Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 158

Seeking Reviewers
Hello. I've just written my first Wikipedia article, which is on my User pages, and I'd appreciate some feedback.

More than that, if the article meets with approval, I'd appreciate it if another editor would post it on the Encyclopedia, because it's about a friend of mine, so I have a conflict of interests. I believe it's entirely impartial, but I want to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. I'll be happy to address any doubts, criticism, etc. Jim Crutchfield, a/k/a Jdcrutch (talk) 00:28, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Congratulations on your first article Jim. If you follow the instructions at the peer review page, that should ensure you can get it reviewed (I would also explain about your conflict of interest as well). If you need any further assistance, my talk page is always open :) --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 00:35, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks! I'll do that.  Jdcrutch (talk) 00:49, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * My pleasure, and good luck with your review :) --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 00:51, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Adding timed text to an audio file
How do I add a timed text to the audio clip File:I Have A Dream sample.ogg? The timed text on TimedText:I Have A Dream sample.ogg.en.srt is

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 I have a dream

2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,000 that my four little children

3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:15,500 will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

4 00:00:15,501 --> 00:00:17,500 I have a dream today.

5 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,000 I have a dream that one day Ollieinc (talk) 06:52, 15 November 2013 (UTC)


 * This issue has been solved and the poster tried to remove the question but was reverted (I disagree with the revert). PrimeHunter (talk) 20:23, 15 November 2013 (UTC)


 * There is a space at the start of each line, remove that and it works. Ollieinc (talk) 02:37, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Is anyone here even willing to acknowledge that I asked a question at all?
I asked a question here well over 24 hours ago. I'd appreciate some sort of response. Namnagar (talk) 17:36, 15 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I posted an answer. Sorry for the delay, but we are all volunteers here.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  21:11, 15 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Sorry for being grumpy. Thanks, Cullen. Namnagar (talk) 06:56, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Article review
I'm having trouble with the Talk dealy, and I really prefer not to fight with it for another seven days. Winter is coming. Can someone please review this article and provide me with their thoughts? It's my first one, so I want to make sure that it is well-thought out and executed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Matt19811981/Progressive_Automations

Regards.

Matt19811981 (talk) 17:46, 15 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Hello, Matt. I haven't done a detailed review, but the immediate, crucial, issue is that the article hasn't a single reference. All the information in an article should be referenced to reliable sources (which should mostly be independent of the subject), but more specifically unless an article has the minimum number of references that establish that the subject is "notable" (in Wikipedia's special sense) it is likely to get deleted very quickly. Please see notability for corporations and Referencing for beginners. Once the article is referenced, I think it's not too bad, though sometimes the style is not really appropriate for an encyclopaedia. --ColinFine (talk) 10:45, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

page deleted
Reason: (A7: No explanation of significance (real person/animal/organization/web content/organized event)) my question is how to add explanation of significance? Golden-glitter (talk) 13:32, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Hello, Golden-glitter. "Significance" is used as another word for "notability", which in Wikipedia speak means that the subject has been written about by people unrelated to the subject in reliable published places (it is not the same as "famous" or "important"). Please see notability for more explanation. --ColinFine (talk) 20:54, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Article title change
How do I change the name of an article (not that significant of a change), and make sure visitors to Wikipedia can still find the article through a redirect of its old name? Transphasic (talk) 23:32, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * This page will show you how to move a page to a page with a different name. Once the page has been moved, the old page will automatically be set to redirect to the new page. --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 00:02, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

How to change/modify an article's title?
I want to italicize Explorer 1, Taroko Express, and Puyuma Express's titles because as the names of a space probe and two express train services, they should be italicized. How do I do so? Transphasic (talk) 21:36, 13 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi Transphasic! Add the code  at the top of the page. --LukeSurlt c 21:54, 13 November 2013 (UTC)
 * LukeSurl Thank you! Transphasic (talk) 22:06, 13 November 2013 (UTC)


 * in the edit section after log in, in coding template there at the top article title will be there. may it will be useful.Ayushyogi (talk) 06:02, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Talk pages on articles - should discussions be removed once a decision is made?
Recently had a discussion on the "Mats Lidstrom" WIKI page. On the Talk page for that entry some comments and discussion took place b about new content I had added.

Now that a decision has been made to keep that page should those comments be kept or would it be more approriate to remove them since they no longer seem relevant? JCarolHaynes (talk) 23:34, 15 November 2013 (UTC)


 * It should be kept. That way, if a similar situation occurs in the future, the old discussion can be referred to when coming to a decision. -Skamecrazy123 (talk) 00:05, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks - appreciated. There was a related 'should we delete this' page and discussion which included all the same stuff - should it be kept in both places or would it be better to clear the article talk page? JCarolHaynes (talk) 00:30, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Again, keep it. I don't believe it's breaking any guidelines by being there as well. --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 00:42, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

OK will do JCarolHaynes (talk) 00:43, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * If a talk page grows long and unwieldy,, it can be archived. This keeps current discussions readily visible, and preserves older discussions for historical reference. Please see WP:ARCHIVE for information and instructions. Removing talk page discussions without good reason, such as copyright violations or personal attacks, is discouraged.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  06:40, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks - I will leave it alone. JCarolHaynes (talk) 12:01, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

