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January 26[edit]

Automatically remove piped links[edit]

Is there something (a script?) that lets you remove all piped links in an article, forcing the link to appear as the article title? –H T D 04:04, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

WikEd has regular expression support; there are a number of other (smaller) scripts available from WP:US. I believe the following regular expression should remove piped links. Please remember that you are personally responsible for your edits, even if a (semi)automated tool made them. Always review your edits before saving them.

These regular expressions have been lightly tested with WikEd and might not work with other tools; moreover I may have missed a corner case. They use the JavaScript regular expression standard, so they may work with some other tools, but I make no guarantees.

In the find box:

   \[\[(.*?)\|.*?\]\]

In the replace box:

   [[$1]]

I hope this helps. --N Y Kevin @264, i.e. 05:20, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Will try these. I'd only use this once on a list since all links were pipelinked and it's tedious to de-pipe link them all. –H T D 15:13, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Article traffic and redirects[edit]

When viewing the article traffic statistics at the ToolServer for TITLE, does the number of views listed include hits to REDIRECTs to TITLE or not? When answering my query, please notify me on my talk page; watching this page will be too hectic. GotR ^Talk 04:10, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I assume you're talking about these stats. Redirects are counted separately [1]. --N Y Kevin @248, i.e. 04:57, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Got it. I now have the statistics needed to present my case for a move. Thanks much GotR ^Talk 05:21, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How to Change the Title of a Page[edit]

Hi! I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to edit the title of a Wikipedia page? I created one with a person's first, middle, and last name and would like to change it to just first and last if possible.

Thank you! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Christineokelly (talk • contribs) 04:55, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Moving a page. --Jayron32 04:57, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

SRMSAT and SRMSAT (satellite): two articles, both alike in dignity, about the same subject[edit]

Hi all. The articles SRMSAT and SRMSAT (satellite) are about the same satellite built by the students of SRM University and launched into orbit in October 2011.

SRMSAT (satellite) was started 10:19, 11 October 2011, was first but is perhaps not so well-written
SRMSAT was started 20:24, 28 December 2011, well-written, but technically an WP:A10 candidate

An A10 for the newer article is obviously no go, Jack.
My initial editing reaction would have been along the lines of a WP:CUTPASTE, which is also obviously out of the question.
Seems to me editing this should be a WP:MERGE. However, when I read the instructions to so do, Mah head a splode.
Please help me out here. --Shirt58 (talk) 10:28, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, these informational pages are large and complex so they can provide guidance in difficult and controversial cases. This is not such a case, so the best way, or the way I always do it, is start with {{Merge}} templates. A few days after posting those, reduce the doomed article (in this case the one with the unnecessarily parenthetical long name) to a redirect, paste its former text into the survivor, and cut out duplications and rearrange the rest to make one properly organized article. If nobody either objects or beats me to it, I'll do it this way in steps spread out over the next several days. Jim.henderson (talk) 13:25, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I fixed the merge templates - Mergeto on SRMSAT and Mergefrom on SRMSAT (satellite). BTW the "SRM" acronym needs to be expanded to the full name at the first mention on the article.

You beat me by a few days. My own preference is to put up an undirected merge template in one article, wait a day and a half, tag the other, wait, direct the tag on the first, wait, direct the tag on the other, wait and finally do it. Watchers don't object after it happens, because they've already been nagged all week without answering. Others prefer other processes; no problem. Jim.henderson (talk) 14:14, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

User in mourning[edit]

I have recently suffered a loss and am grieving. I would like to put a box on my user talk page saying that I may be editing sporadically and am fragile at present, so understanding from other editors about incomplete wiki-tasks and anything I might say that needed further consideration would be appreciated. I'm staying away from anything too complex, but my judgment may be a bit off. Is there any suitable template I could use? I thought about wikibreak but it doesn't feel right. Any suggestions? Thanks. EdChem (talk) 11:16, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry to hear this. I can't think of any predefined template, but you could use {{tmbox}} directly to say what you need to. You could perhaps adapt the words and coding from {{User health inactive}}. -- John of Reading (talk) 11:32, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I am also sorry to hear that. I was also looking through the templates, and there is a need for a "please don't bother me unless it is an emergency" template.--Wehwalt (talk) 13:16, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you both. I looked for an image to use with an existing box that was suitable for grief (and one without religious symbols) but I found the process depressing / upsetting. I'll try again tomorrow, maybe. EdChem (talk) 14:13, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This is what I have come up with. Any thoughts on it and about its possible use as a basis for a new template? Thanks. EdChem (talk) 02:20, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I have adapted your text to create {{User grieving}}. Comments and suggestions welcome. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:04, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Three images may not be needed? --Extra 999 (Contact ^me) 10:53, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I suppose it's a matter of personal taste. I chose the standard images for a user being busy in real life, the image for a wikibreak (which is mentioned in the template), and an image showing grief. These three images all relate to the text of the template. However, what I developed is now in Template space and so I have no more ownership of it than does anyone else. Others have as much right to edit it as do I. EdChem (talk) 11:17, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I have made some changes, and also added to WP:WB. What do you think? --Extra 999 (Contact ^me) 12:19, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Star rises 4 minutes earlier everyday than previous day[edit]

