Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 September 1

= September 1 =

Sandbox Use -- My Jane Austen
As an example of real-world formatting, footnoting, etc., I copied the Jane Austen article to my sandbox under the title My Jane Austen. My intent was not to modify the article, but to see how the source code was formatted and not inadvertently modify the article.

I got a notice that I had vandalized the Jane Austen article.


 * 12:57, 10 March 2009 (hist) (diff) N User:RalphOnTheRailroad/Sandbox/My notes about references/My Jane Austen ‎ (←Created page with 'comment --Please do not change this image to the 1870 portrait, painted after Austen's death (see talk page)--Thanks-end-comment--comment Please do not add an infobox (see talk page)--…') end-comment

Isn't this a proper use of a sandbox?

How do I explain the problem to whoever sent this message? I see no ID as to who sent the message.

I thought a sandbox was private. RalphOnTheRailroad (talk) 22:57, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * You "sent" that message. It is an automatic edit summary, which the software inserts automatically when you create a page. Den dodge T\C 23:04, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * More specifically, when you create a page, the software automatically generates an edit summary that includes the first 100 or so characters of the created article. If you take a look at the Jane Austen page in an edit window, you will see that it starts with an internal comment that includes the "Please do not..." sentence. -Arch dude (talk) 23:09, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * OK. I understand that. But perhaps some message is automatically generated because of it. I recall a red stop sign and a message in red letters saying, in effect, if you vandalize the page a second time, your account will be deleted. Hence, I started searching for an explanation. Unfortunately, I can't find the page or warning again to quote it exactly. I had also received a message that my password had been changed to a temporary one. I don't know if this is all part of the same problem. Thank you for your help. RalphOnTheRailroad (talk) 23:59, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure what warning you mean. I created your talk page at 23:15 UTC with the welcome message I left for you. There are no warnings about vandalism on it, and that's the page any such warnings would be put. As for the password message, I can't help you with that one - unless you tried to recover a lost password? --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 00:08, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I've been around since 2007 but not very active. For example, I added a bit to the Wrigley Field article. I never had a talk page that had a welcome message before. When I couldn't log in, I checked my email and found a message that I hadn't noticed before. "Someone from the IP address 67.162.36.40 requested that we send you a new login password for the English Wikipedia" That password didn't work since it was sent several months ago. So I requested a new password and logged in again. That's when I saw the warning about vandalism and went searching for help. Going back to my talk page I saw your welcome message. So perhaps it was created on top of the old one. RalphOnTheRailroad (talk) 01:53, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * The 3 things (automatic edit summary, password mail, vandalism warning with stop sign) are completely unrelated.
 * If you don't write anything in the edit summary field when you create a page then an automatic edit summary is made with the start of the page source. That is what happened at . If you create a page by copying an article then please satisfy the license requirements by linking to the source page in the edit summary, for example saying "copied from Jane Austen". And please remove categories from the copy so it isn't displayed in those categories.
 * Your account has stored an email address. If you or anybody else enter your username at the login screen and click "E-mail new password" then a new password is mailed to the stored address. It is intended for users who forget their password. If you know the old password then you can continue to use it and ignore the mail.
 * The warning you saw may have been made with Uw-vandalism4 or a similar template but no warnings have been given to your account. Maybe you saw it on somebody elses talk page or when you were not logged in. If you are not logged in and others have edited with the same IP address as your computer has at the time then you may see an orange new messages bar with a link to a page containing warnings which were given to others. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:36, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * OK. I understand. I'll make the changes you suggested. As far as I'm concerned, you can consider this topic closed. Thank you everyone. RalphOnTheRailroad (talk) 02:57, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

photos in Wikipedia
I cannot see any photo or picture in wikipedia, instead of the photo there is a small white box and (X) in red like if you disable showing pictures in Internet browser, I do not have this problem in other web sites and I do not try to connect to internet via other provider. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.86.31.169 (talk) 01:08, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * That's the browser's indication that it tried to download a picture but was unable to. Most likely its because Wikipedia articles are too big for your otherwise slow ISP. If you have Internet Explorer then click on tools, Internet Options, Advanced, and then in the Multimedia section of the list, there's an item that says "Show Pictures". Best of luck..South Bay (talk) 04:42, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Table rowspan issue
The problem I'm asking about can be seen in the List of United States Senators from Massachusetts, and probably a few other similar articles. It is easier to show than explain.

