Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 January 9

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January 9

Conversion of no-break spaces to regular spaces

In a talk page edit, I used a no-break space by entering Alt-0160 on my Windows keyboard. Some time later, an editor edited the same section, but didn't edit the area of text that I had. He used the standard Wikipedia in-browser text editor, but he experienced a edit conflict. The no-break space became a regular space. The edit is here.

The no break space was in the sentence "Take care that the output, V, never exceeds 100 V!" between 100 and V.

Can anyone explain why this happened? --Gerry Ashton (talk) 00:17, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Not really sure. If you use &nbsp ; (without the intervening space), it should not convert. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 02:41, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

  was recently added to Edittools, so you can click it below the edit window. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:13, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

how do you edit entry tilte? I notice that words within the title need to be capitalized

When you select "edit page", it doesn't seem to give user permission to edit the title. Help please! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.16.55.62 (talk) 00:25, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Only logged in users can move articles. If you say what change do you want to make, someone else could do it for you. --teb728 t c 00:44, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Pages are renamed by moving them to new target names. This procedure preserves the page's edit history. Please do not rename a page by copying/pasting its content to a new page name. If you have an account and it is at least four days old, you can move a page yourself, but please first review Wikipedia:Naming conventions. If you still wish to rename the page, go to it and click the move tab at the top (near the history and watch tabs). You can then specify a new name for the article. The old page name will automatically become a redirect to the new page. However, if the desired target page name already exists, you will need an administrator to move the page for you, which can be requested at Wikipedia:Requested moves. Hope this helps.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:34, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Not all words within titles need to be capitalized, and most are not. Check Wikipedia:Naming conventions#General conventions first. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 15:00, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost

I know the Wikipedia Signpost was delayed the last two weeks because of the holidays. The holidays are over, so why isn't this week's Signpost up yet? It's usually up by Tuesday morning. I've been checking and checking and checking all day!75.104.128.56 (talk) 00:54, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

This was asked a while ago - The most recent issue appears to be dated January 2. Questions about the Signpost would best be asked at the talk page for the Signpost, here. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 02:37, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I posted my question at the given link. Nobody answered my question, and the Signpost STILL hasn't been updated! What's going on?75.104.128.59 (talk) 14:40, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

How do I underline text?

I want to underline text on Wikipedia. How do I do this? Feedback ^☎ 01:52, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

As far as I know there is no underlining code on Wikipedia. However, you could use HTML, like this ("<u>this</u>"). -- RattleMan 02:02, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

That's the official method of doing so. See Wikipedia:How to edit a page#Character formatting. The Transhumanist 02:50, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

disambiguation christ

i want to disambiguate christ to show http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_T._Christ

65.24.127.192 (talk) 02:21, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

There's already a disambiguation for this, so you can edit the page at Christ (disambiguation) to include Carol Christ. For more information, you may want to see WP:DISAMBIG. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 02:33, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

current events 08 jan 2008

hi,

somehow jan 7 and jan 8 are discombobulated on portal: current events. i have tried unsuccessfully to get the dates correct and the proper content in each date but whatever i write in one goes to the other. very frustrating. please help. thank you WikiTony (talk) 04:26, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I fixed it, it uses a fairly complicated template system, so it can take a while to find the pages. Mr.Z-man 04:36, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Ancient Chinese HIstory: the Dynasties Book

Tang write Chinese phonetic pronunciation aand Major accomplishments of Chinese during that time period writing at a child's level. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.195.12.170 (talk) 05:08, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm not really sure what you are seeking; there's no real question in your post. If you are looking to suggest a topic for creation of an article, please visit Wikipedia:Articles for creation. If you are addressing a change to a specific, existing article, please visit its talk page by going to the article and then clicking on the "discussion" tab at the top. If you are asking a knowledge question about the Dynasties Book, please visit the humanities section of the reference desk.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 13:33, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Deleting Erroneous Information

My daughter's school friends entered her name in a racy girls site as a joke. It is now appearing on google.com when you google her name. How can this be deleted?

I have set up a password and screen name.

Thanks 06:04, 9 January 2008 (UTC).

Unfortunately, this matter doesn't involve Wikipedia, so there isn't much we can do; however, I'd suggest contacting the webmaster of the site that is being problematic and asking them to remove this information. Cheers, Master of Puppets _{Call me MoP!☺} 06:10, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

On 2nd review, after taking a look at the other contribution this user has made, it possibly might affect Wikipedia afterall :D. I found the diff and did some google searches on the name and decided to forward it to oversight, can't be fun having that as the first hit on googling your name. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 14:10, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

WP:OVER took care of it now. Should be gone once the google caches catch up. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 01:44, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Project/Oracle 9i

Will you provide me a small poject based on oracle 9i. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.167.98.227 (talk) 06:13, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

This is for help on using Wikipedia, maybe the reference desk can help you. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 07:58, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Question