--Jitendra Sahoo (talk) 12:55, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Did you have a question about how to use or edit Wikipedia? - David Biddulph (talk) 13:04, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

In future, the best place to ask a question like this is the Science Reference Desk - but the simple answer is because the sidereal day is about 4 minutes shorter than the solar day. Gandalf61 (talk) 13:23, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

My article: Apples & Oranges[edit]

You messaged me that you rejected my article: Apples & oranges because of copyright infringement on similar article in: Spiritshare.net. I, Don Lubov, the author of Apples & Oranges, am Spiritshare.net. Spiritshare.net and all its content is original content from me. Now what? Don Lubov — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.55.180.216 (talk) 14:05, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Don. Wikipedia requires that its content be available under a CC-BY-SA license. If you are happy to release your work under this license (meaning basically that anyone can reproduce, alter and publish it), you can put a disclaimer to this effect on your site or contact the Permissions team via the instructions at WP:DCM. However, your contributed article reads like a personal essay, and as such is highly unsuited to inclusion in Wikipedia, being a violation of our policy on original research. It would be quickly deleted even if you relinquished the copyright. Yunshui 雲‍水 14:10, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

scanned newspaper articles[edit]

I was asked to insert citations needed to implement my page. To demonstrate the sources I have available to scanned newspaper articles. How do I insert them? thanks for the help--Lucapremier88 (talk) 14:19, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You are unlikely to be able to publish your scanned copies without breaching copyright, but you can cite the articles as references; Template:Cite news may help you to do this. - David Biddulph (talk) 14:25, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

1. Scanned newspaper articles are usually copyright violations, and we do not permit links to copyright violations.

2. In this era of Photoshop, supposed scans of anything are not likely to be regarded as reliable sources.

3. There is not and never will be a requirement that citations be solely to articles available online. If you have a valid citation to a published article in a reliable source, then simply cite the original article, in whatever style the article currently uses, such as

Schlabotnick, Josie. "Hey, how 'bout dem Brewers, ya know?" Milwaukee Loiterer June 31st, 1975; p. 6, col. 3.

--Orange Mike | Talk 14:26, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Just to clarify and add to what David Biddulph and Orange Mike have stated above: There is no requirement that references for Wikipedia articles be availible online right now, indeed it would be inappropriate to link to a scanned newspaper article that you personally scanned yourself, since doing so would be a violation of the newspaper's copyright (see WP:COPYVIO for more info). Instead, just cite the article as you would cite any source, but giving the full bibliographic information about it (author, title, newspaper, date, page number, that sort of stuff). To aid you in doing that in a formal way, there exists the option of using "citation templates" which allows you to enter the information in some fields, and the template does the "hard part" of formatting the info correctly. The "Cite news" template above is a good one, if you have other cites you want to do, the page WP:CITET has a good, comprehensive list of them with examples. But back to the original point, citing a print reference, which has no on-line version on the internet, is perfectly acceptable. --Jayron32 14:31, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Certainly. I've used the clipping files at several archives. As long as you have the name of the paper, the date, and the title of the article, that's a minumum, though obviously we would prefer to see page number and author name.--Wehwalt (talk) 14:35, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

adding a new section in the "London Borough of Sutton page"[edit]

Dear Sir, Madam,

I tried to enter a section in the "London Borough of Sutton page" but for unknown reason someone keeps deleting this. I remember that I am the person who built this network for resident and this network is supported by the Councillor Richard Clifton of the Sutton South ward (quoted also in the website and post messages for residents intention from time to time in the blog section), why wikipedia keep deleting this?

