Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 May 31

= May 31 =

edit username
Is there a way to edit my username? I just want to capitalize the 2nd name.Siona 01:46, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Yes, you will need a Bureaucrat to make the change for you, which you can request at Changing username. Follow the instructions on that page, and someone will come along and do it. Happy editing! Prodego  talk  01:49, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * In addition, it seems that you only have one edit on Wikipedia so it may be easier to just creat a new account with your name spelled the way you want to. -- Hdt83 Chat 01:51, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Well... Since the username is only one letter off the filter will catch it; an admin could create the account and email a password to you though. I recommend just getting renamed. Prodego  talk  02:04, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Finally, If the username you want has already been taken, and the user who has taken it has Zero edits, then you can try to usurp the username here. To find out if the username has been taken check out Special:Listusers. -- Tλε Rαnδоm Eδι  τ  оr   02:21, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

am or brit
In articles that do not relate directly to an Anglophonic country or region, which English dialect should I use. On some articles, such as Hornblende, words are written in American English (practice, color) and British English (practise, colour). Is there a Wikipedia-wide standard for English dialect? Thanks. RockRNC 02:23, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * You should probably discuss it on the talk page. WP:MOS states that an article should use only one dialect. See here for more details on how to proceed. Hersfold (talk/work) 02:49, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Transposing a special page?
Is there a way to make any special page, such as Whatlinkshere, appear on a page, the way you can with, for instance, Prefixindex? Example below:  

Doing this with other special pages, however, only generates a link (for example: ). Any way around this? $$\sim$$ Lenoxus " * " 02:32, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Ask on #mediawiki on Freenode IRC, and if it cannot be done file a feature request on Bugzilla (Mediazilla). —Centrx→talk &bull; 04:24, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * All right, I'll see if I can get IRC to work on my computer. Thx $$\sim$$ Lenoxus " * " 15:52, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

my signature
can someone help me fix my signature? and btw i am using raw signature, but i will change it if its easier. ❤ ɱӑԀסԀÏƏ₭Ⓐ†Ǝ ✭ | User_talk:Maddiekate 04:03, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * What do you need fixed? --Kainaw (talk) 04:05, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Well, it's showing up as garbled with question marks on my browser (Firefox on an old version of Windows) -- there's probably no "fix" but to use near-latest software, or simply use non-special characters only. $$\sim$$ Lenoxus " * " 15:56, 4 June 2007 (UTC)


 * The question marks are because the fontset you are using does not have those special characters in it. --Kainaw (talk) 17:26, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

You guys should...
Create a Wikipedia messenger, and become the next huge company like Google or Yahoo...

I know that you guys can do it!

You're already THE place to learn on the internet...

You should be THe place to do everything! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.115.109.77 (talk • contribs)


 * Well, it would be more of a Wikimedia messenger (I suppose you could go propose it on the meta site), but (a) I don't see how you could Wiki it, (b) it would represent a huge load on the WM servers, (c) WM doesn't plan on becoming "the next huge company" - it's a non-profit organisation and all indicators are that it's hoping to stay that way. Confusing Manifestation 04:13, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * The Wikimedia Foundation plans to stay non-profit, but check out what the Great Leader is doing with Wikia. Wikia certainly has some potential to become the next huge company like Google or Yahoo. --Teratornis 04:58, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Merging Category:CrossGen comics and Category:CrossGen titles
I see no reason for these to be separate categories. You would think that "CrossGen comics" would be a list of all comics / works by CrossGen but instead they are listed under CrossGen titles - this confused me at first. I recommend that they are merged into one category and use that one on each of the pages rather than one or the other. I'm pretty new to Wikipedia so I wanted to get some feedback on this before doing it myself.--Campbecf 05:07, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

It seems to have ate what I set for the title, this is what it was supposed to be: Merging http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CrossGen_comics and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CrossGen_titles --Campbecf 05:10, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Fixed. adds a page to the category. Category:Whatever creates the link thus: Category:Whatever. Confusing Manifestation 05:14, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I think that the information in Crossgen titles should in includes in the CrossGen comics category as a table. --Campbecf 09:16, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

reducing figure sizes
Hi, how can i reduce the size of the output figure without sacrificing the URLs (syntax?) associated with it. Example: http://www.bioline.org.br/imgs/bioline_international.gif. I want to reduce the Bioline logo but I won't alter the syntax. (why does the logo and the hyperlink show here?)
 * I'm not sure I understand what you're asking. Are you trying to do this? http://www.bioline.org.br/, where you reduce the url length? In that case the problem is that you're doing it backwards by putting the real URL second. The URL goes first, then the space, and then the link name. --tjstrf talk 07:20, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

