Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2019 December 5

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December 5[edit]

Wikipedia donation requests[edit]

I donate to Wikipedia annually during the summer. In the past, page requests ceased after I made my donation; however, these day, they continue to plague the site. I use the same computer. What gives? I am less likely to give at all if my donations go unacknowledged and the requests continue. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.2.46.49 (talk) 00:41, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for donating. If you create an account, you can turn off the notices. IP users have to deal with them, I'm afraid. 331dot (talk) 01:01, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Why do I keep getting asked for money[edit]

I've donated on my desktop, I've donated on my cell phone. Can you kindly stop asking me for more money — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.228.247.182 (talk) 06:00, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, the notices can be annoyingly obtrusive. Unfortunately, Wikipedia's volunteer community has little control over them; they are instead designed by the staff at the Wikimedia Foundation. As 331dot mentioned above, you can turn them off by creating an account. – Teratix 06:42, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Uploading a photo[edit]

Hi, my dad is in wikipedia - Robert /BOB Smithies

He recently passed

I want to upload a photo to his page.

Not having any luck, every one of my images, ones i took or have from his album keep getting rejected. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sarahjanesmithies (talkcontribs) 02:51, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Sarahjanesmithies, I'm sorry for your loss. Have you tried the Upload Wizard?

How to deal with political article that seems to be biased[edit]

Hi. In one of the political article on wikipedia, the description seems too biased to one side. Some people before me edited the article to be less biased but a contributor who is most active reverts it whenever that happens. I also edited it but that same contributor also reverted the article.

I am new to Wikipedia and don't know the procedure. Is there a way to discuss if some opinionated arguments should be on the wiki?

Thanks Skim444 (talk) 08:08, 5 December 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Skim444 (talkcontribs) 03:33, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Start with Talk:Liberty Korea Party. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 06:05, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Why is the Wikipedia page "Israel" protected? Site contains inaccuracy re: "liberal democracy" & zero photos of home demolitions[edit]

I noticed the Wikipedia "Israel" page is protected, yet contains inaccurate information and glaring omissions.

I would like permission to edit the "Israel" Wikipedia page and to post photographs, as well, of Israeli home demolitions in East Jerusalem.

The Israel Wikipedia page says "The country has a liberal democracy (one of only two in the Middle East and North Africa region, the other being Tunisia),[56][57] with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal suffrage.[58][59]" The links for substantiation are to FreedomHouse.org, a US government funded organization that hardly constitutes a legitimate journalistic source.

"In its 2017 and 2018 financial statements, Freedom House once again disclosed that it "was substantially funded by grants from the U.S. Government." (Wikipedia/Freedom House)

Over four million Palestinians, including those in East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza, live under Israeli occupation and rule but are now allowed to vote in Israel's elections. One essential criteria for a democracy is the right to vote, but occupied Palestinians do not have the right to vote in how they are governed with Israeli checkpoints, blockades, home demolitions and indefinite detentions.

(August, 2019, The Nation: "The Meaning of Israel's Massive House Demolitions" https://www.thenation.com/article/israel-occupation-palestine-housing-east-jerusalem/

Who Gets to Vote in Israel’s Version of Democracy? https://www.972mag.com/gets-vote-israels-democracy-2019/

"Israel, not a Democracy" (Counterpunch, 2018) https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/09/18/is-israel-a-democracy/

"Unlike most liberal democracies, Israel classifies its citizens as holding differing ‘nationalities’. It distinguishes between citizenship rights and national rights; the latter are reserved almost exclusively for its Jewish citizens. National rights are deemed to be superior to citizenship rights so if there is a conflict between a ‘Jews national right and a Palestinians individual citizenship rights, the national right is given priority by officials and the courts’

Additionally, Israel is not democratic because it bestows privileged rights to Jews, promising citizenship to any Jew in the world who emigrates to Israel while denying that right to exiled Palestinians who fled in 1947-48.

"Israel, not a Democracy" (Counterpunch, 2018) https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/09/18/is-israel-a-democracy/

"Israeli Palestinians, by contrast, are subject to a ban on family unification and are prohibited from living in Israel should they marry a fellow Palestinian from Gaza or the West Bank under the Citizenship and Entry Law."

Another essential attribute of a democracy is dissent, which is becoming increasingly difficult if not impossible when the subject is the occupation or the global boycott campaign against Israel.

"Israeli authorities have continued to narrow the space for criticism of its policies toward Palestinians. In March, the Knesset passed a law barring entry to foreigners who call for boycotting Israel or settlements."

