Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 223

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Archive 220

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Linking words internally to wikipedia

If my article uses words that relate to articles already published in wikipedia, should I make those links in my article or will they be made by someone else? Also, if I refer to an institution, such as a university, should I provide the external link to that university? Sustainable Happiness 15:04, 20 June 2014 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by IanGDMurray (talk • contribs)

Hi Ian - Yes important words should be linked to their Wikipedia articles, but avoid overlinking - do not link common words, or major geographical features, and only link the first use - The main guidance is at Manual of Style/Linking.
We do not include External links in the bodytext of articles, and most, if not all, universities will have their own WP article, making this unnecessary. Look at a similar article, preferably one on the list in Good articles for the level of linking required. Arjayay (talk) 15:11, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Someone reverted my edited article without explanation

Someone reverted my edited article without explanation. What should I do? I have been updating VxWorks to refect the latest version and I added a VxWorks icon which caused speedy deletion message. I thought I corrcted the issue, and I am not sure if it is related. I would have thought removal of the image not reverting the article would be the action. How do I followup to find out why this happened. The user's name is The Banner - no information on the VxWorks talk page??? Robpater (talk) 04:25, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Robpater and welcome to the Teahouse. Your edits to VxWorks were reverted by TheBanner as "promo / unsourced". It would be best to discuss the reasons behind this on the article's talk page. Philg88 ^♦talk 04:35, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Rob, hello and welcome to the Teahouse. The Banner did give an explanation for their reversion to VxWorks. Their explanation was Revert promo / unsourced edits. To expand on that, everything that you add to an article on Wikipedia either has to be incontestable general public knowledge, or it has to have citations to independent reliable sources. THis is part of what we call the BOLD, REVERT, DISCUSS process. Now it's your turn to discuss the changes on the article's talk page and reach a consensus about what parts of the content should be re-added. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(e • t • c)} 04:39, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks Philip. I have explained the changes on the talk page and have got all information from Wind River's page so the information is accurate - but the reverter has not communicated there - just did it? I have re-installed the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Robpater (talk • contribs) 13:45, 20 June 2014 (UTC+9)

Thanks Tech13. I did add sources for the changes (ie for features at the same level as the ones that was there before) - all the material is available to the public. How should I find out what more should be done?— Preceding unsigned comment added by Robpater (talk • contribs) 13:52, 20 June 2014 (UTC+9)

Hello, Robpater. Looking at the diffs, it seems to me that you added a mixture of things, some fine and some not, and The Banner simply reverted them all. The immediate thing that leaps out at me is "VRTX had quality issues, was 4KB, small in size, lacked critical features, and was generally not up to par as a full-blown RTOS. Wind River acquired rights to distribute VRTX and significantly enhanced it by adding, among other things". This is full of evaluative language, which does not belong any where in a Wikipedia article unless it is directly taken from a referenced, reliable, independent source. Since that all comes from an interview with Jerry Fiddler, it is not independent, and should not appear. I also observe that you have introduced '®' symbols: these are not used in Wikipedia articles (see MOS:TM).

I suggest you make small uncontroversial changes in separate edits, and discuss any major or possibly contentious changes on the talk page, to get consensus before making the change. --ColinFine (talk) 08:12, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks Colin. That's what I am doing now. Note that the issue you highlighted was already in the article and I removed it. The revert put it back in. I'm making headway (2 sections) but it is frustrating as the material I have added is accurate while some of what is there is obsolete. Banner felt the tone was not neutral and there were too many references to the Wind River info page. My problem is rel 7 is new and there is not a lot of 3rd party references. Thanks RobRobpater (talk) 18:56, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

My mistake ... I did not edit that sentence out in my last version that got revertedRobpater (talk) 18:58, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

stigmata song draft

someone please review my created article stigmata? thanks.Camcamhamham (talk) 18:20, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome back to the Teahouse, Camcamhamham! Articles for Creation is pretty backlogged right now, so it may take some time to get to a review of your article. To be fair to people who have been waiting, the AfC reviewers usually start with the oldest drafts and work their way forward. Just be patient and edit other topics until they get to you. One thing I can tell you, though, is that the title you want for your article already exists, Try "Stigmata (Ab-Soul song)". Happy editing! öBrambleberry of RiverClan 19:34, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Change of Title?

How do i change the title of a created article?Camcamhamham (talk) 19:41, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

@Camcamhamham: On the tabs at the top right of the article, hover over the "More" tab, you should see "Move". Click that and there you can change the article's title. --AmaryllisGardener ^talk 19:44, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

External links

I've been cleaning up inline links and moved a couple to the External links section. Is there a convention for linking the main content with the external link? (It can't be a reference because it's material written by the subject and wouldn't be regarded as independent). MF SarahHorner (talk) 08:39, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Sarah and welcome back to the Teahouse. There is nothing to stop you using this as a reference to provide information, as long as there are other references that establish the notabiity of the topic. Best, Philg88 ^♦talk 08:43, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks Philg88. I might have to quote you on that in my next discussion with a reviewer ;) MF SarahHorner (talk) 08:53, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

