Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 July 3

= July 3 =

Images scrolling incorrectly
At WikiProject The Legend of Zelda series/right panel, under the "High quality Zelda articles" header there is a scrollable list of featured content. When I scroll down on the list on my Internet Explorer 7.0 browser, the featured article stars do not scroll down the list at all, but rather they stay in the same position. I noticed at Template:FA-star (which is used on that page), there is some coding not found in Template:GA-icon (which scrolls perfectly fine on that page). Since I am not an administrator, can someone figure out how to solve this? Thanks, Xnux   the   Echidna  02:47, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Not happening to me, so I'm going to repeat what you've probably heard many times before: "Get Firefox!" (IE7 is known not to work too well around here). Calvin 1998 (t-c) 02:56, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I use Firefox as well, but I can confirm that this occurs on IE 6.0 too (picture). -- RattleMan 02:58, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I have a feeling that the position:relative CSS style is CSS 3 or something like that and is being interpreted as position:absolute by Internet Explorer. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 03:06, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Firefox? Eeewww... Xnux   the   Echidna  03:11, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Works fine in Safari. Dismas |(talk) 03:16, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I think the  in FA-star should just be removed, like GA-icon.  Gary King ( talk ) 04:57, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

There is a known bug with Internet Explorer when you use elements with position:relative within a block containter with overflow. That seems to be the case here. BTW, Calvin 1998 "IE7 is known not to work too well around here" What a bullocks, everything (with the exception of userscripts) in wikipedia is supposed to be compatible with all major browsers. If it is not, such issues should be reported and they will be fixed. --Th e DJ (talk • contribs) 18:14, 4 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I have applied the suggested fix from the page linked in my earlier posting, I'd love to hear if it indeed fixes the issue. --Th e DJ (talk • contribs) 18:16, 4 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The offending code was also already removed from because it was no longer necessary. Issue solved. --Th e DJ (talk • contribs) 18:35, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

the word, there
I'm using wiki for the first time and I'm trying to find the simple Edison's version of the word; there. Is it a noun, verb, pronoun or what, that's all! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.82.30.234 (talk) 08:26, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * If you are looking for a definition of the word "there", try Wiktionary: See there. --——  Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  10:06, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

User committed identity
I'm trying to make a user committed identity, but when I enter the 'has function' parameter, it displays what I type. Isn't it supposed to encode it or something? Or am I just missing out a step? Thanks,  The Moridian   09:02, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The template doesn't do the hash encoding for you. You must first obtain your secure hash from either a secure hashing program or a website that can provide it for you.  The recommended site for secure hashes is http://www.hashemall.com/   You can find step-by-step instructions here -- ShinmaWa(talk) 12:51, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Industry bias!
i've recently been editing the Diablo 3 article, and come across a brick wall. Wikipedia needs to convey information; although at the same time, the information must be from a valid source. It can be taken as read that sources producing the subject matter (i.e. Blizzard, on Diablo 3) is a valid source. However, how do you convey information that is generated by the general public i.e. lots of talk in forums, news and over 2000 signing a petition in 3 days (i accept that petitions can't be used, due to how they can be skewed... but even if its only a few people doing it multiple times... thats still a lot of people that are hopping mad) when nobody lets you post it? The article cannot be neutral if it can only quote industry (as they obviously are pleased with how they are doing it), and only give generalizations about what the fans are so disgruntled about? how can an article specify and give an official quote from industry refuting the problem, while at the same time not even acknowledging the specific problem even exists? There should be rules set in place stating that (in terms of a "produces"-"end user" scenario) if industry is quoted, so too must a refutable source from the end users (that is quoted by more than one other source). Ether that, or both should be general, and have sources referencing them so people can look into each side of the story. However, i don't think that is what wikipedia is for. We are about providing the public with free, neutral information. We have to educate people, while at the same time telling both sides of the coin. Don't let Wikipedia becoming Stalinist, where only industry can be quoted, because industry is the only 'official' reference! --Tyraz (talk) 09:57, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Please direct replies to Reference desk/Computing. --——  Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  10:59, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Suspected Socks
Lets say a user creates a raft of abusive socks over a day or two. Which account is labelled the "puppetmaster"? Such that the other counts are suspected sockpuppets of x. The first account created, the first to edit, the most active etc.?Fribbler (talk) 17:49, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Probably the first. Gary King ( talk ) 16:28, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, probably the first. Also, sign your posts by typing four tildes ( ~ ) =) IceUnshattered (talk) 17:44, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Whoops...not like me to forget to sign!...Fribbler (talk) 17:49, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Advertising Business
I need to put information on Wikipedia about the business I am working for. How do I go about doing this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sbenjamin (talk • contribs) 14:32, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * It's really hard to write an article for the company for which you work without crossing into advertising. Articles need to be written from a neutral point of view and cannot promote a specific entity or organization. If you would still like to write an article, review this guide. Cheers!  TN ‑ X - Man  14:37, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * See WP:BFAQ. Why do you "need" to write about your employer on Wikipedia? Did you employer tell you to do this? If so, then your supervisor should also read WP:BFAQ. Wikipedia is unlike anything which most people have experienced before; therefore, many people form misconceptions about Wikipedia when they first glance at it. Wikipedia has very complex policies and guidelines. Learning enough about Wikipedia to create a new article from scratch requires substantial study and practice, especially when you have a conflict of interest with the article's subject. --Teratornis (talk) 18:52, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Please also read WP:CORP, WP:COI and WP:SPAM. – ukexpat (talk) 15:33, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Anon IP contributions
Hi, is there any way of seeing what contributions a range of anon IP editors have made. For example, if an editor is assigned an IP address in the range 10.11.12.0 - 10.11.12.100, is there an easy way to see contributions for this range? --Bardcom (talk) 15:37, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * There is a way with the gadget they developed recently. Enable 'Gadget-contribsrange.js' in your preferences ("Allow /16 and /24 – /32...") and then, in your case (I presume), do a search for 141.6.8.* in Special:Contributions. Javascript needs to be enabled for this. -- Menti  sock  16:13, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

blocked petition
This url http://www.petitio*nonline.com/d3art/petition.html (remove star) is blocked.. However it is currently needed as a reference in the Diablo 3 article.. and not as an external link.

