We wait for your answer, and we hope that you will answer positively.
Your Sincerely
Tada Lazareskiri
President of Colchis
International Society.
New York,
www.warldcolchis.com
- Try visiting Request for new languages on meta
- How to start a new Wikipedia has full intructions, of which Request for new languages on meta is one step. --Commander Keane 16:02, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
External Links (legal citation)
I've created this page on legal citation in the last few days, and I included this paragraph:
The growth of the internet has not affected the mode of citation in any way, as it has done in less conservative fields. There is no free-access database of UK case law, and most online research is done on the subscription commercial sites Justis[3] and Lexis[4]. Even on these sites, cases are organised, and cited, by the volume and page numbers of the paper law reports from which they are derived.
I would like some guidance, though, on whether the external links should be there. These are definitely commercial organisations and you must subscribe to use their services. On the other hand, they are clearly crucial to the subject of the article.AndyJones 13:02, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- We've nothing against links to external commercial organisations if they're directly relevant to the topic, and I certainly agree with you that Lexis et. al. are. Perhaps include them in an external links section at the bottom? Alternately, we have an article for LexisNexis, and you could link to that. Shimgray | talk | 13:08, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- I'd agree with Shimgray here. My rule of thumb is to avoid using an inline external link when we have a working internal link. (So just link to the Wikipedia article on LexisNexis, for example.) I would include the two external links in the 'External links' section at the bottom of the article; I don't think it's necessary to include them inline but they're certainly germane to the topic. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 13:35, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
WikiPedia Plug-in Utility
I love WikiPedia and I want to access it all the time, but it takes a bit to get there and enter the search topic. Is there a utility like Dictionary.com's that I can load onto my Windows PC? I'd like to search WikiPedia by highlighting and hot-keying - that would be great!
Thanks Bret
- There's a plug-in for Firefox I believe that lets you highlight words and then right click on them to look them up in Wikipedia. I don't use Firefox so I'm unfamiliar with how it works beyond that. Dismas|(talk) 22:57, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
current and flow
Where do the terms “current” and “flow” come from?
- Do you mean to ask about why current is referred to as flow? If so, then the anaogy comes from trying to compare an invisible thing (like current) to a more tangible concept such as water-flow. Like all analogies, there are imperfections and limitations but the central concept is sound; electrical current can be thought-of as water flow for visualisation and to enhance understanding.
- Also, this question should have been asked at the reference desk as it is not a question about Wikipedia. Please go through this page if you are in doubt. --hydnjo talk 01:51, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Who changes an article's title
I just edited an article on Giorgio Biandrata to correct the spelling of this gentleman's name (from Blandrata -> Biandrata). However the title of the article is still misspelled. How does one rename an article?
Peter Newport
- if you are a logged in user, and you have had your account for a little while, ther will be a "Move" tab to the right of the "edit this page" tab. This will allow you to move an article to a new location that is, change its title. Whe you do this, you need to chack if any links to the old title have been broken.
- However if you don't have th move tabe available, go to the requested moves page and follw the instructions there to ask for help with a move. DES (talk) 14:07, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- I moved it. Thanks for pointing this out! --Ashenai 14:11, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Downloading All Cities by Country
I'm trying to put together, plainly put, an excel file of every city in the world .. or all the big ones .. i've been copying and pasting the ones from Wikipedia Cities By Country list .. there's got to be a better way to do it .. anyone have any suggestions? Is there a way i can download a CMS or excel file of all those without having to copy and past 400 countries?
b
- If you're only interested in the big cities, there are far shorter lists at List of cities with more than 100 000 inhabitants. Warofdreams talk 17:04, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
useless internal links
I think it should be an element of the Style sheet, under the Internal Links entry, to encourage editors not to create internal links to each word in a two- (or more-) word phrase that represents a single uint of thought. In the entry on "John Milton" we are told that the poet's father was disinherited because *his* father discovered him reading an English Bible. Each of the words in that phrase, "English" and "Bible," has an internal link. But the significant point is that he was reading an English-Bible (single unit of thought), which at the time would have been a sign that he was Protestant (and thus grounds for his Catholic father to disown him), and neither the entry "English" nor the entry "Bible" is going to convey that point. If the entry on "Bible" had a history of Bible translations, which included the consequences during the Reformation period of using a vernacular Bible, then the two-word phrase "English Bible" might be profitably linked to *that portion* of the "Bible" entry. In other words, in some cases, internal links can give the impression of further relevant information but actually lead readers afield. Of course, one of the joys of Wikipedia, and the internet in general is being able to meander just as fancy directs one. But when does wandering become error?
Gregory Machacek
- I agree in principle, though for some readers, both of those links (English and Bible) might also be relevant and germane to their understanding of the topic. The original author should have been aware of the implications of English-Bible (all one unit) as opposed to English, Bible. It's up to them to decide whether they leave the words unlinked (in which case someone else may well come along and link them afterwards anyway) and/or to add a few words in parenthesis to explain the implication of the phrase. Or, of course, you could do that yourself... it's what Wikipedia is all about! SiGarb 18:29, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- I've gone ahead and changed the two links in the John Milton article from "an English Bible" to the single link "an English Bible". The latter, as you'll see if you click on it, is a piped link to History of the English Bible, which I think is the closest thing Wikipedia's got at the moment to the sort of article you were looking for. (The article in question needs a bit of work, but that's another matter.)
