Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2017 October 7

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October 7

Help:Cite errors/Cite error references missing key

I just published Joseph O. Carter and getting this error message: Cite error: A list-defined reference named "FOOTNOTELili.CA.BBuokalani1898290" is not used in the content (see the help page).

I checked everything and see nothing like that. When I click on the linked help page, I get this message: A list-defined reference named "$1" is not used in the content (see the help page).

I cannot find anything in the content that matches that. Please advise. — Maile (talk) 00:44, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

{{sfn}} does not go inside <ref>...</ref> tags. That {{sfn}} now needs a target.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 00:53, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Thank you. Right in front of my nose. — Maile (talk) 00:53, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

(edit conflict)I *think* the issue is that it is trying to make a footnote out of the name that you are using, but can't handle the ʻOkina in Queen Lili'uokalani's name which is probably something in Unicode. My guess is that the {{sfn|Liliʻuokalani|1898|p=290}} is creating that. I'd guess if you changed that sfn and the location that it refers to need to be changed to something that is in the standard ascii and the error will be fixed.Naraht (talk) 00:55, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

I fixed that too, so everything is fine. Thanks for looking at this. — Maile (talk) 01:05, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

John Adams

I tried posting this on the article's talk page about 12 hours ago. The problem still isn't fixed, so I'll ask my question here. I made an edit to John Adams which added 508 characters worth of content. When I saved it, I saw that several previous sections had somehow been removed. When I click the [edit] button and scroll down through the text, everything looks normal. This is entirely unlike anything I have encountered in the nearly 14,000 edits that I've made to Wikipedia. I offer my thanks to anyone taking a look at this. Display name 99 (talk) 02:23, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Fixed with this edit. You had unmatched brackets: {[sfn|Ferling|1992|p=431}}. I know from experience how hard it can be to see such things. Maproom (talk) 06:26, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

OK. I'll look out for that in the future. Thank you. Display name 99 (talk) 12:10, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Calvin Hooker Goddard

Can someone remove the protection set up 8 years ago for BLP. The man has been dead since 1955 so there were no BLP violations in 2008 when the protections were set. Or can I remove it just by removing the template? --RAN (talk) 03:45, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

@Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ): You can request reduction in page protection at WP:RFPP but should ask the protecting Admin (Enigmaman) first. Eagleash (talk) 04:24, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

• Thanks!

 Done Enigma^msg 06:13, 8 October 2017 (UTC)

Filter problem

I used to regularly use the autobiography filter linked from Possible autobiographies or COI – detected by filter 148 (edit filter log) and filter 188 (edit filter log) which typically gave me a list here of new articles where the article title and user name were the same or similar, enabling me to take appropriate action. There were always several items there. Recently the page was revamped, with five boxes appearing at the top of the page, and the content of the page I see hasn't changed since Oct 1. It's unlikely that suddenly no one is writing COI articles, so presumably either the filters are broken, or there is something I need to do to see results since Oct 1, but I have no idea what. Any thoughts? Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:19, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

@Jimfbleak: Filter 188 was disabled some years ago. The results for filter 148 show that it has been working normally in the past week, but all the pages involved have already been deleted. So it's probably correct that nothing shows up at Special:RecentChanges, at least for me as a non-admin. Did admins see red links at Special:RecentChanges before the recent software update? -- John of Reading (talk) 07:08, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

John of Reading, thanks. I was so used to seeing a long list of results, so I assumed either I or the software was at fault, but it looks as if the gnomes have been beating me to it. No, red links don't show normally. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 10:31, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Template does not align right side properly

Seen here, how can the template be forced to align to the right side of the page? Thanks. prokaryotes (talk) 10:13, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

It works for me to combine {{stack}} and {{clear}}.[1] I'm not sure how stable it is. Others are welcome to change it. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:43, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

.Thank for this nice little hack :D prokaryotes (talk) 10:44, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Multiple articles erroneously state Nadezhda (cockroach) was the first earth creature to give birth in space

