Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 July 2

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July 2

book as a source

I recently started a page on a character from a book series known as the Dresden Files. The character's name is Thomas Raith. It is not complete, but already there are messages saying I haven't cited my sources. My sources are the books themselves, and I am not sure what the exact format is for citing the books. Could someone tell me what the format is?

You could use {{cite book}}. tiZom_(2¢) 00:53, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for that, that will help for the actual citation. Something else I was wondering, though. Do I create a footnote, and then post the citation at the bottom with a footnote attached? I am pretty sure I don't just post the citation in the middle of the text...

Yes, you should enclose the citation with the <ref> and </ref> tags. This will create one of those little ^{superscript numbers}, which will link you to the actual citation at the bottom of the article, where you should place the <references/> code. See WP:CITE or WP:FOOT for more information. Hersfold ^(talk/work) 01:11, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

picture of the day

how do I submit a photo to be considered for the picture of the day?

The picture of the day (POTD) is chosen among a list of featured pictures. To try to get a picture to be featured, it absolutely must be a free picture (as in, it is either Public Domain, GFDL, Creative Commons, etc.). If it is licensed freely, then check out the featured picture criteria to make sure it meets the standards. If you feel that it does, then follow the directions to nominate it. Fellow editors will vote on it, and if consensus rules in its favor, it will become a Featured picture, and will soon be Picture of the Day.

It's a tough process, I know... but it is what keeps the POTDs the best of the best. :o) tiZom_(2¢) 02:01, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Father Mark Mary's Homily on Concupicence

We are looking for a copy of the Father Mark Mary's Homily on Concupicence. This was presented at Mass on EWTN.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.97.150.34 (talk • contribs).

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit 02:38, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

canada law for information for Freedom of information

pl what is status canadian law for freedom of information for canda law for information to citizens and what are key persons to cotact.220.224.41.98 02:46, 2 July 2007 (UTC) anil anil_1949@hotmail.com

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions, and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that's what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit 02:52, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

administration

I saw somewhere about administrators. How does one become one? Does one apply for the job at the Wikipedia offices? Does one have to have some previous work experience as either a writer or in management? Polounit 02:54, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

No, you don't need any outside experience or anything. And no, you don't have to go to the offices. Experienced users (usually at least 4 months at 4,000 edits) run at Requests for adminship, and other users decide whether or not they should become an admin. It's not a job, and you don't get paid :). I would suggest you don't apply now, as you're not that experienced. You're welcome to voice your opinion on other requests though. --(Review Me) R ^{you talking to me?}Contribs_@ (Let's Go Yankees!) 02:59, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The rule of thumb is that you have to have been here long enough and done enough to display that you are trustworthy and knowledgeable about policy. How you do that may differ from editor to editor. Leebo ^T/C 03:36, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps the first requirement for being an administrator is to know one's way around the manuals well enough not to have to ask how to become an administrator. Not to be rude about it, but Wikipedia is very much a document-driven project, so learning the manuals in depth would be an essential first step toward becoming an administrator, and one of the manuals one would come across in the course of reading all that material would be Wikipedia:Administrators. For (lots) more information see the Administrators: entry just below User:John Broughton/Editor's Index to Wikipedia#Adm. --Teratornis 06:13, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

swap mislabeled pix

Two related images – Image:Elongated alternated cubic honeycomb.png and Image:Gyroelongated alternated cubic honeycomb.png – got mixed up. Ideally, they'd be swapped, so that articles which cite the wrong illustrations by the right names would be correct. Can that be done? —Tamfang 03:01, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

There's actually a difference between those two illustrations? Anyways, just re-upload each image, but save it under the correct name. You will be prompted to overwrite the existing image, which is what you want, so go ahead.
Jim Dunning | talk 05:13, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Yes there is a difference; look at the relative positions of the blue corners at top and bottom. The middle layer is triangular prisms, and the outer layers are octahedra (blue) alternating with tetrahedra (red). In "elongated alternated cubic", each prism meets one tetrahedron and one octahedron; in "gyroelongated alternated cubic", each prism meets the same shape at both ends. (User:Tomruen has made the correction.) —Tamfang 07:05, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

cladistics

The top portion of the 1st page can't be edited but contains 2 factual errors. Cladistics does indee use morphological similarities, i.e., in those analyses based on phenotypic(classical, nonmolecular) evidence. Also, DNA sequencing is not "so-called", Molecular data, it is, indeed, molecular data. Futher on it does not mention that many cladists consider paraphyly as polyphyly which it is. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.156.205.19 (talk)

Click "edit this page" at the top of Cladistics to edit the lead. Note that changed information should be based on Wikipedia:Reliable sources. I don't know the field. PrimeHunter 03:45, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I need an opinion/advice here.

