Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 May 22

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May 22[edit]

Deleting incorrect warning templates[edit]

Am I allowed to delete warning templates from my user talk page? A user has given me totally unwarranted Vandalism and Spam warning tags, and I would like to remove them.

You can remove them, but an administrator can still decide they were justified and block you. -Amarkov moo! 00:36, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for your answer, but does that mean I can get blocked for removing a justified template or just that it doesn't make the warning disappear? How can I get an admin to "sign off" on the fact that it is unjustified? Illuminatedwax 00:48, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Get them to remove themselves obviously. In the past, removing justified templates has been a point of severe contention, but the general consensus seems to be that it's a bad idea, but you won't get blocked. And the warning will not be visible on the current page, but it will still be in the history. Veinor (talk to me) 01:16, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • If they cite a specific page the warning applies to anyone can see it's wrong. If it doesn't, just add the information so anyone seeing it can look into it if they want. Removing them may seem like a good idea, but usually isn't. It will look like you want to hide something bad. Don't do it if you can help it. - Mgm|(talk) 10:03, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • It helps if you link to your talk page, so an impartial user can evaluate the warning. - Mgm|(talk) 10:07, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

forums[edit]

i just want to know why we cannot post forum sites as an external link

i wanted to put dbz bt3 forum up which was apart of the atari forum and ppl say it is not allowed. Why is it against the rules

Please see Wikipedia:External links and Wikipedia:Reliable sources. External links are meant to add to the article, not advertise the existance of a site, so without knowing which article or forum you're talking about I would suggest that if you were linking the forum just to say "Hey, look, there's a forum where people talk about this stuff" it would be considered advertising, or if you were linking it to say "Hey, look, someone on a forum said something that this article mentions" it would be considered an unreliable source (mainly because on the average forum anyone can pretend to be anyone and say anything they like, without regard as to whether there's any evidence). On the other hand, if a forum is notable enough to have an article then linking to the forum makes sense (eg. Kuro5hin or 4chan), and I think you could possibly get away with linking to a forum post if it had been established as being the first reference to something, like the first place to break a particular rumour (although you'd also want to reference, for example, a news article mentioning the post as being the first place to do so). Confusing Manifestation 02:29, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • About sources: if the forum post can be officially confirmed as coming from someone with some expertise and standing regarding the topic that is being discussed, the post might serve as a useful source, but in general, Confusing Manifestation is indeed correct. - Mgm|(talk) 10:00, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • He said he wanted to put an Atari forum on that site and Atari has the rights to the game in America. So it basically was not an ad.

science icons[edit]

Hi, do you have wikipedia icons available on the various wiki sites? I am particularly interested on scientific icons (like DNA, roadsigns, fishes, etc.)

I don't (initially) know (exactly), but here is how I would find out, if I were trying to find such images.
  1. Browse to User:John Broughton/Editor's Index to Wikipedia, because that's a pretty comprehensive list of links.
  2. Press ctrl-f to search the page in my Web browser.
  3. Type "image" in the browser's Find: box.
  4. Click Find Next repeatedly and look at all the entries relating to images. That finds a few that might show promise:
Wikimedia Commons looks like your place. For example, typing "road sign" in the search box generates lots of hits. Have fun. --Teratornis 13:33, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Image problem[edit]

The images on "bit numbering" are not showing up in any browser. How do I fix this?

The images are svg files. Few programs support them. I don't see them either. PrimeHunter 01:37, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
See also http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/SVG_image_support. PrimeHunter 01:39, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know how to handle svg images but I experimented a little and they display for me after increasing the size: [1]. PrimeHunter 02:19, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks I'll try another format.

Removing general discussion of the article subject from talk page...[edit]

Is this acceptable practice? I just glanced at Talk:Avril Lavigne and noticed several superfluous "Avril rocks!"-type posts. Am I allowed to remove these for being irrelevant to improving the article? Thanks. --Kurt Shaped Box 01:44, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Yes, by all means remove them as talk pages are for discussing improvements to the article, not about its subject. ~ Magnus animuM ≈ √∞ 01:49, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. I guess my eyes skipped over that line when I was reading that page (for some reason, it doesn't seem to be mentioned in the "Editing comments" section). --Kurt Shaped Box 01:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The Keep on-topic sub-section covers it. ~ Magnus animuM ≈ √∞ 01:53, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Avast ye swab[edit]

