Help desk
< May 2	<< Apr \| May \| Jun >>	May 4 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

May 3[edit]

new video[edit]

how do i download a video onto youtube from my digital camera? 98.16.219.198 (talk) 01:07, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Connect the camera to your computer.
Download your movie to your hard drive.
Go to Youtube. Click Upload, the yellow button in the upper-right corner.
Sign in or sign up. Follow the directions.

Please take any requests for further help or other computing questions to the Computing reference desk. Your question is out of the scope of this page, which is questions about Wikipedia. Xenon54 (talk) 02:10, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What you describe is actually uploading 98.16.219 - Mgm|^(talk) 13:20, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

diff shows changes that I didn't make[edit]

Resolved

After editing an article, the diff link is showing changes that I didn't make. (see example) The changes seem to be related to some sort of embedded unicode or something. Personally, I can't see that anything is changed in the highlighted text, but obviously the database thinks something has changed. Any ideas on what is causing this and how I can correct it? Thanx! 68.88.198.81 (talk) 01:42, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You're on the right track. You (unknowingly) changed several non-ASCII characters on that page. Your computer needs support for UTF-8 (the character encoding used by Wikipedia). What operating system are you on and what web browser are you using? Goodraise 02:37, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Goodraise! I've fixed the encodings on my machine. Now, how do I get the article that I just trashed fixed? Is this something I can do, or do I need to get someone to do a revert for me? 68.88.198.81 (talk) 03:39, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed the article for you. :) Goodraise 03:45, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.88.198.81 (talk) 03:50, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

loading cartridge for an ERM VRL-36 typesetter[edit]

How do you adjust a loading cartridge for an ERM VRL-36 typesetter to accept a smaller size film (13.3x200 instead of 14"x200')? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Torcuato (talk • contribs) 01:56, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. Goodraise 02:28, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

mechanical[edit]

how to change the gears in lathe for threading operations and what is the formula for calculating it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Raamla08 (talk • contribs) 05:13, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. However, please be aware that they will not do your homework for you. Goodraise 05:35, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Question about measurement unit names and abbreviations.[edit]

I have a quick question that isn't really answered in the Manual of Style. The MoS says that

In the main text, give the main units as words and use unit symbols or abbreviations for conversions in parentheses; e.g., write a pipe 100 millimetres (4 in) in diameter and 16 kilometres (10 mi) long or a pipe 4 inches (100 mm) in diameter and 10 miles (16 km) long. However, where there is consensus to do so, the main units may also be abbreviated in the main text after the first occurrence.

However, the MoS also states that

Where space is limited, such as in tables, infoboxes, mathematical formulas, and parenthetical notes, unit symbols are preferable. In prose it is usually better to spell out unit names but symbols can also be used when a unit is used many times in an article. However, spell out the first instance of each unit in an article. One should write “…the typical batch is 250 kilograms…” before one later writes “…and then 15 kg of emulsifier is added.”

So is it generally preferred to spell out unit names once and then use the symbol throughout the article or to spell out the unit name each time? Maybe if I give an example. I've been editing animal articles that have measurement mistakes and some of them do something like this:

Cats typically weigh between 2.5 and 7 kilograms (5.5–16 lb); however, some breeds, such as the Maine Coon, can exceed 11.3 kilograms (24.9 lb). Conversely, very small cats (less than 1.8 kilograms (4.0 lb)) have been reported.

I edited this part of the Cat article, but I'm not sure if I did it correctly. For example, should all instances of "kilograms" be shortened to "kg" after the initial "kilograms" or should I leave them spelled out? Thanks for the help.Totakeke423 (talk) 08:37, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

When something isn't specified in the MoS, you can assume that it's acceptable either way. If kilogram/kg occures a hundred times in the article, it makes sense to abbreviate. If it occures only twice, it doesn't. In between these extreme cases, you'll have to decide yourself, just keep it consistent throughout the article. Goodraise 09:02, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

We also have a very cool template, {{convert}} that can bluelink the first "kg" so the reader can find out what it is if they're not sure. That lets you use kg throughout (which as above, is optional, though I'd say it's preferred). Pplus it handles all the metric/imperial conversion stuff. Franamax (talk) 09:16, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Very slow browsing[edit]