:) It's important to realize that topic notability is the key. Once that has been established via suitable referencing, the job of the information in the article is to remain on topic in support of that premise. References are required to establish de facto notabiity, but beyond that, unless claims are made that require citation (Most academics agree ... etc), information from any source that does does not breach Wikipedia policies and guidelines may be used. The website of a car manufacturer for example, can be used as a reference for a particular model, because that is probably the most comprehensive source of information. On the other hand, establishing that the model itself is notable requires third-party sources. Best, Philg88 ^♦talk 09:14, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello, MF SarahHorner. Once the notability of the topic has been established by referencing significant coverage in reliable, independent sources, then basic, noncontroversial information can be sourced to material written by the subject, but no claims of significance. For example, when writing an article about a company called "Worldwide Widgets", you can cite their website for the city where their headquarters is located, and the name of their CEO, for example. But don't use their website for a claim that the company is "the innovative market leader in advanced 21st century widget technology."Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 20:07, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Logo Images

I have updated a logo that represents VxWorks and completed the form but got a message that there was a problem. Mt attempts have been deleted. I am not sure how I am suppose to tag this image to make it acceptable.Robpater (talk) 18:16, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello Robpater, it appears that it was deleted because it's the same as "File:VxWorks symbol by Wind River Systems.png". --AmaryllisGardener ^talk 18:21, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks AmaryllisGardener. How do I access it when I want to use it? Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Robpater (talk • contribs) 21:35, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

@Robpater: Like this: [[File:VxWorks symbol by Wind River Systems.png]]. Just be careful, and follow the guidelines about fair use. --AmaryllisGardener ^talk 21:41, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Can I remove AfD template?

I want to convert an article that is currently under AfD to a redirect. Of course, that means I have to replace all the content with a redirect template. But then I would be removing the AfD template from the article, which is prohibited for a non-admin. How do I get out of this knot? Jayakumar RG (talk) 09:01, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Now that the discussion is underway, it would be best to propose the redirect in the AfD discussion rather than doing it immediately. --LukeSurl^{t c} 10:52, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

best way to find articles that need edits, that also match my interests

My interests are as follows: US politics, economics, fantasy and science fiction, sustainable development, social media, biology, and internet culture. What's the best way to quickly find articles in my interest area that need my help? I want to edit other people's articles for awhile before writing my own article.

NerdGirl1988 (talk) 18:00, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi NerdGirl1988 and welcome back to the Teahouse. I don't think that anyone could accuse you of having too narrow a set of interests! You might like to join some of the WP:Wikiprojects associated with these topics - a couple to start you off - Wikipedia:WikiProject Science Fiction, WP:Wikiproject Politics. There is a complete list here. You should find plenty of like-minded people at the projects you choose and plenty of scope for your talents. Good luck! Philg88 ^♦talk 19:18, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the teahouse NerdGirl1988. Another tool you might want to check out is User:SuggestBot SuggestBot can look at your edit history and can give you suggestions for articles that need work and that match your interests based on your edit history. For example, I've edited a lot of articles on Information Technology, OOP, and AI so the last time I asked SuggestBot for suggestions it gave me those kinds of articles as you can see on my talk page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:MadScientistX11#Articles_you_might_like_to_edit.2C_from_SuggestBot The more you edit the more SuggestBot has to work with and gives you better suggestions. I think there is also a way to "seed" SuggestBot by asking it to give you ideas and giving it one or more categories to look at. The documentation explains all that, it's very easy to use. --MadScientistX11 (talk) 14:04, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Depends on how you want to drive it. Are you looking for articles you're interested in? Articles needing help the most? Or content that you have to offer?

The suggestions that you've been given so far are good. They're mostly about overlapping interest. If you look at things like "vital articles" lists (and asking on projects can be helpful) then you might also find great lists of articles that have been started but aren't at the quality that their significance really warrants.

Another approach, which is how I generally work, is to ignore WP and just read stuff elsewhere. Then when I discover the fascinating history of the left-handed monkey wrench, I check to see if monkey wrench is already covering this, and if not I add it. The advantages to this are primarily that it encourages me to carefully read cover-to-cover the vast number of interesting books I've bought over the years, but still haven't opened. Secondly, when I'm adding the content to WP, I already have good sources ready to hand. Andy Dingley (talk) 14:24, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Soundtrack deleted on Commons.

Hi, I uploaded the Main menu theme of the first person shooter computer game Unreal Tournament 2004 to Commons, if everyone can download it on Kevin Riepl's soundcloud profile, one of the UT2004 composers, why was it deleted?.Krokuss (talk) 15:19, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

@Krokuss: Welcome to the Teahouse. Simply put, uploading soundtracks to commons violates copyright. All commons media is under the CC-BY-SA (or an even freer license). This essentially means that anyone can take the said soundtrack and use it however they want, even to make money. They can even modify it as long as their new work is also under the CC-BY-SA. Such a license is also permanent and irrevocable. Soundtracks are almost never under this license, so the one that you uploaded is a copyright violation. Also, bear in mind that being free to access doesn't mean free to reuse. --Jakob (talk) 15:42, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

create new article

How to create an article including a 13-page booklet? Thx Stuart roche44 (talk) 18:10, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello, Stuart. I'm afraid you'll have to be more explicit. What 13-page booklet, and why? I confess I can't think of any circumstances in which this would be appropriate to a Wikipedia article, but if you clarify what you are trying to do, somebody can advise you here. --ColinFine (talk) 21:29, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Changing user name' capitalization