My apologies. I was quite unclear. I was trying to ask if there could be any program or syntax to reduce the size of the output figure. In this example image, i want to reduce the size of the figure using this URL. Another alternative is to reduce it using Photoshop then upload it. But i dont want to do this way. 
 * Ah, I think I understand. You want the image result at right?
 * In code, that would be [[Image:Crystal_Clear_app_looknfeel.png|50px|thumb]]
 * The size can be adjusted to whatever you want, of course. --tjstrf talk 09:35, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for this reply. How about if i did not upload the figure and i want the URL to be incorporated on the code, what code should i use? The code cannot be recognized. Thanks.

Customising my tag
I'd like to customise my tag but everywhere I look all I find is some super hyper code that does not work the same everytime. So could I just have the code In to this box All i want is a simple Red to Blue fade So Red=> Peace kee (a little of purple) per IIDep. Garcia ( Talk   + |  Help Desk  |  Complaints  ) 11:50, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

creating mailing list
Hi Just found your site and wanted to know if there is a way to create a mailing list of the site Iwanted.

It's all of the High Schools in Michigan.Is there a way to open up all of the addresses.

Thank you
 * Hello, I'm not sure what you're asking and I'm not sure what site you think you are on, but this is Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. ssepp(talk) 11:34, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Well, not really sure what you are looking for but a simple search (after all this is an encylopedia) revealed this list: List of high schools in Michigan. Hope that helps. Scottydude talk 14:38, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

WikiMedia Extensions
So I was looking at yet another long tedious list and I REALLY wanted to be able to sort it this time. Would a MediaWiki extension be the sort of thing that enables this behavior? I'm having a hard time finding information on what exactly an extension is and the sorts of things they allow you to modify. I imagine that it is some javascript that loads up for a person who enables it at certain times when interacting with the wiki software, correct?

Anyways, I imagine that if extensions are the correct way to realize this functionality, there is probably an existing one? Also, could you point me in the direction of the general policies of Wikipedia on upgrading/downgrading the version of the software? That is to say, if I wanted to add a javascript table sorting ability to MediaWiki, assuming it could not be accomplished through extensions (which seem FAR preferable), would there be any chance of it actually showing up on wikipedia sometime in the next century? ;)

Sorry for so much questioning, thanks! Audiodude 10:54, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * There is certainly a javascript table sorting in MediaWiki, and it's installed on Wikipedia (see above; check the 'edit' view for this section to see how it works). I'm not sure whether it's an extension or part of the core code. --ais523 11:45, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * MediaWiki says sortable wikitables are a feature of version 1.9. --Teratornis 13:23, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Uploading a scanned in family photograph
I came across information of my great grandfather (Sydney Percy-Lancaster) on Wikipedia. I have original photographs of him (and his family) and have scanned in one of the photographs which I thought might be appropriate to use on Wikipedia. If I own the photograph what is the copyright status and how do I upload the image? This environment is all very new to me.
 * I think the person who took the photograph owns the copyright. Do you know who it was? ssepp(talk) 15:12, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * (edit conflict) The person who took the photograph has the copyright on it, and can decide the conditions under which it's released. Use this upload form if you yourself own the copyright, and choose the terms under which you're willing to release it to Wikipedia and the outside world there. If the person who took the photo died more than 100 years ago (slightly unlikely but possible in this case), the copyright will have expired (at least if you live in the UK or US), and you can use the main upload form and specify 'author died over 100 years ago' as the licence. It's more complicated if neither of these applies; see Media copyright questions to ask people who are more likely to know the answer. --ais523 15:14, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Other languages link
Hello! I was not sure how to contribute with this, but there it is: the page about Peptide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide) should have "in other languages" link to Polish page http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptydy.
 * You can add this link yourself by editing the page and placing  ('pl' for 'pl.wikipedia.org') at the bottom of the page; keep the links in alphabetical order by language name if there's more than one. --ais523 15:32, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Archiving Talk Page
How would I go about automatically archiving my talk page, I've tried to use a bot advised but it hasn't archived the page. ≈  Maurauth  ( nemesis~☆ ) 15:34, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Shadowbot3 (which is currently taking over Werdnabot's job) edits at 05:00 and 21:00 UTC (taking some time to get round to all the pages on the list), so the auto-archiving won't happen yet. If your page hasn't been archived by tomorrow, post back here to try to find out what went wrong. --ais523 15:39, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Mayors
Hi There

I recently added a lot of information to the page "Mayors of New Brunswick, New Jersey" and decided to also add a new page, "Mayors of Highland Park, New Jersey." Here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Highland_Park%2C_New_Jersey

Then I tried to do an internal link to the Highland Park, NJ article using the phrase "The mayor of Highland Park is Meryl Frank"

It didn't work, and when I looked in the index, my new page isn't there.

