Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2022 December 4

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December 4[edit]

Ref 183 should have the writer referenced. He is named "Francis Towne". Please add that in. Thanks and sorry 175.36.27.5 (talk) 00:20, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Eagleash (talk) 05:55, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Data mining to make a chronological list[edit]

So, I was wondering if there's a way to use a program to go through a Pagepile of wikipedia articles about individual humans and arrange them chronologically by the category that indicates what year the person was born in, from oldest to youngest. 2602:306:C541:CC60:C067:5D78:17CE:2ACA (talk) 05:02, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

This can be done using a Wikidata query. Wikidata is a sister project that is a structured database and which includes a query language that is easy to use. It has an entry for every Wikipedia article, in every language. I have to re-learn it each time because I use it rarely, but it only takes about five minutes to re-learn. Perhaps start at d:Wikidata:Introduction. Don't get discouraged: you will get the hang of it quickly. You will probably create your "page pile" using a query, and then produce the sorted list based on the date-of-birth attribute. This is not exactly the year-of-birth category. It is almost always more universally and consistently used than the category.

Synthesis of Tetraethyllead?[edit]

Hy, my needs this lead for their business purposes. I have a block of lead I need to to turn until TEL. Please post instructions or email me. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.174.124.110 (talk) 05:18, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

See the note at the top of this page "The Wikipedia help desk is a place where you can ask questions about how to use or edit Wikipedia". We have a Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science, which would be more suited to this sort of question, but from a brief look at one of the sources [1] cited in our Tetraethyllead article, it doesn't look like the sort of process someone with 'a block of lead' and no apparent knowledge of chemistry should be attempting. Where are you proposing to get lead-sodium alloy from? Or ethyl bromide? Or pyridine? Do you own a temperature-controlled reaction vessel and reflux condenser? And do you have the necessary protective equipment to carry out the process without poisoning yourself? And what sort of 'business' requires the synthesis of the substance anyway? The only approved use for the substance is in aviation fuel, and for obvious reasons that isn't the type of business carried out by amateurs. AndyTheGrump (talk) 05:51, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Sheesh. My father-in-law mentioned to me that tetraethyl lead is one of the most toxic substances around. @AndyTheGrump, you gave a fascinating answer. Maybe the OP thinks he can increase the value of his block of lead... but not until he or she gets the reaction vessel and the reflux condenser (and maybe a flux capacitor too).
I am curious if there's a missing word in "my needs this lead". My friend, my business partner, my cellmate? The mind wobbles. David10244 (talk) 10:39, 5 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I would have gone with 'local dodgy gasoline distributor'. Apparently, despite the ban, there are still people who want to use the stuff. Unwise, even ignoring its environmental/toxic effects, since it ruins the catalytic converters found in modern vehicles. AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:02, 5 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, good point. I think some old American muscle cars really prefer leaded fuel. David10244 (talk) 07:05, 6 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia Preferences : Appearance : Math[edit]

Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Preferences#Math says that there are three options for displaying math formulas: PNG, TeX and MathJax. However, I can't find a radio button for the PNG support. Where did it go? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:2D8:E1BC:35EC:69DC:500D:C748:AC98 (talk) 05:23, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

You appear to be right: the documentation is out of step with the actuality. I suggest you bring this up at WP:VPT where people who know about the technical aspects of Wikipedia hang out. We're just editors here. ColinFine (talk) 11:41, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you! :) 2001:2D8:E729:84E7:5978:FA29:D727:A23A (talk) 12:30, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Watchlist automated additions[edit]

Everytime i make a contribution on ANY article (or template, category, etc.), the page in which i'm contributing, or have contributed, is automatically added into my Watchlist. I have no idea if it was something i misclicked on the Preferences section that started this, or a new bug. The fact is that i would like to disable this automated additions. ~~ Skydream1721 (talk) 06:10, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Skydream1721: "Add pages and files I edit to my watchlist" at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-watchlist. PrimeHunter (talk) 08:20, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

wiki page[edit]

how can i create a wiki page Walkedevduttkeru1010 (talk) 14:15, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Walkedevduttkeru1010 There are links to advice on your Talk Page. Please read them carefully. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:33, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Walkedevduttkeru1010: Start by picking a subject that meets our notability requirements (WP:N). Notability is the only absolute requirement. If the subject is not notable, it cannot have an article. I'm serious: we delete about 100 articles every day because editors ignore this requirement. After you have a notable subject, proceed to WP:YFA. -Arch dude (talk) 14:34, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Draft:Olivier Wormser  Done СтасС (talk) 15:34, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@СтасС - Your draft is not submitted for review. Additionally, it appears to be cited to one source: one of the key aspects of WP:GNG is multiple sources. Two good ones can be enough, and three is definitely enough. I have seen that you have a Sources section: although this is acceptable, it is much clearer if you use WP:Inline citations. At the very least, you should merge your Sources and References sections to prevent confusion. casualdejekyll 15:49, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@casualdejekyll  Done--СтасС (talk) 16:20, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Everithing did I do the right? Could you look on my draft?-СтасС (talk) 16:29, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
WP-admins here?--СтасС (talk) 16:41, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not sure what you want an admin to do? Reviews of drafts, when they are submitted, do not need an admin. Before you submit the draft for review it would be wise for you to include at least three citations; so far you only have one. - David Biddulph (talk) 16:54, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, СтасС. I am an administrator, and David Biddulph is correct that adminstrators have no special powers regarding content. That being said, adminstrators have a lot of experience. Wormser is clearly notable, so you should continue. The AP/New York Times obituary is a good source, but you need multiple sources. I feel safe in assuming that major French newspapers published more lengthy and detailed obituaries. Many assertions are unreferenced and not verified for readers. The death date is listed as the date of publication of the obituary, but that says his family did not reveal his actual date of death. It is unlikely that it was the same day. Cullen328 (talk) 18:12, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, Cullen328, I add WP:RS (book), thank you everyone for help.--СтасС (talk) 19:39, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