How to discuss a proposed new artice
I want to write a fresh article on TRIREMES. I have already made a few edits to the existing article,and they have survived so far, but now I want to propose something more radical. How can I get in touch with the author and/or editor of the existing Trireme article? Alec Tilley (talk) 15:45, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * You mean trireme, the ship? Please discuss it in the WikiProject Military history discussion page. There are many naval history specialists there. The Yeti 15:50, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Hello, Alec. While The Yeti's advice is good in this case, the general answer is that that is what the article's talk page Talk:trireme is for. Note that "the author and/or editor" is not usually meaningful: hundreds of people may have worked on an article, and nobody is its "owner" or "moderator". If you pick the "history" tab, you can see who has edited it and when. --ColinFine (talk) 20:57, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * BTW, I went through trireme and it seems to be a good article with proper references and citations of sources. If you want to write something really radical about an ancient ship, it may fall under original research. The Yeti 12:12, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

How do I change the subject/title title of a draft-stage article?
How do I change the subject/title title of a draft-stage article?Grid1312 (talk) 14:46, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * We call the process of re-naming here "moving". Drafts can be moved just like any other page. See MOVE. Make sure to keep  at the front of the new title to make sure it stays as a draft. --LukeSurlt c 15:10, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

What to do when there's an article on a topic already, but only in another language.
Hi, I've only ever done some minor editing. I was about to take a stab at my first article, when I discovered that the historical figure already has an article posted. However, the article is in German and is on the de.wikipedia.org page; there is no article in English. I'm not sure whether it's appropriate to write a second article, just in another language, and if I do so, whether the two pages should be somehow linked to each other. If writing an English article isn't appropriate, I'm not sure what should be done. Any help or advice would be appreciated! CvilleDan (talk) 15:17, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi CvilleDan. Absolutely! Please do write an article on this individual here on the English Wikipedia. Make sure to cite all the sources that the German page cites, and if you can track down and cite any extra ones in English that would be a bonus. The information at Your first article may be useful to you. As for linking the two articles, we do this through wikidata, you can find information on this at WP:Interwiki links. There's also some more information that might be helpful at Translation. Cheers, --LukeSurlt c 15:32, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

National Flags
How can i place the small flags next to eg. An athlete's, politician's or celebrity's name or birthplace?

VAJJDS (talk) 23:37, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Welcome VAJJDS. I have had a look at several athletes/politicians/celeb pages and I couldn't find these mini flags you speak of. Could you find me a page with one on so I can help you out? --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 23:59, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * @VAJJDS:  Hey VAJJDS. Flags like this are usually used in infoboxes and similar templates and not generally in the body of an article. There are different ways to place them but fairly commonly it is done through the flagicon template. See WikiProject Flag Template for lots more information.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:52, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * But they should not normally be used in infoboxes as MOS:ICON states "flag icons should not be used in infoboxes, even when there is a "country", "nationality" or equivalent field" - Arjayay (talk) 18:04, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Blue Link
I have edited a Bio and have listed a graphic novel title. How do I make it a "blue link"?Roc N Rose (talk) 19:00, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hello and welcome to the Teahouse. I am assuming that Wikipedia has an article about the graphic novel. If so, you add double square brackets before and after the title, like this:


 * Graphic novel title


 * Put the exact Wikipedia article title inside the double square brackets. That's all it takes.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  19:06, 17 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Blue links indicate that the page being linked to exists, so if you are seeing a red link that means either the page doesn't exist or you haven't linked to it quite properly. Having checked your edit, it seems that you didn't wikilink to the article; to wikilink add double square brackets around the word like so: Michael Easton . The page for Credence doesn't appear to exist, however, so it's best not to wikilink for now. Hope this helps! Samwalton9 (talk) 19:06, 17 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Hi Roc N Rose. wikilinks are created by putting double square brackets around a word. For example  produces a link to the cheese article.
 * You can also create a link that says one thing, but links to another. We call this a piped link. To do this, open your square brackets, write the name of the target article, write a "pipe" character "|" (I get this by pressing shift and the "\" key, but your keyboard may be different), then the words you want to appear. For example  produces gone-off milk.
 * You can do both of these things easily with the menubar when you edit. If you highlight the word you want to make into a link, then click the "link" button (it looks like a chain), you get a nice pop-up window to help you.
 * Now, in the case of Michael Easton, we do not currently have an article for his 2031 novel Credence. That's normal, as most individual books aren't the subject of specific articles. So in this case I would advise you not to create a link. (n.b. If you create a link to an article that does not currently exist, it will be a red link.)
 * Hope that helps! --LukeSurlt c 19:16, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hope that helps! --LukeSurlt c 19:16, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

how to delete video content that does not meet copyright?
how to delete video content that does not meet copyright?