Do I just wait for it to be recognized or do I have to actively do something, other than just making the page?

wofh dkla n jkdbn upnd sjfda akk ai the gid dja j?

Thank you

Frank Deis -- Affenbart.

PS my email is email removed, it's easier for me to get the reply that way but I will come back here as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Affenbart (talk • contribs) 15:43, May 31, 2007


 * It's now fixed. You need to type the the exact title of the article in order to link to it. Otherwise you would only have a red link :) I hope this helps. PeaceNT 15:52, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

[Question removed; not appropriate for the help desk. Yechiel Man 20:03, 31 May 2007 (UTC)]

Languages
Are you only allowed to use English language when contributing to the English wikipedia? Francisco Tevez 16:06, 31 May 2007 (UTC) lime juice
 * Depends on what you mean. Articles needs to be in English.  Talk pages and discussions should be in English (since everything should be open to all to see).  Sources need not be in English, though this is preferred. WilyD 16:15, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * If this presents a difficulty for you, ask for help at Translation, and consider contributing to the Wikipedia of your native language if you're not already doing that. Yechiel Man 20:02, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Talk archive vadalized
Hello. I currently have four archive pages for my talk page. When I went to archive my current talk page, I saw that what was previously an uncreated archive page seems to have been vandalized by an anonymous IP. Could someone delete this page, please? - User_talk:Ibaranoff24/Archive05

Thank you - Ibaranoff24 16:11, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Can you expand a little? It seems that User_talk:Ibaranoff24/Archive05 has a lot of potentially useful information.  What is the IP address of the vandal?  tiZom(2¢)  17:06, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Stripper Column Designing
I'm an undergraduate and currently involving in a project on stripper coulumn design. I'm looking for a web site (free service) which provides comprehensive desing details and methods of desinging. Stripper Column is to seperate CO2 from rich MEA stream using steam as the stripping medium. Thank you. Malinda
 * This page is for questions about using and editing Wikipedia. For questions that are more of a reference material sort, please see the reference desk.  Also, thanks for explaining what "stripper column" means.  I had an entirely different mental image.  Dismas |(talk) 17:24, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * You could start by reading these articles: Amine gas treating and Ethanolamine. (You might as well read Chemical engineering to see what Wikipedia says about your (likely) major. Perhaps you can help improve that article.) The Amine gas treating article uses "regenerator" as a synonym for "stripper column." I don't see a Wikipedia article that tells exactly how to design one, although I did not make much of an attempt to find such an article (that's your job). You might have to consult some chemical engineering textbooks (which you almost certainly have in your university library). Or look it up in the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (which, amazingly, does not seem to have an article on Wikipedia yet, considering it is a standard reference for the chemical process industry). If you have some more details about the upstream process which is (presumably) generating flue gas which is undergoing Amine gas treating, and thus creating the need for the regenerator/stripper, you would have more keywords to use for Google Search and possibly find some details on how to design the various unit operations in that process. --Teratornis 22:35, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Demographics
I want to write a section for demographics on an area of London. The census is collected by electoral wards. The wards don't coincide with the area. The area is all of one ward + 25% of a second. How do I handle this? Can I make calculations as long as I make it clear how the figs are derived?


 * Yes, I do believe that is allowed. It does not appear to be a violation of WP:OR. If I'm wrong someone please correct me. -- Tλε Rαnδоm Eδι  τ  оr   19:35, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Why is my page being deleted ? ? ?
Can you please tell me why my page is being deleted ? I just contributed it and now you say you are deleting it. Why ?

AL


 * You'd get a better answer from User:NawlinWiki, since he's the one that deleted it and I can't see what was there... but judging by the title of the page that he deleted, it was probably a nonsense page that added no value to the encyclopedia. This isn't a website that you can just create any page you want about any topic you want, it's a collaborative experience to build an encyclopedia that's of use to anybody. --Maelwys 18:34, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Correction, just read the delete log to find out, and it turns out that it wasn't a nonsense page, just a poorly named one. But the topic was still apparently unsuitable for wiki. I suggest your read Wikipedia is not a Soapbox, as recommended by the deleting administrator, since that's the basis on which he deleted it. --Maelwys 18:36, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * See Why was my article deleted?. --Teratornis 22:36, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Image problem
I can't get any images to display from upload.wikimedia.org;I have tried regular techniques. Firefox 2.0.0.3 & Win XP. GDonato (talk) 18:50, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