- As for your greater point, I agree that there's probably a place somewhere in Wikipedia's many help and style pages that should explain that internal links should follow the logic of the sentence they're linking from. However, I'm not sure exactly where that place would be (I'm far from a Wikipedia expert myself); indeed, that advice may already appear somewhere (although a brief search of Wikipedia:Links didn't reveal it).
- A final thought: you wonder, "when does wandering become error?" It's worth remembering that not all who wander are lost (though some doubtless are). :) —Josiah Rowe 19:51, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Question
When I am editing a Topic, I sometimes add information, but when I come to check it has either been deleted or changed, now I know the information is factual, un-biased and fair, yet is deleted? why??
- It could be for any number of reasons. It would help if you mentioned a specific article and signed your question, so I could check your edit history. - Mgm|(talk) 18:46, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- Are you talking about your edit to Kashmir 12 days ago (that's the only edit of yours I can find)? I suspect it was removed because you made an assertion "the USA has lauched a Plan to segregate Kashmir and use it for its own purpose", but you didn't back it up with proof or sources. Providing proof and citing sources is very important here. Who said it? When did they say it?
- But please don't let this discourage you from editing Wikipedia. I'm sure you have very valuable stuff to contribute; it's just that we can't accept statements that sound like your own ideas or research, even if they're true. This is an encyclopedia; we can only include things that can be proven.
- Again, please do continue to be bold and edit articles! We're not ignoring you, and we'd like to see what you can contribute. :) --Ashenai 18:49, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Sorry, I know that is my IP but I have an open LAN so anyone can really come on and use my IP.
- Well, could you point us to your edits, then? Without knowing what they are, there's no way to tell why they were reverted. --Ashenai 18:57, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
copyright
Do I need permission to copy quotes from wikipedia?
- Wikipedia is released under the GFDL. This means that anyone may quote from it, or reuse its contnets, either as-is or in an edited form. However, this is true only if the new woirk is also relsesed under the GFDL and if prior authros are acknowled, and a link or other method of acces to teh original verison is provided. For a simple quote, this is excessive. The doctine of Fair use (in the United states) or Fair dealing (in many other countries) protects a person who uses a brief quote as part of a larger work, in most cases, This means that one need not usually get permission to quote a published source at a reasonable length. This applies to Wikipedia as much as to any other source. However, when quoting, be sure to cite your sources properly. See Wikipedia:Citing wikipedia. DES (talk) 19:17, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Sock puppets
I think I might have found a sock puppet:UKV (talk · contribs) might be a sock of Biterider (talk · contribs). My eveidence to support this is that the sock in question has edited only one page, the AfD entry of ObjAsm32, and seems to have been created for the purpose to vote "keep". Also this user uses the word stay rather than keep as does Biterider. This could also mean that this is just another Wikipedian who knows of ObjAsm32 that registered in order to vote their opinion, and uses "stay" because he thinks that's how things are done (might not have seen other AfD entries). Can Admins determine socks using methods unavailable to regular users? And in the future, how should I handle these situations? (do I have to report it somewhere?) — Kjammer ⌂ 19:13, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- No, admins cannot check whether certain people are sockpuppets of others. However, votes by new user's and anonymous user's are often discounted if they don't provide reasoning or don't seem to understand the procedure. Just tag a note using small tags to their vote saying they're a new user with x edits specifically created for voting purposes, so the closing admin knows to doublecheck votes. - Mgm|(talk) 20:30, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
What effects can hurricane katrina have on living things.
- Note that, as stated at the top of this page, this is for questions about Wikipedia, not about other topics such as hurricanes. More about hurricanes can be seen in the articles under Hurricane in general, or Hurricane Katrina in particular. When it hit, Katrina obviously had many effects on living things in its path, from drowning them in floods to blowing them away by high winds. The health effects of the stagnant, polluted water of New Orleans may be felt for a long time. But you don't say specifically what sorts of effects you are looking for. *Dan T.* 20:16, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Identical terms problem
I clicked on 'Krona' in the DC universe section, who is a villain. I however went to the article about 'Krona' the Swedish currency, having a small piece of text at the top saying how Krona is also a villain in the DC universe. The DC universe is a link to the DC universe, and as already observed, clicking on Krona in there gets the Swedish currency. It seems to be impossible to get to article about Krona the DC universe villain, and I'm guessing same things would be true for other identical terms. Obviously, one of two identical terms (more when there are three terms spelled the same) would have to get an identifier; like Krona(DC), or something, or one or more of the terms cannot ever be read from what I can tell.
