Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 October 5

= October 5 =

Listing all pages created by a user
Is there any way to generate a list of all Wikipedia pages created by a given user? I've wasted a couple of hours today trying to figure out how to do this, to no avail.

Of course, Special:NewPages can easily give such a list for the past month, but is there any way to get the complete list back to a user's earliest contributions? This tool http://toolserver.org/~escaladix/larticles/ can (very slowly) generate a list of all articles and redirects created by a user, but appears to work only on the article namespace and not any other.

A similar question was asked here about a year ago (see Help desk/Archives/2007 September 23), and there was no good answer at the time. Has anything changed? Is there any such thing as a "page creation log"?

It would be great if Special:Contributions simply had a checkbox to "Show pages created only", since it already displays a bold N beside any such contribs. How does one go about asking the developers to add such a feature?

Thanks for any help that anyone can provide. --Seattle Skier (talk) 00:12, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * There isn't such a feature as far as I know. You can ask for the feature at Bugzilla. Pie is good   (Apple is the best)  02:46, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Never say never until we check the Editor's index. Under WP:EIW is the link:
 * New articles created by any specified editor
 * Let us know if that works for you. --Teratornis (talk) 05:48, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Next time I should read the question more carefully, or answer when I am actually awake. --Teratornis (talk) 20:32, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments. There's obviously also this link http://toolserver.org/~sql/created.php, which is found in the footer of Special:Contributions/Username. It generates a list of all articles created by a user, but again only in the article namespace (even though it's called "What pages has this user created?"). Maybe I'll ask User:SQL to expand the capabilities of that tool to include all types of pages. --Seattle Skier (talk) 01:00, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

== Deletion of Marshall Hall, Tennessee Technological University: It was deleted with no clear reason given against Wikipedia English Policy. ==

Hi, I'm a frequent user of wikipedia and have written many internal MediaWiki articles as an employee at some of the worlds Fortune 100 companies. I was reading up on Gaither Vocal Band and noticed that a page from one band member Marshall Hall was deleted. There was no reason stated for the deletion other than WP:Prod. Given the 'religious' nature of the page, it seemed a little controversial and felt a bit capricious to remove this page; especially because no reason was given. My I suggest the page be brought back (or can we have the page returned as Marshall Hall? Religion aside Gaither Vocal Band is a prolific and famous musical group with millions of followers.  A page on Marshall Hall seems just as reasonable Steve Green.  It seems perfectly reasonable to have a page on each member of this group. --Spaden777 (talk) 00:23, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Your link goes to Marshall Hall, Tennessee Technological University which only contained:

- Image:Fourth_floor_marshall_exit.jpg

 History  Constructed in 1961, Marshall Hall serves as a coed residence hall and is one of the engineering halls in the Pinkerton Quad complex. It is named in honor of Annie White Marshall, former art professor and dean of women at Tennessee Technological University.

 References  Category:Tennessee Technological University
 * History
 * Engineering Residence Halls

US-south-university-stub -
 * I haven't found evidence that there has been a Wikipedia article about the Marshall Hall who is in Gaither Vocal Band. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:47, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Since the article Gaither Vocal Band started in it has linked to Marshall Hall which doesn't mention this Marshall Hall. It is unfortunately common that editors don't check where their links go. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:57, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I have placed a red link to Marshall Hall (singer) in Marshall Hall, and I have edited Gaither Vocal Band to link there on Marshall Hall's name. If you don't have a conflict of interest and you can provide evidence that Marshall Hall satisfies Notability (people) or Notability (music) then you can create a biography there. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:10, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Editing Albert Schweitzer
Hi, I've tried to substitute Kaysersberg (which is the current spelling) for "Kaisersberg" in line 2, but the normal procedure doesn't seem to work. Surprisingly, I was able to do so elsewhere in the article. Why there but not here? Somebody willing to show me the trick? Thanks in advance, --Zack Holly Venturi (talk) 05:27, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * See WP:LEAD. --Teratornis (talk) 05:44, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

