Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2015 October 9

= October 9 =

Indicating that a citation is needed
Hi, I was wondering how to insert a [citation needed] link after a sentence with un-cited material. I've tried the wikipedia tutorial/citing page, the Template:Citation needed/testcases page, and the help:cite wikia community page, but I'm still very unclear. Could I get a step-by-step walk through please? Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Banditoburrito (talk • contribs) 02:28, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * At the end of the sentence, after the punctuation, you simply put . With the curly braces.  That's it. Dismas |(talk) 02:39, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, got it! But shouldn't the citation be before the punctuation (period)? Standard citation format has citations before the sentence ends. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Banditoburrito (talk • contribs) 02:44, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * According to our manual of style, citations (and their relevant tags) should go after the punctuation. --Stabila711 (talk) 02:53, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Regards with using certain sources as references
I understand that using facebooks linked to government agencies/bureau are a bit okay (e.g. The official facebook account of the Philippine National Police), but I'd like to ask about sources that don't have much leeway and uses forum boards as references since certain facts are not that known. I'd like to post this as an example since one of the designer's name is not known to anyone familiar with the weapon. Ominae (talk) 04:02, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Hello, . I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. There are two separate principles here. First, all references must be to reliable sources, which excludes most social media, blogs and forums because there is no editorial control over them. Where a blog or a facebook page is credibly claimed to be maintained by a body as their "official" page, it may be taken to be reliable - but it is then not independent, so it may be cited, but only for limited purposes as a primary source. See identifying reliable sources for more. --ColinFine (talk) 07:55, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * For my example article as mentioned, an editor cited someone's name by using a forum board as reference. I googled the name and couldn't find any other source except for that forum board. I'm happy to provide more info if needed. Ominae (talk) 14:41, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Adding information to a cite the second time you use it
Is there a way to use the same citation twice but add information to the second use? The first time I use the citation I used it in a general sentence so I want to cite the whole thing without giving a specific page number. The second time, I want to point to specific pages in the report. Is there a way to use for the second use? Or do I have to put in two completely different cites? The full citation information is below. Thanks! --Stabila711 (talk) 04:05, 9 October 2015 (UTC)






 * The second time, try just

LeadSongDog come howl!  04:17, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Perfect! Learned a new template today. Thanks! --Stabila711 (talk) 04:23, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Indexing in Google
I created this page on 14 August 2015. To my surprise, even if one searches the complete phrase of subject, Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons, the related Wikipedia article is not shown in the results (I checked seven results page). Why is it so? Mhhossein (talk) 06:05, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * It takes some time for Google to pick up a new page. I can see it on Google now, BTW.Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 07:23, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * It's a long time since it's creation. Is it on the first page? Mhhossein (talk) 11:45, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Yep, on my Google search for the page title it's the 4th entry down.Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 12:12, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * It's not for me. The article for Ali Khamenei is the 4th entry down. Not the article that OP pointed out. But again, the way Google ranks things is up to Google. I know that one component is whether others sites link to the page in question. So maybe not many other sites link directly to Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons.  Dismas |(talk) 12:32, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * And as I and others have said many times before (we probably need a template for this) we don't really care where or whether an article appears in Google's search results. We are here to build an encyclopedia, not compete for Ghits.--ukexpat (talk) 13:03, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * ukexpat: Yes we've to be concerned about building an encyclopedia rather than the marginal issues. I was just comparing it with other subjects which usually appear in the first page of Ghits. Anyway, it's a question which probably has an answer! Mhhossein (talk) 12:51, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

Userboxes for editing status (such as "on hiatus," etc)
I haven't been around in ages and I want to put a userbox on my talk page saying that I am rarely here. Problem is I can't find that section of userboxes. Thanks in advance. Cloveapple (talk) 06:18, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * There are several of them. See Template:Wikibreak templates for a list of them and pick the one you prefer. --Stabila711 (talk) 06:24, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Thank you. I was looking in entirely the wrong place. Cloveapple (talk) 06:35, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Scaffolding?
Should articles be scaffolded, ie. should we add empty sections to articles in case they are needed at a later date?

If you know, could you point out a policy or guideline covering this?

Thanks!-62.155.198.25 (talk) 07:10, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * I don't know of a guideline that says so but I would think not. Articles are live right now, so to have them in an obvious state of construction for long periods I think would be frowned upon. Dismas |(talk) 12:28, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * However, drafts, while in public space where anyone can work to improve them, are not "live". Having scaffolding in a draft is a good idea, it will encourage other editors to supply the missing sections. Maproom (talk) 13:10, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

how do i make it so that all articles using a certain template will be autoadded to a certain category
how do i make it so that all articles using a certain template will be autoadded to a certain category for better navigation — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mahfuzur rahman shourov (talk • contribs) 07:13, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * For special maintenance categories it's usually done by including an appropriate category in a template. But for ordinary categories it is much better to add an explicit category link in articles. If you need to find articles using a specific template then use WhatLinksHere. For example
 * Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:Anatomy terms
 * is a list of all references to the Anatomy terms template, while
 * https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:Anatomy_terms&hidelinks=1
 * shows only pages which include the template. CiaPan (talk) 07:27, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

what edit to make in template to make all transclusions of template appear in category?OP is mediawiki syntax novice, HELP!Mahfuzur rahman shourov (talk) 07:41, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Category suppression shows:


