Help desk
< January 24	<< Dec \| January \| Feb >>	January 26 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

January 25

Is there a way to add a Wikipedia search box to my (external) web page?

Is there a way to add a Wekipedia search box to my (external) web page?

Merriam Webster Dictionary, Google, Yahoo and others provide mechanisms by which web designers can add a control to a web page that lets users initiate searchs directly, bypassing the home page of the search site. (e.g. http://www.m-w.com/downloads/general/search_box.htm) Is anything like this available for Wekipedia?

Thanks,

Btansi (talk) 00:51, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

~~Wikipedia does not have a site specific search feature that can be embedded in external webpages. However,~~ you can create a google custom search engine that will search wikipedia. From there, you can embed the search into your webpage. Hope this helps! --omtay 38 01:18, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

(E/C) Please see here. However, I find Google much more adept at searching Wikipedia than Wikipedia's search engine. You can limit a google search to Wikipedia by typing site:en.wikipedia.org. there are many ways to limit your searches. Some examples: inurl:wiki-User; intitle:Talk; inurl:wiki-Wikipedia; and so on. You can limit your searches essentially to the mainspace by typing -inurl:wiki-User -intitle:Talk -inurl:wiki-Wikipedia -inurl:wiki-WP -redirected-from site:en.wikipedia.org.. Or you can set up a custom Google search using {{google custom}}.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:23, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Whuddaya know, I learn something every day! --omtay 38 01:27, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I also found [1] and [2]. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:41, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism

Resolved

Like to report repeated vandalism on Category:Food companies by country. FieldMarine (talk) 01:20, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You will want to warn the user with a warning template. Go to WP:AIV if they continue vandalising after a final warning. NF24^{(radio me!)} 01:24, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can report obvious and persistent vandals at Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism. Before posting there, a final warning in an escalating series should have been posted to the user's talk page (for example {{Uw-vandal4}}, {{Uw-spam4}} or {{Uw-speedy4}}), and the user must have vandalized within the last few hours, including after the final warning was given. Various warning templates can be found at Wikipedia:Template messages/User talk namespace. Your block request is unlikely to be acted upon unless you follow these steps. Cases that are not simple vandalism can be reported at WP:AN/I. Of course, in conjunction with warning against and reporting vandalism, you have the ability, mandate and are encouraged to revert all instances of vandalism you find yourself.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:24, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Taken care of. It wasn't vandalism, just a misunderstanding of how to use pages. --omtay 38 01:26, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your assistance! FieldMarine (talk) 01:28, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How do I find???

How do I find the generic name to trade drugs? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.252.212.61 (talk) 03:43, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

While this isn't a Wikipedia-related question, I'd suggest perhaps www.rxlist.com, which appears to let you search for medication based on either the generic name or the trade name. (I just found this by Googling for prescription+generic, YMMV). Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 04:19, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

(e/c)You can purchase the pill book, or you can use Google. Just type the name of the subject drug followed by "generic name" or you can use this site or this site.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:23, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Rogue additions to my watchlist?

Resolved

While clearing detritus off my watchlist, I found several entries for recently deleted articles that I have no recollection of ever having seen. I certainly don't remember doing anything (such as adding speedy delete templates) that would have added them to my watchlist. The mystery additions to my watchlist were Illannoy, Illinois, Land of Satan and Shithead people!, and Illinois Stinks!. Did (1) I propose these for deletion while I was asleep, (2) has someone purloined my identity, or (3) did something inside the Wikimedia system misfire and insert these into my watchlist? --Orlady (talk) 04:43, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Those ended up on your watchlist because while you had the "Illinois" article on your watchlist, it was vandalized by people who moved the "Illinois" article to those article names. See the logs for the "Illinois" article. --Silver Edge (talk) 05:12, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the explanation! --Orlady (talk) 05:34, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Colindale tube station

I need to get Colindale tube station, Can I know its post code please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.151.135.96 (talk) 07:26, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

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. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 07:54, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Honda head?

Who is the honda India head —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.241.239.205 (talk) 08:39, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

According to this, it looks like Mr. Masahiro Takedagawa is the President and CEO of Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI). However, Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 12:42, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia Edit options

Why provide the edit option on each page in this site? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.131.112.57 (talk) 12:01, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

According to Wikipedia:Introduction, which probably sums it up best, "Wikipedia is an encyclopedia collaboratively written by many of its readers. It is a special type of website, called a wiki, that makes collaboration easy. Many people are constantly improving Wikipedia, making thousands of changes an hour, all of which are recorded on article histories and recent changes." Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 12:48, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

my article

I understand now that double cheeseburger was invalid for a good reason, how do i publish about an event when all other witnesses are deceased? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Skylerspal (talk • contribs) 14:16, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You must cite to reliable sources verifying the information and which are independent of the subject. This can be citations to books, newspapers articles, magazines, television and film treatment and so on. Since Wikipedia is a tertiary source, all information in it must synthesize already published material. Nothing new should every be announced in an encyclopedia. If there is no material on which to base the article and thus verify the proposed information, then Wikipedia cannot have an article on it.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:33, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Other Languages

