Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 July 2

= July 2 =

book as a source
I recently started a page on a character from a book series known as the Dresden Files. The character's name is Thomas Raith. It is not complete, but already there are messages saying I haven't cited my sources. My sources are the books themselves, and I am not sure what the exact format is for citing the books. Could someone tell me what the format is?


 * You could use . tiZom(2¢)  00:53, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for that, that will help for the actual citation. Something else I was wondering, though. Do I create a footnote, and then post the citation at the bottom with a footnote attached? I am pretty sure I don't just post the citation in the middle of the text...


 * Yes, you should enclose the citation with the tags. This will create one of those little superscript numbers, which will link you to the actual citation at the bottom of the article, where you should place the
 * (Note that I haven't tested this.) To use it, copy the code into Special:Mypage/monobook.js, and then bypass your cache (Control-F5 on Internet Explorer and Firefox for Windows). You can then test it by logging out and logging back in again. --ais523 13:01, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Toolbar?
Is there a Wikipedia toolbar that you can download for your webbrowser (a la google or yahoo tooolbars)? I think it would be a great tool to have b/c I always have things I want to "quick check." 205.217.105.2 14:15, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Both Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7's built-in search facilities can easily be instructed to search Wikipedia (to set this up, visit any Wikipedia page, then click on the down arrow next to your current search provider on Firefox or the magnifying glass icon next to the search box on Internet Explorer, then choose to add Wikipedia (it will either be directly on the menu or via one of the submenus). For other browsers and for other toolbars, you might want to see Tools/Browser tools for tools available for your browser. --ais523 14:25, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

almimuoni ahmed    k s a
[removed]


 * I have removed the above as it makes no sense and contains personal information. The Sunshine Man is now Qst 14:40, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

money paid out from lawsuit
My father's dead, but before he died he had received money from a lawsuit there in his hometown. The money was taken and has never been found.The detectives never pursued the issue, saying there was no proof that he ever had the money.


 * I'm sorry to hear about your father, however the help desk is for Wikipedia related problems only, sorry... The Sunshine Man is now Qst 14:59, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately, we at Wikipedia cannot give out Legal advice. Please consider another source for your information.

Thank you,

Kevinwong913 Speak out loud! 15:59, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * See Legal disclaimer. Also note that even if Wikipedia did give legal advice, laws vary around the world, so any request for legal advice should identify the relevant jurisdiction(s). Advice on how to proceed would obviously vary by the country, or even by the state or province within a country. --Teratornis 19:41, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Author
How do I find the author, editor of an Article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.214.186.129 (talk • contribs) 15:16, July 2, 2007 UTC


 * Click on the history tab at the top of the page. Each of those entries are entries by an author/editor of the article. -- Kainaw (what?) 15:19, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * (edit conflict) Articles are edited by multiple people (Wikipedia is a wiki, and anyone can edit any article at any time, more or less); you can find out their usernames by clicking on the 'history' tab at the top of the screen, to the right of 'edit this page'. If you want this information to cite Wikipedia, you may find the 'cite this article' link in the toolbox in the left sidebar more useful, though. --ais523 15:20, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Jim Dunning | talk  15:23, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * (edit conflict) Because Wikipedia is a collaborative effort, there will likely be multiple authors/editors for most articles. You can see who they are by reviewing the article's History. Just click on the "history" link at the top of the article's page. You can also review the article's discussion or Talk page to see comments from some of the editors, providing some insight into the article's development.

