Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2010 February 14

= February 14 =

About deleting large parts of a problematic article
Most of the content in Isaac_Le_Maire makes no sense because it's the Dutch article put through an online translator. I've posted about this in talk a while ago but it's still a problem. My first thought was just deleting everything below the introduction as it makes no sense at all. But as I've never done big edits and mostly do small fixes and one of the guidelines tells me to preserve information I haven't done anything about it yet. I'm not sure what informational value the article has as it's basically random words put together.

Now I know I could just go ahead and delete it and see if anyone reverts it. But I wanted to get information about something this large before I do anything. Any help and insight would be appreciated. Niels Brons (talk) 00:16, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * You can request help from translators before deleting the text. Add  and then list the article in Pages needing translation into English.  --Mysdaao talk 00:37, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I will do that. Niels Brons (talk) 12:20, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * You're welcome! --Mysdaao talk 14:24, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Citing the same source multiple times
I am editing an article and using a large RS reference multiple times. I know about using the name="CiteName" construct so that the same reference will be used multiple times. But the document I am referencing is large, and I wonder if there is any way to specify a different page number for each of the citations? It would be preferable, I think, to refer the reader to page 235 of the document for one cite, and page 17 for the next cite, etc., instead of expecting him to search the whole document looking for himself. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks! Jgui (talk) 01:21, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * The only ways to use page numbers:
 * Use a standard footnote for each cite including page number
 * Use a named standard footnote and include the page number inline using rp
 * Use shortened footnotes
 * Use parenthetical referencing
 * ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 02:42, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks! I've never seen the second option (rp for inline page number before) but that looks like the way to go to me since that leaves the citations already present and modifies them slightly (unless you have another recommendation) Jgui (talk) 03:26, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Why isn't there a standard for the tv episode synopses ?
All the American Tv Series like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Heroes_episodes seem to be listed that way, but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Who_serials is not. Why is that ? Is there not a standard for Tv Series? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Snowboy83 (talk • contribs) 01:24, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I am sure that the folks who hang out at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Television would be able to help you. – ukexpat (talk) 01:30, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Signature Problems?
I made a pritty signature! =D

 Uber-Awesomeness  talk

One problem...

I paste it in the sig box in the preferences, check exactly as shown, and this is what I get:

Invalid raw signature. Check HTML tags.

What am I doing wrong? Uber-Awesomeness (talk) 01:50, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Did you overflow the 200-character maximum, thus deleting and other closing tags?  -RadicalOne •Contact Me•Chase My Tail 02:28, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * See How to fix your signature. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 02:37, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

URL Actions
I have a question (well, two questions) regarding actions in Wikipedia URLs. First, I have noticed that while the default buttons that append actions padded with "&" (like "&action=edit&section=new") work, if I am to enter them normally as external links and have them function, I must change the "&"s to "?"s (like ?action=purge). Why? Is it something to do with Firefox?

Second, is there a "replace" action (or compound thereof), one that not only opens the page editor, but replaces all of it with a selected string, ideally autosaving as well? The reason I ask is to make a status template function as desired, replacing the status page upon a single click of a link. In the original, there is a compound link -  desiredstring &amlocal=1&amsummary= summary &amautosave=yes&amminor=1  - but it does not replace nor autosave the page, nor do the other parameters like edit summary and "minor" function.  -RadicalOne •Contact Me•Chase My Tail 02:27, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * No, there's no need to change thme. The "?" just delimits the page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:RadicalOne/Status from the query passed to it action=edit&amfind=.*&amreplace=desiredstring&amlocal=1&amsummary=summary&amautosave=yes&amminor=1 and of course the whole is wrapped with [ ]. I've removed the bolding for simplicity. User:LeadSongDog come howl  02:49, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * That's what it originally was, but it thinks all of that is a page name, a subpage titled "User:RadicalOne/Status&action=edit&amfind=.*&amreplace=online&amlocal=1&amsummary=online&amautosave=yes&amminor=1". Clicking it does not perform the desired actions, and instead gives me an error message (the same kind I get when I do not use "?" in my links, might I add):

