Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 July 21

= July 21 =

How to repeat a background image in Wikipedia?
Hello,

I'm trying to design a header for a Wikipedia homepage. For the background color of this header I would like to use a gradient, that would go from sky blue at the top to white at the bottom. The only way I know how to do this is by using a one-pixel wide image of the gradient and then repeat this image across the top of the page. But I'm not sure how to do this in Wikipedia.

I was trying to use something like background-image: url("..."); background-repeat:repeat-x, but I've read that the URL part won't work in Wikipedia, for security reasons or something.

So, does anyone know how to accomplish what I'm talking about in Wikipedia? If so, can you provide me with the code. I'm a beginner, so as much detail as possible would be appreciated.

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.102.206.220 (talk) 00:01, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Maybe it's just the local time here is the early hours of the morning, and I'm tired or something, but... why do you want to do this? Have you seen another wikipedia page that does it? If so, which one? If you haven't seen it on wikipedia, why do you think the article would benefit from it? I just don't get it...  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 00:27, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I've just re-read what you've typed. I think you need to remember/find out that Wikipedia is not a webhost.  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 00:29, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Steve, thanks, but I realize that Wikipedia is not a webhost. Nevertheless, it seems to me that one should be able to create such designs in Wikipedia.


 * The reason I want to do this, is because I want to create a gradient background that will span the entire width of the page. I know that I could attempt to guess the width of the page and make an image that width, save it and upload it to Wikipedia.  That would work, but I thought it'd be easier to take a one pixel wide image and multiply it across the page, so that it will for sure be the correct width.


 * Anyway, if you don't have an answer to my question, please don't comment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.102.206.220 (talk) 03:19, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I commented not because I was bored or anything, but because I was trying to clarify what you needed it for - after all, you did ask your question on a help desk, which is a public area. I asked for clarification because if what you asked about was for an article page, it would be removed very quickly, which would be a waste of effort on your part. I asked if you had read the Wikipedia notes, because a lot of people have misconceptions about wikipedia. If you do not want comments on anything you type, then you might be best off not being on wikipedia! It is a public forum, and as long as what I say is not illegal or aggressive, I am entitled to do so, as is anyone with access to an internet connection and the ability to point it this way.
 * Although I do not have the answer to your query, it is possible that by getting you to clarify why you need it, someone else might be more easily able to answer your query. As I said, I didn't comment because I had nothing better to do!  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 08:28, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Are you asking about doing that on an article page or a user page? If you are thinking about doing that on an article page, forget it; people would promptly remove it from an article. If you are thinking of doing it on a user page, it might be tolerated there, but you will have to create an account and login in order to get a user page. —teb728 t c 03:35, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Another possibility is that you are thinking of creating a skin that only you would see. That you would code in javascript or in a style sheet. —teb728 t c 03:47, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

HOW DO I MAKE A MATRIX???
HOW DO i MAKE A MATRIX ??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.245.94.10 (talk) 01:15, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Does Help:Displaying a formula answer your question? If not then please be more specific. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:22, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Please do your own homework. Welcome to the Wikipedia Help desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here to not do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn how to solve such problems. Please attempt to solve the problem yourself first. You can or. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, the Reference desk can help you grasp the concept. Do not ask knowledge questions here, just those about using Wikipedia.  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 01:24, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * If by "matrix" you refer to the original meaning, the Artificial uterus article might be helpful. --Teratornis (talk) 06:03, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Transferring a template to another Wiki
I'm creating articles on a Wikia.com site and would like to use a Navbox template. Using the resources on this Wiki about exporting templates, I was able to transfer most of it over. Unfortunately, the table layout does not format properly. There are no borders or colored backgrounds, and I can't figure out how to proceed from here. The following links are a comparison of the results of each Navbox: (1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Star_Ocean_series and (2) http://staroceantlh.wikia.com/wiki/Template:Star_Ocean_series. P.S. I used the Transwiki version of Navbox (as suggested by Navbox/doc) Hue03 (talk) 01:40, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Did you read the instructions at the top of Template talk:Navbox? ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 03:50, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Media Player
With all the news regarding the new Wikipedia Media Player, I am surprised that I am having so much trouble finding it here on the Wikipedia.org website. Does any one have a link or an example? Or is this news simply covering the Mediawiki with the videos there and the Cortado Player (or whatever is used as HTML5 Video failback there)? Thanks! 71.168.124.11 (talk) 03:32, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Really, no one knows the answer to this question? Wow.  71.168.124.11 (talk) 21:11, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't know about anyone else here, but I've never heard of Wikipedia Media Player! I can't find any reference to it, apart from blogs etc mentioning the "Wikipedia" Media Player article - perhaps you misread something? Unless you can provide some kind of link to a website showing "all the news regarding the new Wikipedia Media Player", we can't really comment on something we've never heard of!  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 21:28, 22 July 2009 (UTC)


