Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2019 May 22

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May 22[edit]

Place name pronunciation[edit]

I discovered today that my employer gives me access to the Canadian Press Stylebook, which has an extensive list of pronunciations for Canadian place names, so that you can pronounce Kangiqsualujjuaq (kan-djik-soo-AL-loo-joo-ak) or know that Forget, Saskatchewan is pronounced FOR-zhay even though it is in an anglophone province. I went and did the IPA and the Respelling for a few places in the A range, but I was wondering if someone more experience with this could check my work to make sure I'm not doing anything terribly wrong. The CP guide only indicates the primary stress, and doesn't include IPA so I have to transliterate it myself. I couldn't find a Wikiproject devoted to pronunciation, is there a place to go that I'm unaware of?

Thanks Samuell Lift me up or put me down 01:35, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Samuell Thank you for adding these. It's good to see regular citations given for such pronunciations, which all too often look like "original research". If you haven't already you may want to check out Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation, which links to help pages about IPA: Bhunacat10 (talk), 08:57, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]


Thanks. Samuell Lift me up or put me down 15:46, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Enquiry[edit]

hi, how can i inquire about my credentilas? thank u— Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.255.42.110 (talkcontribs) 06:30, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, do you have a query about editing Wikipedia? If you do, please try to be more specific: Bhunacat10 (talk), 09:02, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Users adding confidential or private info[edit]

Hi, Can you advise? There are pages for an actor who keeps his private life private but someone seems determined to post it on this actors wiki page. I've amended it back to remove it twice but what is wikis stance on this sort of thing? It's an invasion of privacy as unless it's been sanctioned by the actor involved (very unlikely) how do I sort this out please? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.11.245.194 (talkcontribs) 06:46, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

(courtesy links to Alexandra Dowling and Tom Burke (actor)) Wikipedia has a very strict policy on biographies of living people, which mandates that any information in articles must be referenced with high-quality sources. In this case, the information was not referenced at all, so it was fine to remove it. – Teratix 07:02, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your quick response - is there any way to stop this reoccurring please as I don't want to have to keep amending it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.11.245.194 (talkcontribs) 07:06, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
A report can be made at WP:BLPN to invite more editors to watch the articles and to respond to problems. I added them to my watchlist and will try to remember to monitor what's happening. If necessary, the pages can be semiprotected for a short period to discourage the IP edits (that would also stop you from contributing there). Please use four tilde characters to sign your comments, see WP:TP. Johnuniq (talk) 07:18, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I've put down 3 days of semi on both articles, and also blocked the IPs who I suspect don't have the interests of the project or subjects at heart. -- zzuuzz (talk) 07:47, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! Johnuniq (talk) 07:50, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you everyone :)

Angie 22/5/2019 82.11.245.194 (talk) 16:55, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Changing the headline/ description of a person[edit]

I recently edited the page of the Canadian/ British poet Todd Swift to remove some personal abuse. Accessing the page on my phone today I see that he is headlined as 'Todd Swift - abuser of power' in the space which might, for instance, say 'Michael Jackson - musician' or Elizabeth I - English monarch'. How do I change this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Corsaire5555 (talkcontribs)

This problem will resolve itself. Ruslik_Zero 08:35, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
The mobile version displays a Wikidata description seen on "Wikidata item" in the left pane of the desktop site. I have reverted it.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 08:55, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I added a short description to Todd Swift to prevent the display of a repeat. Johnuniq (talk) 09:38, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Changing an article title by removing a hyphen.[edit]

I have had communication with the actor/writer Ayub Khan Din about his Wikipedia entry. He told me the article had his date of birth wrong and that there should be no hyphen in his name. So I carried out an edit to correct his date of birth and then I did a re-direct on the article to change the article title. I have two questions: First, have I followed the correct procedure on the changing the article title? Second, when I type his name in the search box, it still shows with a hyphen, so is there anything I can do to change this? Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by CN3777 (talkcontribs) 09:17, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article is Ayub Khan Din which you moved from Ayub Khan-Din. That's the correct procedure. However articles are supposed to be based on reliable sources rather than personal knowledge (which is referred to as original research that is not permitted here because there is no way for other editors to evaluate the information). Getting the information correct is the first step but verifying it with references is also important. The search information will automatically update after a day or two. Please add four tildes to sign comments, see WP:TP. Johnuniq (talk) 09:32, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@CN3777: If his preferred spelling and birth date are not available in a reliable source, then. You should ask the subject to publish them somewhere so you can reference that source. We do not in general consider self-published sources to be reliable, but we make an exception for names and birth dates. I you are associated withe subject, you have a COI (WP:COI) and if you have received compensation in any way, you are a pid editor (see WP:PAID) and must disclose this. In either case please do not make edits to the article (again, spelling and birth dates are exceptions) but instead make edit suggestions on the article's talk page. -Arch dude (talk) 14:36, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your responses. Just for clarification, I moved the article from Ayub Khan-Din to Ayub Khan Din. I am not in any way associated with the subject and certainly not getting any remuneration. I merely spoke with him this morning and he expressed his frustration that Wikipedia haven't got his name or date of birth right. His correct name is referenced in a number of places, but not, as far as I can see, his date of birth.CN3777 (talk) 16:00, 22 May 2019 (UTC) I should also add that the entire article already used his correct name throughout - Ayub Khan Din, without the hyphen. So, previous to my edit, the article title was not in keeping with the name actually used in the article. I don't see any previous editor referencing any source for that or for the incorrect date of birth that was previously given.CN3777 (talk) 19:02, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@CN3777:Since we have no valid reference for the date of birth, feel free to remove it entirely (In fact, we are supposed to remove it in such a case: see WP:BLP). If the subject wishes for the correct date to be added, then have him get it published somewhere: this would be the best solution, because we can then also put it in the Wikidata item for the subject. An incorrect date of birth in the wikidata item is a continuing source of irritation for some, because it gets propagated around the Internet like an infestation of lice. -Arch dude (talk) 19:14, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Help correcting awards listed that do not exist[edit]