Image Links
This was brought up a few questions back, but I'd like to clarify it further. The wiki code automatically wraps the image in a link to the image's page. That makes it impossible to do something rather simple, such as link an image of a question mark to the help page. For example, I cannot do:. My initial response is to use HTML's &lt;img ... &gt; tag. But, when you do that, the tag is parsed out and becomes &lt;img src='http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=image:question' /&gt; - the full text, not the image. I understand this - it keeps people from linking images in from other sites. But, it forces the use of the wiki image code that forces a link to the image's page - meaning that you cannot link an image. So, is there any workaround? -- Kainaw (what?) 15:18, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * The other reason it's like that is that clicking on an image shows its copyright information, so if the image has a copyright that means attribution is required, it would be a copyright violation to do this without a description link. There is a (somewhat obscure, probably deliberately) syntax to do what you're asking, though:


 * If, like this image, the image is public domain, you can get rid of the information icon by adding desc none as an extra line inside the imagemap tags. One other thing: this use of imagemap is inadvisable in articles (userpages, project pages and help pages seem to use it most). Hope that helps! --ais523 15:24, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Helpme
How do you make your own wiki because there are other wiki sites like wookipedia and relic have one so how do you actual Make one for a certian topic?

Comander Cumi

Jim Dunning | talk  15:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Are you referring to starting just an article in Wikipedia? If so, review Your first article. Or are you asking about starting a complete wiki? If that's the case, keep in mind that administering your own wiki is a major undertaking. You might consider finding an existing wiki willing to accept your content; search for wikis on WikiIndex. You can search for open source software for wikis here: Free and Open Source Software Wiki.

Byrd Alzheimer's Institute Wikipedia Page
Hello-

I am writing to inquire about an email sent by my associate from the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr., Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute last week. I have been unable to find a contact phone number for the questions that we have concerning the copy on the page. Also, my email to permissions-en@wikimedia.org has bounced back.

Jennifer Whelihan, the communications liaison for the Institute is trying to set up its Wikipedia page.

Please let me know if you have received her email (attached) and what steps there are in order for this process to move forward.

The Byrd Institute is a not for profit organization with a mission to prevent and cure Alzheimer's disease. They are connected to world-class scientists and researchers across the globe who all share the same vision.

Thank you for your time, I appreciate your help.

Jessica Duncan

I work for the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute and just set up an account to add our information to your site. I went through the process and added content under the following two names. - Byrd Alzheimer's Institute - Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute I received a message that said I needed to send an e-mail to this address letting you know I have copyright permission to add this information on the Institute. I do. I wrote the content and it is also posted on our web site. This information comes directly from us at the Institute. Please let me know if there is anything further I need to do. Thank you for your assistance, Jennifer

Creating an article for a website of which the article author is a founder...
Hello,

I've overlooked the Wikipedia guidelines for posting articles and noted that articles of self promotion are frowned upon or even disallowed, and that this stretches to include websites as well.

However several years ago I co-founded a fan based website for a computer game series (FreeSpace) and, as it is the last major site of its type, I feel it would greatly benefit internet users who're looking to access content on the game(s) as Wikipedia is a major informational resource and pointing them in the right direction by placing an article here would be mutually beneficial. I realize that self promotion is frowned upon as I say, however would an *objective* article on the website be permitted?

Thank you for your time,

Alex Avery

(P.S. If it helps to reach a conclusion, the URL of the website is as follows: http://www.hard-light.net/ ) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kalfireth (talk • contribs) 15:47, July 2, 2007


 * Hello, Mr. Avery,


 * If you can ascertain the notability of Freespace (according to WP:NN), then the article is a reasonable candidate for creation. Instead of creating it yourself, I would recommend putting it up at WP:AfC (Articles for Creation). An objective editor will create it if seen as notable. Kevinwong913  Speak out loud! 15:53, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * There are also several wikis that specialize in games. If you like editing on a wiki but your content does not meet Wikipedia's policies, look for another wiki. You can search WikiIndex for "game". That finds lots of wikis, for example Encyclopedia Gamia. Gamers are one of the more wikified groups of people, so you should have no problem finding a wiki home for your article, where you may develop it at leisure, probably with less worry about having it deleted. (Wikipedia deletes up to several pages per minute for violating various policies and guidelines.) --Teratornis 19:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

help on health care companies page
HI,

I am obviously a novice on Wikipedia so pardon the basicness of my questions. I have tried to add a description about HealthString so that it appears under H on the health care company page, but it keeps adding to the top of the page. I assure you, this is not intentional! Please tell me how to correct this error and I will promptly do so. Thanks so much. User:Lizwillock 16:04, July 2, 2007

Jim Dunning | talk  16:19, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Hi, Ms. Willock. Which article are you specifically trying to edit? That may help in figuring out a solution to your dilemma. Also, based on your contribution to Personal health record, you should review Wikipedia's guidelines on conflict of interest. The addition of your company's website in the list of reference sources looks more like an advertisement than a link for additional information. As it stands now someone may remove your contribution thinking it is spamlinking. You may want to take another look at it and consider reformatting and/or relocating the information.