 * For automatic categorization of articles (main space) and category suppression everywhere else:
 * PrimeHunter (talk) 09:43, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * PrimeHunter (talk) 09:43, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * (ec) Just don't. As I wrote above, we don't include normal articles to categories by a template. See for example Surgical instruments — it does not link the articles into categories; instead each surgery tool, like tenaculum, scalpel or Penrose drainis itself explicitly linked to appropriate Category:Surgical instruments. Similary templates Infectious disease, Samsung phones or Tallest buildings in China do not automatically link the pages which include them into any categories. --CiaPan (talk) 09:49, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Page deleted for copyright violation
My page was deleted for copyright violation which I don't understand as I responded to that-I AM Mary Louisr Davie and I own that copyright. I am an author putting out an additional book this year, one next year, a pilot for a series. And my father, Hutch Davie has a page I wrote (originally-someone made it much better)

Mary Louise Davie — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.192.80.52 (talk) 12:05, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Two things: first, if you own the copyright material you must release it appropriately for it to be used on Wikipedia. That release must be for all purposes, including commercial re-use - see WP:DCM. Second, even if it is appropriately released, it will more likely than not be unsuitable for use on Wikipedia as it will not maintain the neutral point of view that we require.--ukexpat (talk) 13:08, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Furthermore, I can't find evidence of an article called either "Mary Louise Davie" or "Mary Davie" ever having existed. Dismas |(talk) 13:10, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * and two more items: 1) you have a conflict of interest and therefore need to be appreciative that you will have a difficult time editing with the appropriate disinterested, neutral point of view and 2) Wikipedia is not a promotional platform for your book/series. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  13:13, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

wikipedia feature artice editing history
Hi, I have question can anyone provide me with a wikpedia featured article editing history which will contain time of edit(important), user_ID, type of edit( means providing reference, contents, correcting errors etc.) editing type( minor, major, etc), contribution with( talk/contribute or contribute or talk only).if you can provide me with this data it will be very helpful for me. I tried with some data crawler but it only gives me a 50 records. so any help would be highly appreciated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Naveedkhan778 (talk • contribs) 13:29, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Featured articles shows the articles and their "View history" tab shows their editing history. Do you mean for off-line examination? Page histories have "View (newer 50 | older 50) (20 | 50 | 100 | 250 | 500)" links your data crawler may use to get more than 50 at a time. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:52, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Assistance in translating an article
I would like assistance in translating a Wikipedia article in Spanish into English. The subject is Amalia Nieto. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalia_NietoJohn C. North (talk) 16:13, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Does WP:Translate help?--ukexpat (talk) 16:20, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Or WikiProject Intertranswiki? LeadSongDog come howl!  16:21, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

fictional/fact
how is it a fictional person can be put on Wikipedia that was in a tv show but a person that lives in a community and has done several historic things cannot be put on here and it stay without it continuously being pulled off because he don't have his own page but has several references on Wikipedia for this personDeonsia (talk) 17:36, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * An article about a real person can most certainly stay if there has been independent, reliable coverage of that person in various sources including magazines, books, television shows, etc. For a general idea of what a person needs to be considered "notable" by Wikipedia's definition of the word, see WP:BIO.  Dismas |(talk) 17:40, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * And if you're thinking about your additions to the Ottumwa, Iowa article, then you should know that additions to a list of the type found on that page generally require an article about the person first. Then they can be added to the "list of notable people" sorts of lists. Dismas |(talk) 17:45, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Question about retirement
What happens to a user page after that user retires? RO (talk) 17:37, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * That depends on the editor. If they know that they are not going to be editing any more and want to let people know, they sometimes add a retired template to the top of their userpage. If they don't know that they're going to cease editing (e.g. a sudden death of the editor), then the userpage will simply remain the way it was the last time they edited it. Dismas |(talk) 17:42, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Okay. This is for me; I'll be retiring soon. What should be done with the talk page? RO (talk)  17:46, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Similarly, whatever you like. If you want to blank it, you're always welcome to do that. Even when not retiring. If you want to put a notice at the top informing people that further messages will be unread, you can do that too. There are no hard and fast rules as to what should be done.  Dismas |(talk) 17:48, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * OK. Thanks. RO (talk)  17:49, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Depending on how certain you are, you can choose one of these : Template:Wikibreak templates.  Sounds like you want -
 * (edit to see code for template) Hogyn Lleol (talk) 20:35, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Yup. That's the one. Thanks. RO (talk)  21:01, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

about SANDEEP TIWARI
— Preceding unsigned comment added by Sandeeptiwari12345 (talk • contribs)

Hello. This page is for asking questions about how to use or edit Wikipedia. You did not express anything for which we can attempt to help you. Please clarify your request. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  20:28, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Hello, . You appear to be asking about a format error in a reference, but we have no way of finding which article you are talking about. Wherever it is, it is clear that the problem is the format of the "accessdate" parameter to the cite news template - it accepts a number of formats, but '10-10-15' is not one of them.
 * Whichever article it is you are editing, since you appear to be editing something about yourself, please make sure you understand the guidelines on editing with a conflict of interest. --ColinFine (talk) 10:11, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

edit PNG maps
How can I edit maps in PNG format (like File:Kosovo relations map.png)? I know how can edit SVG map, but PNG I don´t know... thanks. Jan CZ (talk) 19:36, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * You will need a bitmap graphics editor. See Comparison of raster graphics editors. Maproom (talk) 20:23, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Thank you. Jan CZ (talk) 23:13, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

New interface...
Please assist me in getting the old interface back. This is horrible - I can't even. 400 Lux (talk) 23:53, 9 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Perhaps you mistakenly unchecked the option "Temporarily disable the visual editor while it is in beta" at Special:Preferences. Re-enable that option to go back to the normal Wikipedia editor. --David Biddulph (talk) 00:49, 10 October 2015 (UTC)