Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 December 25

= December 25 =

Table help
Can someone please help me to fix up the newly-added table at Tracy Chapman? It seems that some of the rowspans aren't working properly, but I can't figure out what the problem is. Thanks and merry Christmas! Graham 87 01:12, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * It looks fine to me. What seems to be the problem? (And happy holidays to you too!) Intelligent  sium  02:05, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Maybe it's a problem with my screen reader JAWS, but the "ceremony" header seems to be lined up with the text "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance", but the latter text is meant to be with the "Award" column. I have to go to a Christmas party now ... I'll be back in a few hours. :-) Graham 87 02:24, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * It also looks fine to me in all four tested browsers ("Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" is in the "Award" column): Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, Opera. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:50, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Hmmm, that's bizarre. It seems like JAWS 8 has a problem with the two consecutive rowspans. Admittedly I'm using a fairly old version of the program. Graham 87 08:58, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * All sorted, the table reads fine in JAWS 10, which I've just installed a few minutes ago. It's a long story why I'd hung on to JAWS 8 for such a long time. Graham 87 09:25, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Including words in the Russian (Cyrillic) language
When editing using Wiki markup language, how do I include words in the Russian (Cyrillic) language? Rgherman (talk) 03:03, 25 December 2010 (UTC) Richard H.


 * Cyrillic characters are supported as normal characters so you just need a way to get them into the edit window. Here are three possibilities: 1) With a Russian keyboard they can be typed directly. 2) You can copy-and-paste them from a source in Russian. 3) You can select them one character at a time in a box below the Save page button. If you see a drop-down box right below the button then select Cyrillic there.
 * See also Manual of Style (text formatting) if you want to add Russian to the English Wikipedia (it doesn't help you type the Cyrillic characters). PrimeHunter (talk) 03:44, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Fundraising Banners
Is there anyplace (perhaps on meta) where I can see all of the fundraising banners that have been used this year? What about previous years? Because you know that I can't get enough of Jimbo's face staring down at me as I read about Nineteen Eighty-Four. Buddy431 (talk) 04:18, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * meta:Fundraising would be a good place to start. There are lots of proposed designs here but I'm not sure which page has only the approved/used designs. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:49, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I think I've found the current fundraising banners, but I'm still looking for old ones, if anyone knows anything. Buddy431 (talk) 16:13, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

شركات مصنفه
قائمة أكبر 500 شركه بمصر —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.68.6.32 (talk) 09:47, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Translation: "Companies classified: List of top 500 companies in Egypt"


 * If you wish to request an article, please visit: WP:REQ. Jarkeld (talk) 10:29, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

How to Donate Here in Iran
To whom it may concern

I am one of Iranian students who use Wikipedia frequently. I think lots of Iranian students want to donate to Wikipedia. But your government, imposed sanctions against Iran and none of us have a credit card to donate. Could you help us how to pay?

Best Regards, E. Mousavi < > —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.233.172.220 (talk) 10:29, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Thank you for your interest in supporting the project. I believe all the country-specific versions of this page have a link to an "other ways to give" page. Does anything there answer your question?
 * Another way to support the project would be to give time rather than money. Take a look at the "Help out" section at the Community portal and see if anything there appeals to you.
 * (I have removed your email address to protect your privacy) -- John of Reading (talk) 12:12, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * In particular, the Persian Wikipedia needs articles translated from the much larger English Wikipedia. Wikipedia can get money from many places, but only a relatively few people could translate those articles, so your help there is valuable enough if donating money is a problem. Again, thanks for your support. With Wikipedia we can all work together regardless of our governments' squabbles. --Teratornis (talk) 00:07, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

Writing about one's self
If i wanted to write an article/biography about myself how do i start? Will i need refference, what will i need? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nocturnal9000 (talk • contribs) 14:38, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Please read Autobiography, Conflict of interest and WP:PROUD.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:49, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Maybe you should try WikiBios or Wiki Populi. – ukexpat (talk) 16:36, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

New section tab missing
Why don't I see a New section tab on Talk:Bradley Manning?--Bbb23 (talk) 15:57, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * The page used Talk archive to mark the archival of a specific section. That template includes a __NONEWSECTIONLINK__, which prevents the New section tab from showing up. I have removed it. Intelligent  sium  16:04, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I would never have figured that out on my own (I had tried searching Help before coming here).--Bbb23 (talk) 16:05, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * No problem, you just have to know what to look for. Happy holidays! Intelligent  sium  17:54, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Template Change
I want to change the following template: Guam-politician-stub. I want to change it so the text it produces says "Guamanian" instead of "Guamian" because I believe the former is the correct term. It doesn't look hard to change (just replace the word), but I've never changed a template, and I don't want to negatively impact any articles. So, I'm looking for reassurance before I do it. :-) --Bbb23 (talk) 23:34, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * You can test your edits to the template in a sandbox page. For example, copy Guam-politician-stub to User:Bbb23/sandbox1 and transclude it to User:Bbb23/sandbox2. Then you can edit the template copy in sandbox1 to see what happens in sandbox2 after you refresh or purge it. When you think your change is safe, make it to the real template, and check every page in Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:Guam-politician-stub to insure nothing exploded. You can also discuss your change on Template talk:Guam-politician-stub first to see if anyone else objects. --Teratornis (talk) 00:23, 26 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks much, I'll do the Talk part first before testing it. I also put a Talkback tag on the user who first created the template.--Bbb23 (talk) 04:36, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

I made the change. Wikipedia partially imploded. I'm editing this from an offshore account nowhere near Guam. None of my friends (or new-found enemies) would recognize me. Actually, things went very well, and the few articles that transclude the template seem to be fine. Thanks again.--Bbb23 (talk) 16:12, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

Pop up or new tabs.
Hello,

I was wondering if it is possible to code for links which open in a new window or tab. I have tried the tag but wiki markup does not support this. Any solutions?

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Canuck22 (talk • contribs) 23:54, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Read Help:Link and the Help talk:Link page and its archives. I have not seen such an option on Wikipedia in the four years I've been editing here. That does not mean it is impossible but it seems unlikely. It might also violate style guidelines. If you want this behavior for yourself only, not for everyone else, you might do it or something similar with JavaScript or a gadget. See Tools/Navigation popups. --Teratornis (talk) 00:13, 26 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Special:Preferences → Gadgets → Open external links in a new tab/window ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 04:35, 26 December 2010 (UTC)