Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2020 July 4

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July 4[edit]

Vidya Balan actress date of birth[edit]

Vidya Balan actress date of birth

1 January 1979 Or 1 January 1978

Don't do mistakes. Trust on your info is questionable now. Approved both dates by wiki.

Unreliable — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2402:1980:245:B563:6716:D37:A611:5EB5 (talk) 01:50, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Our article, Vidya Balan, lists the date as 1 January 1979. It has a reference to an interview done in 2016, where Vidya is quoted as saying that this is her date of birth. Apparently, at some time in the past Wikipedia had the other date, and we corrected it after that interview. -Arch dude (talk) 04:39, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
If you are interested in the history of this date change, look at Talk:Vidya Balan/Archive 1. -Arch dude (talk) 04:53, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Please be aware, OP, that it is quite common for incorrect birth dates/ages of actors to be circulated by the actors themselves or by managers and publicists working for them. Sometimes it's advantageous to pretend they're younger than they really are to appeal to fans or to convince directors or other potential employers that they're not "too old" for certain roles; sometimes they might want to be thought older for similar reasons, or to avoid laws surrounding the employment of actors who are legally children. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.122.56.20 (talk) 15:49, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Individuals are poorer sources than you'd expect for for facts about themselves, including birthdates. It's not always intentional.
Stan Kenton believed that he was born on February 19 of 1912. He recorded Birthday In Britain on February 19, 1973, and the incorrect birthdate is on his gravestone. And in his New York Times obituary. And a lot of other sources. But he wasn't. His birth certificate has it right: December 15 1911. His parents changed to hide that he was conceived out of wedlock. This is not uncommon.
Other times there's just a technical discrepancy. Was Gene Tierney born on November 19 or 20 of 1920? I don't know. Her autobiography and her heirs say the 20th; the Social Security Administration begs to differ. Families tell stories, records are filled out wrong... who knows.
And of course as mentioned there's people playing cute. This is common. Isn't it generally in many actresses interests to present as a year younger. Even if not, Balan herself is not a good source for her own birthdate. She was present but not in a condition to take notes. If there are reasonably decent refs contradicting her, then no, we shouldn't take her word for it. We'd need something more official or solid, preferably a birth certificate. Absent that, if its disputed, we shouldn't present as fact information that we aren't sure of, so we should either go with "born [date] or [date]", or just say nothing. Herostratus (talk) 19:39, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]


Please help - the new photo file - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bryce,_1st_Viscount_Bryce#/media/File:Middleton_in-law_Viscount_Bryce_(far_left)_beside_Prince_Arthur_in_top_hat._1911_copyright_Library_of_Congress_(2).jpg - is way too big on the page right now. Please adjust - I cannot. The caption below should read "1911 - Viscount Bryce (far left) beside Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn - Governor of Canada (also in top hat)" Thanks and sorry again 175.33.5.46 (talk) 06:36, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

 Done. Maproom (talk) 07:17, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Please put the link onto this name in the newly added photo file (see above) - Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn

I cannot do this on my device - please do not get angry

Thankyou 175.33.5.46 (talk) 07:14, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

 Done. Maproom (talk) 07:19, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Can I use Wikipedia Contents on my report?[edit]

Can I use Wikipedia Contents on my report? (Same as title.) -dero (talk) 08:12, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Please Use Ping when you reply me... (If you can) -dero (talk) 08:12, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
-dero, in the left hand margin on any article is the option "Cite this page" on the Tools section of the left hand margin. Wikipedia content may be used with this attribution. That is part of the licencing. As a matter of good practice any report containing external material, in whole or in part, should always use a proper citation to that page. Wikipedia is no exception to that rule. Fiddle Faddle 08:58, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
First, thanks for your reply. But, I meant the trust of content that can usable on report, not license. -dero (talk) 09:09, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
-dero, Not sure I understand your question, are you wondering about Reliability of Wikipedia/Wikipedia:General disclaimer? I recommend this [1] video. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 09:43, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Oh Thanks. -dero (talk) 10:02, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@-dero: Most university professors and many high school teachers disallow the use if Wikipedia as a reference. Instead, you should read the references that the Wikipedia article cites, and then cite them. -Arch dude (talk) 14:25, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@-dero: To AD's note above, I'd like to add that, in addition to reading it to verify the information, you should evaluate the reliability of the source yourself before citing it. While our policy is at WP:RS, many of our articles contain poor sources which you may not want to cite. It's a big wiki, and some things that shouldn't be here manage to slip in. —[AlanM1 (talk)]— 00:04, 5 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks a lot. -dero (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 01:05, 5 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Edit count[edit]

Is there any templates that contains user edits...? -dero (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 08:14, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@-dero: Yes, check out WP:COUNT. — Richard BB 08:38, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
That is on Extension:Editcount on mediawiki. Thanks. -dero (talk) 09:10, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Is it possible to search edit summaries?[edit]