For the past weeks, I've been trying to improve the fictional character article of Shego, trying to rise it to a Good Article and maybe to a Featured Article someday. Now, while the other users and me have managed to improve the article, there's a dispute I'm not sure how to handle.

Among all the sections of the article, I decided to put Personality, Appearance and Powers and abilities as subsections of a Characteristic section. My reasons for doing so is that, by doing it that way, it's possible to archive everything about the character's usual and present characteristics into one section, while I believe that the less Main Sections, the better. But there is another user that claims that that doesn't really contribute to the article, and so is the dispute.

I tried to research about how should this be done in the Manual of Style, but it didn't help. Does someone knows how should it be done? Or can at least give me an opinion?

Already thanks for whatever help I got. --Alexlayer 03:55, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The Help Desk really isn't the place for editorial dispute resolution, but here are some suggestions. It certainly appears that the editors working on this article have had a productive set of discussions going, so consider following that route further. You've only been addressing the issue for a couple days, so give it more time and see if other editors weigh in to help gain Consensus. You might try contacting some other editors who have worked on the article before and ask them for input; make sure you do so neutrally without pushing a POV too strongly (solicit objective assessments). Along the same line, use the resources at WikiProject Films or WikiProject Television and ask for ideas on the Talk pages there. If you haven't done so already, check out similar articles and evaluate their formats in light of your goals. I hope these ideas are helpful. Good luck.
Jim Dunning | talk 04:16, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I wasn't actually asking for how to solve this dispute, but about what should be done with the heading sections, as if there is any style that should be followed about that, and/or if I'm right with my opinion of "The less main section, the better". --Alexlayer 04:33, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The beauty of WP is that there usually are no set format requirements. Did I mention that's often cited as the irritating part of WP, too? How you handle the headings and sections is really up to you and the other editors (and thus falling outside the realm of "how to use WP"). Often times the Project pages will provide guidelines, but I don't see anything there that can help you on this one. I still suggest reviewing as many similar-topic articles as you can and build consensus that way. I hope I'm addressing your question.
Jim Dunning | talk 04:49, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, thanks for the help, and sorry for bothering. --Alexlayer 05:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm sorry I'm not addressing your issue. Jim 05:40, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Aw, c'mon, don't be. You tried to help ^_^ --Alexlayer 05:47, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

WP:LAYOUT describes standard Wikipedia article sections. That may or may not help you here. To find a good layout for a certain type of article, look at other well-edited articles of similar type. To find such articles, look at the relevant categories and WikiProjects. Hopefully the article is already categorized into the relevant categories, and the relevant WikiProjects should be listed on the article's talk page. Given that Shego is a cartoon character, there should be many similar articles to use as models. Obviously it is more productive for editors to agree on one basic structure for all articles of a given type, than to argue over the details of every one of them individually (without reference to all the others which have been argued about). --Teratornis 06:25, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

lost password for an account made long time ago, without providing email

Hello Is any chance to recover a password for an account I made long time ago and for wich I did not provide an email address? How can I prove that I made it? Of course, I cand make another account, but I use this nickname on almost every site. Thank you Catalin

Create another account. If you still love your old user name so much, make a request at WP:CHU/U to change your new acc username to the old one (in case you old acc has no contributions). Best wishes. AW 04:19, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, it looks like there were a couple edits if this is your account. This will preclude you from "usurping" the account. Also, you'd have to establish yourself as a regular user before making the request. Best suggestion at this point is try logging in using favorite passwords from four years ago (or go for a whole new persona — change is good). Good luck.
Jim Dunning | talk 04:37, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

No, that is not my account. Mne is cat23. I'll try to make a new one and then change the new account to the old name. 10x all

Southhampton in England

What is the closest airport to Durley in Southhampton in England?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.47.149.67 (talk • contribs) 04:39, July 2, 2007

Wikipedia is not a travel guide, and this page is for questions about Wikipedia itself. That said, I suggest searching Google Maps. -- Kesh 04:45, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