- I fixed Krona. The original link looked like this: [[Krona]]. All I had to do was find the article for the comic book Krona (which was Krona (comics)), then fix the link with a pipe, like this: [[Krona (comics)|Krona]]. That way, you would still see Krona as the link, but it would actually point to Krona (comics). Like this: Krona. How's that? :) --Ashenai 22:48, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
can,t find smackdown
If there is anyone on who can tell me why I can,t get smackdown on t.v. since they changed days from thurs. to fri. and my guide doesnot even have a listing for this show like it does not exist please help having withdrawrals
- This is an encyclopedia, not a TV Guide, and we don't even know where you live, so how could we know what might be available on local, network, cable, or satellite channels accessible to you? *Dan T.* 22:41, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- If you are in the USA, go to UPN.com, then look up the state and city where your local television station are, for the station's web site with contact information. If the local station is not showing "Smackdown," write a letter to them and ask why not. --Metropolitan90 09:21, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Archiving a Talk page
How does one archive a talk page? I need to do this to the discussion page for Media bias. Thanks. --Kerowyn 23:42, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Correspondence Address for Rudolph Guilani.
a question
how to add a biographie?
fact or fiction
Thank you for having such an incredible resource centre available. My only concren ios that the matter printed before me be of truth and faction without falsehoods. Can this Be Verified? email removed — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.220.148.65 (talk • contribs) 21:03, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
see if an article has been deleted
i recently wanted to check on an article, the link was still there, but it did not exsist. i want to either write the article or something similiar, but i think it had been deleted. how can i check to see if it has been deleted, and if so, see why so i know how to improve it thanks. --Herzog 02:39, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- You can look in the delete log, see Special:log/delete. Any admin can let you know what the contents were, or you can request an undeletion at Wikipedia:Votes for undeletion. -- Rick Block (talk) 02:58, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
intel xeon motherboard compatibility
What kind of motherboard can I use for Intel Xeon 3.2 Ghz? Can I use any type of motherboard as long as it is an Intel processors compatible?
- The help desk is for questions about Wikipedia. You may want to ask this question on Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science. Evil Monkey∴Hello 03:41, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Nihon no terebi bangumi
Ima Nihon dewa donna terebi bangumi ga ninki ga arunode shoka? Kokosei gurai o taisho to shite imasu. Risa Ii
- Please state your question in English. I have no idea what that means in Japanese. Andy Janata 14:20, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- You might be interested to know that Wikipedia has a Japanese language version. Thryduulf 17:16, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Messages
How do I check messages from other wikipedia users? Duke53 08:09, 1 October 2005 (UTC)|Duke53|05:50, 1 October 2005 (UTC)}} 05:49, 1 October 2005 (UTC)}}
- If you received a "You've got new messages" box, you can click on the underlined text to go to your talk page. You can also click on "My talk" at the top of the window to access it anytime. Titoxd 05:49, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Thank You .... still finding my way around. Duke53 08:08, 1 October 2005 (UTC)Duke53
History fixes?
Is there any way to move article history from one page to another, after a page move?
I started an article at Christopher Wood which was later moved to Christopher Wood (artist) and the page has since turned into a disambiguation. Is there a simple way to move the history from the original page to the new one? I'm not unhappy or anything, just curious.
-Tim Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 09:18, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- In other words, you mean someone did a copy/paste move instead of a real page move, and you want to fix it by merging the articles? Yes, it's possible (I'll do it if you confirm that this is, in fact, what you are talking about) →Raul654 09:21, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
I think we might have a slight misunderstanding. Last year, I created an article at Christopher Wood for the person whose article is now at Christopher Wood (artist). Christopher Wood is now a disambiguation article for three seperate people. However, when it was turned into a disambiguation page, the pre-disambiguation history on Christopher Wood was not moved along to the appropriate article (Christopher Wood (artist) I'm just wondering if it's possible to move a page's history in a manner that could fix that (although I'm not really concerned by it, only wondering how it could be done). -Tim Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 23:51, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
As you can see I am new to wikipedia...
As you can see I am new to wikipedia.... I tried to add a link to this site... so forgive me for not knowing how to use this stuff as yet.... Looking for software in the performing arts field, that I can convert a play to html statements.... does anybdy know of such software.... this wikipedia is pretty cool... sorry if i added things i shouldn't have and where... my email is <removed>
- Welcome to Wikipedia, If you are facinated by it you should register. Registering a free account takes only a few seconds, you don't have to register, but there are reasons why you should.
- For your question about text format convirsion software, please re-ask your question at the Reference desk, the Help desk is for questions regarding Wikipedia itself. — Kjammer ⌂ 10:31, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Self-reverted tests
I sometimes see anonymous IPs "vandalize" pages, then immediately revert their own vandalism. Template:test seems a bit, well, testy as a response. Is there a convenient template that says "thanks for reverting your own test, here's the sandbox, user accounts are good, welcome to Wikipedia"? — ciphergoth 09:33, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- Template:Welcome would probably be closest.Geni 13:45, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- {{selftest}} seems good to me. [[Sam Korn]] 13:46, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- teh winnar! Thanks! Have edited it a bit and I'll use it in future. — ciphergoth 15:48, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- There is nothing wrong with writing your own message, much like the one you has suggested in quotes, plus some wikilinks. --Commander Keane 15:05, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Can Numbered Lists Start at Zero?