Are disambiguation pages for ships supposed to follow the same guidelines as run-of-the-mill ones, i.e. one link per item, no pipelining? Clarityfiend 01:57, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know of any differences, but I would recommend asking at the talk page at Wikipedia:WikiProject Ships. Wikipedia:Manual of Style (disambiguation pages) is also worth a look; see particularly the "Exceptions" section -- there is a specific ship-related exception mentioned there. --Tkynerd 02:16, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. It looks like they follow different rules, including calling them index pages. Clarityfiend 06:24, 24 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Spoiler Tags Argument[edit]

Hi, I was just looking at this template when I realized that its existence was being argued over. However, all I found was a bunch of arguments about it. My question is, is there or is there not a place where we could but "Keep" or "Delete" yet? --JDitto 02:19, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is really just a request for comment, not a request for deletion (yet). Remember that Wikipedia does not vote to determine policy, rather we attempt to build consensus. --YbborTalk 02:23, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Citing Wikipedia[edit]

How do I cite wikipedia in a paper?

See Special:Cite. Nihiltres(t.c.s) 03:25, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Anti-Vandalism only account?[edit]

Would it be OK for Wikipedia to do pure vandal-fighting in my account? See my contributions.--PrestonH(Review Me!)(Sign Here!) 03:28, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oh yeah, no problem. I do almost pure spam-fighting (or did, anyway; now that I'm an admin, I do a lot more stuff). You might want to look into New Page Patrol and the Counter-Vandalism Unit. Veinor (talk to me) 03:32, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There is no shame in being a Metawikipedian (not that vandal-fighting strictly amounts to metawikipedianism, but you get the point). OK, there may be shame, but I steadfastly refuse to feel it. For some reason I can't quite explain (but I could certainly expound upon at length), lately I have enjoyed answering Help desk questions more than editing actual articles. Wikipedia has lots of needs, and it's efficient for people to specialize. Some Wikipedians like to take photographs, some edit particular types of articles, some go around fixing typos, some like to torment the newbs by deleting their articles, etc. Division of labor similarly occurs at a barn raising and in ant colonies. --Teratornis 13:54, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism[edit]

How do you request a user or IP address to not be able to contribute or erase information.Sunny910910 03:46, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Report them to WP:AIV ( if they're a vandal). Other than that, you can't stop someone from editing. Well, unless they get blocked.--$UIT 03:49, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
In order for WP:AIV to take action against the user, however, they'll need to have warnings posted on their talk page and continued vandalism afterwards. The Wikipedia:Vandalism page lists the warning templates for you if you're interested. PeteShanosky 16:39, 27 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Keep in mind, that at present, Bug ID 9213 prevents anons from seeing new messages of any kind--VectorPotentialTalk 14:31, 5 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Uploading a photo[edit]

Dear wikipedia.org, I'm trying to upload a photo from Wicked Los Angeles on the Wicked (musical cast lists). I'm trying to use a photo from the main Wicked website like the others. Could you please help me with how to upload the photo? And1987: 4:20

Go to Upload File on the side box and follow the directions from there--$UIT 04:31, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Nationalities[edit]

Hi. Would someone please point me toward our guidelines re: nationalities? While it seems to be an obvious thing, many editors seem to confuse a person's nationality with the ancestry of that person's family. So, someone like Mehmet Oz, born, raised, educated and living in America, is frequently called Turkish-American in the opening paragraph of his article. I was hoping someone could point me toward the controlling guideline ( I've looked and can't find it). Thanks, Levi P. 04:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Manual of Style (biographies)#Opening paragraph. PrimeHunter 14:20, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Child Memory[edit]

I would like to know the youngest person / child, who remembers the names of the capital cities of all the countries. What is the current record? Where can I find such records?

Personally, I don't know. This page is for help using Wikipedia; you might try the Reference desk. WODUP 05:25, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Locking A Wiki Article[edit]

I have a question on locking an article. I created an article about a robotics team in Reseda High School called Reseda Regent Robotics. However, the team feels that their article might get changed by outsiders, who know nothing about what they do. I was wondering if they could restrict changes to be made only by my account, Czarbender. Thank You in advance

