Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2006 November 21

= November 21 =

Answering procedure
Suppose i hv posted some question on wikipedia, somebody answers it. But how the person(who answers it)come to know that some question is posted on wikipedia? i.e. I want to know the entire procedure involved when somebody asks questions & how other person answers it?Nileema 03 12:50, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * They know how to find the questions because there's specific places where questions are answered. If you post it in the right spot, people will see it. They simply check what changed since their last visit to the site. The dated section headers help remind people where they left off earlier. - Mgm|(talk) 13:35, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

How to delete an account?
I have two account set up on Wikipedia. I want to delete one, how do I do that?
 * Sorry, you cannot. All accounts exist forever to provide accountability. You may request that your user page be deleted, and of course you may stop using an account. Notinasnaid 13:22, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

to cite picture
I would like to download and use some pictures in a PhD thesis but how do I cite the use of pictures (not text) e.g. picture on "endothelium" page ?
 * To start with, click on the picture. It should give original sources. Notinasnaid 13:41, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Need for speed
how to play need for speed onkine for free
 * Try a place like download.com If the game isn't available there, I'm afraid it's not free. Also, unless you play Need for Speed Carbon on an XBOX 360, I doubt you can play it online. If that's what you're talking about and it costs money, I'm afraid hacking it to play for free is illegal, which is something Wikipedia won't encourage nor aid. - Mgm|(talk) 13:57, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Synthesis of indole
how tosynthesise indole by bayer villiger oxidation method


 * 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's what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Viridae Talk 14:20, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1 numbering
Often other types of numbered lists are needed, like 1. Main item 1.1 First sub item 1.2 Next sub item 1.2.1 Sub sub item 1.2.2 Sub sub item 1.3 One more 2. Next main item 3. One more main item 3.1 etc 3.2 etc

The only supported list type is 1. Main item 1 First sub item 2 Next sub item 1 Sub sub item 2 Sub sub item 3 One more 2. Next main item 3. One more main item 1 etc 2 etc

Is the first type not possible? --mabahj 14:54, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Hi. You can use the first type by placing new headers, =Title=, ==Title== , ===Title=== , ====Title==== ...etc. This will add numbering as in the first list example.
 * Also, you can place to remove the index if preferable. Bjelleklang  -  talk 14:57, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Thank you for your answer. That would be a workaround that could work. It does, however, give me a lot of sections with headline type text, which does not look good. Is there no list syntax that would provide this? (Like # and ##, etc.) Maybe by changing the skin? Or by using HTML? Or a template? --mabahj 15:41, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Picture to be changed
To whom it may concern,

Last week, I tried to change the current picture on the following page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyenrode

The picture I wanted to upload is our University property and I used a free license for educational purposes but it seems that my picture got somewhat deleted while I was editing the page.

I followed very carefully the procedure to follow to edit a page but it did not work out. It is crucial that we change this picture soon for obvious reasons. Awaiting your feedback,

Many thanks,

Marthegwada 14:55, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Which license tag did you use? If it was for education purpose only, that is not allowed on wikipedia. You will have to use either GFDL or the appropriate creative commons license. Who holds the current copyright to the image? -- Lost (talk) 14:59, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Photos and Wikipedia is difficult. I suggest you upload the logo of your Univerisity, which is must easier. See this page about logos. --mabahj 15:20, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

thanks so much for your replies guys. thing is the logo is nice but the picture of our university is better and very appealing....The copyright is held by Nyenrode university. Does the GFDL still apply? Marthegwada 13:19, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

We've been deleted and I can't seem to get re-added
Hello Wikipedia,

The USinternetworking page has been deleted, and we can't seem to be reinstated. Here's what we suggested for editing the page

USi is an AT&T company and a leading Application Service Provider (ASP). USi delivers application outsourcing, remote management, professional services, SaaS enablement, eBusiness development and hosting, and information security and risk management.

If that is considered too sales-y, please advise and please advise how to get this posted back to the site. All of our competitors have pages, so we don't think it's fair necessarily to have been targeted.


 * See Talk:USinternetworking. It points out why it was deleted. --Kainaw (talk) 19:12, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * As well as that: Wikipedia isn't fair to businesses who want to use Wikipedia for promotion. That isn't part of its remit. However it does try to be consistent, so if you can name some of the competitor's articles we can compare and contrast. Some of them may need to be deleted to meet Wikipedia's policies. Notinasnaid 19:17, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Help!
How do I get a more "UserFriendly" version of the name change method? I wan to change my name to User:Precineacist (3 words put together, Prescription-medicine-pharmacist) or User:Metriduce. I would also like whoevers opinion on which name to use or if I should just stick with my original name. Thank you, --Ælfwine 19:33, 21 November 2006 (UTC) What is Pupils spelled backwards? That is the teachers secret.


