Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2015 March 16

= March 16 =

Table with one column not sortable
I am trying to build WP:consensus for a table to be used at Los Angeles City Attorney. For a long time that page had two tables, one of names alphabetically and the other with names arranged chronologically. A user was WP:Bold and combined the two lists into one sortable table. Because I thought the move was ill-advised (combining, very awkwardly, two kinds of information), I reverted and the page was re-reverted and now we are in a WP:discussion mode. In searching for WP:consensus and hoping for a WP:compromise, I reluctantly agreed to using a single table. The table now on the page, to which I object, is very confusing and awkward. We don't need a table where the names can be sorted in reverse-alphabetical order (ZYX): That just makes no sense. So – can anybody devise a table for that page where the first column, the names, is always alphabetical (no little arrows at the top) and the second column (the years) is sortable? You can read more about this request at Talk:Los_Angeles_City_Attorney. Sincerely, GeorgeLouis (talk) 00:41, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * is possible, but that seems like throwing out the baby with the bath water. The problem is that once someone clicks on the chronological sort button, there would be no way to return to alphabetical sorting.
 * However, your point that reverse-alphabetical sorting makes no sense (in many tables) is very valid. I really wish there was a way to only disable ZYX, and allow ABC. The ZYX is especially important when you sort by last name, because people will be distracted by the first name. (As just happened when I showed the list at emblem book to someone.) But I don't think this is currently possible. Maybe a good idea for a request. &mdash; Sebastian 20:11, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

Need help on how to fix citation error
Or: Why, oh why, can I never figure this stuff out for myself!!??!! I recently helped fix entry "Actigraphy" with a very high quality research article I found on the topic. Used Vis.Editor, made a mistake on entering the new citation. There's an error msg there now, but I can' tree how to GET back into the citation to fix it. This is crazy & why I quite editing Wikipedia so often: Every simple seeming thing ends up being horribly convoluted and confusing.

ID# in cite prob looks to have been fixed (by bot?) But "accessed date" is still incorrect (wrong date format). (it was Mar. 13, 2015, fyi). Any advice welcome. Thx! Cynthisa (talk) 03:08, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * added a convenience link. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  03:15, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * 2015 Mar 13 is not a valid format for access-date, I changed it to 2015-03-13 for consistency with the other accessdate in the article. &#8213; Mandruss  &#9742;  03:19, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

My Articles always get deleted
Hello Wikipedia i love you website it is awesome but the only problem is every time i make an article it somehow always gets deleted. Heres a link maybe it doesn't work because it got deleted go try it Edmund Murphy So tell me what to do for it not to be deleted. Bye i hope you find out. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.163.131 (talk) 09:10, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * You haven't indicated why Edmund is important enough to have an article in an encyclopedia like Wikipedia; most Ireland convicts are not that important. Beside that, all content in Wikipedia must be verifiable by citations to published reliable sources, but if as you say "its a secret no one knows", such sources don't exist. —teb728 t c 10:43, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

wrong Wikipedia article title
I work for the Roboy company, and we would like the name of the article to be changed from ROBOY to Roboy. I have submitted redirects, and they have been denied. We just want the name changed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Serena dulong (talk • contribs) 09:21, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Hello, I have done this uncontroversial move for you (sources seem to use "Roboy" as well in most cases). As an editor working for the company, please read WP:COI, Wikipedia's policy for editors with a "conflict of interest". GermanJoe (talk) 09:47, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Your requests at Articles for creation/Redirects have not been denied. They haven't been reviewed. A new user incorrectly blanked the page but it has been restored. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:00, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Hello . OK great. Thank you very much for all of that. I also read the COI policy for editors. I completely understand. I am the Community Manager for Roboy. I realize now I have to write that on my page. Thank you!