Hi there. I just upgraded my Mozilla browser to v.3.0.5. After this upgrade i noticed that viewing wikipedia pages is very slow. For instance, when a page is fully loaded, and i try to scroll the page down, there is quite a long lag before the page scrolls down and loads nicely. I do not experience this problem with other websites. Any idea what is wrong? ќמшמφטтгמ^torque 09:05, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That happens to me sometimes. Some Wikipedia pages are very, very long/large. If you see a talk page that is really bad, feel free to do some archiving. If an article is really long, feel free to remove unsourced statements or use summary style. hmwith τ 14:36, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

But don't do either without discussing on the talk page. – ukexpat (talk) 15:11, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, it does not only happen to long pages. This lag also happen in short pages. Other longer pages in other websites load much faster. And they scroll at realtime. But wikipedia pages dont scroll at realtime now. I dont understand why it is like this now. ќמшמφטтгמ^torque 12:01, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have that problem. Odd. Try clearing your Internet history. hmwith τ 14:30, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Haha, or donate! hmwith τ 14:31, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Page vandalized[edit]

Resolved

– — Jake Wartenberg 14:19, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_disaster is vandalized. It begins saying "it is a form of tuberculosis where you die in a car and madeline kills you in the middle of the day ". Hope someone fixes this soon —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.255.2.42 (talk) 12:14, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Taken care of. Thanks, — Jake Wartenberg 14:19, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Leave Out All the Rest[edit]

Resolved

– — Jake Wartenberg 14:15, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

An editor entered the lyrics of the song into the article here. IIRC, this is advised against, but I'd like someone to check up on this just to make sure. --Dylan 620 _{Efforts · Toolbox} 13:56, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I removed them as a copyright violation. More information on the topic is available at WP:LYRICS. Thanks, — Jake Wartenberg 14:15, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Is hotlinking to images on Wikipedia allowed?[edit]

Say you wanted to use an image from Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons on an internet forum post, hotlinking directly to WP, is this allowed?--Yo Dawg! What's Going On Today? (talk) 14:29, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Most images on WP are free images/public domain. Check the copyright status of the specific image. There may be certain stipulations that need to be followed, such as providing the name of the author. If it's a copyrighted image (that we're using here under a fair use claim, such as a logo or album cover), that doesn't concern Wikipedia, and you would have to contact the copyright holder. What's the link to the image you'd like to use? hmwith τ 14:52, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Commons says not to hotlink. --Onorem ♠Dil 15:07, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not talking about the copyright status of images (yes, most images on Commons are freely reusable). I'm talking about whether hotlinking is allowed, or even possible.--Yo Dawg! What's Going On Today? (talk) 15:33, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The answer is no, see the Commons link above. – ukexpat (talk) 15:40, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Just download the image and host it elsewhere, unless the link is used casually in an email, rather than on a website. --DThomsen8 (talk) 15:45, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Some images on Commons are already on other hosts, such as Flickr, from which you can evidently hotlink. Check the image's page on Commons to see where else it might be. --Teratornis (talk) 00:25, 4 May 2009 (UTC)\[reply]

Hotlinking might get your server denied access right quick (the admins can track you down by the "Referrer" field in the HTTP request). If you do download the image for your own use, please be sure to preserve the license terms, CC-BY, GFDL or whatever they may be, and the author attribution. This is important so that others can reuse the image and understand that it's not your own. Franamax (talk) 00:40, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Formation of trans fat.[edit]

At what temperature does the hydrogenation of an unsaturated fat occur? I've wondering if I am inadvertently creating trans fat while baking things in my oven or frying food on a stove top. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.237.232.202 (talk) 17:19, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think you're looking for the reference desk. This page is for questions on how to use Wikipedia. You can check out our articles on hydrogenation, unsaturated fat, trans fat, and deep frying if you haven't already. hmwith τ 17:59, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Redirected instead of moved[edit]

