Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2024 June 10

__EXPECTED_UNCONNECTED_PAGE__ = June 10 =

Please open my own now
Please open my own 105.112.123.209 (talk) 10:06, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Hello. I don't understand what you are asking. Please clarify. ColinFine (talk) 10:36, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

My account is "lost"
Hi, I have an issue. I have created my wiki account very long time ago. The old e-mail is not working anymore, so I am not able to reset the password. The password got changed in 2016 by Wikipedia mass password resets (because many passwords were compromised). I would like to access my old account and continue working with it. But how? Who can fix my e-mail address in the account? How can I open a ticket for wikipedia support?

Thank you. 90.64.194.49 (talk) 10:23, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * I'm afraid that if you no longer have the password or access to that email address, then there is no way to recover the account. I suggest you create a new one, and edit the user page of both the new account and the old one to say that they are the same person, and why there are two. ColinFine (talk) 10:38, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Hi. I have contacted Wiki support (info-en@wikimedia.org) and they opened a ticket, found my changed user id and told to try to login with that user and the old password. It has worked. Case closed.
 * Thanks. 90.64.194.49 (talk) 11:43, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

how to set languages i want in suggested languages?
Hi! I'm a relatively new user, and recently I went into a bit of a deep dive into some topics which required me to look across multiple language versions of the same page.

Now, I have an overwhelming amount of suggested languages when I want to switch the language. Is there a way to set the languages I speak so I can easily access them? For clarity, I would like to set my languages to English, Hebrew, and Simple English, without having languages like Hungarian or Italian (and about 20 others) appear in the suggested languages menu.

Also, I use Wikipedia from my phone a lot, so i use the mobile version on it, which is drastically more convenient than the desktop version (when using a phone). The problem is that it makes the autocomplete for certain articles I read a lot direct to en.m.wikipedia instead of en.wikipedia, so it is less convenient on my desktop.

Is there a way to stop my browser from going to the mobile version instead of the desktop version? (instead of manually editing the URL or scrolling to switch to the desktop view).

Thank you guys so much for reading and (hopefully) helping :) Skiddaddle (talk) 10:45, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * On the desktop version, the languages that you've frequently switch to would be placed on the top of the language sidebar (assuming ccorresponding articles do exist in those languages). I think something similar might exist on the mobile website version but can't be certain. As for the second question, on the very bottom of each Wikipedia webpage there would be a tool bar, the ones with "term of use" and other options, and you can click/tap on the last one that says "mobile view" or "desktop" to switch to the other version. Generally your device will remember your preference. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 12:11, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm skeptical about the claim that it will automatically put your "frequently switched to" languages at the top of the language sidebar. (T presume that by "frequently switched to", you are referring to the setting for the languages used in menus.  It appears to me that the available languages for the current page are simply listed in alphabetical order (by the code prefix).  There may also be some unavailable languages listed before the available languages are listed.  (Don't ask me why.)  On "simple English" wikipedia, it's a little different, in that the languages are arranged in groups.  If there is some kind of customized ordering of the languages, I'm not noticing it. Fabrickator (talk) 22:19, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Deleted article
Hi,

I tried to post an article, and it got deleted based on Wiki's U5 ("Pages in userspace consisting of writings, information, discussions, or activities not closely related to Wikipedia's goals, where the owner has made few or no edits outside of user pages..."). However, I am not sure why it got deleted, as I did include many references and links to other sites and articles. My article was about a person, who I did get permission to write about. Please advise me as to why my article was deleted, and how I can do it again so as to avoid being deleted. This is who my article was about: https://www.constancescharff.com/. Lisacourtnadge (talk) 11:08, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Hi . Even though trying to create an article on one's user page is a mistake that's commonly made and isn't something explicity prohibitted by Wikipedia's user page policy, such content is often mistaken for a fake article or being otherwise inappropriate for a user page; so, the page often ends up being tagged ans subsequently deleted per speedy deletion criterion U5. For this reason, it's generally better to work on drafts for articles in the draft namespace or as a userspace draft instead. What you can try doing is posting a message on the user talk page of the administrator who deleted the page, explain you were working on a draft for an article, and ask them to restore it either as a draft or a userspace draft. Since I'm not an administrator, I can't see what was deleted, but the deleting adminsitrator would probably be willing to restore it unless it was so hopeless or so filled with serious violations of relevant Wikipedia policies that restoring the page wouldn't be allowed or would otherwise be pointless to do so. If that's the case, you may have no alternative but to start again.Finally, you don't need the permission of the subject to try and create a Wikipedia article about them, but you do need to clearly be able to establish that the subject meets Wikipedia:Notability because only subjects deemed to be Wikipedia notable can have stand-alone articles written about them. Given that the subject you want to create an article about is a person, you should take a look at Wikipedia:Notability (people) and Wikipedia:Notability (academics) for reference. You will need to first self-assess this person to see whether the meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines because nobody is going to be able to create an article about them without being able to establish that they do. -- Marchjuly (talk) 11:26, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Hi Marchjuly it was the username/sandbox page so the location is not an issue. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 11:33, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * @Lisacourtnadge I've taken a look at the deleted page, but I'm none the wiser about why it was deleted as it appears to be a legitimate draft. Hopefully the deleting admin, @Fastily would explain soon. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 11:31, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * It's a promotional piece about a non-notable individual intended to boost their SEO visibility. It's a stretch to describe this as a "legitimate draft" -Fastily  20:00, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

