Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 December 1

= December 1 =

I am new,,,
Hello,

How do I create an article?

sorry for that question i am just new here... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Carl526 (talk • contribs)


 * Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.


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


 * If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Your first article and How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. – ukexpat (talk) 02:52, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Template:Infobox U.S. legislation
Hello - I'm trying to clean up Infobox U.S. legislation, and cannot figure out how (a) suppress the header "Legislative History" and the white space below the header unless at least one of the parameters is provided, or (b) how to suppress the header "Major amendments" unless amendments is provided. Can someone with more template savvy than I fix this? Thanks&mdash; G716  &lt;T·C&gt; 02:55, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * The relevant code appears to be here (I inserted some line breaks to keep it readable):

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;background-color:#BBDDFF;font-size:100%"|
 * Review Help:Parserfunctions to refresh your memory on how the  works. As you can see from the end of the code snippet, the "else" part of the "if" condition is:  . That is, if   is undefined, you get the "Legislative history" heading with no external link. If you want to hide the heading and everything under it unless at least one member of a set of input variables has a value, maybe you could use an  . (I haven't checked this so I could be wrong. Read Help:Parserfunctions and maybe look for some other infoboxes to use as examples.) I suggest experimenting on a user subpage such as User:G716/Sandbox. Template coding experiments rarely work right on the first try, so it's best to get through the errors on a sandbox copy of a template, rather than destroy the production copy of the template. --Teratornis (talk) 06:00, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Monobook code
Is this code  safe to use? --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 05:06, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, I've added it myself, and there doesn't seem to be any problem so I guess it's safe. You can ask from User:Smith609 if you have any questions about the script. Cheers.  C h a m a l  talk 05:17, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Username Change Unfulfilled
I requested to change my username, but my username has yet to be changed. I'm wondering if my request didn't go through or something. Please help.

User112008 (talk) 05:22, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * You only posted this question under your username, so either it didn't go through, or you wanted to change another username you didn't tell us about. What username do you want to change? The open requests are at Changing username - Mgm|(talk) 05:32, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Purging
I am experiencing a purging problem that is not local to my machine. I have recently edited Illinois State Senate so that #14 should be in bold when on his page, but it is still behaving like a redirect in the template. This is just one example of purge problems I have been having. Another is at WP:GAR where I nominated 2008-09 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team earlier today and I can not yet see it at GAR although I can see in the transcluded page includes it. What is going on?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 05:36, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * I spoke with a technical support person on the other side of the world about my purging and he also could not see the bolding that was intended.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 05:39, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * I see both, so I would assume the problem is that it got stuck in the job queue for a while. Have you tried clearing your browser cache? Calvin 1998 (t·c) 07:31, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * I was thinking it was my browser cache, but someone on the other side of the world who had nothing in cache saw what I saw. What acts do you suggest for clearing my cache though?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 07:45, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * P.S. although I now see Jones in bold, I still can not see the page at GAR.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 07:47, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Nope, I don't see it either. Must be stuck in the queue. &mdash; neuro(talk) 09:54, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * It is not stuck in the queue because I can see it at User:VeblenBot/C/GAR.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 21:32, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * That doesn't change anything, the bot reads raw data. &mdash; neuro(talk) 17:24, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

O.K. Here is another annoying example. At Template:CA cities and mayors of 100,000 population I have made two copyedits that do not appear when the template is transcluded at various pages such as Sunnyvale, California. I received a complaint and told the person I changed the template, but it does not show.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 00:05, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

External Links to Commercial Websites
Is it alright for commercial websites designed solely to sell merchandise to be linked to from an external links section of a Wikipedia article. 71.113.88.249 (talk) 08:27, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * No. Allowing one website to be linked would make other businesses think it's unfair they're not linked and cause a whole slew of links to be added to competing companies. External links should point to information, not products. External links shows what the policy is. - 131.211.211.68 (talk) 08:38, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Santa Claus/Father Christmas
Should these articles make a bit clearer from the outset whether father christmas/santa claus is real or not. thanks 79.75.225.71 (talk) 12:53, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Who do you think is coming to these articles with the idea he's real and upon reading any length is going to be confirmed in that thought? What problem does this address? The second sentence in the lead for the first begins "The legend may..."; the second paragraph of the latter starts "The symbolic personification of Christmas as a merry old figure..." I don't see the issue.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 13:05, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * "Father Christmas is a name used in many English speaking countries, for the gift-bringing figure of Christmas. The same figure with the same name exists in other countries (in that country's language), such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Romania (Romance countries). The character is similar to, and in some places such as Australia and the UK, interchangeable with Santa Claus. Although "Father Christmas" and "Santa Claus" have for all practical purposes been merged, historically the characters were different."