 * I guess you are referring to Category:Health care companies where IP numbers have added information about HealthString. I have removed it because it doesn't belong there. An article about HealthString should be created at HealthString. If you then want it to be listed in Category:Health care companies then add to the end of the article. If you consider creating the article, please read WP:CORP and provide Reliable sources to demonstrate notability. If you are associated with HealthString then also read WP:COI. And read WP:EL before adding more links to other articles. We have a lot of guidelines. PrimeHunter 16:29, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Your editing confusion was due to the fact that category pages behave differently than most other pages. The MediaWiki software generates the entries under the alphabetic headings on a category page from other pages which contain the type of category links PrimeHunter illustrated above. Experience shows that many new users find categories confusing. Read Help:Category if you want to learn about them. Also see additional guidelines for business-related articles: Business' FAQ. Wikipedia is very complicated, so don't expect all this to make sense immediately. Be aware that starting new articles can be one of the more difficult editing challenges for a new user; Wikipedia deletes up to several new pages per minute for not following our site policies and guidelines. --Teratornis 17:06, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Thank you 3 for clarifying the Wiki editorial policies and guidelines. I made my initial errors by adding our url to external reference pages because it appeared this group was a general list of companies that share health care features. I will continue to learn as much as I can about how to become an ethical and valued contributor to Wikipedia. Lizwillock 21:25, 10 July 2007 (UTC)lizwillock 10 July 2007

Help me
What exactly is a template and how do i make a completely new wiki but with a whole new look and subjects and not so big and so that i can edit every thing andchange every thing

Commander Cumi 16:16, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Please help me kind sirsCommander Cumi 16:25, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Part of your question's been answered a few sections above. As for templates, see Template namespace; they're bits of text and/or markup (often quite complicated markup!) that can be substituted or transcluded onto multiple pages. --ais523 16:28, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * To further respond, a template is a page which can be inserted into another page via a process called transclusion. Refer to Help:Template for detailed information on creating them. Templates can be very complex, so you may want to review the code for some existing templates before attempting to create them on your own. For example, this is an example of a navigation box template; you can actually see the wiki markup used to create it here].

Jim Dunning | talk  16:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * As to creating your own wiki, you can search for software and service sources at this list of wiki farms (a "wiki farm" is a server or a collection of servers that provides wiki hosting, or a group of wikis hosted on such servers). Hope this helps.


 * See Wiki Science/How to start a Wiki. Read MediaWiki and follow the links from it to learn about the software that runs Wikipedia. You can install your own personal wiki to experiment with MediaWiki on your personal computer; see mw:Manual:Wiki on a stick. Read wiki too, of course, and all the stuff linked from: Wiki topics. Learning to be a wiki administrator is a big job. But almost everything you need to know is written down somewhere, and probably you can find all of it by starting with the links in these answers to your questions. --Teratornis 17:12, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

How do I create a stub?
How do you create a stub? For example, some pages say "this biographical article related to television in the United Sates is a stub".

65.1.255.12 16:17, 2 July 2007 (UTC) Jim Dunning | talk  16:22, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Check out Stub for more information.

Advice re dealing with another editor who deletes my text from an article
If you will go to the article Blood Done Sign My Name at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Done_Sign_My_Name and click on "My Talk," you will see (near the bottom) a letter asking for advice in which I state in great detail what the situation is. However, someone named Miranda responds in a way that seems to indicate that he/she is unable to read my letter.

