Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 August 4

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August 4

Article on Ray Liversidge

I'm sure I should be discussing this on my talk page but I can't work out how to add to questions I've already asked. I have had some feedback but I'm still annoyed that the page on Ray Liversidge still displays a warning window saying "This article may not meet the general notability guideline or one of the following specific guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia..." Ok I know about the criteria around references, notes etc but if you look at some other entries under Australian Poets you'll see there's lots of entries that don't have citations and they don't display a warning like mine does. Also if you go to the Discussion link you'll see that the article seems to be supported.

So my question is who put these support messages on the Discussion page? Is it Wikipedia admin or just a volunteer? Why is my article still having that annoying message and when will it be removed? Any help would be appreciated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Arkayel (talk • contribs) 00:27, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

If you don't sign your edits with four tildes (~~~~) or otherwise then SineBot will be dispatched to sign for you. -hydnjo talk 00:33, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

OK. Please read WP:BIO. Which of the criteria there establishes Ray Liversidge as a notable person? If there are none, then he is not notable enough to have a biography on Wikipedia. (Most people are not notable enough.) I don’t see anything in the article that indicates that he is notable.

Please also read WP:RS. Which reliable third-party sources verify his notability? If there are none, he can’t have an article on Wikipedia. I don't see any references to reliable third-party source in the article.

By the way, am I right in guessing that Arkayel = RKL = Ray K. Liversidge? —teb728 t c 02:30, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Who puts those messages up? Anyone who sees the article and feels it needs it. Why does it still have that message and when will it be removed? When someone comes along and feels that the article meets the requirements. Technically, you could remove it yourself (which generally you would only do if you have actually fixed the problem listed in the template), but then if someone else thinks you haven't fixed the problem, they may put the tag back up (see WP:BRD). Finally, as to why other, similar articles haven't received the same attention, see WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS which is part of an essay on deletion discussions, but which applies in much the same way. Remember, everyone on here is a volunteer, and tends to look at things that interest them personally, so if two similar articles get different treatment then that's just the way it is unless you feel like doing something to help. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 04:31, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Another way that such messages often get removed is when the articles are deleted. The messages are not put there out of meanness. In many cases such messages are a warning of what the article needs to avoid being deleted. I am sorry to tell that that may be the case for your article. —teb728 t c 06:02, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

When I first came across this article I was tempted to tag it for speedy deletion per A7, but gave it the benefit of the doubt. In its current form I doubt it would survive an Afd. – ukexpat (talk) 15:55, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

How do you count the number of articles in a category?

How many 'articles' are in Category:Disambiguation? Is there an automated way of showing this? And does it include all the articles that are within subcategories? 82.16.1.141 (talk) 02:17, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

At Category:Disambiguation → Pages in category "Disambiguation" it says “The following 185 pages are in this category, out of 100,594 total. Updates to this list can occasionally be delayed for a few days.”. As far as I know this number does not include the articles that are in the subcategories. I hope this helps you. :) Regards, —αἰτίας •discussion• 02:26, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

If by 'articles' you mean mainspace disambiguation pages and not all pages; there's the problem that the 'page count' is different from the 'article count'. It's a common problem with other places too, and I don't think there's an automated way of doing so using what's given on the website itself, but common advice given is to possibly see if anything under WP:EIW#Query will help. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 02:33, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Don't seem to be very many non-disambig pages in the cat, on second thought. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 03:08, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

So is the answer 100,594 pages in that cat? There can't be that many disambig pages! Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages aren't articles... 82.16.1.141 (talk) 02:54, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

That many minus the number of non-disamb pages in that cat + the number of disambig pages in all the subcats. Considering there's 6,818,595 mainspace pages, it's only about 4% of all mainspace pages. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 03:08, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

There is an automated way, {{PAGESINCAT:category}} (See Help:Magic_words#Other_2). This will include pages in the subcategories, and that should include subcats. So {{PAGESINCAT:Disambiguation}} gives: 0. Superm401 - Talk 08:17, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Global contribution page

I forget the location of the project page which shows one's global contributions on all wikiproject. What is that page?--147.46.179.177 (talk) 02:47, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I have no idea what page you have in mind, but maybe something in Wikipedia:WikiProject edit counters will jog your memory? Do you refer to a page on the English Wikipedia itself, or a third-party site? --Teratornis (talk) 03:39, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

That page lists:

• Luxo's tool, counts global edits (edits in all Wikis for a given user name).

