Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2021 March 27

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March 27[edit]

Editing problems[edit]

Hello! I have had trouble editing a wikipedia page. The first thing is that I edit the page of Michoacán, I added a section on agriculture along with its sources, a serious edition, without the intention of vandalizing or with false information. However, a couple of users keep deleting my contributions and threaten to report me. How can i fix this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by VidalHMenTi (talkcontribs) 01:05, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@VidalHMenTi: https://en.wikipedia.org is the English Wikipedia. You appear to refer to edits to es:Michoacán at the Spanish Wikipedia. Each language is run as a separate project. You have to discuss it at the Spanish Wikipedia. See es:Wikipedia:Páginas de discusión. It seemed inappropriate to insert it as the first section instead of under economy but apart from that I cannot comment on it. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:43, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Disagreement with page edits by an anonymous editor[edit]

I am a fairly new editor.

Another editor has made some changes to a page that I disagree with. I don't want to get involved in WP:EW as a result of reverting their changes. WP:SILENCE says that the onus is on me to say I disagree.

This editor didn't complete the edit summaries for their edits so I am unclear why they made them. I assume the edits were made in good faith and some of them certainly improved the page content.

I would contact them via their talk page, to try to reach WP:CONS but I am not able to do this because it was an anonymous edit.

I have read the following help pages without finding any advice on this situation:

  • WP:CONS
  • WP:EW
  • WP:REVERT
  • WP:Reverting
  • WP:Alternatives to reversion

Two possible ways of dealing with this situation:

  • Be bold and revert the changes and wait for their reaction (if any).
  • Add my proposed edits to the talk page and ask for comments.

You may be able to suggest a better solution than the above.

The page in question is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormont_Estate and the edits are by 109.78.172.219 on 13 August 2020‎.

Any advice on how to proceed would be welcome. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hysbysu (talkcontribs) 01:10, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Edits made seven months ago? Just go ahead and make your changes, but explain why you are making them in your edit summaries. One undo is not edit warring. If anyone objects then discuss the changes on the article's talk page. Meters (talk) 01:41, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Using quotation marks when naming an article section whose entire name is in italics[edit]

Let's say there's an article with a section on The Grapes of Wrath, which has been originally written or later edited so that the section's title is the same as the book. Could anyone please tell me if when writing the section's title on the talk page, help desk, or a similar page, it would be appropriate to write it as "The Grapes of Wrath" or should the mentioner write it in some other way?--Thylacine24 (talk) 03:02, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Thylacine24: Just say something like "In the Grapes of Wrath section, the wording should be blah blah blah". Or put in italics if you like. Don't stress over little details as long as the meaning is clear. RudolfRed (talk) 03:20, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@RudolfRed: Sorry, but I have OCD, so I tend to stress over little details quite a bit. Anyway, could you please tell me if you mean to say that using both quotation marks and italics is wrong?--Thylacine24 (talk) 03:49, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@RudolfRed: On second thought, I'll take the advice you just gave and try to obsess over the small stuff less. Sorry.--Thylacine24 (talk) 04:38, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Italics make quotes superfluous. Clarityfiend (talk) 05:17, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Clarityfiend: Thanks.--Thylacine24 (talk) 11:45, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Linking to the lead section of an article on talk page[edit]

I'm trying to write about the first paragraph of a page on the talk page, and I usually link to the section that the part of the article I'm talking about is on. Could anyone please tell me if I should do this with the lead section or not?--Thylacine24 (talk) 04:42, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Thylacine24: I also usually link sections I write about but for the lead I just say "the lead", "the opening paragraph" or "the opening sentence" without linking. Users presumably know how to click the "Article" tab to see it. A link without mentioning it's the lead would be unhelpful. The lead can be linked with Example#top but it's rarely done and many users wouldn't realize it refers to the lead. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:57, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@PrimeHunter: Thanks.--Thylacine24 (talk) 11:46, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Updates about CRYSTABEL GODDY's page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:CrystabelG/sandbox[edit]

Hi,

Please, I want to ask if this page I created has been reviewed for approval. I will like to know the status of the page.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:CrystabelG/sandbox

Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you.


Regards, Segun Oloye. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Segunoloye (talkcontribs) 07:26, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Segunoloye: Hello, and Welcome to the Help desk. User:CrystabelG/sandbox hasn't been submitted for review, so noone looked at it. See Wikipedia:So you made a userspace draft for your options. Victor Schmidt (talk) 07:39, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks for your response.

So please how do I submit the page for review?

Regards, Segun.

Segunoloye (talk) 08:13, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  • @Segunoloye: You would need to click the "resubmit" button in the banner at the top of the page. Having said that, the article is almost entirely unreferenced, and includes zero independent secondary sources. So it is nearly certain that it will not be published in its current form. GMGtalk 11:50, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Taylor Swift[edit]

Hi. Where can I watch Taylor Swift videos. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.113.89.172 (talk) 12:27, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Hello User with the IP 41.113.89.172, welcome to the Help Desk. Unfortunally, we only deal with questions about using or editing Wikipedia here. If you are looking for videos, perhaps YOuTube would be a start? Victor Schmidt (talk) 13:02, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Prose text[edit]

How can I find out the number of prose letters in an article? Dr Salvus 16:17, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Dr Salvus: One option is to copy the text and paste it into a website like https://www.lettercount.com/ GoingBatty (talk) 17:14, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Dr Salvus: You can enable "Prosesize" at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadgets. It doesn't have a letter count but it can count words and bytes. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:37, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Reviewing articles that have article tags[edit]

Is there a way to find articles that have been tagged ("citations needed", "possible original research", etc)?