Hi

I recently created an article about ajim. There are other articles about ajim in other languages such as French but despite this French doesn't appear on the left side where other languages are listed. Do I have to link the English article with the articles in other languages? I thought it would happen automatically. ItemSeven (talk) 15:41, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

yes, have a look at the bottom of the source text of another wiki - there u will find a list like [[en:ajim]] Easiest way is to copy these links. dont forget to remove the english one, if present and add one for the language where u picked the list from. If u want to be thorough check if all the links are really valid (same topic). --84.159.157.10 (talk) 16:17, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Each Wikipedia has a two-or three-letter language code (see m:List of Wikipedias for a list). To do interwiki links, type [[language code:article name in that language Wikipedia]]. For example, [[de:Hauptseite]] brings you to the German Wikipedia's main page. Meanwhile, interwiki links to the same language can be done as well; [[wikt:Main Page]] makes wikt:Main Page which brings you the the main page of the English Wiktionary. See Help:Interwiki for more. NF24^{(radio me!)} 16:39, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Liberty Charter High School - Nampa, Idaho

The article on our school is becoming a constant and increasing problem. Blatant vandalism and falsehood is being posted to our entry and is now verging on defamation issues. This must be remedied. Please advise on how to fix this problem. I do not need my student body being referred to as homosexual or stupid. And the statements posted about our principal are false and posing a growing issue as people use your site to find information/links regarding our school. We are the top charter school in the state and in the top five of all schools in the state, so as you can imagine, there are frequent visitors to our page on wikipedia. Please help us rectify this issue ASAP Toby Schmidt Humanities Teacher Liberty Charter High School —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tobyschmidt (talk • contribs) 16:22, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I've requested page protection. You can keep track of the request by visiting Requests for page protection. NF24^{(radio me!)} 16:33, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Grease stains

How do you remove grease stains from clothes

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. NF24^{(radio me!)} 16:33, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

User's contributions

Can someone help me regarding User:Klase1975 recent contributions? Should I just removed all of his recent additions? Spencer^T♦^C 16:29, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Go ahead. They're clearly here to advertise a trip routing website. NF24^{(radio me!)} 16:42, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Spencer^T♦^C 17:20, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Entry for VAlence Technology

In my haste I added an entry for Valence Technology as VAlence Technology. Can I (you) change this, it is not clear if I can. Should I relist it and delete the original entry. Hope this makes sense.

Thanks IG —Preceding unsigned comment added by IrishG (talk • contribs) 16:40, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I've moved it to Valence Technology. Once your account is four days old, you can move things by clicking on "move" at the top of any page. NF24^{(radio me!)} 16:43, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Playing Ogg audio files

I can't play Wikipedia Ogg audio files (as for example appears in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_scale). My operating system is Windows XP 2002 SP2, my browser is IE7. I have the latest versions of Windows Media Player, VLC Media Player and Java installed. I have followed the instructions at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help. I can play all audio & video files types (e.g. mpeg, WMV, ...), except Ogg files, from within my browser. I can play all downloaded audio and video files types by clicking on the files directly within Windows Explorer, including Ogg files. When I click on buttons linking to Ogg files within Wikepedia the image of the button disappears and no sound is played. I can't see this problem in the FAQs.

Any suggestions are welcome. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jaybeuu (talk • contribs) 17:38, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Have you followed Wikipedia:Media help (Ogg)#Windows from step 2? If you get a link saying "More" after you click a play button then try also clicking that link. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:03, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Primehunter. Yes, I followed instructions from step 2. Also when I clicked on the 'more' link and it said that Quicktime ActiveX was selected but it would not play using that player. I've just tried (for the first time, didn't do this before) selecting the VLC Active X player, and this plays OK. Still don't understand why the Quicktime player or windows media player doesn't work (my WMP will play Ogg files if directly clicked). Anyway, I'll consider the problem solved. Thanks.

ELTON JOHN

Add external link to

Elton John AIDS Foundation(UK) www.ejaf.com

Also, add to charity section that the Elton John AIDS Foundation (UK) was established in 1993.

Thanks

Glenn Horder Fundraising & Events Coordinator Elton John AIDS Foundation (UK) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ghorder (talk • contribs) 17:54, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit, so feel free to add the link yourself (as I see you seem to already have done.) We have a policy about which external links are appropriate; since you have a connection with the organisation in question, you may also find our guidelines on editing with a conflict of interest useful. --Kateshort forbob 20:05, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Cross-ref Wiki subjects to the Dewey Decimal System?

Dear Wiki folks,

What is the relationship, if any, between the Wiki categories and the Dewey Decimal System?

I have a broad set of data and images which I am trying to index using the Dewey Decimal system. I thought that I could find a cross reference from a Wiki category (e.g. National Flags ) to a Dewey Decimal entry. I cannot find any such x-ref on a Wiki page. I also used various Wiki and Google searches on "flag", "state", "nation" and "vexillolgy" together with "Dewey Decimal" but without success.

Of course I could just dump my data under the Dewey entry "320.1 The state" but I'm sure there's a better way to do this.

Please advise.

