Wikipedia:Help desk

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

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

Ask a question

August 4

Playing ogg files

I have associated ogg files with Windows Media Player, but when I click the play button (either in an article or on the file page), it tries to play it in QuickTime. And it says I need to install XiphQT. I have installed XiphQT (and rebooted), but I still get that message. It seems what I have to do to get WMP is go to file page and click on the the file link.

• Is there a known solution to my XiphQT problem.
• Is there a way to associate play buttons with WMP? I don't see anything in preferences.

I use IE6 on WinXP Pro. —teb728 t c 06:36, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

genderfication definition

Are you truly a real world site? Why is genderfication not in the internet? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.210.157.54 (talk) 07:07, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm sorry, what's your question? — QuantumEleven 07:42, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

"Genderifcation" may not be on this site, as we are an encyclopedia, however, you may find the definition on our sister dictionary site, Wiktionary. In fact, this page should be the page you need. TNXMan 11:56, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

to know who is suffering from HCV in India

would like to know about patients suffering from HCV in India —Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.94.115.157 (talk) 07:17, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

What precisely would you like to know? I recommend going to ask at the Science reference desk, you will probably get a better answer there. — QuantumEleven 07:43, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Mission statements

Resolved

Is there a set guideline or proven precedent for the inclusion of mission statements from organizations or businesses? For the sake of transparency, I am discussing use of a mission statement in an RfC (Talk:Sea Shepherd Conservation Society#Mission statement#Mission Statement). I would like to see if there is a guideline already in place that we overlooked.Cptnono (talk) 08:57, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

There is no specific guideline about that as far as I know. You can ask at Wikipedia:WikiProject Organizations if you'd like to ask someone familiar with the subject area. Anyway, my personal opinion is that there would be no problem in including it as long as it doesn't make the article spammy and there is no violation of neutral point of view and verifiability. The way you present it will determine how it will look like to the reader and how valuable it will be to the article. I mean, there is a difference between saying Microsoft's original mission was "a computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software" and Microsoft is going to get people to use computers running Microsoft software in every home. ≈ Chamal ^talk 09:24, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Fiddlesticks. I am assuming there isn't a guideline to refer to then. My view in this case is that it could raise POV/promotional concerns but I will let that play out in the RfC or check out the project page to see if I am off. Thanks for the input, Chamal N. Cptnono (talk) 13:15, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

The nearest guideline I can think of after reading Talk:Sea Shepherd Conservation Society#Mission statement might be WP:OWN. That is, it looks like some editors may have "ownership issues" with this article. But in itself that wouldn't translate into anything obvious about a mission statement. The quoted statement looks to be short enough not to be a copyright violation, so that wouldn't apply. See also WP:EIW#Dispute. --Teratornis (talk) 06:11, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Great Ziggurat of Ur

Somebody has changed the page's name from "Great Ziggurat of Ur" to "Ziggurat of Ur" before a discussion about such a move has taken place. A proper debate and a concensus must be attained first. Izzedine (talk) 09:18, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

The help desk is not the place to resolve disputes. There is an ongoing discussion at the article talk page, so please discuss the matter there. There's been a page move war, and the article is now move protected. You might also be interested in Wikipedia naming conventions. ≈ Chamal ^talk 09:30, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

He's raised this earlier at Wikipedia:Content noticeboard. A bit of forum shopping it seems, and the number of editors disagreeing with him continues to increase. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dougweller (talk • contribs) 09:46, 4 August 2009 (UTC) I have restored this comment, which was removed by Izzedine without explanation. ≈ Chamal ^talk 10:52, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I raised it where I thought it should be raised, not forumshopping. It is not a question of disagreeing with me, I am upholding wikipolicy, so what you are disagreeing with are the guidelines, and just because a few cronys on here have opposed me, don't think that gives you legitimacy. (talk) 11:14, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

This is not a dispute, please read what I have described, the page must be returned to the original name until debate has matured on the issue. The page must be unprotected and restored to the original regardless if it makes some unhappy, because that is wikipolicy. (talk) 10:35, 4 August 2009 (UTC

Same answer as before, Izzedine. There is clearly a dispute about the naming of the article, so please discuss at the article talk page. Please don't try to bypass that and achieve what you want in any other way, since it's not going to happen and will only result in you getting into trouble. ≈ Chamal ^talk 10:56, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

There are two issues here, the first is the ultimate naming of the article, which is subject to discussion and proper debate before any action is applied, the second issue is the naming of the article from the present time until the time when debate has matured, which should be the original article name and not the new name that is being proposed. Do you understand my point better now? please be independant and employ critical thinking here. (talk) 11:21, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but as I have said before, the Help Desk cannot help you with this. This is not the place to settle your disputes about anything, so do not expect a judgement for this case here. What I have suggested is the appropriate first step to take per WP:DR and that's the best we can do here. Did you read Wikipedia:Help desk/Are you in the right place or at least the banner at the top of this page? If you did, you will understand why we can't assist in this matter in the way you expect us to. ≈ Chamal ^talk 12:43, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

In looking briefly at the article talk page, it appears that 4 or 5 other editors support the current name per: Wikipedia:Naming conventions. If you feel that all of them are in error, and you alone are correct, then perhaps WP:RFC would be the venue you should be looking toward. I would suggest however, that referring to your fellow editors as "cronys" is not likely to persuade people in a positive manner. If 4 or 5 people say one thing, and you alone disagree - perhaps it's time to rethink the situation — Ched :  ?  12:49, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

How to move a page

I am another newcomer to Wiki and am struggling with the jargon trying to create a new page Riduna(novel). I have followed a recent question about how to make it live by citing the ISBN number but I believe i should move it to the novels section and do not know how to go about it, or to make it live.Can you help? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Diana Mary Jackson (talk • contribs) 11:02, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Hello. First the technical issue. There is no novels section. Rather all articles are in the main namespace so if it was moved, it would be moved to Riduna (novel) (note the space between the name and the parenthetical disambiguator, which you left out). To do so you would go to the "Move" tab at the links at the very top of the page. However you will not be able to do so yet, and I think you cannot even see that link yet, because your account is not yet autoconfirmed, meaning four days old and having made at least ten edits. That's the technicalities of moving it, and I'd just do it for you, but the page should not be published in the mainspace. You have cited no independent sources verifying the proposed article's content, have not written in an encyclopedic style, but as one seeking to promote the book, and you have a very clear conflict of interest in writing this blurb on your book. Have you looked at Wikipedia:Notability (books)? Your novel, as a recent debut, does not appear to meet it, and if it does, you have added nothing to the proposed text which would substantiate that. All this may sound harsh, but Wikipedia is not a platform for self-interested people's promoting their own works.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:25, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

You may want to read through the page: Your first article, it can give you some valuable information on how to create and article, and what can be expected. In looking at your effort on your home page, I complement you on your layout, use of section heading, and wikilinks. I think that the big thing you'll need to focus on now will be establishing the notability of the novel. Once you've found some reliable sources that verify the notability, I (or any of the many helpful folks here) would be more than happy to assist in showing you how to cite those sources in the article. It may be that this particular book won't be able to meet those guidelines yet. You can read through Wikipedia:Notability (books) for a more specific criteria on how to determine that. It looks like you're off to a great start, and please don't get discouraged if your first attempts don't always go as smoothly as you hoped. Welcome to the family, and happy editing. Cheers. ;) — Ched :  ?  12:32, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Job Activities of Senior Field Officer(TELE) in Indian Cabinet Secratariat

Job Activities of Senior Field Officer(TELE) in Indian Cabinet Secratariat?

