Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2016 May 4

= May 4 =

Article protection
OK, I've never felt the need to request protection for an article before, but one that I created and mostly wrote Ku Klux Klan titles and vocabulary, appears to have become a target of vandals increasingly over the last few months. How do I go about getting it protected so that unverified users cannot edit it?--Bellerophon5685 (talk) 00:21, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * see WP:RfPP. -- The Voidwalker  Discuss 00:26, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Zero width space character error
On Nathan Deal the reference containing this link is displaying an error reading "zero width space character in |title= at position 1". If someone could fix this error and, better yet, tell me how I can do so in the future, that would be great. The character, being invisible, can't be found just by clicking the edit button or deleted just by pressing the backspace key. Everymorning (talk) 03:03, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * A bot fixed it. Bruto (talk) 03:31, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * The error message was telling you that the invisible character was right at the start of the title field. You could have fixed it by deleting the first couple of characters of the title, along with the preceding "=" sign, and typing them in again. Maproom (talk) 08:14, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * You could also walk along the text with the arrow key and watch the cursor stepping characters. When it seems to freeze for one step, that is an invisible, zero-width space and you can simply delete it as any other character with or  – depending on the direction you were walking, i.e. if the cursor is before of after the special character. --CiaPan (talk) 09:10, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

"corrections" that are really just alternative spellings/usages
I've seen "an homage" "corrected" to "a homage". According to the grammar references I've checked both are acceptable, depending on whether or not you pronounce the "h". In this case it's not particularly a US vs UK thing so the "national varieties" consideration doesn't apply. Another case is "extravert" to "extrovert" - "extrovert" may be the more common spelling in practice but "extravert" is arguably more correct, being the spelling used by Jung, Eysenck etc and more in accord with the word's Latin roots.

My feeling is that in cases where more than one spelling is in common use and the "national varieties" consideration doesn't apply, the original writer's choice of spelling should not be changed without consensus. Thoughts? MaxBrowne (talk) 03:08, 4 May 2016 (UTC)


 * I would not change such things, and would not care if someone else did. Maproom (talk) 08:16, 4 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Seconded. That kind of thing is not worth the effort of "establishing consensus". Allow people their minimal style modifications and expect them not to obsess over your own in return.-- Elmidae (talk · contribs) 15:33, 5 May 2016 (UTC)


 * I agree with Maproom for cases like "homage". The other example - "extrovert" vs "extravert" - however, is different. By far the more common spelling generally is "extovert", but for psychologists it is still more often "extravert". In addition to the popular vs professional split in spelling, there has developed a popular vs professional difference in meaning as well. "Extrovert" is commonly used by people as a synonym for "outgoing" or "talkative". As such, it is a casual description of behaviour. But for psychologists "extravert" is a clinical diagnosis about a person's mental state. It means a person who is "predominantly concerned with obtaining gratification from what is outside the self". People who are diagnosed as extraverts may engage in behavior that would lead people to describe them using the word "extrovert", but it is not the same. So interestingly, what was once one word and one concept has evolved into two different words with different meanings and spellings. So when you want to merely use the common term to describe a person's behaviour, "extrovert" is the best choice. If you want to describe a person's internal states as a clinical diagnosis, "extravert" is better.


 * Now, if you dismiss all that I just said as nonsense (although it isn't), "extrovert" is still better generally because it is the far more common spelling and thus less likely to confuse an average reader. In fact, as I write this I see that Wikipedia's spell checker thinks "extrovert" is spelled correctly, but "extravert" gets the red squiggle line that says it is a misspelling. One more small reason to prefer "extrovert" in general. 99.192.74.75 (talk) 15:06, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Off-topic response: Thank you, 99, for your fascinating explanation of how the word "extrovert/extravert" has evolved into two words. I was unaware of it. Another example is "abyssal/abysmal". Maproom (talk) 17:23, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * The thesis that they are separate words is incorrect and not supported by any reputable source. At best, there is a correlation between the popular usage and the popular spelling. Extra means "outside" in Latin, extro means nothing, so I will continue to use the original etymologically correct spelling and spell checkers be damned. MaxBrowne (talk) 06:55, 5 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Well, strictly speaking they are not recognized as two different words. But words can have alternate spellings and alternate meanings and when spelling A is almost always used with meaning A and spelling B is almost always used with meaning B the choice of spelling becomes so closely associated with the meaning intended that they might as well be seen as two different words. If the goal is effective communication, as it is in Wikipedia, then this is a strong correlation that should be recognized when making word/spelling choices. Being "etymologically correct" is fine if you are writing your own webpages and want to advocate for a minority spelling, but on Wikipedia is just serves to obscure meaning and so is not helpful. It's not Wikipedia's goal to preserve etymological purity, but clear communication in writing is a goal. 99.192.65.57 (talk) 12:37, 5 May 2016 (UTC) (=99.192)


 * The reason I posted the question here rather than the talk page where the issue arose is because I wanted to hear some uninvolved opinions. Specifically, I did not want to hear your opinion. Now please stop stalking my edits. MaxBrowne (talk) 13:54, 5 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Mind not stalking my edits please? MaxBrowne (talk) 05:45, 5 May 2016 (UTC)

Is there a way to copy a page?
Hi there!