Title of section : Residents network

Content of section: A resident living in the Sutton Central, built the Sutton residents Network dedicated to all residents living in the London Borough of Sutton. Indeed, residents can both post all sort of good deals (second hand to sell, room to rent, house exchange etc.) through free classifieds section of the website to help each other to save money. they can also use the community blog section which gives you a freedom of speech and expression to share any opinion, news, suggestion or else you have with everyone. For tourism purpose, a section displays pictures allowing newcomer to visit this Borough.

Best regards Nono — Preceding unsigned comment added by Beziers34 (talk • contribs) 14:41, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Because it looks like you are using Wikipedia for the purposes of promoting the network, a view that your repeated addition of its website to other articles would tend to support. – ukexpat (talk) 14:50, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) The reason is because you are not supposed to be adding information about stuff you created to Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest for more information as to why you are not. Secondly, the links you are adding to the ends of articles are in violation of Wikipedia's external link policy. See Wikipedia:External links for more information about what is, and is not, appropriate. --Jayron32 14:52, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

And if mentioned in the article at all that will be because it's been commented on in more than one reliable source and so far as I can see deserved no more than a sentence - as it stands it doesn't belong in an encyclopedia, something people seem to forget all too often. Dougweller (talk) 17:05, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

A Tribe Called Quest: History[edit]

On the Wikipedia page for A Tribe Called Quest, what is the meaning behind (Ed) following Q Tip, and the (Darcy) following Phife Dawg? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.49.112.76 (talk) 15:18, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It was a bit of vandalism added to the article about a month ago, but snuck under the radar. See [2]. I have removed it. Pay it no mind. --Jayron32 15:22, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

editing wikipedia: need help[edit]

Dear Wikipedia,

I would appreciate it if you could tell me some signs, symbols, and ways to edit wikipedia.

That would be great i'm a newbie so i'm not really the best at working with computers :)

thanks,

Sorceress150 (talk) 15:20, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I suggest that you read the pages linked to in the Welcome message on your talk page. That will give you a good start. – ukexpat (talk) 15:24, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You could also consider putting yourself up for adoption; this would mean that a more experienced user would mentor you and help you out. Yunshui 雲‍水 15:28, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks everyone!! I'll be sure to check out both!!

Sorceress150 (talk) 15:40, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You might also find WP:Guidance for younger editors contains useful advice. Roger (talk) 15:47, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Can someone please Revdelete all indications that the OP is a minor (including both my posts and also the OP's user and talk pages). Roger (talk) 16:21, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

WRONG COUNTRY FOR LOURES - LOURES IS IN FRANCE - NOT PORTUGAL[edit]

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: IN THE DIRECTORY FOR INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET, LOURES IS IN FRANCE. YOU STATE IT IS IN PORTOGUAL. UNLESS THERE IS ANOTHER CITY IN PORTOGTUAL, DONT YOU THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO CORRECT THIS?
THANKS,
GOD BLESS YOU AND ALL OF US. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.80.237.208 (talk) 16:23, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what you see, but our article on Lourdes does show that it is in France. Loures, however, is in Portugal, in the Loures Municipality. TN X Man 16:24, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

... and please don't SHOUT. - David Biddulph (talk) 16:32, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

On the subjecting of shouting, is there a quick way to change block capitals to lower case in the edit window? (If not whre can I request it?). Currently I either do it manually, or export it to Word, change it, and re-import it. Arjayay (talk) 16:42, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See raw text for details (one way). fredgandt 16:47, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks - perhaps not a permanenet solution but a good quick fix.Arjayay (talk) 17:04, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hassi Messaoud (Algeria)[edit]

On the Hassi Messaoud page, it correctly states that JetAir charters two flights per week between Madrid and Hassi Messaoud. However please note that the airline which operates these flights is Air Nostrum (and not Iberworld). Would be grateful if you could update this page. Many thanks Sara Bennett

194.75.231.242 (talk) 16:40, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Someone will no doubt doublecheck and add this, but you can do it yourself unless the page is protected.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:57, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

missing 'book'[edit]

i have been using book creator for a while, adding pages etc.. Logging in today, I am not able to locate the book, which had about 25 'pages'. where did it go? I am able to start a new book but cannot find the old one. thanks for help. Mpstudionyc (talk) 19:13, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This account you are using was created back in April, 2011, but it has not done a single thing until today. Perhaps you have another account which you have been using in the intervening time? Just an idea. --Jayron32 20:24, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Only autoconfirmed or confirmed users can save books. If a book has not been saved then it can easily disappear. Would you like your account to be confirmed? PrimeHunter (talk) 20:42, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Use pictures of banknotes in WikiMedia Commons?[edit]