How do I sort chronologically its table? Dr Salvus 19:49, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It's really badly formatted. I'd use {{dts}}. Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 22:44, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
It does not work. Dr Salvus 12:08, 5 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Translation[edit]

Hi! I have translated Wikipedia article about Belorussian writer from Russian into English. How to make it available for English speaking users of Wikipedia? Elena Zholnina (talk) 20:04, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Elena Zholnina, there is some advice at Help:Translation. In particular an English Wikipedia article needs to follow en WP policies, such as notability and verifiability, which may be different from ru WP policies. Help:Your first article could also be useful. TSventon (talk) 20:36, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Are copyedits minor edits[edit]

what the title says Lina211 (talk) 21:11, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The definition is at Help:Minor edit. - David Biddulph (talk) 21:12, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I find it just as easy to never mark anything as a minor edit. Copyedits can be marked with the abbreviation "ce", which you can type almost as fast as you can check the "minor edit" box. For non-copyedits, of course, I just say what I did. David10244 (talk) 07:10, 6 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Proposed deletion[edit]

I am trying to propose two articles for deletion, though I am having formatting issues with the discussion page not displaying as it should, see: [2] and [3]. Help fixing this issue and understanding what caused it so I don't repeat the issue would be appreciated. KeepItGoingForward (talk) 22:18, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hey @KeepItGoingForward I saw your proposed deletions did you read WP:AFDHOWTO. I setup the pages according to the instructions hopefully they're good now. Paulpat99 (talk) 22:39, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, thank you. I missed part of it. I will review it. KeepItGoingForward (talk) 22:52, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Article import from another Wiki[edit]

Moin. After being completely confounded by the various help-pages, I am being so bold and just ask here: there's an article in de:wp I'd like to translate and publish in en:wp. As the content is, bar some minor edits and two references, my own work, I'm not overly troubled by a formal import - I can simply re-write the article in english, long as that would be acceptable. Just wondering whether that's so, and if there's any way to confirm relevance - while I might take a couple months to complete my work, knowingly apply to wait some three months or so for the translation to pass through the article wizard does not appeal to me. Topic is author and painter Helen Nicolay, daughter of Lincoln-biographer John George Nicolay. Regards, --G-41614 (talk) 23:14, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

To me there appears to be a good case for notability with [4] as an example. KeepItGoingForward (talk) 23:23, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@G-41614 Hi, you can make a request at Wikipedia:Requests for page importation. Thanks, echidnaLives - talk - edits 23:26, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Hi G-41614. Each Wikipedia project has its own policies and guidelines as well as its own local community assessing and applying its policies and guidelines. There might be many similarities between projects, but there could also be some important differences. Since English Wikipedia has the most articles and also has the largest community, it's policies and guidelines seem to be stricter than perhaps some other projects, and they are also seem to be more rigorously enforced. In other words, an article existing on another one of the Wikipedias doesn't automatically mean it should exist on English Wikipedia as explained in WP:OTHERLANGS, and you will need to be able to clearly establish that the subject meets WP:N for an article about it to be created on English Wikipedia. The translation part is acceptable as long as it's done in accordance with WP:TRANSLATE. The biggest issues with translation tend to be making sure the original source is properly attributed as explained in WP:TFOLWP, but that's not too difficult to do. The other main issue seems to be WP:MACHINETRANSLATION; so, you probably should have a fair degree of competency in the source language if you're going translation any part of the original article. I'm not sure what you mean by confirm relevance, but maybe you mean "confirm Wikipedia notability". Perhaps taking a look at WP:BIO will help clarify what types of individuals are typically considered Wikipedia notable. -- Marchjuly (talk) 23:36, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Well, thank you all for your input, for the link to the lincoln collection regarding notability, for the Request-page (that's what I sort of had in mind), and finally for the remarks about various aspects when translating. That an article in one WP does not indicate notability in another is the reason I'm asking (pardon me for saying I've seen articles in en:WP that'd never pass the notability hurdle in de:WP, so I'm not going to form an opinion about whether en or de has the higher standards regarding notability). Machinetranslation will not be an issue. If I'm right in assuming you, Marchjuly, are wondering about my competency in German as source language, rest assured my competency in English will be the larger issue, as I'm a german native. At de:WP, we have the Relevanzcheck, a page where one can ask about the notability of any topic and receive an answer about possible notability (not absolute guarantees), and if a topic is definitely not notable, one will be told so in no uncertain terms. Somehow, I wasn't able to find the respective page in en:WP. When I had a question about Nicolay and asked it at en:WP, at least two en-users expressed interest I seeing an article on her at en:WP, so for now I guess I'll check the suggested pages and then proceed at my own leisure. For now, I'll keep this on my watchlist, though. Thanks again & regards, --G-41614 (talk) 10:28, 5 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Information about deleted articles[edit]

Is it possible to retrieve the discussion concerning an article after it has been deleted in wikipedia? JosuaKylie (talk) 23:59, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hi JosuaKylie. What do you mean by discussion concerning an article? Do you mean an Articles for deletion discussion? If that's the case, then the answer is yes since each AFD discussion page doesn't get deleted after the discussion is closed; it's retained for archive purposes. If you mean an article talk page discussion, then that would depend on why the article was deleted. Article talk pages tend to be deleted per speedy deletion criterion G8 when the articles they correspond to are deleted. In order to get such a talk page restored, you will need to ask a Wikipedia administrator to do so. If you'd like to know about a specific article, then providing the name of the article might make it easier for someone to give you a more specific answer. -- Marchjuly (talk) 00:13, 5 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]