12:05, 4 August 2009 (UTC)12:05, 4 August 2009 (UTC)Raviteja4nadi (talk) 12:05, 4 August 2009 (UTC)Ravi Teja

Have you tried the Miscellaneous section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:13, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

NHS Blood ad Transplant wiki page

Hi,

I recently added information to the NHS Blood and Transplant wikipedia page regarding their new website called the Wall of Life. This has been removed twice without an explanation - please can you advise?

Thanks.

12:52, 4 August 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.171.236.62 (talk)

It was Smartse (talk · contribs) who had reverted your edits, and he has warned you about them. Apparently, your edits were reverted because they appeared to be promotional in nature (see WP:SPAM and WP:SOAP). You can ask for further details from Smartse at his talk page if you like. ≈ Chamal ^talk

I reverted your edits because your IP address is owned by a PR company that on its website lists the NHS as a client. I assumed that you may be being paid to edit the article and so reverted your edits. It still sounds like news to me but if someone else can take a look at it and decide I would be greatful. Thanks Smartse (talk) 17:57, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I think it is worthy of inclusion in the article but only when it is reported by a national/international newspaper website - which at the moment it is not. However, I see that it is currently in the article anyway. -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 18:57, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

[Technical] – How can I improve Google PageRank for articles with title in English, but with original title in a foreign language?

Resolved

 – See cross-post at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical).  – ukexpat (talk) 15:10, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

Consider the article Institute for Federal Real Estate (Germany). If I google "Institute for Federal Real Estate" I get a PageRank of 1, but if I google the proper name "Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben", I get a PageRank of ≈120. I'm guessing this is caused by Google giving high priority to an article with the same title. Is it possible to somehow put a larger emphasis on the foreign translation?

Any input would be appreciated, and if informative, may be put into an wiki-essay on the subject. --Marcus 13:25, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Already answered in your cross-post at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). I'll repeat my comment: why does this matter? We are building an encyclopedia, not engaging in a Google page-ranking contest. – ukexpat (talk) 15:10, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Global Employment and Literacy Coalition (GEALC) and North-American Organisation for Migration

I would like to have the contants for this organization and also like to know if it is real or just a fraud.

Does it work hand in hand with UN

Thanks

Everlyne —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.49.79.168 (talk) 13:27, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our roughly three million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. TNXMan 13:40, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Citation Needed Tag

Resolved

 –  – ukexpat (talk) 16:59, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I was just wondering how you put a "Citation Needed" onto a page. Thanks, --Plane Person (talk) 15:11, 4 August 2009 (UTC).

Copy {{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} to the appropriate place--SPhilbrickT 15:21, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

{{fact}} works too and a bot will come along and clean it up. – ukexpat (talk) 15:22, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, --Plane Person (talk) 15:25, 4 August 2009 (UTC).

Domaining is not squatting.

Re: The difference between squatting and domaining.

Whatever the subjective opinions of your editors, I would expect better from any source of information that expects to be taken seriously.

I am sure you could care less about this one reader (or the ones who believe as I do, but won't contact you), but goodbye Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.169.14.189 (talk) 17:28, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Can you give us the difference? The only way we can improve is if everyone pitches in to make the encyclopedia better. TNXMan 17:36, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I think you mean "could not care less", but you would be wrong. We care about everyone who has a positive contribution to make. Cite some sources for your contention and we can look at it. – ukexpat (talk) 17:57, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I believe this relates to the "domaining"/"cybersquatting" fuss, as chronicled from one side's POV here. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:52, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Ah, ok then. The original post makes marginally more sense now. TNXMan 18:57, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I notice that the article OrangeMike linked includes a copy of the logo, which is., per WP:C “not freely usable without permission”. What do you think are the chances they obtained permission?

Where should this be reported? I know WP:SCV exists, but I assume they concentrate on possible violations by WP, not the violation of the logo. Should it go to Godwin?--SPhilbrickT 21:20, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Looks like fair use to me. The equivalent wouldn't be allowed here, but that is just because NFCC is stricter than fair use law. —teb728 t c 22:11, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Goodbye. It is unfortunate to lose your contributions even though your post above is the only one. —teb728 t c 05:45, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Uploading Images

I know that a Image has to be taken by the author, well I have taken a Image and i want to upload it to my article.

How do I do this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Techkid100 (talk • contribs) 17:42, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Since your account is autoconfirmed, go to this page and follow the directions. TNXMan 17:47, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Actually, please upload it to Commons so that it is available for use on all Wikipedia projects. The Commons upload page is here. – ukexpat (talk) 18:01, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

TOC showing only sections

Hi all, I want to create a TOC that shows only sections, and no sub-sections at all. I've tried TOCLimit, but it doesn't seem to be useful, as Toclimit|1 is the minimum value... I also dont want to hide sections one by one as unsuspecting editors could break it in the future. Thanks poisonborz (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 17:58, 4 August 2009 (UTC).

{{TOClimit|2}} doesn't do what you want it to? Here the TOC displays only ==Level 2== headings (and hides all the Level 3,4 headings). -59.95.97.251 (talk) 18:09, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes, limit|2 works, it seems like I misinterpreted the instructions.poisonborz (talk) 18:20, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Lost Password

I changed my password about a month ago and haven't logged in since. For the life of me I can't remember what I changed it to. And when I tried to e-mail myself the password, I apparently never entered an e-mail account. How can I go about getting my account back? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.114.151.70 (talk) 18:28, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

You can't. You'll have to create a new account. Algebraist 18:29, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

(edit conflict) See Help:Logging in#What if I forget the password?. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 18:31, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Guess I'll just keep trying... I really don't want to lose my 7 year old account :( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.114.151.70 (talk) 18:33, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Ok for the sake of argument, let's say my account was compromised. According to the password screen: "If your account is compromised, it may be permanently blocked unless you can prove you are its rightful owner. "

How does one go about doing that? Can I mail my ID to someone for verification? It should be pretty simple since the account name is my name... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.114.151.70 (talk) 18:36, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

It's not that simple: usually whoever compromises your account will pretend to be you - and many will believe them. Usually the most common way of preventing compromisation is adding a cryptographic hash (otherwise known as a committed identity to your userpage. Then if someone compromises your account, you can come in, provide the key, and prove that you are the original account owner. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 19:11, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

What about pulling the IP I posted from, verifying that the account I'm claiming has edited from that IP recently, having the ISP verify the Physical Address that the IP's tied to it and then verifying I own the property (or live) at that address with government ID? I'd think that chain of proof would be very difficult to fake... 65.114.151.70 (talk) 20:33, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

If you think you can convince the server operators that this is an amount of work they should put in every time someone forgets a password, you're welcome to try. Algebraist 20:38, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Well, meta:Privacy policy#Discussions does actually say:

"Users whose accounts do not have a valid email address will not be able to reset their password if it is lost. In such a situation, however, users may be able to contact one of the Wikimedia server administrators to enter a new e-mail address."