no mention in that lead summary. perhaps it should start by saying something like Father Christmas is a fictional character.... ?
 * Father Christmas is not a fictional character in every sense, he is more a personification. I can imagine such a lead being disputed. &mdash; neuroIT'S MY BIRTHDAY! 14:59, 1 December 2008 (UTC)


 * This should really be discussed on the article talk pages. Personification is probably a good term for this; fictional is problematic, as ther is some historical basis. --—— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  15:48, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Unfair and unbalaced contributions
Sir,

If I find inaccurate and unfair comment concerning individuals how can I have such contribution withdrawn from the site? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gdad300 (talk • contribs)
 * See WP:BLP. You can remove the information yourself, but if it is contested, request input. :) &mdash; neuroIT'S MY BIRTHDAY! 14:56, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Citing annual reports

 * Citation templates

Which template should be used for citations of SEC filings? -- Zanimum (talk) 15:19, 1 December 2008 (UTC)


 * It it is normally issued as a published report, then cite paper would be appropriate. Do note that this would be considered a primary source. --—— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  15:28, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Dynamically requesting wikipedia content to include in another site.
Hello,

I am wondering where I can find information on how to get wikipedia content dynamically. I have a web site that has local pages "city_name.domain-name.com" and I would like to include wikipedia content on those pages.

For example, if the page name was atlanta.domain-name.com I would like to display a widget of content from the wikipedia page on Atlanta, GA : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta,_ga.

I have seen web pages (hotpads.com) / applications (Vicinity app) that do this but I am not sure how they have accomplished it. For example the iPhone application Vicinity seems to grab wikipedia content based on my current lat/lon location. How does it do that? Is there an wikipedia API or something?

Please forgive me if the answer to this question is glaringly obvious.

Regards,

Travis


 * See API and WP:REUSE. – ukexpat (talk) 16:53, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Need help Changing IP address to User Name
I edited history of an article, forgetting to log in. My ip address is in history of edits and I wish to replace that IP address with my User Name for security purposes. Please provide procedures for doing this. Thank you. DimeaDuzn (talk) 16:57, 1 December 2008 (UTC)DimeaDuzn
 * Unfortunately, that is not possible. Once an edit is made, it is impossible to change the username/IP address that made the edit.  TN ‑  X   - Man  17:02, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Moving a page
Hi,

I tried to move a page from the name "Boris Uspensky" to a new one "Boris Andreyevich Uspensky" (the full name of the person), because I have opened another item with a person also named Boris Uspensky (full name Boris Aleksandrovich Uspensky)

I read the instructions, they seemed simple, just press the tab "Move". But I cannot find the tab anywhere ??????

Can I ask an administrator to make the move ?

Thanks,

Allan —Preceding unsigned comment added by Agamborg (talk • contribs)
 * Only autoconfirmed users are able to move pages. Your account is over 4 days old, but you haven't made more than 10 edits yet, so you are not quite autoconfirmed.  Until you become autoconfirmed, you can request that a page be moved at WP:RM.  Ioeth (talk contribs friendly) 17:12, 1 December 2008 (UTC)