Resolved

– ukexpat (talk) 19:20, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Despite no official announcement until next Friday[1], someone has redirected Dolphin Stadium to its (likely) future name Land Shark Stadium, instead of moving it. This has, of course, caused the history and discussion to remain on the Dolphin page, and not move to the future Land Shark page. I would undo it all, but I'm not sure how to get both pages back to normal. The Land Shark page should redirect, for now, but we don't even know if it will be one word or two. Any help getting this History/move issue solved would be appreciated. Thanks. --Mtjaws (talk) 17:20, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I believe I have fixed it, though there are some consistency issues left in the lead. Xenon54 (talk) 17:31, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. I cleaned it up some to make it sound better. --Mtjaws (talk) 18:06, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Merging question[edit]

This may not be the right place... but... before I turn Margitta Gummel into a redirect to Margitta Gummel-Helmboldt (or vice-versa), I wanted to ask: should I merge Margitta Gummel into Margitta Gummel-Helmboldt, or vice-versa? Thanks for your help, my name inc 17:55, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Information-wise, merge the information from the first into the second, as the first has no sources whatsoever. There's not really much info there at all. ~~As for the name, I don't know enough about the athlete to know the most common name.~~ ~~All of the sources just use Margitta Gummel as the name, so I'd make sure the article has that title.~~ hmwith τ 18:02, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think Margitta Gummel-Helmboldt, but I wasn't alive and in East Germany when she won, so I can't be certain about the most common name. my name inc 18:07, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, three sources use Gummel, and three use Gummel-Helmboldt. my name inc 18:08, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I was just looking at the references, not the other section. Oops. hmwith τ 18:12, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I used those listed under "Sources". my name inc 18:14, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Finding the page I first saw when I registered[edit]

When I decided to become an actaul 'user' and have a page and all that, I saw a page that said something like "Welcome to Wikipedia, here's some introductory information" and it had a few basic things to click on. Unfortunately at the time I didn't have a spare few minutes so I just skipped it or closed it thinking I would go back to it later. But now I can't find it. I've looked at a couple of 'introduction' pages but they aren't it. Any ideas?Popcorn II (talk) 18:32, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I left you the {{welcome}} template on your talk page. Was that it? Garion96 (talk) 18:37, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks but no. It said something like 'congratulations you are now a registered user' and it had a row of wikipedia icons at the bottom of the screen, like the commons icon, etc.Popcorn II (talk) 21:11, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You might be thinking of this page. It only appears once when you first register but that link will give you the text it contains. Tra (Talk) 23:16, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In-line citations[edit]

Resolved

– ukexpat (talk) 19:19, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What are they? In someone's words. -- A ^talk/_contribs 18:39, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"An inline citation ... is a citation placed at the end of a sentence or paragraph for the purpose of cataloging from where the said information came." (from inline citation) Goodraise 18:41, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Well... don't I feel like an idiot. It's what I've been doing the whole time. Thanks a million, though. -- A ^talk/_contribs 18:45, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder - could an actual idiot post a question to the Help desk? Before the word "idiot" rolled off the euphemism treadmill, it referred to someone with profound mental retardation. It seems unlikely that such a person could figure out how to type a coherent question on the Help desk. --Teratornis (talk) 00:14, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Whereas I've often found myself using the term - directed toward myself! :) This particular idiot has managed to navigate the keyboard once or twice... ;) Franamax (talk) 00:32, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Well since everybody seems to be joining IA, i may as well put my high iq (idiot quotient) in the mix. ^.`^) Paine ^diss`cuss (^^`. 00:52, 5 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

New User Log[edit]

Resolved

I have been to the new user log many times, but now I can't remember how to get there. How can I get to it? Iowateen (talk) 18:54, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Never mind. I found the answer above. Iowateen (talk) 18:56, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

For future reference, you can search the Help desk archive pages with either the {{Google help desk}} or {{Search subpages link}} templates (the former uses Google search, and the latter uses Wikipedia's internal "prefix" search feature which recently became available):

Both search methods appear to find what you are looking for, within the first few search results. Interestingly, the Google search returns its results almost immediately, whereas the Wikipedia search takes 21 seconds. However, waiting the extra 21 seconds for Wikipedia gives the results with section links, sometimes anyway. With Google, you have to follow the search results links to the tops of results pages, and then press Ctrl+F to find the search text in your browser. You can put the {{Help desk searches}} template on your user page for easy access to some handy search links. --Teratornis (talk) 19:09, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Transcluding from Commons[edit]