Serena dulong (talk) 17:20, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

I cant think of a article
I cant think of an article tell me something and ill right about it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.163.131 (talk) 09:41, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * So I'm telling you: Something, but I suggest you left it rather than right (esp. ill right). Or something like that... --CiaPan (talk) 10:03, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * (cant doesn't appear to be a real adverb, either.) In all seriousness, you could check out Requested articles for some ideas and also check out Your first article for some things you need to know before you start. Also consider creating an account. Good luck, and welcome. Scarce2 (talk) 11:07, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * please be sure that anything you do think to write about, you send through a spell check before you submit. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  15:51, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

Archive page exists, but it's shown as a red link in archivebox navigator
See Talk:Uzbeks. Archive 1 marked as red link, but it's available: Talk:Uzbeks/Archive 1. How can I fix it? --Zyma (talk) 13:31, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * It's blue now. It probably just needed a purge to update. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:35, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

Translations of articles on non-English Wikipedia sites
Would the appearance of an article on a larger, non-English Wikipedia site qualify its translation for inclusion in the English language Wikipedia?

Thanks! Polemyx (talk) 15:02, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Possibly/probably, but not necessarily - The notability criteria vary from language to language, some are stricter than others. So a subject could meet the criteria on the "non-English Wikipedia" site, but fail to meet the criteria here. We might be able to be more helpful if you tell us what the article is... - Arjayay (talk) 15:27, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * It's a Russian musician, with growing international (Western Europe, Israel) standing, who also lived in the US at one time. (As an American, I have no COI.) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Polemyx (talk • contribs) 15:44, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Have a look at the criteria at WP:MUSICBIO - does he clearly meet at least one (preferably more) of those? Please note that references do not have to be in English, but one decent reference in English often convinces editors suspicious about notability. - Arjayay (talk) 15:52, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * "Growing" is a discouraging sign – it suggests that s/he is not yet notable, by the standards of en:Wikipedia. Maproom (talk) 15:58, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Yes, I believe several of those are met. It's just hard to judge how seriously the stars of non-US/-CA/-UK/-OZ/-NZ television, and film credits and music awards in the rest of the world will be taken in judging for inclusion in English-language Wikipedia. And @Maproom, "growing" means they're still alive with an active career, one not plateaued like Madonna's. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Polemyx (talk • contribs) 16:28, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Inclusion in the English Wikipedia is determined by the existence of acceptable sources, in any language. Language has no role at all in the notability criteria of the English Wikipedia. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 07:49, 17 March 2015 (UTC)::


 * "Growing standing" sounds like WP:UPANDCOMING. -- Orange Mike &#124;  Talk  11:18, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Help:Cite errors/Cite error ref no input for This is no fairytale by carach angren
This is no fairytale by Carach Angren


 * Hello, (please sign your posts on talk and help pages by ending with four tildes ( ~ ) so tha we know who we are answering. I don't see any Cite errors appearing on This is no Fairytale, so I'm guessing that you saw the errors on a preview and didn't save the changes. This makes it hard to diagnose the problem. Usually this means that something in your reference is not formatted correctly, but I can't tell you what. All I can suggest is reading referencing for beginners; and if you get the error again, I think you'll find that part of it is blue, and that is a link to a page which should explain the problem. --ColinFine (talk) 20:09, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

How to chronologically sort a list of people?
Do we have a style guide on how to sort a list of people (or other items with a duration), such as the one at Isidore? The problems are that (1) people live to very different ages and (2) we only have the floruit for some people.

I checked Manual of Style/Lists, Help:Sorting, and Disambiguation, but couldn't find anything, which is surprising, given that this situation is so common. &mdash; Sebastian 19:31, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I know of no applicable guideline, but it seems intuitive that the list should be in ascending name sequence (ignoring "of", "the", etc.). &#8213; Mandruss  &#9742;  19:38, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, name lists are generally alpha. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  05:33, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Help:the correction I made is based on my personal contact with Leo Sternbach
[OP did not supply any comments.]


 * Please see the message on your Talk page concerning your edit to Benzodiazepine. Your personal contact with and/or knowledge of Mr. Sternbach and his activities is not a reliable source that can be cited in this article.  Wikipedia requires edits be supported by citations of reliable sources so they can be verified by any reader.  Dwpaul   Talk   20:32, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

deleted articles
I have made an article but after a few minutes boom its gone its called Moon (Old Age) is it red maybe it got deleted please help me I want my articles to be permnament sorry bad spelling — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.163.131 (talk) 21:35, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Given your command of English language, you should not be attempting to create articles in live main space.
 * In your account, utilize your sandbox to create a draft of an article about a subject that meets the basic requirements for a stand alone article. then have an established user who does have a solid command of English review and copy edit the article. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  22:02, 16 March 2015 (UTC)