Is there a user right that deals with this, similar to pending changes reviewer?

Reason: I quite frequently find articles that have long-standing article (and section) tags, at times many years old, where the article has been significantly edited and the problems eliminated. It would be good to be able to review old tags, and remove them when they no longer apply. Tagged articles likely reduce confidence in the article. --Tsavage (talk) 16:18, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I think that you can do that by going to the relevant template page. So Template:Citation needed has a link near the top that says it used on 459,000 pages. So that should keep you busy ;-) Mike Turnbull (talk) 17:13, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Tsavage: You can also review the hidden categories created by the tags. For example, Jonathan Haidt is in Category:All articles with unsourced statements, Category:Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, and Category:Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021. GoingBatty (talk) 17:18, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Cool. Thanks! I think that's a good start. --Tsavage (talk) 17:36, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Zyoga[edit]

Good morning, I submitted an article about my company a couple of months ago but I have not received confirmation that the information was submitted correctly. Can you assist?

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Zyogadancer (talkcontribs) 18:05, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Zyogadancer: First of all, if its your company, please review WP:COI and WP:PAID, as there are some disclosures to make. Unfortunally, this is your first ever edit under this account, and a search for "Zyoga" didn't bring up anything, so I am unable to tell you what happened. Which account did you use at that time? Victor Schmidt (talk) 18:54, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Zyogadancer: On 6 February you uploaded commons:File:The history of Zyoga.pdf. It was deleted and I don't have access to see what it contained but articles cannot be submitted as PDF files or any other file format. You have to make them in your browser. You can use Wikipedia:Articles for creation. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:30, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

as per pan name gouranga manna but when i have been income tax file then I saw in my IT return's name gournaga manna how to solve it ? please help me[edit]

sir ,
     my pan's name is Gouranga Manna but while I have been filing my Income tax then  saw my name as Gournaga Manna instead of Gouranga Manna how to solve it please help me to change my name as pan card  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2409:4060:219:53F9:9118:16EB:9E68:2C06 (talk) 20:28, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply] 
Unfortunately this is a help desk for editing Wikipedia. We can’t help you with your tax filing situation. TimTempleton (talk) (cont) 21:15, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Pinging[edit]

I know that you can mute a user in your preferences so you don't see their pings, but is it possible for an administrator to take away a user's ability to ping anyone? --Guy Macon (talk) 20:44, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, by adding them to MediaWiki:Echo-blacklist. From a social perspective, however, I seriously question whether doing this rather than just blocking them without talk page access is a good idea. * Pppery * it has begun... 20:58, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

South Carolina Militia in the Revolutionary War[edit]

My ancestor, THOMAS REAGAN, was a resident in Newberry Co., South Carolina. He left record of his militia activities against the British in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War. He was granted a pension for his work during that time. I can provide proof. I would like to have him added to the list of men who served South Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:6C5E:107F:F9E9:B820:4A14:385E:28B (talk) 21:46, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Are you referring to the list article List of South Carolina militia units in the American Revolution? If so, you'll note that the only people mentioned are the commanders of the various units. I don't think it realistic to list anywhere on Wikipedia the individuals who were serving within these units. Even if it were, there would have to be reliable, published sources so that the information could be verified by readers. That means, at the very least, you would have to get a third party to publish information on your ancestor, which might show that he was notable in WIkipedia's rather strict sense. Mike Turnbull (talk) 12:21, 28 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Suggestion for Wikipedia[edit]

Moved from WT:HD

Hi. The path to where we are today is just as important as where we are today. Is it possible for Wikipedia to capture and lock away the knowledge up to a particular year? e.g. what we know about COVID 19 today will be interesting reading in 5 years time, when no doubt new information would supersede today’s understanding?

This should work the same way as encyclopaedias of the past.

This also allows us to overcome the ‘cancel culture’ phenomenon.

What did the world know in 2020? What did the world know in 2019? etc

A big change, but it would make Wiki an outstanding resource for understanding humanities journey through time. Mchallita (talk) 22:29, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Mchallita - old revisions of all pages are available under the history tab. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 22:31, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Mchallita: in addition to article history being available, you might like Wikipedia:Main Page history. Elli (talk | contribs) 06:19, 30 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Broken gallery[edit]

Hello friends. Would somebody be willing to fix my {{Gallery}} at Draft:First Roman Catholic Church of Lansing? Thank you. –Novem Linguae (talk) 22:43, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Done.[1] This is the first point at Help:Template#Usage hints and workarounds. 22:49, 27 March 2021 (UTC)PrimeHunter (talk)
Thank you very much. I appreciate the help. –Novem Linguae (talk) 22:59, 27 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]