Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 February 9

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February 9

Talk:Floor covering disappeared unexpectedly

I just merged Flooring and Floor covering into Floor and put some lines at the top of Talk:Floor to say about the original talk pages. However it seems the talk page Talk:Floor covering has disappeared even though the history of Floor covering is intact. It certainly used to exist as I put a notice in there about the merge.

What on earth happened or can somebody fix this for me please?

Thanks very much Dmcq (talk) 00:01, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I think you misremember. You have posted to Talk:Flooring and Talk:Floor, but there is no sign Talk:Floor covering has ever existed. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:38, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh dear, I believe now you're right. I'll go and remove the link to the talk page I stuck into the merged floor talk page. Dmcq (talk) 18:40, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

new entry for a business

i need the rules —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.144.155.169 (talk) 00:05, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. --teb728 t c 00:19, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Business' FAQ, especially if you are associated with the business. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:42, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Efficient Formatting

In Flora of Ohio, I have about three thousand entries, generated using a custom search on USDA PLANTS and cleaning up the results (an ongoing process). However, the list is mostly unformatted, and in need of bullet points and linking. I am looking for an efficient way to accomplish this without having to do it by hand. Is there a way to auto-format content? I am looking to bullet point and link each scientific name. Any help or pointing in the right direction would be appreciated. --♦♦♦Vlmastra♦♦♦ (talk) 02:08, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Do you simply want each source line starting with a letter to add *[[ to the start and ]] to the end? I don't know a tool but I could trivially make an off-line program to process a text file (a few minutes work). PrimeHunter (talk) 02:26, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Just add wikilinks to all of those? I can do that with wikEd.   jj137 (talk) 02:28, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I couldn't get it to work right.   jj137 (talk) 02:33, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

That's exactly what I want. Also, adding ('''N''') after each scientific name (stands for native) would be nice, for when I begin to interpolate invasive species (it consists solely of natives now). --♦♦♦Vlmastra♦♦♦ (talk) 02:50, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Thousands of bold N doesn't sound good to me. I have formatted it without bold. Is the current page OK? PrimeHunter (talk) 03:17, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

By the way, I don't know the future plans but something from Wikipedia:Template messages/Compact tables of contents would currently seem good. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:51, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Very nice. I changed the TOC, should be neater now. Thanks alot!--♦♦♦Vlmastra♦♦♦ (talk) 15:30, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I see you have piped many links under A in a systematic looking way. Do you want all [[X var. Y]] changed to [[X|X var. Y]], and all [[X ssp. Y]] changed to [[X|X ssp. Y]]? And should the character × be kept in links? If you can give a set of exact rules to always be followed then it would be easy to implement, but it's practical to do all changes at once. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:11, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Pietro Nenni

I have no idea how to fix his age, it's 117, and it's supposed to be 88. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jpoetzel (talk • contribs) 02:22, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! To edit a page, simply hit the "edit this page" button at the top of the article. Hope this helps! --omtay38 02:28, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

The age was created by a template so it's a little more complicated. I have removed the age he would have had today: [1]. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:35, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Adding Charmparticles- a music group from Portland

please let me know how to submit the band Charmparticles. I have tried many times. please help!!

my email is <email removed for security reasons> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.27.213.237 (talk) 02:58, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

First make sure the band is notable per WP:MUSIC - e.g they are on a major label, have won an award, have notable members, that they've been mentioned in reliable sources. Before you go live, you could assemble your article at the WP:Sandbox first and then copy and paste and create the article. Wisdom89 (talk) 03:47, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

What sort of tab should be placed on a possibly non-notable Wiki entry?

I believe the entry for The Futon Critic to be non-notable, but I'm unsure as to how to start the process for flagging it to be edited or even deleted. Is there a review category for such things, and if not, what should I do?