What are your opinions on this page? I had contacted the redirect link author but since then I've noticed that another editor tried placing a deletion template on the article but since then removed it. My question is should this page be left as is or be deleted? I would appreciate any help in the decision making here, I found this article on the BrokenRedirect Special page and had been requesting various G8 deletions on pages and fixing redirect links but am just curious about this article. ImpWarfare (talk) 14:39, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

ImpWarfare - I think it should redirect to Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly or 2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election until a new article exists. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 14:47, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Lee Vilenski - I've updated the redirect link to Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as per your suggestion. Regards and thanks for the assist. ImpWarfare (talk) 14:51, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wikiproject that may need to be closed[edit]

I have been looking at various WMF-owned pages as part of a series of tesats I am doing to see how many barriers we have put up for blind people using screen readers.

While doing this I ran into something that probaly should be fixed, but I don'6 know where to request that it be fixed.

https://advisory.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page says

This wiki has moved to Meta:Advisory Board and has been closed.

...which leads to that page, which is fine.

https://advisors.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page says:

Welcome! For more information, visit the Community Portal.

...but that Community Portal doesn't contain any information other than a "Login required" page. Whenever the WMF operates a site that cannot be accessed, the front page should clearly explain what the site is, whoqualifies for access, and how to request access.

If advisors.wikimedia.org is active (I can't tell because I cannot access it) then a better explanation about what it is and why an ordinary user cannot access it is needed on the main page.

If advisors.wikimedia.org is not active, then it should be closed in the same manner that advisory.wikimedia.org was. --Guy Macon (talk) 14:44, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You may be right, Guy Macon, but this is Wikipedia, not advisors.wikimedia.org. This is not an appropriate place to discuss it. --ColinFine (talk) 15:29, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I strongly disagree. It is reasonably common for users to ask questions here about other wikiprojects in the specific case where the problem they are having cannot be resolved by accessing that other wikiproject. If someone has a question about, say, fr.wikipedia.org, the normal response would be to tell them that this is the English Wikipedia and to tell them to ask for help on the French Wikipedia. But if they have a question about, say, advisors.wikimedia.org, it would be completely inappropriate to tell them that this is the wrong place and that they should ask at advisors.wikimedia.org -- a page that they cannot read or edit. Unless you can provide a better place to ask when you decide to lecture a veteran editor with 45,000 edits on what questions he is allowed to ask, you are basically saying that there is no appropriate place to ask for help. --Guy Macon (talk) 15:54, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
My guess for help would be https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Forum Alanscottwalker (talk) 16:04, 22 May 2019 (UTC) Also, to ask WMF directly about projects, see, https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Answers/Process/en. Alanscottwalker (talk) 16:20, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I have no idea whether there is an appropriate place to ask for help, Guy Macon: I had never heard of advisors.wikimedia.org before half an hour ago. But I would certainly have thought that somewhere on Meta was more likely to get results than here. --ColinFine (talk) 16:08, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
The Advisory Board is (or was) under the direct control of the WMF, and "anyone can edit" doesn't apply to advisors.wikimedia.org; they could fill it with cat photos and amateur pornography if they so desired and all we could do is complain. If you prod one of the WMF's Community Relations people (taxi for Whatamidoing) it will probably quietly disappear unless there's some reason they need to preserve the history. ‑ Iridescent 16:27, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
It seems to belong to Trust and Safety, and I've heard that they're setting up a new safety project there. I expect that they'll add a description in due course. Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 19:56, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
What is the problem? This is a private wiki outside SUL. There are many such WMF wikis. Ruslik_Zero 20:49, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
The problem is that the WMF should behave like a professional non-profit organization, not a bunch of amateurs working out of a garage. Whatever happens inside the private WMF wiki is nobody's concern. The page that faces the public should clearly explain what the site is and who qualifies for access. This is a basic principle of human factors engineering. Having a page that says "Welcome! For more information, visit the Community Portal." without any scrap of information on the page you are sent to for "more information" is stupid, hamhanded, and amateurish. If you want to be an apologist for such stupidity, go ahead, but please don't tell me about how for an organization the brings in $250,000 USD in donations every single day[2] being professional and not fixing obvious errors isn't needed. I have heard that song and dance before, and will never agree. --Guy Macon (talk) 21:52, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Fictitious reference on Wikipedia page "Design"[edit]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design#Design_disciplines