I don't know whether this happens in practice. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:59, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I think if the account name is your real name, you may be able to as you suggested e-mail a copy of your ID to the developers and have them update your e-mail address. Dcoetzee 03:32, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

phased array radars

is TPS-77 an active phased array radar. if yes then why it carries out mechanical scanning in azimuth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sherry908 (talk • contribs) 19:20, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

You might find what you are looking for in the article about AN/FPS-117. If you cannot find the answer there, you can try asking your question at Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for). I hope this helps. TNXMan 19:22, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Exporting my article to the French Wikipedia

Hi. I've been trying to export Robert Seymour (illustrator) - which I have re-written in French - directly onto the French Wikipedia. Unfortunately, using [cut and paste] the text does not appear correctly. Can anyone tell me how to do this correctly? Regards Steve. Stephen2nd (talk) 19:25, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

What have you re-written it in? Have you made it in Wiki format on a sandbox type page or have you got it in word or something? TastyCakes (talk) 19:28, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Hi & thanks for your quick reply.

I went into [edit this page] on the Seymour article. Cut and pasted the text into my sandbox. Then Google translated it into french, then cut it, went into the French Wikipedia, into Pickwick Papers. I went into the PP [edit this page] and pasted it. It did not work?

Couple of points: please do not rely on Google translate to produce reliable or quality translations without reviewing the translation with an appropriate level of fluency in the target language. Also the history page of the French Pickwick Papers article does not show any edits by you. In any event that was not the appropriate place to put the text. You should have created a new article for Seymour, in accordance with French Wikipedia's naming conventions. – ukexpat (talk) 20:05, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Hi. I pasted the text into the French article - then [Show preview] - which did not come out as expected. So I did'nt [Save page]. I had also previously sent a message to a french user, then [save page] which also did'nt come out as expected. If I create a new Article, and do the exact same procedure - will this method work? Regards Stephen2nd (talk) 20:15, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

You will have to ask for help at the French Wikipedia help desk. – ukexpat (talk) 20:19, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Looking at some of your contribuitions on French Wikipedia, I see that you sometimes indent your lines with a space. Unless you actually want the effect you are getting, lines should begin with no space. If you want to indent, use a colon :

The same thing happens on English Wikipedia.

—teb728 t c 20:55, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

You might find something useful under WP:EIW#Translate. --Teratornis (talk) 06:14, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

where is the city of Chad?

where is the city of Chad? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.147.187.8 (talk) 19:44, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

The country of Chad is in Africa. If you referring to another usage of the word, check out this page. TNXMan 19:49, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Language reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. • S • C • A • R • C • E • 02:34, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

How do I embed an image from a foreign language Wikipedia?

I want to use File:Hung Titoli.JPG for the Hung article but I found it on the Italian chapter of Wikipedia and I don't know how to embed it on this one.----Occono (talk) 20:12, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

It cannot be done. Only images on En Wikipedia or on Commons can be used in En Wikipedia articles. If the image meets the En Wikipedia non-free content criteria it could be uploaded here and used accordingly. – ukexpat (talk) 20:15, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Oh, huh, that's surprising. So if it meets the guidelines I should just download it from there and upload it here?----Occono (talk) 20:23, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Preferably Commons, but they have pretty strict guidelines over there. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 20:28, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

See the links under WP:EIW#MoveToCommons. The license on it:File:Hung Titoli.JPG does not appear to be suitable for Commons, which only accepts free content. See Commons:Commons:Screenshots which is about screenshots of software, but I am sure an image capture from an HBO show is not free content. See File:FestivalChannelguide0188.jpg for an example of HBO copyrighted content that someone uploaded to Wikipedia under a fair use rationale. You could probably upload a copy of it:File:Hung Titoli.JPG to the English Wikipedia and claim a similar fair use rationale. If this seems awkward, it is not Wikipedia's fault, but the result of copyright law which we have to follow. Wikimedia Commons is explicitly a repository of free content. You might try writing to HBO and asking them if they will release a screen capture from their program under a free license. If they agree, you can follow the procedure in Commons:COM:OTRS and then upload the freely-licensed image to Commons. --Teratornis (talk) 06:24, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Okay, I'm going to let someone else do it. This sounds too complicated. I've only uploaded one image before (See my userpage for it.)----Occono (talk) 19:31, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

In short, images that are fair use can be uploaded to English Wikipedia, but they will be deleted if you put them on commons. TastyCakes (talk) 19:37, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Old User account

I set up a user account about 2 years ago, but I rarely used it. I recently tried to login back in, but when I tried to recover my password I was given an error message that there was no email address assoc. with the account (weird, but whatever). So I went ahead and created a new account. Is there anyway to merge the old with the new, or just delete the old account? Thanks --Archmut (talk) 20:56, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Redirect is not Correct

I can't find the info in how to redirect a page it seems that our company's article listing has been changed our official name is SAE International (formerly called the Society of Automotive Engineers). Someone as redirected SAE International to a page entitled Society of Automotive Engineers. It should the other way around Society of Automotive Engineers should be redirected to SAE International. SAE International should be the title of the listing. I can't figure out how to correct that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mestok (talk • contribs) 21:11, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Help:Redirect explains how redirect pages work. To switch an article with a redirect page, you need an administrator to delete the redirect page, then you can move the article from Society of Automotive Engineers to SAE International, which will leave a redirect behind at the old name. The wrong way is to do a cut and paste move but we aren't supposed to do that. See WP:EIW#Moving for lots of links about moving pages. It looks like you can request assistance at Wikipedia:Requested moves. --Teratornis (talk) 03:20, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Table sorting glitch

On the page List of minimum wages by country, trying to sort the table by gross annual wage, or % of GDP causes a glitch. It sorts the numbers as if they were letters, so they would be sorted like

1 12 18,045 2 23 25,600

instead of sorted in actual numerical order. It seems the problem has been pointed out on the talk page years ago, but no one has done anything about it. I am not yet adept at editing tables, and was hoping someone with experience with these would help out. Thanks Conical Johnson (talk) 21:28, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I believe that the use of {{sort}} would fix this problem. Dendodge _T\^C 21:44, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I know how to fix this. It's really hackish though. Algebraist 23:29, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

??? Sorting works in edit preview, but not normal. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 23:51, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I started to look at the sort issue, but got distracted by an external link in the opening section. Is this OK, or should something be done?

