Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 September 22

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September 22

Image Size Question

Please, what is the appropriate image size for the photo of Catherine Deneuve in Catherine Deneuve? I reduced the size because I think the image is not especially "high res". Other editors have increased it.

Thanks, Wanderer57 (talk) 02:00, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't really matter. It is scaled on the server side, so the users only download a properly sized image. -- kainaw™ 02:03, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. Just to be clear -- you seem to be saying that whether the code reads:

image_size = 250px OR

image_size = 150px OR

image_size = 200px does not affect what the reader sees?

Wanderer57 (talk) 02:26, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

That is completely different than the actual image size. That is the size that the server will scale it to for the viewer. The current size (200px) is fine. If the viewer wants to see a higher resolution, just click on it. I thought you were asking about the image size of the actual uploaded image. -- kainaw™ 16:40, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Side lobes

A user (Mr. PIM) has eliminated link from the Side lobes article to the related section in the German article on antenna radiation pattern (de:Antennendiagramm#Nebenkeulen). He think that there has to be a direct relation between articles between languages and that one should not link an article to a section of one in another language if there is not a directly corresponding article in this language. I personally think that if a link is possible it should be done and if an article in that language is done later, the link should be changed. Could anyone let Mr. PIM and me what is the rules concerning this matter.

Pierre cb (talk) 02:15, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Do not make interlanguage links to sections. See Help:Interlanguage links#Bots and links to and from a section. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:08, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Note: This reply refers to the type of links that end up in the languages box. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:13, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Linking to the Latin Wikisource?

I know that {{wikisource}} exists for linking to s:, but what if we want to link to it in another language (e.g. s:la:)? I think that would be useful for some articles where the material they are discussing (e.g. Magna Carta) is originally in Latin. The aforementioned article already has a link to the English Wikisource and hence an English translation, but maybe a link to s:la:Magna Carta would also be useful? It Is Me Here (talk) 06:25, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

You can use {{Wikisourcelang}} for that. Such as, {{Wikisourcelang|la|Magna Carta}}. Someguy1221 (talk) 07:04, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

s:la:Magna Carta already is a link to the Latin wikisource. The only problem is that on mouseover it appears not to be. Algebraist 11:01, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

OK, thanks guys - Someguy1221's answer was what I was looking for. Algebraist, it appears that two shortcuts in conjuction don't work for some reason - wikisource:la:Magna Carta seems to be OK. It Is Me Here (talk) 16:56, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

How to "join" a wikiproject

i would like to join Wikipedia:WikiProject Drum Corps but i'm not sure how to, do i just edit my name into participants? NickIsOrange (talk) 07:00, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Yup. WikiProjects are unofficial - just a group of editors with similar interests working together. Someguy1221 (talk) 07:05, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Hidden discussions

Resolved

At Wikipedia:CHICAGO#XfD_.28AFD.2C_CFD.2C_TFD.2C_IFD.29 in the only two of the five discussions seem to be showing even though the source should show five.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 07:20, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Fine for me. Are you still having the problem (after clearing your browser cache)? Algebraist 10:58, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Your link Wikipedia:CHICAGO#XfD_.28AFD.2C_CFD.2C_TFD.2C_IFD.29 is transcluded onto Wikipedia:WikiProject Chicago#Reviews and Discussions with the code {{Wikipedia:WikiProject Chicago/Discussions}}. You were actually editing Wikipedia:WikiProject Chicago/Discussions (I guess by clicking transcluded section edit links at Wikipedia:WikiProject Chicago). When a transcluded page has been edited it can take a long time before the places where it's being transcluded are updated automatically. You can force an immediate update by purging a page like Wikipedia:WikiProject Chicago. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:59, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Clearing your browser cache would have no effect if Wikipedia had not updated Wikipedia:WikiProject Chicago so this must have happened before the post by Algebraist. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:01, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Sometimes the cache gets stuck, also, and purge function doesn;t fix it. It's rare, but another edit (like a null edit; add or remove an optional space) will fix the problem. Then purge the cache and all is well. It has happened to me about 5 times in 2 years. Jerry delusional ¤ kangaroo 17:04, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

All is well.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 22:45, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Adding an article to WikiProjects

I would like to add the Leesport Lock House to the wikiprojects Wikipedia:WikiProject Pennsylvania and Wikipedia:WikiProject National Register of Historic Places, but I'm not sure how to go about doing this. Should I just add {{WikiProject Pennsylvania}} and {{WikiProject National Register of Historic Places}} to the talk page of these articles, or is there something else I need to do? Do I, a non-member of these wikiprojects, give the article an importance or a class? Is there anything else that should be happening? Mjf3719 (talk) 13:36, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Adding the proper templates to the article's talk page would work. If there are already several such templates, you might consider using {{WikiProjectBanners}} to list multiple wikiproject banners in a collapsable box. As for assessments of importance and class, each project is different - you'll want to see if your project has particular criteria for each. In general, though, you can assign importance and class, but these are subject to consensus. Hope this helps, UltraExactZZ ^Claims ~ Evidence 13:44, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

See my reply on your talk page. – ukexpat (talk) 18:45, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

edit bots

following my question asked beforehand, can i be told about how can i create a framework for the bot, and how can i actually make a bot, sadly, i am totally ignorant of programming languages. Btzkillerv (talk) 14:28, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