How do I change the capitalization of my user name? When I originally signed up as a member, I did not capitalize my user name. Wikipedia automatically capitalized it. How do I un-capitalize it?

data (talk) 21:31, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi data, welcome to the Teahouse. The first character of user names is automatically capitalized. I see you have found how to customize your signature. You can place {{lowercase title}} on User:Ltcomdata and User talk:Ltcomdata to display the page heading in lower case, but that is all you can do. Logs like user contributions and page histories will always show it in upper case. You can type the name in lower case when you log in but others will not see what you typed. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:27, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Thank you user:PrimeHunter. I suppose I cannot change the capitalization of any non-initial characters either? data (talk) 23:05, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Only the first character is automatically capitalized. The others are as they were entered at account creation. Changes can be requested at Wikipedia:Changing username. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:14, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Thank you! data (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Tool to order citations numerically

Hi! I was wondering if there was a tool to order the citations at the end of a sentence from: "I like pancakes.[32][15][9]" to "I like pancakes.[9][15][32] Thanks! Bananasoldier (talk) 13:40, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome back to the Teahouse, Bananasoldier! I don't believe there is a tool for that, but we have some very talented coders around here on Wikipedia who I'm sure would be willing to make one and help improve the editing experience. Happy editing! öBrambleberry of RiverClan 19:37, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

@Bananasoldier: Hi. It seems that I'm a bit late, but there's a very simple way to do this. If we have <ref name = "ref32"/><ref name = "ref15"/><ref name = "ref9"/>, then we can change this to <ref name = "ref9"/><ref name = "ref15"/><ref name = "ref32"/> to produce your desired output. --Jakob (talk) 13:31, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Just curious.

Sometimes when I just roam the Wikipedia on a Sunday morning walk I come across a small text on some pages saying "Mark this page as patrolled". What is that? Is it an indication that I should do something. - W.carter (talk) 12:52, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Please see Wikipedia:New pages patrol/patrolled pages - you don't have to do anything, in which case the same box will appear to the next patrolling editor who views the page.
However, if the page looks "appropriate for Wikipedia, even if it requires significant work" you can mark it as patrolled, or you can propose it for deletion, or, if it needs certain work, you can tag it with the appropriate tag(s). - Arjayay (talk) 16:22, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

What to do with an IP's userpage

I noticed a completely non-notable article being created on an IP's userpage - User:86.40.242.105. The page was created by Dncollins17 and not the IP.

If this article was located in the main namespace, I'd know what to do - tag with {{db-a7}}. But the template only applies for articles in the main namespace, and Twinkle reminded me by not showing me the option to tag the page as such.

What would I do in this situation? The article wasn't even made by the IP - what deletion template should I use?

Thanks in advance. --k6ka (talk | contribs) 16:22, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

I just tagged it csd U5...not a webhost violation. That should do it, but an admin might have a different idea. John from Idegon (talk) 16:33, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Requesting assessment

Is there any place where you can request quality assessments for particular articles? Obviously, GA and FA articles have specific reviews but I'd like to know whether articles - particularly articles I've created - are Start-class or C-class or B-class etc.

I suppose if there's a particular article I have in mind, it would be Goodgame Studios (presumably start/stub) or The Mother (How I Met Your Mother character). But very few of articles created by me have been rated, and I'd imagine there's some rule against rating articles you've created or worked substantially on. Bilorv ^(Talk)_(Contribs) 17:23, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

I normally rate an article I've worked on as C-class if I think it's appropriate. I wouldn't rate an article I've worked on as B-class or higher; it wouldn't really be appropriate (though I don't think there are specific rules about it).

The best way, perhaps, is to add the article to appropriate WikiProjects, and if it hasn't been rated there yet, it will be eventually, by the members of that WikiProject. If it already has a rating at that WikiProject, you could ask at the WikiProject for it to be re-rated? Some have particular processes for this. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 18:14, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Creating my first page on Wikipedia

Hi, I work in the tourism business in Ireland. I see several instances where I could add pages to Wikipedia. I tried to create my first page some time back to learn the process. I found the experience frustrating. I will have another go and see how it goes. I felt there should be a simple template for novices to add basic pages. Possible more experienced editors could then add to the pages..... just my experience. Poshpaddy (talk) 18:04, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Poshpaddy! Welcome to the teahouse. Thank you for letting us know about your experience. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 18:11, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello Poshpaddy. I think the page Your First Article might help you in creating new pages. Of course, wiki-markup scares a lot of newcomers, so that's what the Teahouse is here for! And you're more than welcome to fool around with the code at the sandbox. Once you get used to the markup language, you'd be amazed at how much we can do with it. Happy editing! --k6ka (talk | contribs) 18:34, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Poshpaddy. Another good resource for people learning how to write articles here is A Primer for beginners. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 20:14, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

How do I site a source?

I'm having a lot of trouble siting my sources. I have still done the ref thing. Can someone help me?

Spacedude3000 (talk) 18:34, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello Spacedude3000, and welcome to the Teahouse! To cite a source, just add this next to the passage you're citing:

<ref>Your citation here</ref>

Next, go to the bottom of the page, add a section called "References", and then add {{Reflist}} there. Very simple!