Erm. Pretty much what it says in the subject line. Is it possible to make a numbered list start at zero rather than one? Joe King 13:09, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- No, not if you use the # from the wikicode to make that list. You could just do it manually... Why do you need the list to start at zero? - Mgm|(talk) 13:58, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
satellite communication
history of satellite
- Perhaps History of artificial satellites or Communications satellite and please direct further factual questions to the reference desk. - Mgm|(talk) 14:01, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
factors to consider in building modern shopping market
- Please read the big pink box at the top of this page and follow the directions therein. Dismas|(talk) 14:54, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
How to cite Wikipedia the MLA way?
In order for me to fully cite this page i would like the following questions to be answered pleasw.
Who are the authors of wikipedia? What edition and volume is it? What is the publishing city? The publishing company? The publishing date? What is the page numbers?
I think what would help you is what i was researching on. I researched Vietnam.
Thankyou so much!!
- Please read the top of this page. Specifically the first line under How to ask a question. Dismas|(talk) 14:52, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- Since Wikipedia is a collaborative endeavor and not a print source, you need to cite it differently. The link Dismas is referring to is How to cite Wikipedia. - Mgm|(talk) 14:54, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Wierd revert
I was using the Newer edit button to view a series of changes. Latter I looked on my watchlist and found that I had somehow reverted the changes on that page. Revert isn't even an option that appears anywhere on the page when using the Older/Newer edit. What happened? Rmhermen 14:59, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- When you're on the most recent, there is no "newer edit" button but the admin "rollback" button is fairly close to where "newer edit" would be. My guess is you were repeatedly clicking "newer edit" to step through a bunch of edits, didn't realize you were at the most recent edit, clicked again and your mouse had slipped enough to hit "rollback". If the servers were busy, the resulting "post" might have worked without successfully updating your screen so you might not have seen the output of the rollback request. -- Rick Block (talk) 15:36, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- Was it an automatic revert (with admin message in summary) or did you perhaps accidentally edit an old version of that page? What page are you referring to? - Mgm|(talk) 15:39, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- this diff appears to be the one in question, and that does look like an admin rollback edit summary. Thryduulf 17:07, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
postnominal letters
What is the wikipedia policy on postnominal letters for orders such as The Order of the Garter, or The Order of Canada? If a person has more than one of these should they all be listed? SHould we include postnominal letters at all?
- The standard seems to be to inlcude them in the full name, but not in the article title. See for example John Major. Thryduulf 17:01, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Adverbs
Help I need to find an adverb that begins with an X.
Del 197.
- Xenophobiacally? *Dan T.* 15:54, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- This belongs on the reference desk, but my wordlist contains: xenically, xenomorphically, xerically, xerographically, xerophytically, and xylographically. — File:Ontario trillium sig.pngmendel ☎ 21:10, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
WikiThanks
What's the German equivalent of a WikiThanks? --HappyCamper 16:04, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- I've searched using all sorts of queries for 15 minutes, but all I could come up with is the Dutch equivalent nl:Afbeelding:Stervvrederustruimtehumor.gif. Sorry. German doesn't have a interwiki link in the barnstar section. Do they even have awards of any sort? - Mgm|(talk) 16:51, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- I don't know. But today, I had a lot of people help me out when I tried to write an article there. I just wanted to thank them all. Gave one of them a nice snowflake. --HappyCamper 20:26, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Image Format
I'm trying to Upload a drawing for my user page; however, I made the drawing in OpenOffice Draw and a want to change the format to PNG, which Wikipedia:Uploading images says is the preferred format. One complication: I use Suse Linux. Does anyone know how to change it?
Lee S. Svoboda 17:06, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- I've just checked the Windows version of OpenOffice.org Draw and under File, Export on the menu offers the option of saving as a .PNG (choose it in the drop down box). I haven't got my Linux box running at the moment (I use Mandriva Linux 10.1) but I imagine that version also offers this option.
- Thanks
Lee S. Svoboda 01:37, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
hi
will like to know more about how to used this medium65.172.4.250 18:19, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- Please see: Wikipedia:Introduction and Wikipedia:Welcome, newcomers which should provide you with enough basics to start you off. - Mgm|(talk) 18:24, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
How can I determine the correct copyright tag?
I want to include a couple of images in an article, but am stumped by the process of selecting a copyright tag. Here is the basic data: I am not the creator of these images, but I did get permission from the originators to include the images in the article as long as I mentioned the following: the source URL, that the image is being used with permission, and the names of the originators. Obviously most of this info is required anyway for uploading a Wikipedia image to an article, but I can't figure out how to select the proper copyright tag for it. How can I determine the correct copyright tag?
--Wowbobwow12 22:26, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- none. We can't use wikipedia specific releases.Geni 22:41, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- You need more than permission to use the item. You need for the item to be released either into the public domain, or under the relevant license. This will allow the image to be used in any other venture, free or commercial. That is only two choices... you cannot do this, the copyright holder must do this. There cannot be additional conditions, though there can be additional information. Notinasnaid 22:42, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Help correcting inaccuracies regarding Jill Gibson entry, as per Jill Gibson herself.
