Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 January 27

= January 27 =

Adding medal box to athletic profile
I am wanting to add the box I see on various Olympic and Pan American athletes that shows results and medals. I have searched everywhere and haven't been able to find how to put it in and edit it. I am looking to place one on my father's (Albert Hall)page. Thank you Ghosttowner33 (talk) 23:56, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Are you asking about the infobox like in the upper right corner of Larry Hart? If so, see here for how they did it. —teb728 t c 00:09, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * You can see documentation at Template:MedalTableTop. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:14, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

That's it! I just didn't know if I could copy the technical stuff for the box or not. So I can just use that as a base and build it from there... Thank you! Ghosttowner33 (talk) 00:15, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Wikitionary Quick Links
How come the wiktionary quick link (:d) example isn't working? Is there new shortcut notation? Theornamentalist (talk) 01:31, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * The only Wicktionary code I am aware of is wikt: example. —teb728 t c 01:53, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * d: was added and removed again  in 2008. See meta:Talk:Interwiki map. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:59, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

I create a page and save it but when I come back it is not there?
I searched and did not find a page so when offered to create it I did. Once dome I reviewed it, liked and hit save, that took a bit but seemed to work fin. I logged out and tried a basic search and got a no page exist that matched my search? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bramleyr (talk • contribs) 01:44, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Your only undeleted edits are to your own talk page and here. What was the title of the page you've lost? Algebraist 01:46, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Are you referring to this edit to your talk page which you later blanked? If not then maybe you didn't create it at the English Wikipedia? PrimeHunter (talk) 02:04, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

adding stub template
If I propose a stub at WP:STUB and it successfully got many supports and I created the stub template and category, how do I quickly add to many stub articles without going to page just to add the stub template myself? Is there an easier way?? impact F =check this 02:47, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * You can make a request at WP:Bot requests to get the job done by a bot. – Capricorn42 ( talk ) 02:56, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Oh I see you have done that already.. – Capricorn42 ( talk ) 02:58, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I don't want to talk behind people's backs, but my requests and general speaking all the request progresses at WP:Bot requests are sort of slow. That's why I'm asking if there is another way...thanks anyways :) impact  F =check this 03:04, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

How to delete my account?
I would like to delete my account. But it seems that the web site offers no distinct way to delete it. So within your convenient days, please make sure to post the reply for my question. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gi2707 (talk • contribs) 03:20, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Your account cannot be deleted but you can exercise the right to vanish. – ukexpat (talk) 03:22, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

can i create an article?
hello, i would like to know if i can create a new article on a warship that i have just done a project on. do i need to ask someone to write it or can i write it myself? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Koolkittie (talk • contribs) 05:38, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * [[Image:Symbol move vote.svg|20px]] Please see Your first article.