This is the type of question one could answer with a geographic wiki. Which, unfortunately, Wikipedia isn't quite yet. You might try downloading Google Earth and the Wikipedia layers for it, and see if there is a way to display the locations of airport articles near Durley. Or see Wikipedia:WikiProject Geographical coordinates#Visualization of Wikipedia articles with Google Maps which links to the interesting PINTOMAP. It was easy enough to zoom in on Southampton and find Durley on the map. Southampton Airport looks to be about 5 km to the west of Durley. That seems to be the closest airport I see on the PINTOMAP, but I have no idea how complete the airport coverage is on that map. The data on Google Maps might be more complete. --Teratornis 06:45, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

excel information

what is a defination of excel —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.200.68.23 (talk • contribs) 05:16, July 2, 2007 UTC

If you're referring to the definition of the word "excel", try www.wiktionary.org. This is the Help Desk for using Wikipedia, not providing word definitions. If you're talking about Microsoft Excel (the spreadsheet software), try the Wikipedia article about it.
Jim Dunning | talk 05:25, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia

When i use the Wikipedia recently, the page expands larger into the right. When i go look into the right there is just blank white. I just changed to Internet Explorer 7 so does that affect that. Maybe your site doesnt support IE 7! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.28.149.205 (talk • contribs) 05:48, 2 July 2007

AFAIK Wikipedia is compatible with all major internet browsers, new and old. Some particular pages, such as page widening, are formatted in ways that require left to right scrolling. Shalom ^Hello 06:36, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

how can i make a page?

how can i make a page?

It depends what kind of page. Try reading Wikipedia:Your first article. Shalom ^Hello 06:34, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

loading, sharing & editing PowerPoint or Impress files

Our organization has an internal xxxipedia running for knowledge management and collaboration. Unfortunately PowerPoint (alternate:Impress) has a firm foothold within the organization and we would like to be able to load / share / edit PowerPoint files/slides. Any thoughts on how this could be achieved using the existing MediaWiki engine ?

Rzyzkc 07:26, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The Wikipedia help desk is for questions on using Wikipedia, the encyclopedia, it is not meant for general MediaWiki questions, so you might not get an answer here. Also, you probably mean your organisation has a wiki, not an xxxipedia, which is a name that would be more appropriate for an encyclopedia running on an undefined platform. ssepp^(talk) 12:11, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

(If I saw the word: xxxipedia with no other explanation, I'd suspect it involved some sort of adult content, although I'd probably go with the undefined platform thing to avoid self-incrimination.) A more specific name for a wiki used internally by an organization is corporate wiki. The place to ask questions about administering the MediaWiki software is: mw:Project:Support desk. Sometimes you can find useful pointers by searching the two wikis where MediaWiki administrators participate: search Meta-Wiki for: powerpoint, search mediawiki.org for: powerpoint. Both searches find some hits. Have fun. --Teratornis 14:28, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

standard English/common dictionary

I recently edited the two instances of the word 'underwhelming' out of the article on Major League Soccer. The first I replaced with disappointing, the second was just removed. I did a quick google search 'define: underwhelm' which returned no results--this confirmed my suspicion that 'underwhelm' is a creative, but non-standard word. I left an edit summary to that effect. An editor then left a note on my talk page which subtly accused me of prescriptive language-mongering, pointing me to the fact that the word is included in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. This inspired me to look a bit deeper: I found the word listed in dictionary.com as well, along with a note declaring the word 'informal.' Before I respond to the particular editor, I want to find out more about standard wording. Is there a dictionary that wikipedia considers authoritative? It seems clear to me that words like 'underwhelm' are perhaps akin to plenty of other neologisms that would be perfectly acceptable in the wikipedia of the future (once these words have become standardized), but I don't know the best way to take this up with the other editor, nor am I aware of wikipedia's policy concerning dictionary differences.

Joshua Crowgey 08:25, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

There do seem to be reliable sources for the word (see wikt:underwhelming for some that Wikipedia's sister project Wiktionary found, for instance). I suppose whether a word should be used or not comes down to the same issues as any other content in an article; if it's disputed what the word means, or whether it's genuine English, sources can be useful, but of course even if a word is a real word that doesn't mean it has to be used, especially if it's unclear or there's a replacement word that would be clearer to readers. There don't seem to be any Manual of Style pages or other appropriate pages on the subject (which I've tried to determine through the new improved search feature). --ais523 11:59, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I get a million hits on google:underwhelming. This seems sufficient as evidence of the word to me, but the word is often used in a disparaging POV way, so another word would probably be better for Wikipedia in most cases. PrimeHunter 12:46, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Disputed article

I was wondering what the recommended way is for dealing with uncommented "disputes". I sometimes run across "The neutrality of this section/article is disputed -- see discussion on the talk-page", but then find a talk-page *completely* void of any mention of any dispute.