I want to nominate a deletion
to PbNation. However, there are so many different methods for doing this...speedy, WP:Prod, AFDs....can someone take a look, make a determination on what the best way is, feel free to undo what I've already done, and then suggest how I could have handled this better? Thanks! -- Kickstart70 - T - C 05:09, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * In general, the safest way is to choose the more conservative or deliberative method. Any of the three methods works, though any objections to a "Speedy" or to a "Prod" leads to an AFD anyways.  Someone has already listed it as a PROD, though I don't know who (it may have been you).  Also, whoever HAS listed the PROD needs to perhaps rephrase it, being a target of problematic edits is never a reason for deletion; one could easily say that the article on George W. Bush is a target to become "a cesspool of insults and POV edits" and yet, no one would ever consider deleting it for those reasons.  Stick to the standard deletion reasons (WP:NOT, WP:N, WP:V, WP:NFT, WP:DICDEF are some of the most commonly accepted reasons) and avoid the perjoratives in deletion nominations.  Again, this may have not been you, but it bears noting that whoever HAS placed the PROD notice has not set a good example... --Jayron32. talk . contribs  05:19, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks...I cleaned up the reason for deletion (yeah, it was me and your concern is correct). Is PROD the correct choice for this? Basically, there are current edits in the page that are problematic in and of themselves ("In retrospect, DK Radar is the best person to have ever graced the prescience of PBNation"), and I think the original notability complaint on the page (not by me) has merit. Anyway, at this point I will leave it as is and hopefully someone runs with whatever else needs to be done. -- Kickstart70 - T - C 05:28, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Indeed, but be prepared at least to take it to AFD. PROD's can be removed without cause and by anyone.  If it is removed, this can be taken as a tacit objection to the deletion, which means that an AFD should be started to discuss both the reasons for deletion, and said objections.  --Jayron32. talk . contribs  05:49, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok...that was the crux of my original question. If this can be removed by anyone, for any reason, why bother using the PROD method at all? Seems like I should have gone to afd right away in the first place. Should I switch it now? -- Kickstart70 - T - C 06:09, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * No, you may get lucky. Once you have tagged many articles for deletion, you will get a better feel for when each (db, prod, or afd) is most appropriate.  If you've only ever been involved in a few, then its hard to find the right opportunities for each.  Remember, you can't screw anything up that bad.  Anything done at Wikipedia can be undone.  Leave the PROD.  If it flies, it flies.  Just be ready to do the AFD if it comes to that.--Jayron32. talk . contribs  06:17, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

←One other point here. PROD also gives the article 5 days to mature. If someone feels they can improve it by sourcing, neutralizing, and expanding it into a better article, this affords them that opportunity. Some PRODs are beyond help and at the end of the grace period an admin will come along and delete it without it going to AFD. However, if you place the article on your watchlist and someone removes the PROD and then makes no effort to improve it, then your option is to move it to AFD. Do not reapply the PROD, because it can be remove again. Taking it to AFD allows for a more thorough examination of the articles merits and whether the community agrees with your recommendation or not. Cheers.-- Javier  MC  07:02, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

How do you move a page?
Some created Robert tjian. It should be Robert Tjian. How to fix it and move the history over. Cut and paste will not do. Can you do it for me? 903M (talk) 05:56, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Done. In the future, there is a "move" tab at the top of every page.  It will bring up a page with a simple, easy to follow dialog asking for a new name for the page and the reason for the move.  Its pretty simple and self-explanitory.  As long as you are an autoconfirmed user (had an account for 4 days and made 10 edits with it) you are allowed to move a page yourself.  Good luck, and if we can do anything else, let us know.  --Jayron32. talk . contribs  05:59, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Withdrawing an AFD
Hello,I wish to withdraw my nomination of Articles for deletion/Don't Copy That Floppy (2nd nomination) for deletion. How do I do it? --Fireaxe888 (talk) 07:00, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Once you have taken the article to AFD, there's no reversing your recommendation per se. You can add a comment at the AFD that you have reconsidered your original recommendation, and state your new choice of merge, keep, rewrite, etc.  But once it is moved to AFD, it is in the communities hands to act on the proposal.  I see that it already has community votes, so you should just let the AFD run it's course. Just add your new change of mind to those of the other votes and wait the outcome.  It looks like the consensus at this time is for keep anyway.  Cheers --  Javier  MC  07:08, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Thats not exactly accurate. AfD's are withdrawn all the time, and closed for that very reason.  Syn  ergy 07:19, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * (ec) Then maybe you can provide him with the correct procedure. Saying that my recommendation was wrong without providing a solution isn't exactly answering this editors question.  And Fireaxe888, I apologize for my inaccurate advice and have therefore, struck it.--  Javier  MC  07:34, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Please look at my comments below. Thanks, – RyanCross  ( talk ) 07:35, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * In fact, I've closed the AfD as a nominator withdrew the AfD here. Fireaxe, to close an AfD, read the instructions at Deletion_process, or you can simply say "I withdraw this AfD" on the AfD nomination page if you are withdrawing the AfD you nominated. – RyanCross  ( talk ) 07:31, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * FWIW, I think Javier's was the better advice, here. Just note your change of mind at the AfD itself. Sometimes a withdrawn nomination is a reason for a speedy close (as it was in this case) but if other editors have voted delete then it shouldn't be. AndyJones (talk) 08:51, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Transclusion question regarding the Notability RFC Compromise page
I'm really confused. Why is my edit here visible here but not here? It looks like one page is transcluded on the other. Isn't that correct? AndyJones (talk) 09:22, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * The job queue hadn't caught up yet. A null edit fixed it. Algebraist 09:30, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Excellent. Working now, thank you. AndyJones (talk) 18:59, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Another trick to remember is WP:PURGE. --Teratornis (talk) 20:23, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Hyperlinks without underscore
In the German wikipedia hyperlinks are just blue. I like that better than blue with underscore, as in the English wikipedia. Is there a possibility for users to set that option individually on their computer? Ceinturion t 11:58, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes. Go to Special:Preferences, select Misc, then choose the appropriate selection from the dropdown menu. Prince of Canadat 12:35, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks, it works! Ceinturion (talk) 19:20, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Modify template or create slightly different one?
Hello, I'm not very good at wikicode...do you see a way to modify this template so that if a conditional is omitted or false, that the would not be italicized? For example, the conditional here might read "is a person:". If it's true, it would therefore not be italicized. When I made the template I didn't realize there would be more actors than shows (silly). Thanks for your insight. Louis Waweru  Talk  14:53, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I would try:

This way you'd get:

→ The Show at the DramaWiki

→ The Guy at the DramaWiki
 * - SigmaEpsilon → Σ Ε 23:05, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much!  Louis Waweru   Talk  02:06, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Help with listing an aritcle for deletion
I tried to list Articles for deletion/ESilicon and related articles but it does not seem to have worked. Any suggestions? --Gerry Ashton (talk) 17:36, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Fixed. You need to capitalize the "e". :) --PeaceNT (talk) 17:41, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I thought that might be it, but didn't want to experiment too much. --Gerry Ashton (talk) 17:57, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Add a page in a Category
Hello,

I would like to add a page in a Category (ex.: add the Mickael Phelps page in the Category "American Athlets")

Do you help me ?

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by Stricker20italia (talk • contribs) 18:08, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Simply go to that category, copy it's title ("Category:WhateverItsNameIs"), and then go back and paste that near the bottom of the article where you see the other categories (or if there aren't any, then place it at the very bottom). Then surround it with double brackets (like " "). Done! Click save. Calvin 1998 (t·c) 18:15, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * For your example, you would place  at the bottom of Michael Phelps. Calvin 1998 (t·c) 18:17, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Stricker20italia (talk • contribs) 19:52, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * But before you do that, make sure Michael Phelps is not already in a subcategory of Category:American athletes. An article should (usually) not be in both a category and one of its subcategories (reference: WP:CAT, item 3). See Help:Category, WP:CAT, and WP:EIW. Categories can be very confusing for Wikipedia users who are editing categories for the first time. They certainly were for me. You may need to read the links I gave several times over several days for that stuff to sink in. Given the extremely high profile of Michael Phelps, his article has probably had the attention of many experienced editors, so I would be very surprised if it had any obvious category omissions. In other words, you should probably not mess with the categorization of the Michael Phelps article until you are at least as experienced as the other editors who have worked on that article. A better place to learn about categories would be WikiProject Categories/uncategorized. That is, you could start by categorizing some articles that don't have any categories yet. --Teratornis (talk) 20:22, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

global account
Hello, I clicked on "Manage your global account" because I wanted to find out what it was, and it still doesn't make sense. Does this mean that I don't have to make another account name on another Wikipedia site? It took me something like 5 or 6 tries to find something that wasn't taken. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by LovesMacs (talk • contribs) 18:54, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * The page Help:Unified login will give you all you need to know about global account/unified login, and you can complete the process at Special:MergeAccount. Thanks. Sunderland06  (talk) 19:15, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

R.E.M. ROCKPALAST DVD
I am having a very difficult time trying to ask a question in any forum. I wish to know if there is any WEB SITE that has thr R.E.M. Rockpalast DVD for sale. It was show on Comcast Cable TV in my area and did see a site that had this for sale. Is there any place in Wkipedia that I can go to ask others if they know of where I can purchase this DVD.

-- Thank you much - bob d. Bogastow (talk) 20:00, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * You could ask at Reference desk/Entertainment, but the first obvious thing to try would be to which finds 27,000 hits. Are you familiar with using a search engine? --Teratornis (talk) 20:12, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Can an admin please reinstate a previously deleted article please?
Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz once existed as an article but was deleted after the player failed to meet notability guidelines having never played in the football league, however he has now met this criteria so can the article now be reinstated? Thanks.  Flaming Ferrari  (  talk  ) 20:57, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I have restored it and added an external link which confirms he has now played in a professional league. Will you expand on that in the article? PrimeHunter (talk) 22:51, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

2008 Presidential Candidate Ruth Bryant White
You have a list of Presidential that you interviewed. Ruth Bryant White was one of the first of your Candidates interviewed for Wikipedia for the 2008 Presidential Elections? Ruth looked at Wikipedia as we were informed that another Presidential Candidate was interviewed and he and other Candidates are listed as Election 08 Prsidential Candidates, but Ruth was not a part of that list. Do you think you can add her to that list with the Presidential Seal on an 08 Elections?

Thank you,

Steve White Senior Advisor —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.96.160.207 (talk) 22:01, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I guess you are referring to Wikinews interviews Ruth Bryant White, independent candidate for US President. Wikinews and Wikipedia are different sites with different goals and policies although they are both run by the Wikimedia Foundation using the same MediaWiki software. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and does not make interviews but is based on verifiable content already published by reliable sources. The Wikinews interview of Ruth Bryant White is linked in Third party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:21, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Merge histories
I just wanted to say that someone moved the an article from Ubuntu Live USB creator to Live USB system creator with copy-paste, and I tought it would be good to merge the history.... SF007 (talk) 23:14, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I fixed it.   jj137   ( talk )  23:38, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * OK, nice, thanks. SF007 (talk) 00:06, 6 October 2008 (UTC)