 * In this case, using a disambiguating title for your second article is probably better than moving the first one to use the full name. Take a look at WP:DISAM. I would suggest leaving the first article - Boris Uspensky - with its current title. Then give your second article a title including a disambiguating description in parentheses. You can then use the appropriate hatnote on each article, to point to the other. Alternatively, move Boris Uspensky to a disambiguating title, create the second article with its own disambiguating title, then edit Boris Uspensky (which will now be a redirect page following the move to a new title) to turn it into a disambiguation page as described at WP:DISAM. Contact me on my talk page if you need help with any of this. – ukexpat (talk) 17:50, 1 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I added the appropriate hatnotes to each page, so I think we are OK with respect to disambiguation. If articles are written about other people named Boris Uspensky, we can go the disambiguation page route. – ukexpat (talk) 18:15, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Interpage diffs
Is there possibly some tool to compare diffs between pages? -- Menti  sock  17:30, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Do you want to compare diffs of 2 separate pages, or simply compare the contents of 2 separate pages in a diff-like view? Ioeth (talk contribs friendly) 17:49, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Most likely the former (but anything helps...) -- Menti  sock  19:07, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Katt Williams
Can somebody with a vandal fighting tool go cleanup Katt Williams under the section about his life, please! Hairy Perry  17:52, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, if you tell us what is wrong. :) &mdash; neuroIT'S MY BIRTHDAY! 18:21, 1 December 2008 (UTC)


 * When I say look under life, its pretty self explanatory when it says "Katt Williams was born gay and he married Nick Cannon..." and "Katt Williams started being a gay comedian..." You know what I mean? :-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by HairyPerry (talk • contribs)


 * That vandalism was reverted by you and the page semi-protected by User:Ioeth. If you still see it, try bypassing your browser cache and/or purging the page. – ukexpat (talk) 19:25, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Seeking approval for Pete Snyder article
This is an article I have drafted and posted to my user subspace. In preparation, I have carefully followed WP:NOR, WP:BIO and WP:BLP among other applicable guidelines. Because I have a financial interest in the subject (i.e. he is my employer), I would like an uninvolved editor to review the article as I have written it and move it, approve me to do so, or offer feedback on how it could be improved before asking for admittance to the mainspace again. Let me know, and feel free to check out my user page for more about my editing activities. Thanks. NMS Bill (talk) 18:03, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * The article looks good; it is well-written and well-sourced. I recommend that you move it into the article space yourself.  You may want to leave a note on the article's talk page with information similar to the message you left here.  Cheers!  Ioeth (talk contribs friendly) 18:12, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Looks good. If he is your boss, you may wish to get a picture of him - I will add an infobox in in a minute, hopefully you won't mind. &mdash; neuroIT'S MY BIRTHDAY! 18:33, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you both for your quick comments. Feel free to add the userbox and/or move it, otherwise I will do so shortly. I don't have a photograph yet, but that's a great idea as well. Thanks again. NMS Bill (talk) 18:44, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * When you do take a photo, please upload it to Commons so it can be used on all Wikipedia projects. – ukexpat (talk) 19:30, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

somthing wrong with display of a page
The page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Ghrelin&go=Go

is having display issues, but related are not. The display issues make the page hard to view.

Sorry if this is the wrong place to mention this.
 * I don't see any display issues. Was there something specific to which you could point?  TN ‑  X   - Man  18:23, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Just confirming, it looks fine to me too. Tested in the latest Minefield build. &mdash; neuroIT'S MY BIRTHDAY! 18:30, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

putting ref tags in a hidden article section
A while ago I remember seeing momentum behind the idea of being able to but ref tags in a hidden section at the top of an article. The rationale for this was to make it possible to edit an article and add citations without having to worry about a ref tag getting deleted if someone chose to delete the paragraph that contained it.

Did anything ever become of this idea? If not, does anyone know of any links to Talk pages that refer to this issue? dr.ef.tymac (talk) 19:07, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Canvassing
When you leave the template uw-canvass for a user who's been canvassing on the Reference Desk rather than users' talk pages, how do you change it to say "Hello. It appears that you have been canvassing—leaving messages on the Reference Desk to notify of an ongoing community decision, debate, or vote."? --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 20:56, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * There isn't a way to change the original template. You can however, subst the template, then go back and change it. Or, you can add a second pipe at the end of the template and a personal note. (like this : ) . Cheers!  TN ‑  X   - Man  21:06, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks. --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 21:11, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

How do I?
Become a Wikipedia editor? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Snoopygray (talk • contribs)


 * You already are! :) Feel free to be bold and start editing pages! Welcome to Wikipedia. Glass  Cobra  22:09, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * But if you really want to know how to become an edi- I AM KIDDING I SWEAR! &mdash; neuro(talk) 17:20, 2 December 2008 (UTC)