Is it in such cases (example: Stavanger) acceptable to remove the dispute-marker ? It's sorta hard to try to clear up a claimed "dispute" when the person adding the tag can't even be bothered to mention what exactly the dispute is supposed to be about...

--Eivind Kjørstad 10:50, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

In those situations, I generally remove the tag and leave a note on the talkpage of the person who has added the tag saying if they wish to re-add it, they need to start a conversation on the talkpage explaining what the issue is. --Fredrick day 10:53, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Rails UIC-60

Dear Sir,

We would like to inform you that we have one Tender for the Syrian Railways at hand for /24000/ Rails UIC-60 If in your line , could you please inform us so we can provide you all the details ASAP. If not in your line, please send us addresses or website of the firms concerned.

Waiting your reply soonest.

Thanks, Best Regards

(personal information removed)

This is Wikipedia, an encyclopedia. We don't sell rails. Maybe you have the wrong website? --ais523 11:55, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

This is the wikipedia helpdesk - we help people with problems related to editing content on wikipedia and other related functions. As such, I am afraid that we are not interested in bidding for a tender to build a railway. We could however offer a nice article on it once it is finished. --Fredrick day 11:56, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I suspect we get these strange questions because people read an article about something on Wikipedia and suppose Wikipedia is directly involved in whatever that thing is. That is understandable, because many people are still unfamiliar with wikis in general and with Wikipedia in particular, and if they browse directly to a Wikipedia article from, say, a search engine, they may think they are viewing an ordinary Web site. Many if not most Web sites that provide detailed information about a corporation are probably corporate sites. Even though Wikipedia has plenty of clues to indicate it is not a typical corporate site, the human brain is a funny thing - a person who forms an incorrect belief will often tend to ignore evidence that contradicts the belief, as if they just don't see it. This is one reason why software, to be truly usable, must do more than merely present information passively. Software must also detect and model the user's current level of understanding, and then change its presentation as necessary to correct misconceptions. This is, of course, exactly what a human expert does when advising a client. The human expert does not merely recite facts, but asks the client questions to infer which facts the client is missing or getting wrong. --Teratornis 14:57, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

How to change the default login page to a portal?

I'd like my wikipedia login to always be the energy portal - is this possible??? Thanks a lot!

It would be possible to write a user script to do this; here's an example bit of code that would cause you to be redirected to Portal:Energy immediately after logging in. --ais523 13:01, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

if(location.href.indexOf("title=Special:Userlogin&action=submitlogin")!=-1)
  location.href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Energy";

(Note that I haven't tested this.) To use it, copy the code into Special:Mypage/monobook.js, and then bypass your cache (Control-F5 on Internet Explorer and Firefox for Windows). You can then test it by logging out and logging back in again. --ais523 13:01, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Toolbar?

Is there a Wikipedia toolbar that you can download for your webbrowser (a la google or yahoo tooolbars)? I think it would be a great tool to have b/c I always have things I want to "quick check." 205.217.105.2 14:15, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Both Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7's built-in search facilities can easily be instructed to search Wikipedia (to set this up, visit any Wikipedia page, then click on the down arrow next to your current search provider on Firefox or the magnifying glass icon next to the search box on Internet Explorer, then choose to add Wikipedia (it will either be directly on the menu or via one of the submenus). For other browsers and for other toolbars, you might want to see Wikipedia:Tools/Browser tools for tools available for your browser. --ais523 14:25, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

almimuoni ahmed k s a

[removed]

I have removed the above as it makes no sense and contains personal information. The Sunshine Man is now Qst 14:40, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

money paid out from lawsuit

My father's dead, but before he died he had received money from a lawsuit there in his hometown. The money was taken and has never been found.The detectives never pursued the issue, saying there was no proof that he ever had the money.

I'm sorry to hear about your father, however the help desk is for Wikipedia related problems only, sorry... The Sunshine Man is now Qst 14:59, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, we at Wikipedia cannot give out Legal advice. Please consider another source for your information.