I often patrol recent changes, but I wondered if there was a way to filter edits that have been made with a specific edit summary. For example, if a user made an edit and left the word "genre" in the summary, is it possible to search all recent changes with this keyword? — Richard BB 08:37, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Richard BB, Alas, I do not know of such a way. You can search the tags that are given to edit summaries, but not the summaries themselves. CaptainEek Edits Ho Cap'n! 19:14, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Richard BB and CaptainEek: There is: toollabs:sigma/summary.py. You have to specify the user as well though so you can't just search for all edits that have "genre" in the summary.Jonteemil (talk) 18:56, 6 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I created a template named User alternative user page. But, it isn't working either due to wrong parameters or creation. Can you please help? Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 11:51, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Empire AS: The intended output is a little unclear to me. Can you give examples of what you want the text to say with and without optional parameters? PrimeHunter (talk) 12:21, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@PrimeHunter, Actually, I want to make the text say that "This user has another user page on another Wiki" by leaving parameters empty. And if both parameters are filled, then " This user has another user page(1st parameter) on Urdu Wikipedia, Wikidata (2nd parameter)". Where 1st parameter is link to your second user page and 2nd parameter is name of the second wiki containing your second user page. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 13:28, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Empire AS: It's still unclear, e.g. whether you really want to display the 1st parameter in parentheses without a space in front or you have a piped link or something else in mind, and how you expect the name of another wiki to produce two links "Urdu Wikipedia, Wikidata". Please give a real example as in "The call ... should produce the output ...". Don't just say "1st parameter" and "2nd parameter". That's not what example means. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:49, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@PrimeHunter, If 1st paramater=link=[2], or any other link, then it should be shown next to words "another user page" as external link. If 2nd parameter=wiki name=Urdu, French, Chinese, Wikidata, Wikimedia commons or any other wiki. For example, "This user has another user page on Wikidata." Similarly " This user has another user page on Urdu Wikipedia. Did you get it? Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 15:01, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Empire AS: No, there is still too much which is open to interpretation when you don't give a real example call with real parameter values and output, and your partial examples don't even match your description. You first say the link should be next to "another user page" but then show a link on user page. If you want the parameter value Urdu to produce Urdu Wikipedia but Wikidata to produce Wikidata then the required parsing to recognize language names versus wiki names is also a bit complicated for a minor template. I give up trying to figure out what you want. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:39, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Empire AS, Is this what you are looking for ?
|info=This user has an alternative {{#if:{{{link|}}}|[{{{link|}}} user page]|[[Wikipedia:User page|user page]]}} on {{#if:{{{wikipedia name|}}}|{{{wikipedia name|}}}|another}} wiki. - Timbaaa -> ping me 15:47, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Timbaaa, yes you are right. I wanted to say this thing which you explained.

RE: Old Fashioned Doughnuts.[edit]

The book 'Farmer Boy' relates doughnut dough rolled out flat, then cut into squares / rectangles. Once given a simple twist, they rolled in the hot oil, not needing to be turned. On the farm no need for really fancy round things that needed more attention to get done properly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:245:4200:590:843D:432:DC15:A80C (talk) 18:54, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

If you'd like to suggest a change to old fashioned donut, please do so at: Talk:Old-fashioned doughnut. CaptainEek Edits Ho Cap'n! 19:13, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

What links here: how to filter out redirects only[edit]

When you click the "what links here" (within an article) ... did not there used to be a choice where I could indicate "list redirect pages only"? Or some such? Did something change? Thanks. Example: [3]. In this example, I don't see the option (check-mark box), where I previously could have checked off "list redirect pages only". It was usually toward the top section, somewhere. Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 19:30, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Joseph A. Spadaro: The link was made by MediaWiki:Linkshere. It was an external tool which died so it was removed in [4]. PrimeHunter (talk) 20:44, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. What do you mean that "it died"? Can it be brought back, as a feature/function? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 21:51, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 182#Redirects tool URL misdirected? says the domain has lapsed. http://69.142.160.183/~dispenser/cgi-bin/rdcheck.py?page= may still work but linking to an IP address in the interface may be controversial. The tool owner has been contacted with no reply at User talk:Dispenser#info.tm. Dispenser hasn't edited since March. I don't know whether a working domain is coming back. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:16, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the info. Can't some other "IT-type" person on Wikipedia just take the old computer code and "re-insert it" somewhere? I have no idea how any of this works. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 14:58, 5 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Joseph A. Spadaro, Are you looking for this [5]? Filter is available to show only the redirects. - Timbaaa -> ping me 15:10, 5 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. I'm not sure. In that example, I have to "hide" transclusions ... "hide" links ... and "show" redirects. Is that correct? That's a 3-step process. I used to be able to put a check-mark on some option that said "show only redirects" (i.e., a 1-step process). If this method that you showed me works fine as an alternative, that's great. Am I understanding it correctly? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 18:09, 5 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Joseph A. Spadaro, Yes - Timbaaa -> ping me 01:58, 6 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Great! Thanks ! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 03:57, 6 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved

How can I contribute[edit]

Hi, I have autism and would like to create a WikiProject about autism spectrum. I saw a WikiProject of autism in the article of autism but I think it's all medical-related, is there any WikiProject about *people* with autism? I think I've known a few that would be worth to be included. Thank you for your open-mindedness! If I am placing this question in the wrong help section, please make me know politely, I feel stomachache when I read aggressive responses. Thank you!. CoryGlee (talk) 21:42, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@CoryGlee: Welcome to Wikipedia and thanks for wanting to help. I think that Wikipedia:WikiProject_Autism is the right place to get started. In addition to working on articles about Autism, the project also works on "Any Articles about someone who is Publicly Known to Have Aspergers or Autism", which sounds like what you are expressing interest in. RudolfRed (talk) 22:26, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@RudolfRed: duh, I didn't notice that, my apologies ha ha. That's exactly what I wanted. I thank you very much. I cherish you all :) CoryGlee (talk) 23:00, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Problem with a locked wiki page[edit]

This page displays non factual information in its title and is actually incredibly inflammatory the county name being displayed wrong. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.81.109.95 (talk) 23:59, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Which page? —[AlanM1 (talk)]— 00:18, 5 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
If a Wikipedia article is locked against editing, it probably has either seen a lot of vandalism, or it is in a highly contentious area. Either way, anybody who thinks the article can be improved is welcome to place an edit request on the article's talk page, preferably with a citation to a reliable published source for the change. --ColinFine (talk) 00:23, 5 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]