In short, no. Wikipedia is the size that it is today because it's the encyclopedia that "anyone can edit". If a page is vandalized, it can be corrected or reverted to a "good" version. If the page is a target of quite a bit of vandalism, it can be protected, but what you propose cannot be done. Dismas|(talk) 05:31, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
See Wikipedia:Ownership of articles for more details. PrimeHunter 11:02, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Everything on Wikipedia is supposed to be reliably sourced. Therefore, in theory at least, the only changes that should appear in Reseda Regent Robotics will be things that have been published in reliable sources, and everyone who edits on Wikipedia should be content with that (if someone does not accept that limitation, they should find another wiki). If someone adds content to Reseda Regent Robotics which violates Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, you or other editors should either fix it or remove it, and cite the relevant policy or guideline documents in your edit summaries. If you have any questions about any changes to the article which do occur, feel free to ask for comments on the Help desk. --Teratornis 15:12, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Is there no Wikiproject for Manitoba?[edit]

I've worked on Harry Colebourn on and off and it is a very fascinating story and I wanted to put a project tag on its talk page that would emphasize its importance to wikipedians in Manitoba, who might be able to contibrute more to the article. But I can't find the Manitoba Wikiproject tag.CindyBo 06:45, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • According to Wikipedia:WikiProject Canada only 7 of the country's 10 provinces have their own project. I'd say stick a Canadian project tag on it or start discussing the creation of a new project. - Mgm|(talk) 09:55, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

spelling corrections for entry titles[edit]

Hello.

I've just made an entry for the animator/illustrator Errol Le Cain and made a minor mistake in the title, accidentally typing a lower case 'l' in the name (Errol le Cain instead of Errol Le Cain). As titles do not appear in the editing window how can I correct this?

Many thanks

John

Hi,
In cases like these, we move the page. There should be a tab up where the "Edit this Page" button is, saying "Move"- just click on that, enter in the new page name and voila! In this case I've done it for you- just once you move the page jsut check for double redirects- for example, Page Ab redirecting to page B which redirects to page C. I'm onto that now for your page, too.
Cheers- CattleGirl talk | sign! 09:30, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

the "Create page" button??????[edit]

How do you actually create a page? I have looked at the article on how to create a page and it says click on the "Create page" button. I have no create page button and no link to such a button. The FAQ does not give any more detail and the search function comes up blank.

I Know this is a stupid question but I have got very frustrated trying to find out how to just create a page!!!

Ant help gratefully received.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by James Charlotte (talkcontribs)

Help:Starting a new page and Wikipedia:Your first article might help. If that isn't enough, go to the page you wish to create, click edit thsi page' at the top and you can then start creating it. In this case, editing and creating are the same. x42bn6 Talk Mess 10:53, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Go to Help:Starting a new page. Write the title of the article and click "Go (try title)". If you get a page saying the title does not exist, then click the link "create this page". PrimeHunter 10:58, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Band speedy deletion warning[edit]

Hi, could you tell me why my page I was making about a band I support can not be left on here on wikipedia?. It says speedy delete, and I have told it to hang on. I have made serval posts in the past what have stayed on here, I contribute quite a bit to this site and everything in 100% genuine and official. could you get back to me, thanks once again. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Gregoryjamesplews (talkcontribs).

Basically, your band does not appear to meet notability standards at WP:MUSIC. It may be genuine and it may be official, but it may not be notable. Also please see our policy on conflict of interest. x42bn6 Talk Mess 11:03, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Views[edit]

Is there a way to see how many people viewed a specific page on wikipedia?--LtWinters 11:14, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No; the servers get so many views they couldn't handle the extra load associated with counting them (the feature exists, but is disabled). The best you can do is use WikiCharts, which can estimate the views for the more popular pages by using a sampling technique. --ais523 12:12, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Donation[edit]

how to donate an article in wikipedia?

To post an article, you need to have a registered user account. From there, you merely start editing the page you wish to add by adding your content to the empty page in question, by editing it. You might also want to read Wikipedia:Your first article, it may help you greatly. Nihiltres(t.c.s) 12:34, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also, check out Help:Starting a new page and have a look at our notability guideline for more information on when an article is appropriate to be included on Wikipedia. PeaceNT 13:44, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

redirecting query[edit]

hi, i came here to search for laurie r king, and typed that exact phrase (laurie r king) into the search box. it came up with a list of results and laurie r. king was top of the list.

how do i get a redirect on this, so that if someone was to just type in laurie r king (without the full stop at her initial) they would automatically be taken to the page laurie r. king (with the full stop)?

i wanted to check what i was asking, so i did a search for jfk and i was redirected to John F. Kennedy, with the little redirected from jfk just below it. this is what i want to happen with typing laurie r king (no full stop).

i read the FAQ on redirecting, but it just confused me!

can anyone help me? or even redirect it for me? thanks Geeness 13:45, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Create a page with #REDIRECT [[Laurie R. King]]. Veinor (talk to me) 13:48, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, thank you Veinor, i got it done! took me a minute to figure how to create the page, tho, but got there! thanks! Geeness 14:05, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hello,[edit]

I need some help. I have created a page and it is written that it has to be wikified. What exactly does it mean?

