Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 September 24

= September 24 =

hi
I just want to use wiki because i like to know about fictional people that is why I want to use it for —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.44.179.218 (talk • contribs) 02:23, 24 September 2009


 * Welcome you are. --AndrewHowse (talk) 03:12, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * anyone want to edit the grammatical errors, or should it just be left alone? - Ennybey (talk) 04:34, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
 * It should be left alone. (It is pretty lucid compared with a lot of post here.) —teb728 t c 05:34, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

AncientPages
Why doesn't the Ancient Pages page work past the first 1000 articles? Jc iindyysgvxc (talk) 02:39, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Because, I guess, the underlying data set only includes 1000 articles. It's not clear that the list is current either; WP:DUSTY might be more recently updated (although it only shows 100 pages). --AndrewHowse (talk) 03:05, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * It is because in the early days of Wikipedia, we did not have such sophisticated features as stable page histories. (I was not around back then, I read it in the Wikipedia namespace)  Intelligent  sium  21:41, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

publishing dates
how do i find the publishing dates of an article
 * The most recent revision date will be found under the "history" tab at the top of the article; but of course, that will change whenever the article is edited next. Do you perhaps need a link to the article on "How to Cite a Wikipedia Article"? -- Orange Mike  &#x007C;   Talk  02:52, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

HELP
I just signed up for wikipedia and I made a page for Will Hurd, potential candidate for Congress. but it was deleted, speedily. What in the heck? Someone please help.
 * Will Hurd has not yet been deleted. Please go to that page and follow the instructions in the large box.
 * &mdash;  .`^) Paine Ellsworthdiss`cuss (^`.   04:03, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * You need to find signifigant coverage from independent sources that verify notability. You need to read (reread) the folloing guidelines at:
 * Notability: Notability (people) "A person is presumed to be notable if he or she has been the subject of published secondary source material which is reliable, intellectually independent, and independent of the subject." WP:POLITICIAN is also on the page: "People who have held international, national or first-level sub-national political office, including members of a legislature..." and "Just being an elected local official, or an unelected candidate for political office, does not guarantee notability, although such people can still be notable if they meet the primary notability criterion of 'significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject of the article.'"
 * Interst based: WP:PROMOTION (not promotion or soapbox or the candidtate) and WP:CONFLICT (although not directly prohibitied, your editing is discouraged and frowned upon by the community if you are associated with the subject). "You can visit Will's website at Texans for Hurd to stay updated on events and fundraisers." is a big problem.
 * Sources (signifigant coverage}: WP:SOURCES (you need to find sources to verify what you are saying in the article as well as assserting notability of the subject. I porefer google news searches. ":. No matter where his travels have taken him, Texas has always been home and he could not be happier to be back." is a problem.Cptnono (talk) 05:14, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Follow-up: I just blanked (not deleted) the article since it is an exact copy of the website. Copyright concerns are also a problem.Cptnono (talk) 05:17, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Old Debate
Articles that are suppose to be deleted are debated for 7 days, and then they are suppose to be deleted. How do you get the article to be deleted if the debate started almost two weeks ago? ---Shadow (talk) 04:47, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Well if consensus have been reached to delete, you may contact any admin to do so Template:  Scarce   signature  04:54, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Image blink
Is there something I can use to make an image blink? Like an image version of this? $© @®  ©Ξ  05:43, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * You can animate it. ≈ Chamal talk ¤ 06:40, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * For some examples, see Commons:Category:Animated GIF. --Teratornis (talk) 21:27, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Page move help
Can someone help me to move back Squash → Squash (disambiguation) and Squash (sport) → Squash. A user recently moved it without proper discussion and without citing concrete reason. Arteyu ? Blame it on me !  07:53, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * No, if one were to simply revert the moves that would be walking into an edit war, instead disscuss your concerns with the users involved. Bear in mind that the pages were actually moved by Grutness without disscussion in January 2009, and Commander Keane and Tatterfly were actually reverting his change. I suggest you contact Grutness, Commander Keane and Tatterfly and start a disscussion at Talk:Squash with them. Do not launch into an edit war, kind regards, SpitfireTally-ho! 09:00, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Port
I would like to know if there is a shipping line to Port Rashid to Potti Georgia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.21.216.161 (talk • contribs) 08:49, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were 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 for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right 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. —teb728 t c 09:03, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

