Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 October 6

= October 6 =

PFC CSKA Sofia in Europe article
PFC CSKA Sofia in Europe article is too long and needs changes, but another user, Zourich (talk) don't allow me to modify it. The correct version is 12:07, 4 October 2011.What is the procedure? Mortifervm (talk) 03:16, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * You removed a large amount of information from the article. As the other user obviously seems to disagree with your change, you should try to outline your intentions at Talk:PFC CSKA Sofia in Europe in order to reach a consensus. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:35, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Why is someone blamig me for nothing i did?
I,m getting blamed in the sandbox when i have not been on in a long time. here the user ip 75.6.243.251 — Preceding unsigned comment added by F4tornado1437 (talk • contribs) 01:48, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I have no idea why used "75.6.243.251" as a fake signature in this unhelpful edit in the Sandbox. The sandbox has been cleared and re-used several times since then, so I suggest you forget about it and move on. Now that you have logged in as a registered user, your IP address will not be displayed. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:56, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * 71.146.8.5 simply copied a real sandbox edit by 75.6.243.251 including the real timestamp. Just to clarify further for F4tornado1437, nobody was blaming you for anything. Sandbox can be edited by everybody. It sounds like you happened to watch it after somebody had saved a test message to blame an unspecified user for something. Imagine walking by a wall on a public street and see rude graffiti. It probably wasn't aimed at you. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:15, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I apologize for the suspection of you making a bad faith edit. 71.146.8.5 (talk) 00:39, 9 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I didn't. (Read below comment.) 71.146.8.5 (talk) 00:39, 9 October 2011 (UTC)
 * As you can see here, I readded my actual signature. 71.146.8.5 (talk) 00:10, 9 October 2011 (UTC)

Searching contributions by namespace in the URL
Per Village pump (technical), we no longer have an option of searching the contributions page by namespace. Historically, what was the code that appeared in the URL when a namespace was selected? I thought I would simply append namespace=x (where x = the number for the namespace as given in the table at Namespace) to the end of the search screen, but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Nyttend&namespace=0 results in a list of the (not surprisingly nonexistent) contributions of User:Nyttend&namespace=0. I'm not sure whether this is (1) related to the search dropdown being removed, or (2) due to my mistaken memory of how to do it. Nyttend (talk) 03:44, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * You should be using a question mark in the URL there, not an ampersand. A question mark seperates the first parameter from the main part of the URL (e. g. ), and subsequent parameters are appended with an ampersand (e. g.  ). Nevertheless, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Nyttend?namespace=0 seems to display the entire contributions list, with no namespace filtering. Regards. &mdash;{&#124;Retro00064&#124;&#9742;talk&#124;&#x270D;contribs&#124;} 03:52, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * The namespace feature was deliberately disabled for performance reasons (contribs are apparently not sorted or stored by namespace anywhere so the software has to go through all contribs until it has found the requested number in the given namespace). After a storm of protests it has been enabled again. There was no working url at the time it was disabled. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:48, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

My Talk page keeps crashing
I am trying to edit an article on my talk page so that others can see it - ?? is this the best place?? But my edits keep crashing and I lose all the work done. about 5 times so far (internet explorer) Nojoking (talk) 06:58, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * You're not prohibited, but it's not the best place — you'd do much better to write it in another page in your userspace, such as by creating User:Nojoking/Sandbox and writing it there. Nyttend (talk) 10:51, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * If an edit crashes when you click something then some browsers will remember your work in the edit box if you use the browsers back button. You can also copy the contents of the edit box before clicking something, for example in Windows with (mark all) followed by  (copy to clipboard). The contents of the clipboard can be inserted in an edit box or other program with . See also Clipboard (software). PrimeHunter (talk) 14:33, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

"Mount Si High School" Page
I have noticed that throughout the years/months there has been a good deal of censoring regarding the wikipedia page of Mount Si High School. Specifically, there seems to be a trend of adding and then deleting information regarding various incidents involving gay rights. There have been some conflicts involving the school and Reverend Ken Hutcherson, and while Rev. Hutcherson's page reflects this, any information about the issue gets deleted from the wikipedia page.