Very ugly url

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=55&pr1.y=8&c=512%2C941%2C914%2C446%2C612%2C666%2C614%2C668%2C311%2C672%2C213%2C946%2C911%2C137%2C193%2C962%2C122%2C674%2C912%2C676%2C313%2C548%2C419%2C556%2C513%2C678%2C316%2C181%2C913%2C682%2C124%2C684%2C339%2C273%2C638%2C921%2C514%2C948%2C218%2C943%2C963%2C686%2C616%2C688%2C223%2C518%2C516%2C728%2C918%2C558%2C748%2C138%2C618%2C196%2C522%2C278%2C622%2C692%2C156%2C694%2C624%2C142%2C626%2C449%2C628%2C564%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C453%2C960%2C968%2C423%2C922%2C935%2C714%2C128%2C862%2C611%2C716%2C321%2C456%2C243%2C722%2C248%2C942%2C469%2C718%2C253%2C724%2C642%2C576%2C643%2C936%2C939%2C961%2C644%2C813%2C819%2C199%2C172%2C184%2C132%2C524%2C646%2C361%2C648%2C362%2C915%2C364%2C134%2C732%2C652%2C366%2C174%2C734%2C328%2C144%2C258%2C146%2C656%2C463%2C654%2C528%2C336%2C923%2C263%2C738%2C268%2C578%2C532%2C537%2C944%2C742%2C176%2C866%2C534%2C369%2C536%2C744%2C429%2C186%2C433%2C925%2C178%2C746%2C436%2C926%2C136%2C466%2C343%2C112%2C158%2C111%2C439%2C298%2C916%2C927%2C664%2C846%2C826%2C299%2C542%2C582%2C443%2C474%2C917%2C754%2C544%2C698&s=PPPEX&grp=0&a= this list]

--SPhilbrickT 00:20, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

It looks like someone fixed the sorting. I have shortened the URL a bit, but it's necessary to be that long apparently because otherwise the website will bring you to its homepage. Gary King (talk) 00:59, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Publishing date

When was Color Me Beautiful first published? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.251.72.7 (talk) 23:23, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Algebraist 23:27, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

August 5

Fixing redirects

Is removing the text of an article that already exists which was placed on a redirect page really considered vandalism? As you can see, Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation is a redirect to the page Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Articles for creation. I removed a bunch of invisible text that was placed on the redirect page, but was repeatedly reverted, and nobody will explain why I was reverted and reported for vandalism. KypDurron1 (talk) 01:45, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

You should really bring it up with the people who reverted you: we can't read their minds. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 01:49, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Aloe Vera

Could someone please try and sort out the strange embedding of the images within the text please? There are currently big white spaces but I can't see anything in the mark up that suggests why. Thanks Smartse (talk) 04:10, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

The problem is way too many images and not enough content. I've added most to the gallery underneath, which improves flow a bit, but the article does need work. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 04:41, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

I see that the image issue has been fixed, and I'm going to do some work on the article in general. hmwithτ 13:04, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Great work, Thanks Smartse (talk) 21:21, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

External tools

Did anyone notice that many external tools for Wikipedia seem to have gone crazy yesterday? Why is that? Kayau Wuthering Heights VANITY FAIR paradise lost 04:33, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, the toolserver (the server that hosts almost all "external" tools on Wikipedia) is down (or was), see Wikipedia:VPT#When would tooserver errors be fixed?. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 04:38, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

can pages have the same url

Hypothetically if there were for example say 3 singers named Bob Smith and the first Bob smith had the url wiki/Bob_Smith and the 2nd Bob had wiki/Bob_Smith_(singer), what url would the 3rd bob smith have? Would you have to use their age or something else in the url? Danielspencer2 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 04:44, 5 August 2009 (UTC).

Age would be a pretty silly disambiguator, since not many people searching would know it and it changes regularly. Nationality or genre would probably be best in this case. Algebraist 04:47, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

If the Bob Smiths have different middle names, you could disambiguate with those as well. See WP:DISAMBIG. --Teratornis (talk) 06:27, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Please look at Bob Smith for several examples :-) ~----

If they perform different genres of music, it could be Bob_Smith (rock_musician) and Bob_Smith(folk_musician). Livewireo (talk) 13:25, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Page creation

how to create my own page —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.94.30.6 (talk) 05:43, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. ≈ Chamal ^talk 06:16, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

If, however, when you say “my own page,” you mean that you want to create a biography of yourself, you should ask yourself honestly if you meet our notability guideline. It would be a shame if you put a lot of effort into creating an article only to have it deleted for lack of notability (as dozens of articles are deleted every day). —teb728 t c 06:31, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia. We are here to build an encyclopedia, and we call ourselves "editors." If you want to help, it is best to create an account. After you do so, you can create a user page. These pages are not part of the encyclopedia, but rather pages that editors use to describe themselves and their editing activities. Click on the name of any editor who has answered your question to see some examples. If you just want a page on the internet some place, then Wikipedia is not the place. But if you are so inclined, you may find that helping to build an encyclopedia is fun. -Arch dude (talk) 08:00, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Co-ordinates for medium-sized areas

I assume that it is the standard not to add co-ordinates to a large area (country, state, county), but to give one for small areas (parks, plateaux). What then about mid-range areas? I'm thinking specifically of consituencies and other administrative divisions in the UK. I'm finding it hard to find a precedent - many are tagged as needing one, for example, but I gather the standard procedure is to then opt-out. Any help appreciated, - Jarry1250 ^{[ In the UK? Sign the petition! ]} 10:56, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia:WikiProject Geographical coordinates page says that the location of the head office of the administrative district is given. That page gives further details on how the coordinates should be used in various types of objects/locations. You can ask at their talk page if you need more details or guidance from someone familiar with the subject. Cheers. ≈ Chamal ^talk 11:11, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Okay, well, if I may, I shall continue briefly here for the sake of a coherent thread. UK Constituencies, to the best of my knowledge, do not have official head offices (sometimes local party headquarters can be de facto admittedly, but this is not comprehensive coverage and dependent on which party controls the constituency). What then? - Jarry1250 ^{[ In the UK? Sign the petition! ]} 11:36, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

How about a range of coordinates? West to east and north to south? That would work fine I think. Dcoetzee 03:38, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Page Reviews/Warnings

How often are pages reviewed? If a page has warnings from June, and the article has been updated, when can I expect the warnings to be removed (i.e. insufficient in-line citations, lack of categories, cleanup required)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by AlyssaGregory (talk • contribs) 15:14, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

When someone removes them. If the warnings are no longer appropriate, remove them yourself. Algebraist 15:23, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

To expand a bit, Wikipedia is created and reviewed by its editors. An editor is anybody who chooses to edit. All editors have the same rights and responsibilities: the only exception being editors who have been formally sanctioned in some way. This means that you have the same rights and responsibilties as an editor as anybody else, so you may choose to remove those tags when in your editorial opinion they should be removed. Another editor may disagree and put them back. You must then resolve your differences with the other editor, first by discussing it with that editor, and , only if you cannot agree, by using our other resolution techniques. When we get inot difficulties, we call on our administrators to resolve the difficulties. Administrators can take certain actions that normal editors cannot, but administrators do not have any more editorial authority than other editors. As an editor, you are strongly encouraged to avoid acting on a subject if you have a conflict of interest. In that case, please ask for help from another editor. -Arch dude (talk) 18:43, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Peer reviewed

Can the back flap of the book be used to consider the book being peer reviewed ?