chellame
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. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 10:29, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Eliminating leading/trailing spaces
Is there a function in Wikipedia that trims leading/trailing spaces? For example, if a template is entered as, I'd like the add a function to the code so that  can be changed from " argument one " to "argument one". This is an important distinction for use of parameters in URLs. Thank you. —Zach425 talk / contribs 09:48, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * We have a template to do this— oddly enough it is called StripWhitespace. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 10:19, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Header 1 title changes
the title has a slight typo in it: reads Meli Melo Artist Alliance, should be Meli Melo Artists Alliance. can you tell me how to rectify this error? Artjamming (talk) 10:48, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Done. There should be an option on the top of the page named "Move". You have to click on that and move the page to another title. ƒ(Δ)² 11:06, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Collapsed template
Can someone make the only template on this page collapsed ? Arteyu ? Blame it on me !  11:58, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Done. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:37, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks mate ! Arteyu ?  Blame it on me !  17:34, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Adding to a table?
I am trying to help on the discography of Shirley Bassey, but cannot work out how to add a new item in an existing table. For eg. I wish to add in 1975 a new album. The addition springs into the box on the right or the alinement is wrong? How can I edit exisiting tables? 80.100.26.222 (talk) 13:05, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Change the code like this: Does that help? ≈ Chamal talk ¤ 13:21, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes - Thank you I finally got it to work. 80.100.26.222 (talk) 14:12, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

malicious content
How do I stop malicious content being constantly reposted to page about my company after I delete it? We believe a rogue ex-employee of the company, who left out business due to his illegal activities, continues to try and exonerate the gaps in his CV by posting malicious content on this dubious website —Preceding unsigned comment added by GDNeil (talk • contribs)
 * To answer your question accurately, we need to know which article it is you refer to. Regards, decltype (talk) 13:56, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Thank you for asking and not getting involved in an edit war.
 * Read FAQ/Organizations, especially the section "The article on me/my organization is an attack! What can I do?"
 * Read Vandalism
 * Discuss the issues on the article talk page; ensure you disclose your relationship
 * If you still have questions, come back here and ask.
 * ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 16:48, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Strange redirects
Why when I enter "Rff" in the search box, it redirects to "RFF" with "(Redirected from Rff)", but when I enter "Tgf" in the search box, it redirects to "TGF" without "(Redirected from Tgf)"?--Mikespedia (talk) 15:12, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Put simply I think the "Rff" page is redundant as it contains the exact same characters as the "RFF" page but someone created Rff and made a redirect anyway. For example if you search for "Axl rose" you get brought to the "Axl Rose" article without a redirect but if you go to the "Barack obama" page you get redirected to the "Barack Obama" article. Jeffrey Mall (talk • contribs) - 15:36, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * The search tool will automatically try to match a nonexistent title with an existing one differing only by case, and take you there without comment. (Where is the search tool's current behavior documented, BTW?  I know its behavior changed recently and that WP:MIXEDCAPS the requirements went away.)  Anyhow, if you link to your search terms (or enter them directly in the URL) you will see the difference as  exists (as a redirect), but  does not, and is thus a redlink. -- ToET 16:03, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * The Go button is documented at Help:Go button. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:34, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Linking to a section title containing a nonbreaking space
How do I fix this broken redirect: ? The target section title contains a hard space (&amp;nbsp;) before the dash: === Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest&amp;nbsp;– Southern New Mexico & West Texas === that is getting encoded into the anchor id as ".C2.A0", but that same hard space is encoded as just a space (that is, an underscore) in the link Scouting in Texas. Using a "%C2%A0" does the same thing: Scouting in Texas -- ToET 15:51, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * I removed it from both and the redirect is now working. Some scripts will change a space before a hyphen into a non-breaking space, but it is an invalid characters in HTML ids. I think I got all the council redirects updated from the last round of GSUSA merges— their naming is just not consistent. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 16:38, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Creating a Category/SubCategory
How to create a Category or Sub-Category? How to include pages to the above created Categories? --Thaejas
 * Let's use dogs as an example. Search for it like you would a page, except in the category namespace. You create the page named Category:Dogs. Then, add  to the bottom of pages you wish to add to the category. You create subcategories the same way, except you add   to the subcategory page as if it were an article. For more information, see Help:Category.  hmwith  ☮  16:34, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the help. -- Thaejas (talk) 18:52, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Adding a picture to discography info box
I am tring to add a picture for the discography of Shirley Bassey, to the album The Fabulous Shirley Bassey info box, cannot seem to find out on the pages how I a can add a picture from my own PC. Dutchdean (talk) 15:58, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Have a read through the picture tutorial. Jeffrey Mall (talk • contribs) - 16:09, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Have tried to find it there but cannot find anything on adding a picture to an InfoBox. Dutchdean (talk) 16:16, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Try this