This was for a "&" in the link. A "?" just makes it edit but not replace or save, the problem I explained at the outset.  -RadicalOne •Contact Me•Chase My Tail 03:33, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * This is a bit closer:

 but if it is searching for .* and you presently have "busy" I'm not sure what action to expect. User:LeadSongDog come howl  04:05, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * It merely opened the edit page but did not autosave. About searching for a specific string, I doubt it is "find" in the conventional sense, as entering "&amfind=busy" did not change anything. Nor did adding ".*" to the status page (when using the original link).  -RadicalOne •Contact Me•Chase My Tail 05:15, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * One problem you're having is forming the link from the article path (/wiki/) and not the script path (/w/index.php). The latter is the one that accepts parameters for actions. The "?" immediately following tells the server to accept the following parameters, which are separated by "&". I don't know of any parameters do a search and replace, but you can do this fairly simply with a little JavaScript and the wiki's API. Even if you wanted to just use a simple link to index.php, you'd need an edit token to save the page, and they're different for every session. Let me know if you want a JS implementation and I can help with that. — Bility (talk) 07:54, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Have you seen and followed the instructions at User:Knowledgeum/StatusTemplate to install the needed script? User:LeadSongDog come howl  15:40, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, I have. It did not fix anything.  -RadicalOne •Contact Me•Chase My Tail 17:14, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I presume you've already checked that you have javascript enabled by using another one. Other than that, I'm out of guesses. You might try searching for other users of the template and asking them to have a look at your setup. Just search for StatusTemplate then choose the "everything" option for a seach that goes outside the mainspace.User:LeadSongDog come howl  20:36, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I tried that too. Everyone I contact - including the original template author - does not respond or posts once but never replies again. This thread here is the first time I have had a discussion longer than ten lines about it.  -RadicalOne •Contact Me•Chase My Tail 20:43, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Copyright Violation
Aloha, I am attempting to post a wiki for the professor and author Richard Rapson. I was tagged and the entry will be, or is already deleted on the grounds of copyright violation. I am unsure of what violation is actually being referenced, everything cited in the entry concerns his achievents, published works and current status. Any ideas? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Claireva (talk • contribs) 03:13, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * The problem is that is near enough a word-for-word copy of http://www2.hawaii.edu/~rapson/ - a copyright violation and not permitted on Wikipedia. – ukexpat (talk) 03:29, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I re-wrote it using the text that was already there. It's not a direct copyvio anymore but it still needs references.  I'm not arguing for or against Rapson's notability.  Dismas |(talk) 04:06, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Signature Shrinking
I have a nice signature, but it is a bit too big. It is over 300 characters long when it is supposed to be less than 200. I have tried to shrink it, but I'm still a long way off. Does any one know of any methods of shrinking?

  Uber-Awesomeness  talk

Output:

 Uber-Awesomeness  talk

How can I get this under 200 characters? I really like it. Uber-Awesomeness (talk) 03:48, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * My advice is to scrap the tags, any unnecessary characters, and extra formatting.  -RadicalOne •Contact Me•Chase My Tail 05:28, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Try

 Uber-Awesomeness talk

Output:  Uber-Awesomeness talk


 * Although I still count 257 in the shortened version. Possibly take out the small tags. Another thing you could look into is creating a doppleganger acount with a shorter name so you could use its user page as a redirect to yours. That way the code could look something like this:

 Uber-Awesomeness talk


 * Which would output as:

 Uber-Awesomeness talk


 * The only problem with that approach is that people may think you are attempting to create sockpuppets. You could avoid that altogether by asking an admin to indef block the account after its all set up. User:Jack "Red Hood" Napier 07:24, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

This is 255 exactly: Uber-Awesomeness  talk  — Bility (talk) 07:54, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * For my suggestion, I shall start off by going back to your original.