 * You may get a response at the Technical section of the Village Pump. – ukexpat (talk) 21:27, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Failed access to certain pages
I recently installed Internet Explorer 8 on this seven-year-old computer (running Windows XP) because it automatically told me to--but all of a sudden I can't seem to get onto a large number of Wikipedia pages because an error message pops up saying that the files it's trying to download are unrecognizable. Is there anyway to regain full access to Wikipedia's pages? 65.183.151.83 (talk) 04:50, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * If it was an upgrade installation, you should be able to go to the control panel and "add/remove programs" and uninstall the upgrade to get back to your previous version. I have also had problems with IE8 even with Windows 7 installed and much prefer Mozilla Firefox, especially for Wikipedia browsing and editing. Wperdue (talk) 04:55, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

steel scrap
I am Vinitha, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I am in steel scrap, rolling, semi rolling, HMS1 & HMS2, and melting scrap. Since I am new in this business I would like to know if you can suggest me the best price that I can quote for Rolling and melting steel. We charge per metric ton. Awaiting your reply/ Thanks a ton. Vinitha —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vinitha71 (talk • contribs) 07:22, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our roughly three million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. Gonzonoir (talk) 07:54, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Admin Help
I'm not sure what to do with WP:AIV page or how to get admin help for Vandalism from User":122.104.185.81 Please help. Thank You. Cali567 (talk) 08:14, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * What kind of help are you looking for? Does VANDAL help? &mdash; QuantumEleven 10:48, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you, a bit, but I still don't understand what to do. Do I paste something on my talk page for an admin? How do I do that? Will they get back to me...? Cali567 (talk) 09:12, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * I warned the IP. If you continue to experience problems, and are not sure how the AIV process works - feel free to contact me on my talk page, or post a note to WP:ANI if all else fails.  While ANI is not normally the place to post an individual "vandalism" issue, you can also post to the talk page to request assistance with these issues. — Ched :  ?  09:16, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Computer organization
i want computer organization basic concepts —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.235.49.254 (talk) 08:21, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. &mdash; QuantumEleven 08:41, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Your request is very broad. As ... mentioned, we do have a reference desk that may be better able to deal with what you may be inquiring about  at Reference desk/Computing.  Are you interested in file management on a single computer?  Are you interested in the design of a computer network?  etc. — Ched :  ?  09:06, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks for a more precise reference desk link, Ched! &mdash; QuantumEleven 10:42, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * For future note, you can use to provide a specific link to the computing reference desk. Best,  TN X Man  11:41, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * But note that all those Help Desk templates should be substituted not transcluded so the code is Computing . – ukexpat (talk) 14:05, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Language
Is there any index of languages in wiki? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Iumesh (talk • contribs) 09:07, July 21, 2009 (UTC)