 * 1) Ensure that you have an account and you are logged in. If you don't have an account, create one
 * 2) Make sure the subject is notable enough to have their own article
 * 3) Find references
 * 4) Make sure no article on the subject exists under a different title by typing the subject into the search box to the left (←) and clicking 'Search'
 * 5) Type the page name in the search box to the left (←) and click 'Go'
 * 6) Click 'Create this page'
 * 7) Create the article, including all your references, making sure you adhere to the Manual of Style and our article layout guidelines
 * 8) Be aware that Wikipedia deletes thousands of new articles for failing to adhere to our policies and guidelines. New articles by new users are at extra risk of deletion, due to new users' unfamiliarity with our rules. Consider gaining experience by editing existing articles before attempting to create new ones. But write the text with the correct side up, please :) If you try funny stuff like that the page is likely to be deleted for vandalism.  C h a m a l  talk 05:51, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Edited post to remove upside-downness. As Chamal N said, if you write your article be sure to do it correctly or it will get deleted faster than you can promise to write it properly. Xenon54 (talk) 14:10, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * On the plus side, articles about warships are somewhat less likely to get deleted than articles about, say, aspiring garage bands, and you did have the good sense to ask before plowing ahead, but your contributions show only this one edit on the Help desk. Trying to create a new article from scratch when you have zero editing experience is what sporting enthusiasts would call a "low percentage play." If I were King of Wikipedia, I would not allow new users to create new articles until they had amassed a minimum of 500 edits to existing articles (and getting to 1000 edits would be even better). I would also come up with some test whereby each aspiring new article creator would prove that he or she is aware that Wikipedia's ecosystem includes a class of hungry predators (who we lovingly call deletionists). But I am not King, and so thousands of new users with few edits continue to get suckered in by Wikipedia's (too often, it turns out) insufficiently cautionary facade, only to end up imploring, Why was my article deleted? Without meaning to sound disrespectful, I must point out that your question indicates that you haven't learned nearly enough about Wikipedia yet to survive the tender mercies of our deletionists:
 * To have a good chance of success on Wikipedia, you must read the friendly manuals and learn your way around them. If you had read enough of our manuals to collect all the skills necessary to create a new article, you would not need to ask how to create a new article.
 * You did not sign your post. This indicates that you have not yet mastered our talk pages. Editing on Wikipedia is like entering a parallel universe - we have our own idiosyncratic versions of everything you are used to in the real universe. For example, in the real universe, you know how to send e-mail to communicate with other people. Well, on Wikipedia, we don't do that, it would be too simple (no sarcasm here, simplicity equals "lack of power"). Instead we use "talk pages" which have the full power of wikitext markup, along with the considerable advantage that talk pages stick to the articles they are about. Why does this matter? If you create a new article which provokes the deletionists, you will have a few days in which to impress upon them that you know what you are doing, and to do that you must at least have some facility with using our talk pages. Otherwise they may eat you for lunch (peruse some of the broken dreams on WP:AFD to see what I mean).
 * Of course "low percentage" does not mean zero. It is possible to have no idea what you are doing on Wikipedia, and just get lucky. I did with my first article, which I started when I had very little experience. Through sheer blind luck I managed to pick a topic that didn't trigger any deletion alarms. However, I still wish Wikipedia made it at least as easy to figure out how much deletion goes on here as it is easy to figure out how to become the next victim. Even if you don't know the exact location of every mine in a minefield, you at least want to be aware that you are stepping into a minefield. --Teratornis (talk) 18:07, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Oh, what the heck, give it a try anyway. The worst that can happen is that we delete your article. OF warship articles, it's generally easy to find an existing article to use as an example, which means that your result will propaply be OK. Just to be sure, you should probably creae your article in userspace first, and then come back here (or one one of several otherpges we can point you to) adn ask for a quick review. After teh article is in good shape, you cn move it into main space. Now for specifics:
 * Create you very own user page first, at User:Koolkittie. The text can say "Hi, im a new editor and I am working on a new article." Or whatever.
 * Edit your user page to add a link to your (non-existant) user subpage: The link might be "my work area for the article is User:Koolkittie/HMS Pinafore
 * your new link will be User:Koolkittie/HMS Pinafore. It's red, indicating a non-existant article. Click on the red link and type your article in, then save it. You might start by cutting and pasting the article you intend to use as your example article. To do this, go to the example article (e.g., HMS Victory), click on "edit", then copy the wiki markup from the edit window, now paste this inot your working article, and start editing, then click "save". Keep editing, previewing, and saving until you like the result. then come back here and ask for a review. We will help you move the article to mainspace using the "move" feature.

Good Luck,ahnd don't get discouraged. -Arch dude (talk) 03:23, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

Vandalism or update?
The latest edit on Talk:Raoul Wallenberg has changed the comments of Attila lajos. Could be the same person under a different account name, since the tone is about the same, but in any case, it's been inserted in the middle of a discussion without a different stamp date or signature. What do you do in such cases? Just revert? Clarityfiend (talk) 06:58, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * When I make a change to my own comments while logged out I note it in the edit summary and tell every to check with my logged in identity if in doubt. I'd revert and tell the original poster that someone made the change. That way they can make the change while logged in or deny it was them while accuracy is maintained.- Mgm|(talk) 08:27, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

My user page display problem
I've got an annoying little bug on my user page which I can't seem to fix. The problem is that there is no background colour to the first barnstar. It shows up correctly on a preview page, but won't show on my user page. Any help in fixing it would be appreciated. Mjroots (talk) 10:49, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * fixed it. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:50, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * You "stole" too much in . PrimeHunter (talk) 11:56, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