Many thanks in advance,

--Patricia Molina 14:01, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:WIKIFY and Wikipedia:Glossary#Wikify. PrimeHunter 14:10, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Formatting Disaster[edit]

Every time I make a major addition to an article, for example Bologna_sausage's variety section, the paragraphs I type out appear within grey boxes that run past the edge of the page without breaking. Is there any way to fix this without manually breaking the line?


above is a perfect example.

You don't know how long I have been waiting for someone to ask about this, thanks. Telcourbanio Care for a talk? 15:07, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The fix is easy: Stop indenting your paragraphs. When you indent a paragraph, the MediaWiki software puts that paragraph in a box as you describe. Look here:
This is indented.

This is not indented.

(That breaks the threading indentation in this discussion, but anyway.) To indent a paragraph, start it with a colon (:) as I've done here -- you can't see the colons, but I use them in the edit window to make the indents. You shouldn't use colons for indentation in articles, but they're widely used for this purpose on discussion pages like this one. --Tkynerd 15:23, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Now that this question has been answered, I'm going to remove the spaces above for the sake of the page as a whole. —Keakealani·?·!·@ 21:09, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Question[edit]

In what way should you react to users who vandalise or put abuse on your userpage? Do you just warn them and ignore them?. Telcourbanio Care for a talk? 15:06, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Warn them using {{uw-upv1}}, {{uw-upv2}}, etc. Then, if they keep it up, report them to Administrator intervention against vandalism and an admin will block them. Other than that, ignore them; they seek attention. Veinor (talk to me) 16:17, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I posted one of my own images to support the new (just started) article on Rick Vandivier, a great jazz guitarist. The image dissappeared with no explanation even though I attached the liscence. What did I do wrong?

It looks like the image was removed because it was uploaded under the "CC-BY-ND-3.0" license (Creative Commons, Attribution required, No derivatives license 3.0), which is not allowed on the Wikimedia Commons or on Wikipedia. The problem is the ND clause--Wikipedia and the media on the Wikimedia Commons gets copied (legally) to countless websites and other sources, so all content must be licensed for use by anybody for any purpose, including modification. If you own the license to this image and you are willing to upload it under a less restrictive (probably CC-BY) license, please do so. Cheers, Tangotango (talk) 16:47, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It was deleted by commons:User:EugeneZelenko with the reason "(CC-BY-ND-3.0)" [2]. See {{cc-by-nd-3.0}}. PrimeHunter 16:53, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

login problems[edit]

Hi

I was not able to log in. Please send confirmation of my login name and password. My e-mail address is (email address removed). If I registered a "secret answer," please ask the question.

Thank you

Hi, the only way you can recover a lost password is by using the "E-mail new password" button on the log in page. Please try that. If you didn't register an email address when you registered, or did not confirm it, you cannot usually recover your account. Cheers, Tangotango (talk) 16:44, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Referencing books[edit]

I recently had an edit removed because it was more or less copied from an official website, however this addition was a directly quoted passage from a pertinent and properly referenced book on the subject. Is anyone familiar with wikipedia's formal stance on such and issue.

PHermans 16:52, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Have a look at WP:CITE. Normally quotes from the copyrighted sources aren't a copyright violation. --Brand спойт 17:28, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Your edit [3] added a lot. You didn't use quotation marks and I don't know how much of it was copied directly, but the editor who reverted you probably thought it was a lot based on your edit summary. Using the edit summary to indicate if you quote copyrighted information is not sufficient. Most readers will never see the edit summary. PrimeHunter 17:44, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Vanishing watchlist[edit]

Hi! I'm having a very strange problem. Looks like my watchlist has been "looted", i.e. some of the items just vanished from the watchlist. I've managed to restore most of them, but there might be some which I forgot. So could you please help me restore the "unwatched" items? (Oh, and hope it wasn't an admin's work....)Coolkoon 17:15, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As far as I am aware, no one else can remove items from your watchlist, and therefore no one else can help you to restore it. VPT is a good place to ask about technical questions and glitches. Adrian M. H. 18:24, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

USS Kadashan Bay[edit]

I googled Kadashan Bay to retrieve some family information and found the USS Kadashan Bay. The area of Kadashan Bay, Alaska lies within Tenakee Inlet in southeastern Alaska. This is family country. Kadashan Bay was named after my mother-in-law's husband's family. It came with the Allotment Act. Paul Kadashan, a Tlingit from Alaska, successfully applied for an allotment of 160 acres. This is to answer one of the questions posed.