Is it possible to unblock it ? and if so how? Thanks.87.102.86.73 (talk) 16:21, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * The block is found at MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. Perhaps you could use a news source that mentions the petition rather than link to the petition itself? Gary King ( talk ) 16:27, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * You can request removal from the blacklist at MediaWiki talk:Spam-blacklist. I doubt that your request will be honored, as this is a petition site.  I do not see how an online petition can ever be a reliable source.  --——  Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  16:39, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * That's what were doing currently.. Still is the block justified? most of the links on the list seem to be 'freemoney.com' etc, it would be good if it could be unblocked as no single source contains the same info. as the petition.87.102.86.73 (talk) 16:44, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The petition in question complains about style issues with D3. Another petition linked from the home page at  */DIII/petition.html lauds the D3 color scheme.  There is another petition at */aaaawhat/petition.html to "aaaaaa...".  This site is not a reliable source.  If you want to continue, this, take it to the blacklist.  --——  Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  17:05, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * ok you're probably right...87.102.86.73 (talk) 18:54, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

How do I take a case to Arbitration
I am in dispute with User:Bardcom about Radio 4 UK Theme in particular and about his editing in general. Please see discussions on his Talk page. What is the best way for me to proceed? CarterBar (talk) 20:29, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Arbitration is usually the last step in dispute resolution. You should try WP:RFC or WP:3O first. Wisdom89  ( <font color="#17001E">T |undefined /  <font color="#17001E">C ) 20:37, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * (ec)Arbitration is the very top of the tree in terms of dispute resolution. Don't think about going there, yet. I see the two of you have started conversations and they don't yet seem too heated, so far as I can tell. Keep talking and you may find you can establish a working relationship. A good place to get other people involved in helping to resolve your dispute is to list the issue at WP:RFC. AndyJones (talk) 20:39, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia runs on something like the Rule of law (see: There is no common sense). Wikipedia has a complex set of policies and guidelines that cover almost every situation that has come up in the history of editing on Wikipedia. When a new situation comes up, and no existing policy or guideline adequately covers it, then Wikipedia's editors arrive at a new consensus and further extend the rules. Generally, on Wikipedia, when people disagree about something, the person who best understands how the policies and guidelines apply to the disagreement wins. Thus the way to avoid the avoidable disputes, and win the unavoidable ones, is to learn as much as you can about Wikipedia's accumulated internal documents. Perhaps the most comprehensive guide to this material is the Editor's index. However, studying all that material takes a long time. For quicker guidance, see the links under WP:EIW. --Teratornis (talk) 20:46, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * (edit conflict)Thanks for the advice. You'll see I did offer some form of mediation by a third party but another user User:Crispness kicked off an edit war while discussions were ongoing. I feel the debate has now passed the point of no return, given that two editors have now joined forces. I'll look at WP:30 for starters. CarterBar (talk) 20:49, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Just looked at WP:3O and I see it can't be used when more than two editors are involved. In the case of Radio 4 UK Theme there are three editors involved, including myself. Nevertheless, I would have thought that WP:3O would be a good way forward in this case. However, given that it can't be used, what is the best option to deal with the conflit concerning the article in question (current discussion is at User talk:Bardcom)? User:Bardcom has previously been subject to an RfC on an almost identical matter but it seemed to peter out. CarterBar (talk) 20:59, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Sorry to keep pestering on this, but if an editor won't agree to mediation on content dispute (I'm waiting for a response at the moment) what would be the next step? Thanks. CarterBar (talk) 21:38, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Positioning and help with the Div and Span
I need help with my userpage I added a userbox directly to it I need help repositioning it go to my user page Melab-1 and edit if you know how I give you permission to fix it. Here is the problem I have going to show you one of the subsections: Here is the subsection name --

++      |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                 Group of User Boxes            | |                                               |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       ++

+---+ +---+ I want it to look like this: Here is the subsection name --
 * User Box I | Name of the next Subsection
 * Added    |-

++      |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                 Group of User Boxes            | |                                               |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       |                                                |       +--+---+-+                      |   User Box I  | |    Added     | +---+

Name of the next subsection

And again you have my permission to fix it just ask me before you do it. Melab-1 (talk) 21:17, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Add it to the other userboxes you have at User:Melab-1/Userpage2 and change the align to center, should work &mdash; chandler &mdash; 21:45, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't know how to change the align to center. Melab-1 (talk) 22:00, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I made the requested changes as best I could. Is the new alignment what you wanted?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:17, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes Thank you very much. Melab-1 (talk) 17:38, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Locking an article
How do I lock an article being vandalized? Heismanhoosier (talk) 22:43, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * You can ask for page protection at Requests for page protection. Note that it is unlikely that any page will be protected unless it is being heavily vandalized.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:55, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Could you give a link to the page which is being vandalized so we can check whether (semi)-protection is needed? Vivio Testa rossa   Talk Who 00:44, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Photo captions
How do you put captions on photos which are not thumbnails? Mine just disappear.-- seahamlass  23:08, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Like this [[Image:example.jpg|frame|caption text]] . Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:27, 3 July 2008 (UTC)