This,

yields, So far, so good. But when you want 111 and 38 to also include a second row, things go wrong. This, Yields, While it doesn't look like Kennedy and 111 overlap at all, they do, Yields,

If forced line breaks aren't an option, is there a way to fix this? -Rrius (talk) 01:57, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * I think that's the best you can do. This is not a matter of wiki formatting, but of HTML. The HTML spec leaves a lot of the implementation of tables up to the browser. In this case it says that there must be a second row, but it doesn't specify a height for the row, and there is no way to do so except by providing content (The HTML 4 specification allows a 'height' attribute on table cells, but it is deprecated, and its definition talks about a 'recommended cell height'. You won't necessarily get the same appearance from different browsers either.
 * If there were a cell that was in that row alone I suspect you would get more depth to it, but in this case I can't think of anything you can do except make the contents of the cell deeper as you have. --ColinFine (talk) 21:27, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks. -Rrius (talk) 22:32, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Help with image fair use validation
Could someone knowledgeable about image copyright requirements check this and help me understand if it is properly marked for legitimate "fair use" purposes or whether I should be submitting it for deletion? (As a note, the image cannot be found at its cited location.) Thanks, Askari Mark (Talk) 02:04, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Well, personally, I think you have fair-use problems in the "replaceable" category: since the plane was doing a flyover on a public demonstration, theoretically, anyone in Armenia could go out and snap a picture, thus, the image is replaceable. Additionally, there is no source, so it's a little hard to tell the original copyright status. 02:12, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * It's actually a flyby of Russian aircraft at an Armenian airshow several years ago, but since it doesn't appear in the claimed source, it could be from anywhere. Do we have a policy for what to do when the provenance cannot be verified? Askari Mark (Talk) 02:18, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * {ec}} :As the File:4armenianjetsa.jpg image tags show the source as http://www.mil.am/rus/?page=4, and the home page www.mil.am/ has a notice saying "Copyright © 1992-2009 Ministry of Defence of The Republic of Armenia", then I would say that that particular picture is not able to be used, as it is not a 'fair use'. I think it should be submitted to deletion. The fact that the image is not currently available at the cited location does not alter the fact that the copyright in the image is owned by the MoD-RoA. The uploaded is a blocked user, incidently.--  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 02:24, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Steve. Does that crossed-out "PD-AM-exempt" template tag have any bearing (like with public domain US govt. material)? Askari Mark (Talk) 02:26, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't know about the PD-AM-exempt bit. However, as there are no indication of source apart from the mil.am site, I'd probably go with that. The nearest image I could fin d was This one from the Military Parade Dedicated to the 15th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia. --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 02:43, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Steve, you seem to be suggesting that because it is copyrighted, it cannot be fair use. Fair use is an exception to copyright protection, so that cannot be what you are really saying. What are you saying then? -Rrius (talk) 04:28, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * In this particular case, I do not believe that it would be considered fair use, as there will be thousands of photographs like this that have been taken by amateur photographers around the world which are public-domain. OK, we might have to scout around for them (or perhaps contact the photographer), but since they would be available, the copyrighted image would not be required. At least, that is my understanding of the fair use provisions - the image used needs to be non-replaceable (e.g. a logo would fall under this category - even if I took a photograph of the "Shell Oil" logo, the logo itself would still be copyright to the logo's copyright owner - I can't find a replacement for the logo; whereas the photograph of 4 Armenian jets copyrighted to the MoD-RoA is their copyright, a photograph I take of the same 4 jets on my camera isn't, so could be used with my permission) - from Fair_use: Copyrighted images that reasonably can be replaced by free/libre images are not suitable for Wikipedia. I would say that in this case, free images would be available with a bit of searching. --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 07:17, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * I have tagged the image for deletion as a copyright violation, per Phantomsteve's comments above. – ukexpat (talk) 13:37, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks to all who responded. The image Steve linked to is not the same photo.  There used to be more pages of photos at that link, but they appear to have been removed – although I still cannot remember for sure that this was the proper source for them.  No problem with listing it for deletion, Ukexpat; I suspected it might be problematical, which was why I posted it here (that plus the fact I’m unfamiliar with the Arcanum of fair-use imagery).  Appreciatively, Askari Mark (Talk) 01:47, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Blocked users
Are all edits made by blocked users to be reverted? I've seen edit summaries to that effect but do not know if it's policy/concensus or just someone's opinion. Thanks  Tide  rolls  03:07, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Maybe it's just me, but I review the user's contributions and let good/innocuous edits slide. It seems like I'd just be making work for myself to revert them and then re-add the material myself (if it's a good edit). TN X Man  03:12, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * I wouldn't revert against common sense, but I was more concerned with "sneaky" vandalism. Those users that find it necessary to change DOB's by one day, or athlete's weights by six pounds.  Changes that an everyday editor would be hard pressed to prove or disprove.  I know I'm probably asking for an answer that is impossible to state in absolute terms.  I'm just hoping against hope.  Thanks for your reply, TnXman.   Tide  rolls  03:24, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * It's my policy to concentrate on de-spamming and otherwise reverting conflict-of-interest violations; but then, I block a lot of spammers and comparatively few vandals per se. -- Orange Mike  &#x007C;   Talk  04:24, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Id just ask them for a source on their changes (just my personal thoughts on this) manually, if their edits accompanied a source i would defineatly leave it alone. However without a source, the material can be disputed. and may be a form of sneaky. Ottawa4ever (talk) 13:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