Hello,
I would like to first compliment you on a WONDERFUL encyclopedia! I hope that my question will garner an answer via email, as it concerns the feelings of one of your entry subjects: the talented, and gracious Jill Gibson.
I sent Jill a link to check out the article posted about her in Wikipedia, and she replied that it was "impressive, filled with surprising truths and falsehoods!". She wondered if there was a way to edit the article, and correct anything that she found to be amiss. So, that is why I am writing to you today. Would you welcome Jill Gibson's input to her own entry? I would think so, of course. Is there a direct way for Jill to get ahold of your organization, to be able to do so?
Jill can be reached via her website www.gibsonarts.com, wich is linked at the bottom of your page about her. A response from you would be most appreciated. I am happy to be of help myself, if I can be. My email address is : Chrisbryantolson@aol.com
I would like to say again just how much I enjoy your encyclopedia, and I hope to help make it even better, in this small way.
Thank you so very much, Christopher Bryant Olson
- Probably the best way for her to make the corrections is for her to list them, in detail, on her website(the one you mentioned above), then you(or anyone else), can, personally, make the changes, and reference them to the page on her website. While, depending on the changes, people may object and ask for further confirmation, it is likely that most of them will be happily accepted. They will be appreciated in any case. Thanks for asking! (And you might find Wikipedia:Introduction useful, if you haven't looked it over already.) JesseW, the juggling janitor 22:50, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- Thanks for your suggestion. When you believe an article needs improvement, please feel free to change it. You can edit almost any article on Wikipedia by just following the Edit link at the top of the page. We encourage you to be bold in updating pages, because wikis like ours develop faster when everybody edits. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes—they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. You can always preview your edits before you publish them or test them out in the sandbox. If you need additional help, check out our getting started page or ask the friendly folks at the Teahouse. Dismas|(talk) 12:08, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
How to fix a page that redirects to itself?
I notice that the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_stroke re directs to itself. Clicking on history and then older revision does not go back beyond the current revision. I am not sure if this is because there IS no earlier version or the circular re-direct is masking it?
Mike Collinson
- A circular redirect does not mask the history of an article. In the case of Breast stroke there were no previous revisions, it had been newly made as a redirect. The user that made it probably meant to redirect to the existing article Breaststroke, but put in a space by accident, creating a circular redirect. I've fixed this by removing the space in the link. --Canderson7 22:49, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
drx9000
HI there,im an injure triathle with lower back pain.This machine DRX-9000,it supouse to strech the spine,i wonder if any body out there have used or know somethig obout it. A MAN IN PAIN
- Please read the notice at the top of this page in relation to what types of questions belong here, as opposed to at the Wikipedia:Reference desk. --Kwekubo 14:10, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Setting up side-by-side columns...
I need advice on setting up side-by-side columns. I know that columns are somewhat discouraged, but I think I have a good reason for employing them: to have a side-by-side translation, transliteration, and original-language versions of a poem.
What I'm working with is on my user page (User:Ex0pos). Currently, there are two problems:
1. The columns are not evenly-spaced. I'd like three clean, vertical columns. 2. I can't figure out how to add a space between lines, to break the poem up into paragraphs. (In the version on my user page, I've forced a space by ending one series of columns, entering a period (.) and beginning a new series of columns. There must be a better way...
Thanks for any help. Please feel free to answer here or on my user talk page. - Ex0pos 23:35, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- Sounds like what you need is a table - see: Wikipedia:How to use tables.
Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3 content 1 content 2 content 3 This is the first column notice how the width adjusts to the width of the text inside This line is longer, using a "colspan"
Off-Label Use; FDA Application for
This question has been moved to Reference Desk - Science.--inks 23:42, 1 October 2005 (UTC) Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science#Off-Label_Use.3B__FDA_Application_for
Key Allies or Friends of slovakia in the EU
Please read the notice at the top of this page in relation to what types of questions belong here, as opposed to at the Wikipedia:Reference desk. --Kwekubo 14:10, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Editing an article
Hello!
I recently edited an article on Al Qaeda but was dissapointed to see that the following day my changes were edited out. I once again made the edit and again they were changed back. Is this being done by wikipedia or by other individuals?
Lourak@optonline.net
- To find out exactly what happened to an article in the past just go to its history, which you can view by clicking the "history" tab at the top of any page. If you do this on the Al-Qaeda article you will be taken here. Your changes are identified by your IP address (68.196.176.166). Please post again here or on my personal talk page if you have any more questions. --Canderson7 01:59, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Permission to use the layout of Wikipedia page?
Hello!
I have a copyright-related question.
May I use the layout of Wikipedia page, that is, an HTML template, CSS, and images related to the layout, but not to the Wikipedia content, in a derivative, completely noncommercial, freely accessible personal web page?
If you answer this question positively, then here's the following one: on what conditions may I use this layout?
Thank you!
- If you mean the MediaWiki software, then yes, just use the provisions listed on their website. However, Wikipedia logos are protected by copyright by the Wikimedia Foundation, and you would require their permission to do so. Titoxd 03:38, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Potential technical issues with these changes?