I can't understand why Miranda is unable to read my letter. I am hoping that someone else will be able to read it and get back to me.

Thanks for assistance.

Marshall H. Pinnix 17:03, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * For the record, the correct page link is User talk:Marshall H. Pinnix. That "my talk" link at the top of the page is a link to Special:MYTALK, which leads to the talk page of the person reading the page, not the person who posted it. --tjstrf talk 17:24, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Also, I note on your talk page you refer to my reference to my review of the book (and to excerpts from an e-mail from the author to me). Please be sure to read WP:COI, as trying to insert references to your own work is a conflict of interest. Further, even emails are copyrighted, so posting excerpts from them could potentially be a copyright violation. I would suggest discussing it further on the article's Talk page. -- Kesh 17:33, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * I've added an tag to the page, there are zero sources.  Corvus cornix 18:45, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * I think this discussion should be closed as resolved. There are half a dozen editors who have independently taken the time to explain in detail the relevant policies in this case. 18:55, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

How do you create a wikipedia page of your own
This is my first time on wikipedia and i have just regestered, How do i create a page that other people can search for and find??? --Hellosophkitty 17:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * If you want a page for yourself, you should use your user page, User:Hellosophkitty. There are some guidelines for what you can have on it though, so please read User page as well. --tjstrf talk 17:39, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Jim Dunning | talk  17:47, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Welcome to Wikipedia, Hellosophkitty. We hope you enjoy your experience here. For information on starting article pages, take a look at Starting Your First Article and Starting a new page. If you have more questions, just type {{helpme} } on your Talk page and someone will stop by quickly to help you out. Have fun, and good luck!

web page statistics
How can I find out how many viewers have visited a certain web page, ie Crockett, Texas? Thanks, Martha
 * You don't. Wikipedia does not track that information. -- Kesh 18:56, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

How do you create a template?
How do you create a custom template? Sincerely, Userboxes Only! .

Jim Dunning | talk  18:23, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Refer to Help:Template for detailed information on creating them. Templates can be very complex, so you may want to review the code for some existing templates before attempting to create them on your own. For example, this is an example of a navigation box template; you can actually see the wiki markup used to create it here].

can't login to insight bill pay
I changed from aol to insightbb.com. Now the insight for the cable won't let me use my old e-mail or my new e-mail to pay my bill

Jim Dunning | talk  18:21, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * We're flattered that you turn to Wikipedia for help with your cable service, but this page is for asking questions about using Wikipedia, not your cable or Internet service. Try going to Online Bill Payment from Insight for help.

deletion
I'd like to delete my account, how do i do so? Sillyfaces 18:32, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Accounts don't get deleted. If you don't want to use it, don't use it.  Friday (talk) 18:36, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Jim Dunning | talk  18:38, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Why do you want to delete it? Maybe account deletion isn't what you're looking for?


 * See also WP:RTV and Very FAQS --Hdt83 Chat 18:39, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Jim Dunning | talk  18:46, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Since you have not placed any information on either your userpage or Talk page, and your lone contribution to WP contains no identifying information about you, then you can just stop using the account (as Friday suggests) and disappear.

References relating to songs
If a song article states that said song reached number one (or any other chart number), should a reference be added? If so, what sources would be appropriate to cite? Would, for example, the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles be acceptable?

Many thanksBig Al 1984 19:02, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Jim Dunning | talk  19:06, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks for asking that question. Yes, you should provide a reliable source for that fact. Review the guidelines for sources at Reliable sources. Also, check out Verifiability and Citing sources sources for more information. Good luck.