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/israel/palestine

(Oct. 17, 2018) Times of Israel: "Welcome to Israel! Please Leave Your Dissent at the Door" https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/welcome-to-israel-please-leave-your-dissent-at-the-door/

(2019/NY Times) "Israel to Expel Human Rights Worker" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/05/world/middleeast/israel-human-rights-watch-bds.html

In the Israeli Knesset, Arab Israelis (Palestinians) can be expelled by a vote of the Knesset, even though the Arab Israeli representatives were popularly elected.

(Sept., 2019: Amnesty International Report: "Israel Discriminatory measures undermine Palestinian representation in Knesset" https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/israel-discriminatory-measures-undermine-palestinian-representation-in-knesset/

"For example, a 2016 legislative amendment which allows members of the Knesset to expel elected MKs by a majority vote means that MKs who express peaceful political views or opinions that are deemed unacceptable by a majority of MKs can face expulsion from parliament."

For the above reasons, I ask that you allow me to edit the Wikipedia "Israel" page to at the very least posit an opposing argument that Israel is not a democracy.

This site had over 776,000 views in the last 60 days and 90,000 internal and 742 external links to the site. Marcywinograd (talk) 05:57, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Articles related to the Arab-Israel conflict, probably the most controversial topic on Wikipedia, are indefinitely under extended-confirmed protection (editors must have been registered for 30 days and 500 edits) as they invariably attract vandals, trolls and biased editors. (In fact, Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee is currently working through its fourth case in this area). However, even before you gain the necessary editing experience, you are free to propose and discuss your changes on the article's talk page. I can see from your user page you are quite passionate on this subject, so please bear in mind the need for neutrality and reliable sources to support your changes. – Teratix 06:17, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, Marcywinograd. This article is protected because of a very long history of vandalism and disruption from zealots on all sides of the controversy. Editors who are here to push an anti-Israel point of view are as unwelcome here as editors who are here to push a pro-Israel point of view. This is a website that is built on the neutral point of view. So, every article about the Israel-Palestine conflict must present neutrally written content accurately summarizing all sides of the conflict. This is an extremely difficult task that can be carried out only by experienced editors committed to Wikipedia's established policies and guidelines. If you come here to bash Israel, then you will have as difficult a time here as the editors who come here to glorify Israel. There are a million soapbox advocacy websites available to you on the internet. Wikipedia is not one of them. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 08:21, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Donations[edit]

Hi, here is a suggestion. If you are asking for donations please include google or Apple Pay option as it will be a lot easier to donate — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C4:4587:D700:8495:9A06:2C13:C038 (talk) 08:16, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, IP editor. Wikipedia editors (and Teahouse hosts) have absolutely nothing to do with the fundraising campaign. Contact the Wikimedia Foundation with your concerns. They run the fundraising effort. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 08:25, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
In addition to what Cullen said above, all questions regarding donations should be directed to donate @ wikimedia.org. Suggestions, including new payment methods, can also be made at meta:Fundraising/2019-20_Fundraising_ideas --Ahecht (TALK
PAGE
) 22:01, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Donation[edit]

Hello, I'd like to ask about the donation section. I've noticed that there's two forms of payment witch both of them requires a certain time for all users register. I'm sure many of wikipedia's readers uses cryptocurrency and I want to take your answer regards the one that is feeless, fast and instant called Nano. If possible, I could donate wikipedia's funds with this tool. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A01:4C8:41E:654D:1:1:5963:A56E (talk) 09:16, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! As User:Cullen328 explained in the section above, Wikipedia editors (and Teahouse hosts) have absolutely nothing to do with the fundraising campaign. Contact the Wikimedia Foundation with your concerns. They run the fundraising effort. --CiaPan (talk) 09:31, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
In addition to what CiaPan said above, all questions regarding donations should be directed to donate @ wikimedia.org. Suggestions, including new payment methods, can also be made at meta:Fundraising/2019-20_Fundraising_ideas --Ahecht (TALK
PAGE
) 22:01, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Be2: No reply - what to do next?[edit]

Hello everyone,

16 days ago I asked some questions about the sources on the talk page of the article Be2. It's about their reliability. Nobody has answered yet, probably because the article is hardly watched. Would anyone like to take a look and tell me what to do? Or would someone like to edit it themselves?

I write on behalf of the company Be2 (paid editing). Thanks for your help.