 * If you mean an index of the different language versions of Wikipedia, then, yes - go to wikipedia.org, where you can see all the languages available, sorted by number of articles. &mdash; QuantumEleven 10:40, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * And if you mean a Wikipedia reference article listing languages, see List of languages. Gonzonoir (talk) 12:55, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Citing Own Articles
A new editor has appeared on several of the pages I contribute to. He is certainly knowledgeable about the subject matter, and makes some very good contributions. However, he adds citations to a particular paper on which he is an author at every opportunity. In most cases a much more relevant citation could be found, or he is adding a third reference when the first two are enough. I am not sure how to proceed. Is there a specific Wikipedia policy covering something like this? I would prefer not to make this an official complaint - I think this could be resolved much more amicably - but any advice on how to proceed would be very welcome. GyroMagician (talk) 10:25, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * See Conflict of interest which has a lot of information about how to deal with these issues. Basically bring it open with the editor directly. Remember to remain entirely civil when discussing it, I know that you would not purposely insult them, but just be very careful not to make it sound like an accusation when/if you discuss the issue with them. I suggest you read the entire section I pointed out (WP:COI) and then talk to the editor in question, if you still think that it is important to do so. Kind regards, SpitfireTally-ho! 10:56, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Postscript: I know that WP:COI is mainly in reference to text and content, but I think the the principal is the same with link spam. SpitfireTally-ho! 10:59, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks Spitfire, I knew there must be some advice somewhere. Yes, I think it is worth pursuing, so I'll try contacting the editor and see how we get on! GyroMagician (talk) 12:12, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Hiding categories
Is it possible to hide user categories on a userpage?  The left orium  10:59, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm pretty sure that the only way to hide a category is to add hiddencat to the category page. So yes, it would be possible, but it would mean that all users who are in the category would be affected. See WP:CAT for more. Kind regards, SpitfireTally-ho! 11:02, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * I see. Well, I only want to hide them on my userpage, but I guess that's not going to work. Thank you for your answer. :)  The left orium  11:09, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * You could make a user subpage with no categories and transclude it into your user page. Then by looking at the subpage directly, you would not see the categories. Or put the categories on your user subpage and  them; that would categorize the subpage and not your user page. Why do you want to not display categories on your user page? And do you want to hide them from yourself only, or from everybody? You can probably hide them from yourself by playing around with javascript. --Teratornis (talk) 07:15, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Signature in Infobox Artist
Looks like the signature string is not set in Template:Infobox Artist, could we fix that to display the related files? Brandt 11:55, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * You should discuss that on the template talk page. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 14:22, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * The concern was already expressed on July 16, I second it but not too familiar with associated markup to make deft edits there. Brandt 18:53, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Adding a link to wikipedia
I work for the City of Amterdam, NY and we just developed and launched a new web site for our City. WOuld it be possible to list that link on wikipedia on the Amsterdam, NY page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by AmsterdamNY (talk • contribs) 12:19, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * In principle, adding an official website to the city's article sounds all right to me. If it's something like a tourism site, though, that's less of a good idea. Better still would be to add some relevant material to our article, cited to your source. Whenever you want to check an action like this, a good set of guidelines are at WP:PROMO. Gonzonoir (talk) 12:49, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Im just throwing this out there and maybe im wrong but this is an idea. Could you pdf the article and upload it to the city website and give proper citation to wikipedia? That way you dont need to worry about things changing in the article (ie vandalism, disclaimers etc). If someone else thinks this isnt a good idea or shouldnt be done please let me know, as my impression is that it would be okay as an option. Thanks Ottawa4ever (talk) 14:49, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * I think the OP wanted to link from Wikipedia to his site, rather than vice versa - correct me if I'm wrong? (Your idea is fine as far as it goes, though. There's a "PDF version" link in the toolbox for every article page.)Gonzonoir (talk) 15:09, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Ottawa, they don't want to copy the article about The City of Amsterdam, NY onto their website, they want to put their website onto the list of links on the article! If they had wanted the text of the article, then as long as they cited Wikipedia, what you suggest would certainly be the way to go!  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 15:12, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * If you want to tell us the website, we could look at it and tell you if it meets with Wikipedia's criteria... as Gonzonoir says, it sounds as if it should be ok. Or you could add it anyway - if it's not the kind of website that should be there, it'll be removed anyway!  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 15:12, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