A Wikipedian I met has posted a proposal here Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)#Add Categorybrowsebar-like wikilinks to every wikipage, which hardly anyone seems to have noticed. Are there any technical issues that might be encountered by implementing those changes? If not, can we go ahead and try to implement them? If more discussion is necessary, where is a good place for this? It has been posted to the the WP:VP a few times already and not a single response has occured... --HappyCamper 03:39, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- Have it included in the next Signpost? - Mgm|(talk) 08:19, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
how to grow cannabis
- Not only is this the wrong place for this query (it should be at Wikipedia:Reference desk), but I doubt many Wikipedians are going to assist you in activities illegal in the United States. ~~ N (t/c) 03:55, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Is the main Language of the English Wikipedia, American English, or British English? The majority of tha articles I see, use lots of British terminiology. Especially dates. Pacific Coast Highway 05:54, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- Neither. We're using a compromise as defined at the Wikipedia Manual of Style. As for the dates, make sure that you've set your preferred date format on your preferences, because we've designed the software to display them the way you want. Titoxd 06:01, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Something wrong with the diff code?
Recently it seems like Wikipedia is having an awful lot of trouble generating useful diffs between versions. See this, for example. This makes it even more difficult to track changes than usual, especially on frequently vandalized pages. I don't know when this started happening, but it didn't seem to be a problem until a month or two ago at most. Has anyone else been having trouble? —HorsePunchKid→龜 06:05, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
who is the writer of all this
- Click the History button on any article to see who contributed. Notinasnaid 07:59, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- If you are asking the question because you want to cite Wikipedia as a reference, see Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. Thryduulf 12:07, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
who is the author
See Wikipedia:FAQ. There is no one single author. Dismas|(talk) 12:00, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Wikimania 2005: Scientific papers? --FND, 2005-10-02
Hello there,
as a student of Information Science, I am considering choosing wikis as the topic of my MA thesis. Since I have not been able to attend the Wikimania conference this year, I had hoped there would be papers on the topics discussed. However, I cannot find any papers at the Wikimania website. Since there is (or was) a Call for Papers though, I assume that a number of papers will still be published?
I'd really appreciate some input on this issue!
- Have you tried contacting the people at the Wikimania site from their contact page? http://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Contact I would think that would be the most direct way of getting answers to your questions. Dismas|(talk) 11:53, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- Also, a lot of the papers are at b:Category:Wikimania05, but not everyone who gave a presentation submitted a paper. Recordings of the presentations are at [5]. Angela. 14:28, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- Thanks a lot, I didn't find that on my own (for whatever reason - maybe because I was looking for an index of "traditional" PDF files or something :o ). That's gonna be really helpful!
- Oh, and I did contact cfp@wikimedia.org about two weeks ago, but didn't get any response yet. --FND, 15:24, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- PS: Does http://www.knams.wikimedia.org/wikimania/ really contain videos of all presentations? That's amazing!!
marriage plan
hii sir,
i am from india .i am sa indian citizen .my lover is malaysian citizen.we are planning marry next year..is possible..because i am a indian citizen his malaysian citizen how is poosible sir...please how we will get married
- Please read the instructions at the top of this page. Questions like this belong on the reference desk - Mgm|(talk) 08:21, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Keep Count Octavian Kinsky childless
I notice that many sources cite Wikipedia and you have put down Count Octavian Kinsky as being married to the wrong person (Agnes...) and having a son (Prince Karel Andreas, or some such thing). As my family descends from this line, I know that it is all NONSENSE. Octavian Kinsky had no son and his brother inherited from him. Prince Karel who was so famous with horses was from another line entirely. I have tried to correct this misinformation, but it just keeps returning. What can I do?
-anon
- There are a couple things that you could do. First of all, cite your sources. Edits carry more weight when reputable sources can be cited for the changes to articles. Secondly, create an account. It's free and you need not even supply your e-mail address. Edits from people with accounts are normally thought to be more reputable than random edits by anonymous IP addresses. Since, as you've found, anyone can edit articles there comes with that a lot of vandalism which your edits may have been seen as. So please, create an account and cite your sources. Thanks for your help! Dismas|(talk) 12:59, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Irish Enterprise Exchange
I am posting here because I am completely baffled in my attempt find the IEE site which lists shares traded. I wish to locate "Minmet" a Mining company in order to find the company share price.
Can you help, please.
Regards,
Peter Taylor
e-mail address ;- (removed)
- Please read the notice at the top of this page in relation to what types of questions belong here as opposed to the Wikipedia:Reference desk and also in relation to the posting of e-mail addresses. Dismas|(talk) 12:49, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Help Please
Dear Friend
I am trying to locate the exact location of the Drawings of Ignacio Tirsch.
Can you provide any help or assistance?
Are they locate at The University of Prague?