If you have any further questions, you can check out the page about citations, or just ask again here. --k6ka (talk | contribs) 18:41, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Another useful resource, Spacedude3000, is Referencing for beginners. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 23:37, 22 June 2014 (UTC)

Deletion of article

Would like the know the procedure for requesting deletion of Indore - Chandigarh Express as the article has been written about a train that had not been introduced when the article was written and has significant shortcomings. Superfast1111 (talk) 05:41, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello Superfast1111. You say that the train "had not been introduced when the article was written", which implies that the train is running now. Do you know? The first solution to an article with outdated information is to improve and update the article. If you have the knowledge and the interest, I encourage you to do so. If you are convinced that the topic is not notable, then please follow the instructions at Articles for deletion. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 05:54, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

This announcement from the railway company said that service was to begin in early April, 2014. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 05:59, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

True but was it fair to create an article in February 2013 for a service that is introduced in April 2014 & expecting some other editor to clean up / suitably edit the article to a decent standard. Why should credit of an article creation go to a fake article? Superfast1111 (talk) 07:45, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

@Superfast1111: WP:FUTURE outlines our policy on articles about things that have yet to come. Essentially, articles on future things are acceptable as long as they are notable and are almost certain to take place. Just because something hasn't taken place yet doesn't necessarily mean it's not worthy of an article, nor does it make it "fake" or anything of that sort. The way I like to look at it is if the future event were to be cancelled, it would still have received enough coverage to be notable enough for Wikipedia.

As for the "credit of an article creation", I'm not sure what the issue is there. Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia, and nothing is stopping anyone from improving the article now that it needs updating. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 07:51, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

@Superfast1111: I've added two references to the article. Whereever possible, it's always best to try to find references rather than consider deletion an option. Philg88 ^♦talk 07:58, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

How do I find a volunteer to have a wiki page edited, updated, and written better? Thanks

How does one go about having a wiki page improved i.e. adding a photo, improve the writing and information as well as update? It's a bout a race car driver. Thanks!190.238.199.210 (talk) 21:49, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome (back?) to the Teahouse 190.238.199.210! You can't necessarily get someone to "volunteer" to have a wiki page edited, but you can get someone from the Guild of Copy Editors to improve your articles' writing, like you said. Maybe some more experienced Wikipedians know if there are "volunteers" on Wikipedia. Cheers! WooHoo! • Talk to BrandonWu! 00:13, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Also, you can do it yourself if you have the time, suitable reference material, and the inclination. One of the strengths of Wikipedia is that all sorts of people can contribute to it. Click the "Edit" tab at the top of the page you want to change, then "Show preview" once you're done to be sure it worked like you intended before Saving your changes. Registering as a user is optional, but recommended. Need help? Click on the "Help" link at left, or of course you can ask here... --Gronk Oz (talk) 07:05, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

@190.238.199.210: Post on the reward board. An experienced Wikipedian might offer to help you. Chris Troutman (talk) 10:50, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

VxWorks editing question

I have been updating VxWorks and now I get a message that the article has many disambiguous links but when I check it says there are none??Robpater (talk) 13:32, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Robpater. That link is added with the {{dablinks|date=June 2014}} text at the top of the article. If it no longer applies, you can remove it :) Sam Walton (talk) 13:36, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Robpater (talk • contribs) 13:41, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

How do I delete an upload in progress?

The page appears but I have not saved it. I accidentally selected a version of my article without a photo. Can I add the photo later, or can I delete the current unsaved version and upload a pdf with the photo? Kmillett (talk) 12:50, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Kmillett, and welcome to the tea house. I'm afraid I'm not quite catching the meaning of your question. Did you try to create a new page, but forgot to upload a photo? If so, don't worry—everything here can be done iteratively. You can save the page, then click edit again to add a photo or any other additional information you'd like. If ever you create a file or a page but then change your mind and want it to be deleted, just add {{db-g7}} to the top and an administrator will delete it for you.Keihatsu ^talk 14:04, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Help with Jesse Rose page

Hi,

I am writing on behalf of the management of Jesse Rose and the article that was written for Jesse Rose was declined. Can somebody please help me and give me some feedback why this was declined? We want to get the page up as soon as possible. Jesse Rose is a DJ/producer and he has been around for a while so there are enough sources and references. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Jesse_Rose

Sean.holbrook (talk) 09:20, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Sean.holbrook and welcome (back?) to the Teahouse. Your article was declined because it does not reach the required threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia. To establish that the topic is notable, you need to show significant coverage in reliable independent sources. At the moment you have two references, one of which is a blog post and doesn't count towards notability. You need to find more people who have written that Jesse Rose deserves attention. You also appear to have a conflict of interest if you are representing Jesse Rose's management - please also read this guideline. Good luck! Philg88 ^♦talk 09:50, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi [[User:Philg88| Thank you for the reply. I am not actually working for the management. It is more like a learning project. I tried to write it as neutral as possible. The two sources I used, I took it from another wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro_house#cite_note-guardian-29 So you recommend to add more sources?

