Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2015 August 1

= August 1 =

Lupton family
please help - I think my dates are wrong for reference 81 on the page - Lupton family thanks so much Mikey — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.182.217.169 (talk) 04:51, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * I've fixed the date and formatted the cite a little better. - NQ (talk)  05:02, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

I have done it again!
Ref number 82 on the "Lupton family" page is wrong. What have I done wrong? Please help Thanks M. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.182.217.169 (talk) 13:38, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * You had written the accessdate as 2051 not 2015. Joseph2302 (talk) 13:41, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * It also had "1st August" instead of "1 August" The error message specified that the problem was with the accessdate, DES (talk) 13:44, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, the accessdate was written as 1st August 2051, not 1 August 2015 like it needed to. Joseph2302 (talk) 13:49, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

request edit
This request is regarding the post at the following URL: User:Ryan Hunton.

I wrote this story a few years ago; however, I did not post it to Wikipedia. I would like for the page to be taken down. The story serves no purpose on Wikipedia and should not be posted without my permission. Thank you in advance.74.131.173.253 (talk) 14:07, 1 August 2015 (UTC)


 * I've nominated that userpage for deletion, as Wikipedia is not a web host for storing information. Do you have a web address to that text? If you do, I can also nominate that userpage as a copyright violation. Joseph2302 (talk) 14:11, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

How do you correct the spelling of my Dad's last name on Wikipedia?
Please correct my Dad's last name on the Display Title from "Bruno VeSota" to the correct spelling "Bruno Ve Sota". My last name is 2 words. Thank you Grace Ve Sota


 * Convenience link: Bruno VeSota. Dismas |(talk) 16:37, 1 August 2015 (UTC)


 * I thought someone else would have a chance to look at this before I did but here it is a couple hours later. But I digress...  Looking at the two references and the external link, it appears that everyone else spells it with just one word, 'VeSota'.  Here at Wikipedia, we go by what the references have to say and in this, the claimed mis-spelling, they agree.   WP:AUTOBIO agrees with that.  If your father had a web site where his name was spelled with two words, then we could reference that and just assume that the writers of the other sources screwed up.  Dismas |(talk) 19:07, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * In a case like this, we should not look only at the sources already in the article (especially since there are only two now), but also at other reliable sources. A quick Google Books search shows a roughly 50-50 split between the two forms. Horror Film Stars, for example, uses "Ve Sota". Cullen328  Let's discuss it  06:33, 2 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, many websites and some Wikipedia articles have the surname as two words. Google ngrams shows the two-word version to be twice as common in books.  Here are some recent examples.  I suggest that we make the change to two words for consistency across articles.    D b f i r s   16:29, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

editing Lanni Marchant personal info
Please stop undoing the edit to Lanni Marchant's personal info section and stop threatening to block those members of her media team that are continually monitoring and rewriting that section. It is not vandalism. It is information that the subject, Lanni Marchant, has vetted and has given permission to have posted. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chocolatecoveredorangestuff2 (talk • contribs) 15:23, 1 August 2015‎ (UTC) Furthermore we do not want, or need, any permission from anyone, and have no interest in what the subject of any article wants it to say, we only want to reflect what reliable, independent, sources have already said. - Arjayay (talk) 16:26, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * The edits in question were unsourced and rather dodgy. Furthermore, the OP has now been blocked for edit-warring. Favonian (talk) 16:09, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Please try to understand "her media team" have a conflict of interest so should not be editing the article in any case, but suggesting edits on the talk page, backed up by citing reliable, independent, sources.

Wiki markup language and Word: a problem
When I use Microsoft Word to write a passage for Wikipedia I get an issue on which I'd really appreciate some help. Here's the problem: in order to put a phrase in italics I of course need to enclose it in 2 pairs of single quotes, thus Cats and dogs. But, more and more it happens, when I upload it to Wikipedia it is interpreted as a single pair of double quotes, thus "Cats and dogs". My question is: Is there an easyway of avoiding this? Or at least is there a Word font in which two single quotes and one double quote are clear and distinct? Any help would be appreciated. thanks. Ttocserp 17:20, 1 August 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Prkprescott (talk • contribs) How, depends which version of word you are using, - click the help feature or the ? in top RH corner and enter "straight quotes" it will then advise how to do this with your current version. Generally you need to click Office Button > Word Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > AutoFormat As You Type tab > Replace as you type > select or clear the "Straight quotes" with “smart quotes” check box. - Arjayay (talk) 17:42, 1 August 2015 (UTC) I have a vague memory of this many years ago, and seem to recall a work-around was using courier, or another non-proportionally-spaced font, which separates all the characters out - as the edit window in Wikipedia. Of course, you can work in whatever font you prefer and change it to this just before export. - Arjayay (talk) 18:11, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Word calls these "straight quotes" and the 66 and 99 quotes "curly quotes" they can be altered using the autoformat feature
 * Erm, sorry, actually that only avoids curly quotes when using the shift 2 key, (another, but different problem) not combining 2 individual ' marks into one ", which is typical of software trying to be clever.
 * If that does not work, provided Wikipedia's search and replace function (RH end of "Advanced" menu in the edit window) works for you (It does not work in some browsers) another work-around is to type a character you are not otherwise using e.g. @ instead of  in your Word document, then import the test and use Search for @ Replace with  and click Replace all. - Arjayay (talk) 12:20, 2 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Arjayay. Ttocserp 18:50, 2 August 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Prkprescott (talk • contribs)