editing a page
Hello,

I'd like to make some edits to the Smithsonian's Wikipedia page. I've made the edits but was then told I need to post any suggestiong to the Talk page before making sweeping edits, so they were deleted. I posted my suggestions to the Talk page last week, what is the next step? Is there a certain amount of time I should wait before I proceed with the suggested edits? Thanks! (Smithsonianinstitution (talk) 15:21, 21 July 2009 (UTC))
 * fyi it's here Talk:Smithsonian_Institution Agradman talk/contribs 17:40, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Your connection to the Smithsonian creates a conflict of interest for you and gives your edits less legitimacy rather than more. In particular you should not be removing criticism of the Smithsonian under any circumstance. If you feel the present content is unfair, you should try to persuade a neutral editor to change it. Some of your suggestions on the talk page should be more specific than just "I'd like to add …"; so that others could respond helpfully. —teb728 t c 17:46, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

rainbow larakeet
I'd like to add a couple of digital images that I made while traveling in Australia in 2005. Can you give me step/step instructions on how to do this? I've tried using the "INSERT PICTURE GALLERY" icon and dragging the images from my hard drive. This causes the whole Wikipedia site to "disappear". thanks, Bob —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.141.23.212 (talk) 16:01, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Have you read Uploading images to Wikipedia?  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 16:04, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * You first need to upload the images, and for doing that you need an account. Commons will host the images—here's the upload link and image tutorial. --59.95.111.96 (talk) 17:17, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * More than just having an account, the uploading guidelines say Only Logged in users with autoconfirmed accounts can upload images (meaning that the account must be at least four days old, and the user must have made at least ten edits).  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 18:00, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * On Commons? Unless it's changed recently, Commons does not have an autoconfirmation requirement. – ukexpat (talk) 18:07, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Sorry, I should have made it clearer - my comment was about 59.95..'s "you need an account". As you say, UKexpat, Commons has no autoconfirmation requirement.  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 18:16, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Oh, I thought that was referring only to an account on Commons. The IP user could have an account on Commons, upload the images there, but add them to relevant Wikipedia articles editing as an IP. Pretty pointless though - once one has an account on any of the projects one might as well head over to SUL and create accounts on the other projects automatically. – ukexpat (talk) 18:26, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * To summarize, since you asked for step-by-step instructions, do the following:
 * Create an account here on the english Wikipedia
 * Go to WP:SUL and (in effect) cause your account to automatically appear on all the other wikipedia projects (including commons)
 * Read the material at upload link and image tutorial.
 * Upload your pictures to commons
 * Come back hree and add your pictures to articles if you feel they will improve the articles.
 * Yes, it is harder than it could be. One big reason to keep the pictures at commons is that they can then be used in the non-english wikipedias also. -Arch dude (talk) 02:22, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Commons does have an autoconfirmation requirement, but just to keep things extra confusing, the privileges you have to wait four days to obtain are different than on the English Wikipedia. See Commons:Commons:Autoconfirmed users. The relevant issues for this thread are that new Commons accounts can upload new files immediately, but have to wait four days to be able to upload new revisions of existing files. --Teratornis (talk) 07:01, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Uploading images can get pretty complicated. I don't know whether it is harder than it could be, given the huge scale of the Wikipedia project, and the unbelievably complex copyright law that creates a seemingly endless number of special cases. If everybody wanted to upload one kind of image with one kind of license, we could make it pretty simple. But in reality, there are old images, new images, images created by our users, images that came from someone else, images from all over the world (every country has different copyright laws), images that depict objects which themselves carry copyright restrictions (for example, you cannot simply photograph a copyrighted work to get around copyright), etc. --Teratornis (talk) 07:07, 22 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I've written a very detailed explanation for preparing pictures, uploading them to Commons and placing them in an article, on my UserPage at User:Arpingstone. The instructions are quite lengthy because every mouse click is detailed but it does cover the entire procedure (for Public Domain photos only). - Adrian Pingstone (talk) 15:27, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

VandalStop name blacklisted??
Good Day, I own the web name VandalStop and Vandal Stop Products. Please see my web pages.

Just now I tried to sign up and post my story only to learn vandalstop has been blacklisted.

I have NEVER sent out mail or acted in any way to cause the banning of my web name. We are a small business with a world wide presence. We adhere to strict use of the name for business purposes. We do NOT sell or use the name in any harmful malicious way.

How do I get off the blacklisted data base.