Is that what you need? --Teratornis (talk) 03:44, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

My name has gone missing

I am a regularly-published writer about Canadian business issues, and I would like to contribute some of those articles to your site as well. As a preliminary step to doing so, I added my name so that it would come up in a search of your site, and it remained up for a few weeks, but now it has gone missing. How can I add a page about myself, to which I can later attach some of my articles? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dwest6456 (talk • contribs) 04:15, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

The place you put your name was your user page, User:Dwest6456 (unless you put it on another page that has since been deleted). As to how you would make an article on yourself, the guidelines for doing it are covered at WP:YFA, while the guidelines as to why you (both in the generic sense of anyone, and in the more specific sense of yourself) shouldn't do it are covered at WP:N, WP:BIO, WP:COI and WP:AUTO. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 04:19, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Also note that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a place for posting your own work. Reasons as to why are available here. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 04:26, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

David West (writer) was deleted by Aaron Brenneman because it "Doesn't indicate importance or significance of a real person". I agree- the article does not show why David West rises above any other investment consultants or writers. Confusing Manifestation noted above the shortcuts to the applicable guidelines and policies, especially the ones on conflict of interest and and autobiographies. You also need to realize that once you start such an article, you have no explicit control over the content; anyone can add material—bad or good—as long as it is verifiable. I suggest you look at WikiBios. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 14:05, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Problem printing an article

When printed, why do some articles print OK, but others cut off text along the edge with letters missing? For example, the article on Seroma cannot be printed with the text centered properly with the correct margins, while others are perfectly centered. I'm using a basic Canon Pixma iP4300 with an iMac, and all non-Wikipedia documents print fine as well as most other Wikipedia articles.

TeeAich Frequent user. —Preceding unsigned comment added by TeeAich (talk • contribs) 04:15, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

In the toolbox section on the left side of the page, there's a link to a printable version. I think that should format it properly. If not, you may also want to tinker with the printing settings on your browser. If those don't work, reply back with your browser, and maybe someone else will be able to give better advice specific to your situation. WODUP 05:13, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

We'll if you are using the printable version I think I have a simple and rather un-technical answer. Assuming you are using Safari on your iMac simply make the width of the window smaller before hinting "Printable version", this will create more wrap-around on the lines and most likely print better. I know this seems very unconventional but it works. Scottydude _talk 14:51, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

part time job seeking in srilanka

can i find a job as a teacher for o/l english medium science students.i can work in week ends and in week days after 4.30 pm.i am a medical student in university of peradeniya srilanka. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.248.40.6 (talk) 05:11, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

This Help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. You probably want to check some Job search engines. Good luck. --Teratornis (talk) 05:47, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

what role does the moon play in religion or culture

hi

i need to find out"what role does the moon play in religion or culture".

i have looked on this site but cant find anything. pls pls help.

tx shaun —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sarcanj (talk • contribs) 15:43, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

You might find what you are looking for in the article The Moon in mythology. If you cannot find the answer there, you can try asking your question at Wikipedia's Reference Desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except about how to use Wikipedia, which is what this help desk is for). I hope this helps. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 16:03, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

You can search Wikipedia with Google for: moon in religion, which finds several links, including:

• Moon in mythology
• Lunar deity
• Moon in art and literature

etc. See Help:Search, WP:EIW#Search, and {{Google wikipedia}} to learn how to search Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 16:23, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I might add that the most important thing you can learn from this (presumably) homework problem is how to use a search engine. If you learn how to search the Web, and sites such as Wikipedia, you can answer an enormous number of important questions now, and in the future you will be able to answer increasingly more questions as the range and depth of online information continue to expand. In real life, the people with answers tend to get paid by the people with questions. --Teratornis (talk) 16:27, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