map names
Why are so many wikipedia maps completely devoid of any names? As no results for "map names" from FAQ search, I'm wondering why no-one has apparently noticed this before. 121.91.94.232 (talk) 05:42, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * This is generally because maps used on Wikipedia cannot just be scans from a book or a 'steal' from a website. Wikipedia's guidelines on non-free content says A map, scanned or traced from an atlas, to illustrate the region depicted is counted as unreasonable use of copyrighted material - so we are limited in what maps we can use. --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 07:21, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * If you are asking about maps like File:Queensland locator-MJC.png, probably one reason why it doesn’t have names is that it is on Commons, which is not just for English speakers. If a reader is at all familiar with Australia, the map effectively locates Queensland. So the lack of names makes it most generally useful: The same map can be used at ru:Квинсленд, ja:クイーンズランド州, ar:كوينزلاند, and zh:昆士蘭州. The maps at States and territories of Australia, on the other hand, do have names. —teb728 t c 07:36, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * A lot of maps are on Commons and are purposely unlabeled. These can be reused on each Wikipedia by adding names in the desired language. There are also templates that will superimpose a location dot. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 11:48, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Why can't I find my article?
I've created an article but can't seem to find it when I do a normal search. Is there a delay before articles go live? Or have I done something wrong? It appears in the 'my contributions' section of my account. -- preceding unsigned comment left by User:Holocausttaskforce (talk) 09:17, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * The article is at Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research - it's a long title! It may take some time to show up on the index. I have also added it to the disambiguation page for ITF. --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 08:22, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

How can I change the Lemma?
Hello, I created an article, Magic lilli, and beside the fact that it should have been capital L in Lilli, it was hastily named - it should have been "Lilli the Witch (children's books)" - sorry! Is it possible to change the lemma? Thanks in advance, --Meielie (talk) 08:34, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I have moved it to Lilli the witch - the (children's books) isn't required, as there are no other Lilli the witch articles on Wikipedia. --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 08:41, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Shouldn't that be Lilli the Witch as it is the title of a book? – ukexpat (talk) 13:29, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks again --Meielie (talk) 13:45, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Ukexpat, it should. I've moved it & fixed the double redirects.  hmwith  t   14:11, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks hmwith. (Steve, lines: 500 times: I must remember that I used to be a teacher, and capitalise proper nouns). --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 14:28, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Not so much a proper noun as caps in titles... – ukexpat (talk) 20:04, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

How do you create a new page?
I am a newcomer to Wikipedia and I am not able to find any information on how to create a page