I have already corrected Cockroach and Animals in space but many pages link to Nadezhda (cockroach). Is there some way to check all the other articles that link to Nadezhda (cockroach) and correct this error other than looking at each article, one by one? Dyspeptic skeptic (talk) 11:09, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Just to clarify, this cockroach was sent into space where it conceived, and then produced young when back on earth? So what is the erroneous statement these articles are making? Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:42, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Actually, hardly any of the articles in the "What links here?" actually link to the page. They are all appearing there because, like the page Diploptera, they have a "Cockroach" template at the bottom which includes a link to Nadezhda (cockroach). So most of your results are false positives. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:55, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

This only gives four results: insource:Nadezhda linksto:"Nadezhda (cockroach)". PrimeHunter (talk) 13:06, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Thanks. In addition to the two aforementioned articles, that shows the disambiguation page (which I forgot that I had edited, but I need to correct my edit) and Foton (satellite). I'll edit those now. Dyspeptic skeptic (talk) 13:30, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

O.K., thanks. The erroneous statement was that Nadezhda gave birth in space. Not only did she simply conceive mate in space, her offspring may have emerged from eggs, as an editor of Nadezhda (cockroach) noted in an edit summary. Dyspeptic skeptic (talk) 13:30, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Query

To Whom It May Concern - I clarified or corrected the facts in a Wikipedia biographical entry recently created about me, without realising that this constituted a Wikipedia conflict of interest. I can confirm the biographical detail as it now appears is factual and correct. Alison MacLeod — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alison MacLeod (talk • contribs) 12:14, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

something weird

Hi I'm a 12 year old boy and am experiencing weird changes like yesterday I woke up with hair in my armpits and I have a bunch of acne what's happening with me? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:8804:4C04:1300:6983:356A:CE86:FDDA (talk) 12:53, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Your question is more appropriate for Wikipedia's reference desk. But I'll save you the trouble of posting it there; I assume you'll find the answer you seek in the article Puberty. Dyspeptic skeptic (talk) 14:59, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

How to create a new page in a series based on pre-existing pages

I am interested in starting a new page on next year's referendum on electoral reform in British Columbia, Canada. There is an existing series of articles tied in to a navigation box connecting to related elections and referenda (see 2009 BC Referendum page). I would like to replicate the structure of the existing page on the 2009 referendum (i.e., the new page would be ...reform_referendum,2018). I have experience editing pages, but not how to create a new page so that it's properly inserted into these reference structures. I can't find specific instructions on how to do this in the FAQs. Could you please point me in the right direction? AntonyHodgson (talk) 16:15, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

@AntonyHodgson: Writing an article for Wikipedia is harder than many people realize. Even professional writers find that the format and style needed for a good encyclopedia article are different than what might be appropriate for other venues. You could:

• Get someone else to do it—If your only goal is to make sure that an article is added to Wikipedia, you can request that someone write an article on the subject.
• Start by editing other articles—If you are interested in becoming an editor at Wikipedia, our experience demonstrates that it is better to start by improving existing articles, which will help you get a sense of how this place works, and then you will be ready to write your first article from scratch. A good place to visit is the Wikipedia backlog, where there are literally hundreds of thousands of articles needing help from editors. Find an article in a subject area you know, and add a source, or a reference, or simply help write it better.
• Go ahead and try—If you do decide to write an article immediately, please read our policy on conflicts of interest, then read our guide to writing your first article, which will repeat some of the good advice above. Then please use the Article wizard, which will help you through the steps. I urge you to accept the option to save your first draft in your user subpage, which will reduce the chance your work will be deleted before it is ready.

You could always copy the source code of the British Columbia electoral reform referendum, 2009 page (by clicking "edit source"), then pasting it into the new page, changing the text as needed, but making sure that you say in the edit summary (or on the talk page) that you copied the code. This will help you keep the same formatting.  Seagull123  Φ  18:44, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

How to add articles?