You mean I'm supposed to be getting paid for all my work here? ;-) Tan ǀ 39 16:29, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I'll let you know when I finish reading Yochai Benkler's The Wealth of Networks. So far, what I have to show for my 3200+ edits on the Help desk are these barnstars, plus I've learned a whole bunch of interesting things, such as how Wikipedia manages to provide top-quality technical support without charging or paying anyone (Microsoft, can you do that?). And I had fun. --Teratornis (talk) 16:38, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Note that I said "in real life." --Teratornis (talk) 16:40, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, Real life (reality) specifically mentions the Internet, ..., or Wikipedia as examples of not real life so I guess we are double not getting paid. Does that mean we are supposed to pay to be allowed to work here? Or should we argue for Double negative#Double negative resolving to a positive and demand pay? PrimeHunter (talk) 16:43, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

list function

I tried looking for help on this topic - but still need additional help.

I am trying to pull a list of all utility companies in the US - when the list comes up it says that it is incomplete. How do I obtain a complete list of theses?

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mkfleming9 (talk • contribs) 15:48, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Are you looking at the appropriate links for the United States off of List of public utilities? The notice that the list is incomplete simply means that no editor has completely catalogued all of the companies in that article or section of the article—since Wikipedia is always a work-in-progress, we have not "completed" the article yet. The list likely mentions all the major companies, but someone probably noticed that there are a few missing and tagged it as incomplete to let others know. This is the best we can offer on Wikipedia, unless you would like to take your question to the Reference Desk to see if anyone can find anything through Google. —Pie4all88 (talk) 16:16, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

The Refdesk is part of WP. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 20:28, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Right, that's why I said "that's the best we can offer unless".  :) I mentioned Google because I doubt anyone has a list of all US utility providers lying around on their computer or in their head. You're right that it's poorly phrased, but hopefully it makes sense.  :) —Pie4all88 (talk) 22:30, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Ahh, I see now. Sorry! Zain Ebrahim (talk) 07:48, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

WHOIS

What is it? How do I find it? HOw do I use it? Jasynnash2 (talk) 16:24, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

See WHOIS. On talk and contributions pages for IP addresses there should be a WHOIS link for that address at the bottom. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:28, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict) You can start by reading the WHOIS article, and following the links therefrom. However, Wikipedia is not a how-to guide, so you will need to augment what you read on Wikipedia with procedural knowledge from other sources. For example, you can {{Google}} the Web:

• how do I used WHOIS? - which finds lots of links (did you try searching before asking?)

If you tell us why you want to use whois, someone might be able to suggest other tools that also address your real goal. --Teratornis (talk) 16:33, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I guess this is about understanding User talk:Jasynnash2#Re: Joe Sernio where the poster probably used the mentioned WHOIS links at IP pages in Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:48, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

PrimeHunter is sort of correct it is tied into that issue somewhat. There is a pattern of behaviour which I'm trying to understand/figure out. Being able to ascertain whether I'm dealing with one or two isolated users vs. multiple users and figuring out how to approach the subject with him/her/them to help prevent disruption and still encourage him/her them to contribute contructively to the project in others ways is what I want to be able to do but, I'm trying to work out the proper processes and procedures to do it. From what I can work out sockpuppet reports are really only for vandalism or attempts to game the system, Checkuser is "the last resort" and apparently are usually denied anyway. My "real goal" as someone so nicely put it is to get better at learning what tools are available to help the project and help other editors and myself get better at contributing in whichever ways we can (for instance if the editor(s) in question at this specific bit can be encouraged to dedicate the same amount of time to other articles that need references and/or improvement to notabilty concerns in his/her/their area of expertise than the whole project wins). Either way thanks for the input and I'll go read that article now. Jasynnash2 (talk) 08:10, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

earnings

can i earn somthing by sharing my knowledge. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.161.141.233 (talk) 17:10, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

That is what all knowledge workers do. What sort of knowledge do you have to share? Also see:

• Google answers
• Yochai Benkler's The Wealth of Networks
• Amazon Mechanical Turk

--Teratornis (talk) 17:24, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

If you mean sharing your knowledge here at Wikipedia then probably not. Editors do not get paid. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:35, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

If you like to share your knowledge, you may want to join a Wikiproject. They focus on specific areas of knowledge, so if you have a particular interest, there's probably a Wikiproject for you. Cheers! TN‑X-Man 17:45, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

You may earn satisfaction from sharing your knowledge. DOR (HK) (talk) 05:39, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Editing a Title....