Freeryde007 (talk) 03:54, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Welcome to the Teahouse, . Please read our Policy on copyright violations, which includes specific instructions on how to tag and report suspected violations. This is a very important matter with significant legal implications, so thank you for dealing with it.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  04:29, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * @Freeryde007:  (e/c) Hey Freeryde007. I could likely give more tailored advice if you specified what file this is about but, if the file is local (i.e., not hosted at the Wikimedia Commons), there are essentially three overarching things you can do to seek deletion. First, there is speedy deletion. See Criteria for speedy deletion. Note that each criterion has listed below it the template(s) one uses to nominate a page for speedy deletion under that criterion. If the file is a blatant copyright violation, you can go directly to CSD F9, do not pass go.  Second, for when you think the file might or not be okay and want help in ascertaining the file's source and/or copyright status, you can list the article at Possibly unfree files (but you might also ask about it first at Media copyright questions). Third, and I'm only listing for completeness because it's not geared toward copyright issues, though they do arise there, is Files for deletion. Hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 04:37, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Cullen328 and Fuhghettaboutit, many thanks! Our video vendor who converted video from mp4 to ogv for future upload forgot to take the 'test' file down.  So, when we uploaded same name, his file appeared as same or 'another file.'  So, this version is not authorized and needs to be deleted.  I sent him an email, and 'talk' message, but no response yet. So, I just want to tag it for deletion.

File:Intrasellar_Craniopharyngioma.ogv

Thanks again Freeryde007 (talk) 04:59, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * @Freeryde007:  Hey again. I have turned the file posted above into a link since, especially with a claimed copyright issue, the file should not be displayed. So, it is a Commons file. As I indicated above that is entirely different than if it was a local file. I see you have figured out how to nominate it at Commons:Deletion requests, though that was not necessary. Since you are the uploader, you could have asked for speedy deletion under section G7 of the Commons speedy deletion criterion (among others). You still can actually. You would edit the file page and add at the top , maybe using something like:  Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 13:38, 16 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I'm afraid that speedy deletion upon request of the author is only possible within 7 days of uploading. Afterwards a regular DR is required. The Yeti 14:02, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Ah, thanks for the info. But it meets F1, which has no such time component, yes?.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:14, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * It is not an obvious copyvio, it is quite possible that the uploader owns the copyright. So it is up to the admins on Commons to decide. The Yeti 14:29, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Dealing with years of deletion here, I can tell you that you rarely get more certitude than when the creator of content themselves admits text they added is a copyvio. That may not be quite as apt for files but I am betting many admins at Commons would not hesitate to delete a file under F1 when the uploader themselves asserts it's a copyvio, as is the case here. Anyway, the deletion request remains in the file if speedy is not an option. It's just that with copyvios we try to remove them of them as fast as possible.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 14:59, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Uploader is 'my guy' for video. Solid guy - just forgot to take it down after converting files to ogv and 'testing' w/ this upload.  He emailed me and he is also making efforts to get it down.  Appreciate the clarity w/ the wikipedia process.  Rgds Freeryde007 (talk) 19:43, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Not sure of proceedure for joining Wiki Projects
I have a new article Frank Richardson(policeman). I have received a Wikipedia note that it is suitable for 1. WikiProject Biography and 2. Law Enforcement Project. Both require me to join, which seems a good idea to me, but I am confused by all the text involved in the two pages of project details. (ie how to join) I must be having a bad day. Can you help me join the two projects in the simplest way possible? Is it done by adding the four tildes to the members list? TimothyWF (talk) 20:36, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Welcome to the Teahouse, . The article has been listed under those two Wikiprojects, and a third as well. You are not required to join, but rather you and any other interested editor are invited to join. It is optional. The Wikiproject listings on the talk page of the article you wrote, have blue links for joining. Usually, this involves adding your name to the end of the appropriate member list, normally by adding # plus four tildes. You can also add a note about your interests.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  21:49, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Sandbox query
I had an article in a subpage which was put up within hours yesterday. As I wanted to work on the next one in quiet I did so in the sandbox only to be told that it might take weeks or even months to be reviewed when submitted. Is the message here: Don't use your sandbox for new articles?Julius Eugen (talk) 18:57, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi Julius. You can easily create an additional sandbox at User:Julius Eugen/sandbox2. You can also create a new draft in the Articles for Creation zone, for example at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/The_name_of_your_new_draft_article. I agree that it's messy. Luckily, wheels are turning to create a new Draft zone for article submission.
 * It's great that you're keen to create new articles, but its only one of the many ways you can contribute to Wikipedia. There are over 4 million articles that currently exist, and you can edit and improve any one of them.
 * Hope that helps! --LukeSurlt c 19:05, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your comments. The sandbox item I submitted is a translation of a German article, so it should not present serious reviewing problems, but never mind. In the German Wikipedia when you work on an article you just paste in a code that says "Building site" and delete it once you have finished. Not a bad idea. I have my eyes on a few stubs as regards editing. Cheers.Julius Eugen (talk) 19:38, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The English wikipedia has similar templates, including the New Page template, which is only meant to be used for a freshly created article that you plan on editing in a "single" session (as in, without logging off and continuing hours or days later); the In creation template, for prematurely created articles (such as creating an article with all of one sentence, no refs, no infobox, etc.) that are planned to be brought up to scratch through multiple succesive edits within the next minutes to hours; the In use template for current, actively happening major editing (as in, edit is being worked on right now) to an already existing article, and the Under construction template, for massive restructuring or expanding which might take place over a few hours. AddWittyNameHere (talk) 23:05, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia editor
What program do you use to edit wikipedia articles easily? For example LYX can be used to easily make LATEX documents.

Is there a program with a simple interface that I can use to copy paste a wiki article?