Take the hypothetical example of Harry potter and the goblet of fire

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Goblet-Fire-Book/dp/0439139597/ref=pd_sim_b_2/182-8698939-3981463

Sorry for asking a stupid question but please answer.--Gnosisquest (talk) 15:24, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

See peer review. This term is used in the context of scholarly work, and it means review by other experts in the field. Friday (talk) 15:27, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

And I doubt that a rear flap review would be considered a reliable source for Wikipedia purposes. – ukexpat (talk) 15:48, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Are all books mentioned on http://catalog.fcla.edu/ux.jsp?S=2171249488266140 considered as peer reviewed ?How to find peer reviewed books there ? --Gnosisquest (talk) 16:15, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

What is the context of your query? "Peer reviewed" is a technical term with a specific meaning. Books from university presses are generally regarded as fairly reliable sources, if that is what you are asking. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:02, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Use of wikinews as reference

Hi, an article I've recently started to improve and edit has wikinews as a reference for some of it's content, in particular this reference is an interview conducted by members of the wikinews community with the subject in question. Though wikinews is open-source and therefore according to wikipedia policy is unsuitable, the fact that its a primary source interview may supercede that. Not sure whether to remove it or not and I'm looking for some direction.
Thanks, --RavensFists (talk) 16:22, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

You may get the best response at Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard. hmwitht 16:53, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

The trouble is that any source which is non-reliable can't therefore be relied on to reproduce an interview accurately. If we don't trust someone to report facts how can we trust them to report what the subject said? Olaf Davis (talk) 20:14, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Wikinews has been used as a reference before, but just be careful. Wikinews can be trusted no more and no less than Wikipedia itself. I would be careful, however, to use a permalink to the Wikinews article in the reference (if you do use it). Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 20:36, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Italy plug vrs North American plugs

I live in the U.S. and am traveling to Italy on vacation. I would like to know if the US sells any type of adapter so that I may use the plug in Italy? Thank you Stephanie Gordon —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.186.216.48 (talk) 17:15, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. I can tell you from personal experience that places like Radio Shack and Best Buy sell plug adapters, but you will have to make sure that your US equipment can handle the 220v mains power used in Europe. – ukexpat (talk) 17:19, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Edit war on Young Republicans

For the past week or so there has been an edit war raging on the Young Republicans article, with anonymous editors insisting a poorly-written, highly-POV, un-reliably sourced section about a controversy which erupted toward the end of this year's leadership election: the newly-elected chair of the YRs was caught appearing to laugh at racially inflammatory comments on her Facebook page. This made plenty of news, and I don't think anyone objected to the situation being referenced in the article. However, the section named Controversy[1] struck myself and others as inappropriate.

It also happened that this was not the only controversy related to the election; in fact, the other candidate had been convicted of election fraud a few years before, which also figured into the race and had received news coverage in its own right. So what I did was write a new section titled 2009 leadership race[2] which discussed both, while keeping to just the facts cited to reliable sources.

Anyway, this version has now been reverted (and reverted)[3] by perhaps two different IP editors working from a Sprint PCS card and claiming that this version is actually the one that is extremely biased, etc. Myself and another editor succeeded in getting one of these users to address the issues on the Talk page, but that has not accomplished much, either. In fact, amidst accusing us of bad faith, this IP editor announced: "I will check this every waking hour to restore it if necessary." I.e. to delete "2009 leadership race" and replace it with "Controversy".

As I am wary of running into 3RR, I am not going to change it back, but I hope somebody will. Moreover, is it time to temporarily semi-protect the page in hopes of discouraging these folks? In all my time here I've never been involved in getting a page protected, so I figured I would ask. Thoughts? WWB (talk) 22:47, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Make a request at WP:RFPP for semi-protection. Write out the nature of the dispute in neutral terms on the talk page, making sure to post diffs in your summary to detail what occurred, and then ask for a third opinion as to the matter and possibly post a request for comment. The result aimed for is to get more editors involved to get consensus for which version (or compromise version that may develop) should be in the article. See also Wikipedia:Dispute resolution--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:56, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Makes sense, will do. WWB (talk) 22:58, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

is there a way to get a deleted image back?

i am trying to get the Fontainebleau High School crest for a project i am doing. way back in the day (like around 2008) it was on the wikipedia page, but someone seems to have deleted it. i know that articles have a 'page history', but do images? and if so where can i get it. this is for purely personal use and i do not intend to upload it to wikipedia again. [4]

thanksCkety 23:18, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

This image is copyrighted and cannot be used on Wikipedia without a fair use justification, or without the copyright holder (presumably your school) releasing it under a free license. See Wikipedia:Non-free content policy. Someone will probably undelete the image for you if you promise to provide a non-free image rationale. Dcoetzee 23:21, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Oops, I just read the part about how this is for personal use. Deleted files are inaccessible to the general public - if you want a copy it's best if you contact the copyright holder, the school, since they're the only ones who are legally permitted to distribute the image. Dcoetzee 23:24, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Could I put a non-free image rationale and get it released? it would only be a plus that it could be put back onto Fontainebleau High School's page.Ckety 23:35, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

It is possible to include logos in Wikipedia under fair use rationales (see WP:LOGO), but I'm not sure if it will be restored just to provide a rationale since it's just a matter of uploading the image again with the correct details. You might find it here, which seems to be the official website. ≈ Chamal ^talk 02:56, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I restored the image (File:Fontainebleau hs.jpg), added a fair use rationale, and added the image to Fontainebleau High School. hmwitht 03:30, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

August 6

Hiding categories

Is there a template or magic word that removes (or hides) all categories in a regular page, even if in templates? • S • C • A • R • C • E • 01:23, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I don't think so. What do you want to do that for? Algebraist 01:25, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

No. See bugzilla:835 for a discussion. Nothing has been implemented so far. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:53, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Where did you did that up?! Good to know. For Userpages and Portals • S • C • A • R • C • E • 02:31, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm sure you can add a CSS rule so that you don't see the category section on any page. Let me know if that is what you are looking for. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 02:48, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

If you do, the code would be

div.catLinks {display: none}

Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 02:58, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

override this function

When I go to Apollo 5, I get the message "Override this function". It has happened on a few other articles, but not all. IS there a problem? Bubba73 (talk), 02:14, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Well, now it is working.Bubba73 (talk), 02:15, 6 August 2009 (UTC)  Fixed

It was apparently a temporary problem. Others reported it at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). PrimeHunter (talk) 02:24, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I saw it too • S • C • A • R • C • E • 02:29, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I just saw it for the first time 3 minutes ago on Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous) so it may not be so temporary as I thought. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:35, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

It happens repeatedly when using HotCat • S • C • A • R • C • E • 02:43, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I encountered it trying to go to the Nissen hut article. Hellbus (talk) 03:06, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Just hit Refresh and it'll go away. It's probably a temporary server bug or something. rʨanaɢ ^talk/_contribs 03:36, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

The main page is blocked and hitting Refresh does not solve the problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.70.118.178 (talk) 04:26, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

PAGE DELITED WITHOUT ANY REASON

THE PAGE "Serbian surnames - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" HAS BEEN DELITED WITHOUT ANY REASON. ANY REASON AT ALL,(AT LEAST FOR WIKIPEDIA) AND THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY REASON FOR IT EVEN WRITHEN ON THE DELITATION LOG. I AM JUST A USER, NOT AN AUTOR OF THE PAGE, BUT I MANAGE TO READ THE TEXT FROM THE CASH OF GOOGLE. PLEASE RETURN THE PAGE, THET IS PROPER. THE PAGE IS LACKING SOME SMALER DETALS, THAT YOU CAN EDIT, BUT BASICLY IT'S FINE. NOTE TO "JFORGOT" PLEASE DON'T DO THAT. GREETINGS TO YOU ALL, YOU ARE DOING PRECUS JOB!!!