I followed the instructions on how to edit a Title on a page. Your instructions indicate that I should select the "MOVE" tab. On my page I don't see a MOVE tab. Can you please let me know what I need to do.

Thank you..

<personal information removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.196.162.2 (talk) 18:27, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

As most likely mentioned, you must have an autoconfirmed account to be able to move pages. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 18:48, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

You can post to Wikipedia:Requested moves or here about the move you want. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:25, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

State map showing location of Shreveport, Louisiana

While perusing an article about my hometown, Shreveport, Louisiana, I noticed that on the state map shown that Shreveport was given a location in Desoto parish in the area of Mansfield, Louisiana. The top two parishes in the northwest corner are left to right Caddo and Bossier. Shreveport is located on the Red River which divides these two parishes, somewhat south of the middle of the parish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.6.198.52 (talk) 19:10, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I suggest that you propose the changes on the talk page of the article. Tan ǀ 39 19:11, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't understand how the pushpin works. Is it based on the latitude and longitude in the article? Corvus cornix_talk 20:01, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Bots for archiving my talk page

Do any of you guys know if there are any bots that can help you archive your talk page when necessary? Thanks. TITANOSAURUS 19:47, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

There sure are. Check out MiszaBot, which is what I use for my page. You can find it here. I use Misza3. Cheers! TN‑X-Man 19:51, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Alright, thanks a lot again man. TITANOSAURUS 19:55, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

There's also User:ClueBot III. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 19:57, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Declaroty WP:RM noms?

Case Closed, an article I edit quite extensively, has been plagued with naming dispute since it was first created in 2004. Although the current name withstood a (hotly contested RM nom 16 months ago, there are quite occasional, usually IP, messages on its talk page doubting the correctness of the current naming. Me and several editors in WP:ANIME have stood by our interpretation the current guidelines gravitates towards the current naming. However, given the existence of large amount of these objections of the current naming, and that it is difficult for us to ask IPs to be engaged in further participation in WP anyway, is it wise for me to start a declaratory RM to gauge new consensus?--Samuel di Curtisi di Salvadori 20:14, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, "most other countries" is pretty vague. What is the English name in the majority of countries? --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 22:49, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Japanese defined the official name as Detective Conan. In at least US, UK and Canada it is Case Closed due to the problem with Conan the Barbarian.--Samuel di Curtisi di Salvadori 23:32, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Disclaimer:I may be a little biased, because I think the correct name for this article should be Detective Conan. Anyway, Consensus can change. :) I think it's a good idea to start a new RM discussion, as the previous debate was long ago. --PeaceNT (talk) 03:15, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, I think I just misread your question. Do you intend to start a RM request when you actually don't want to move? If that's the case, it's better to put a notice about the name on the talk page (citing relevant wikiproject guidelines so everyone can understand the reasons). A RM should only be started because an editor wants to move. :) --PeaceNT (talk) 03:25, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Plants

I have found a plant that I have never seen before and would like to know the name of it. How can I find this information out? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.23.97.117 (talk) 20:22, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

If you can take a picture of it, the Science Reference Desk will take a shot at identifying it. Or you could try describing it to them. Best, Zain Ebrahim (talk) 20:25, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

You could also contact the university nearest to you that has a botany department, or look on its Web site. The botanists in your area will undoubtedly be familiar with all your local plants, both native and invasive species. Unless you live in an area of very high biodiversity such as the Amazon basin, in which case there could still be some species not yet known to science. Check at your local library for a field guide to plants for your location. Google for plants in your area, for example: trees of Ohio or plants of Paraguay. --Teratornis (talk) 06:45, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

And another way to go would be to take a picture (or a piece) of it to a local garden centre and see what they say. Franamax (talk) 07:52, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

or see your agricultural extention agent Pohick2 (talk) 00:48, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Fair use template

I've been trying to upload a certain copyrighted image since I joined WP, but was worried about making a mistake and getting it deleted (or speedily deleted, worse yet). I think I know enough about image policy after being here almost a year to upload it now, but I can't find the fair use template I need. Where would I find a FU rationale template for images of people, specifically (that are not screenshots or works of art; just snapshots of famous people)? Thanks, —Mizu onna sango15^Hello! 21:08, 4 August 2008 (UTC).