Is it possible to transclude a template from Commons into en:wiki? ~ ωαdεstεr16_«talk^stalk» 19:07, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No. Whiach one are you interested in? IF we don't have something like it already, then we should be able to copy it over in the transwiki process. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 19:18, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) The feature you're looking for is called "scary transclusion" and it has come up here before once that I can find:

Search the subpage tree below Wikipedia:Help desk for: scary transclusion - search with Wikipedia
Search Help desk for: scary transclusion - search with Google

The mention was in Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 March 6#Nesting. See mw:Manual:$wgEnableScaryTranscluding for the MediaWiki setting. I believe the Wikimedia Foundation does not enable this feature on any of its wikis, so the answer to your question is (almost certainly) no. To use a template from Commons on the English Wikipedia, you will have to copy the template here, along with any templates your target template transcludes. There can be other complications if the template uses features on Commons that aren't the same as on Wikipedia, such as style classes. Sometimes, Commons and Wikipedia each already have non-identical templates that have the same name (such as {{Location}} here and Commons:Template:Location there). --Teratornis (talk) 19:20, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Actually I wanted to transclude contents of this category onto my user page. It's not a template I was after actually, but the contents of a cat. Thanks for the responses. ~ ωαdεstεr16_«talk^stalk» 19:29, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

If you make a gallery page, you can copy and paste the same code and it will work between Wikipedia and Commons. See for example Commons:User:Teratornis/Gallery - I could copy the wikitext of that page to a Wikipedia user subpage, and it would mostly work. But it's easier just to link to the page on Commons rather than try to display it here. I don't know of a trick way to mirror content from Commons to Wikipedia like that. I agree that it is a bit awkward to have no access from Wikipedia to categories on Commons; when viewing an image from Wikipedia that is actually on Commons, one cannot see the Commons categories for the image unless one clicks on the link to view the image page on Commons. It's hard to picture how the Wikimedia Foundation could work around this, given that there are hundreds of different language Wikipedias. --Teratornis (talk) 23:57, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Add a logo[edit]

How can I add a logo/immage/photo to an article I am editing? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Earth1147 (talk • contribs) 22:05, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What article, and what logo? (Nghia-Sinh International?) See Help:Images and other uploaded files. The exact procedure would depend on whether the image is already available on Wikipedia or Commons, or whether you would need to upload it. If the latter, then you have to determine whether you can upload the image under a suitable license. If the logo is trademarked, see Commons:COM:EIC#Trademark. The site for Nghia-Sinh International says "Copyright © 1997 - 2011 Nghia-Sinh Int'l, Inc. All rights reserved." That works against you. If you can obtain permission from them to release a copy of their logo under a free license, see Commons:COM:OTRS for the procedure to document that permission. --Teratornis (talk) 00:05, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is a perfectly acceptable non-free use rationale for use of copyright and/or registered trademark logos on Wikipedia, see WP:LOGO. – ukexpat (talk) 00:12, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Posting deleted, why?[edit]

I tried posting for a Silicon-Valley tech company since it's notable in technique, but it got deleted. I had resources and references that added to the validity of this company, but as of a few hours ago, someone has deleted it, saying that it didn't have enough "basis" or "notability". I don't know what this means exactly and how to put the company out there that might be "agreeable" to Wikipedia. It took me hours just to figure out HOW to post, including figuring out Wikipedia's own special way of "coding". Ideas? Suggestions?

Kanya Jade Yoshihiro 22:13, 3 May 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by MsKJade (talk • contribs)

The editor who deleted it left an explanation on its talk page: that it fails Wikipedia's notability guidelines (and that editor included a link to the page that discusses the criteria). As a new editor, it is well worth your reading that page before creating a new article. If you have evidence of notability, from reliable sources, you can discuss the matter on the talk page. --ColinFine (talk) 22:34, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You might also like to have a look at Wikipedia:Why was my page deleted? --ColinFine (talk) 22:49, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Note that the article has been userfied at User:MsKJade/Grouptivity. – ukexpat (talk) 00:09, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:USERFY for a definition of our cant. --Teratornis (talk) 00:16, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]