Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2012 July 31

= July 31 =

Page hijack
I tried to access the Mooreland, Oklahoma wiki page, and I saw a message instead that said "Earth Exploding Live sends friendly greetings to readers of this article. This message will be taken down within 24 hours if the link specified gets at least 2000 hits. Thank you." What is going on here? Trjumpet (talk) 16:05, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * We had some vandalism on templates. This means that doing a Google search for the message will give loads of results, but visiting those hits (and their related histories) won't show the message—the template that was vandalised was transcluded, not substituted.  matt (talk) 16:45, 2 August 2012 (UTC)

Hero Poker Network no longer accepting US players
I play on there sight every day in there free rolls they want me to make a deposit to my account.I emailed them not less than two weeks ago asking if they accept US players they replied they did,so I think you need to up date.I do love your sight. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.104.99.104 (talk) 01:38, 31 July 2012 (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. -- Orange Mike &#x007C;  Talk  18:57, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * ✅. I have started a talk page for as well, and explained my edit there. Please direct any further concerns about the article there. BigNate37(T) 20:50, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Lost
Ok, a few days ago I signed up to help with images on Wikipedia. Today I'm completely lost, so lost in fact by the sheer number of pages and links and links to pages or pages to links et-al that I don't know if I'm coming or going! Look I'm good with images, give me a image of a pigs ear and Photoshop and one hour later I return it looking like a silk purse! However I'm a simple soul who only want to help not study for a flipping Ph.D. in Wikipedics. So if anyone has "Editing images in Wikipedia for Dummy's" please post it here (wherever here actually is!) --Ceepin1826 (talk) 01:51, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Some images are hosted here at http://en.wikipedia.org and some at http://commons.wikimedia.org. See Graphic Lab and commons:Commons:Graphics Lab. If a file page has a "Full resolution" link then be sure to work on the full resolution. Images are edited with your own software and must be reuploaded after editing. When your account becomes autoconfirmed you get a link on file pages saying "Upload a new version of this file". An account is autoconfirmed when it's at least 4 days old and has at least 10 edits. If you want to be able to reupload images at both Wikipedia and Commons then you must reach autoconfirmation at both sites. Your Wikipedia account currently has 3 edits and becomes 4 days old in 5 hours. All edits at en.wikipedia.org count. It doesn't have to be article edits. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:17, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Public Domain Images
I am currently trying to figure out if the photos for the Washington State Legislators are licensed in the Public Domain. They are located here and here. I have previously uploaded two of these photos, but they were deleted because there isn't an explicit statement that they are in the Public Domain. While I was looking for photos elsewhere, I found that Ballotpedia was actively using the photos (like ). For the photo's permission information, it is stated that "This image comes from the http://www.leg.wa.gov/pages/home.aspx website. It is used here because a Ballotpedia staffer requested and obtained permission to use it and was informed by the relevant government office or private entity or individual who created this image that the image is in the public domain.". Does this mean that we must contact the same government office as Wikipedia and obtain the same permissions, or can we take Ballotpedia's word that a government office stated that the images are in the public domain? Gold   Standard  02:42, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * I would say ask the office for permission.  RudolfRed (talk) 03:01, 31 July 2012 (UTC)RudolfRed (talk) 03:00, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * You may wish to see if there is a PD-US-Wash license on commons. Many states like Florida and the federal government they are in the public domain. Commons Village Pump/Copyright may have the answer handy.--Canoe1967 (talk) 03:09, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok, thanks guys! Gold   Standard  04:22, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Block
Hello, I am User:Andrei.smolnikov. I edit wikipedia from my school's IP adress often, however, sometimes I am unable to do so because of vandalism only accounts resulting in my school's shared IP address being blocked. This means that often I am unable to edit Wikipedia even when I log in. Could you please tell me if it is possible to do anything about this? Thank you. Andrei.smolnikov (talk) 03:38, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * You can ask for IP block exempt. FloBo   A boat that can float!  05:34, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

You can also try to find out who in your school is blocking the Ip address.Receptie123 (talk) 11:57, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * From the question, I think it is Wikipedia blocking the school and not the other way around. RudolfRed (talk) 16:03, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * How exactly do I ask for a IP block exempt? The page wasn't quite clear. Andrei.smolnikov (talk) 00:38, 1 August 2012 (UTC)