Aarathi Ganesan -- preceding unsigned comment left by User:Aarathirulz (talk, contribs) 10:50, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Welcome to Wikipedia. Have a look here WP:FAQ Off2riorob (talk) 10:57, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Mobile version issues
I inadvertantly disabled the mobile version when browsing Wikipedia using Safari on my iPhone. How do I enable the mobile version again? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.27.131 (talk) 12:52, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Go to the URL bar to edit the address. Every page here begins with "en.wikipedia.org"  Simple change that to "en.m.wikipedia.org" and you'll get the mobile site back. ~ Amory ( user  •  talk  •  contribs ) 13:37, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * putting the .m. Back in the URL simply redirects you back to the full HTML page on the iPhone once you've hit the "permenently disable mobile version" link. I suspect that we may have to clear out our browser cache/cookies until the devs figure out that they should put a reenable link on the home page. --Anthonzi (talk) 08:21, 5 September 2009 (UTC)
 * When I was a kid, I would often browse the encyclopedia in the bathroom. I can't do that with a desktop computer but with the right mobile apps it would be easier. Are there any wiki mobile apps or just mobile website? I'm working on shortcuts for BB and put one on my phone that launches a browser to the recent changes pages. I was going to add features for composing articles ( I wanted to make it easy to cite and quote various other sources onto a wiki-like clipboard or something like that) but wasn't sure what exists. Being able to keep going to random pages is a nice feature for killing dead time or browsing when away from a desk. Nerdseeksblonde (talk) 23:59, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Civility and IRC
Hi, does anyone know how the policy of civility is applied for IRC communication... to what extent? And, is it at all possible to bring issues on-wiki, provided logs etc? (Wikiquette?) -- Menti  fisto  13:31, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't honestly think any civility is imposed at IRC. It's definitely possible to bring on-wiki disputes and such at IRC, and I know that provided logs have been used in this area, and even for in arbitration.  ceran  thor  13:38, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * (ec) In short, you cannot use logs without express permission from those you are quoting; so-called "public logging" isn't allowed in a lot of channels. The same guidelines for expression apply to IRC as to Wikipedia (common sense interactions, really) and the freenode guidelines say things nicely.  I would personally avoid too much IRC<->Wiki stuff, as things off that nature tend to smack of some sort of IRCabal.  This info is covered in the FAQ and the guidelines at IRC/FAQ and IRC/Guidelines, for future reference. ~ Amory ( user  •  talk  •  contribs ) 13:49, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

IP needs blocking.
User_talk:216.60.25.6. occono (talk) 14:30, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Occono, I think you need to put this suggestion at Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents. --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 14:42, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Reports for persistent vandalism need to be taken to WP:AIV not WP:ANI. Jeffrey Mall (talk • contribs) - 14:46, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you for correcting me, Jeffrey. I'll try to remember that one in future! --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 14:48, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I was in a rush at the time, so I thought it would be better to come here. occono (talk) 20:58, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

private or intranet wikipedia
is there a way to setup a private or intranet wikipedia for use within our organization so that is has a password protection to the information? Lowell Bowie —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.186.47.150 (talk) 15:37, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Hi, I have removed your e-mail address, as we will reply here.
 * It is possible to create your own Wiki - see the Wiki, Wiki (software), List of wiki software and Personal wiki articles - or to get a database dump of wikipedia, see Database download. If you have any more questions, let us know after reading those! --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 15:41, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * See also Wikipmediawiki.  hmwith  t   16:47, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Cite conference grievance
Hi! I have a concern regrading the conference cite template (cite conference). I'm using a conference as a source quite extensively for the article Nintendo DSi and notice it is not possible to WP:CITESHORT the respective template. The article currently uses cite web for the conference, but I fear it is only a matter of time until the url suffers from linkrot. I would like to source the conference more directly, particularly using a "time" parameter like what the cite video template (cite video) has. Regards,  « ₣M₣ »  15:58, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * The talk page would probably be the best place to bring this up Tiggerjay (talk) 22:52, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Discovery Air Incorporated
Hi, So it seems that I am having a lot of trouble writing an article about Discovery Air Incorporated since I am new to this Wikipedia thing. How can I make a suggestion that someone else writes the article? Perhaps then I can help out by just doing some editing, rather than writing the whole thing myself, which is proving to be very difficult! Thanks, BrittanyPaterson (talk) 16:06, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Head over to WP:AFC and follow the process set out there. – ukexpat (talk) 16:11, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

New York City Gay Basketball-Post
I tried posting our information today, I can view the information via my own personal log in, but it does not come up when you search the Wikipedia site —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.142.140.155 (talk) 20:24, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * What was the user name that you used to create the article? – ukexpat (talk) 20:41, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the message on my talk page - replying here to keep the discussion together. At the moment the text is in your user space at User:New York City Gay Basketball. To appear in the mainspace it must be moved there. However, at the moment it has some issues. First, it appears to be promotional in tone even if that was not your intention, and I have nominated it for deletion accordingly. Second, it does not indicate why the subject is notable. Also, your user name is probably in breach of the user name policy. – ukexpat (talk) 21:03, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Need SMTP server to use air card with Livingston internet server
Need smtp server to replace smtp.vzmail.net My accountis:
 * Have you tried the Computing section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps.  TN X Man  20:44, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

How do I edit section above External Links for Lake Forest Graduate School of Management?
Hello.