Sean.holbrook (talk) 09:58, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

@Sean.holbrook:. Yes, you need to find more sources according to the criteria I described above. Philg88 ^♦talk 12:01, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello, Sean. I'm afraid it does not make any difference whether you are working for them at present or not: you have told us enough to show that you have a conflict of interest. That doesn't meant that you may not work on the article, but you need to be very very cautious, and make sure you follow the suggested practice for editors with a conflict of interest. One more point: you may want to get the article up as soon as possible: Wikipedia does not. Wikipedia wants to get as good an article as possible (which includes the possibility of no article at all, if sufficient independent sources do not exist) and doesn't care how long that takes: see there is no deadline. To me (and I suspect many other editors) when I see somebody saying they want to get an article up as soon as possible, especially if they are connected with the subject, I immediately suspect that they are here for the purpose of promotion, which is explicitly forbidden on Wikipedia. My suggestion would be that you collect independent reliable sources for Jesse Rose, and if you think there are enough to ground an article, submit a request via requested articles, and leave it for somebody else to write when they choose. Then if you would like to help us improve Wikipedia, there are many other articles you can work on where you haven't got a conflict of interest. --ColinFine (talk) 15:11, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Are decisions on changes made to articles decided by majority or seniority of editors?

Could someone please explain how the process is supposed to work?

(Article in question - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gun_shows_in_the_United_States#Controversies_section_heading) Thank you. Darknipples (talk) 17:18, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

@Darknipples: In a way, neither, actually! Consensus is the primary way of making decisions on Wikipedia. Essentially, all decisions should be made based on the input of all participating editors, with an effort to meet all legitimate concerns and make compromises if need be. In cases where things get tough, there are other venues to get third-party opinions from other experienced editors (such as third opinions, dispute resolution, and requests for comment). Essentially this means that while the majority usually matches up the consensus, it is not just a majority vote that determines decisions, nor are minority viewpoints necessarily left out. See Wikipedia:Consensus for details. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 17:35, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the input User talk:SuperHamster. Should I reach out and talk to each editor/watcher listed for this page, or just wait for a certain period of time for all of them to comment? If a compromise cannot be reached, we will use one of the options you mentioned to resolve the issue. Thank you! Darknipples (talk) 17:58, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

No problem! Eh, I haven't read the discussion, but it seems to be rolling along and getting more than sufficient input. There doesn't look like a need to call for input from other editors at the moment. It's been less than a day, after all.

As a side note, as far as I'm aware, you can't tell what users have a page watchlisted. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 18:10, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

First article - how do improve it? how do I know if it will be accepted?

I've edited a few things on Wikipedia before, but never drafted an article from scratch for inclusion like I have done for "Edward M Fram" - how do I know if it is "good enough" and how can I improve it? I'm trying to upload a picture for it but am unsure how to do this. Any other suggestions to make it better would be warmly received! -Ed. Edfram (talk) 18:58, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello again EdFram. Please read Referencing for beginners for instructions on proper formatting of references. Your user name indicates a possible Conflict of interest. If so, please declare it. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 19:08, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

uploading photos

Hello, really silly question I'm sure ... but how do I go about uploading an image (in simplest way possible please as I'm a newbie!) Thanks in advance, Ed. Edfram (talk) 18:52, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Edfram. There are some things that can't really be simplified, but I will do my best. If you took the photo yourself, and the photo is of something not subject to copyright, and you are willing to release the photo under an acceptable Creative Commons license, then it is pretty simple. Go to our sister project Wikimedia Commons, and follow the simple instructions there to upload the photo. After you upload, you will be provided with the proper wikicode that you can copy and paste into a Wikipedia article, to display the photo there.

However, if someone else took the photo, things get much more complicated. We need to know the subject, the date, who took it and where you found it. It is likely you can't use a copyrighted photo. Limited exceptions are described at WP:NFCI. I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 19:01, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply - most helpful :)

I wanted to include a photo for my first article "Edward M Fram" ... the picture dates from c.1952 and it is of the person who the article is written about. It is from my family's old photo collection - can I use the "simple" upload for this in your view? Thanks Edfram (talk) 19:06, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

If you are an heir or executor authorized to freely license the photo, then proceed. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 19:11, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

I have written my first article, but am unsure if I've done it correctly.

Could someone please take a look at the article I've written about the painter "Richard Earl Thompson". It's my first article and I'm not sure if I'm missing anything I need to include or if I'm formatting correctly. I would like to have an info box in top right, but I'm not sure how to do it.

Thank You, Jet 16:26, 23 June 2014 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jet1950 (talk • contribs)

From a quick look, it seems to be like quite a promising draft. One suggestion relates to the tone of the article. It's very nicely written, but on Wikipedia we aim for very factual, dispassionate language. So in the introductory paragraph, for instance, you might want to trim down the more visual or emotive language, or details that are not immediately relevant. I would eliminate the interjection about World War I, the stock market collapse, shifts in general attitudes in society, etc. Also, things like "his works are meditations on nature's harmonious perfection, which he visualized in his mind's eye and refined on canvas" is not really appropriate to put in Wikipedia's voice. If a reviewer has said these things, you could quote the reviewer, but the encyclopedic voice must be more detached.

I also noticed that you have many references that repeat. You can solve this problem by naming a reference, rather than spelling the whole thing out each time. See citation guidelines for details. Good luck! Keihatsu ^talk 17:03, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for your help Keihatsu. I will try to change the tone as you suggest. Much of the language was from the articles written about him that I have referenced. I referenced his biography many times because I thought it was necessary when using information from the book. How often do I need to reference the book?