You'll have to either learn some programming or request here that someone else write a bot for you. Algebraist 14:34, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Anybody who is smart enough to master skills such as cooking or mathematics can learn to program, but as with any complex skill, programming can require some work to learn. See WP:EIW#Bot for information about bots. Bot frameworks are available in several programming languages; see Wikipedia:Creating a bot. Before attempting to use a bot framework, however, you should pick one of the languages, and work through an introductory course in that language. For example, Wikipedia:Creating a bot#Perl lists several introductions to the Perl programming language. Please take notes about your learning adventure, for example on a user subpage, so other users can learn from your experience. Wikipedia does not have enough tutorials for beginners. --Teratornis (talk) 18:45, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

playing audio files

I followed your instructions for listening to audio files - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help_(Ogg). I downloaded and installed the software. Now my Windows Media Player does not work at all. Prior to installing your software, it worked just fine. What do I do now? I can't listen to any audio files. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.88.91.41 (talk) 14:40, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

There are several distinct procedures in Wikipedia:Media help (Ogg). Which did you follow? Did those instructions work? (I.e., can you listen to Vorbis files?) When you say "Windows Media Player does not work at all," what exactly do you mean? There are several different ways to run a Windows program, and different ways for a program to "not work at all." (Do you get nothing? Or do you get an error message? Or does the program open, but then misbehave?) Can you open WMP from the Programs menu, and open an audio file from WMP's File menu? If not, do you get an error message, and what does it say? Often you can {{Google}} for the text of an error message, and find Web pages where other computer users have documented solutions for it. When you ask for help with a computer problem, you have to explain the symptoms in enough detail to allow other people to guess which of the astronomically many possible failure modes you are experiencing. See How To Ask Questions The Smart Way for a rather brusque but factual guide to obtaining free technical support on the Internet. Wikipedia is a do it yourself system, with all that entails. --Teratornis (talk) 18:30, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Creating an article with an existing title

I am so sorry - I'm sure that there is advice on this but I cannot find it in the FAQs or Reference Desk.

How do I create an article that has the same title as an existing article?

I am trying to create a page for John Illsley's new album BEAUTIFUL YOU. Unfortunately as there is a page with this name it always redirects there. Please help Silencelee (talk) 15:42, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Since there's more than one work with this title, I'd suggest creating an article title Beautiful You (John Illsley album). The article Beautiful You could be changed to a disambiguation page with links to both that article and Carly Smithson, who wrote the single by the same name. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 15:49, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

For general guidance see WP:DISAMBIG. --Teratornis (talk) 18:46, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

HELP!!!!

the Tropical cyclone Article has been deleted. please revise it —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.229.88.182 (talk) 16:46, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Fixed before you finished typing your comment, but it still lasted a shocking 2 minutes and 41 seconds. Oof. Someguy1221 (talk) 16:49, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

It's actually encouraging that a user could find the Help desk that quickly. We get reports from other users that they had to search for a long time before they could figure out where to ask a question. I guess it depends on where a user happens to look first. --Teratornis (talk) 17:02, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

There was actually 48 minutes where Tropical cyclone was either blank or had no valid content. That is not good for a featured article. I am adding it to my watchlist. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:14, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

What happened was it was blanked, and another edit was made, prompting ClueBot to revert that edit back to the blank one. Agreed, that shouldn't happen. –Juliancolton ^{Tropical Cyclone} 18:20, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Transcluding Templates onto Talk Pages

Am I permitted to create my own templates that I can post on a talk page, because I'm getting bored of typing it out all the time. If ones already exist, where can I find them? Eg. One saying "Wikipedia is not a forum. Also, please remember to sign your posts." Thanks, Genius101 _{T. C.} 20:57, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Several standardized talk page posts can be found here. I believe that the two you are wanting are {{uw-chat1}} and {{uw-tilde}}. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 21:05, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Message templates to talk pages should be substituted so the content doesn't change later. You can make user subpages and use them like you would use templates with {{subst:User:Barek/Name}}. If they are subst'ed then it doesn't matter where the original is. Don't create your own non-standardized messages in template space. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:23, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

A schizophrenic template

I have a schizophrenic template {{sea shell topics}}. If you examine it, you will see I recently edited it and added an item. If you click on one of the items, it will take to an article which also has the transcluded template. However the template does not update on those articles, that is, it displays the version prior to my latest edit. Weird. --Geronimo20 (talk) 21:19, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

It's Wikipedia's Cache. It will take a while (sometimes 15-30(?) minutes) for all the pages that use the template to update to use it. You can purge the page to force the update. You can also bypass your computer's cache, as it may just be your computer loading an old version you looked at before. Someguy1221 (talk) 21:24, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

The time depends on the length of the job queue which can be seen at Special:Statistics and can be in the millions, taking much more than 30 minutes. In this case there is no reason to trouble an editor or the servers with a purge. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:30, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

WikiMonitor

I used to use VandalProof a lot but it is now defunct. I am told WikiMonitor has the same facilities. I have downlaoded it but cannot get it to run. Can anyone here help me please? SpinningSpark 22:04, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Archivists of the United States

I was able to make some minor edits to the list of Archivists of the United States. However, the lead paragraph could also use a little editing. But there is no "edit" button associated with the lead paragraph and I can't figure out how to do the edits.

Thanks.

John J. Landers —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.178.166.177 (talk) 23:09, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

To edit the lead section, simply click the "edit this page" tab at the top of the article. You could also click on any section-edit button and manually change &section=NUMBER (where NUMBER will always be some integer) to &section=0 - Press enter and you will open the section edit box for the lead paragraph. Are you having any other problems with the edits? Someguy1221 (talk) 23:15, 22 September 2008 (UTC)