{{Infobox Person Thaejas (talk 16:28, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * name         = Person Name
 * image        = Picture.jpg
 * image_size   = 180px

Have tried this but please see what happens...It is still not working... Dutchdean (talk) 16:33, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Check this --Thaejas (talk) 16:46, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Thaejas your link goes to Bad Link? What is wrong with what I am doing - the file is on my pC is 180 pix en has a .jpg name. Please can someone help me, do I need to upload a picture first? Where too? Dutchdean (talk) 16:50, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Pls recheck the link again. Have corrected the link. Yes. You can upload the file by clicking on the Upload file in the toolbox (left navigational panel)--Thaejas (talk) 16:56, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Ok I have managed to get it uploaded BUT now seem to have a licence problem?? Where is the Fair Use link? I cannot find any reference to Album covers here either? Dutchdean (talk) 17:11, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I have added a picture to the page The Fabulous Shirley Bassey but there seems to be a problem. Can someone please explain how I can add an image using FAIR USE for ALBUM COVERS. Dutchdean (talk) 17:45, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Add the following to the image description page:


 * ∙  AJCham  {{sup|(talk)}} 18:34, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Actually I now see that you have uploaded the image to Wikimedia Commons. Non-free images cannot be used on Commons, so the image should have been uploaded to Wikipedia instead.  I'll sort it out. ∙  AJCham  {{sup|(talk)}}  18:38, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * The image is now at File:FabulousShirleyBassey-Cover.jpg with the correct copyright information. The one on commons will soon be deleted. ∙  AJCham  {{sup|(talk)}}  18:44, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

font size in wikipedia display
For some reason wikipedia content text is way too large. is there any toolbox that will allow me to view wiki pages / text at the normal size?


 * You may be zoomed in - if you are using Firefox, try Ctrl & 0 (zero) to return to normal zoom, or Ctrl & - (minus) to zoom out. ∙  AJCham  (talk) 18:48, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

cleanup
At the top of a page on Paul Shackel I created, there is a warning box about how the page needs "cleanup" to meet wiki standards. What exactly should I do? Also, there is another warning directly under the first one about needing additional citations for verification. Before the page was an orphan, but that warning went away. What should I do to get rid of these?

(CwAnth09 (talk) 18:55, 24 September 2009 (UTC))


 * See the links in the template: WP:Cleanup process and WP:Manual of Style. Also, check out WP:Cleanup resources.  hmwith  ☮ 19:14, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

rename page/redirect page
I have already change the page on Paul Shackel so that it would be redirected to Paul A. Shackel. It worked for a while, but now the redirection has reversed and whenever I try to access Paul A. Shackel I am redirected to Paul Shackel. I want it to be changed back! Was it changed automatically? How did this happen and how can I fix it?