I really appreciate your help. Jet 18:02, 23 June 2014 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jet1950 (talk • contribs)

Hello, Jet. Ideally, every piece of information about the topic should be referenced to a source; so any paragraph without a reference is suspect (except in the lede to the article, which usually summarises material from elsewhere in the article); and in some passages every sentence should have a reference. As Keihatsu said, you can use named references to do this (and I've replaced Keihatsu's URL above by a wikilink to the section). You probably want to reference different pages within the same source, and you can use the template {{rp}} to do this. --ColinFine (talk) 19:37, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Why was my draft declined?

I made my draft of South East Asian International Airlines (Seair-i) but it was declined. It is a new airline separate from Tigerair Philippines. Why was it declined. Maybe you could perfect it because it doesn't look right and I couldn't fix it.

From ggghhj123 Ggghhj123 (talk) 19:39, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Ggghhj123. The reviewer explained that the main problem with your draft is a lack of references to independent sources required to show notability. The airline's own website is not independent. Find independent coverage and add that to the draft. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 19:45, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

But if it is a new airline, it is possible that it has not yet been written about in enough places to meet Wikipedia's criteria for notability; if that is the case, Ggghhj123, then Wikipedia cannot have an article about it yet. --ColinFine (talk) 20:34, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

DC Talk Album Chart

I was trying to do an album chart on the DC Talk page, but it didn't work. Can you help me? Wikiedsir (talk) 21:23, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Wikiedsir, and welcome to the Teahouse. The first big issue is that the <timeline> tag was misspelled as <timelime>. Once that is fixed, the timeline returns a couple syntax errors that need to be fixed. I'm not familiar with using the timeline tool, so I can't really help you beyond that, but hopefully someone else can help you out if you can't get it. Good luck! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 21:35, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

I recieved an error while trying to replace a citation

I am having trouble understanding how to properly replace an old citation with a more relevant one. Specifically, "The named reference".

Link to the page with the error - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_shows_in_the_United_States#Notes_and_references

Darknipples (talk) 04:42, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Darknipples. We have a way of defining a reference once, and then using it multiple times in an article, by using "ref name=" in the wikicode. In this case, a master reference was defined as "Clinton pushes Congress to pass new gun control legislation". Probably what happened was that a reference was created with that name, and used several times in the article. During the course of editing over time, the master reference was deleted, but not the secondary use of the reference. So, there are two solutions: restore the master reference from the article history if it is a solid reference, or delete the secondary use of the reference. Because articles related in any way to gun control legislation are highly controversial and subject to ArbCom restrictions, I recommend caution, and that you raise the matter on the article's talk page first. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 05:07, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

"restore the master reference from the article history if it is a solid reference, or delete the secondary use of the reference."

I am unaware as to how to do either of these, as I am a novice. Any suggestions on where to obtain step by step instructions for accomplishing either of these two options?

"Because articles related in any way to gun control legislation are highly controversial and subject to ArbCom restrictions, I recommend caution, and that you raise the matter on the article's talk page first."

How do I access the article's talk page? Thank you for your help. Your advice is very appreciated. I love wikipedia and wish to learn how to contribute properly. Thank you! Darknipples (talk) 06:02, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello again, Darknipples. Please read Referencing for beginners for the basics of how references are formatted.

When you are reading any Wikipedia article, there will be a menu bar at the top of the page. One of the choices will be called "Talk". Clicking on "Talk" will take you to another, behind the scenes, page. That is where editors interested in that page discuss possible changes to improve the article. Because you are a novice, I am willing to make the correction for you. Or you can try it yourself. Just let us know. The main thing I want you to understand is that you are welcome to make positive changes to any article here. Your input is appreciated, and we want you to edit. But I also want you to know that editing in highly controversial areas can be tough at times. Kind of like stepping into a boxing ring for the first time, although the punches are verbal rather than physical. I want you to be prepared, and I hope that you will continue editing here. Please feel free to return to the Teahouse with questions at any time, or ask on my talk page. Five years ago, I was in your shoes as a complete beginner, and I was grateful to get a friendly welcome. I wish you well. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 06:36, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

To find the reference in the history, you click on "History" or "View history" at the top of the page and pick some arbitrary date and see if the reference had all the needed information on that date. If it doesn't, you would want to search earlier if the reference was already deleted or later if it hadn't been included at all yet.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions •
21:42, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

guidance for academic researchers

Is it acceptable to create articles about your own research to help communicate its findings to the public (otherwise it remains locked behind paywalls?). (Ii) What makes research notable? (iii) what are the criteria that make an academic notable? Publication? A national Award? Is there any guidance?

I can see that Wikipedia wants more academic editors, but as yet I cannot identify specific guidance on academic editing issues. Are there any? Open Research (talk) 17:43, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

If your research has not only been officially published, but has also been the subject of substantial coverage in independent, reliable, sources, it may be suitable for an article. However, you would have a conflict of interest in presenting this - for example, you would find it difficult to present a neutral point of view if some of that coverage was critical of your research, or presented alternative scenarios. We would not, therefore, recommend that you wrote about your own research.
With regard to the notability of academics, please see Wikipedia:Notability (academics) - Arjayay (talk) 18:00, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Bearing in mind the conflict of interest issues raised above, it would be acceptable if you went to an article's talk page and mentioned that a new piece of academic research on the topic is available, providing relevant information. This would allow interested editors to read your work and, if warranted, integrate it into existing pages. Additionally, if you're an academic with expertise in a field, I would strongly encourage you to work on improving articles relevant to your area of interest (steering clear of citing yourself). Keihatsu ^talk

