Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2020 June 17

= June 17 =

Overlapping text
Hi, I was wondering how I could place a and a under each other, like this: &thinsp;Darth&thinsp; Flappy '&laquo;Talk&raquo;|undefined'  ping me! but with the "Talk" over the "ping me!". Any ideas? (Oh yes, please ping me) &thinsp;Darth&thinsp; Flappy   '&laquo;Talk&raquo;'  00:57, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * It looks like you can use Sup sub for this. RudolfRed (talk) 01:35, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Also I added a header to the question RudolfRed (talk) 01:40, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the help, now that I spent your time, now I can't figure out how to fit it in my 255 characters! Have a nice day. &thinsp;Darth&thinsp; Flappy   '&laquo;Talk&raquo;'  13:04, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia articles on piracy sites are necessary?
Wikipedia articles on piracy sites are necessary? Man Floor (talk) 03:50, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Hello . Wikipedia is not censored and this encyclopedia can and should contain articles on every notable topic, including controversial topics like piracy sites. Cullen328  Let's discuss it  03:57, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * However, we also have WP:NOTHOWTO. Is there a particular article that you feel might cross the line between encyclopedic and a guide to cracking? —[ Alan M 1  (talk) ]— 06:58, 17 June 2020 (UTC)


 * What's wrong with articles like Tortuga (Haiti)? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 20:09, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * GGS has pointed out the ambiguous meaning of "piracy sites". Perhaps you can clarify what you mean. —[ Alan M 1  (talk) ]— 01:05, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

See this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_table. Perfect guide to cracking. Man Floor (talk) 06:57, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Issue with a timeline displaying weird numbers
Hi there! I recently was browsing and editing the page The Dark Order, and for some reason, the timeline that displays the members of the group is having some weird display issue. On the yearly incremental lines, rather than just saying 2019 or 2020, it reads 2019.39 and 2020.39. I tried looking at the wiki code, and nothing I can see in there indicates why the ".39" is appearing. Any ideas on how to fix that? Thanks! Dahumorist (talk) 04:05, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Not really sure why it's doing that, but I resolved it by setting the start date to 01/01/2019 instead of 05/25/2019. It appears to be using fractional years for the major axis labels instead of MDY dates (05/25/2019 is about 0.39 of the way into 2019), so setting it to start on 01/01 gets rid of the decimal part. I added light grey minor monthly gridlines. There should be a way to control the formatting of those labels – I just can't find it. Maybe ask at Help talk:EasyTimeline syntax or see one of the other solutions at WP:TIMEL. —[ Alan M 1  (talk) ]— 08:01, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I set ScaleMajor start and ScaleMinor start to the first wanted mark on the time axis and not the beginning of the axis.[//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Dark_Order&diff=963012946&oldid=963006234] The scales don't line up exactly at 01/01/2020, maybe because there isn't exactly 7 average month lengths from 06/01/2019. PrimeHunter (talk) 08:44, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your help guys! Dahumorist (talk) 03:47, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Talking with a host by phone
I'm just getting started and the procedure is a bit overwhelming to me. Is there any way that I can talk with a host by phone--even for a few minutes? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Boomvang (talk • contribs) 14:17, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * This is the Wikipedia help desk. Are you asking for help with Wikipedia? (I ask because we don't have "hosts", so you may be trying to contact another organization). For help with Wikipedia, I know of no way to get help by telephone. You can use our "chat" channel to send an receive the messages with some of our help volunteers. Perhaps you can get a computer-literate friend to set up your computer to use the "chat" channel. -Arch dude (talk) 15:02, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * may be thinking of Teahouse hosts. TimTempleton (talk) (cont)  19:09, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Can I block a user or IP from leaving messages on my talk page?
An IP user (who might also have several accounts) has attempted to dispute something with me over the course of several months. The discussion has not been productive at all as the person either failed to understand some very basic logic, or is intentionally trolling. Either way, it has become irritating, so I asked them to stop, but the request was disregarded. Is there a way to block the user from leaving any message on my talk page? --Yel D&#39;ohan (talk) 15:41, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Yel D&#39;ohan,
 * you are entitled to remove messages from your own talk page, and if you have asked the ip to stop posting, that seems fair enough
 * An admin could semi-protect your talk page to prevent any ip from editing, but looking at the edits, they don't seem to amount to vandalism, annoying though they may be
 * An admin could warn or block the ip, but again, each post, taken separately, doesn't amount to vandalism
 * Perhaps option 1 is your best bet for now? Jimfbleak - talk to me?  15:50, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I see, thanks. I'll remove the messages if the problem persists. --Yel D&#39;ohan (talk) 16:40, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Is it always the same IP? Have you asked them to stop? --Guy Macon (talk) 17:03, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * See Administrators' noticeboard --Guy Macon (talk) 20:32, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Bright red drop down boxes (repeat)
Bright red drop down menus