My question is simply how would I find out how/why was the ship named Kadashan Bay. I haven't been able to locate any of that information. I depend on Wikipedia for the answers to most of my questions.

Thank you for your time. e-mail removed for privacy

Most of the carriers in that class were named for various bays around the USA (the first ten or twelve were renamed after battles, but originally had "-- Bay" names). As to why they chose Kadashan, I don't know - you'd have to contact the US Navy Historical Center, who might know, but it's possible it was just some whim by a naval clerk with a map. Shimgray | talk | 22:44, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

notability of articles[edit]

Hello, I need some help understanding the "notability of articles" policy. Recently i created several artices of certain websites, though these were quickly tagged for deletion due to lack of nobility. However, in the past i have created several articles about streets in dublin, with little or no significance, just to provide some info, though these remain without any argument. Why do these articles need no nobility in order to be created while if i try to provide info about websites these are quickly deleted? help would be appreciated. note im not arguing im just curious JJB 18:34, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Only people, groups, companies, and web content can be speedily deleted for lack of notability. Geographic locations on the other hand are considered inherently notable. Mr.Z-mantalk¢ 18:53, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Incorrect, Z. Plenty of geographic areas, including streets with no significance, are deleted every day for notability. Ignoring that, if there are no reliable sources for your information about a street, there's no reason for an article anyway. Please see WP:BIO, WP:WEB, WP:CORP, and WP:N. -Wooty Woot? contribs 02:39, 23 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Some coincidence is involved in if/when an article is proposed for deletion. It depends which volunteer editors happen to view an article at what time and how closely they examine it. Experience shows that a lot of people (probably webmasters in many cases) add articles to make publicity for sites that don't satisfy WP:WEB. Maybe some editors are especially watchful in this area. PrimeHunter 02:54, 23 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

creating a new page[edit]

I tried to create a new page by typing the name of the page and searching for the page ("GO") as it said in the FAQ, but the page that was brought up was not the page name which I typed in. It was a different spelling all together. I wanted to know how to creat a page with my own page name when wikipedia will not bring up the correct spelling/capitalization of the name within the search. Thanks

SAID 18:48, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure I understand. What page are you talking about? If you want to make a new article about the same topic but with a different name, don't do it. See Wikipedia:Naming. Friday (talk) 18:52, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
He's trying to make an article but for some reason when he navigates to the page in order to hit the create new article button, it messes up the capitalization. Try going to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NAMEHERE&action=edit, replacing NAMEHERE with the article's name and using underscores (_) as necessary to preserve spacing. If that doesn't work, try creating the article anyway and moving it. -Wooty Woot? contribs 02:38, 23 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

HOW TO CLEAR 'SEARCH HISTORY'[edit]

HOW DO YOU CLEAR OUT THE HISTORY OF 'SEARCHES'?? WHEN I DOUBLE CLICK THE SEARCH BOX, ALL THE SEARCH TOPICS APPEAR.

Not sure this actually falls under the scope of this page, but in any case: assuming Internet Explorer, click 'Tools' then 'Internet Options...'. When the dialog box opens, click on the 'Content' tab. Click on the 'AutoComplete...' button. When the settings box opens, click the 'Clear Forms' button. I don't have Firefox or Opera installed on this machine so I can't check for them; on other platforms I have no idea. Angus Lepper(T, C, D) 19:41, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
On the off chance that it still makes a difference: the current Firefox branch has a 'clear private data' option (Tools - Options - Privacy). You can select what exactly you want to do delete and if you want Firefox to do it automatically when it's closed. It's the same on all platforms and I assume in all localized versions. IIRC, it's pretty much the same in Opera as well. If you're using Konqueror, Safari or anything of that nature, you probably know what to do anyway. And I doubt you're using Lynx or telnet. ;) -- Seed 2.0 21:09, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
On Mac OS X's Safari click Safari ->Reset Safari... -> Ok. This will clear all data from Safari as well as all autocomplete promts on any web page. Scottydude talk 23:07, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Adding content[edit]