19:40, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks very much both. I have found this policy note about citing your own work:

'Using material you have written or published is allowed within reason, but only if it is relevant, conforms to the content policies, includingWP:SELFPUB, and is not excessive. Citations should be in the third person and should not place undue emphasison your work. When in doubt, defer to the community's opinion'

which is helpful. Open Research (talk) 03:08, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Categorizing and perfecting a new page

Hi guys,

I'm very very new to wikipedia, and I've just had my first article accepted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RESIST_(non-profit) It is classified as start class, and I believe it needs to be categorized and beefed up a bit. I'm working now on trying to connect it to other pages so it is no longer an orphan, but I could use some help on categorizing it, or bettering it in general. any suggestions or helpful efforts would be very greatly appreciated. Thank you! maggie Mkmcmanus (talk) 15:16, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

It appears someone has already taken care of categorizations. Congratulations on your first article! Keihatsu ^talk 17:31, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Licence

I know Wikipedia has strict policy about copy right. I have seen 114 years old picture of Kohat railway station on the net. Can I add it to article about Kohat? or is it still copy right violation? neither owner nor source is traceable. Aftab Banoori ^(Talk) 15:03, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Aftabbanoori. In the United States, where Wikipedia's servers are located, a photo published before 1923 is no longer covered by copyright. Most other countries have similar rules. I think that you are safe in uploading a photo that old to Wikimedia Commons. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 15:17, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks dear Cullen Aftab Banoori ^(Talk) 17:12, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

You are welcome. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 17:45, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Requesting a re-write of a section

To whom this might concern,

There is a page I've been consulting on Yugoslavian history "namely "The Balkans") which is poorly written in parts (the English used simply does not make sense in places and the sentences themselves - where they do make sense - are overly long and somewhat confusing). For example:

"Bulgaria insisted on its status quo territorial integrity, divided and shared by the Great Powers next to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) in other boundaries and on the pre-war Bulgarian-Serbian agreement. Provoked by the backstage deals between its former allies Serbia and Greece on allocation the spoils at the end of the First Balkan War, while it fights at the main Thracian Front, Bulgaria marks the beginning of Second Balkan War when attacked them. The Serbs and the Greeks repulse single attacks, but when the Greek army invaded Bulgaria together with an unprovoked Romanian intervention in the back, regardless of the single won battles, Bulgaria collapsed."

here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans#20th_century

How does one request a language 'tidy up' from a knowledgeable subject matter expert (SME)? I have a good command of the English language but, given I am not an SME, I feel it would be unwise for me to embark upon such an edit in case I inadvertently change the author's intended meaning.

Thank you for your time...

SteveECrane (talk) 09:54, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Hullo User:SteveECrane, welcome to the TeaHouse. A good copy-editor teases out the meaning in their own head before writing out what the original author really meant to say. If the meaning is totally opaque, the copy-editor will seek further clarification. Many of Wikipedia's good copy-editors have knowledge of military and political history, although one does not really need to be a subject matter expert to edit this type of subject. Given the controversial subject matter (and I assume a lengthy article), wise copy-editors will probably avoid it until and unless they can do it justice. So, put {{copyedit}} at the top of it (or perhaps {{Copy edit-section}} at the top of a section) and trust to the collected and individual wisdom of WP:GOCE. It might take a very long time though. A somewhat shorter time (but still perhaps a month or two) by requesting it on the Requests page at WP:GOCE. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 20:15, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Fixing and Verifying the Page: Charles Koppelman

Hello, I would like to fix this page, but am having trouble because of "Conflict of Interest". Could someone please edit the page of any promotional tone as well as try and fix the page so there are no more warnings at the top. I am also trying to add a picture to the top of the page but someone requested to delete it due to the fact that it wasn't properly described as Copyright, etc. Thanks, Charles Koppelman's Office YogiOffice (talk) 18:35, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

For the picture you need to say where you got it from.SillyPotatoe (talk) 20:17, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

You need more than to say where you got it from. The copyright holder must explicitly release it under a suitable license, either publicly, or emailing Wikipedia via the OTRS system. Please see WP:donating copyright materials.

As for the article, on a quick look, it seems to be well-referenced now, but the language is still a bit problematic. "Broke into the music business" is the language of hype, not of encyclopaedias. And "was championed as the savior of the brand" would be acceptable only if the source had pretty much those words. --ColinFine (talk) 21:07, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Account Verificaction

Hello, I created my Wikipedia page about a month ago and I was told by someone that I have to edit random pages for a week in order to get verified by Wikipedia. I've been editing pages for three weeks now and yet nothing has happened. I think I was told the wrong thing to do. so how do I get my page to be verified by Wikipedia?Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli (talk) 13:05, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse. When you say verified, do you mean the autoconfirmed status that allows you to edit semi protected pages? --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 13:12, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Thank you,

By verified, I mean that when people try to search for me, lets say Google, my Wikipedia information/page should pop up as a search result.Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli (talk) 13:23, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

I found you quite easily. --Skamecrazy123 (talk) 13:28, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

