Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 May 6

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May 6[edit]

Image with copyright problem[edit]

Resolved
 – ukexpat (talk) 03:10, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This image [[File:BeethovensPiano.jpg]] is claimed to be public domain. But in the place for writting the permission is just written "Public domain". There is nothing that indicate that the image is public domain. Also the source (http://www.kingsbarn.freeserve.co.uk/bpianos.html) has no information about the image being public domain. And there is no information about the year the picture was taken. Therefore I think that the image is stolen from http://www.kingsbarn.freeserve.co.uk/bpianos.html. I don't know what to do about this but I thought that I should say it to you. Hope that someone will take care of the problem... Fanoftheworld (talk) 00:04, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You could ask on Wikipedia:Media copyright questions about File:BeethovensPiano.jpg. --Teratornis (talk) 02:10, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ok. Thank you. Fanoftheworld (talk) 11:11, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Legobot restores vandalism[edit]

Hey, I undid vandalism at the Georgian mutiny article and Legobot restored it http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2009_Georgian_Mutiny&diff=next&oldid=288185331 What's going on? Is something wrog with the bot —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.124.190.154 (talk) 02:07, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like there was an edit conflict and the bot just ignored it entirely and went on with its version. Not a good behaviour from a bot, though I expect that's rare. Equendil Talk 02:26, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
A message on the bot's talkpage would be a better idea mind you : User talk:Legobot. Equendil Talk 02:27, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Appropriate RfC topic area(s) for Internet homicide?[edit]

Article is about people who have used the internet to select victims they then killed, both in reality and in fiction. "Maths, science, and technology" might be appropriate because of the internet, "Art, architecture, literature and media" because of journalistic writing about the subject, depictions in stories and films, and because of the internet, "Society, sports, law, and sex" because of the internet culture (chatrooms, ads) and the crime element. None are precisely good fits. It used to be two areas could be selected, but now it's unclear whether more than one can be. Also, are there other places where civil input for consensus/mediation could be solicited? Шизомби (talk) 03:02, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't see anything wrong with putting a dispute under more than one RFC category. They exist to help resolve disputes, so there would be no reason to restrict that on technical grounds. As for other venues, if there are very specific issues at hand, such as the neutrality or originality of a passage, or the reliability of a source, you can go to one of the noticeboards (see WP:NORN, WP:NPOVN, and WP:RSN). You can also request opinions on the talk pages of relevant WikiProjects, which is more likely to get people interested specifically in the topic, assuming those projects are active. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:12, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Getting A Reply[edit]

Resolved
 – Waiwai933 (talk) 22:26, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I understand that there's some way to put something in the reply on an article talkpage so that the person you're replying to gets a notice somehow. How would I do this? Waiwai933 (talk) 04:29, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You can post {{Talkback|Talk:page name|section}} on their talk page. It's not automatic, though. You'll have to go and place the template on their talk page yourself. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:07, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Span templates[edit]

Are there templates that shrink the code needed to have span HTML in an article? Specifically looking for span id and general text labeling support.  æron phone home  07:01, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There's {{Span|class}}, but it has to be used with its partner, {{endspan}}, so I'm not sure that actually makes anything easier. There's also {{Plainlinks}}, which does compress the code. If there are more span templates than that, I'm not aware of them. Someguy1221 (talk) 07:12, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Nah, that's not what I was looking for. I went ahead and made templates from scratch that do the job. :P  æron phone home  09:35, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
{{Anchor}} can do at least some of the things you appear to want. Goodraise 11:18, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Can I simply translate a wikipedia entry about a topic to another language?[edit]

Hi,

I want to have an entry about time banking concept in Turkish. There are quite a lot of information about the topic in english and spanish.

Can I simply translate this information to turkish and create an article? As I am still not a registered user in wikipedia, can you please inform me what is the best way to solve my problem?

Cheers, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.35.188.56 (talk) 10:18, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Yes, you can. Just make sure that the resulting article is verifiable and has good references. If the Turkish Wikipedia accepts them, they can be in any language you want, but try to find Turkish ones if you can. Does this page help? - Mgm|(talk) 11:03, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • (edit conflict)Yes, you can do that. The article text of all articles on every language version of Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). Translation of articles is not only allowed, but encouraged. In fact, it is done all the time. The only thing you have to do to comply with the GFDL is to give credit to the original authors. When translating from another language into English, the preferred method of attribution is placing the {{Translated page}} template on the article's talk page. What methods are available and which are preferred may vary among the different language Wikipedias. Consider asking at the help desk of the Wikipedia in the language you want to translate into about how best to attribute. I hope this answered your question. Goodraise 11:15, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Referencing a programme for a musical.[edit]