The German article de:Finnische Mark shows pictures of our beloved country's markka banknotes, which were in use until the markka was replaced by the euro. Can the same pictures be used in the article Finnish markka? JIP | Talk 20:23, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it can be used since the photos of the currency are in the public domain--Hallows AG 20:47, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

A better place to ask this question, where it will attract the attention of people who know this stuff, is at WP:MCQ. There are special considerations, IIRC, regarding pictures of currency, so it may not be a simple answer. --Jayron32 20:50, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You may want to look at this currency image RfC--SPhilbrick (Talk) 21:16, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

If this is properly tagged, then a banknote would similarly be decreed and the same tagging would be appropriate.--Wehwalt (talk) 21:17, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Notability George Atallah[edit]

Hi, I'm usually great at determining if an article is worth creating, but I'm stumped on this one. I'm considering creating a page for the spokesman or Assistant Executive Director of External Affairs of the National Football League Players Association, George Atallah. I have found a few reliable sources for article, including this one and this one. Most of the articles don't actually discuss his background; however, he seems to be notable for giving several speeches as the representative of the NFLPA during the 2011 NFL lockout. The NFLPA is one of the clients of my employer, so I want to take extra precautions with this one. I say this ahead of time because I understand Wikipedia's policy when it comes to WP:COI and WP:NPOV. Is this individual notable enough for a Wikipedia article? Thanks. --TravisBernard (talk) 21:31, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Travis. Going solely on the two sources you've provided, I'd probably say he doesn't pass GNG or ANYBIO. Both are his own work - one a series of responses to questions, the other an article he wrote. Thus, although the sources are reliable, they aren't independent, and that's an important hurdle for notability.

If you have other sources lined up, it might be worth checking them at the reliable sources noticeboard for more input. Oh, and kudos for announcing that you may have COI, although judging from the fact that you're raising this question here (rather than just going ahead with the article) I doubt that it will be a problem. Cheers, Yunshui 雲‍水 21:37, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Great, thanks for the help! --TravisBernard (talk) 21:48, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Question[edit]

How do you get on Wikipedia — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.3.190.67 (talk) 21:45, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Autobiography would be one place to start reading. But the executive summary is "first become notable enough to deserve a page, then wait for someone else to write it". DMacks (talk) 22:56, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

In case you're asking how to use (rather than be a subject of) Wikipedia, the best place to start would probably be Wikipedia:Introduction then perhaps Help:Editing. fredgandt 23:49, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Article deletion[edit]

How can I delete an article, because someone used my pictures from Facebook, and did an article for me with incorrect information? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.91.149.204 (talk) 22:36, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The image is a serious problem...I have removed it from the article and tagged it for deletion from the wikipedia-commons site as a licensing violation. DMacks (talk) 22:54, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I spot-checked the movie-credits claimed in the article and all were contradicted by both their WP articles and those articles' cited sources. There is no evidence of the latest content being vandalism on top of an older article that meets WP:BLP verifiability either, thus I have deleted the article. DMacks (talk) 01:05, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

"In the news" entry's notability[edit]

I come here because I don't know where else to go. But is the fact that a mediocre writer cancels a appearance worthy to be regarded as top news and at the same time Wikipedia ignores close to a million Hungarians' manifestation against the bureaucratic UN. I'm referring to this: "British novelist Salman Rushdie (pictured) cancels an appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India, and four other writers leave the city after reading excerpts from The Satanic Verses, which is banned in the country." —24.228.116.142 (talk) 22:48, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

If you wish to discuss upcoming appearences on the "In the news" section, you can do so at WP:ITN/C. --Jayron32 23:40, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Userpage question[edit]

I want to lock my userpage so that only auto-confirmed users can edit it as I have experienced a lot of vandalism by IP adresses, But I don't know where to begin. Help please! Androzaniamy (talk) 23:28, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You can ask at WP:RFPP. --Jayron32 23:40, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

For the record, your userpage won't be protected by any admins, as it has been vandalized twice in the past month. This is not a level of vandalism that can't be combatted by simply reverting it. You'd need to demonstrate that the vandalism is coming at you too frequently for anyone to stop, like several times a day. But twice in a month is not enough vandalism to protect a page, per Wikipedia:Protection policy. But, in the future, if there is a problem, use Wikipedia:Requests for page protection. --Jayron32 23:43, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:UPROT — when a user requests userpage protection, we don't require evidence of substantial vandalism. Nyttend (talk) 00:48, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]