I am a American-Jewish film and television actor, a member of the Screen Actors Guild. I would like to include myself under the heading, "Jewish-American Actors." My name is Sheppard Blumenthal. I was born in 1953 in Los Angeles, California. I am registerd with Wikipedia, "shepinfo" is my user name. Thank-you, Sheppard Blumenthal (email deleted)

See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. Friday (talk) 19:01, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Marshal Hilton[edit]

To whom it may concern:

I recently established a page for actor Marshal Hilton. I am his Manager and Publicist, as well as a partner in Media 1 Inc, and entertainment related management and production company. We added some production photo's from several of the films that Marshal has worked on over the last year or so. We hire and pay for the photographers to take these shots and are the owners of all the rights to the properties.

I noticed today that you have them marked for deletion. I also noticed that one of your contributors made a comment that he is the self proclaimed "Deletion Police". He also left a statement, ignorant and completely inaccurate I might add, that these images were in violation of your copyright policy.

All of the photos are legally posted, and are the exclusive property of Marshal Hilton & Media 1 Inc. If you have any further need to verify this information, please feel free to contact me at our office.

Sincerely,


Michael Reser, President Media 1 Inc. 805 373 7440

The photos are in violation of the copyright policy - we don't allow copyrighted content on Wikipedia, and you saying that they are "the exclusive property of Marshal Hilton & Media 1 Inc." only proves that. Unless you release the photos under a public license, they will be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. Also, you adding an article about your client is a major conflict of interest, regardless of whether your client is notable. I'm afraid that we can't accept your additions. Nihiltres(t.c.s) 19:21, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also, I suspect that the message you saw referred not to the "deletion police", but to Wikipedia:Deletion policy. Confusing Manifestation 23:04, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Metal token[edit]

I have a round metal token stampted American Freedom Train. It is fastened to a small wrist chain, both are gold color. Did not see any mention of this medal in your artical on the Train. Curious as to what it is. Thank You for any help. Chuck Connolly at <rm email for privacy>.

One for the ref desk. Adrian M. H. 19:57, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Heinrich Himmler Biography Page[edit]

First, I am having trouble getting to what I need to get to. I am hoping to resolve an issue on Himmlers Bio page. There is a problem with one of his photos. This is depicted where he and others are touring a Russian POW camp. This image is reversed and I was going to try to point that out in the appropriate place or put in a note about it. I will list the facts to why the image is reversed. Himmlers eagle appears on his right sleeve when that SS eagle was always on the left. The Wemacht officer's breast eagle appears on the left hand side instead of the right and the belt always buckles to the left as is opposite in this photo. Last one of a few more, the photo is inconsistant with the others showing his ribbons and his party badge. Can you reverse this image to properly show this photo.

Thank you for your attention in this matter, Wilhelm JohannWilhelm Johann 19:24, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Why not just be bold? Edit the image. Adrian M. H. 19:56, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Editorial recognition[edit]

What are the usual standards for doling out {{User Good Articles}}? 5 edits? 10 edits? TonyTheTiger (talk/cont/bio/tcfkaWCDbwincowtchatlotpsoplrttaDCLaM) 20:03, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If there is a standard, it won't be by amount of edits. One large edit can be a much more significant contribution than 10 small edits. But I think with this kind of thing, it is just up to your jugdement whether a 'significant contribution' was made. ssepp(talk) 21:53, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I made an article called Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival "JazzFest"[edit]

I made an article called Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival "JazzFest" ... how do i submit it? If I saved it is it submitted? Why can't I see it when I do a search?

user name: Sioux FallsJazzFest~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sioux Falls JazzFest (talkcontribs)

It comes up when I go to the article. Remember, when you make an article, capitals and lowercase letter in the title matter. It's nice to see that you are trying to contribute. To make your article even better, try to sculpt it to fit WP:ARTICLE. Redian (Talk) 20:41, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Additionally, you can see all the edits you've made through the "My Contributions" link, or click hereKeakealani·?·!·@ 21:12, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The search function can take days to update after articles are created or edited. If you type the exact name including right upper and lower case and click "Go" instead of "Search", then it should go to the article no matter whether search is updated. PrimeHunter 23:31, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Having trouble adding footnote[edit]