How can you ask questions to people whose talk pages are protected? Hyano czespony (talk) 07:00, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

The best way to do that is to check here on the talk page/article/etc in question and it will list the name of the protecting admin as well as their reason for doing so. Also the term "autoconfirmed" means any account >4 days old, and "sysop" means only an Administrator can edit it. VivioFateFan ^{(Talk, Sandbox)} 07:56, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I know what those things mean. I'm not that dumb, you know. I have edited Wikipedia since March 2006! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hyano czespony (talk • contribs) 22:22, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

The word Eskimo is bad language

I noted an artical on Eskimo Kiss but it is politically incorrect. Eskimo is a cree word and the Inuk are often referred to as Inuit. The only government that does not push this change is the USA. I do not know how to change things on wikipedia but can someone at least make it known immediatly in the artical that Eskimo is no longer used but Inuit is good.

Thank you,

Your Arctic defense against many nations in north america. And believe me it is busy up here since the channel opened from climate change. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.234.63.82 (talk) 07:27, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I have added your comment to Talk:Eskimo kissing. I do not know enough about this issue to fix it myself, but maybe someone else will see your comment and be able to address your concerns --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 13:43, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Note that Wikipedia is not censored, since this term is appropriate for a type of kiss, but for a race of people in the Canadian territories and Greenland, the term Inuit is preferred. Johnny Au (talk) 18:13, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

In other notes, many sports teams are named after politically incorrect terms for various indigenous peoples, such as the Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians, the National Football League's Washington Redskins, and the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos. Johnny Au (talk) 18:20, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

That does not mean we cannot make the article more accurate by mentioning that issue. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 19:13, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Underscores or whitespaces

Which of these is usually preferred on WP in article names etc.? -- Mentifisto 09:21, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

For article titles, use the most natural spelling without worrying too much about the technical implications. For example, for an article on a fictional band called "The F*cktard 5$ Collective" use The F*cktard 5$ Collective. The wikimedia software makes sure the urls work out. Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 10:56, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Actually I meant to say links... like you did there... Example_here or Example here. -- Mentifisto 14:37, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I use the spaces as I think it makes it more readable (thinking of screen readers, etc.) and matches the actual title of the linked article. Wikipedia:Manual of Style (links) doesn't specify but the examples use spaces. Of course since they resolve to the same page it doesn't matter too much. • Anakin ^{(contribs • complaints)} 15:17, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, thanks. -- Mentifisto 16:35, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Advertising on Wikipedia?

Hi there,

Does Wikipedia have any plans to carry advertising on the site? I noticed the donations page but couldn't find any ad info - surely this must be part of the plan?

Many thanks, Lee Branch

Right now there are no plans to do it. See Wikipedia:Advertising. -- Mentifisto 10:31, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is about volunteers providing free information for everyone in the world. Advertising would detract from that aim. --Coppertwig (talk) 14:47, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Jimbo Wales and Brion Vibber have both mentioned the possibility of advertising in public talks (see their various videos on YouTube), but both are well aware that such a drastic change in Wikipedia's thus-far successful formula would have far-reaching effects, not all of them good. Google AdSense on Wikipedia, for example, would at least in the short run generate very substantial revenue, probably several times what Wikipedia collects in donations currently. Thus the idea is hard not to think about. But then the Wikipedia community would have a big pile of money to argue about. With 47,327,473 registered users, we'd probably have about 47,327,473 conflicting opinions about how to spend all that money. Someone like User:Teratornis, for example, might suggest Help desk volunteers deserve a little something. Personally, I hope Jimbo Wales does not open that can of worms. All that aside, if you (Lee Branch) merely want to put your own advertisements on Wikipedia, while you cannot advertise on the real Wikipedia, nothing stops you from setting up your own Wikipedia mirror site and advertising all you like on that. --Teratornis (talk) 17:02, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Also, there have been huge concerns raised about some of the issues that would arise if advertising appeared on Wikipedia, as it would potentially violate Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, or at least provide a possible incentive to do so, since Company X would probably not want to have an ad for them on an article that openly criticised them. During the 2006 fundraiser, a charitable arm of the Virgin corporation went into a donation-matching agreement (i.e. for every dollar donated on day X they would donate a dollar), part of which was to have a small logo in the sitenotice, and the reaction to that on the mailing list was hugely split and pretty prolific. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:35, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Flagging inconsistencies

Hi,

I'm researching historical battle statistics, and use Wikipedia on occasion to fill gaps in my knowledge from printed sources.

I have often spotted inconsistencies (not proven errors, I hasten to add) both within Wikipedia pages (e.g. Venetian casualties at the the Battle of Agnadello), and between Wikipedia and trusted sources (e.g. the forces at this same battle, when compared with Harbottle and Eggenberger). How can I flag these up to the pages' originators for them to check? I don't want to charge in and edit something that somebody else has spent more time researching than myself, and thus may be better informed, but conversely I don't want errors to persist.