Rockhound (talk) 03:16, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

You can use {{Notability}} or a more specific in Category:Notability and importance templates. See Wikipedia:Deletion policy if you want to suggest deletion. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:38, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

why some others edits don't show up on my watchlist

Often om my watchlist I am notified that someone makes a change or deletes vandalism on a page on my watchlist. Why do I not get notified on my watchlist page when these original changes such as vandalism are done, why do I only see when they are corrected?Shouldnt these vandalisms ect show up on my watchlist when they are done rather that just seeing what someone else did about it later? Thanks.mike (talk) 03:20, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

By default the watchlist only shows the latest edit to the watched page. There is a "hist" link to see the page history. In Special:Preferences at Watchlist, you can check "Expand watchlist to show all applicable changes" to see all edits on the watchlist. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:32, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I edit a topic (HDCP)

I have been editing a topic on HDCP I've done alot of reasearch into it and found out about it, how it works etc and things about it. I put it up in the article and someone edits it over and over untill what I put up is gone. Its strange is there a way to stop this? its frustrating changing it every time —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.253.17.136 (talk) 03:38, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

You could bring it up on the articles talk page if your work is being diluted or reverted without explanation in the edit summaries. Also, remember one of wikipedia's editorial guidelines is to be WP:BOLD. Wisdom89 (talk) 03:45, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Did you include references? From Wikipedia:Verifiability: "The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. "Verifiable" in this context means that readers should be able to check that material added to Wikipedia has already been published by a reliable source. Editors should provide a reliable source for quotations and for any material that is challenged or is likely to be challenged, or it may be removed." Also see WP:OR Sbowers3 (talk) 13:24, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Cannot load images

Hello!

Just a question, when I am in an article inside Wikipedia for some strange reason the images do not load, but when I surf across the internet the webpages and their images load without problems, could you please tell me how can that be? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.154.166.223 (talk) 03:41, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

See comments at section Wikipedia images above on this page, where another user had the same problem. (If you can't find that section it may have been archived; see the archive links near the top of this page.) --Coppertwig (talk) 13:18, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

password problem

I had forgotten my password and clicked the option to get a new one sent to me. However, I had forgotten that Wikipedia has an old e-mail address of mine that has been closed. Is there any way I could get the new password sent to my new e-mail address?

Thanks for your help.

See comments at section password does not work anymore above on this page. --Coppertwig (talk) 13:03, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

airport destinations list format

Hello, I was wondering if it was a wikipedia rule to have a specific format for listing airlines. I have changed a few airport pages to make the airline list easier to read and this was reverted on the basis that it was the "wrong format". Is there an official format for listing airlines on airport pages? Vivaperucarajo (talk) 04:52, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I think the closest thing we have is Wikipedia:WikiProject Aviation/Style guide#Airport Guidelines, you could also contact that WikiProject to see what current conventions are. 86.21.74.40 (talk) 07:10, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

more information about this image/symbol

I would love to get more information about this symbol (HU on gravestone from wikipedia site listed below).69.108.66.45 (talk) 05:32, 9 February 2008 (UTC) Particularly what language is it and how do I get a copy of the original symbol?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu_%28Sufism%29

This isn't the place for this question, but it appears to be the word 'Hu' written in the Arabic alphabet. Specifically, it's He (letter) followed by Waw (letter): هو. Algebraist 10:48, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Inserting image copyright info

I have read your Help info but still do not know how to properly add the copyright tags to an image and then to remove the template saying there is no tag. The images all belong to an organization wishing them to be posted. This is only a technical problem getting them properly tagged. The images are already uploaded but scheduled for deleting next week if not tagged. Akaitc (talk) 05:45, 9 February 2008 (UTC)If such instructions exist, please indicate where. I have repeatedly tried to use the Help info to no avail. Thanks

Is your problem that you don’t know what copyright tag to use or that you don’t know how to add it to the image description page?

I see that your images are “used by permission” of the copyright owner. Just so you know: Wikipedia accepts permission only if it includes permission for reuse by anyone for anything. See Wikipedia:Requesting copyright permission for the kind of permission you need, how to request permission from the owner, and how to submit that permission to Wikipedia. When you have the appropriate permission, add the tag corresponding to the license the owner has granted on the image description page. --teb728 t c 08:33, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

space program

Dear Sir,

What happens to the space shuttle's after the end of it's tenure ?

Will new space ships be used to serve the ISS by NASA or they will switch to the Rocket system of operations ?

Sharad Dave <e-mail removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.187.198.110 (talk) 07:42, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Ask that question at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science. This page is only for questions about how to use Wikipedia. --teb728 t c 08:36, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Book covers/illustrations, which editions to use?