(CwAnth09 (talk) 18:57, 24 September 2009 (UTC))
 * Someone else changed the redirect. Why do you want it changed back? Tim Song (talk) 19:08, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * (e/c) It appears that two distinct pages grew up at about the same time. The current target is better laid out and referenced, so the other page was redirected to the current target. That seems appropriate to me. --AndrewHowse (talk) 19:09, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I wanted it changed back because that is the way Paul wanted the page to look. I am trying to create this page for him. CwAnth09 (talk) 17:22, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Uploading album cover scans?
Non-free images cannot be used on Commons, so the image should be uploaded to Wikipedia instead. How do I upload to Wiki without going thru the Commons upload? Dutchdean (talk) 19:48, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Click the "upload file" link in the "toolbox" on the left side of the screen over there <. An upload wizard similar to the one used at Commons will walk you through the process. -- Jayron  32  19:51, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Walther PK380
I would like to see an article/information about Walther's new PK380 pistol in .380 caliber. Can this request be posted on Wikipedia for the public at large to respond and place an article accordingly? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.38.2.150 (talk • contribs)


 * You could
 * make a request at Articles for creation if you have the source material but are not a registered user and so cannot create articles.
 * make a request at Requested articles if you do not have source material, or if you just want to make a general request that somebody else create the article based on their own interest or research
 * Register your own account and make the article yourself, using the handy Article wizard 2.0.
 * Hope one of these options works for you. -- Jayron  32  19:55, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Need formatting help
I am trying to "build" a music album page for the group "psydafect". I have a copy of thier self titled cd. I've started a page with some infromation from the cd. I don't know how to call up the page format for a album. Also can I use the cd cover on the page ?--Mark Pearcy (talk) 19:54, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Before you worry about formatting, please read WP:BAND and WP:ALBUM. The current draft on your user page will almost certainly be speedily deleted if moved to the mainspace in its current form. – ukexpat (talk) 20:45, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Vandalism to "Dimitri The Lover" Wikipedia
My name is Shawn. I am Dimitri The Lover's manager. My IP address is 149.99.9.122. I have someone from 99.141.52.107 deleting a section of the wiki that has been SOURCED with the appropriate reference. Basically, we released some voicemails last year which were viral marketing for a film being produced about Dimitri The Lover by Brad Goodman, who worked on Bruno and Borat. We cannot come right out and say that until his IMDB is updated next week, but we added a section that refers to the leak at progressiveadvertiser.com. They have CONFIRMED the movie to be true (check the link). I need this change reverted back to my original which mentions the leak, then if possible to have the article locked down as is with only senior wiki editors dealing with it. Dimitri The Lover is VERY CONTROVERSIAL and once word hits the mainstream media next week, it will be vandalized further. HELP !!!!!!!!1111 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.99.9.122 (talk • contribs)
 * I'm sorry, but Wikipedia cannot lock articles in a preferred version. There is only a limited form of page protection available and it only used rarely. Furthermore, if you have a conflict of interest regarding an article, you are discouraged from editing it. TN X Man  20:42, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * First off, at least I'm being HONEST about who I am. Secondly, what is the policy when two individuals are in an "undo" war?  A senior wiki editor has to intervene at some point to decide if a paragraph stays or goes.  Also, at what point is page protection enabled? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.99.9.122 (talk • contribs)
 * Being referenced is a necessary but not sufficient condition for including a nugget of information in Wikipedia. Even if it is referenced, it should be relevent to the article in question, not violate major policies like WP:UNDUE and WP:BLP and the like.  Having a source is not a stick you can weild to force others to accept your personally preferred version of an article, and continuing to add a contested bit of text BACK into an article over and over can lead to a block for edit warring even if the bit of text has a source.  Please stop and discuss this on the article talk page WITHOUT returning the contested text and source.  -- Jayron  32  20:51, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Good points. OK, to address them, the information is relevant in that there already was a section on the voicemails in the article and the progressiveadvertiser.com link clearly states "Many people have contacted us demanding to know how we can be so sure that the voicemails are viral marketing hoaxes for a Dimitri The Lover movie.  Please note that we did not rely solely on heresay posted on the internet.  We did our research and obtained reliable information from sources involved in the Hollywood movie project."  So, they are saying it is CONFIRMED, and not heresay.  We were trying to keep it under wraps for months, but when they finally broke it, I added it.  Also, when I undid the offender's undo (lol), I stated that I wanted him to go to the discussion page and chat with me.  He did not.  He is not being reasonable.  As a senior editor, could you please look at the source I have used as a reference and make a decision here. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.99.9.122 (talk • contribs)  — 149.99.9.122 (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.