Thank you,

Kevinwong913 ^{Speak out loud!} 15:59, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Legal disclaimer. Also note that even if Wikipedia did give legal advice, laws vary around the world, so any request for legal advice should identify the relevant jurisdiction(s). Advice on how to proceed would obviously vary by the country, or even by the state or province within a country. --Teratornis 19:41, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Author

How do I find the author, editor of an Article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.214.186.129 (talk • contribs) 15:16, July 2, 2007 UTC

Click on the history tab at the top of the page. Each of those entries are entries by an author/editor of the article. -- Kainaw^(what?) 15:19, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Articles are edited by multiple people (Wikipedia is a wiki, and anyone can edit any article at any time, more or less); you can find out their usernames by clicking on the 'history' tab at the top of the screen, to the right of 'edit this page'. If you want this information to cite Wikipedia, you may find the 'cite this article' link in the toolbox in the left sidebar more useful, though. --ais523 15:20, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Because Wikipedia is a collaborative effort, there will likely be multiple authors/editors for most articles. You can see who they are by reviewing the article's History. Just click on the "history" link at the top of the article's page. You can also review the article's discussion or Talk page to see comments from some of the editors, providing some insight into the article's development.
Jim Dunning | talk 15:23, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Image Links

This was brought up a few questions back, but I'd like to clarify it further. The [[image:filename]] wiki code automatically wraps the image in a link to the image's page. That makes it impossible to do something rather simple, such as link an image of a question mark to the help page. For example, I cannot do: [http://mediawiki.org/somehelppage [[image:question]]]. My initial response is to use HTML's <img ... > tag. But, when you do that, the tag is parsed out and becomes <img src='http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=image:question' /> - the full text, not the image. I understand this - it keeps people from linking images in from other sites. But, it forces the use of the wiki image code that forces a link to the image's page - meaning that you cannot link an image. So, is there any workaround? -- Kainaw^(what?) 15:18, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The other reason it's like that is that clicking on an image shows its copyright information, so if the image has a copyright that means attribution is required, it would be a copyright violation to do this without a description link. There is a (somewhat obscure, probably deliberately) syntax to do what you're asking, though:

<imagemap>
Image:Example.svg|100px|an example image
default [[Wikipedia:Help desk]]
</imagemap>

an example image

If, like this image, the image is public domain, you can get rid of the information icon by adding desc none as an extra line inside the imagemap tags. One other thing: this use of imagemap is inadvisable in articles (userpages, project pages and help pages seem to use it most). Hope that helps! --ais523 15:24, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Helpme

How do you make your own wiki because there are other wiki sites like wookipedia and relic have one so how do you actual Make one for a certian topic?

Comander Cumi

Are you referring to starting just an article in Wikipedia? If so, review Your first article. Or are you asking about starting a complete wiki? If that's the case, keep in mind that administering your own wiki is a major undertaking. You might consider finding an existing wiki willing to accept your content; search for wikis on WikiIndex. You can search for open source software for wikis here: Free and Open Source Software Wiki.
Jim Dunning | talk 15:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Byrd Alzheimer's Institute Wikipedia Page

Hello-

I am writing to inquire about an email sent by my associate from the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr., Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute last week. I have been unable to find a contact phone number for the questions that we have concerning the copy on the page. Also, my email to permissions-en@wikimedia.org has bounced back.

Jennifer Whelihan, the communications liaison for the Institute is trying to set up its Wikipedia page.

Please let me know if you have received her email (attached) and what steps there are in order for this process to move forward.

The Byrd Institute is a not for profit organization with a mission to prevent and cure Alzheimer's disease. They are connected to world-class scientists and researchers across the globe who all share the same vision.

Thank you for your time, I appreciate your help.

Jessica Duncan

I work for the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute and just set up an account to add our information to your site. I went through the process and added content under the following two names.

- Byrd Alzheimer's Institute

- Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute

I received a message that said I needed to send an e-mail to this address letting you know I have copyright permission to add this information on the Institute. I do. I wrote the content and it is also posted on our web site. This information comes directly from us at the Institute. Please let me know if there is anything further I need to do.

Thank you for your assistance, Jennifer

Creating an article for a website of which the article author is a founder...

Hello,

I've overlooked the Wikipedia guidelines for posting articles and noted that articles of self promotion are frowned upon or even disallowed, and that this stretches to include websites as well.

However several years ago I co-founded a fan based website for a computer game series (FreeSpace) and, as it is the last major site of its type, I feel it would greatly benefit internet users who're looking to access content on the game(s) as Wikipedia is a major informational resource and pointing them in the right direction by placing an article here would be mutually beneficial. I realize that self promotion is frowned upon as I say, however would an *objective* article on the website be permitted?

