Help desk
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December 31[edit]

What do I do if two editors are constantly fighting with each other all the time?[edit]

For a month two users have been at it. Who do I report to for this to complain and maybe get it resolved? Many Thanks! ―Matthew J. Long -Talk-^☖ 04:34, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Edit. I should specify this is not an edit war. The two users are always attacking each other on talk pages.―Matthew J. Long -Talk-^☖ 04:39, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Matthew J. Long, I have figured out the problem you were having. You need to report the users in question to the Administrators' noticeboard for Incidents (ANI). Thank you and good luck editing!―Matthew J. Long -Talk-^☖ 04:46, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I figured out the problem myself. Thank you for helping me figure this out, Help Desk.―Matthew J. Long -Talk-^☖ 04:46, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@MattLongCT: Forget to change sockpuppeting accounts much? — Preceding unsigned comment added by YuriGagrin12 (talk • contribs) 21:47, 3 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

prints[edit]

I have access to a book of old Japanese woodblock prints. Would photos of it / them be good for Wikipedia? Benjamin (talk) 04:44, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the offer Benjamin. You would, however, need to be very careful that in uploading such photos you were not infringing the book publisher's copyright. If the book is several centuries old, or the publisher has explicitly released it under a free licence (like Wikipedia itself), then you should be OK. Our page on uploading images gives more explanation on the copyright aspects and also points to guidance on how to go about uploading, if you do think it's safe. Mostly the pictures would be put on to Wikimedia Commons, that way they become available to Wikipedias for all languages and other Wikimedia sister projects : Noyster (talk), 17:36, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This particular situation is even more complicated than the usual copyright situation. The artist's copyright on the original prints expired 70 years after the artist's death (ro at soem other data in the past, depending on the rules in the country in which they were first "published" (i.e., made public). In many countries, a faithful 2-dimensional reproduction of a 2-dimensional work (i.e., the pictures in your book) cannot be separately copyrighted, and therefore are in the public domain, because copyright protects the creator of a creative work, and the act of faithfully copying is deemed not to be creative. Note that the book itself as a whole may still be copyrighted as a "collective work", because "selection, arrangement, and presentation" are deemed to be creative. However, this copyright does not retroactively cover the images of the original works themselves, even when you copy the images from the book. So, you have some homework to do before you can assert that your images are in the public domain. Document your homework briefly in the justification section of your upload to Wiki commons. As to your original question: yes, these images are very likely to be good for Wikipedia. Please include them in the appropriate articles after you upload them, assuming your homework shows that they are in fact public domain. -Arch dude (talk) 01:50, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
- Wiki Commons is hosted on servers located in the United States and material thereon is subject to US copyright law. My discussion of images of 2-dimensional art apply. The relevant court case is Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.. -Arch dude (talk) 01:57, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the advice. The book contains the original woodblock prints, not photographs. The book contains significant commentary. I'm not sure exactly how old it is, but I think it's more than a century old. I'll have to have a look at it next time I have the opportunity. A photo of a 2D work would still be protected by the original copyright, wouldn't it? If it turns out the book isn't super old, and therefore still in copyright, the images could still be uploaded with fair use rational, right? But only in some situations...? Benjamin (talk) 10:59, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Recent Page Deletion: Eurovision Song Contest 2019[edit]

I would just like to know why a page that I had been editing, was deleted. Last time I looked, it was still under debate on its talk page, and nobody had voted for its deletion. Please respond when convenient. ~~KayeL — Preceding unsigned comment added by KayeL (talk • contribs) 05:16, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@KayeL: See Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Eurovision Song Contest 2019. It was deleted after a deletion discussion. --Majora (talk) 05:20, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Help:Cite errors/Cite error included ref[edit]

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Abhishek Juyal (talk • contribs) .

Hello Abishek Juyal. It would have helped if you had signed your question (with four tildes ~~~~) and told us which page you had the problem on. I found it was Naruto Uzumaki, and I have fixed it: you had a reference opened with </ref> instead of <ref, and closed with an incomplete tag </ref. In my opinion, the article is far too long, and has far too much detail for a fictional character..

Done. --ColinFine (talk) 10:16, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Abhishek Juyal: See reply above. (Unfotunately to incorrect username) Eagleash (talk) 10:59, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia opening view[edit]

Good evening. When I open Wikipedia it is emphasised in black and to the left of the address bar is a black box. Tapping the black box once, turns it grey and more information becomes available to view.

This has only occurred within the last month. It is very inconvenient. Seems to be only occurring on my iPhone, desktops open in grey mode. How can I turn the dark mode off?

Many thanks. 2001:8003:A61F:E400:785E:E581:C179:C78F (talk) 09:36, 31 December 2017 (UTC). Ian — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:8003:A61F:E400:785E:E581:C179:C78F (talk) 09:32, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Ian. No idea, I'm afraid: I don't use iPhone. Generally, for technical questions like this, WP:VPT is a better place to ask. --ColinFine (talk)

Thanks Colin. The VPT area I have trouble understanding what is being talked about! I’ll keep trying and might ask a teenager at an apple store. Regards. Ian~~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.185.4.106 (talk) 23:39, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

HELP PLEASE[edit]

I am desperate there is someone who has attached themselves to my phone they are stalking me. Now either they take themselves out of my phone for good or I will contact the cyber stalking crime unit and have them investigate them and they will find you and prosecute this person. They are using Wikipedia and gather and several other sites to stalk me. Please remove all and anything generated from my device. Please and thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.134.100.201 (talk) 10:20, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Apart from the fact that you could go to an authorised service outlet and get your phone formatted, Wikipedia is not the place which can assist you. Thanks, Lourdes 11:53, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

