Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 July 16

= July 16 =

Java classes
I notice that there are a lot features that are not supported in Wikipedia's MediaWiki:Common.js, which occasionally make it difficult to create certain templates. Is it possible to create your own Java classes? ChyranandChloe (talk) 03:41, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Nope, for security reasons. And do you mean Java or JavaScript? Calvin 1998 (t-c) 05:17, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't know what you mean "for security reasons".  Not a single part of Wikipedia runs on Java, so its "nope, for technical reasons".   You can write your own JavaScript scripts and include them in your personal monobook.js (or 'theme-of-choice'.js), but that JavaScript will only excute for you and no one else.  -- ShinmaWa(talk) 18:31, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * That was my point: If you mean Java, than the MediaWiki is incapable of handling it (it's web-based, and you can't run applets on it. Mediawiki:Common.js is JavaScript, not Java). If you mean JavaScript, it could be, but is disabled due to the fact that well written malicious JavaScript could compromise your account, destroy the wiki within seconds, etc. etc. etc. etc. if it ran automatically for all users. So any JavaScript you write will only work for the users who have that code in their .js file. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 19:34, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I forgot to specify that it was Java Script. Thanks for the insight, I knew that there was some was security issues involved. What is the proposal process that needs to done before a JS class can be moved into the MediaWiki:Common.js. ChyranandChloe (talk) 02:50, 17 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Hmm... 1.) There has to be a good reason 2.)I suppose you could ask at the technical village pump, unless someone here knows... Calvin 1998 (t-c) 03:29, 17 July 2008 (UTC)
 * That sounds like the best place, I would agree. On a side note, Java and JavaScript are essentially unrelated, despite the name (you can blame Sun Microsystems for this particular piece of confusing nomenclature!)  If only we could persuade everyone to use the "new" name ECMAScript, life would be that much less mixed-up!  I presume your proposed additions relate to the Main Page redesign?  -- tiny plastic Grey Knight &#x2296; 07:11, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, the main purpose right now is the for the 2008 main page redesign proposal. I also see some potential in adding a few more features to the MediaWiki:Common.js such as: tabs, screen.width detection, more options to the show/hide feature, and so on. In fact, we really don't need to program most of these; just snatch them off the other Wikipedias. I think this is resolved, thanks guys. ChyranandChloe (talk) 02:30, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Using episode list template
I'm having a bit of trouble with the "Episode list" template that I created (Template:Episode list/All Saints). I have been using it in the transclusion of stuff from All Saints (season 11) to List of All Saints episodes. I want to add an 'Audience' column to the episode table at All Saints (season 11) but I dont want it to show up on the table at List of All Saints episodes (under season 11). I've tried a few things but I cant get it to work. Can someone please help? Davido321 (talk) 05:12, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I believe it's fixed, now. The column existed on both All Saints (season 11) and List of All Saints episodes, but was only fed data on the former. By adding another parser function, the column will only be displayed on the first page. I encourage you to double check my work, though. – Luna Santin  (talk) 07:20, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Navigation templates
Is there a guideline stating that navigation templates should be attached only to articles that are included in the template? --Geronimo20 (talk) 08:36, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * May I restate this: Is it okay to attach a navigation template to an article which is not included in the template, such as the template placed at the bottom of this article. --Geronimo20 (talk) 13:47, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

If no-one here is sure of the answer, where else might I ask? --Geronimo20 (talk) 22:30, 16 July 2008 (UTC)


 * It seems very relevant, and even though the article isn't in that template, it is in the identically named WikiProject. I'd say go with common sense over the possibility of illogical rules, but I'd assume the members of that project would be the ones to ask. Someguy1221 (talk) 22:47, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

credir
what is credit in terms of credit management? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.43.76.146 (talk) 11:10, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * You might find what you are looking for in the article about credit (finance). If you cannot find the answer there, click here to post your question at that article's talk page.  If that does not solve your problem, you can try asking your question at Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They will be glad to try and answer questions about anything in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for).  I hope this helps. Algebraist 11:15, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't think an article's talk page is the right place to be asking questions unrelated to the form of the article itself. I think the ref desk is the appropriate place to ask. – ukexpat (talk) 13:35, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Come to think of it, I agree. Time for a rewrite of RD3? Algebraist 13:42, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, simplify it and make the reference desk the first suggestion. - tholly  --Turnip-- 20:59, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Is it wise for me to make an account?
I've been using this site for a while now, initially for research purposes, but more recently I have begun making the occasional anonymous edit. I was thinking about creating an account, but I don’t really see the benefit of doing so, and now I have read something on user:barneca’s talk page which has kinda put me off making an account. The user says "Although I think I’m a very low-value target for Hivemind-type people (I don’t really do controversy much), I’ve simply been too careless, and left too many clues to my real life identity sprinkled around the internet, and have no desire to risk being put thru what others have been put thru recently." What do they mean "risk being put thru what others have been put thru recently"??? I would like to know what this user means before I think about making an account. Cheers. 79.75.221.97 (talk) 12:49, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * An account at base is more anonymous than editing under your ip address. Ip addresses can be traced to internet service providers and to geologic locations and in some cases to the actual computer being used. An account shields you from this type of tracing by the general public. Of course, if you post a profile and include volunteered personal information, then that can lead to somneone finding out your real identity. I don't know what happened to Barneca, but I can tell you that there are a number of websites dedicated to finding out the real identities of Wikipedia administrators they dislike and smearing them. The quote shows by admission that it was the posting of details and clues about himself/herself that led to whatever vulnerability was exploited. If you don't do that, you won't leave yourself exposed.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:55, 16 July 2008 (UTC)