Thank you for your time,

Alex Avery

(P.S. If it helps to reach a conclusion, the URL of the website is as follows: http://www.hard-light.net/ ) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kalfireth (talk • contribs) 15:47, July 2, 2007

Hello, Mr. Avery,

If you can ascertain the notability of Freespace (according to WP:NN), then the article is a reasonable candidate for creation. Instead of creating it yourself, I would recommend putting it up at WP:AfC (Articles for Creation). An objective editor will create it if seen as notable.Kevinwong913 ^{Speak out loud!} 15:53, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

There are also several wikis that specialize in games. If you like editing on a wiki but your content does not meet Wikipedia's policies, look for another wiki. You can search WikiIndex for "game". That finds lots of wikis, for example Encyclopedia Gamia. Gamers are one of the more wikified groups of people, so you should have no problem finding a wiki home for your article, where you may develop it at leisure, probably with less worry about having it deleted. (Wikipedia deletes up to several pages per minute for violating various policies and guidelines.) --Teratornis 19:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

help on health care companies page

HI,

I am obviously a novice on Wikipedia so pardon the basicness of my questions. I have tried to add a description about HealthString so that it appears under H on the health care company page, but it keeps adding to the top of the page. I assure you, this is not intentional! Please tell me how to correct this error and I will promptly do so. Thanks so much. User:Lizwillock 16:04, July 2, 2007

Hi, Ms. Willock. Which article are you specifically trying to edit? That may help in figuring out a solution to your dilemma. Also, based on your contribution to Personal health record, you should review Wikipedia's guidelines on conflict of interest. The addition of your company's website in the list of reference sources looks more like an advertisement than a link for additional information. As it stands now someone may remove your contribution thinking it is spamlinking. You may want to take another look at it and consider reformatting and/or relocating the information.
Jim Dunning | talk 16:19, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I guess you are referring to Category:Health care companies where IP numbers have added information about HealthString.[1] I have removed it because it doesn't belong there. An article about HealthString should be created at HealthString. If you then want it to be listed in Category:Health care companies then add [[Category:Health care companies]] to the end of the article. If you consider creating the article, please read WP:CORP and provide Wikipedia:Reliable sources to demonstrate notability. If you are associated with HealthString then also read WP:COI. And read WP:EL before adding more links to other articles. We have a lot of guidelines. PrimeHunter 16:29, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Your editing confusion was due to the fact that category pages behave differently than most other pages. The MediaWiki software generates the entries under the alphabetic headings on a category page from other pages which contain the type of category links PrimeHunter illustrated above. Experience shows that many new users find categories confusing. Read Help:Category if you want to learn about them. Also see additional guidelines for business-related articles: Wikipedia:Business' FAQ. Wikipedia is very complicated, so don't expect all this to make sense immediately. Be aware that starting new articles can be one of the more difficult editing challenges for a new user; Wikipedia deletes up to several new pages per minute for not following our site policies and guidelines. --Teratornis 17:06, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Thank you 3 for clarifying the Wiki editorial policies and guidelines. I made my initial errors by adding our url to external reference pages because it appeared this group was a general list of companies that share health care features. I will continue to learn as much as I can about how to become an ethical and valued contributor to Wikipedia. Lizwillock 21:25, 10 July 2007 (UTC)lizwillock 10 July 2007

Help me

What exactly is a template and how do i make a completely new wiki but with a whole new look and subjects and not so big and so that i can edit every thing andchange every thing

Commander Cumi 16:16, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Please help me kind sirsCommander Cumi 16:25, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Part of your question's been answered a few sections above. As for templates, see Wikipedia:Template namespace; they're bits of text and/or markup (often quite complicated markup!) that can be substituted or transcluded onto multiple pages. --ais523 16:28, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

To further respond, a template is a page which can be inserted into another page via a process called transclusion. Refer to Help:Template for detailed information on creating them. Templates can be very complex, so you may want to review the code for some existing templates before attempting to create them on your own. For example, this is an example of a navigation box template; you can actually see the wiki markup used to create it here].

As to creating your own wiki, you can search for software and service sources at this list of wiki farms (a "wiki farm" is a server or a collection of servers that provides wiki hosting, or a group of wikis hosted on such servers). Hope this helps.
Jim Dunning | talk 16:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

See b:Wiki Science/How to start a Wiki. Read MediaWiki and follow the links from it to learn about the software that runs Wikipedia. You can install your own personal wiki to experiment with MediaWiki on your personal computer; see mw:Manual:Wiki on a stick. Read wiki too, of course, and all the stuff linked from: {{Wiki topics}}. Learning to be a wiki administrator is a big job. But almost everything you need to know is written down somewhere, and probably you can find all of it by starting with the links in these answers to your questions. --Teratornis 17:12, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

How do I create a stub?