Hello, Trying to update the Selected Articles on this page with about 15 articles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Caplan

When I use the Cite Journal template, it either puts the article at the end of References, or it just shows up as "[1]" under Selected Articles.

I've done this before, but not for a long while -- how can I add articles to Selected Articles without having to type and format by hand??

THANK YOU. Lisa Kearns — Preceding unsigned comment added by EthicsMatters (talk • contribs) 16:27, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Hi EthicsMatters Use cite journal, but remove the ref tags <ref> </ref>, then use * to format it as a bulleted list. I recently created just such a list in the Sandra Welner article, take a look. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 19:01, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

How to collapse a table

I am working with User:Ergo Sum/sandbox/Template:Ordination/color chart and am trying to collapse the table there. I would like each of the headers that are religions to be collapsible. Does anyone know how to do this? Thanks in advance? Ergo Sum 16:43, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Template:Formerly

Thread retitled from "How to add a page to a series?".

Could someone with a good grasp of template syntax please expand the documentation to Template:Formerly with some examples and instruction on when to use the template? Thanks! --Guy Macon (talk) 19:45, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

...Sound of crickets... --Guy Macon (talk) 04:34, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

That template says it invokes the "anchor" template. However, it doesn't seem to work. Its creator, Xeno (talk · contribs), appears to still be active, so I have asked him to come here and explain it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:28, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

@Guy Macon: Consider a link like this:

#How to create a new page in a series based on pre-existing pages

It leads to a section above. It works because the section header is automatically extended with an unvisible HTML anchor object, which identifies a point at the page. When you click the link, you instruct the browser to scroll the contents to a specific, named point—and the anchor defines the point.

Now suppose the section above was previously named How to add a page to a series? and somebody made a link to the section as

#How to add a page to a series?

but someone else has changed the section title. As a result the latter link won't find the desired place anymore.

However, if you insert {{formerly|How to add a page to a series?}} at the top of the section, it will add another anchor to the section, so that both links will lead to the (almost) same place. This lets you recover linking to sections without restoring old section titles. --CiaPan (talk) 07:29, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

I added it, as a test. I don't think it works, ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:36, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

@Baseball Bugs: You've added the template to the current section, not to the abovementioned 'How to create a new page in a series based on pre-existing pages'. Anyway, it works for me. Try scrolling the page so that the first lines of the current section are invisible (above the top edge of your browser window), then click the link. The window should scroll down to show the top line of the section (the one starting with the word 'Formerly'). --CiaPan (talk) 08:14, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

I see. So it does seem to work. I'm just curious what advantage it has over the "anchor" template, other than being visible instead of hidden. In any case, the OP's question was how to document it. I suspect your comments go a ways in that direction. Adding some of the details from the "anchor" template might be in order also. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:54, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

Accessing draft pages

I started creating a page a few days ago and saved it, but now when I go on my account I can not find my work? How do I find saved drafts? — Preceding unsigned comment added by VJackson (talk • contribs) 21:48, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

@VJackson: This question is the only edit your account has saved. It's possible to save drafts without logging in. We can search for a page if you say what is was about. But many new users misunderstand the interface and incorrectly think they have saved a page when they have only previewed it or were missing a step. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:07, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

(edit conflict)@VJackson: Hello, your contributions show only your post on this page as of today's date. Are you positive that the draft did 'save' correctly. If so, you could try entering Draft:"the name you gave your draft" in the search box at top right. If it does not appear, then it looks as if it did not save and you might well have to start again. This account was only created 2 days ago: did you begin the page before that? If so what account name were you using or did you begin the draft without creating an account? Eagleash (talk) 22:10, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

Note: The editor has since started editing Draft:Maywood SuperFund Site.  Seagull123  Φ  10:49, 8 October 2017 (UTC)