 * This Why create an account? should give you some more answers ... --  Tinu  Cherian  - 13:11, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * (edit conflict)Putting security concerns aside, there are a lot of other benefits to creating an account. An account allows you to create articles, upload images, and move pages. You can also set up a watchlist to track changes to pages you're interested in. See here for more info. Cheers!  TN ‑ X - Man  13:12, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * (EC)Fuhghettaboutit is correct. Creating an account will likely be more private unless you reveal personal information about yourself. Along with that there are numerous other benefits: The ability to carry on protracted conversations, the ability to watchlist pages, and the ability to track your own contributions. After 4 days and 10 edits under the account (both requirements must be satisfied), you will gain access to additional resources such as the ability to move pages if necessary, and after a while, with enough edits you are able to vote in board and committee elections as well as other important things (the edit and time requirements for these vary between individual applications).-- Oni Ookami Alfador Talk 13:16, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Hi. I don't really think you need to worry about the issues mentioned on Barneca's usertalkpage. The thing is, a select few high-profile users and administrators are harrased by off-wiki projects (like ED, WR, and 4C). The "Hivemind" that she talks about is sort of like an attack site by wikipedia review (which I'm not allowed to link to). Simply creating an account does not put you at risk for such problems, as long as you don't leave your personal information all over the Internet. More than likely you won't have to deal with the kinds of "things" that people are talking about here, as most of those things are experienced by very high-profile users, and most attacks that vandals sometimes make are relatively minor and can be resolved quickly. Thanks. ~ A H  1 (TCU) 17:21, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Uploading a organizations logo image
I would like to add the IAGSDC logo to the IAGSDC page.[] How do I go about getting permission to upload it? Can I send it directly to an administrator?

Thank you. Rtc869 (talk) 14:46, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Logos are coverd under Fair use policy. Any logged in user can upload images. The direct page to upload logos is . Remember to follow fair use policy-- iDosh!  talk?  14:58, 16 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Only autoconfirmed users can upload files. to be autoconfirmed your account must be 4 days old and have made 10 edits. - tholly  --Turnip-- 20:26, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The OP became autoconfirmed with this very post. Algebraist 20:32, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * So they did, I must have miscounted. - tholly  --Turnip-- 20:56, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Vascath used in medicine explain
Vascath explain used in medicine —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.100.229.146 (talk) 16:09, 16 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Did you have a question on how to use Wikipedia (what this page is for), or are you looking for the Reference Desk? Or maybe Google Search ?    -- tiny plastic Grey Knight &#x2296; 16:40, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Customising a signature
How can i customise the font/colour of my signature? Flaming Ferrari (talk) 19:49, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * In the subsection "User profile" of your "preferences". Found in the top right corner of your screen. --Cameron* 19:52, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I want "Flaming Ferrari (talk)" in orange, how can i do that?
 * Flaming Ferrari (talk) Algebraist 20:02, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * ok but i would like it to link both to my userpage and talk page as before. thanks. Flaming Ferrari (talk) 20:05, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Flaming Ferrari ( talk ) works. I expect it can be done more prettily though. Algebraist 20:18, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Ah who cares about pretty code - long as it works! Thanks very much for your help!  Flaming Ferrari  (  talk  ) 20:24, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Sacrilege - everyone knows Ferraris should be red ! – ukexpat (talk) 20:32, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

How do i make a page?
How do i make a page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nazazzhole (talk • contribs) 20:34, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * This page should help. – ukexpat (talk) 20:47, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

templates
I currently run an internal wiki tool for my company and would like to add infobox's to client profiles. I have viewed multiple pages on this matter and tried to use some of the infobox templates already made but none of them seem to work. I'm looking for any insight into this matter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.246.107.198 (talk) 22:00, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * You will probably have a better chance of getting an answer the technical section of the Village Pump. – ukexpat (talk) 22:03, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
 * (ec) That's probably because Wikipedia infoboxes rely on various CSS classes defined in MediaWiki:Common.css. Algebraist 22:04, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

equipment lists
my question has to do with world war two equipment lists, should these be posted or not? for instance, if you look up a "SCR-584 radar" it stands to reason that there is an scr-1 through scr-583 ect. most of these are radios. each one you could write a page on, some of these sets had a vehicle made just for them. which is a hole nuther list. and of coures each vehicle had a mfgr, which is a hole nuther list. the cross refrenceing would be nice, but?

Brian in denver (talk) 22:22, 16 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I would not assume that each model had been actually fielded. Some may have never gotten off the drawing board, some may have never been developed or the nomenclature system could have changed in midstream. --—— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  23:06, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

most of these lists already exhist on other sites but there "dumb" lists. another words thay dont click to other items, bottom line, I dont want to spent 5,000 houres doing the data entry only to have it deleted, becouse its not an "article"


 * If there's no more information on each of the models than the fact that they were made during WWII, it would be enough to just link to the other-site lists from some appropriate article. Someguy1221 (talk) 23:27, 16 July 2008 (UTC)


 * On a side note, there are actually some computer programs (called "bots") owned by some of our users which can take care of laborious tasks like that if it ever comes up. I agree with User:Someguy1221 that there might not be enough information available to get more than a link out of it though.  Maybe you could write an article about the series as a whole?  Like the Signal Corps Radio, which in fact I see you've already started!  :-)  Any really notable ones in the series (like the SCR-584) can be mentioned individually and linked, presumably there are only a few such.  -- tiny plastic Grey Knight &#x2296; 07:02, 17 July 2008 (UTC)
 * well heres an example of a list
 * http://ww2dodge.com/w/index.php?title=K-list
 * took me about 6 months to compile this one on another wiki. its for wwII signal corps vehicles, that were given a "K-number"


 * as you can see, going accross a row, you could give each item a link, truck, 4x4, mfgr, on accross to assos. equipment.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Brian in denver (talk • contribs) 15:19, 17 July 2008 (UTC)