Greetings from Munich Munich-Center (talk) 13:01, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Munich-Center. I will look at those issues later today. In future you could use {{Help me}} to draw attentiuon to a talk page where assitance is needed. DES (talk)DESiegel Contribs 18:46, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Significant page opening delay when logged in on FireFox[edit]

Opening Wikipedia pages (either from Google or clicking a link within Wikipedia) is significantly slow under that condition. When I checked the Developer Tool, the delay was at the "Waiting" step. At first, I thought that some browser extension was causing it, so I tried disabling extensions one by one and then all of them. That had no effect. After trying a few things, I have found that the page loading speed is normal if I log out. If I log in, then the page loading becomes significantly slow again. It did not happen with Chrome even if I logged in with the same account. Is this a known problem? How to solve this? Sin Jeong-hun (talk) 13:06, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

PS: I did some further testing. Probably the language setting is the cause. I created a new Wikipedia account for testing, and it did not happen, sort of. When not logged in, the waiting was about 200~500 ms. When logged in with the new account, the waiting was about 600~800 ms. With this account (the one I am writing this with) the waiting is sometimes over 6000 ms. I reset the preferences of this account, and then the delay was reduced to similar values to the new testing account (600~800 ms). The setting that causes this seems to be the language setting. Mine had been set to "British English". When I changed it to "English" the delay was reduced to similar values to the new testing account. But not setting it or setting another language like Japanese also increased the delay. But why does setting the language to something like "British English" should increase the waiting significantly on FireFox? Isn't this a bug? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sin Jeong-hun (talkcontribs) 13:37, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Sin Jeong-hun The place to ask about things like that is WP:VPT (Village Pump Technical). They deal with Technical issues like that and know the innards of the system.

fiber horse[edit]

Hello sir/mam, I am a co-founder and ceo of "Fiber Horse" — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fiberhorsejns (talkcontribs) 13:23, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Fiberhorsejns Hello. Thanks for letting us know. Do you have a question about using Wikipedia? 331dot (talk) 13:26, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
FWIW I've blocked the account as a spam user name making promotional edits for the company on his user page Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:18, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

What is Wikipedia.nd.ax?[edit]

An article from Wikipedia.nd.ax showed up in my google newsfeed and it seems it was related to a personal page of someone who had been banned by Wikipedia admins. Any idea how that would happen? And what is the .nd.ax? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.230.196.53 (talk) 15:38, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Could you provide a link to the news article perhaps? Captain Eek Edits Ho Cap'n! 18:48, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The link is http://wikipedia.nd.ax/wiki/Pickled_cucumber

The article is innocuous, but if you click on the talk button it shows you an IP address that has been banned.... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.230.196.53 (talk) 19:15, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

This is just a Wikipedia mirror that makes a copy of our pages. There are hundreds of them and they usually don't show up high in Google searches. ".nd.ax" means it's hosted on another domain, .ax is a domain name belonging to Finland. Only domains ending in "wikipedia.org" are ours. – Thjarkur (talk) 20:51, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

WHOA! I ALREADY GAVE[edit]

Hi. Hi. I recently contributed $60 to Wikipedia because I believe in its mission. However, I continue to get in-your-face messages asking me for money every time I want to use the website. Isn’t there someway for you to recognize my IP address as a donor and not include me in your obnoxious fundraising message? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.242.78.117 (talk) 16:05, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Fundraising is run by the Foundation that you donated to, and not us editors here on Wikipedia itself. Feel free to address any concerns or suggestions you have with the fundraising process to them. If you want to stop getting the messages, you can create an account under which you can then stop the messages (and other banners) from appearing. If you decline to create an account(which you are free to do), you will have to live with them. 331dot (talk) 16:36, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting. When you drop a dollar into a donation box, do you expect the box to be gone the next time you're in the area? Matt Deres (talk) 19:30, 6 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

WatchList (default) appearance[edit]

I realize that I'm being GinPigged as to the format of the display I see via WatchList- sometimes Navigation is on the bottom, which I don't like, mostly on top: what I'm used to and prefer. Two questions:

  • where do I register my !vote as to what the default should be
  • how do I, if I ever feel forced to do so, set a preference
At Prefs / Appearance, I saw five+ choices of "skin" - is it one of those?
Note: I'm not against trying to offer more choices on this, and I'm willing to express my view if told where, hence my 2 questions, since I really like seeing the new things- (but not too often).
I would suggest, since I'm a "registered"/non-IP user, to have a setting of "G-P*g" me up to "#" times for a new view/appearance; I'd probably set it to 2 or 3, since I might not feel like "voting" at the one-and-only chance I'd get with a setting of 1. Pi314m (talk) 17:37, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

editing an addition to Biography on Wikipedia Page "Edward Francis Anhalt"[edit]

A new publication (2018) has been authored by Dr. Edward Francis Anhalt entitled "Mandatory Reading: Open Your Mind to 18 of Life's Most Important Questions". A portion of sales of books has/and is being given to the Susan G. Komen Foundation (Wisconsin Chapter). The ISBN # is 978-0-692-05865-7, and the book can be found at https://books.google.com/books?id=L3tptAEACAAJ&dq=mandatory+reading&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiz17KGip_mAhVMJKwKHVntAgMQ6AEwAHoECAIQAg.