what is the world's worst wildfire?
We need a history of the greatest and worst wildfires of the world. Please help with this. 2405:201:C030:118D:EDC4:DA37:79A0:E4BD (talk) 11:56, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * In my experience, attempting to compile lists of this kind usually runs into problems with original research. There is a source here that has some suggestions.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 12:00, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * You're also going to run into the problem of definition. Worst for the trees? Worst for the wildlife? Worst for loss of human life? Worst in terms of financial loss? Or the largest or most difficult to put out? Shantavira|feed me 13:55, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Bold/Italics w/ piped Wikilink.
Is text preferred to text to the point where it should be changed from the second to the first in artices? (similarly for bold) Naraht (talk) 13:42, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I'd mildly prefer the second, but I certainly wouldn't bother changing either. Maproom (talk) 16:09, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * On another hand, I have recently changed Title to Title . —Tamfang (talk) 01:00, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I think the second form used to break WP:popups or some other quick-formatter tool, but I can't reproduce it now. The first form feels semanatically more correct in many cases also: assuming 'text' is some sort of approximate synonym for 'target', 'target' would be an italicizeable text if it were displayed, just we'd rather display a synonym. DMacks (talk) 17:11, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Torah Tape
Is there an article on the topic Torah Tape? Nuts240 (talk) 14:43, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * It doesn't appear so. What is "Torah tape"? ColinFine (talk) 15:51, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * To reply to your question, Colin, it can refer to a tape (or other similar medium) recording of the Torah being recited: there is rabbinic debate about whether this is as 'Talmudically' valid as reading the Torah or hearing it recited by someone physically present.
 * There are also Torah-related music tracks and CDs (and YouTube videos), some of which appear under the rubric of 'Torah Tapes'. Disclaimer: IANAR.
 * To answer, the only mention of the term on Wikipedia is found in the article about Avigdor Miller, who issued such tapes. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 188.220.136.217 (talk) 16:07, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * A reliable source for a debate might be used in Torah reading but it doesn't sound like a topic for a whole article if "Torah tape" merely means an audio recording of the Torah. We have a general article audiobook which doesn't mention the Torah. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:22, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Date/time formatting
Hi, there is this wikitext in an article  which is a manually printed and converted date showing the UTC date of the event (matching the MOS of the section of wikipedia it is located in) and also the local time of the event. Is there a wikipedia template that will generate this just specifying the utc time (or local time) and the converted time in the requested time zone? Ergzay (talk) 16:12, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * We have a ton of Category:Time, date and calendar templates but I don't see one that does this full task. The closest is time, which displays the current date and/or time in a variety of formats, adjusted for a given timezone. But it does have a documented parameter to force use of an alternate specific date+time. So you could call it twice, once for UTC and once for CDT:
 * June 29, 2024 (June 29, 2024)
 * Check the documentation for the df parameter for the (too limited, in my opinion) formatting options. Does our Lua support include strftime to allow enhancing this template? We also have the {{#time:}} parser function for comparable formatting flexibility, but it cannot make the TZ string as a link. There are a few other formatting templates listed in that one's docs that might be more flexible for format but not cover both date and time simultaneously. DMacks (talk) 16:41, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * @DMacks Am I perhaps misreading that template? That only works for the _current_ time which isn't what's needed as this is the time a specific event took place, not the current time. That's why I didn't bother looking at it further. Ergzay (talk) 21:11, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * See my "But..." sentence:) My example output is an actual use of the template for the time and date you proposed. The code is:
 * DMacks (talk) 02:09, 11 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I see, so it's kind of a hacked use of it. Maybe the template is due for a fork to make that the primary feature and also accept additional, more readable, time input formats. Ergzay (talk) 16:24, 11 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I see, so it's kind of a hacked use of it. Maybe the template is due for a fork to make that the primary feature and also accept additional, more readable, time input formats. Ergzay (talk) 16:24, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Register of interests as source for politicians
Can the Register of Interests for a politician be used as a citation source? I ask just in case it might fall foul of WP:BLPPRIMARY, and be classed as a public record. I am thinking of this link for use on the article about Georgia Gould. It doesn’t have her home address. BLP says "Do not use public records that include personal details, such as date of birth, home value, traffic citations, vehicle registrations, and home or business addresses." The link mentions the organisations she is a member of, which would be an interesting addition to the article. TrottieTrue (talk) 16:18, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * I would advise against using it as a source, since it is a public document and written like a self published material. Note that not everything about the subject need to be put on the Wikipedia article, if the subject's membership in certain organization has not received coverage from the press or other independent secondary sources, its inclusion in the article would be optional. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 19:39, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