IĆ 195.74.239.50 (talk) 03:26, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Please do not type in all caps, as it is considered rude. If you view the page, you'll notice that the deletion reason contains a link to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Serbian surnames, at which the reasons for deletion are discussed in depth. Dcoetzee 03:35, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Please don't use all upper case. The deletion log for Serbian surnames shows it was deleted at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Serbian surnames. See also Wikipedia:Why was my page deleted? PrimeHunter (talk) 03:37, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Can you change a page as I do not know how to edit a page?

Hi! There is an error on a page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palbasha_Siddique) on your site. The page says she is an "american singer", when in fact she isn't. She doesn't have an american cititzenship but rather a green card (lawful permanent resident) that is a conditional one. So, more than likely, she will have the green card and not be able to apply for her US citizenship for a while, making her a Bangladeshi passport holder for a while. I did not know how to "edit" that page to reflect that. So, I am letting you guys know so that you can fix it. I know about her immigration status as she is a local person and well known in the local Bangladeshi community and she has talked about it, at some point, with some folks, including a friend of mine.

So, please update the page, when you get this. Thanks. Sincerely, - RR 66.41.60.223 (talk) 04:20, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! A few points:

• "American" does not necessarily mean "of American citizenship", but I agree that the article should be more nuanced.
• On Wikipedia, anyone can edit (almost) any article! At the top of the page there is an "edit" button, which you can click to edit the article. So you can go ahead and change the information if you wish.
• When you add or change information, keep in mind that on Wikipedia, all information must be verifiable, ie it must first be published somewhere else before it can be added here. I'm afraid that "knowing through a friend" isn't good enough - particularly when an article is about a living person, the information needs to be somewhere else first. Her official website, an article in a newspaper, etc.
• If you don't have a source for this information, you can still mention it on the article's "talk page" (at Talk:Palbasha Siddique. Talk pages are places where the editors of an article can discuss its contents. Post a message there, and perhaps one of the other editors can track down a reliable source for the information.

Hope that helps! — QuantumEleven 08:29, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I copy-pasted the info above to the talk page.--SPhilbrickT 15:29, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

enquiry about the identity

[[Media:Media:Example.ogg]]

Could you tell me the identity of the attached fern plant. (e-mail redacted) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.197.151.51 (talk) 07:30, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm afraid something went wrong with the link. Also, I recommend you head over to the Science reference desk, where all the experts hang out; they should be able to help you. Lastly, please don't post your e-mail address, you will only get spammed. — QuantumEleven 08:21, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Thomas Chippendale

It looks like the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Chippendale article is broken, can someone look into it ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.127.10.94 (talk) 08:08, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

The article looks fine to me - how is it "broken"? Try clearing your browser cache to see if that solves the problem. — QuantumEleven 08:18, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Tool to find all pages which two editors edited

Hi there. I think I remember that there was a tool somewhere that allowed you to input two editor names and it would list all pages which those two editors have both edited. Has anyone a link handy? Regards SoWhy 08:42, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I found this among the gazillion tools I've bookmarked in my browser :) I think (if I remember correctly) that this was used for the purpose you mention, but it doesn't seem to be working anymore. Doesn't help you much if that is the case, but maybe it'll work for you. ≈ Chamal ^talk 11:26, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Fairly recently, tedder (talk · contribs) demonstrated a tool, with very advanced capabilities related to the analysis of interaction between two users. I have no idea how it works, or if that was what you were thinking of, though. decltype (talk) 11:34, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

(thanks to Decltype for pointing me here). Wikistalk, as Chamal pointed out, is great for finding ALL pages that both editors have edited. My WikiBacon is for finding the "best fit" articles between the two editors. HTH. tedder (talk) 16:08, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Ah yes, Wikistalk. Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, it's down but at least I know which tool it was. Regards SoWhy 17:57, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Citations and external links

Resolved

Thanks Chamal.

Are external links and cites allowed to foreign language sites. (Off2riorob (talk) 10:44, 6 August 2009 (UTC))

Yes, provided that there is no equivalent in english. In the case of references, english sources are obviously preferred since this is the english Wikipedia, but non-english sources can be used if english sources can't be found (See WP:NONENG). For the relevant guideline on external links, see Wikipedia:EL#Non-English_language_content. ≈ Chamal ^talk 11:09, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

E-MAIL ADDRESS'S USEING INTERNET STICKS

DO I HAVE TO HAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS VIA SKY,VIRGIN,BT ETC TO USE A INTERNET STICK,CAN THE PROVIDER OF THE STICK PROVIDE ME WITH AN E-MAIL ADDRESS? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.154.206.253 (talk) 11:06, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

The appropriate venue for this question is the Computing Reference Desk. But if I understand your question right, the two are not connected. An "Internet Stick" is a device you use to connect to the internet, and you can create an email address for yourself using any e-mail service provider (which you can access through any connection). If your service provider can give you both then answer is yes, but that's something you have to ask from that company. ≈ Chamal ^talk 11:20, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

How to create Musician list in wikipedia?

I want to use Wikipedia database to contribute some categoried pages in wikipedia. like singer of different type. as for example rock, folk, pop... How can i do that? is there any programming language using scope? I know c++ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fuzkabir (talk • contribs) 11:58, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

We have categories. See Category:Rock singers, Category:Pop singers and Category:Folk singers for the examples you mentioned. Is this what you mean? ≈ Chamal ^talk 12:59, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Image with no license

The owner of this image didn't provide any license. Should I remove this image from articles? + What is the default license for this image ? Arteyu ? _{Blame it on me !} 12:01, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

There is no "default license" that we can assume if none is specified by the uploader. Image should be tagged with {{di-no license}} and deleted after a few days if uploader fails to add a license tag.--59.95.118.66 (talk) 13:14, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I have tagged the image and notified the user. I'd AGF and say the user is not familiar with the uploading process, but just to be on the safe side. If he can provide a licence, it's just a matter or removing the tag. I don't think it's a copyvio. ≈ Chamal ^talk 13:24, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Deletion of a page on a company

I added a page on a company that was entirely factual (Greystone.Net). I was notified that it was subject to immediate deletion, and I commented on that. I didn't get any response to my comments, and the page was deleted without me having the opportunity to change anything or ask any questions. What are my options now, or do I need to start over?