Thank You,
sincerely Robert Tirsch (e-mail address removed)
- Please read the notice at the top of this page in relation to what types of questions belong here as opposed to the Wikipedia:Reference desk and also in relation to the posting of e-mail addresses. -- Reinyday, 13:34, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
economics
- This page is not a search engine. Please read the notice at the top of this page in relation to what types of questions belong here, as opposed to at the Wikipedia:Reference desk. --Kwekubo 14:15, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Sega Mega Drive/ Sega Genesis compatability
Does the Sega Genesis play Sega Mega Drive games? They look like the same thing to me. I have a Genesis and would like to buy Mega Drive games to play on it from eBay, but I don't know whether or not they will work. PLEASE RESPOND!
- With this sort of thing, following instructions precisely is key. And that leads me to the instructions at the top of this page. Please read them. If you can figure out what it is that tricked you into posting a factual question on here, we'd love to hear it, so we can improve the Wikipedia experience. Notinasnaid 15:58, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Differences
Whats The difference between public IP Address and private IP Address
- Private addresses are used on a private network as opposed to the publicly accessible internet. -- Rick Block (talk) 17:21, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Media
Is it possible to upload your own media to an article? If so, how? HyperHobbes 16:58, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- See Wikipedia:Image tutorial for some info on this. Dismas|(talk) 21:20, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
New pages
I just quickly browsed some 500 new pages and could not find a single well developed article. What do you do with all of this fluff? It would take 1000's of hours to develope articles from them. Who looks at them? Are they included in the count we see on the main page? Phil talk 18:08, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- They are included and if you find anything that doesn't belong, feel free to put it up for a deletion vote at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion. Some things can be speedy deleted as well. And then some are simply stubs that people intend on expanding at a later time. I know that I'll usually start out with something small when I create a page just to get a little info out there. And then flesh it out as I go. Dismas|(talk) 21:12, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Changing a title of an article
In asking for how to do this, I guess I'm also asking if I should do this!
In my opinion, Weill Cornell Medical College should be called: Weill Medical College of Cornell University (I've just added to the discussion, agreeing with another user)
How do I/Should I:
Change the titel of WCMC to WMCOCU?
Find what redirects to WCMC, change redirect to WMCOCU, so as to avoid multiple redirects?
Thanks!
--anon
- A page move can only be done by a registered user. This was done to prevent a peculiar vandal from shuffling pages in Wikipedia and prevent everyone many headaches. As for this particular page, I'm not sure if the page should be renamed, since the new title is fairly long and not many users will go out looking for it with the long name. However, what can always be done is to create a redirect to the original page. That can be done quite easily by any user.
- Also, to check what redirects to any page, click the "What links here" link on the left navigation bar. Titoxd 19:07, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- Someone Else Pipes In: and add a mention in the main article of what the official name of the school is.
This is horrendous...
The following page is x-rated. Why show graphics? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_sex
- WP:NOT#Wikipedia is not censored for the protection of minors. ~~ N (t/c) 18:53, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- While it is not Wikipedia policy to censor articles, the only actions of the account in question were to upload and include this image for apparent shock value. I reverted the article to an earlier version. --GraemeL (talk) 18:57, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- Shouldn't you write shock value ;)
Adding picture from foreign wikipedia
I want to add a picture of Don Lawrence to his page. On the german wikipedia there's a picture of him. Can I simply do that with a (special) link or do I have to download and upload it to somewhere? Plus, my german is real bad, so do I have to worry about the fact that the image might be copyrighted, or can you assume that's since it's uploaded in the german wiki you can use it everywhere else? Garion1000 03:14, 2 October 2005 (UTC) (forgot to sign the 1st time)
- In theory you should reupload it to commons. Personaly I reupload to en wikipedia with a linkback.Geni 22:45, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
Tnx for the response. But either way, I still don't know about the copyright? Is just a link back good enough? So someone (if he/she wants to some day) can check the german site about the copyright? Garion1000 03:14, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- the image at de: has no source or any copyright information, so I wouldn't take it. It is probably a copyright violation. Broken S 00:32, 3 October 2005 (UTC)
- Yeah, I was afraid of that, it seemed indeed a too small amount of text for good copyright info. Thanks for the response, quess I will try to find a good picture now somewhere. Garion1000 01:45, 3 October 2005 (UTC)
Search Results not as expected
I put in an article for Louis James Pesha but the only time the page shows in search results is when you type the full name. Typing "pesha" or "louis pesha" does not work. Any ideas? --Walt 19:43, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- Are you sure you're clicking search and not "Go"? Go will try to take you to the article by the exact title you typed. - Mgm|(talk) 20:04, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Question
I want to add a new story all together how do I do it? I know that the sotry I want to add does not exist. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Michaelbeckham (talk • contribs) 20:06, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- If there is no article on the subject, all you have to do to to create a new article is determine the title and enter it into the search box. When the search comes back as not being able to find it, it will ask you if you want to create the article by that name. Click the link, start typing, and wah-lah, you have just created an article. If you need help with anything else, just let me know. Psy guy (talk) 20:12, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- That is if by "story" you mean "article". Fictional stories aren't the types of things that belong in encyclopedias. Dismas|(talk) 21:07, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
whatisthemeaningoftitle
- erm, have you read the Title article and the Title entry at Wiktionary? Or if you are wondering why Wikipedia is called Wikipedia, see the Wikipedia article. Thryduulf 21:30, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
showmethemeaningoftittle
How to dehighlight internal links ?