adding unique discovery to an existing page or own page
Several years ago I made a discovery, recently I've narrowed it down to a formula. The concept has been thoroughly researched and to date, this fact remains to eluded the most extensive websites on the associated subject. In the first instance it needs independent validation. As trivial as it may be, nothing is achieved by adding unqualified data on Wikipedia. I should add, I do not wish to exaggerated what is, in one sense "trivia", nevertheless I consider it may be regarded as a "why didn't we think of that before !". Any help would be appreciated (conditional). Many thanks, Hgpone Hgpone (talk) 16:46, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Hi Hgpone – Wikipedia is intended to be simply a summary of what reliable sources have already said, and is not for original ideas or research. If, as you say, your discovery has not been reported on in any reliable sources, it unfortunately can't be published on Wikipedia. Tollens (talk) 16:50, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Being required to log in and not being able to do so
I'm not pleased with not being able to use the search capacity. I have been with wikipedia from the beginning nad have donated when aske to. I probably logged in the first time and have never needed to repeat that until now. I don't recall my used name or password but Jimmy always sends me emails so that much you do know. I'm waiting for a response to my password queery, but the bot or person seems to be in no hurry, meanwhile I'm loosing my patience. Of course I know writing this is a waste of time because I need to log in and that I can't do in order to get an answer. Now I'm thinking it will be possible to live without Wikipedia. 81.40.93.60 (talk) 17:50, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * You don't have to log in to post here or edit most pages. "Jimmy always sends me emails" sounds like you once donated and gave your email address at the time. Donations are not tied to user accounts. Search does not require logging on. If you don't see a search box then maybe you have to first click a magnifying glass icon at the top of pages. If you tried to use Special:PasswordReset then mails are sent immediately. I receive them within seconds. I guess you never created an account.PrimeHunter (talk) 18:01, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Posting a Bibliography
How long does the process take of uploading a Wikipedia page about someone very important and is there any way to expedite this process? ￼ RevitateIntern1 (talk) 18:22, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Hi RevitateIntern1, the time for a draft to be reviewed is currently anywhere up to three months due to a sizable backlog. There is no way to expedite the process. If you are referring to User:RevitateIntern1/sandbox, this draft would not be approved as Wikipedia is not for hosting fictional content. Tollens (talk) 18:30, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * OP indef'ed for UPE/etc. DMacks (talk) 02:52, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

I have submitted an article to en.wikipedia, but it was actually meant to be on pt.wikipedia
I need help to transfer an article which was originally submitted to en.wikipedia as a draft (Hábitos Alimentares em Animais) to pt.wikipedia. The article was written in portuguese, so it makes more sense to be in the portuguese version of the platform. Can I transfer it to pt.wikipedia? If so, how? Rafaeltrivella (talk) 22:53, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * As you are basically the main author, I would think it would be ok to just copy/paste the whole thing over, the other option is to find someone over there with the import user right and ask them to import it. Just Step Sideways from this world ..... today 23:23, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I have removed the submission request for Rafaeltrivella, I agree that there is no issue with the user copying the draft over to the Portuguese Wikipedia. Note that the references should be tweaked to convert the fields to Portuguese. Meters (talk) 23:36, 10 June 2024 (UTC)