After looking over the policies section as well as others this page seems to have the best answer to my question: Wikipedia:WikiProject_Free_book_covers. It says a first edition cover should be used, but what if the first edition was originally published in a language other then English? This wouldn't be a big issue with some things since they might have little or no lettering on them but what about comic books? Also what if better or more famous covers/illustrations are available and have the same copyright status? I have seen some first editions that have nothing on their covers at all, the only thing on the entire book being some lettering on the spine. I've also seen books that had their first editions sold in loose form only, with the purchaser meant to do their own bindings. Finally, which would be preferred, the covers from standard editions or special editions, something very common with comic collections/graphic novels.Lando242 (talk) 10:21, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

That wikiproject seems to be concerned with copyright issues. It's talking about situations where the first edition was published so long ago that it's no longer copyrighted, and that we should not use a modern, copyrighted image in that case. If you're looking at a different situation, I wouldn't worry too much about what that wikiproject says. Or, if you have a choice of several different older, non-copyrighted images, then the points you raise seem perfectly valid to me as ways to choose among them. I think the wikiproject has a good point that first editions tend to be more encyclopedic; however, you also have a number of good points, and I encourage you to be bold and use your judgement as to what is best in each individual situation. Go forth and edit. --Coppertwig (talk) 12:49, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Deleted articles

Is there a way to access recently deleted articles? Via discussion pages maybe? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.42.219.167 (talk) 11:05, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

The deletion log gives a list of recently deleted pages. Only admins can access the content of deleted pages, if that's what you want. Algebraist 12:14, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

You can ask for a copies of deleted articles from people in Category:Wikipedia administrators who will provide copies of deleted articles. It's my understanding that copies of deleted articles are normally provided on request, even if the articles are not appropriate for Wikipedia. The articles might be appropriate on some other wiki or for some other use. Sometimes the articles can be modified and become appropriate for Wikipedia, or in smoe cases it can be argued that they should not have been deleted: see Wikipedia:Deletion review. There may be occasional deleted articles where there are strong reasons for not providing a copy to anyone, though. --Coppertwig (talk) 13:00, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Tanks for the comprehensive info! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.42.236.252 (talk) 16:57, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Rockport

whatever happened to the article about rockport city (need for speed)? at first there was an article about it and now it's gone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.104.188.211 (talk) 14:25, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

It was deleted following this discussion. Algebraist 14:33, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Terra's Monobook.js

Resolved

Could an Administrator remove the WikiEnforcer from my alternate User, which is User:Terra, thanks. Yun-Yuuzhan (talk) 16:03, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

An Admin did it for me. Terra ^{Terra's talkpage} 20:01, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Muhammed

Regardless what happens do not give in to those trying to have you remove the Muhammad pictures from the articles. Being a Dane I appreciate some of the pressures you are under now! Best regards Stephan —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.16.228.56 (talk) 18:09, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Pollepel Island

Hi! Ann/Danielklara —Preceding unsigned comment added by Danielklara (talk • contribs) 18:24, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

  <reference changed back to <references/> --VectorPotential^Talk 18:29, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

See: WP:FOOT for instructions on how to avoid this error in your future edits. Also, only one user should use a given account. See: WP:U#Sharing accounts. Thanks. --Teratornis (talk) 20:32, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Newbies

Out of interest, for the purposes of [2], what constitutes a newbie? Presumably it's done on numbers of edits? _GB^T/C 18:46, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I think if the account is not yet autoconfirmed, as in less than four days old.   jj137 (talk) 18:49, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. _GB^T/C 19:00, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

keywords

are all of the words in the text of a wikipedia page keywords? is it possible to limit the number of keywords in order to limit how easy it will be for search engines to find the webpage? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.246.151.52 (talk) 19:15, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Keywords are automatically created by the mediawiki software based on the categories and links on the page. You should not edit Wikipedia pages to change their search engine rankings. The position of pages on search engine results largely depends on the number of good quality websites which link to that page, and very little on keywords. --h2g2bob (talk) 19:57, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Are there any current projects to add a picture to every article?