I am looking for someone who can assist in adding this publication to the Wikipedia page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.1.150.25 (talk) 17:57, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Please only ask a question in one location, to avoid duplication of services/assistance. 331dot (talk) 18:05, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Page not indexed nor deleted after 90 days[edit]

Hello,

I wrote a Wikipedia page months back on an author, George Levy. After 90 days, the page is still not indexed on Google - for example, searching "George Levy" will not bring up the Wikipedia page as one of the first links. The link to his Wikipedia will, however, be available on his Google info box. How can I go about fixing this or who do I need to contact to resolve this issue?

Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by WillRStroh97 (talkcontribs) 18:31, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

WillRStroh97, Howdy hello! I'm afraid that we don't control how Google indexes things, nor do I know of any way to control or fix that. Captain Eek Edits Ho Cap'n! 18:41, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
WillRStroh97, Correction: we have some control over indexing, see Wikipedia:Controlling search engine indexing, but your page appears to be indexed. The real issue here is search engine optimization, which we can't really control. How google chooses to rank a page is outside of our control. Captain Eek Edits Ho Cap'n! 18:44, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
WillRStroh97, There are so many other George Levys that yours just doesn't rank very highly. If you search "George Levy WIkipedia", your article is the first result. Captain Eek Edits Ho Cap'n! 18:45, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Edit reverted for being "not constructive"[edit]

I made an edit today redirecting an article that pointed to the wrong page to its own article. I added in additional info that does not exist on Wikipedia pertaining to that item. About 2 seconds later the article was rejected for being "not constructive." What does that mean exactly if correcting errors and adding key information from citations is not "constructive"?Calculuschild (talk) 20:24, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

CalculusChild You have already asked the other editor about the edit, that is what should happen. You can also discuss the matter on the article talk page with any other editors that follow that article. 331dot (talk) 20:28, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I just saw the same edit. I too would be interested to know why this was thought "not constructive". Andy Dingley (talk) 20:46, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I posted a question at Talk:Cerrolow 136 and pinged Flyer22_Reborn to that discussion. The edit looks reasonable to me, althpoguh it seems to contain one incorrect citation, on a very quick look. DES (talk)DESiegel Contribs 21:26, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Why do we use ceased?[edit]

Just asking, but why not defunct? In the aaf it says ceased.New3400 (talk) 22:06, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

In the disambigiuation page AAF the word ceased does not apepar, neither does defunct, New3400. What page did you mean to ask about? The two words do not have identical meanings, although they do overlap. DES (talk)DESiegel Contribs 22:19, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Alliance of American football.New3400 (talk) 22:33, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, New3400. I assume you are asking about the word "Ceased" in the infobox on Alliance of American Football, and why this is different from the word "defunct" which a user added to the disambiguation page AAF in April, right?
The immediate reason is that that is the way the template {{infobox sports league}} has been coded. Since the entry seems to be intended for the date on which whatever league folded, "ceased" seems to me to be a good word: "The date on which it ceased to operate". I would find "defunct" a slightly odd word in that context - it is fine for a description of the league, but odd for a heading with a date in it. (I notice that the parameter for this is internally titled "folded": that would be a good word, but perhaps too informal for an encyclopaedia, which is no doubt why somebody made it display "ceased".)
But everything in Wikipedia is determined by consensus. If you think that "defunct" would be a better word to appear in that infobox (in every article relating to a defunct sports league, remember), you are welcome to argue your case, at Template talk:infobox sports league. --ColinFine (talk) 11:17, 6 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Adding a Presidential Candidate photo[edit]

How? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tenaciousdennis (talkcontribs) 22:15, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Tenaciousdennis: For living people, the photo must be released under a license that allows reuse for any purpose. If you have a photo that has been licensed that way, then go to WP:UPLOAD for to upload it and you can select the license that applies. RudolfRed (talk) 22:27, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Donations[edit]

I agreed to donate $100 on a one time. When I clicked pay I got Message that I was paying 17+dollars per month. I was specific on clicking one time. Correct this please or I will stop future payments — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.186.194.185 (talk) 23:06, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The help desk volunteers do not have access to donation data. See https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cancel_or_change_recurring_giving. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:25, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
The comment at WP:VPM says you should contact donate @ wikimedia.org with any questions or problems. RudolfRed (talk) 23:58, 5 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]