Is there a suitable template for the citation of those programmes (i.e. those booklets which tell you about the directors, actors, etc.) that you get when you watch a musical? I want to make a reference to the director's notes, and I can't find similar text anywhere on the internet. Thank you! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Michaelterren (talkcontribs) 12:21, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You may find something useful in Category:Citation templates. If not, you could ask at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Musical Theatre. Goodraise 12:27, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
There is no dedicated template I don't think. I suppose you could use {{Cite book}}, but why not just format a transparent reference? Citation formatting templates are 100% optional. The concern is that the reference displayed to the world is verifiable, and that means, transparency. Citation formatting templates foster uniformity and ease but the concern is the citation display, not what it looks like in edit mode. So just make it up.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:28, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Use easybib.com. Select a pamplet/leaflet option. Copy/paste it between <ref></ref>. hmwithτ 14:26, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

How does one display a photo from another language area's Wiki Common?[edit]

Resolved
 – WikiBlackledge (talk) 14:41, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia has a clear way to insert a Common photo into an article: File:Photoname.jpg - however, I have found a photograph in a German article, from the German common area, and this structure doesn't seem to work across languages - suggestions? WikiBlackledge (talk) 14:09, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You seem (at User:WikiBlackledge/Monte Cervantes) to have truncated the link, correct link is : File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-09086, Passagierschiff "Monte Cervantes".jpg
Note that there is no "German" Wikimedia Commons, anything on Commons *is* available to all projects, regardless of language. Equendil Talk 14:19, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, That's the Ticket! Thank you! WikiBlackledge (talk) 14:41, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

navbox class loses collapsible argument?[edit]

Resolved
 – Answered at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)‎ ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 19:46, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Has the navbox class lost the ability to use the collapsible argument? That is, are constructs like:

{| class="navbox collapsible"

 |-

 <yada yada>

|}

now pointless with respect to the collapsible part? When I use them, the resulting boxes look right other than there is no collapsibility there at all. Has something changed recently with the underlying code? Thanks, Baccyak4H (Yak!) 14:09, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I know it's only been 3 hours since you posted your question, but you may receive more helpful responses if you post it at the village pump for technical questions. Maedin\talk 17:51, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
It is certainly worth a try. Thanks! Baccyak4H (Yak!) 18:19, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Content of "discussion" page[edit]

Hello I recently created this article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:David_R._Brown_(neuroscientist)

There was "discussion" about whether this should be included which was resolved and the contribution was posted. Now, all this "discussion" remains on the discussion page associated with the article. I don't think it is appropriate for it remain there as it is not about the contents of the article and it also makes me known publically as the person that created it.

I keep trying to delete it but it keeps being put back. Please can this be remove or at least my name be removed.

thanks

gonkstem--Gonkstem (talk) 16:12, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It seems like relevant material for a talk page. Why do you think it should be removed? Your username is listed in the history anyway, and so it needs to be, under the GFDL. --AndrewHowse (talk) 17:18, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I have come across this issue before. There is no stigma attached to discussions about deletion, notability etc on talk pages (article or user). Talk pages are there for discussions like that. – ukexpat (talk) 18:41, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

John Boyd Dunlop - two people with same name[edit]

Resolved
 – ukexpat (talk) 03:09, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what to do here. John Boyd Dunlop was a Scottish inventor, but John Boyd Dunlop is also the name of a chess player; article pending at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/John Dunlop (chess player). What if someone types in John Boyd Dunlop looking for the chess player. Should the chess player's article also contain the middle name Boyd? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.186.165.121 (talk) 16:31, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

If, as you seem to suggest, the chessplayer is best known as John Dunlop then the article would go at John Dunlop (chess player) and a dablink would go at the top of John Boyd Dunlop; it would be something like {{for|the chess player|John Dunlop (chess player)}} I think. --AndrewHowse (talk) 17:14, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
What AndrewHowse has referred to is called a hatnote: see Wikipedia guidance on hatnotes here. However, both the chess player, John Dunlop, and the inventor, John Boyd Dunlop, are listed at the disambiguation page, John Dunlop. There would be no problem naming the article for the chess player John Boyd Dunlop (chess player), but you should first determine what he is most commonly known by: John Dunlop or John Boyd Dunlop? Either answer can be accommodated without a problem. Maedin\talk 17:48, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the advice. I think I'll leave the article name as it is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.186.165.121 (talk) 01:07, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

How to use the the tranlation toll[edit]