How do you create a stub? For example, some pages say "this biographical article related to television in the United Sates is a stub".

65.1.255.12 16:17, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Check out Wikipedia:Stub for more information.
Jim Dunning | talk 16:22, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Advice re dealing with another editor who deletes my text from an article

If you will go to the article Blood Done Sign My Name at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Done_Sign_My_Name and click on "My Talk," you will see (near the bottom) a letter asking for advice in which I state in great detail what the situation is. However, someone named Miranda responds in a way that seems to indicate that he/she is unable to read my letter.

I can't understand why Miranda is unable to read my letter. I am hoping that someone else will be able to read it and get back to me.

Thanks for assistance.

Marshall H. Pinnix 17:03, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

For the record, the correct page link is User talk:Marshall H. Pinnix. That "my talk" link at the top of the page is a link to Special:MYTALK, which leads to the talk page of the person reading the page, not the person who posted it. --tjstrf talk 17:24, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Also, I note on your talk page you refer to my reference to my review of the book (and to excerpts from an e-mail from the author to me). Please be sure to read WP:COI, as trying to insert references to your own work is a conflict of interest. Further, even emails are copyrighted, so posting excerpts from them could potentially be a copyright violation. I would suggest discussing it further on the article's Talk page. -- Kesh 17:33, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I've added an {{unsourced}} tag to the page, there are zero sources. Corvus cornix 18:45, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I think this discussion should be closed as resolved. There are half a dozen editors who have independently taken the time to explain in detail the relevant policies in this case. 18:55, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

How do you create a wikipedia page of your own

This is my first time on wikipedia and i have just regestered, How do i create a page that other people can search for and find??? --Hellosophkitty 17:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

If you want a page for yourself, you should use your user page, User:Hellosophkitty. There are some guidelines for what you can have on it though, so please read Wikipedia:User page as well. --tjstrf talk 17:39, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia, Hellosophkitty. We hope you enjoy your experience here. For information on starting article pages, take a look at Starting Your First Article and Starting a new page. If you have more questions, just type {{helpme}} on your Talk page and someone will stop by quickly to help you out. Have fun, and good luck!
Jim Dunning | talk 17:47, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

web page statistics

How can I find out how many viewers have visited a certain web page, ie Crockett, Texas? Thanks, Martha

You don't. Wikipedia does not track that information. -- Kesh 18:56, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

How do you create a template?

How do you create a custom template? Sincerely, Userboxes Only!.

Refer to Help:Template for detailed information on creating them. Templates can be very complex, so you may want to review the code for some existing templates before attempting to create them on your own. For example, this is an example of a navigation box template; you can actually see the wiki markup used to create it here].
Jim Dunning | talk 18:23, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

can't login to insight bill pay

I changed from aol to insightbb.com. Now the insight for the cable won't let me use my old e-mail or my new e-mail to pay my bill

We're flattered that you turn to Wikipedia for help with your cable service, but this page is for asking questions about using Wikipedia, not your cable or Internet service. Try going to Online Bill Payment from Insight for help.
Jim Dunning | talk 18:21, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

deletion

I'd like to delete my account, how do i do so? Sillyfaces 18:32, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Accounts don't get deleted. If you don't want to use it, don't use it. Friday (talk) 18:36, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Why do you want to delete it? Maybe account deletion isn't what you're looking for?
Jim Dunning | talk 18:38, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

See also WP:RTV and Very FAQS --_Hdt83 ^Chat 18:39, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Since you have not placed any information on either your userpage or Talk page, and your lone contribution to WP contains no identifying information about you, then you can just stop using the account (as Friday suggests) and disappear.
Jim Dunning | talk 18:46, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

References relating to songs

If a song article states that said song reached number one (or any other chart number), should a reference be added? If so, what sources would be appropriate to cite? Would, for example, the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles be acceptable?