Surely there is an option somewhere to quickly and easily take off the highlighting of links so that a piece can be read in the same font etc ?
- The simplest way is probably to click the 'Printable version' link in the toolbox in the lefthand column (assuming you are using the default skin). Other than that I think you can define your own CSS to do it, but I wouldn't describe that as either quick or easy. Thryduulf 21:28, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Thank You!
I just "discovered" your website (looking for information on Ruby Dee) and was most impressed and wanted to tell you. There being, as far as I could tell, any other way to convey this message, I used this route. Reading about Harlem, where I grew up 70 years ago, the subway, etc., was a real thrill ride back in time. There were other rememberances and they brought back lots of memories. Thanks, again.
Ron Cobb, The Cartoonist
Hello. Am searching for a copy of the cartoon by Ron Cobb that is captioned "Man demonstrating his superiority over the animals" The black and white graphic is of a skeleton-headed man in a lab coat pressing a button, frog looking up at him as his head blows up in mushroom cloud. DDoes anyone know how to help me find this, it is for an art project and I live in a remote town on the Oregon Coast i.e. no library of any consequence, etc. Thanks.
Possible to have linespace within unordered (bulleted) list?
I have a bulleted item. It needs a linespace between two paragraphs within the same bulleted item. The second paragraph needs to indent the same amount as the first paragraph.
- Here is my first fascinating paragraph. It's got lots of info. It goes on for awhile. hfadjkhasdk askdhaskd akdhaskdh aksdhaskh aksdhaskdh aksdhjaskdh akdhjaskdh akdhaskdh aksdhaskdh akdhaskdh aksjdh askh askdjha sk. See how it wraps around nicely, with the same indent?
But then I have another paragraph that is separated by a linespace. It really needs to be separated by a linespace for clarity. But it also really needs to be indented as much as the preceding paragraph, because it's part of the same bulleted point.
Houston, we have a problem with uncloseable tags.
- Then I move on to my next bulleted point.
- I tried the colon, but that indents too far.
- Desperate Wikiwife.
Is there any way to do this currently, and if not, it there any process for suggesting (or creating) new Wiki markup?
Thanks
- See m:Help:List#A_blank_line_within_a_list_item_or_between_list_items.--Patrick 22:22, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
Thank you -- here I am testing that approach...
- Testing
Not Indented
- Testing with HTML "break-break"
Indented
- Testing with just one HTML "break"
Indented
Hmmm. It doesn't really work in my browser (NS7) -- the break-break code is producing more vertical space than a normal line break. The single break code is producing too little vertical space.
Anyone else have a suggestion -- how to do this, or how to create/request new Wiki formatting code?
Thanks
[someone else asked:]
What is onomatopoeia?
- please look that word up in a dictionary. this forum is for questions on creating Wikipedia articles.
Showing Images from Articles in a Different Language
How exactly do I do this? I want to show an article from a Dutch language article in an English language article. Thanks. --Dri3s 23:32, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
- I see a post on this very topic a bit further up on this page: "Adding picture from foreign wikipedia"
pets in australia
Pages that link to ____?
I know there's the little heading for images that show "Pages that link to _____." Can such information be easily accessed for articles as well? Staxringold 01:48, 3 October 2005 (UTC)
- You mean the "what links here" button on the sidebar (Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:Help_desk)? Broken S 01:54, 3 October 2005 (UTC)
what is an acre
Instructions for the use of a Tutove rolling pin in puff pastry making
Ideally should a Tutove rolling pin be used for all of the rolling stages involved in puff pastry making? Or should a regular rolling pin used for the final roll prior to cutting the dough? Also should the Tutove pin be covered with a rolling pin cloth to prevent dough from clogging the groves?
need to know about hospitals
I have someone I love in a hospital in Lagos,Nigeria. His son is the only one who is able to help me and he doesn't know. I need to know which one of the hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria is part of the Holy Group Hospital Group. And how would I get thier phone number to the main switchboard. Thank you very much, Cindi Engelke eng_c_a@yahoo.com
Checking red links when starting new article
I had started editing Indian Native States about kingdoms and principalities in India when it was a British Colony. It was on the requested articles page and showed 36 requesting links. I would have liked to list those requesting pages to check if they all referred to the same subject and not to something such as, say, "native red-indian tribes". The requested page having been started, the links (previously red) on all the requesting pages, even if off-topic, would have been activated. If one could list the requesting pages the off-topic pages could have been edited suitably. Or, as Indian Princely States, covering my intended subject, exists (as I found on doing a search in the middle of this edit/post) the requesting pages which refer to the "princely states" subject-matter could be suitably edited; and my edit of "native states" deleted. My look at the Help pages drew a blank. As my topic's covered, I'm deleting my edit of "native states". But I think the question remains relevant. Thanks. VivekM 03:21, 3 October 2005 (UTC)