 * Changing your username is not easy - purposely not easy. See Changing username.  There are three steps, number 1, 2, and 3.  Which step are you stuck on? --Kainaw (talk) 19:41, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

I am stuck on the posting my request on my userspace. I either does not show up or half of the request is my user name now and the other half is my requested name. --Ælfwine 19:50, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Do you mean you are having trouble adding your request to the "current requests" section? --Kainaw (talk) 20:03, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes could you please give me an example as to how it is supposed to go? Like do I type "So and so → Here and there"? Reason bla bla bla? -~-~-~


 * If you click on that link, you will see a gray box with the following Old_Username ~ . Replace "Old_Username" with the username you have and want to get rid of.  Replace "New_Username" with the username you want.  Replace "My Very Convincing Reason" with the reason you want to change your username.  Paste that on the bottom of the page (after clicking "edit this page" of course).  Then click "Save page" and your request will be submitted.  Also, please explain here how the instructions can be improved.  To me, a big grey box containing exactly what I need to type is about as clear as it gets, but there's always room for improvement. --Kainaw (talk) 20:12, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Ælfwine → Precineacist_or_Metriduce
Ahha! It is working now! Which name should I pick? The descriptions were Okay I was using links in the place of where my name is supposed to go. See below.
 * Current name: Ælfwine (talk • contribs)
 * Requested name: Precineacist_or_Metriduce (change username)
 * Reason: No one can type the Æ thing, too close to User:Aelfwine and cannot redirect from User:Aelfwine because that would not be proper with s/he being a different user. Ælfwine 20:27, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

User:Ælfwine → User:Precineacist or_Metriduce

 * Current name: User:[[User:Ælfwine|User:Ælfwine]] (User talk:[[User:Ælfwine|talk]] • Special:Contributions/[[User:Ælfwine|contribs]])
 * Requested name: Precineacist or Metriduce
 * Reason: No one can type the Æ thing, too close to User:Aelfwine and cannot redirect from User:Aelfwine because that would not be proper with s/he being a different user. Ælfwine 20:27, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * It appears that the confusion is that you are not following the link: CLICK ON THIS LINK --&gt; "current requests" section &lt;--CLICK ON THIS LINK Then, after clicking the link, add your request there. --Kainaw (talk) 20:30, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Also as for the instructions you might put for example,
 * Do not put links in the place where your name and new name is supposed to go, it skews the template. --Ælfwine 20:33, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

What name should I pick?
Metriduce or Precineacist?


 * Good point. I'll take care of it.  As for which name to pick - don't ask me.  I chose one of the worst usernames in Wikipedia. --Kainaw (talk) 20:39, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Never mind, User:Darkest Hour LoL I AM YELLING Shut me up

Teach Me How to WIKI-Program, In WIKI languages
I am Computer Science graduate from [[Polytechic University], I used to work with such languages as C++, VB, HTML, XML, with Databases.... I am looking for a tutorial of how to do it, on my in WIKI.

thanks. GK tramrunner 21:49, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Is it possible to sort, and search ... and display only needed records in WIKI-tables? It is similar to an SQL
 * are there any Graphing programming languages....
 * I am also interested in all kinds of WIKI-objects.
 * Um, wiki isn't a programming language. &mdash; User:ACupOfCoffee@ 21:59, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Exactly. The Wiki stuff is markup, as with XML and HTML. It just converts things like double brackets into links through MediaWiki, which is I'd guess coded in C++. Do you mean how to set up your own Wiki and display things in tables? Perhaps you want to create a database from Wikipedia syntax, eg, set up an "article" and make a table, then make a program read in things from that article ala a database? Please clarify what you mean. --Wo o ty Woot? contribs 22:02, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Help
I am editing the Slim Keith article. I have references but I cannot figure out how to do the footnotes. I have read the instructions but find them vague. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rpab (talk • contribs)
 * Which instructions are you trying to follow (can you give the URL)? And where do you get up to before they become vague? Notinasnaid 20:19, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * WP:FOOTNOTE should explain the process, or it may be easier to look at a featured article to see how it's done in practice. Trebor 20:26, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Formatting: How come the # is now the same as a *?
Somebody musta changed this. This should be a numbered list:


 * one
 * two
 * 1) three
 * etc

What's going on here. This is bad for pages about albums, where the tracklist now doesn't have numbers besides the tracks. NIRVANA2764 21:32, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * It is a numbered list - perhaps your browser is messed up and now showing numbers properly. Did you mess with your Wikipedia stylesheet? --Kainaw (talk) 21:34, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * OK, I refreshed the page and it was fine. Huh. Maybe somebody goofed it up for a minute or two. Thanks for constantly being here, Kainaw. You are a machine, man. NIRVANA2764 21:39, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Links
There aren't enough relevant links on the homepage, such as a list of articles waiting to be denied or approved for creation.
 * The homepage is aimed at readers rather than editors. Besides, to see which suggestions are still under consideration for creation, you should simply visit WP:AFC and technically, all Special:Redlinks are awaiting approval. Then again, there's no single person in charge, so there's no one to deny or approve articles until they have actually been created. - Mgm|(talk) 22:39, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

request a feature: list of pages visited by a user
Hi,

I was wondering whether it is possible to list the pages in wikipedia visited by a user. I know that a user can add a page that she has visited to her watch list, is there any other way?