Hello, this is my first attempt at editing. I want to add a footnote that supports an existing sentence in the middle of an entry. I clicked in the appropriate place and typed the website with ref at the beginning and end. When I looked at the preview page, my reference should have been #14 in the footnotes (there already were 13 existing ones), but came up as #8. In the footnotes the #8 entry started with my website, but then continued with the actual text of the previous #8 entry. How do I do this correctly? Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vivienabraham (talkcontribs)

Hi there! Could you please provide us a link to the article you are editing, so that other editors can assist you. Also, good on you for finding a source for a statement in the article, there are thousands of articles out there without any source whatsoever. —Spebi 21:28, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The link to the article I am trying to add a footnote to is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%E2%80%99a_Khalil_Aswad

Hello. Unless I'm misunderstanding you, that's how it's supposed to be. The footnotes are numbered in the order they appear in the article and not in the order they were added. When you add a reference in the middle of the article, the software automatically reorders all the other citations. In your case, your reference would have become footnote number #8 because it was following footnote #7 and footnotes #8 through 14 would have been automatically adjusted accordingly. In other words, it's not a bug, it's a feature. ;) Also, and this is just a quick reminder, please remember to sign your posts. Cheers --Seed 2.0 22:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I just reread your posting and it looks like I did misunderstand. Could you please post your edit to a sandbox so that we can see the wiki code? Thanks. -- Seed 2.0 22:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
A common mistake is to end a reference with <ref> instead of </ref>, or to not end it at all. Both can cause something like you describe but without seeing your saved edit, we cannot say whether that was the problem. PrimeHunter 23:20, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

small businesses on wikipedia[edit]

I work for a small business, but we are at the top of our industry and have customers all over the world. But no one has put up an article about us (we are mentioned on other articles though). Is it acceptable for us to start an article, or do we just need to wait for someone else to do it? I understand neutrality and will follow all the rules, but we would like to have a page up so our customer's can see us there. Thank you for your help and advice, it is much appreciated.76.204.26.191 21:46, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, we do not consider it appropriate for you to write an article on your business. (But thanks for having the decency to ask! It's more than most people do...) Shimgray | talk | 21:53, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It is possible if you keep in mind WP:CORP, WP:COI, and WP:NPOV. Dismas|(talk) 21:55, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Ideally you should not start an article about your own business. See the conflict of interest guideline. If you really think your business deserves an article. See notability rules for businesses, you may want to try the Drawing board. Mr.Z-mantalk¢ 21:56, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You have to create an account before you can make a new article on Wikipedia. When you do create an account, you could write what you have in mind as a user sub-page, then tell us on the Help desk so we can review it and tell you whether it has a chance to survive as a real article (or whether you first need to remove promotional language, find reliable sources, write more neutrally, convince readers that you don't have a conflict of interest, or whatever). Do not underestimate the difficulty of writing articles that "stick;" there are lots of Wikipedians who enjoy deleting articles that violate Wikipedia policies, and they are very good at what they do. Wikipedia deletes enough articles to build the world's second largest wiki (probably). There are also lots of other wikis you can edit on; perhaps one of them would welcome an article about your company without so many stringent guidelines. Hopefully before you do anything, you will click all the links in the replies to your question and read all those pages carefully. The users who may delete your article certainly have read them. --Teratornis 05:47, 23 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Citing Linux Documentation[edit]

I want to cite a text file that is part of the documentation distributed with the linux kernel. I can't figure out what the best citation template to use would be. -- Diletante 23:07, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How about using the {{cite web}} template and point to the relevant online doc (say, through the Linux Documentation Project). -- MarcoTolo 23:34, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Help: refs have disappeared[edit]

I just made my first edit - added a paragraph with reference. After I did this, the references at the end of the whole entry disappeared. Can one of your editors bring them back plase. Sorry, newbie mistake :( The page is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%E2%80%99a_Khalil_Aswad viviena —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vivienabraham (talkcontribs) (actually 69.183.103.184 but it appears to be the same)

It was as I guessed in response to your post above. Another editor fixed it right before I got to it. PrimeHunter 23:37, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(EC) Fixed. A reference starts with a <ref> tag (which you did), but need to end with a </ref> tag (which you forgot - understandable for a newbie). Nice first edit - and welcome to Wikipedia! -- MarcoTolo 23:38, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, welcome. Edits to articles should not be signed. If you are logged in then the article history will show that you made the edit. Posts in talk pages and this Help desk page are signed with ~~~~ which will transform to linking your editor name when you are logged in. PrimeHunter 23:46, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]