You want {{Non-free use rationale}}. The term fair use is deprecated in favor of non-free use. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 21:53, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! —Mizu onna sango15^Hello! 21:56, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Also, when uploading do you need to say .jpg/.gif/.png in the title, or is that automatically included? —Mizu onna sango15^Hello! 21:57, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure if it's absolutely necessary (WP may automatically append the file extension based on the source filename or something, I don't know) but it will work if you include the file extension in the destination filename. So I'd definitely recommend keeping the .jpg/.gif/.png in your destination filename as well. Cheers! —Pie4all88 (talk) 22:47, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. Gadget seems to be busy, so I'll ask you another question: which field (on the upload page) is for the name of the file on Wikipedia, and which is for the name of the file on my computer? I wouldn't want to confuse the two. —Mizu onna sango15^Hello! 22:57, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

When you are uploading you will click browse; a dialogue box will open and you will then choose the file from your computer. Once you choose the file, whatever name it's under in your computer will appear next to "Source filename:" with the destination path such as "C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\image name.jpg". "Destination filename:" will contain the name as it will appear on Wikipedia. This will automatically be the same as the name of the image in your computer. You can change the destination filename to something more suitable.

That being said, it *sounds like* this is a non-free image of a living person. If it is, you probably can't upload it legitimately. Please see the subsection for images, paragaph 12 at Wikipedia:Non-free content#Unacceptable use. If, on the other hand, it is a picture you took yourself, then it wouldn't take any fair use rationale. Instead, you would upload it by releasing it into the public domain using {{PD-self}} or under a free license. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:57, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, and you're right; thanks for notifying me of that. Now I at least know how to upload images properly though! Cheers, —Mizu onna sango15^Hello! 00:06, 5 August 2008 (UTC).

121.150.227.3 (talk) 21:41, 4 August 2008 (UTC)Ogg cannot be played with Windows Media Player?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_H%C3%B6lle_Rache_kocht_in_meinem_Herzen

I'm using 32bit Internet Explorer 7 on 64bit Windows Vista. Of course I have Windows Media Player installed (actually it came with Windows itself), and installed K-lite (both 32bit and 64bit add-ons) codec which contains codecs for ogg. I even have associated .ogg files with Windows Media Player, so that if I double click on a .ogg file, it plays fine with Windows Media Player.

However, I cannot get ogg files played on Wikipedia. The article above has two ogg files, when I click the blue-arrowed play button, it just says, "Sorry, your system does not appear to have any supported player software. Please download a player."

The same message comes out when I view that article on FireFox 3.

If I view that page on Opera 9.51, this time a new error message comes out.

"About this file Download file

Use player: QuickTime (selected) No player"

Opera has a built-in Windows Media Player plug-in so I see WMP plug-in running on other sites. I don't even have QuickTime installed, so I have no idea why it says QuickTime is selected. I wonder what seems to be the problem?

I understand your problem, ogg never works for me, and I've downloaded every media player under the sun. This has happened to many people from what I've heard, so it may be a bug in the software. —Mizu onna sango15^Hello! 21:47, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Ogg (or any) files can be played on Winamp and VLC media player, they're free. Set wmp not to be default audio.Mjpresson (talk) 22:02, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried installing the Ogg codec from http://www.xiph.org/dshow/ Information on playing ogg on Wikipedia is here. If using media player in the browser doesn't work, try downloading the file you your computer, and play it from there. To download: click the play button (to get the play/pause/stop buttons), and click more. Clicking more also allows you to select VLC, Windows Media, QuickTime or a Java player. --h2g2bob (talk) 23:58, 4 August 2008 (UTC)