WW II Germany
I was in the Army from 1969 to 1973, with a tour in Vietnam. When I returned home, I was stationed at Fort Mead, Maryland. As assigned as a 7th Cav. Security Officer, I was told by the 1st Army Security Officer that there were many floors below ground filled with German Panzer tanks and at the end of the war, the allies flooded that area. My question is: Is this true? Location is not important. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.76.181.181 (talk) 17:33, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * This sounds like a question that could be taken to the Reference Desk Miscellaneous. Robert McClenon (talk) 18:00, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

question about GA reassesment
ive been asked to have a reassess of an article, however its unusual because it was granted GA not too long ago? (I have also pinged the individual who is asking for the GA reassessment and they do not answer?)--Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 19:03, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * What article are talking about? Ruslik_ Zero 19:39, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Dyslexia .... one of the editors asking for this is CFCF ( I took him to ANI a week ago)???--Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 19:48, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

Live links
I am expanding references on page for Susy Schultz and have them ready. But I do not know how to create live link for Web site address on your edit page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Znocktonsmith (talk • contribs) 21:57, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * I'm not quite sure what you mean by "live link". To link to a URL, use a pair of square brackets ([]). So  produces Wikipedia's homepage, for example. In references, however, we often use citation templates: for instance,   produces "" You might want to look at Citing sources for more information on referencing.
 * On an unrelated note, please "sign" your messages with four tildes, so people know (a) which user wrote the comment and (b) when the comment was made. — Bilorv(talk)(c)(e) 23:02, 1 August 2015 (UTC)


 * I put this in my edit summary when I reverted your changes, so I'm sorry if you feel I'm being redundant but please see WP:REFB. Dismas |(talk) 02:14, 2 August 2015 (UTC)

Can any script do this?
I am trying to modify an existing script. It currently highlights admins in blue colour but I want to make it highlight rollbackers in different colour. The problem is that we must add the users of a group in this format:

There are more than 5000 rollbackers and it is very hard to do it manually but its not impossible.

Is there any script or any off-wiki app that I could use to change Example (Rollback) (Created on 1 Jan 2005) to "Example":1,

A bot is currently doing this for admins but the code for the bot is not available. Supdiop ( Talk 🔹 Contribs ) 23:19, 1 August 2015 (UTC)


 * Here is an ugly way to try it with a simple text editor with find-and-replace, and a few minutes of manual work with the tools at hand:


 * 1) Go to Special:ListUsers/rollbacker, add   to the url and copy-paste the user lines to a text editor. Also copy the "(first ..." line to hopefully get four spaces before the user lines, but remove the "(first ..." line from the copy.
 * 2) Click "next 5000" and copy the rest in the same way.
 * 3) Find and replace all  (the four spaces you hopefully have on each line) by
 * 4) Find and replace all " " (note space in front) by
 * 5) Edit a template sandbox like X1.
 * 6) Write  at the top and paste the user lines below a blank line.
 * 7) Click Show preview and copy the list you hopefully have at the top.
 * PrimeHunter (talk) 00:51, 2 August 2015 (UTC)
 * User:NQ made the list here. Thanks to both of you. Supdiop ( Talk 🔹 Contribs ) 03:02, 2 August 2015 (UTC)


 * I'm finally learning regex. This is easier when you want to update the list:


 * 1) Copy the full ListUsers list to an edit box without the leading spaces
 * 2) Click the Search and replace icon at the top right of the edit box
 * 3) Enter  in the "Search for" box
 * 4) Enter  in the "Replace with" box
 * 5) Click the checkbox at "Treat search string as a regular expression"
 * 6) Click "Replace all"
 * That's it. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:05, 2 August 2015 (UTC)
 * OK, I'll use this method to update the list. New script is working flawlessly and it is also making my watchlist look beautiful, which is an additional benefit. Thanks Supdiop ( Talk 🔹 Contribs ) 06:03, 2 August 2015 (UTC)
 * I should probably mention that the Search and replace icon appears when Advanced is selected above the edit box. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:05, 2 August 2015 (UTC)