Thanks Hshekhani (talk) 21:50, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hey Hshekhani, welcome. Wikipedia has a WYSIWYG editor called VisualEditor that you can use to edit. To activate it click the "Preferences" link at the top right of your page, and then go to the "Editing" tab at the top. Scroll to the bottom and you will see a checkbox to enable VisualEditor. Hope this helps! I am confused by your last question, "Is there a program with a simple interface that I can use to copy paste a wiki article?". Can you rephrase that for me? Thanks, Ross Hill  ( talk ) 22:01, 17 Nov 2013 (UTC)


 * Hi, thank you for you answer. You understood my question correctly.

Hshekhani (talk) 02:13, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

does this article no longer need "issue warnings"?
I recently edited this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional-managerial_class

I'm wondering if it still needs the "warning" signs saying that it is vague, needs references, etc?

Edit: I may revise it more, but I'm still wondering what process has to happen to decide whether a page that previously had "warning signs" can be decided to no longer have the "warning signs".

RickyDix (talk) 00:11, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Hi and welcome to the Teahouse. When you feel you have addressed the issues noted by a maintenance tag (the banners across the top of the page that you were referencing), you are welcome to remove it, as you did. If another editor disagrees and still feels a need for them to be there, that is when you can engage in a discussion of their concerns. Thank you for bringing this up, and happy editing!  Go  Phightins  !  03:16, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * ThanksRickyDix (talk) 03:24, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * , the first reference in the article, which is the most important, is badly scrambled. It would be great if you could fix it.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  07:11, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * thanks for pointing that outRickyDix (talk) 07:27, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

should the plot summary in this article be changed?
article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Little_Rich_Girl:_The_Barbara_Hutton_Story

I did some edits to this page, and it seems like the plot summary is only for part 1 of the movie/miniseries. Should the current plot summary just be replaced? It is the most detailed summary I could find, but it appears to be written by someone just recalling what they saw, and probably is not a full summary of the entire film.RickyDix (talk) 05:32, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Welcome to the Teahouse, . Please read How to write a plot summary, and feel free to improve the article accordingly. People do write plot summaries based on viewing or reading the work in question, although reading reviews and material describing the work can also be helpful.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  06:29, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I attempted to make a new synopsis that gives a full summary of the film and keeps the detail of the old summaryRickyDix (talk) 08:07, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Why My Page titled " Shahid Jamil Ahmad Writer & Poet from Punjab, Pakistan" not being considered for wikipedia.
I have created my page titled " Shahid Jamil Ahmad Writer & Poet from Punjab, Pakistan. He has written/published 8-literary books including 4 of Urdu short stories and his Urdu short stories are continuously being published in leading Urdu magazines, then why his profile not being added in Wikipedia?Muhammad Shaban 08:12, 18 November 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Muhammad Shaban shahid (talk • contribs)


 * Hello Muhammad, welcome to the Teahouse! Your article submission Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Shahid Jamil Ahmad,Writer&Poet from Punjab,Pakistan. is waiting to be reviewed. There are over two thousand other article submissions also waiting to be reviewed, so it could take several weeks for a reviewer to get to it.


 * You should have a look at existing Wikipedia Good Articles about writers at Good articles/Language and literature to get an idea of what sort of references your submission will need to be accepted, and how to format your submission. Arthur goes shopping (talk) 09:42, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

I want to Tidy up my Talk Page
What can i delete on my talk page that I wont get in trouble with wikipedia for. Or is there another way? Here 2 HelpWiki 3-to-talk  14:43, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * You can delete anything you like (things are stored in the history anyway), however the approach of archiving that I see you've done is usually preferable. You can have multiple archives for different date ranges for extra tidiness, you can see how I've divided mine up at User_talk:LukeSurl. --LukeSurlt c 15:22, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * As a guideline, try not to archive/delete any discussions that are currently ongoing with another editor. --LukeSurlt c 15:24, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Straightening up a Column
I have begun a tedious task but think it will be helpful to researchers, and I want to do a good job on this subject, The Harvard Monthly. I've begun adding the indexes to this journal and am not quite halfway through the first volume of the first year... there are about thirty years to go. The indexes are valuable in research because the reprints available for sale (this is something out of copyright) don't have indexes, and anyone wishing to locate the college work of, say, ee cummings, could look at this Wikipedia entry and discover where it might be found. Plus, it might knock someone's socks off to see who wrote for this journal, once everyone is listed.

So, here is my question: Take a peek at the entry for The Harvard Monthly, way down at the bottom where I have begun this task, and tell me how I might make that right-hand column prettier. I'm cleverly using the "poetry" device, but there may be something that straightens-up that raggedy right-side.

Thanks for all your help. Kathrynklos (talk) 05:12, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hello, . Please be aware that Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. Adding 32 years of index information to the article would make it extremely long and unwieldy. I suggest that you limit yourself to mentioning works by notable people such as e.e. cummings, not every article the magazine ever published.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  06:48, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Whist I do agree with Cullen's comment - listing journal indexes really isn't something that falls within Wikipedia's remit - if you choose to mention notable articles/authors in a list like this then I would suggest either a basic bulleted list or a simple table, either of which would be in keeping with Wikipedia's usual formatting. Yunshui 雲 &zwj; 水  08:18, 18 November 2013 (UTC)



I guess my main question is "how do I make this better than it is?" I already mentioned the famous folks who contributed to this journal. I spent 10 hours a day for a couple weeks working on this article, pulling together everything I could possibly find without actually traveling to Harvard and getting into the libraries there. And the article was assigned the B-level, indicating there was more work to be done. So I thought, "do they want the entire contents of each issue?" Didn't think so. But I know from the work I've done on other projects, hunting-down the poetry of certain people in these old journals, that unless you have the index, you can be SOL-- or in need of a ticket to Boston and a library card at Harvard. So I thought perhaps an index was what was needed. I don't want to presume who someone else might consider significant, and I listed as many names of people who are already in the Wikipedia as I could discover without a trip to Harvard (the only place that has all the issues of every year, I am thinking. They are all scanned and for sale on Amazon, but without indexes.)