I think this may be useful for someone to know what kind of information one has most often sought in wikipedia. There are tools on the web that track user clicks and the pages users visit, but they are not specific to wikipedia.

This might be a silly and not a very useful feature, but nevertheless wanted to ask. Thanks for your attention.

Mapaydin 21:53, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * The software used by Wikipedia can keep track of counts of pages visited (I don't know about individual auditing), but this was long ago switched off for performance reasons, sad to say. Though pro-privacy people may be very glad that nobody can for a browsing profile for them. Notinasnaid 21:57, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * However we do have some statistics - see Special:Statistics, which has some links near the bottom to the top 100 articles. M a rtinp23 22:00, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * And if you look through there, you'll figure out specifically why people wouldn't want to be tracked in their page history ;):


 * 24 600 ± 11%   0.0508%  	     15. List of sex positions
 * 22 500 ± 12% 	0.0464% 	17. Sexual intercourse
 * 21 800 ± 12% 	0.0450% 	18. Sex


 * --Wo o ty Woot? contribs 22:05, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Thanks! :-) Mapaydin 22:08, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Skin stuck.
I just made an account, and after editing my preferences my skin chaged(even though I did not edit that) and the skin link and several others are broken on the prefs page with the skin I am currently using... So I can't change back...
 * Please see Very Frequently Asked Questions Patstuart(talk)(contribs) 22:40, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Bullets in the Table of Contents
Is anyone else seeing bullets show up in the table of contents of various pages? I'm using Firefox and I don't remember that being there. Admin making bad edits?--Htmlism 22:13, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Sorry, only showing up in Firefox. Internet Explorer looks fine. Still weird, though.--Htmlism 22:14, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm getting it too; also, all ordered lists seem to have changed to unordered lists, regardless of whether they use * or #. Go to MediaWiki:Monobook.css and do a cache refresh to make this go away. It seems to have been a transitory error. -- nae'blis 22:28, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Updating an Article Headline
I have recently created a page called Anvil media. I actually had wanted to call the page Anvil Media, but when I tried to edit the page, I could edit everything except the article name. What is the best way to update the article?

Thanks, JohnJwmcphee 22:27, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * The only way to do it is to move the article. If your account is older than 4 days, you'll get a move tab on top of your screen to do so. For now, I'll do it for you. Make sure you get your capitalization correct on the next article. It saves work in the long run. - Mgm|(talk) 22:31, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Any long-time user can move a page, or Requested moves can help you move it to another title if there's something in the way. However, I should warn you that at present your article could be subject to speedy deletion as advertising (criterion G11). Can you cite some outside sources for some of the claims made in the article? -- nae'blis 22:32, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * As Naeblis pointed out, this might be deleted as it sounds a lot like advertising. If you have a go at improving it, make sure you fix lines like "Anvil believes in karma and supporting the local community." You need to know where something is located before you can refer to the local community. - Mgm|(talk) 22:35, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Transclusion
Is it possible to transclude a section using a command ? I seem to be only able to transclude whole pages. TonyTheTiger 23:02, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Not possible at this time, sorry. If you wish to transclude a block of text repeatedly you may consider placing it in a template, but usually that's seen as disruptive to the normal editing process for articles. Can you be more specific? -- nae'blis 23:09, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * The technical section of the Wikipedia Signpost says the ability has been created for the software. When it will go live and if it's gonna be included in Wikipedia, I don't know. - Mgm|(talk) 23:15, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

 - I would like to add the following section to Cyber_Girl_of_the_Year to Playboy Cyber Girl, but the command does not work. TonyTheTiger 00:14, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
 * The answer is that as of right now, it is not possible. You just have to copy the text. Cbrown1023 00:46, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Can edit article, but can't edit a list on right side of screen
I want to edit the following page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Contours.

Along with text edits explaining that there are, in fact, two groups with the legal right to perform under the name "The Contours," I want remove two names from the list on the right side of the screen called "Former Members." These two names are people who are currently members of one of these groups, not former members.

There are "edit" buttons for each paragraph of text, but nothing to let me edit that list.

76.214.97.144 23:04, 21 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Use the edit button at the top of the page. The list is in a info box, so there is a little bit of mild coding. Viridae Talk 23:08, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Is there a procedure to handle dead links in references?
Is there a standard procedure to handle dead links in references? i.e. highlight them, report them to the author, or both? Thanks. Jpaulm 23:50, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
 * See WP:EL. -Patstuart(talk)(contribs) 23:51, 21 November 2006 (UTC)