  Uber-Awesomeness  talk
 * (total 312 characters if the three line breaks be ignored).
 * First, a note on valid HTML/XML. For clarity, I shall remove all content and attributes (but not the Wiki markup) from the above, so that we see:

|  |
 * All tags which are not self-closing must be closed (ie for every  there must be a  ; they cannot overlap at one end only, but may nest. So, the first   is unclosed, whilst the second   overlaps the  . So, let's start by adding the missing closing tag, and move the   inside the  . This does not gain any space (in fact closing the   tag loses seven characters for a total of 319), but may resolve unpredictable side-effects.
 * Now, to gaining space. According to WP:CUSTOMSIG the limit is 255, not 200, which makes things a bit easier. You can save a few characters by:
 * using  instead of   (saving: 3x6=18; net gain: 11; total: 301 chars)
 * removing the  tag around the "talk" (which changes the appearance, but not by much) (saving: 15, net gain: 26; total: 286 chars)
 * removing the  (saving: 11; net gain: 37; total: 275 chars)
 * Any colour where the hexadecimal value of each of the three component colours uses two identical characters to describe it can be encoded in four instead of seven chars (ie  may be reduced to  ), so , whose six-digit value is   may be shown as  ; further, if the exact shade is not critical, you can adjust the colour for a similar gain - so   is close to   which reduces to   (  reduces to   in the same way); similarly,   is the same as   but   is close to that, which reduces to  . (saving: 9, net gain: 46; total: 266 chars)
 * The Wiki markup  is the same as , which can take the attributes from the  , allowing the latter to be removed. That is,   is the same as  . (saving: 2, net gain: 48; total: 264 chars)
 * The final semicolon in each style is redundant, so remove those (saving: 2, net gain: 50; total: 262 chars).
 * About the only gain left is the . Removing these will change the appearance noticeably, which is why I've left it for last. There are four of these, at 6 characters each; but we only need to drop two to go under 255 characters - I suggest the first and third. (saving: 12, net gain: 62; total: 250 chars)
 * Here's the final code:

 Uber-Awesomeness talk
 * Removing the three line breaks (added for clarity), this is 250 characters, a saving of 62 characters compared to your original. By comparison, we have gone from:
 *  Uber-Awesomeness  talk
 * to
 * Uber-Awesomeness talk
 * They're only slightly different in appearance, I think you'll agree. -- Red rose64 (talk) 12:06, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Oooh, just found another - we can gain 16 more characters by dropping the second "background:grey;" (the one in the ) which allows those two   to go back in (2x6=12, for a net gain of 4 compared to my last suggestion):

  Uber-Awesomeness talk
 * total 246 characters., a saving of 62 characters compared to your original. By comparison, we have gone from:
 *  Uber-Awesomeness  talk
 * to
 *  Uber-Awesomeness talk
 * which I think look almost the same. -- Red rose64 (talk) 12:40, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, guys!

I settled on this, which is mainly redrose's idea:  Uber-Awesomeness talk

Except for some reason on my browser the spaces on either sides don't show up as (and)nbsp; (I can't put & in because it will just show up as a space) in the pre tag. If I use the real space key on either side it behaves as if the spaces don't exist.

Well... Thanks guys! Is there like a resolved template I can use or something? Also, do I HAVE to have that date next to it?  <strong style="background:grey;color:#FFF">Uber-Awesomeness  talk  15:49, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * A non-breaking space behaves oddly when you want to show the metacharacter markup and not the character itself. Some ways don't show at all; some show to begin with, and then the next day MiszaBot II comes along and screws it up again. Here's one way that I'm pretty sure works and is permanent:  - this looks good, but click the "edit" link to see how complicated it has to be in order to make that happen.
 * Re date and time - if you sign a talk post, and don't use date & time, either somebody will complain, or SineBot will put a timestamp on it anyway. The template was created for this.
 * The resolved template is called... . Typically, you would put it at the very top of this section, on the next line after the section header. Typically, you would also sign it inside the template, thus:.
 * -- Red rose64 (talk) 16:23, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * So, what was wrong with the default sig: Uber-Awesomeness (talk)? It is just 80 characters long. Astronaut (talk) 19:33, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