I like adding pictures to articles. I think a picture really enhances the whole article. Are there any projects devoted to this that I could join? Superstarwarsfan (talk) 20:34, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi Superstarwarsfan. Please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Photography, and take a look at the links in the "see also" section of that page. Also, if you are unaware of it, our sister project, the Wikimedia Commons, seem right up your alley. I wasn't able to find the ambitious encompassing project sought in your section header.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:47, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

problem with getting an account

kindly, help me create an account. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.83.191.23 (talk) 21:09, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

The people over at Request an account will help you with this. Good luck! XENON54 | talk 21:13, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

It may be this user just hasn't found the link for creation; click here to create an account.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:33, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Just follow the link and click on "create account" and follow the instructions. Make sure your username abides by our username policy. Wisdom89 (talk) 21:43, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

vandalism? I think not

My recent addition of a painting link to the subject of arabesque as a ballet position was removed and I was accused of vandalism. Please explain, as my only intent was to educate people. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.210.65.61 (talk) 21:50, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I would bring this up to the person who warned you regarding your supposed vandalism. Wisdom89 (talk) 22:07, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

And if the above does not work, take it to AN or AN:I. Lambton ^T/_C 22:17, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

population

I've noticed in some articles dealing with U.S. cities/towns that the intro paragraph mentions the 2000 census population and some city articles also mention an updated population (i.e. 2007). I updated the population for some city/town articles I came across, but I was told that WP policy states only the 2000 census numbers are to be mentioned. Is this accurate? If so, can someone show me where it says that? If that is the policy then I'll go back and remove the updated numbers, no problem...although it seems mentioning the 2007 population of a city from a reliable source is helping the article since the 2000 census was eight years ago. Thanks for your help. AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 21:54, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Can you give an example where somebody told you that? You could ask on their user talk page. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:22, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Sure. Here are some examples: [3], [4], and [5]. The article on Charlotte, North Carolina mentions a 2008 estimated population that gives an example of what I mentioned in the previous post. It appears useful to update the population, but I was just curious to see the WP policy when it comes to this issue. Ok, I'll ask them on the talk page. I just noticed he/she is an admin, so hopefully they can help me. BTW, I'm not trying to make a big deal about it or anything...just voicing my opinion that Wikipedia should have the most current info about a subject. Thank you for your help. --AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 22:36, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I see all 3 examples are by Nyttend whom you have contacted. I will let Nyttend reply and just note here that Nyttend didn't use the word policy, and specifically referred to the intro in each edit summary. Maybe a newer estimate can be mentioned later. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:50, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

You're right now that I look at the edit summary again. Nyttend didn't say it couldn't be mentioned at all, just not in the intro. Sorry, didn't mean for it to come out in an accusatory way if it did...I just read it wrong. I'll ask Nyttend about the updated population/intro policy.AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 00:01, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

The basis for my actions is Wikipedia:WikiProject Cities/Guideline — updated figures are fine (although it's definitely not a bad idea to keep the 2000 population as well), but they are to be directly from the Census. You're not absolutely required to follow it in editing (it is a guideline), but as it's the official people-counting agency of the USA I don't think that there's a good reason to prefer any other figures. Go to the Census Bureau's Factfinder website, which has updated population estimates, if you'd like to see something more up-to-date. And don't worry that you've sounded accusatory :-) Nyttend (talk) 05:11, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Why was my article "What to believe" deleted?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Agnosticism#What_to_believe How can have it re added without it been deleted "vandalised"? {{helpme}}

It isn't nessessary to add {{helpme}} on this page as it is a page for requesting help. I'm not exactly sure why it got deleted so I'll let someone else look over it. For the person helping him see this.--Sunny910910 ^{(talk|Contributions)} 23:20, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I would greatly appreciate it, thanks Sunny910910 Fairdeal08 (talk) 23:22, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

The purpose of article talk pages is to discuss improvements to the article. It is not to generally discuss the subject of the article. Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines#Others' comments says: "Some examples of appropriately editing others' comments: ... Deleting material not relevant to improving the article (per the above subsection #How to use article talk pages"). The removal of your section [6] was appropriate. See also [7]. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:37, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

And he appears not to have gotten the hint, as he's reinserted it at Talk:Agnosticism [8] and Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Christianity [9]. I also removed a copy from Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Atheism‎. --Calton | Talk 02:05, 10 February 2008 (UTC)