 * My reading from the relevant pages is that you would request this at the same time you request unblocking the next time it happens. I agree that this is not made very clear across the references we have. BigNate37(T) 01:12, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Text Size
How can I increase the size of the text displayed by Wikipedia? It seems smaller than it was. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.160.115.51 (talk) 03:39, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Text size is controlled by your browser, not by Wikipedia. Look for "Zoom" settings on the "View" menu of your browser, or try Ctrl. If this doesn't fix it, post here again with your browser name and version. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:01, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Right! Thanks John! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.160.115.51 (talk) 09:26, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

which Country was Shaikh Ahmed Ali Mullah Masjid-e-Haram Muazzin was born
which Country was Shaikh Ahmed Ali Mullah Masjid-e-Haram Muazzin was born — Preceding unsigned comment added by Transahmed (talk • contribs) 03:53, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * This page is for help with Wikipedia. Please visit the Reference Desk for help finding information.   Gold   Standard  04:34, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Which board
Pew Research Center I don't know if it belongs in merge as an old talk page discussion, COI as per another old one, etc, etc. It came up when I found a wikilink to it. Is this the right place to ask even? Thoughts?--Canoe1967 (talk) 08:30, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I live in Canada so this company may be big in the US. It only has 120 employees in the infobox, but 'what links' here goes to many articles. I don't know if it is a 'spammish' article or actually worthy. Four sources total, 3 from the company website, the 4th is an obituary of the chairman from 2010.--Canoe1967 (talk) 09:00, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Cross posted to a few places. I have posted at village pump technical to see if one user can be traced to all the wikilinks ('Database search query' is the section heading). I may try COI to see if they care, as well as the notability board to see if they think a merge is needed, etc.--Canoe1967 (talk) 10:16, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * They may be small but they are notable.--Canoe1967 (talk) 12:53, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Ordering DVDs
I want to order dvds and need a catalog with more options — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.171.187.93 (talk) 11:03, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * You need to find a different website. This is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. Although you will find many articles here about music and film, we don't sell DVDs. -- John of Reading (talk) 11:58, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

speech in english
The role of youth in nation's development. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 106.209.248.223 (talk) 14:28, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * This page is for asking questions about how to use Wikipedia. RudolfRed (talk) 16:04, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

What's going on over at Current Events?
I went to Portal:Current events and it's not displaying a regular page. Instead, I'm seeing this:

Earth Exploding Live sends friendly greetings to readers of the current events page. This message will be taken down within 24 hours if the link specified gets at least 2000 hits. Thank you.

What's going on? Has the page been vandalized? PhageRules1 (talk) 14:30, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * My first thought was, your PC has been infected with something. But no, I also see that message. Maproom (talk) 14:45, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * - Template PREVIOUSMONTH.YEAR had been vandalised. -- John of Reading (talk) 14:48, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

is this page hacked ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casper_Bouman — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roxtone (talk • contribs) 16:04, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * I don't see any obvious problem. Roger (talk) 16:09, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * It's been fixed. We have a spree of template vandalism. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:10, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia page on Berners-Lee hacked??
Either I am confused or one of the Wikipedia pages has been hacked. I tried to read the article on Tim Berners-Lee this morning, and found only a notice posted by "Earth Exploding Live". The notice says that it will be taken down after the first 2000 hits. Is this a hack, or a legitimate notice? It sure doesn't look legitimate. —Aetheling (talk) 16:06, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

The same high-jacking has happened at Great_Britain_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics Hogyn Lleol ★ (chat) 16:11, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * A template was vandalized. It has been fixed. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:13, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Copenhagen article redirect
hi there, the copenhagen article has been redirected to some sort of spam link. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.145.175.233 (talk) 16:06, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * A template was vandalized. It has been fixed. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:19, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Comcast page hack
Instead of displaying the article for Comcast, when I loaded the page it displayed the following: Earth Exploding Live sends friendly greetings to readers of this article. This message will be taken down within 24 hours if the link specified gets at least 2000 hits. Thank you.

I already tried viewing the article's history but I didn't see any edits that would cause the message to display. Maybe someone should try inspecting the source of this article for malicious code. -- Apollo1758 ( talk  ) 16:13, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Same as above. —Th e DJ (talk • contribs) 16:17, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Earth Exploding Live sends friendly greetings to readers of this article. This message will be taken down within 24 hours if the link specified gets at least 2000 hits. Thank you.
This is appearing on Wikipedia when I try to read the Seton Gordon page. Is it some sort of attack? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gergaskman (talk • contribs) 16:33, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * A template was vandalized. It has been fixed. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:35, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Trouble with the link/page
Hi, I am trying to post information on my client, who has her own TV show. I am having a lot of trouble and cannot figure out why. When I look at the actual page, everything seems okay, but then I go to google her and wikipedia does not come up. Please clear this information up for me.