How to delete a user?
Hello. I am new to wikipedia but I do not think I am ready to create articles and I wish only to read them. Is it possible for me to delete my user? Or if not, can someone delete it for me? Thank you. Halloghj (talk) 07:11, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * User accounts cannot be deleted. If you don't wish to use the account, simply stop logging in. It doesn't make a difference to Wikipedia if the account simply sits idle forever. Someguy1221 (talk) 07:13, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Of course, creating articles isn't the only way of helping Wikipedia! Lots of articles only need a copy-edit (something anyone with a grasp on English grammar can do) or need some organizing. You might also like to visit Adopt-a-User, where you can be "adopted" by an experienced user who will help you learn your way around. Never be afraid to make mistakes, because mistakes on Wikipedia are usually easily fixed. Liquidluck ✽ talk  18:36, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

my toolbox
I seem to have either removed whatever it was that gave added options to me when editing for example allowing me the added option of striking through comments and such like, does anyone know what it was and how I can re add it? Off2riorob (talk) 12:17, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * There are different toolbars. Have you enabled "Show edit toolbar (requires JavaScript)" under Editing at Special:Preferences? That includes a str button for striking through text. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:23, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Might have enable the enhanced toolbar in the same section. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 12:28, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * They seem to be correct, when I am on a normal page I have like a little tick picture up at the top right of my screen and then when I go into edit the tick becomes a cross and is the picture..wikEd error.... and I have only the simple characters and such, not the extended wiki ed tools. Off2riorob (talk) 12:59, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Looks like it could be an issue with my java on my browser. Off2riorob (talk) 13:28, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I had the same problem with Wiked, the simple workaround for me is to reload the page if Wiked does ot come up the first time. Also, if you are using the Beta version of Wikipedia I would refer to the Wiked page as this issue is discussed there. Supertouch (talk) 13:33, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, I was in beta and have now left and it is working ok now, thanks. Off2riorob (talk) 15:45, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Isolating a Wikipedia page section on its own page. (For printing or saving)
How do I get just one section, i.e. a subheading and everything below it until but not including the next subheading, of a wikipedia page, onto its own html page? This kind of excerpt quite often constitutes just the part that I am interested in and nothing more. Therefore I have often missed this feature (while saving or (sometimes) printing). --Seren-dipper (talk) 15:19, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * As far as I know there is no native way to do this. If you wanted to print just one section, select (highlight) the section. Any operating system worth its salt can tell the printer to print just that selection. Under Windows the option is labeled "Selection" and is on the front page of the Print dialog; on Ubuntu Linux (and probably other Gnome-based distros) it's under the third tab of the Print dialog, which is labeled Options; on other operating systems, placement varies. Xenon54 / talk / 15:33, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, but it is far from a satisfying solution. It does not work verry well for saving, as you may miss out on wanted URL and date information. And in some situations you seem to even loose a lot of formatting.<BR>Even when printing it is bound to lead to frustration. Especially when the section in question spanns multiple screenfulls, while it is situated in the middle of many more screenfulls of text that you do not want.<BR>If you then should happen to mark your selection a little bit wrong, and try to mark it again, with your mouse, then you may easily loose the other endpoint of your intended selection.<BR> In other words: that solution can be wery bothersome at times. --Seren-dipper (talk) 16:52, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Now, if the "show section on its own page" were to become a native Wikipedia feature, then it, of course would include a tiny comment and link to the full page, on the top and end of the excerption page. (I personally would prefer it to also be visible in the link (URL or other) to the page).<BR>Where may I pose this as a new feature request for Wikipedia? --Seren-dipper (talk) 16:52, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * The "edit section" function does isolate a subheading and its associated content, allowing you to cut and paste it entire, but of course you get the wikimarkup version when you do this. The place to discuss your improvement idea is Village pump (proposals).  Ka renjc 17:31, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Rewrite while retaining edit history
I'm looking into doing a rewrite of an article. I'd like to retain the edit history. I tried copying the entire text into a sandbox, but that didn't work. Does anyone know the right way to do this?-- SPhilbrick  T  15:42, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * If you edit an existing article by clicking the "edit this page" tab, the page history is automatically kept. If you copy and paste the text into another page, the history can't be retained.  --Mysdaao talk 16:33, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Just paste your new text into the article page in place of the old text. That way the edit history will be maintained. You may want to ask for review of your new text first though, maybe by putting it temporarily in a user subpage, then posting the link on the article's talk page. – ukexpat (talk) 16:50, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I guess it is easier than I thought.-- SPhilbrick  T  17:14, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