How to view Special:RecentChanges for recent 2,000 changes?[edit]

In the past, I can view Special:RecentChanges for recent 2,000 changes, by changing the "limit" to 2,000 in the URL. However, for the new version of Special:RecentChanges, even I change the "limit", it still only displays recent 1,000 changes only, not 2,000 anymore. Is there any way I can view recent 2,000 changes again? --Kowlooner (talk) 11:33, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I opened Chrome, removed all the filters, used the https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&limit=2000&days=30 link, exported the results to Excel, and it showed me exactly 2000 results. Safari kept hanging at anything above 500. Perhaps it's an issue with the browser rather than the software. Other editors may be able to fill in more comprehensively here. Thanks, Lourdes 11:49, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Now I notice the problem only exists when I keep the new URL format "hidebots=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&limit=2000&days=7&urlversion=2", but it works fine for just keeping "limit=2000&days=30" and removing all other parameters. --Kowlooner (talk) 12:42, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Qutub minar[edit]

Hey wikipedia I want to talk abput a spelling mistake in title of article qutub minar The title is given QUTB MINAR instead of QUUB MINAR PLEASE CORRECT IT AS FOLOWS.

REGARDS, USER — Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.56.105.102 (talk) 12:14, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Courtesy link to Qutb Minar for any editor who knows something about Arabic orthography and can sort out the problem, if there is one. (Even I know that there's no single "official" or "recognised" system for transcribing between the Arabic and Roman scripts.) {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.199.208.241 (talk) 14:24, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The languages in the name part of the header are Urdu and Hindi, even though Urdu is an extension of Persian which is an extension of Arabic, transliteration of the same letters in Urdu and Arabic to English aren't necessarily one to one.Naraht (talk) 15:52, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Blank page[edit]

What is the purpose of Special:BlankPage? --Komischn (talk) 13:06, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2017 April 29#Special:BlankPage. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:15, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Moving article for sandbox[edit]

If a new editor needs to move an article from their sandbox to a main Wikipedia article, do they request a technical move?

I cannot find this information in help, FAQ, or archives. I don`t have a "Move" option.

jat (talk) 14:58, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Please, see Wikipedia:So_you_made_a_userspace_draft. Ruslik_Zero 16:18, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Cryptocurrency for wiki[edit]

Please put wiki some where safe . We love you guys . A decentralized crypto would give you the funding needed to continue and a decentralized protocol would keep information alive . I'd put half my portfolio in a currency like that. Food for thought — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.235.117.57 (talk) 15:30, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

You have not asked a question, but I will answer anyways. Beyond the usual precautions taken by the WMF IT team to have redundant servers, backups etc., one can hope that of the many people who have downloaded Wikipedia, some would host a mirror of Wikipedia should something terrible happen to the site. The data is therefore unlikely to be ever lost. Tigraan^{Click here to contact me} 18:05, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Assist[edit]

Hi Please call me at <redacted>. I guess I'm lost. Need help, please assist. Regards Ashish Shaw — Preceding unsigned comment added by Yashunpradu (talk • contribs) 16:40, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Yashunpradu: Hello, this is the 'desk' for help in editing Wikipedia. Do you have a question in that respect? Please do not provide contact details or other personal information. Thank you. Eagleash (talk) 17:12, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Donating[edit]

Hello. I was trying to donate to Wikipedia because I saw that they were requesting donations today. But when I logged in, the notification asking me to donate had disappeared. I’m not sure this is the right place to ask, but I do want to donate to Wikipedia and keep it thriving. Worst Username (talk) 19:17, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Donation requests are not shown to logged-in users but you can still use the link at the right just below the Wikipedia logo. Ruslik_Zero 19:21, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Template:Press[edit]

At Talk:Salinator, Template:Press is used. The template ought to say, "This article has been mentioned by a media organization". But instead, on that talk page it says, "template has been mentioned by a media organization" (with no "This" and with a reference to a "template" instead of a "article").

I looked at the source code for Template:Press, and while I'm not good at reading template code, it appears to me that the only options for the beginning of that sentence are "This article" and "This page", not "template", so I don't know where that phrasing is coming from. Does anyone have any explanation for this? --Metropolitan90 (talk) 19:44, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Seems like the "subject" parameter (which here is reflected by "template") automatically overrides the if switch; they are both within the same curly bracket after all. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 19:48, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, it looks like what I needed was to remove the "subject" parameter altogether to fix the problem. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 20:01, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

subject = article should have worked but didn't due to a bad edit to {{Press}}. I have reverted it.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 23:09, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Copyright question[edit]

Hello,

I would like to know if I can use a photograph from a certain webpage in a Wikipedia article I am writing.

The website was owned by a company that has merged with another company and been rebranded.

All of the material and photos were owned by the company that has merged.

thanks,

CartleR255 (talk) 22:30, 31 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The dates quoted in the copyright notice are the dates of publication, and not the date of expiry. Copyright typically expires between 50 and 100 years after the death of the author, but varies from country to country. --David Biddulph (talk) 01:16, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@CartleR255: ... and hence such pictures are almost surely copyrighted. They could still be used if all criteria at WP:NFCC are met (this is a bit stricter than fair use). Tigraan^{Click here to contact me} 12:14, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]