Many thanksBig Al 1984 19:02, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for asking that question. Yes, you should provide a reliable source for that fact. Review the guidelines for sources at Reliable sources. Also, check out Verifiability and Citing sources sources for more information. Good luck.
Jim Dunning | talk 19:06, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

PS That website is probably just fine as a reliable source, but review the guidelines for reliable sources and verifiability just the same. --Jim

Images. YAY

Two Questions:

1. How do I upload pictures on to my user page?

2. Can I upload pictures of my art on my usperpage?

(LatiRider 19:14, 2 July 2007 (UTC))

Yes, but you might want to sign up for an account on Wikimedia Commons for such tasks. Miranda 19:47, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

As long as it is your own art, of course, you may upload your art on your userpage. --Mayfare 19:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Images, Wikipedia:Uploading images and Wikipedia:User page. PrimeHunter 20:41, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Watchlist Question

When viewing my watchlist, all edits are listed like this "Planet‎; 03:29 . . (+53)...". What is the significance (+53)? Thanks! Vsst 19:43, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

It's the number of characters added or removed in the last edit. Useful so that you can tell if someone just deleted the entire page or something. --tjstrf talk 19:46, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Actually, I think it's the number of bytes, not characters. --(Review Me) R ^ParlateContribs_@ (Let's Go Yankees!) 20:43, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Automatic Logout

Hello.

1. Why does Wikipedia not automatically log you out if you briefly exited Wikipedia? If possible, how can I set this feature up?

2. Also, why does Wikipedia not automatically log you out if you have idled for a certain amount of time? Again, if possible, how can I set this feature up, too? Thank you. --Mayfare 19:46, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The Log-in page has a "Remember me" box. If that is checked, Wikipedia will keep you logged in. If it is not checked, you will be logged out after a certain length of time (how long, I don't know, but it seems to be less than an hour). Corvus cornix 20:07, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Renaming Community media

Hi, I am a new user of Wikipedia and I think it is important to change the title for the "Community media" page to a capitalized one: "Community Media". This should be done because it is a title and more importantly because the title "Community Media" has a redirect on it that takes the user to "public Access", which is a form of "Community Media". Please advise. Fred Johnson [user name Parisjohnson]

Please see the Manual of style. -- Kesh 01:20, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Template Question

Can someone check the templates {{welcomeh}} and {{welcomeg}}, something is wrong with them because extra text seems to be popping up somehow. Although this might just be my own error. SmileToday☺(talk to me , My edits) 20:57, 2 July 2007 (UTC) See [2] and [3]

I moved one of the "noinclude" tags down a line, and that seems to have fixed it. Not sure why it was displaying that in the first place, though... Hersfold ^(talk/work) 21:18, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Also using only {{welcomeh}} without the subst caused a problem that put the edit button for that on the talk page of the user, which I find very odd. That caused me to substitute the template by accident twice (see:[4] [5] [6] [7])Is this a bug? SmileToday☺(talk to me , My edits) 21:19, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The extra text appeared because you removed the <noinclude> tag which prevented that text from appearing. h is the same template as g with a heading at the top, so the current setup means that the current version of g is used when you use h. I have reverted back to the original usage and it appears to work fine now. Hope that explains, mattbr 21:23, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The template should always be subst'ed, as are all the welcome templates, which will result in the desired behaviour. mattbr 21:37, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Translating an article

I have written an article in English and I would like to write the same one in French. I will translate it myself How do I proceed?JLR-mapman 21:09, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm fairly new here, but I think you first translate the title, then the text, then go to the French Wikipedia to write the article there. But they may have slightly different policies and guidelines there though. Also, add a [[fr:PAGE_NAME_IN_FRENCH]] to the bottom of the article. SmileToday☺(talk to me , My edits) 21:13, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Thank you smile for the prompt answer, I did not kow how to get to the French Wikipedia nor how to indicate a translated page. I will try manage from here. thanks again

Also see Wikipedia:Translation and other links below the "Translation:" entry here: User:John Broughton/Editor's Index to Wikipedia#Tra. --Teratornis 21:51, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Expanding boxes on userpage

On my userpage, how do I make my the expanding boxes which hold my userboxes to be the same color as the TOC? Also, how do I make the expanding boxes which hold my userboses to default expanded, so you don't have to click 'show'? Thanks a lot. —Christopher Mann McKay^{user talk} 21:18, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Merging Crossrail articles (histories)

How are histories merged in this case? Crossrail Glasgow was originally Glasgow Crossrail until the name changed. However, instead of moving Glasgow Crossrail to Crossrail Glasgow, instead the former was redirected to the latter when the latter was created. Simply south 22:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

New Entry

How do I create an entry for a new page? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bmedinger (talk • contribs).

See Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article. PrimeHunter 23:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)