I'm wondering if there is an option to copy a page to a different location - it's sort of like moving a page, only that the original page is not changed, but everything on the original page stays there; it just gets duplicated at a different location. It would be really helpful for working on an article without running into edit conflicts. Copying and pasting is too much work, so I'm wondering if such a functionality can be introduced with the page move user right that's being proposed.

Thanks! &#60;&#60;&#60; SOME GADGET GEEK &#62;&#62;&#62; (talk) 03:53, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * The issue with copying within Wikipedia is that it still requires attribution for copyright purposes per WP:CWW. So you really shouldn't be copying and pasting information from one place to another anyways unless you plan on providing the proper attribution. If it is a heavily trafficked page you can use the in use template either on the top or in the specific section you are working on to notify people that you are currently editing. Or you can save often. There is no maximum number of saves after all . If you mean moving the page, with all the edit history in tact, without actually moving the page, I'm not aware of any functionality like that even at the administrative level. That ability would have to be coded in by the developers and with the in use template I really don't see why it would be needed. --Majora (talk) 04:00, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Prasad Appa Tarkar
Like to enter myself in Wikipedia. I m architect, art director, sculptor and marathi movie director. I won national award in 2006 by APJ Abdul Kalam sir and 3 International and 52 State Awards. My 1st movie released Ek Hoti Rani nw 2 movie in pipeline Dambha and Maya...the Mystery — Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.239.56.218 (talk) 04:23, 4 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Please do not enter yourself in Wikipedia: autobiography is strongly discouraged, for several reasons. Bear in mind that Wikipedia has almost no interest in what anybody (or any organisation) wants to say about themselves: it is only interested in what people who have no connection with a subject have published about a subject. If you are notable (which is Wikipedia jargon for "People unconnected with you have published substantial information about you") then we could have an article about you, based almost entirely on what those independent sources have said about you; but you should not write it yourself, as you are likely to find it hard to write neutrally about yourself. Wikipedia may not be used for promotion of any kind.
 * If you believe that such sources exist (and remember that they are sources where people unconnected with you have written about you, not your own publications), then I suggest you request an article at Requested articles. --ColinFine (talk) 09:14, 4 May 2016 (UTC)


 * I would also suggest reading Wikipedia's notability guidelines- if you believe that you would pass these, you can request for an article to be written about you here. Joseph2302 (talk) 09:35, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Sorting a table entry into multiple locations
In the past, I've used List of cities in Ohio to generate a simple list of cities in each county: all you have to do is sort the table by the county column, and immediately each city is with all the other cities in its county. Convenient, except for the fact that some cities are in multiple counties, and each one sorts into just one location. For example, Delphos is in both Allen and Van Wert counties, and it sorts by whichever is given first, so this sort causes it to appear with Lima in the Allen County group (no problem), but when you scroll down, it looks as if the city of Van Wert is the only city in Van Wert County.

Is there a way to cause an entry to appear in multiple locations, e.g. making one line for Delphos appear in Allen County and another line for Delphos appear in Van Wert County? I hesitate to add a second line (i.e. you sort by City, and there are suddenly two Delphi, each with 7,101 residents, but they're in different counties), both because it might cause problems for data-mining bots, and because Ohio law permits the existence of two cities with the same name (see Oakwood, Ohio), so it might confuse human readers as well. I suppose I could have two lines and add a footnote to each one (e.g. "Extends into Allen County" for Delphos in Van Wert County, "Extends into Van Wert County" for Delphos in Allen County, etc.), or add the same text in a new Notes column; this would un-confuse human readers, but I doubt that it would prevent bot errors. For your reference, this isn't hugely common; there are 23 cities in multiple counties (17 in two, 6 in three), so I'd be adding 29 new lines, while the same thing on the villages list would add 34 new lines, since 2 villages are in three counties and 30 are in two. Nyttend (talk) 13:03, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Maybe use rowspan? -- Edgars2007  (talk/contribs) 16:09, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I've never seen that before. Taking a little bit to figure it out, but it's working as I'd hoped.  Thanks!  Nyttend (talk) 03:10, 5 May 2016 (UTC)

Copy Editing
Good morning,

Where can I find the articles that need editing? I took the tutorial before and the list came up, but now I can't find it. Please help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Outtatown (talk • contribs) 14:37, 4 May 2016 (UTC)


 * In Category:Wikipedia articles needing copy edit. Thanks for your help! --Rubbish computer (HALP!: I dropped the bass?) 14:39, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * The specific feature you probably saw as a newly registered user can be seen here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovarense_Basquetebol?gettingStartedReturn=true. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:42, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Robux
Hello

My name at the game is Schembri20 today i payed $4,95 but i've payed how many they are in euros.The point is i didn't get anything...nothing Please contact with me at messages at roblox as fast as you can and give me my robux and say me why i didn't get them...