On this page linked above, source 3 is " Don Kumaragamage, Y. (2011). Design Manual. Vol 1" which cannot be found on the internet. How can this issue be addressed? Should it along with the referenced text from that source be removed? Should some sort of a correction be recommended? Would be good to know in such situations.

Thanks in advance!

Jamin890 (talk) 16:17, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Jamin890,There is no requirement that sources be online. Many are not. While it is obviously helpful, and if the source is available both off-line and online, it is desirable to include the online link, many sources are only available. The following page speaks to this issue: Wikipedia:Offline sources--S Philbrick(Talk) 16:32, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Jamin890 and Sphilbrick: I believe the issue might rather be that no mention of this publication can be found anywhere, except for cases that clearly take it from this article. (This has been noticed elsewhere :) If the very existence of the source can't be verified, then it should be removed. --Elmidae (talk · contribs)
I don't have access to the full text, but it looks like a Don Kumaragamage is cited in this paper. ~ ONUnicorn(Talk|Contribs)problem solving 17:33, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
It looks like that reference was added on October 10, 2011 by Donskum. Unfortunately, that user's only edits were to that page, their userpage, and another editor's page, and all on that date. Therefore I doubt that person will be along to explain or clarify things. Moreover I think the person who inserted that reference probably is Don Kumaragamage, based on both the username, and their remarks here. I'm going to remove that paragraph. ~ ONUnicorn(Talk|Contribs)problem solving 17:46, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
ONUnicorn, I agree. --S Philbrick(Talk) 18:02, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Heheh... if you check the content of the paper [3], you will see that this is ultimately attributed to Wikipedia! We've got a full-on feral hoax reference here, gentlemen :) --Elmidae (talk · contribs) 18:05, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Add category to category[edit]

I am starting to categorizing some articles related to singers. Is there someone that can add "Category:Zecchino d'Oro" to "Category:Zecchino d'Oro singers"? --2001:B07:6442:8903:8EB:D784:FBC4:C62A (talk) 16:20, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Category:Zecchino d'Oro singers. If you wish to create further categories the procedure is explained in Wikipedia:Categorization#Creating category pages: Bhunacat10 (talk), 09:09, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Adding a missing topic list?[edit]

Hello. How would I go about submitting a missing topics list for Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles? Do I need to contact the person in charge of the WikiProject or just post it to Wikipedia:Articles for creation? I tried asking a couple of WP:MISSING members but they didn't have an answer. Thanks. 173.162.220.17 (talk) 17:13, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi IP user. There is no-one in charge of any WikiProject – that's not the way we work, it's all decided by agreement among any interested editors. I think you would do well to detail your suggestion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles and ask for opinions. If I understand correctly you're not proposing a new article, so Articles for Creation wouldn't be suitable.
The other point is if you wish to collaborate with others on Wikipedia I would earnestly ask you to reconsider opening a Wikipedia account. Either you or others using the same IP have been contributing for a number of years, but IPs can change – not always under the user's control. A username would give you a continuing identity for your work on Wikipedia and facilitate communication with you: Bhunacat10 (talk), 08:26, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Infobox officeholder[edit]

Mauricio Macri has held both political offices (president of Argentina, mayor of Buenos Aires, etc.), and was also president of Boca Juniors, a sports club. What should be listed in the infobox? All those things, or only the political ones? Cambalachero (talk) 17:13, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Cambalachero: THe page uses Template:Infobox officeholder so I would say only the political offices belong within it. There does not seem to be a parameter for listing non-political positions etc.. President of Boca is obviously notable and should likely be included in the lead. Eagleash (talk) 22:47, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Rules and policies and practices about "See also" sections[edit]

I believe that there is a policy stating that if another Wikipedia article is already linked in the instant article, then that other Wikipedia article should not be listed in the "See also" list of the instant article. Is that correct? Also: what is the policy when another article is listed in a template at the bottom of the instant article (but is not in the article itself)? Can/should that other Wikipedia article then be listed in the "See also" section of that instant article? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 17:20, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Joseph A. Spadaro: Check out WP:SEEALSO for guidance. Generally, an article linked in the body would not also be in the see also section. RudolfRed (talk) 18:05, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. I read that linked policy. What would be the exceptions? Thank you. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 20:18, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Whenever there is a consensus to do it anyway would be the easiest answer to that, per WP:IAR. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:29, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 02:46, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]