!voting
What does the term "!vote" mean? Geuiwogbil 19:18, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * A !vote is not a vote. It's generally used to clarify that even though people are putting forward their opinions in the form of a vote, it's not actually a vote because polling is not a replacement for discussion. So even if the !vote count seems to indicate that one side is "winning", if the other side has the better arguments, it could still "win" at the end. --Maelwys 19:23, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * What a counterintuitive and pointless way of going about things. Thanks for the quick response! Geuiwogbil 19:25, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * See ! for the reason for this notation. PrimeHunter 19:59, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Counterintuitive? Absolutely. (Welcome to the upside down world of wikis, where much of the knowledge you relied on to reach this point now needs updating.) Pointless? I would hesitate to say that. An argument could be made that there is a point - you're looking at it. That is, Wikipedia itself is the result of all these staggeringly complex policies, guidelines, and procedures. A bunch of volunteers from all over the world, working for free, have somehow put together one of the world's most popular Web sites, and somehow it doesn't all degenerate into a mass of nonsense as one might reasonably expect. This is not to say that every social custom which has evolved on Wikipedia is the optimally productive behavior, but Wikipedia must be getting it right more often than wrong. --Teratornis 00:11, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

How do I get a user's name to include links to their block logs, talk page, contributions?
How do I get a username to print out with links to their talk page, contributions, etc., as I seen done in many places? For example, listing a user's sock puppets? KP Botany 19:36, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Try the template. For example,  produces . See here for many other styles.--Werdan7T @ 19:41, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * usercheck might be the one you are looking for. Carom 19:43, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks, both are very useful pages to know about, and completely unfindable. KP Botany 20:58, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Carom left links to them as well as links for more info. Simply click on the blue to find them.  To use them just type them in the edit window as you see them:  . If you would like to do this in your signature you cannot use these templates.  Templates are not allowed in signatures becuase they create server strain.  You can however include direct links in your signature as long as you check raw signature. Scottydude  talk 22:43, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I think KP's point was that he could not find the pages before asking here, not that he couldn't follow the links provided by Werdan7 and myself... Carom 22:45, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * If you know where there is an example of something and wonder how it was done, then just click edit to see the source (may be problematic in case of Template substitution). PrimeHunter 22:47, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, the point was they were unfindable before, not that the links posted for me were not found. I found and added both to my watch list so I can use them in the future.

PrimeHunter, the user who did it on the page before me did something that was substituted. I kept looking for pages that looked like it, but they were all substituted with reams of code. KP Botany 00:11, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Many (but not all) templates will contain a commented out message near the end stating the name of the template that looks something like this: LoTs AnD LoTs Of TeXt AnD cOdE Fuhghettaboutit 00:20, 1 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Nothing of the sort. But I'll look for that in the future.  KP Botany 01:27, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Article title style
I'm writing an article about the GVB which expands to Golfvaardigheidsbewijs and is often translated as Golf license. It's basically a license one must have in order to play certain courses, join golfing associations, etc. What should I use for the title of the article? The Dutch name or the English traslation? Dismas |(talk) 19:42, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * It's your choice, and if you change your mind later the title can be changed by clicking the "move" button at the top of the page. My advice is to use the English title, with the Dutch title as an incoming redirect.  Generally, titles of foreign items are used in their English forms unless there is good reason to do otherwise.  See Naming conventions for more discussion. Yechiel Man  20:00, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Thank you. Dismas |(talk) 20:07, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

creating an invisible article
Is it possible to temporarily hide an article from public use if it is not completely finished? I'd like to start writing an article but would only like it available for viewing once it is complete.
 * Im sorry that is not possible, but what you can do is write a draft copy in a subpage of the articles talk page like this: Talk:Example/Draft replacing "example" with the name of the article. And when you have done copy & paste the text onto the article page or move it! regards Dep. Garcia ( Talk   + |  Help Desk  |  Complaints  ) 20:41, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * You can hide sections of an article using, that will hide the section unless you press the edit button, if you are an admin then you might be able to delete selected revisions then when you edit and then restore them later but you might as well use your user sub-page and then move it over.--User:Rock2e Talk - Contribs 20:54, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * If you don't want it to be possible for anybody to view it in any way then you can store it in a text file elsewhere and only use preview while you work on it. But storing it in a user subpage is more practical. PrimeHunter 21:01, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Your best bet is probably the user subpage, as PrimeHunter describes. That it easy to set up.  As an example, if I wanted a user subpage it would be User:Gaff/articledraft.  Repleace my username with yours and articledraft with whatever you want...good luck. &mdash; Gaff  ταλκ 21:06, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * See also Subpages. PrimeHunter 22:20, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

About the other Wiki Sites
Greetings, I have just created an ccount, and I have a question that's been bugging me for a long time. Say I want to add things in another wiki area, like Megaten Wiki (http://www.popanime.net/megami/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page), Castlevania Wiki (http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page), or any other thing like that, can I access them using my own account, or do I need to create a separate account for them? Thank you in advance.