I looked through wikipedia's policies, but I did not see anything involving the issue of censorship. The information seems to get deleted even if it is only a small note of the incident and states only facts and not opinions. Is there some kind of policy regarding censorship of events on wikipedia?

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anlatourette (talk • contribs) 07:41, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, the article isn't stable. I have removed the "2010 Senior Prank" section, since it was sourced only to a Facebook page. This doesn't qualify as a reliable source of information for Wikipedia articles. The other two disputed sections are at least partly sourced by press coverage. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:05, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, the article isn't stable. I have removed the "2010 Senior Prank" section, since it was sourced only to a Facebook page. This doesn't qualify as a reliable source of information for Wikipedia articles. The other two disputed sections are at least partly sourced by press coverage. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:05, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

'Scrable' page
the Wikipedia 'Scrabble' page in English can only be found on Facebook if you spell Scrabble incorrectly as 'Scrable'. does anyone know how this can be fixed? any assistance is much appreciated. Fastidious17 (talk) 08:43, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * That sounds like a question for Facebook, not for Wikipedia. - David Biddulph (talk) 09:42, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

i'm wondering if it is because the Wikipedia 'Scrabble' page is redirected from the Wikipedia 'Scrable' page. if the second page with the incorrect spelling was removed, do you think this would solve the problem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrable http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scrable&redirect=no Fastidious17 (talk) 10:40, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * You are only redirected from "Scrable" to "Scrabble" if you type "Scrable" into the search box (or click on a link looking like this: Scrable). In other words, you don't have to go through "Scrable" to get to "Scrabble". How Facebook sorts out its pages is a matter for Facebook; if it chooses to use a page with an incorrect spelling, that's not Wikipedia's problem.  Wikipedia has many, many redirects from minor misspellings of words, for the benefit of people reading and editing Wikipedia; "Scrable" isn't going to be deleted just because it might fix a problem on Facebook. BencherliteTalk 10:52, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

interesting Fastidious17 (talk) 11:04, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * We have no control over Facebook. They may make no or multiple copies of Wikipedia articles or part of them, and they may name them after the real title or a redirect or possibly neither. They used three different redirect titles at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scrable/114984508517057, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scrabble-by-Mattel/106304862739040, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scrabble-puzzle/106327406070288. Perhaps you saw the first. See also HD/facebook, and Redirect for our guideline on redirects. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:26, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

thanks PrimeHunter for your kind and knowledgeable answer. the others seemed a little too angry for a newby lol. much appreciated!! Fastidious17 (talk) 11:39, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

An error occured while trying to add page to watchlist
i am trying to add this page List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom to my watchlist but i keep getting a error occur i have logged out and back in but still wont work -- Andrewcrawford ( talk  -  contrib ) 11:15, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I've run into a few intermittent error messages today, probably because of the recent software upgrade here. Are you still having problems with your watchlist? I've just managed to add the article to my watchlist as a test. -- John of Reading (talk) 19:51, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * working now thanks-- Andrewcrawford ( talk  -  contrib ) 19:49, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

Help with a userbox
I am a userbox fetishist and I am in the process of reorganizing my entire userpage to represent the information there via userboxes. I have drafted a userbox at User:Toshio Yamaguchi/Template:User ToDo. I want to achieve that I can specify two parameters, such that for example produces something like

Replacing "not done" with "done" or "doing" should result in the respective appearance that can be seen on the subpage in my userspace. How can I do this? I am really bad at coding templates with complex syntax. Any help would be appreciated. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:19, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Sounds like you want the  function. It allows you to choose among alternatives based on a value (it's like if/else-if/else-if/.../else). Help:Magic words has details. So for example:


 * id2 =

(totally untested...out of time for now). DMacks (talk) 13:06, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I moved it to Template:User ToDo, but at least for me, the documentation does not show up, although I did a server purge and cleared my browser cache. Strange. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 14:20, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I see the documentation now. Did you purge Template:User ToDo after you had moved the documentation to Template:User ToDo/doc? By the way, if there are subpages then the move form has a checkbox called "Move subpages (up to 100), if applicable". PrimeHunter (talk) 15:01, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I also see the documentation now. Thanks. I see only one checkbox in the move form called "Watch source page and target page". The checkbox you mention does not exist (at least for me). Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 15:25, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * According to this chart, you have to be an administrator to see that checkbox. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:37, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I didn't realize that. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:10, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Freedom in Italy
All italian pages of Wikipedia are locked. In a country that is part of democratic system of government it's inadmissible. Please help italian people to unlock wikipedia in his country. Help italian people to be FREE — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.144.249.8 (talk) 11:35, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Discussion about this is taking place and information about it is provided in various places. See, for example,


 * User talk:Jimbo Wales
 * Village pump (policy)
 * Village pump (miscellaneous)
 * Italian Wikipedia
 * Village pump (proposals)
 * Wikipedia Signpost/2011-10-03/News and notes
 * Reuters article.
 * --Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:16, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

about oxidation number of halogens
when i must consider that oxidation no. of halogens is +7 not -1 ???? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mido22 (talk • contribs) 12:45, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Oxidation state is based on how many electrons an atom has. That is always the answer. One usually considers only valence electrons, as these are the only ones that can be added or removed easily. So "it is +7 whenever it has the number of valence electrons that is seven less than normal" and "it is –1 when it has the number of valence electrons one more than normal". These sorts of topics (electron counting, oxidation state, etc.) are covered extensively in most introductory chemistry textbooks. If you have confusion there, try asking your teacher or telling us the exact explanation that is difficult to understand. But in general, please do so on the Science Reference Desk--you posted here on a desk that is for help using wikipedia and does not specialize in science. DMacks (talk) 12:55, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

comprehensive guide to creating/editing pages, when and how to insert references, notations on what text needs to be bolded or italicized.
Hello.

Help, please!

I first tried to edit the "Film" section on the "Los Angeles Riots of 1992 in popular culture" page to include the film "Univers'l." I had an external link to the film at IMDB but someone struck the citation from the "LA riots of 1992 in pop culture" page.

Today I tried to reinsert the film as well as attempting to create a wikipedia page for the film as reference. I used another film's page as reference. I attempted to bold and italicize the header "Univers'l". I went to "advanced" in the menu and added == Heading text== as indicated and all that appeared were those instructions, along with instructions to bold and italicize the text.

I really want to do this properly and in accordance with Wikipedia policy but I'm obviously unable to insert the right characters at the right times to achieve desired results.

I also can't find instructions about adding a jpeg file onto the page or where to get the line.

Is there a book, or an easily understandable website, or a person I could pay a small sum to, to figure this out and get it to stick?

In addition, I have had trouble in the past with someone who bears my same name. She is a British author and I am an American writer/actor/director with substantiable public presence. Every time I have tried to edit her page so that people looking for me can find me, she removes the link.

Do you provide a list of outside people who can help with all things wiki?

Thank you, Anna NicholasOnlyoneanna (talk) 15:14, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I've removed your e-mail address from your message. When you edit here there is a clear notice at the top of the page that says: "For your own personal security please do not provide your email address or any other contact details, —especially your passwords— in your post as the Help desk is a highly visible page and all information placed here can be seen by the general public. Answers will be provided on this page only; we are unable to provide answers via email or any other method outside Wikipedia."