I accidentally deleted information on a page - can I restore it?
My question is that simple. Is there a way for me - or an administrator - to restore info I myself erroneously deleted on a page? thanks.Lizasee (talk)


 * If it is information on an article, userpage or Wikipedia page, then you can simply revert or undo your edits. If you're reverting, click on the History tab at the top of the page, click the date/time of the version you wish to restore it to, say you're reverting back in the edit summary, and then save it. Let me know if that isn't clear. Orphan Wiki  17:11, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * It's OK, someone has done it for you. :) Orphan Wiki  17:16, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * (edit conflict) Was this at Template:Sammy Hagar? I've reverted the page to the previous version - have a look and see if that was what you wanted to do.  Next time you can do this yourself; no administrator is needed.  To revert to a previous version of a page, click on the "history" tab right at the top of the page.  All the previous versions are shown, listed in date order.  Click on the date of the version you want to go back to, then click on "edit this page", and then save, remembering to use an appropriate edit history as you should do each time you edit.  The page will revert back to the version you have selected.  Don't worry - all previous versions of a page on Wikipedia are saved, so nothing you accidentally delete has gone for good.  Ka renjc 17:21, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

One last question...
Can I be renamed to Awesomeness? I wanted to be named Awesomeness when I made my account in October 2008, but it was taken. Recently I decided to look at Awesomeness, and I've noticed a couple things:

-The account has not made any edits whatsoever since his creation,

-It is over a year old, because it was taken back when I made my account, (Probably much longer)

- And it takes up the user name I really want! =(

Am I allowed to have an admin move my account data to the dead account Awesomeness, or is it prohibited? <small style="border:1px solid #444;background:grey"> <strong style="background:grey;color:#FFF">Uber-Awesomeness  talk  18:14, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, you can. Talk to WP:Usurpations.  -RadicalOne •Contact Me•Chase My Tail 18:18, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * See also WP:UNC -- Red rose64 (talk) 18:25, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Do you promise to live up to your name? :) -- SPhilbrick  T  19:18, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Amanda Kaye McMurray, female comic book writer
Amanda Kaye McMurray, nickname Mandy, was born May 1, 1974 in Des Moines Iowa. She has degrees in Law Enforcement and Psychology, which she often uses in her comic book writing, and a Teaching degree. She is published in both music and comic books. She has written an operetta and is currently working on another one. She has written comic books for Marvel, Angel Comics, Aspen Comics, and DC. She is currently the series writer for COTA: Children of the Apocalypse, published by Angel Comics. She resides in Salt Lake City, Utah where she also teaches.Jacquelinreeves (talk) 23:39, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Well you have copied the content of your recently created article here on the Help Desk. I suppose this is asking why it is in question for speedy deletion? As the notice states, this is due to the notability of the person you write about. If you disagree, follow the instructions given on the notice and state your thoughts. Orphan Wiki  23:48, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

J'Achette
I have tried in vain to find the rules of a rummy card game called J'Achette. In frustration I decided to seek consensus of other players and have written the rules following the format used many times in Wikipedia for similar games. However there are no sources other than opinions of regular players. In following the guidelines for submitting an article for Wikipedia it does not appear adequate for publication. However there are many games similar to J'achette - a rummy game - which do not provide sources. Should I proceed?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Glenngrigg (talk • contribs) 23:55, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * For a start, it's generally not a good idea to post a huge, article-sized chunk of text to the Help desk, especially without putting it in a collapsed section (as I have done for you). Secondly, I would say that no, it's not a good idea to proceed as your article won't last long. If it's unreferenced, and unreferencible, it shouldn't be on Wikipedia per WP:NOR. If there are other articles like that, they should probably be brought to WP:AFD (assuming that they, too, cannot be sourced). Confusing Manifestation (Say hi!) 00:45, 15 February 2010 (UTC)