Neo Guyver


 * You need to create separate accounts for them. Cheers! &mdash; Gaff  ταλκ 20:47, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Megaten Wiki is not associated with Wikipedia, and the Castlevania Wiki is merely hosted on wikia.com, which is a sister project of Wikipedia but with different rules and procedures. There are no common accounts for them.  Corvus cornix 02:23, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

wonder
Is the english wikipedia only meant to be for English people? Francisco Tevez 21:31, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * No we have other wikipedias as-well like the french version, Italian etc. just visit http://www.wikipedia.org/ to see the languages we have. Best regards Dep. Garcia ( Talk   + |  Help Desk  |  Complaints  ) 21:40, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Or here for that matter <b style="color:red;">Dep. Garcia</b> ( Talk   + |  Help Desk  |  Complaints  ) 21:42, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * 'English' only refers to the language it's written in. It's for anybody interested in the world. I'm Danish but rarely edit or read the Danish Wikipedia. There is far more in the English about most things I'm interested in. PrimeHunter 22:12, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * In addition, the English Wikipedia greatly benefits from the views of people who come from countries where English is not the first-language. For more information on the reasons behind this, feel free to visit WikiProject_Countering_systemic_bias a Project regarding this subject Philipwhiuk 22:44, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

How to add link
How to add new link to wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kvnramakrishna (talk • contribs)
 * Ensure that it doesn't violate WP:EL and add it to the page like this:
 *  *link caption 
 * --ST47 Talk 22:15, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Or if you mean an internal link that points to another article already on Wikipedia, the words go between two brackets, such as Wikipedia, which would produce Wikipedia. Dismas |(talk) 22:23, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Infobox alignment
How do I move an infobox to the right-side of the page, and have a border go around it? (so that text may go next to the box)

Here's the infobox I wish to move. http://ummbalumni.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_University_of_Massachusetts_Minuteman_Marching_Band

<email removed for security>


 * Your link doesn't seem to be working. Please sign your posts by typing four tildes after your message and do not leave your email for security reasons. Thanks, Scottydude  talk 22:38, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * (The link worked when I tried it, but the response was a bit slow.) This Help desk is for questions about editing on Wikipedia, but we often try to answer questions about editing on other MediaWiki wikis because we are incredibly nice. Since the Bando Wiki you linked to requires users to log in to edit, we cannot easily see the wikitext of your infobox unless we register our own accounts on that wiki (something most of us would probably be too lazy to do just to answer your question). However, having ported a few infoboxes from Wikipedia and adapted them to other wikis, I can outline the process for you. Bando Wiki has few articles yet, and the Template: namespace is empty. That suggests you or whoever else worked on the article did not copy all the pieces you need from Wikipedia to get infoboxes to work correctly. For starters, I would suggest implementing your infoboxes the same way Wikipedia does, as templates. If your infobox uses a CSS style class, then you need to copy the class definition from MediaWiki:Common.css to the page with the same name on Bando Wiki (and only a sysop user can edit pages in the MediaWiki: namespace, so that's the permission you will need on Bando Wiki to add styles to the Common.css page there). It's kind of hard to explain this without actually doing it, so if you can't understand my vague description, your best bet would be to find someone who does understand it who can work with the administrators of Bando Wiki. If you can't get sysop user privileges on Bando Wiki, you can hard-code all the border and spacing style information directly into the table in your infobox, but that's a bit untidy. --Teratornis 22:52, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

officer lies
What if an officer out right lies regarding the issues in hand and admits that he lied while under oath is this reason to dismiss —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.18.153.170 (talk • contribs)


 * It can be a reason, but a dismissal of charges is not necessary. For example, officer lies about wearing his shorts instead of his slacks while apprehending a murderer.  So, should there be a dismissal?  It is up to the judge. --Kainaw (talk) 23:19, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Hi. You're more likely to get an answer if you post your questions in the Reference Desk area, specifically Reference desk/Humanities. Also, you'd probably need to specify the legal jurisdiction, such as which US state, or which country is concerned.--A bit iffy 23:19, 31 May 2007 (UTC)