 * I have also added to your talk page some links to useful reading material. - David Biddulph (talk) 15:41, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Creating & Editing...
How can I create/edit an article and NOT publish it until it's ready? A.P. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alex Paez (talk • contribs) 15:51, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * You can create an article in a sandbox (something like User:Alex Paez/Sandbox) and work on it until you are ready to move it to the main article space. TN X Man  16:00, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * When you think it's finished, read WP:SYMUD before you try to move it. Also worth reading WP:1st, if you haven't already done so. - David Biddulph (talk) 16:10, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

HOME HEALTH CARE AIDE ADVICE
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH FAMILIES OF IN HOME PATIENTS  IM HAVING PROBLEMS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS THA DONT WANT TO BE COOPERATIVE  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.24.227.73 (talk) 16:07, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Please stop SHOUTING. - David Biddulph (talk) 16:10, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Rx warning.png We do not offer medical advice. Please see our medical disclaimer. 71.146.8.5 (talk) 00:16, 9 October 2011 (UTC)

Want to use Template:Cite to cite a source cited by another source
What I'm looking to do is to create a citation along the lines of the example provided in WP:SAYWHEREYOUGOTIT. I'd like to use the template to do this. Can anybody explain to me how to use the various parameters in to do what I want? Thanx. --Pseudo-Richard (talk) 16:09, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The example at WP:SAYWHEREYOUGOTIT could be constructed by using twice: "  cited in  " -- John of Reading (talk) 18:25, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

The edit summary question needs answering please?
I'm aware if you are adding a paragraph or some sort of important information even just a sentence long it's still worth while informing it in the edit summary but if you are just changing words or adding a couple/few words do you need to use the edit summary?

Like the original say:

Hi, what you up to?

I change it to

Hi, how are you?

Would I really need to use edit summary?--14Adrian (talk) 16:47, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * It is generally considered a good practice to provide edit summaries for all edits. Furthermore, I don't think the number of characters changed with the edit is a good indicator of the edits "weight". Even changing a single character might change the meaning of a whole sentence, which might become incorrect in its context. See also Help:Edit summary for why edit summaries might be important. Some editors create standard edit summaries for certain situations and simply paste them into the summary box (see for example User:Toshio Yamaguchi). You should however be careful when using such pre-formulated summaries. I do not recommend it for the majority of users. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 17:03, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia is crashing IE8 (Internet Explorer 8) on many articles, this is a new problem
Within the last week, I have been experiencing IE8 crashes whenever being redirected to a Wikipedia article. THis is happening on all of my machines (3), all Windows XP with IE8. THis is a new problem within the last week. It pops up a creash box with "...memory cannot be read" error. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.174.210.100 (talk) 16:53, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I think it may be better to report this at the technical village pump -it may have something to do with the MediaWiki upgrade. TN X Man  16:55, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Perhaps the problem at Village pump (technical)? - David Biddulph (talk) 16:57, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Minus signs in time zones
A number of Wikipedia articles (including List of time zone abbreviations among others) have the offsets that are west of UTC indicated by hyphens (e.g. UTC-05). Should they not use a minus sign (UTC&minus;05)? — Michael J 17:07, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Since minus signs are used in the actual names of the articles they link to, yes. — Bility (talk) 17:25, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Thank you for changing them in that article, Bility. I have made similar changes on other time zone pages, and will continue to look for them. — Michael J 02:06, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

Article on Anantanand Rambachan has been altered in ways that are constitute libel.
I am writing to let you know that the above article has been changed by someone in a manner that constitutes libel. I am represented as a gangster and drug salesperson in this article. Kindly rectify. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rambacha (talk • contribs) 18:22, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I have reverted it. You can go to the History on the article and revert the edits also.  GB fan 18:27, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Mobile Beta
Where is the search box and button when using Openwave browser — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.0.8.146 (talk) 18:33, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Since nobody here seems to be able to answer this question, you should perhaps ask this at the Computing Reference Desk. The people there might be able to answer the question. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 14:49, 9 October 2011 (UTC)

New Wiki software
Is there a place where there is an overview of the features that the new software 1.8 provides over the prior software? I have looked at some things like the technical blog, but it's all over the place. You know, like when mozilla does an update, they always have an overview of the new features.--108.27.98.230 (talk) 22:00, 6 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't know how complete it is but there is a page at mw:MediaWiki 1.18 with a link to http://svn.wikimedia.org/svnroot/mediawiki/branches/REL1_18/phase3/RELEASE-NOTES-1.18. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:20, 6 October 2011 (UTC)