My other thought would be to list the editors for each year... at least, that would pare-down the total volume of the article... and save me a boatload of time.

How else could this article be made "better"?

Sorry if I am a pest. Kathrynklos (talk) 15:15, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Please check out what I've changed on The Harvard Monthly. I do like it much better, simply listing the staffs for each year. Will take me a while to dig up the other years because I only have vol. I-II in my possession. I will link names to Wikipedia biographies where possible.

Other than continuing with this, what else might I do (I also like putting images in empty areas and will continue doing that).Kathrynklos (talk) 15:35, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

about the "reverting" rule and reaching consensus to edit an article
Hello. I am a beginner in editing Wikipedia and I am quite confused about editing the articles. During my first three days in Wikipedia, I have tried to read the editing rules and policies. However I still cannot understand the rules about creating a consensus and reverting rule. For instance, I would like to make some changes on a specific article. I have already left my messages on the talk page (as it is recommended, to reach a consensus). However; how long should I wait someone to take action on my message. If nobody responds and I make the changes that I would like to do, what would happen? Moreover, does changing the position of an image in an article count on the WP:3RR?--Sari9th (talk) 17:57, 13 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The BOLD, revert, discuss cycle is relevant here. Basically, just do it. If your edit gets reverted, start talking. If you start reverting reversions on any edit (apart from obvious vandalism), that's when the WP:3RR counter starts ticking. However, no-one seems to be reverting any of your edits to Gdańsk University of Technology, so you're probably doing a great job. Keep at it! :) --LukeSurlt c 13:50, 14 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Please note that the "BOLD, revert, discuss cycle" should lead to discussion after the first revert, not, as happens far too often, after a second "BOLD" - Arjayay (talk) 15:44, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

WYSIWYG math
Is there are program/method where I can incorporate math equations with a WYSIWYG interface? Hshekhani (talk) 02:14, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Probably not I'm afraid. LaTeX is quite a complicated beast and it is not designed to work in a WYSIWYG way. --LukeSurlt c 12:15, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * There is no WYSIWG equation editor for Wikipedia articles, but LaTeX is quite easy to learn. Most of what you need to do can be accomplished with "^" (superscript), "_" (subscript), "{...}" (apply preceeding format to everything inside brackets) and a small number of commands such as "\frac", "\sqrt", "\sum" and "\int". Anything more complicated can be looked up at Help:Displaying a formula. That Help page also has plenty of examples, or you can just go into edit mode on any Wikipedia page to see how its equations are written in LaTex. Gandalf61 (talk) 13:38, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I understand. Actually you can use LYX and then copy paste your equations into wikipedia. I was just looking for a more integrated solution. Cool

Hshekhani (talk) 16:39, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

creating an article page
i am having difficulty actually creating my desired page. how do you begin to build your page?Evanross95.er (talk) 17:07, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Welcome to the Teahouse. A good starting point is WP:1st, but I've added a number of user useful links onto your user talk page. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:16, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

How to cite personal knowledge of fact?
I've got a problem - I've written a biography of my mother, Mabel R. Hokin, who was a biochemist who made some important discoveries. It just got promoted from AfC to the main encyclopedia (surprisingly, because it was reviewed critically for having too personal a style and not citing enough sources, legit complaints). The problem is that a bunch of things I write in the article are simply known as fact to me and my family and anyone that knew my mother, but they are not published. For example, the fact that she was blacklisted from entry into the US from 1951 to 1957 due to socialist activity as a student in the UK. That is, naturally, undocumented, but is a very interesting (and scientifically important) fact known to many people including all of her colleagues. In a journal article I can cite "Sam Hokin:personal communication" in instances where you get information directly from a colleague or expert. I gather that's not allowed in Wikipedia. Or is it? Is there a way I can replace [citation needed] with something that explains that it's a "known fact" to the author? Sammyjava (talk) 14:57, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * No. Such practice is known as Original Research and is explicitly forbidden by the rules we have developed here. Please remove from the article all statements that cannot be supported by published sources. --LukeSurlt c 15:02, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Hi Sammyjava. I'm afraid that you're absolutely correct - personal communications aren't acceptable as a source on Wikipedia. The basic requirement here is that all of Wikipedia's content be verifiable, meaning that readers can (in theory at least) check the sources themselves. Obviously, a conversation that you've had is by its very nature unverifiable, unless it was recorded in some way - and even then, we would require that it had been reliably published as well. I'm sorry, but you cannot use personal recollection as a source here. Yunshui 雲 &zwj; 水  15:03, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Understood. It's a pity, since the non-verifiable (but true) stuff is of more general interest. That's the stuff a lot of people would be interested in (e.g. McCarthy Era blacklisting) rather than the specific biochemistry discoveries. But I'll remove the non-verifiable statements.