Bladelink (talk) 13:21, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

You can ask the deleting admin, IronGargoyle, to copy a version of the deleted article to your userspace, where you can work on improving it. They'll usually do this as long as the page wasn't offensive or a copyright infringement. Gonzonoir (talk) 13:26, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Since the page was deleted as promotional or advertising material, you can then take a look at our WP:CORP and WP:SPAM guidelines to find out the rules on articles about companies. Our guide to writing your first article may also give you some useful pointers. Gonzonoir (talk) 13:27, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Apparently it was deleted for promotional tone, or the editors who tagged and deleted the page thought it was advertising. You could try to create it again, but don't forget WP:NPOV and add as many sources independent of the company as you can so the page meets the notability criteria. --59.95.118.66 (talk) 13:27, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I can't see your deleted page, but if it was the same as your draft page, User:Bladelink/Greystone.net, the latter is certainly promotional. And what's more it is largely a copyright violation of the company's about page. So yes, in that case you need to start over, writing in your own words in an encyclopedic, non-promotional tone. If however (as I suspect) you have a close connection with the company, you have a conflict of interest and should not be writing about it at all. —teb728 t c 16:54, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

vatiswa

what does vatiswa mean —Preceding unsigned comment added by 168.210.90.180 (talk) 13:47, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't have an article on vatiswa. Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. hmwitht 13:52, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Music Council Of Australia

Somehow I've made a mess of creating this entry. I wrote in as a subpage of my own. Then I selected an item of that name in an entry that containes it (the David_Worrall_(Composer) entry) and made a new (public) page by copy and pasting the contents of my private page of that name. It jumps to the correct version when I select it from that page, however when I put Music Council Of Australia in the search requester, it directs me to my private page, not the public one. What have I done wrong and how do I correct it? Yergnaws (talk) 15:10, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Works just fine for me. Either entering "Music Council of Australia" or "music council of australia" (without the quotes) goes directly to the page in the mainspace. Also, instead of copying and pasting, you can move to the mainspace, unless you are a very new user, I think.Naraht (talk) 15:16, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Whether I search for the page or click a link from another page, I see the page show up normally at Music Council Of Australia. It appears to be working fine now. Are you still having issues? hmwitht 15:26, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

The meaning of your post was unclear to me but I see you created both Music Council of Australia and Music Council Of Australia with different capitalization in of/Of. They were separate pages with separate page histories and content. I have redirected Music Council Of Australia to Music Council of Australia. If you want to copy something from the page history of the former to the article at the latter title then the page history is here. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:34, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Oh I see the error. a big "o"  :-) I'll just mark the wrong one for deletion - is that OK? Yergnaws (talk) 15:46, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

It's OK to leave the redirecting Music Council Of Australia as it is. A non-mixed case redirect to a mixed case page name has advantages due to the way the Go function in the search box works. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:52, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Looks like the wrong one has gone. Thanks for your help. Must say that when case is sensitive is not at all intuitive.Yergnaws (talk) 16:01, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Both page names are still there but Music Council Of Australia is a redirect to the lower case "o" version. This is OK. There should never bee non-redirecting different case versions of the same article. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:12, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Re: adding a link to the Container Garden page

Hi, I added a link to an educational site on container gardening by editing the page. When I previewed the page, it was listed, so I saved it and saw that it appeared. However, when I went out of that page, did a search, it doesn't appear on the page. I'm not sure what the problem is. I think the info. would be useful. Please advise.

VSVSContainerGarden (talk) 18:00, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I've actually cleaned up the external links section per our policy. I would encourage you to read that before reinserting the link. TNXMan 18:08, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

The search index can take a while to be updated to show recent changes. Because of the size of the database and rate of changes it can actually take several days for the index to catch up. If you can see it when you view the article then eventually it will be updated in the index. RJFJR (talk) 21:10, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Trouble finding confirmation totals of past SCOTUS justicies

Sonia Sotomayor recieved 68 votes (68%), Where can I find a list of confirmed justices and their confirmation votes.--68.209.2.187 (talk) 19:31, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

You can probably find the totals in each justice's individual article. For example, this page lists Scalia's confirmation vote as 98-0. TNXMan 19:44, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

edit warring

how do you report edit warring? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Star123456789 (talk • contribs) 20:15, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

You can make a report at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Edit warring. Deor (talk) 21:21, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Valid source or not?

Does Wikipedia count as a valid source for school papers? Even though it is revised constantly, anyone can edit it, and although it has a .org top level domain, which is required for a source to be valid, according to my teacher in the University, citations and sources cannot always be counted as valid. But there's nowhere that says "Wikipedia is a valid source" or its counterpart. So who is to decide? And has it been decided? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.172.78.168 (talk) 20:57, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Does WP:CITEWIKI help? – ukexpat (talk) 21:01, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

My opinion is no, not for anything beyond middle school. It's an excellent place to start to do research, and it should provide you with a lot of sources to review, but a formal paper should be citing primary and secondary sources—Wikipedia is a tertiary source. By the way, many teachers say that Wikipedia should not be used as a reference- I agree, but but for the same reason that Encyclopedia Britannica should not be used as a reference. Both are tertiary sources. The argument that WP can be edited is a weak argument, IMO. --SPhilbrickT 23:25, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Changing the Title of a page

My own name is listed as a title, with an incorrect descriptor in the title. Lisa Miller (parapsychologist) is not correct, as it should instead read Lisa Miller (psychologist). Kindly may I ask your help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.86.126.94 (talk) 22:19, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

First of all, you should bring up the issue at the article's talk page. There, you (might) discuss the issue with anyone interested. If it is decided that the article title is incorrect, a page move is in order. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 22:23, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Please do bring it up on the article's talk page (that link is to the specific talk page, rather than to a discussion of talk pages in general). You appear to have been editing the article already, which is strongly frowned on, as a conflict of interest. I understand that you are concerned about what the article says about you, and according to WP:BLP any information about a living person which is both false and unsourced can be deleted immediately; but as far as possible you should avoid editing the article yourself, but discuss the changes you want to see in the article on its talk page. --ColinFine (talk) 23:11, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Movie Quotes

How do I submit. I tries to start a Wooderson headline on the Dazed and Confused page, but could't. I'm a movie quotation savant, they are a part of my everyday ineraction with people.

                                       "Good Morning Mr. Martin."

                                       "You better have your woodscrews in, cause I'm gonna blow your doors off!"
     

                                       "What?"  

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Ckm0092 (talk • contribs) 22:40, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Question above reformatted. If you have information to add to Dazed and Confused (film) which is encyclopedic and has a reliable source, then go ahead and edit the article to add it, citing its source. But if it is just a bit of dialogue you are fond of, it probably does not belong in Wikipedia. --ColinFine (talk) 23:04, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

If you are thinking about adding quotes from a movie, Wikiquote would be the place for you. ≈ Chamal ^talk 01:10, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

How to add photos and certain descriptions to articles

I just added an article for a director/author. I went to upload a photo of him and it says I'm not authorized to do so, as I haven't been confirmed or auto-confirmed. How do I get authorized so I can add his photo to the right of his page, just as other director's have. Also, how do I add his name the "Director's list" "Author's list" and "Living persons list"? Thanks! Timemachine1967 (talk) 23:47, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:User access levels#Autoconfirmed users and Wikipedia:Categorization. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:03, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, but I need a wikipedia page that tells me exactly how to list an existing article in different categories (i.e., Living person, American filmmaker, screenwriter, musician, author). How do I do it? Is it done in the editing template? How? Timemachine1967 (talk) 00:33, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

The page PrimeHunter linked does tell you explicitly, but I'll describe it. Go the article, click edit this page, go to the bottom, add

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Jay}}

[[Category:name of category]]

[[Category:name of category]]

[[Category:name of category]]

[[Category:name of category]] (obviously replacing "name of category" with the appropriate category for the article subject).--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:00, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Beta?