Regards, Curtis Bailey [snip—email] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.252.252.97 (talk) 17:26, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * *.Vandal.* may be on the username blacklist to prevent creation of abusive usernames by vandals. Use of organization names as usernames is not allowed anyway, and such accounts are blocked (Read the username policy)—only one person may edit under one username, and the username should reflect this. I suggest you choose a generic username and read WP:COI, WP:BFAQ before editing. --59.95.111.96 (talk) 17:34, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

photo help
It's been while since I searched for help, and not sure if this is the place, but running out of time,  if anyone can help put pic on Daniel Rodriguez page. would be great. Trying to get the metro photo (previously used on the page) but now to be put in lower Philanthropy section. Thank you Lb5630011 (talk) 17:59, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Is the image I just added the one you were talking about?--Rockfang (talk) 22:10, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Sorting tables with rowspan and colspan
I've checked out Help:Sorting and there appears to be a workaround to this. I was wondering if anything could be done so that the table could be sorted by Name and the record under Total? NB: This is part of a much longer table which appears on List of Indian national cricket captains. Thanks, Abeer.ag (talk) 19:01, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Including an article in a project
Hola, a beginner question here: if I created an article that I believe should be under the umbrella of a specific Wikiproject, where should I propose this (to be more specific, to Wikiproject Biography)? Or can I just add the project banner as I see fit? Can an article be listed in several such projects? Thanks.Poisonborz (talk) 19:45, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * You don't need permission to add project templates to talk pages so just go ahead. Yes, talk pages can have more than one project template, but if there are more than two, consider nesting them with WikiProjectBannerShell. It may also be a good idea to leave a note on the Projects' talk pages so that interested editors can take a look at the article and make improvements. – ukexpat (talk) 19:50, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

User space
May seem like a silly question, someones userspace includes both their user page and talk page correct? thanks a bunch Ottawa4ever (talk) 23:17, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Usually yes but it depends on context. In either case, userspace also includes subpages. "User:" and "User talk:" are different namespaces which matters for many software features. But in policies, guidelines and discussions, someones userspace is usually implied to include their user talk page and subpages. Are you thinking of a specific instance of the term "userspace"? PrimeHunter (talk) 00:45, 22 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I guess my main question would be wether 3RR applies to user:talk pages or if its exempted. more specifically the policy; "Reverting edits to your own user space (as long as you are respecting the Wikipedia:User page guidelines and not restoring material covered by a 3RR content type exemption" Ottawa4ever (talk) 02:29, 22 July 2009 (UTC)


 * "user space" includes user talk in that quote. See also Talk page guidelines. If you have a specific conflict in mind then there might be special circumstances where reverts are inappropriate. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:53, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
 * All hypothetically speaking just trying to understand 3rr better, thx Ottawa4ever (talk) 15:34, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

WikiSummaries
In the WikiSummaries free book summaries, there appears to be a problem with the link for the detailed chapter by chapter synopsis of the first Harry Potter book. Below is the error message I receive when I try to access that summary. The summaries for the other six books are fine. Is there simply a technical error in accessing that summary or does that summary actually not exist?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Database error

( ! ) Fatal error: Call to a member function fetchRow on a non-object in /var/www/dev-p4/www.wikisummaries.org/skins/MonoBook.php on line 321 Call Stack 1 0.4298 3388468 wfExceptionHandler ../Exception.php:0 2 0.4298 3388468 wfReportException ../Exception.php:225 3 0.4298 3388468 MWException->report ../Exception.php:191 4 0.4298 3388468 MWException->reportHTML ../Exception.php:111 5 0.4328 3351512 OutputPage->output ../Exception.php:86 6 0.4330 3392652 SkinTemplate->outputPage ../OutputPage.php:696 7 0.4756 3409296 MonoBookTemplate->execute ../SkinTemplate.php:463 8 0.4762 3409296 MonoBookTemplate->getEnotesLink ../MonoBook.php:98 76.182.222.40 (talk) 23:25, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) Time Memory Function Location
 * This is the help desk for the English-language Wikipedia. WikiSummaries is in no way affiliated with Wikipedia. Algebraist 23:41, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * WikiSummaries and Wikipedia both use MediaWiki software which has a support desk at mw:Project:Support desk. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:49, 22 July 2009 (UTC)