I found this toll which translates an entiry page {{Expand Spanish}} . But I don´t know how to save it to create a new article here in English. This is the page I want to create here: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Guillermo_Cortines --Juliaaltagracia (talk) 17:38, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The {{Expand Spanish}} template is not an automated tool, it's just a notice. Human intervention is required to actually perform the translation and incorporate it into the English Wikipedia article. – ukexpat (talk) 18:45, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
    • I understand that I have to put the title and then click translate, I got that far, it it does a pretty good translation. But when I try to copy to a new article, it shows both version when I do the paste, Spanish and English. I need to know how it really works or is done properly --Juliaaltagracia (talk) 19:09, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The translation link in {{Expand Spanish}} is a link to Google Translate, which is a machine translation tool. This is not sufficient for translating an article between two language Wikipedias, because:
  • Machine translation is fallible.
  • Google's tool only translates from the HTML of a Wikipedia page, and not the (source) wikitext. Thus the output from Google Translate is not in a form suitable for pasting directly into a destination Wikipedia, even if the translation was grammatically acceptable.
Instead, the Google output is merely a guide to assist the human translator. Translating Wikipedia articles requires a person to have a rare collection of skills:
  • Reasonable fluency in the source language;
  • Native-level fluency in the destination language;
  • A thorough knowledge of wikitext editing and policies and guidelines as they apply to the destination Wikipedia.
  • Domain knowledge about the article subject, sufficient to prevent translation mistakes (sometimes a literal translation does not work within a given subject area, for example if the subject uses common words in specialized meanings).
Note that it is more important to be fluent in the destination language than in the source language. For example, a translator can do a better job translating from articles in a second language to articles in his or her native language. If your native language is, for example, Spanish, and English is your second language, you will probably find it easier to translate from English to Spanish than from Spanish to English. If the translator is not especially fluent in the source language, he or she can compensate by having enough domain knowledge about the subject, sufficient to allow him or her to make sense of the sometimes-garbled output of a machine translation tool such as Google Translate.
For more information, see the links under WP:EIW#Translate. If you want to try translating the es:Jose Guillermo Cortines article to English, I suggest you practice on a user subpage:
You can practice on that page with fewer worries of other users deleting your article or marking it up with template message complaints while you are still working on it. See WP:LAYOUT for a guide to laying out articles on the English Wikipedia; probably this is similar to what the Spanish Wikipedia uses. --Teratornis (talk) 01:02, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]


Can I reduce Svg's & Png's image size online ?[edit]

Can someone tell me any online site that I can possibly do it ? Can someone suggest me a software for that purpose ? Arteyu ? Blame it on me ! 18:32, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia would love having the largest size available, as long as it's a clear image. However, if you are uploading a copyrighted image, smaller would be better. hmwithτ 20:47, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Do you mean reducing the resolution of the image, or trying to optimise the file so that the file size is reduced? For the former you would want an image editing application such as the GIMP. For the latter there is a program called pngcrush to optimise PNG images without decreasing their quality or resolution. Rjwilmsi 18:47, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
And for SVGs there is Inkscape, but it's not an online app. – ukexpat (talk) 19:09, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Renaming file[edit]

Resolved
 – File deleted. – ukexpat (talk) 20:41, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I need admin help to rename this file, File:Sunderland FC.svg, please rename it to File:Sunderland AFC.svg. I forgot to put the capital A letter. Thanks Arteyu ? Blame it on me ! 18:32, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Image renaming is not possible at the moment. Just upload it again with the correct file name and tag the incorrect one for deletion. – ukexpat (talk) 18:38, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The new image had already been uploaded, please delete File:Sunderland FC.svg ASAP, thanks Arteyu ? Blame it on me ! 19:13, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I have tagged it for speedy deletion. An admin will delete it in due course. – ukexpat (talk) 19:15, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks a lot Arteyu ? Blame it on me ! 19:25, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Posting a picture[edit]

I am trying to post a picture of Steve Harris (the actor) but I can not as I am not a administrator, etc. I am not under standing this whole process. Must I edit 10 articles BEFORE I can post a picture? What if I have not yet found any articles i can edit / contribute to?

Any help would be appreciated... thank you.

ksmarko KSMarko (talk) 18:51, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, before you can upload files your account has to be autoconfirmed, ie ten edits and at least 4 days old. Edits to your user page count so you could just make them there. Before you upload an image, you will have to make sure that you understand our free use guidelines. If this is an image that you found on the internet it is almost certainly copyrighted and therefore not appropriate for upload to and use on Wikipedia. – ukexpat (talk) 19:13, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
If you don't want to wait four days to upload a picture, you can "merge" your account with Special:MergeAccount, and upload to Wikimedia Commons right now (Commons also has an autoconfirmation period; it does not limit your ability to upload new images, but it does limit your ability to update existing images). However, four days is probably about how long it takes to read and understand enough of our instructions about uploading images, and image licensing, to have a good chance of doing it correctly. If you tell us more about the image you want to upload, we can give you specific instructions. Is this a photograph you took yourself of the subject, who was appearing in public with no expectation of privacy? Or is it a photograph you found on the Web? If the latter, where did you find it? Also, note that it is quite easy to find 10 things you can edit. Just read some Wikipedia articles, look for common misspellings, and fix them. --Teratornis (talk) 01:29, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
We can search Flickr for suitably free content images of Steve Harris with the handy {{Flickr free}} template:
  • Search Flickr for images with the keywords: "Steve Harris" under these licenses: cc-by or cc-by-sa
but the results seem to be dominated by the bass player from Iron Maiden. If you find a suitably free image on Flickr of the correct Steve Harris, you can upload to it Commons somewhat easily with a tool called Flinfo; see Commons:COM:EIC#Flickr for more information, and see a complete example at Commons:User:Teratornis/Flickr examples. --Teratornis (talk) 01:40, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]