 * There are no "senior editors", we are all just "editors", even admins, except they just have a few extra tools to keep the place running smoothly. We decide issues by consensus. – ukexpat (talk) 21:19, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * If anyone's interested, there's an AfD of the article going on now. Xenon54 / talk / 21:44, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

MOST IMMEDIATE & HIGH/TOP PRIORITY BASIS HELP!!!!
MOST IMMEDIATE & HIGH/TOP PRIORITY BASIS HELP!!!!

RESPECTED SIR/MADAM

WHILE WE WERE IN THE VERY MIDST OF THE PROCESS OF THE UNDER CONSTRUCTION OF OUR PREVIOUS 'ARTICLE' TITLED 'The Marghuz Va'li Illustrated' THAT IT WAS DELETED.

Now as Very Kindly Directed by Wikipedia we have started our New Article at the Special:My Page/The Marghuz Va'li Illustrated.

YOUR GOOD SELVES ARE MOST HUMBLUY REQUESTED TO TRANSFER ALL THE TEXT & IMAGES (AT THE LAST EDITION OF THAT ARTILE ON 22/23.09.2009) TO THIS NEW ATRICLE. AS IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO RE-WRITE THAT TOO MUCH HARD & DETAILED WORK WITH THE INTERNAL LINKS, REFERENCES ETC. ONCE AGAIN.

WE HOPE OUR THIS MOST HUMBLE REQUEST SHALL BE ACCEPTED IN THE GREATER INTEREST OF THE SPREAD OF THE LIGHT OF THE TRUST WORTHY KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS THE SOLE AIM & OBJECTIVE OF THE WIKIPEDIA.

WAITING MOST EAGERLY FOR YOUR THIS INFINITELY HIGHEST FAVOUR.

THANKING YOU RESPETED SIR/MADAM

YOURS VERY CORDIALLY

EDITING USER:

SwabiVal'

E-MAIL ADDRESS:

SwabiVal&#39; (talk) 22:23, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * So where's your article? User:SwabiVal'/The Marghuz Va'li Illustrated is blank. Also, a quick primer on basic Internet etiquette: SHOUTING and lots of exclamation points will get you nowhere. And you only need 4 tildes, not 19, to sign a post. Xenon54 / talk / 22:32, 24 September 2009 (UTC)


 * The article was deleted as not being notable (just a gallery of photos) - see the AfD. I never saw the article itself, but from the comments left at the AfD, it doesn't seem as if it would actually "spread of the light of the trust worthy knowledge", to use the creator's words above. --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 22:45, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Odd strings
I recently tried to add a section for newpage monitoring on my userpage, but there was some sort of error with, and a nonsense string, UNIQ42e98bee533bca26-h-0--QINU, is somehow added to all the subtitles. This problem also occurs on Template:Dashboard. What could be causing it?  Intelligent  sium  22:41, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't know what is causing it either - it happens with all the == == section headings on the Dashboard template (I added ==test== to the template and previewed it, and it happened to that too). Level 2 headings elsewhere aren't affected, so maybe that can help someone narrow down the problem. --  Phantom Steve  ( Contact Me, My Contribs ) 22:57, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * The folks over at VPT might be able to help you further. It sounds to me like a software bug... Xenon54 / talk / 23:27, 24 September 2009 (UTC)