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.184.208.191 (talk) 18:36, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * This page is for help editing Wikipedia. I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but it looks like you had trouble with some kind of purchase. You should probably try contacting the organization or person you bought something from for help with the purchase you tried to make. KSF  T C 18:39, 4 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Please contact Help (Technical Support and Account Issues).--Shantavira|feed me 08:02, 5 May 2016 (UTC)

Waiting for edit
I have had my draft ready for edit since February with no response. What do I need to do to get my contribution, now located in watchlist, to be reviewed? Thanks

Ralph Eshelman — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lusbyman (talk • contribs) 19:25, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Hi, to submit an article for review, you need to add to the top of the article. I've done it for you, note that the current waiting time on drafts to be reviewed is a week or so. Joseph2302 (talk) 20:06, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I see you made a good attempt to submit it in February in [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Frank_C._Whitmore,_Jr.&diff=next&oldid=704763113]. Unfortunately it didn't work because of the  part which deactivates code inside it. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:35, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Austin Petersen
Hello,

When I search Austin Petersen, the Libertarian election page comes up, but there is a thumbnail of Gary Johnson. Can you please rectify this? It is very confusing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Starlasworld (talk • contribs) 20:51, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * There's also a thumbnail of Austin Petersen as well it appears. Not sure what's missing, unless I'm not seeing it? RickinBaltimore (talk) 20:53, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Austin Petersen has no Wikipedia biography so the name is currently a redirect to Libertarian Party presidential primaries, 2016. I guess you search the name in a way that causes the first image in the target article to automatically be displayed in the search results. It's just an unfortunate coincidence that this produces an image of somebody else in this case. The situation will probably not change unless Austin Petersen gets a biography. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:09, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Wikipedia Help
How do I create a page for my business? As I see many companies with a wikipedia business page — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamaica private excursions JPE (talk • contribs) 21:19, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * You don't, per Wikipedia's conflict of interest policy. Also, user is now blocked. Joseph2302 (talk) 22:17, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

getting a page re-instated after it has been deleted due to copyright violations.
Hello,

I created a page (Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care) that was deleted over the weekend due to it breaching copyright violations. I work for the company that created that website and was under instruction from the web master to create a page using exact material from the website www.rnzcuc.co.nz. My name is on that website too. The webmaster is currently creating an email giving me permission to use the material on the site on wikipedia, but once I have this letter I would like to know how I can use it to get the page re-instated? who do I email or send my request to? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Greersullivan (talk • contribs) 22:26, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * The work will need to be licenced for any use, not just for use on Wikipedia. See the page WP:DCM for how to do this.  Once that is done, then you can request to have the article undeleted.   RudolfRed (talk) 22:34, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * What says is true,, but probably irrelevant, because material suitable for the College's website is almost certainly completely unsuitable for a Wikipedia article about it. Greer, if Wikipedia is to have an article on the College, then what the webmaster wants to appear on it, (and in fact anything that the College says or has published) is almost irrelevant to it: any such article should be nearly 100% based on what people unconnected with the college have published about it in reliable places. Furthermore, as an employee of the company that created that website, you have a conflict of interest, so you are discouraged from working on any such article, and if you do you a required by our terms of service to declare your status as a paid editor. Besides the links I have given, please also read your first article and WP:CORP. --ColinFine (talk) 22:56, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Thank you for that. I just find it slightly confusing as I was trying to follow what the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners had created, which I found have done a similar thing to what I did. Unless I'm missing something obvious... Greersullivan (talk) 23:11, 4 May 2016 (UTC)


 * FWIW, at least the History section of Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners appears to be a copy/paste from the college's web site, I've tagged it as such and expect it to be removed shortly. But as a general rule Other stuff exists is *not* a valid justification for an article.  Rwessel (talk) 23:31, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Thank you for pointing out the copyright violations in Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. I have removed the History section that Rwessel tagged and also the copied description of one of the publications. I can't find any other copyright violations there; so I didn't tag the entire article for deletion. —teb728 t c 00:06, 5 May 2016 (UTC)