Sammyjava (talk) 15:10, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Perhaps you are underestimating what may be available. Your references do not have to be available online.  There are numerous books available on the McCarthy era.  There are also primary sources available (Congressional Record), which while not the best sources, are sources.  Also, you could attempt to get a newspaper to interview you and do an article on what you know.  That would then be a verifiable secondary source.  I don't know what size community you live in, but many newspapers are hungry for feature type sources. John from Idegon (talk) 17:24, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Submission declined, don't see why.
Hi, my submission about British choreographer Douglas Lee has been declined due to lack of evidence of notability. I added various citations by independent sources and there already is a German Wikipedia page about him. Thanks for your help! Benni Berlin (talk) 13:24, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Welcome Benni. Did you have a look at the notability guidelines for people that was linked at the top of your submission? --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 13:30, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your note. I have read the guidelines and find the basic and many of the additional criteria fulfilled. Douglas Lee's work has been contracted by the most important ballet theatres in the world, he has been critiqued in international press, he has been awarded by elite ballet organizations and his work is in the permanent repertoire of various ballet companies. I don't know what else to add.

Benni Berlin (talk) 13:48, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Your best bet at the moment then is to leave a message with the editor who reviewed it and find out why they declined your submission. You can then work with them to sort the issue or issues out. --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 13:54, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Hello. The submission Douglas Lee (choreographer) has been accepted and moved to the mainspace of the encyclopedia. --15:38, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Great, thanks a lot!

Benni Berlin (talk) 17:53, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Where can i go to see all templates.
Where can i find templates such as a clock whether a user is online or not, ect. Here 2 HelpWiki 3-to-talk  15:56, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The not very accurate clock I use for my local time (shown below) is  (replace GMT with your timezone). One's online status is not public, and I don't believe the website software actually records when you're online, only the instants when you commit an edit (Facebook and Google may track your every move, but Wikipedia is much more mindful of your privacy). For a gallery of Userboxes you can add to your Userpage, see Userboxes.  --LukeSurlt c 16:18, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I see many people that on their web page, have something that says something like this user is online, busy, offline, ect. How do they do this? Here 2 HelpWiki 3-to-talk   —Preceding undated comment added 17:05, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * A couple of answers from the past: Help desk/Archives/2008 April 28 and Help desk/Archives/2006 November 27. With a Wikipedia search you can find more. - David Biddulph (talk) 17:13, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thank You! I appreciate your help! Here 2 HelpWiki  3-to-talk   —Preceding undated comment added 18:08, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Your heading mentioned "all templates". There are tens or hundreds of thousands of templates so a complete list is not practical but Special:AllPages/Template: is the closest we have. It's complicated by subtemplates and some pages used as templates being in userspace and not template space. You can click edit on a page to see how it did something. Special:Search has an "Advanced" link where you can choose to only search template and/or userspace. The subcategories of Category:Wikipedia templates has many but far from all templates. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:41, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Complete color User pages
I see that many people have User pages that have a background color. Please tell me how to do this. Here 2 HelpWiki 3-to-talk  18:33, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I see you have already added  to your user page after posting here. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:44, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, Sorry. After Posting I did some more search and found an example, which I copied and changed the color. Here 2 HelpWiki  3-to-talk   —Preceding undated comment added 18:52, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Importing user created HTML documents
Hi,

I have created a web page that has a folder that includes images, js, etc. Is there a way to upload the web page with the folder of data from my HD to the Wiki page?

Thanks, Brian Lisbri01 (talk) 18:17, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Welcome to the teahouse Brian. It sounds as if you want to take HTML and somehow integrate that with a Wikipedia article. No, that can't be done, sorry. Wikipedia uses it's own markup language which is described here: wp:markup. It is similar to HTML but not the same and you can't paste or otherwise include HTML content in a Wikipedia article. It's a requirement for any Wikipedia article that it be formatted using the wikipedia markup language not HTML. If you have a page that meets the standard for an wp:external link you can include HTML pages on other sites as external links in an article but any direct link within the article has to go to another Wikipedia article formatted using Wiki markup. RedDog (talk) 18:39, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * One more thing you might find useful, here is a discussion of how to use HTML tags within Wiki markup: Help:HTML_in_wikitext RedDog (talk) 18:54, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks RedDog. I didn't think it was possible, but it never hurts to ask. The worst they can do for asking is to laugh in your face. :-)

Brian Lisbri01 (talk) 19:11, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Those Things
What are the things people put on articles that need attention? Also, how do you make one? Here 2 HelpWiki 3-to-talk  20:39, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * They are Tags. You may put them in {{template brackets where they are needed, but I suggest reading the relevant policies such as WP:NPP first, where tags are often added. Thanks, Mat  ty  .  007  20:44, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Is it possible to create one? Here 2 HelpWiki 3-to-talk  20:53, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * That would need discussion, probably at the Village Pump or someplace similar. Thanks, Mat  ty  .  007  20:55, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Ok, Thanks for your help! Here {{sub|2}} HelpWiki {{sub|3-to-talk}}   —Preceding undated comment added 20:56, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