If you would like to submit User:Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli for review as an article in the encyclopedia then place {{subst:submit}} at the bottom of the page. New users can do that right away. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:32, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

thank you so much. Although, Someone just put up my page for speedy deletion. Who and Why?!Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli (talk) 13:45, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Hello and welcome to the Teahouse Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli! It quite frankly doesn't matter who put it up for deletion, although if you really care you can find that information in the page's history. I've removed the CSD tag as the page does not qualify for deletion under that criterion. Your request for review, which was a good move to avoid point of view and conflict of interest issues, has been declined with a note in the decline message explaining why. Based on that decline by Timtrent, I suggest you read up on our biography of living person - in-line citations guideline. If you need any further assistance, please do let us know and I'm sure someone would be happy to help you. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(e • t • c)} 13:59, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli. It's good that you're interested in Wikipedia and want to contribute; however, it does seem like you might be misunderstanding what Wikipedia is all about. It also looks like you're not quite getting what a user page is for and what kind of information is permitted to be posted on it. So, I suggest you take a look at the following articles: "What Wikipedia is not", "Wikipedia is not the place to post your résumé", "What may I not have in my user pages?" and "What may I have in my user pages?". All of these should help you better understand what you can and cannot do on Wikipedia. - Marchjuly (talk) 14:15, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Marchjuly. I think you are confused, or you edit conflicted with me and haven't read what I've written above. The draft is not tagged for deletion, it has been moved to Draft: space, and userspace drafts are most certainly okay to start in your userspace (even on your usepage if you are so inclined). This draft doesn't fall under WP:NOT, WP:NORESUMES, WP:UPNO or WP:UPYES at all. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, your draft isn't going to be deleted any time in the near future unless it is determined to be a copyright violation or you stop working on it (in which case it will likely be deleted in about six months as a stale draft). I know there are some users that enjoy taking drafts like these that appear to meet the WP:GNG and clean up the COI/POV issues so that the article may be accepted into mainspace. FireflySixtySeven is one of these users, and I'm wondering if he or she might be interested in this draft... I'll {{Tb}} them as well as the ping from here. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(e • t • c)} 14:35, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Hi Technical 13. I am usually confused, but in this case I was editing my post when made your's. If you check, you'll see that I self-reverted the part about the page being tagged for speedy deletion and being deleted after I discovered the tag was removed [1]. Maybe you were still editing your reply to me when I made my self revert. Anyway, I guess I left the other information because I thought it might be still helpful to the OP, but in hindsight I should have removed those links as well because they only confused things and were off-topic. Sorry about that Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli and good luck with your article.

- Marchjuly (talk) 21:25, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. The comments here helped a lot.Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli (talk) 14:42, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Am I ready to submit a draft?

Would an editor be able to tell me if my article looks ready for submission and if so, how do I go about doing it properly.

Thank you, Jet 19:55, 24 June 2014 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jet1950 (talk • contribs)

You can submit it and wikipedians will check itSillyPotatoe (talk) 20:16, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

That's true, SillyPotatoe, but you haven't told Jet1950 how to do that! Jet1950, just insert {{subst:submit}} at the top of the article. And while you're about it, add a lede - an introductory paragraph, before the first section heading, summarising who he was and what he did. You don't need any references in this, provided the information in it is all referenced in the main part of the article. --ColinFine (talk) 21:12, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Colin,

Thank you for your help. I'll give it a try.

Jet 22:19, 24 June 2014 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jet1950 (talk • contribs)

I need a reflist template to complete my references but I don't know what that is!

The message I received was:

Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Could anyone tell me how to correct this error? I have been to the help page but am none the wiser and I am sure I followed the WP video on the topic of referencing.

Thanks,

I added nowiki tags to clean things up at the Teahouse.

Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 00:40, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

You need to add a references section at the end of your article, and then start a new line. Add {{reflist}}, which is the wikicode to display your list of references. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 00:45, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

First Article deleted, any advice on how to revise it so it will get passed as a page?

Hi,

I've just written my first article about an organization called Stop Organ Trafficking Now. It was rejected and this was the reason: "A tag has been placed on Stop Organ Trafficking Now requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section A7 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because the article appears to be about an organization or company, but it does not indicate how or why the subject is important or significant: that is, why an article about that subject should be included in an encyclopedia. Under the criteria for speedy deletion, such articles may be deleted at any time. Please read more about what is generally accepted as notable."

There isn't really much about this organization other than it's official website and some links and resources from that website, so how can I improve it to get it passed. I really want this article about this organization to get passed, so I want to make sure that I'm taking the necessary steps to do so. Here is the article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Sandbox

Thanks! Reema98 (talk) 04:50, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to the Teahouse, Reema98. We only have articles here on Wikipedia that are notable as Wikipedia defines it. In order to establish notability, the topic must have received significant coverage in reliable, independent sources. The group's website is not independent. So, you will have to find independent reliable sources covering the group in order to have an article accepted. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 05:03, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

I was going to move (really, copy and paste) from the draft space, but I see you already have it up at User:Reema98/sandbox, which is the best place to work on something. Good luck, Drmies (talk) 05:09, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Oh, I understand now. I was a bit confused with the way Wikipedia explained it. I'll try to find some independent sources, but I doubt there are any reliable ones, as I have searched before. Thank you so much User:Cullen328, I will keep your response in mind when writing future articles!

Reema98 (talk) 05:09, 25 June 2014 (UTC)