--Becobb (talk) 19:40, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There used to be a project at Wikipedia:Dewey Decimal System to classify articles but that was deleted (record here) because the DDS is copyrighted and any library or other organisation that makes use of it has to buy a licence to do so. Foxhill (talk) 20:16, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

[Library Thing] may be more useful. Rmhermen (talk) 00:06, 26 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Somebody has posted my personal information on wikipedia.

Somebody has posted my name and age and some false information on wikepedia and the article has been removed, but the content still appears on google underneath the link. I'm slightly angry because when anybody searches for my site this article appears at the top in google and it won't go away. PLEASE tell me how I can get rid of it! i have the name and password of the account that posted it and the account has been blocked from editing pages. but how can i get the article off google it now embarrasses me to give anyone the link to the site.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hamish is gone (talk • contribs) 19:46, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You could wait for it to go away. Google seems to re-index Wikipedia pretty frequently, and will most likely notice soon that the article has been deleted; shortly thereafter, it should disappear from search results. You could also try contacting Google, although I'm not sure how helpful that will be; it seems as though you can only request removal of sites which you own, or report blatant spam. I'm sorry about the invasion of your privacy. Unfortunately, there is not a lot which can be done from the Wikipedia end, except to delete the offending content from WP's own site. --Kateshort forbob 20:00, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See also Wikipedia:Requests for oversight for the latter. NF24^{(radio me!)} 21:06, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

how to create new article

Hi,

I am PR Director in a Public Relations company... I am responsible about 4 clients, which are interested in having their profile at Wikipedia.

I really appreciate it if you can help me how to create new article

Thanks in advance

Intisar —Preceding unsigned comment added by Intisaralqsar (talk • contribs) 20:46, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can learn how to make new articles here, but please check if the subject is notable, or it will be deleted. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.} 20:52, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

And it would also be a good idea to read up on Wikipedia's take on conflict of interest. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 06:34, 26 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia snippets.

snippets on google for wikipedia. Are they controlled by wikipedia? or by google? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hamish is gone (talk • contribs) 20:51, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

They are controlled by Google and are automatically added when Google indexes the page. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.} 20:55, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It varies where Google gets them. Some of them are descriptions in the Open Directory Project. It would be possible for Wikipedia to request not using ODP descriptions. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:17, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Using the start box template

Hi, I was wondering how you can create tables (with colors, formatting, etc.) like the one featured on the 2014 Commonwealth Games page. Was the table there automatically generated, or was it all coded by hand? Thanks for your help! Vamooom (talk) 21:16, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See Help:Table and Template:Start box. Click the "edit this page" tab at top or "edit" to the right of a section to see the source for a page. It's hard to tell how a specific table was made without looking at the page history to see <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=User:Lupin/navpop.css&action=raw&ctype=text/css&dontcountme=s"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=User:MarkS/XEB/live.css&action=raw&ctype=text/css&dontcountme=s">who made it and asking them directly. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:35, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia download for my BlackBerry

Is there a way to download Wikipedia as an icon on my BlackBerry home screen? Thanks! ~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gailhbrown (talk • contribs) 21:28, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What do you mean? The logo for the website? This question could be better answered here. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.} 22:08, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe Wikipedia:WAP access is of interest. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:52, 26 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Am I a sockpuppet?

Hi,

I think I maybe have an old account that, if it is there, hasn't been used by me for a long time. I can't even remember the username! Am I doing something against the Wikipedia rules by leaving it if it is there (even though I can't remember the username!)? Perhaps, if there is an account, it could be found through my e-mail address.

Thanks!

Enton (talk) 22:17, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It should not be a problem at all. Assuming you never plan on using the other account, there is no issue with you registering a new one. Consult WP:SOCK for further information, as it says there, sockpuppets are only against policy when you plan on using an additional account deceptively or to get around guidelines. SorryGuy Talk 22:29, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

alice and olivia help

I've attempted to make an alice and olivia page but it keeps getting deleted? I need to put it up there asap- please help!

Thanks,

Jayme —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.81.134.152 (talk) 22:26, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I assume the article you mean is Alice and olivia. It needs a lot of work - the tags added by another editor are meant to indicate that so that people can improve the article, and you should probably leave them there until the issues identified have been resolved. You can click on links in the tag to see how you can fix the problems. I've restored them for now. I'll explain a little bit more on the article's talk page when I'm done here.

Secondly, on Wikipedia, there's no rush (we even have an essay about that!). The previous article was deleted as advertising. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and doesn't do advertising, so if your "asap" is promotional, then you might need to look somewhere else. As I understand it, Wikicompany is the place for business-oriented Wiki articles. --Kateshort forbob 22:40, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

And I've just discovered that Alice and Olivia was deleted after discussion on 20 January. The new article still seems to be a substantial copyright violation of the company's article, which is not permitted (changing a few words does not make it less derivative). Unless I can find some sources for this, I will probably nominate it for speedy deletion under criteria WP:CSD#G4. Sorry --Kateshort forbob 22:49, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

the Gaelic language

I'm looking for the word and pronounciation of the Gaelic word for grandmother. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.123.81.2 (talk) 22:51, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. NF24^{(radio me!)} 22:55, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]