ParserFunctions on a mythical date
I'm banging my head against the wall on this one: I have a fictional calendar that needs a template for date strings; if just the year is present, link to that page and format correctly ( 999 = 999 NE). If the month is present as the second variable, link to that anchor and format correctly (999 = June, 999 NE). If the date is present as the third variable, link to that anchor and format correctly (999 = June 18, 999 NE). Any examples or ideas how to get started? -- nae'blis 14:12, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Use . Den dodge  Talk Contribs 17:23, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I tried that, but I'm running into a parsing error when it gets to the hash sign: is my latest effort. -- nae'blis 17:41, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Incorrect photo?
The photo in the article on Walter Brennan seems to be Jack Albertson instead...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.214.67.136 (talk) 15:54, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure what you mean. The photo in the article Walter Brennan is a screenshot from a movie that shows Walter Brennan and lists his name. Was there another article to which you were referring?  TN ‑  X   - Man  16:02, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Changing "Edit Summary"
How do I change my "edit summary" after I've already made the change? I have accidentally forgotten to include an edit summary a couple times, and would like to go back and supply that information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mystagogue (talk • contribs) 17:07, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Sorry, you can't. Top  Gear  Freak  17:13, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * If it is important, you can make a dummy edit; see Help:Edit summary. You can enable Prompt me when entering a blank edit summary from Special:Preferences → Editing. --—— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  17:16, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * (edit conflict) You can also add a comment to an article's Talk page explaining what you did to the article, in any detail you like. Sometimes this is helpful even if you left a descriptive Edit summary, for example when your change is extensive or depends on subtle reasoning. Or, if you deleted an appreciable amount of someone else's work. However, you will still have your original edit summaries, with no link from them to your expanded comments. I must commend you, at least you recognize the value of typing edit summaries, unlike a large percentage of Wikipedia users who have not yet made this evidently difficult intellectual leap. --Teratornis (talk) 17:29, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Make a null edit with the edit summary you intended on using. Gary King  ( talk ) 17:34, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * That can be helpful if you do it quickly. If 500 other people have edited the article in the meantime, your null edit with a comment will not be close in the article history to the actual edit you intend it to document. --Teratornis (talk) 18:13, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I think most people notice that they forgot an edit summary the moment they hit Submit. It's a "whoops" moment. If someone notices that they forgot an edit summary for an edit that they made a few months ago, then, well, that's pretty good memory I suppose. Gary King  ( talk ) 18:18, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * A null edit won't work, anyway. You mean a dummy edit. Algebraist 18:20, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Ah yeah Gary King  ( talk ) 18:24, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I was accounting for the delay in asking the question on the Help desk and then going back to the article(s). The questioner also did not say when the unsummarized edits occurred. If other users are actively editing the articles, it might not take long for many intervening edits to accumulate and obscure the real edit that the dummy edit is trying to explain. That we cannot edit our edit summaries can be annoying at times, like when I brain fart and misspell something in the edit summary. Or worse yet I try to link something in my edit summary, and mess it up so the link doesn't work. Reminds me of those comments on YouTube in which someone insists they are "intelegent." --Teratornis (talk) 01:40, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

Aim for the Heart
Can someone tell me what's the deal with this article? Sometimes when I look at it, it gives me the "Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name" screen, and other times it shows up just fine. It's also not showing up in my edit history, even though an edit I made after it is. What's up here? Server hiccup? Ten Pound Hammer and his otters • (Broken clamshells • Otter chirps • HELP) 18:23, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Yep, server's been sick in the past few hours. Edits that I made do not appear in my list of contributions, for instance. Gary King  ( talk ) 18:24, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I've had the same thing working at AfC. It generally sorts itself out after a bit.  TN ‑ X - Man  19:00, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Personal Attack - Copy Profile Definition
How does one have a personal attack removed from discription? Specifically definition for a company called Cyrk line item entry July 20, 2007. It seems that someone has logged in and input a personal comment about me "Frank Bakirdan" that is derogatry in nature about me which is untrue and has no bases being apart of a decription about a public company. Only facts should be stated and if needed backed up with documents.

Please contact me to let me know how this can and will be corrected.

Frank Bakirdan —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fbakirdan (talk • contribs) 18:51, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * For issues containing personal material/attacks, please contact OTRS. If there's anything else with which we can help, let us know. Cheers!  TN ‑ X - Man  18:56, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The comment has been deleted -- see this edit. – ukexpat (talk) 18:58, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Factual Error in "1967 Atlantic Hurricane Season" page
Some editing is needed on the page for: "1967 Atlantic Hurricane Season"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Atlantic_hurricane_season

Under the heading of Hurricane Arlene, it says, at the end of the paragraph:

"the hurricanes are caused from the severe farting in the water by god and mother nature"

Though amusing, it doesn't belong in the article.