Chelsea — Preceding unsigned comment added by Weekends With Whitney (talk • contribs) 16:40, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * You have created your "article" on your user page, where it has been tagged for deletion as too promotional. There is also a draft at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Weekends With Whitney, please see the reviewer's comments there.--ukexpat (talk) 17:28, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Before anyone else thinks to help or reply to this, just a note... The user has been blocked per the username policy.  Dismas |(talk) 01:15, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Cleaning up a page
I am trying to clean up my page, i asked numerous people to help out with the edits but there is still a notification on my page. how do i go about taking of this notification. The page is Sean Meenan. If i can get help cleaning up my page that will be great. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.74.170.66 (talk) 17:10, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * If you have a close connection with the subject there is nothing to do but wait for other editors to improve it. FloBo   A boat that can float!  18:26, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * any idea on how to get other editors interested in cleaning up the page and editing — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.74.170.66 (talk) 20:16, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * I'd be willing to help a bit. I've placed the article on my watchlist.  Please make any suggestions for the article on the article's talk page at Talk:Sean Meenan.  If you'd like to communicate with me directly, you can do so at my talk page.  The link for that is in my signature here. > Dismas |(talk) 00:26, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Creating an account, at another Wikipedia
How does one creat an account at Simple English Wikipedia? I've created a user-name & a password, yet when I log-in, I keep getting rejected with "Incorrect or missing confirmation code". GoodDay (talk) 18:04, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Go to Special:MergeAccount to create a global account. Then you can user the same usename across all Wikimedia projects. Ruslik_ Zero 18:18, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Watchlist bot hiding concern
Rather than suppressing bot edits the watchlist seems to suppress the page altogether, such that if a page is edited by a user and then a bot in quick succession, the page does not appear on my watchlist at all. In this manner, an unsigned comment effectively masks that talk page from appearing on my watchlist. What should be happening, is while bot edits are suppressed, the most recent non-bot edit should be used for determining watchlist sorting. Is it correct to call this a bug, or am I being naive? BigNate37(T) 18:56, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * That would be a better implementation, yes. Currently, those "show/hide" options really only make sense when you are using the "Enhanced watchlist". -- John of Reading (talk) 21:22, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Hmm. I was not aware of the extended watchlist... or perhaps I was long ago and forgot. Thanks for that link. Now I shall think on the matter. Not sure right now whether I'm just being too picky, or whether this is worth pursuing. BigNate37(T) 21:36, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

eugene levy
hi I saw an ad on t.v. with Eugene Levy is there any site I can write to him about his ad? thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.253.115.19 (talk) 19:44, 31 July 2012 (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. -- Orange Mike &#x007C;  Talk  19:54, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Automatically confirmed
Am I now? I want to upload an image. GiantBluePanda (talk) 19:57, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * As per the documentation in WP:AUTOCONFIRMED, it seems that an account needs to be at least 4 days old (yours is not even 3 days old). And it might be a bit longer. —Th e DJ (talk • contribs) 20:22, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Per WP:CONFIRMED you may use Special:ListUsers/confirmed (or this direct link to confirmed users starting with "Gi"). BigNate37(T) 20:30, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * No men...Nope you're wrong..I created account on 28th of JULY and it 1st of august..so, Isn't it a gapof 4 days? GiantBluePanda (talk) 20:32, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Well, GiantBluePanda was created on 28 July 2012 at 21:03 UTC, and it's now 20:35, 31 July 2012 (UTC), which is almost exactly 72 hours. BigNate37(T) 20:35, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * OHH..So wikipedia is managed in UTC ?? Can't set to see my local time here ? GiantBluePanda (talk) 20:38, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * You may use local time if you set it in Special:Preferences, and that will affect the times on history, logs, watchlist, and recent changes, but signatures will still be in UTC. I actually normally use an offset of -6 but I changed mine temporarily to UTC to ensure I was accurate in my response to you. BigNate37(T) 20:52, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Actually I wasn't quite right up above, or rather, I gave you the hard way to do it was wrong. Simply visit Special:Preferences while logged in, and it will show you your group memberships under the Basic information heading. The autoconfirmed users group will appear there. BigNate37(T) 21:34, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually, Special:ListUsers/confirmed only shows users who were manually confirmed by an administrator. Autoconfirmed users are not shown there, but you are right they can see it at Special:Preferences. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:52, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Makes sense. I read it wrong, then. BigNate37(T) 22:02, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Another way for anyone to check is to use Wikichecker, here is the report for GiantBluePanda. GB fan 22:11, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Sortable tables
Is there a problem with the javascript for sortable tables. None I tried today seem to work eg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_townlands_of_County_Limerick — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.167.164.19 (talk) 20:31, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Seems to work fine for me. What browser/etc are you using? benzband  ( talk ) 20:35, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Infoboxes
We make some tiny typographical mistake in some small item in an infobox, and then this upsets the whole thing and it makes a huge mess.

These things should be much more user-friendly than this. Mistakes should not propagate in such a way as to mess the whole thing up. D.A.W. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dale101usa (talk • contribs)


 * Nearly all programming languages require precision. Computers aren't smart enough to guess your intention from the context when you make mistakes. Please use preview to check your edit before saving. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:45, 31 July 2012 (UTC)