Whenever I hit a box, the drop down menu is bright red, and unreadable. This only started recently - does anyone know how to correct it?Wymspen (talk) 13:38, 6 June 2020 (UTC)

What box and what drop down menu where? JIP | Talk 14:16, 6 June 2020 (UTC)

The "Search Wikipedia" box at the top of the page - click on it and the list of suggestions is invisible as the box has gone bright red. It is happening on some other sites as well - but not all. Wymspen (talk) 17:12, 10 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I cant reproduce this. Which browser are you using? Victor Schmidt (talk) 16:08, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * For the record, Wymspen recently copied the unformatted 6 June and 10 June posts from Help desk/Archives/2020 June 6 so I guess the problem is still there. Does it happen at any sites which aren't wikis? If so then it's probably unrelated to Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:55, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I am using Google Chrome - I wondered if the problem was there, but rebooted that to the default, and it made no difference. My computer has also just done a big update on Windows as well. It does happen on some other sites - like my BT login, but not all drop down menus. I also asked on Google Community - but got so answer. Just hoping someone, somewhere, might know what is happening.. Wymspen (talk) 20:10, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Where should I report ducky socks?
I think it is quite clear that is a sock puppet of the indefinitely blocked user. Actually, I believe that this is so utterly obvious, that an investigation, à la WP:SPI, would be a complete waste of time. Also, WP:SPI seems to be mostly (or totally?) focused on Check User investigations, but in this case, CU data is clearly pointless.

I can't report these kinds of cases to WP:AIV or WP:ANI, because the situation is neither acute nor pressing.

So where should I report obviously ducky sockpuppet ativity that is a few days old? —  Wasell ( T ) 17:27, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I suggest that you read WP:SPI again. If there is appropriate evidence, the investigation can be completed without the need for a checkuser.  SPI is the place to report with the evidence. --David Biddulph (talk) 17:38, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * OK, I'll give a shot. —  Wasell ( T ) 17:43, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

JD Tsasa
Would like to set up a Wikipedia page for him2600:1012:B056:203B:39FF:8D5:88D9:7060 (talk) 20:03, 17 June 2020 (UTC)


 * See WP:GNG and WP:BASIC. If you conclude "Yeah, I have those sources, no problem", move on to WP:YFA. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 20:05, 17 June 2020 (UTC)


 * Your language indicates that, like many people, you have a misunderstanding of Wikipedia. The activity is not "set up a wiki page for" but "write an encyclopaedia article about", and the subject has to be notable (by Wikipedia's standard, not anybody else's). If an article gets written, it will not be "for" the subject, the subject and their associates will have no control over the contents and it will not necessarily contain what they would want, and the content should be almost entirely based on what people who have no connection with the subject have chosen to publish about the subject. --ColinFine (talk) 20:09, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

(sections merged)

To set up a Wikipedia page for JD Tsasa, American Basketball player, born March 21, 2003 in Raleigh, North Carolina; Had enough credits to graduate before age 15; graduated high school at age 16; skipped college and signed with ChameleonBX to prepare for 2022 NBA draft.2600:1012:B056:203B:39FF:8D5:88D9:7060 (talk) 20:17, 17 June 2020 (UTC)