I need help on how to edit the section above external links in the Wikipedia entry for Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Can someone assist?

Patty —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lfgal40 (talk • contribs) 21:27, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Click the edit tab at the top of the article page. Looks like the article needs some extensive work so good luck! – ukexpat (talk) 21:32, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Unfortunately the edit tab does not let me access the text I am trying to edit. Please advise. Lfgal40 (talk) 21:54, 1 September 2009 (UTC)Patty


 * Please provide an example of the ext you want to edit, and/or tell us what you see when you click on "edit this page" at the top. There are edit buttons on the right side that should give you access to a single section. There's a way to see one for the top section, which you may not have, but the one at the very top should allow you to edit everything. SPhilbrick  T  22:02, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

I am trying to remove the following sentence "The school is affiliated with The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.". Let me know if you can assist. Thank you. Lfgal40 (talk) 22:20, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Click on the edit tab at the top of the page. You can enable an edit tab for the lead in Special:Preferences > Gadgets > Add an [edit] link for the lead section of a page. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 22:34, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Maybe this should be default. I've seen people having problems like this before, where they see the in-article edit buttons but can't see the one at the top for some reason and think they can't edit the lead section. occono (talk) 13:56, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Can I use the same modem of my father, who has been banned?
Hi. I am the son of a banned user of en.wiki and I want to ask you if the fact that I am going to use the same modem of my father (I live with him and my family in Coconut Creek, a town inside the greater Miami metropolitan area) will create problems. I know (from a friend who is a wikipedia user) that I must pinpoint this close relationship with my father's IP in my user page. But I hope (in case of a future check up, for any reason) that I will not be banned simply because I have the same IP of my banned father. Sincerely--LittleTony (talk) 21:35, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * If you edit productively, don't cause trouble, and completely avoid the subject area your father edited in, no one will ever have reason to ask a Checkuser to determine your IP address, and this will be a moot point.


 * If you edit the same areas as your father, and cause trouble, someone is going to quickly put 2+2 together, a Checkuser will verify that the same problems are coming from the same place, and you'll be blocked whether you're the same person or not.


 * In other words, no, this story alone is not going to protect you from being blocked. What will keep you from being blocked is being productive, not taking up your father's cause and try to get him unblocked, not editing the same articles he edited, etc. In short, not giving anyone a reason to want you blocked. --Floquenbeam (talk) 21:59, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Locked creation
What is the review process for reworked articles that have been protected from creation?Cptnono (talk) 21:47, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * WP:SALT says, "Contributors wishing to re-create a salted title with more appropriate content should contact an administrator or use the deletion review process." Probably you should give them a link to a draft so that they can see that you have corrected the previous problems. —teb728 t c 21:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Do'h. Should have read that in more detail earlier. Thanks. I'll make a mention at the general admin noticeboard.Cptnono (talk) 22:07, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

I dont want to be blocked...
So how can I help wikipedia? I can't seem to find any pages with errors...Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 23:15, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * First of all, let me put your fears at ease. You will not be blocked for not helping Wikipedia (unless of course, "not helping" constitutes vandalism). You can go at your own pace. If you have any areas of expertise, I encourage you to improve articles relating to them. If you really cannot figure out where to start, try sorting out a bit of WP:BACKLOG. This will help you get the hang of editing, as well as acquaint you with Wikipedia policies and guidelines.  Intelligent  sium  23:20, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * I advise you to go to Community_portal. It has a lot of useful links for editors, including sections as "Help out" —Th e DJ (talk • contribs) 23:26, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
 * When you ask a question on the Help desk, remember that Wikipedia is not one giant brain which is aware of all parts of itself. If someone gave you a warning on your talk page, such as at User talk:Accdude92, Help desk volunteers may not know you are alluding to it unless you explicitly say so. As far as what you can do on Wikipedia, in addition to the suggestions by the other helpers above, look at the talk pages of articles to see if other editors have left any requests. Look at the contributions of other editors who have more experience editing the articles you find interesting, to get an idea of what they are doing. Ask them if they can think of anything you can do. Every established editor on Wikipedia is aware of many things he or she would like to improve. We have articles, but only a few thousand have reached featured or good status yet. --Teratornis (talk) 20:42, 2 September 2009 (UTC)