I can't find any information on the Beta accessibility release on WP itself. There's lots of external links, but there's nothing linking to an internal resource. Can anyone provide me with a link?PerfectProposal 01:27, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Interestingly, there should be information on the usability wiki, but I haven't been able to find anything either, other than the fact that the "beta" isn't really much of a beta as the real usability-initiative-beta-wiki is on a whole different wiki. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 02:02, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Other than this page on the usability wiki, which doesn't say much at all. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 02:05, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I like the Beta version but the gadgets don't work • S • C • A • R • C • E • 02:28, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

There's a perfectly good link to leave feedback on the beta, you know. Algebraist 02:30, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I left feedback after ending my session • S • C • A • R • C • E • 04:00, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Alternate accounts

If an alternate account is created how it legitimized and not considered a sock? • S • C • A • R • C • E • 03:57, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

The difference between an alternate account and a sock is that 1) An alternate account is declared as one, and 2) is not used for nefarious purposes. There's no special legitimization process. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 04:01, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Sock puppetry#Alternative accounts. It's not required to publish the connection between the accounts. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:05, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Can you create another account while logged in, if so, how? • S • C • A • R • C • E • 04:11, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Ask and ye shall find. Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 04:16, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Thank you • S • C • A • R • C • E • 04:21, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

mediawiki markup?

If you wanted to include a short bit of code in an article, say in whitespace preserved, monospace with a horizontal scrollbar, and with a show/hide button (default hidden), what would the mediawiki markup for this be? Thanks in advance, 173.79.73.189 (talk) 04:41, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Try

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
!Code
|-
| <source lang="text">
code here (specify language in "lang" attribute)
</source>
|}

which gives

Code
code here (specify language in "lang" attribute)

Calvin 1998 ^(t·c) 05:55, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I just need help regarding adding the references tag to my article

I've just about fixed up my article except for this one, red warning:

Cite error: "There are ref tags on this page, but the references will not show without a references tag"

I need help knowing where to put this 'reference tag' so the above Cite error disappears. Can someone give me a detailed explanation of where it goes? I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks. Timemachine1967 (talk) 09:42, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

To add an inline citation, you have to use this format: <ref>source here</ref> and add {{References}} under a section named "References". Of course, it would be best if you could follow an accepted standard. Easiest way is to use citation templates like Template:Cite web, Template:Cite news. See WP:CITE for more info. Hope this helps. ≈ Chamal ^talk 09:37, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Infobox

How can you make an infobox? I am trying to, but it doesn't turn up, so I use tables. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cam486 (talk • contribs) 09:20, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Hi Cam486 - What is the subject of the infobox you want to make? If it is for a tv channel, as you seem to be doing at TV3 plus1, I would suggest you use {{Infobox TV channel}}. Copy and paste the template from the "Usage" section of that page to the article you want to add it to, and fill in the information. You can delete any lines you don't need, but you won't be able to add new lines of other names. I would suggest starting the article in your sandbox, such as User:Cam486/TV3 plus 1 to give you breathing room to work on it before moving it to the main article section.

If you're looking for a different infobox, or you want to create a new kind of infobox, you can give us some more information here, and I'm sure someone will be able to help you. Thanks! --Kateshortforbob 09:30, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Just need someone to look at my article and tell me where to put the 'references tag', or what else I should do. Thank you.

I just need help regarding adding the references tag to my article.

I've just about fixed up my article except for this one, red warning:

Cite error: "There are ref tags on this page, but the references will not show without a references tag"

I need help knowing where to put this 'reference tag' so the above Cite error disappears. Can someone give me a detailed explanation of where it goes? I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks. Timemachine1967 (talk) 09:42, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

To add an inline citation, you have to use this format: <ref>source here</ref> and add {{References}} under a section named "References". Of course, it would be best if you could follow an accepted standard. Easiest way is to use citation templates like Template:Cite web, Template:Cite news. See WP:CITE for more info. Hope this helps. ≈ Chamal ^talk 09:37, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

With all do respect, this is still confusing for me. It asks me to add a reference tag and I'm good to go, but no matter where I add it, I still get the red warning. If you go to my article, can you tell me where and what to put on it so it'll be perfect? Much appreciated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Jennings Timemachine1967 (talk) 09:49, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I fixed it for you. :) Theleftorium 09:57, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. It's looks good. But the 3rd link under References "Rogue Cinema" takes me to an uncompleted webpage that doesn't finish downloading. Check for yourself. I went to the same Rogue Cinema webpage outside of Wikipedia and it downloaded just fine. Can you look into that and fix the link so Rogue Cinema downloads all the way. Thanks. Timemachine1967 (talk) 10:21, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Hi Timemachine1967 - I fiddled around a little with that link, and it appears to be working okay for me now. Would you mind checking to see if the problem has been fixed? It definitely did seem to be doing something a bit funny for a while. --Kateshortforbob 11:45, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I put the clean up templates and prod back in that Timemachine removed. Was that correct? The Rogue Cinema also works for me now. Cptnono (talk) 12:00, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Putting back clean up templates is all right if the issues are still there. However, you do not re-add a removed prod. Removal of a prod tag means the deletion is contested, so the next step is WP:AFD if you still think the article should be deleted. See WP:PROD. If you don't want to nominate the article at WP:AFD, contact Cameron Scott (talk · contribs) who originally placed the prod tag and ask for his opinion. ≈ Chamal ^talk 12:09, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I have removed the {{prod}} tag accordingly. ≈ Chamal ^talk 12:12, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

(oops, an edit conflict) Awww... I thought I got to it first. Sorry about that. I am not too familiar with the prod template and thought it might still be needed. I'll shoot a quick message over to the other editor to see if it meets the requested requirements. It looks like the clean up templates are still valid for now.Cptnono (talk) 12:15, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Lists and images

I can't seem to find it in the image MOS. If a list is used instead of prose, Is it OK (or better than OK) to have a list on the left with an image on the right in a section?Cptnono (talk) 12:45, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes. The focus is on the content, the image enhances the content. You can use templates like {{mem}} to do this. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 13:04, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

This is commonly seen in featured lists, and is one of the easiest and best ways to add images to a list type article. See, for example, List of United States Military Academy alumni (astronauts), which also uses the mem template. ≈ Chamal ^talk 13:15, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks! I have run across a few articles where most of the content is in paragraphs but a subsection will be a bulleted list. Assuming the list is necessary, would the same apply?

As long as the images are relevant to that section and not excessive (otherwise they would lengthen the section and create a lot of empty space), that would be all right I think. ≈ Chamal ^talk 13:38, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

File in English link for other languages

If I have a subject in English, and I want someone in another language to read it in their language, if I send them the link, how do they convert? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Winderer (talk • contribs) 13:46, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

If it's a Wikipedia article, there is a box on the left-hand side of the page that says "in other languages". Click on the language and send the resulting article to the other person. For a normal (non-Wikipedia) web page, plug-in the address to something like Google Translate and send off the resulting page. Xenon54 (talk) 13:56, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Random using #expr:

Using the parser {{#expr:}}, is there anyway to output a random result? Thanks in advance. Erwin Springer [talk] 14:53, 7 August 2009 (UTC)