 * He could be the most wonderful basketball player in the history of the world, but if he hasn't yet been written about by multiple independent reliable sources, Wikipedia won't have an article on him. If you determine that he right now meets the criteria for notability then somebody could write an article about him: that could be you (but writing a new article is the most difficult task in editing Wikipedia); or you might try to get another volunteer editor interested, perhaps by posting at WT:WikiProject Basketball. --ColinFine (talk) 20:43, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * There's a possible argument he meets notability - USA Today has written about him at https://usatodayhss.com/2019/j-d-tsasa-piano-basketball-chameleon-bx and there seems to be coverage from regional or genre-specific sources too. I'd echo what Colin has said around getting opinions from people at Project Basketball. In the meantime, you may want to start out by reading this article, which introduces you to the basics of Wikipedia and how it works. Best,  Darren-M   talk  20:55, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

unknown parameter in infobox
Hi - can someone fix, or better yet explain what's wrong, with the characters in the infobox here - Brooke Pinto? Thanks! Bangabandhu (talk) 21:50, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * The parameters appear to be followed by non-breaking spaces, which confuses the parser, I've fixed it. Danski454 (talk) 21:57, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Ok, thanks! How do I use breaking spaces? Or whatever doesn't confuse the parser? Bangabandhu (talk) 21:59, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Just use normal spaces (I have no idea how non-breaking spaces ended up there) Danski454 (talk) 22:00, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Presidential candidate
Presidential candidate

This is the Yancy Teague Presidential Team We need to know how do we add our presidential Candidate to your Wikipedia site  She is running in the General Presidential Election for November 3,  her name is Alice Yancy Teague Her website is aliceyancyteague2020.com

Please respond in a timely matter Thank-You ! The Yancy Teague Campagin Team P.R. Dept. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alice Yancy (talk • contribs) 21:55, 17 June 2020 (UTC)


 * If Alice Yancy Teague is notable, then independent, reliable, published sources about her will proliferate, and persons not working for her will spontaneously want to create an article about her. Please read and digest the Plain and simple conflict of interest guide. Here's a taster: -- Hoary (talk) 22:07, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Unable to retrieve or reset login ?
Hello! I’ve entered both email addresses I possess in an attempt to get my password, which I have forgotten, reset. No emails have arrived. I have tried a few times. I can’t remember my username either!

Any solutions apart from register again using another new email?

Many thanks ! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.85.220.165 (talk) 23:16, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * It's easier to just create a new account. TimTempleton (talk) (cont)  00:49, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * If you remember which articles you have edited, you could look at their histories and that might remind you of your username. --David Biddulph (talk) 01:00, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Is there a place to evaluate notability
Hi i created this draft but it was declined so i want to know wether it is notable at all or should i not spend my time on it. Is there a talk page for that?--DonGuess (talk) 23:20, 17 June 2020 (UTC)


 * The decline notice doesn't mention notability. It says "This submission appears to read more like an advertisement than an entry in an encyclopedia." -- Hoary (talk) 23:32, 17 June 2020 (UTC)


 * Notability is primarily determined by asking if the topic of the article (in this case, the website in question) has recieved " in that are ".  Looking at your draft, the first two sources look like good ones for establishing notability, but I have not looked at the sources in any depth.  Most of the sources are in Russian.  There is nothing wrong with that, it's perfectly acceptable, but it does make it harder for non-Russian speakers to evaluate them.  That said, the draft was not declined for lacking notability, it was declined for reading like an advertisement.  What can you say about it other than (essentially) "it's an educational website, you can watch videos and listen to lectures and play educational games.  It's won some awards and is really great.  Check it out!"?  Because that's the vibe one gets reading that, even if it's not so blatant.  ~  ONUnicorn (Talk&#124;Contribs) problem solving 23:37, 17 June 2020 (UTC)


 * User:ONUnicorn, give an example of what I could add to the article please. Is the problem in the facts that the article contains which are sort of advertising or only the style in which the facts are layer our? Also I don’t know English so well, so I would like to find a native English wikipedian who knows russian to help me with this article — Preceding unsigned comment added by DonGuess (talk • contribs) 00:52, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * , an easy way to make an article read less like an advertisement is to include any criticism or negative information you can find about the topic. Not necessarily to make the article negative in tone - that would be as much a violation of neutral point of view as making it positive in tone, but if there is significant criticism or negative information it should be included. If you'd like someone who is fluent in both English and Russian to collaborate with, maybe posting at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Russia will help you find someone.  Lastly, perhaps the reviewer,  can help point you in the right direction for how to edit the article to make it read less like an ad in their view, as what does and doesn't read like an ad is kind of subjective.~  ONUnicorn (Talk&#124;Contribs) problem solving 15:04, 18 June 2020 (UTC)