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.211.68.230 (talk • contribs)


 * It has been removed. Next time though, be bold and remove it yourself :) Gary King  ( talk ) 19:07, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Duplicate account
I think I may have created a duplicate account. I created an account today, 27th but had totally overlooked a previous account, by the same name, the password of which I have no note. How do I delete the earlier a/c? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.85.178.211 (talk) 19:05, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Accounts are not deleted. Gary King  ( talk ) 19:06, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * But you can vanish one of them. – ukexpat (talk) 19:36, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Not without the password you can't -- Gurch (talk) 20:33, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Oops yes that's right. In that case, you can just leave the first one unused as a memorial to lost passwords everywhere. – ukexpat (talk) 21:01, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

AFD log
Can someone help me at today's AFD log please? For some reason, two categories are showing up at the bottom, and I don't wanna hunt through each afd to see which one is the culprit. Ten Pound Hammer and his otters • (Broken clamshells • Otter chirps • HELP) 20:31, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * On it. &mdash; neuro  (talk)  20:41, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Done. :) &mdash; neuro  (talk)  20:56, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

How to create Topic Summary Table at the top
Hi, How do I create that table next to the lead section that is usually found in the top right hand corner of the page? The table would generally contain the important sharp details of the topic, e.g. Type:, Industry: , Key People: etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by JoyceChee (talk • contribs) 20:32, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I think you're referring to the Table of Contents. A table of contents automatically appears when there are four or more section headings. You can force one to appear by typing at the top of the page or you can hide it by typing . Cheers!  TN ‑ X - Man  20:39, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * hi, Im not referring to the table of contents but rather the one next to it. i.e when you search DraftFCB, there is a table next to the table of cotnents that summarises the topic. Could you tell me how could I correct that? thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by JoyceChee (talk • contribs)
 * Gotcha. You're looking for . It's a template that allows you to fill in different pieces of info about the company. The link I've provided will show you all of the parameters available. Cheers!  TN ‑ X - Man  20:50, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * thank you!! :) You saved my day! :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by JoyceChee (talk • contribs)

How do you get started?
I have absolutely no idea how to even get started putting something on Wiki. I find your "help" very confusing. If someone could just give me step-by-step instructions, I could follow them. I would like to place our school on Wiki, but again, could use some basic instructions on how to do that...click here, go here, do this, do that. Is there such material?Dfratangeli (talk) 20:43, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * WP:YFA has a lot of info. What's so confusing to you? Ten Pound Hammer  and his otters • (Broken clamshells • Otter chirps • HELP) 20:45, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * 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) 20:48, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Consider first whether you really want an article about your school on Wikipedia. School articles are classic magnets for vandalism, since students tend to be young, and crime and antisocial behavior have their highest rates among young males. On Wikipedia we have lots of tools for fighting the vandalism that our anyone-can-edit policy invites, but you will probably want to learn about them before you give the delinquent element of your school (and every school has one) an attractive target. See WP:VANDAL and WP:EIW. Also, if you find Wikipedia's free online manuals confusing, you might be better off reading the book: Wikipedia - The Missing Manual. The amount of material you need to know to write a quality article from scratch here really does fill a book. That's why you are confused by taking snapshot glances at our manual pages. It's like moving to China and trying to learn everything in one hour that makes China different from where you live now (and if you live in China already, substitute Botswana or some other foreign place). There is no simple step-by-step set of instructions that is perfectly customized to what you want to do, because every user and every article on Wikipedia are different. Instead you must grasp a set of unintuitive principles that guide our work, and learn how to synthesize the right course of action for your specific situation. Ideally you should accumulate at least 1000 edits on existing articles before you attempt to create a whole new article. There are many beginner mistakes you can make that will cause our deletionists to delete your article. --Teratornis (talk) 01:30, 28 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Actually, Wikipedia has plenty of articles on High Schools, especially in Canada and the United States. Elementary schools don't usually have articles, unless they're especially notable. ~ A H  1 (TCU) 02:18, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

How do i remove a picture that I uploaded onto wiki?
Hi, how do I remove a picture that I have uploaded onto wiki? —Preceding unsigned comment added by JoyceChee (talk • contribs) 21:26, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Just edit the image page and add db-author at the top and an admin will delete it. – ukexpat (talk) 21:41, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * How do I go to the image page? Please help me, im getting so confused by wiki. thank you. JoyceChee (talk) 21:50, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The image page is here: File:SKYY and Fusion Pouchs.jpg, that's the only one you have uploaded. – ukexpat (talk) 21:57, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * So do i type db-JoyceChee? thanks! JoyceChee (talk) 21:59, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * No, you would type .  But I've deleted the image, so no further action is necessary.  —David Levy 22:03, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Thank you, for your help..!How long does it take for the deletion to take place? JoyceChee (talk) 22:06, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * It's gone now. You may have to clear your cache. -- Orange Mike  &#x007C;   Talk  22:11, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

AUDIO
Is it possible to listen to, rather than read wikipedia articles? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.41.17.51 (talk) 22:22, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


 * There are spoken word versions of some articles. That effort is spearheaded by the spoken word project. – ukexpat (talk) 22:26, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * For other articles, you'll have to rely on speech synthesis software, which isn't close to matching human speech as yet. Algebraist 22:28, 27 January 2009 (UTC)