How do you delete an account?
I would like to make another one, but I know that Wikipedia does not want people to have more than one account.Lloyd Burgundy (talk) 15:56, 15 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Welcome back to the Teahouse. Accounts can't be deleted for legal reasons, but there are a few other options that you might be interested in. You could request renaming of your current account here. However, since you only have a few edits I think your best option would be to simply abandon your current account (and never use it again; using two accounts at the same time usually is forbidden) and create a new one. This has the added benefit of distancing yourself from any personal information you've revealed. --Jakob (Scream about the things I've broken) 16:02, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

Ok, thank you Jakob(scream about the things I've broken)! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lloyd Burgundy (talk • contribs) 16:06, 15 November 2013‎ (UTC)
 * User:Lloyd Burgundy is a sockpuppet of User:Here2HelpWiki Theroadislong (talk) 19:29, 15 November 2013 (UTC)
 * If we have a sockpuppet, why have both accounts not been blocked? - Arjayay (talk) 21:15, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Multiple accounts are only blocked if they are used abusively or in violation of policy. (I haven't looked into the accusation made here; if there's no assertion of misuse of the accounts it doesn't matter, and in any event this isn't the right forum for it.) Newyorkbrad (talk) 21:29, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Article meant for supplementation of existing article, not in correct form
I added text to my account home page on the subject of "Satellite DNA." Upon review, it was determined that it was not in encyclopedic format for Wikipedia. I can edit the article for the appropriate format, but I would like to add to the existing article on "Satellite DNA" rather than create a new subject page.

How do I add content to an existing article?

Thanks

Richard.F.Fowler

Richard.F.Fowler (talk) 22:21, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi, Richard, and welcome to The Teahouse. The best way is to be bold. You can edit the entire page by clicking on "Edit" at the top of the article, or edit a section by clicking on "Edit" in any section. If you have reliable sources and a neutral point of view you should be fine, but be aware you could be reverted and would need to discuss the change. Good luck.— Vchimpanzee  ·  talk  ·  contributions  · 22:31, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Remove part of citation
I want to remove part of citation 7 on the LANDFIRE page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LANDFIRE

Citation is: Cushman, Samuel; Carol Miller, Donald Falk (2011). McKenzie, Miller, Falk (eds), ed. The Landscape Ecology of Fire. Springer Netherlands. pp. 223–245. ISBN 978-94-007-0301-8.

I want to remove the ISBN number (it goes nowhere). I already attempted to remove what followed the ISBN information, which may be what the message is referring to, and which could be why I get the message: "Unknown parameter |= ignored."

When I click on help, I read what the problem is, but there isn't a solution to just remove everything from the ISBN to the end. How can I do that? 173.160.41.145 (talk) 21:32, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Welcome to the Teahouse. Why do you say that the ISBN goes nowhere; the link goes to Special:BookSources/9789400703018, which gives links to let you find the book from a choice of sources. The error you are getting is from where you have said  ;  it isn't clear which parameter of the cite web template this was intended to be. - David Biddulph (talk) 22:21, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Going back several versions I see that the parameter name now missing was, so I've put that back in. It gives a redlink, so someone may wish to check further as to where it was trying to link to. - David Biddulph (talk) 22:36, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Why Can I not create a certain link?
I was trying to create a link to another Wikipedia page, but once done, it does not show up. Here 2 HelpWiki 3-to-talk  20:03, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Which code did you try to use? If it works when you post it here then where did you try to use it when it didn't work? PrimeHunter (talk) 20:17, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Make sure that you have square brackets either side of the page you want to link to, and that you aren't trying to link in between a, and it's not in a tag. Thanks,  Mat  ty  .  007  20:19, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Thank You! Here 2 HelpWiki 3-to-talk  20:22, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * This has happened to me before as well. The Wiki software can be picky on issues such as capitalization. One way to be certain is to use the Widget that looks like links in a chain. Instead of adding the brackets yourself select the text you think is a link, highlight it, then click the link icon. You will get a pop up window that says "link found" or "link not found" and also you will see a list of links that are close to the spelling of the word or phrase you highlighted and you can tweak either the actual name of the article or the words used to present it in the text using that window. RedDog (talk) 00:33, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

auto confirmed user
Is there any way around the auto-confirmed user block on certain pages? Can a first-time contributor not participate without the 10 previous posts? This post is part of a course assignment that students have been working on all term, and I am eager for them to share it! Natjolly (talk) 22:38, 18 November 2013 (UTC)natjollyNatjolly (talk) 22:38, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Well, there's no way around it, no. The whole point of semi protection is to prevent newer users from editing the page, usually after the page had a streak of vandalism by new accounts.  You can request that the protection on the article be lifted, however.  Howicus (Did I mess up?) 00:07, 19 November 2013 (UTC)


 * A user can request confirmation at Requests for permissions/Confirmed before being autoconfirmed, but a reason is required. In [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:JMathewson_%28WMF%29&diff=prev&oldid=582278817] you referred to a specific user but Special:Contributions/Smellendorf shows that user is autoconfirmed, i.e. has at least 10 edits and an account at least 4 days old. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:54, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

Need Help - Few Anti-Social Elements Keep Modifying A Page & Add Irrelevant Material
Hello,

I'd like to know how to protect the contents of the page which is keep modified by anti-social elements, it's clearly noticeable that all the edits which they make, appear to constitute vandalism to a reputed person of our society.

Let me tell you in brief, I've been contributing and writing a matter for a page and for some reasons I couldn't spare time to contribute in last few months and few anti-social activists, spammers etc... whose purpose is just to write irrelevants matters, they deleted all the matter which I wrote and started writing issues which has no concern with that person, is it acceptable?