PS That website is probably just fine as a reliable source, but review the guidelines for reliable sources and verifiability just the same. --Jim

Images. YAY
Two Questions:

1. How do I upload pictures on to my user page?

2. Can I upload pictures of my art on my usperpage?

(LatiRider 19:14, 2 July 2007 (UTC))
 * Yes, but you might want to sign up for an account on Wikimedia Commons for such tasks.  Mi r a n da   19:47, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * As long as it is your own art, of course, you may upload your art on your userpage. --Mayfare 19:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * See also Images, Uploading images and User page. PrimeHunter 20:41, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Watchlist Question
When viewing my watchlist, all edits are listed like this "Planet‎; 03:29 . . (+53)...". What is the significance (+53)? Thanks! Vsst 19:43, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * It's the number of characters added or removed in the last edit. Useful so that you can tell if someone just deleted the entire page or something. --tjstrf talk 19:46, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Actually, I think it's the number of bytes, not characters. -- (Review Me) R Parlate Contribs@ (Let's Go Yankees!) 20:43, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Automatic Logout
Hello.

1. Why does Wikipedia not automatically log you out if you briefly exited Wikipedia? If possible, how can I set this feature up?

2. Also, why does Wikipedia not automatically log you out if you have idled for a certain amount of time? Again, if possible, how can I set this feature up, too? Thank you. --Mayfare 19:46, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * The Log-in page has a "Remember me" box. If that is checked, Wikipedia will keep you logged in.  If it is not checked, you will be logged out after a certain length of time (how long, I don't know, but it seems to be less than an hour).  Corvus cornix 20:07, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Renaming Community media
Hi, I am a new user of Wikipedia and I think it is important to change the title for the "Community media" page to a capitalized one: "Community Media". This should be done because it is a title and more importantly because the title "Community Media" has a redirect on it that takes the user to "public Access", which is a form of "Community Media". Please advise. Fred Johnson [user name Parisjohnson]
 * Please see the Manual of style. -- Kesh 01:20, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Template Question
Can someone check the templates welcomeh and welcomeg, something is wrong with them because extra text seems to be popping up somehow. Although this might just be my own error. SmileToday☺(talk to me, My edits) 20:57, 2 July 2007 (UTC) See and


 * I moved one of the "noinclude" tags down a line, and that seems to have fixed it. Not sure why it was displaying that in the first place, though... Hersfold (talk/work) 21:18, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Also using only welcomeh without the subst caused a problem that put the edit button for that on the talk page of the user, which I find very odd. That caused me to substitute the template by accident twice (see:   )Is this a bug? SmileToday☺(talk to me, My edits) 21:19, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * The extra text appeared because you removed the tag which prevented that text from appearing. h is the same template as g with a heading at the top, so the current setup means that the current version of g is used when you use h. I have reverted back to the original usage and it appears to work fine now. Hope that explains, mattbr 21:23, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * The template should always be subst'ed, as are all the welcome templates, which will result in the desired behaviour. mattbr 21:37, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Translating an article
I have written an article in English and I would like to write the same one in French. I will translate it myself How do I proceed?JLR-mapman 21:09, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm fairly new here, but I think you first translate the title, then the text, then go to the French Wikipedia to write the article there. But they may have slightly different policies and guidelines there though.  Also, add a PAGE_NAME_IN_FRENCH to the bottom of the article. SmileToday☺(talk to me, My edits) 21:13, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Thank you smile for the prompt answer, I did not kow how to get to the French Wikipedia nor how to indicate a translated page. I will try manage from here. thanks again


 * Also see Translation and other links below the "Translation:" entry here: User:John Broughton/Editor's Index to Wikipedia. --Teratornis 21:51, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Expanding boxes on userpage
On my userpage, how do I make my the expanding boxes which hold my userboxes to be the same color as the TOC? Also, how do I make the expanding boxes which hold my userboses to default expanded, so you don't have to click 'show'? Thanks a lot. —Christopher Mann McKayuser talk 21:18, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Merging Crossrail articles (histories)
How are histories merged in this case? Crossrail Glasgow was originally Glasgow Crossrail until the name changed. However, instead of moving Glasgow Crossrail to Crossrail Glasgow, instead the former was redirected to the latter when the latter was created. Simply south 22:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

New Entry
How do I create an entry for a new page? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bmedinger (talk • contribs).
 * See Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Your first article and How to write a great article. PrimeHunter 23:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)