Yesterday, I spent couple of hours to read the whole matter which was written by them and went through all the references which were posted on that page and found all of them were irrelevant and straight forwardly shows someone wants to defame the person who belongs to that page. I found all the edits were unconstructive to Wikipedia, I reverted them to original page content and today again I found someone changed the whole page matter.

Now in this scenario what should I do, does that mean if I contribute my time, energy, efforts in good way and add value to Wikipedia and then someone or few spammers or people who are against of that person would create few accounts on wikipedia and delete all the matter of a page and write whatever they want to write. Let me also tell you as far as references are concerned someone can write a fake blog post and link to it as a reference to defame a famous person, in this case what's the solution? Regards Devoutly (talk) 04:14, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi Devoutly. You need to go to the article's talk page and calmly discuss the edits you think should appear in the article; why the edits you removed do not belong; why the sources you wish to use are reliable; why the sources others have placed are not or are undue weight or are improperly point of view and so on. You need to stop calling people who disagree with you anti-social spammers, and comment on the content rather than the people. Note that if the people appeared to be actual spammers, vandals, etc. or clearly so I would be telling you this. Simply put, they do not, and you are involved in a content dispute. Whether you are right, whether you are wrong, whether there is no right and wrong and a compromise consensus can and should be reached, you are very likely to fail to get what you seek if you start the discussion with name calling rather than calm, respectful discussion of content; it poisons the well and makes people not bother to listen to what you have to say. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 05:12, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Welcome to the Teahouse, . The article in question is about Asaram Bapu, a controversial Hindu preacher in India. Please do not call people with different opinions than yours "anti-social elements" as this could well be considered a personal attack. One of our core principles on Wikipedia is to assume good faith of other editors, unless you have proof that they are not here to build the encyclopedia. Vandalism has a very specific meaning here, and these edits don't qualify. The article must accurately summarize what the full range of reliable sources say about this person, and you must be prepared to accept that if you plan to keep contributing to Wikipedia.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  07:01, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks for answering Let's discuss it  let me tell you, neither I'm in the favor of Asaram Bapu nor against of but I do say or write based on true facts so please stop calling him a controversial Hindu preacher in India unless you know anything about him, if you understand Hindi language then I invite and welcome you to show couple of facts which clearly shows he is an innocent person and devoted his life for the well-being of poor people. I always support the truth, if anyone is trouble and he or she is honest & innocent then I'm there to help them. I really surprise people who are from India they know all the facts but even then if someone says him controversial person then either the person is involved in controversy which is running by paid media in India to defame him because he so popular among common people because of his good work or the other reason is, the person knows nothing about Asaram Bapu. I still do respect everybody's opinion but they must understand they have no rights to abuse or allege anybody. The law is meant to allege if someone has done anything wrong so till the time nothing is proved, no one has any rights to spoil someone's reputation by allege him/her with fake accuses. If someones abuse us or alleges us with fake allegations then we do understand what vandalism but not when it is done to others, I understand. It happens actually in all countries, the people who do good work is often has to bare criticism and bottom line is truth always wins.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Devoutly (talk • contribs) 08:50, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia summarizes what reliable sources say about a topic, in the belief that doing so will result in an article that best approximates the "truth" about a topic, . There is consensus here that many of the major English language newspapers of India are reliable sources for current events in India. I do not speak Hindi but I do speak English and my reading of English language newspapers in India make it crystal clear to me that the use of the word "controversial" with regards to this person is proper and correct. Only the courts can decide who is innocent or guilty, but we can report that a person has been legally accused, if and only if that is widely and extensively reported in reliable sources. Wikipedia is not a place to right great wrongs, or to campaign for justice, as you see it. If the subject of the article is exonerated, then that will be added to the biography promptly.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  07:35, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

Duplicate articles
Hi, I've just moved Wetti, Monk of Reichenau (a newly-created article) to Wetti of Reichenau. There are two problems, though: 1) Unlike the old title, "Wetti of Reichenau" doesn't autocomplete when typing it out in the searchbox. 2) As we already have Wettinus Augiensis, I think a merger should be made, but don't know how to do it without losing the article history. Cheers,

PS, No need for a message on my talk, I'll be keeping an eye here. Coco Lacoste  (talk)  22:57, 18 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Welcome to the Teahouse. It can take a day or so for the search database to update, so hopefully by this time tomorrow the autocomplete should work. As far as Wettinus Augiensis is concerned, it is an unsourced stub, so it doesn't look as if there is any significant history to be merged. I would have thought that you could convert Wettinus Augiensis to a redirect to Wetti of Reichenau, though it may make sense to suggest that first at Talk:Wettinus Augiensis (in case anyone is still showing any interest there) to make sure that there is no disagreement on the appropriate name for the article. What little history there is of Wettinus Augiensis would of course still be preserved. - David Biddulph (talk) 23:09, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks, David. I'll redirect the page (per WP:COMMONNAME). Daft question, but just to make sure: the history will be preserved on the redirect page, right? -- Coco Lacoste  (talk)  23:25, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * No daft questions here... and yes, the redirect page will preserve the full page history. Yunshui 雲 &zwj; 水  11:13, 19 November 2013 (UTC)