Any advice appreciated!

80.177.102.36 (talk) 10:57, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

You should leave a note on the article's talk page. --Yamanbaiia^{(free hugs!)} 12:15, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

To expand on that as many who come here don't know about talk pages, every article has an associated talk page for discussing improvements or issues related to the article. Simply click on the "discussion" tab when you are at the article to access it.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 13:26, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

For example, if the name of the page is Battle of Agnadello, then the name of its talk page is Talk:Battle of Agnadello. --Coppertwig (talk) 14:44, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

expunge a section of talk page

I would like to permanently expunge a section on my talk page (and a few old versions) due to privacy concerns. How can this be done?--Appraiser (talk) 13:29, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

This is possible yes. Please see: Wikipedia:Requests for oversight --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 13:31, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

jessie cave

jessie cave is in harry potter and the half-blood prince and also appears in the cbbc drama summerhill.she also appears along side dame helen mirren in inkheart. her date of birth is 5 may 1987 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 984cooper (talk • contribs) 14:03, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for contributing information to Wikipedia. Perhaps in response to your message here, you or someone has added the information to the page List of Harry Potter cast members, which you can find by typing "Jessie Cave".

In future, please feel free to add information to articles yourself if you think it will improve them, or if you're not sure, you can suggest it on the article's talk page, which you can find by clicking "discuss" at the top of a page, or adding "Talk:" to the beginning of the name of the page, for example to find the talk page for List of Harry Potter cast members you can type Talk:List of Harry Potter cast members in the search box and click "go". --Coppertwig (talk) 14:54, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

how to find notes on place

i want to find notes on west bengal and even some pic's —Preceding unsigned comment added by 221.134.178.202 (talk) 14:36, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Go to West Bengal. You can find a page you're interested in by typing "West Bengal" in the search box (usually at the left side of the page) and clicking "go" or "search". Often it makes a difference whether you use capital letters or not, but in this case west bengal also works. --Coppertwig (talk) 14:41, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Copyright - public domain derivatives -> GFDL?

If I take a GIF image that is in the public domain and vectorize it, can I then release it under CC BY SA and GFDL on account of it being a derivative work? ----Seans Potato Business 14:04, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

Someone here may very well answer the question but please note the new Wikipedia:Image copyright help desk where your question would be well placed.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 16:53, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

If the source image is in the Public domain, then any derivative will be in the Public Domain as well. You would have to do a lot to make the derivative so "original" that it has its own copyright (and thus require licensing by you). --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 19:18, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Search box suggestion

I could not find a place to submit suggestions and I did not see this topic in the FAQ. It would be extremely helpful if the search box retained the search terms and broke them out into buttons along with the "Go" and "Search" buttons (a la the google toolbar) so that I can search within a page for the terms. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.67.73.40 (talk) 16:09, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Why not just use the find function of your browser? In Firefox and IE ctrl-F works. Algebraist 16:37, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

If you want to ask for changes to the MediaWiki software (the software that runs Wikipedia), you should go to [1] for instructions on filing a feature request. --Thinboy00 @164, i.e. 02:56, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

make source number

hi

How i make a link to a source? so it has a number next to it like blah blah came from thissite.com. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuxthepenguin933 (talk • contribs) 18:18, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

See WP:REF -- kainaw™ 18:30, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

WP:FOOT is little more on point. Sbowers3 (talk) 20:16, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

The Antiques Roadshow

Hello:

I am involved in a MULTI-MILLION dollar DISPUTE ... and I now think that the time has come to TAKE a STAND in favor of the "REAL" (as represented by my "OWN PIECE") as opposed to the "SURREAL" (as represented by the "Goddard Piece" in question)and, to SUCH an EFFECT, I now would like to "submit" (again!) the "SITUATION" in question to LARRY KING, for the kind of interview which would then EXPOSE the "SITUATION" in question to the PUBLIC AT LARGE ...

... BUT, I have been unable so far to find any "contact me" box in any of the Internet information pertaining to Larry King and I would appreciate it very much if Wikipedia (which does specialize in that "sort of thing") would be KIND ENOUGH to PROVIDE me with the INFORMATION in question.

ASAP would be deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

Max B. Dupont —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.20.165.116 (talk) 18:53, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

This sounds like you are involved in a legal dispute of some sort. Please note that wikipedia does not give out legal advice due to liability and other reasons. Also, pertaining to contacting Larry King, you are on your own with respect to finding that information. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and not a irectory service.--Oni Ookami Alfador^Talk|@ 18:59, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes, Wikipedia is not a giver of personal advice, I'm afraid. You can check what else Wikipedia isn't if you like. As for your predicament, good luck. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.}☆ 19:15, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

And next time please do not use so many capitals in your postings, some people will consider this to be equal to yelling in public and it is generally considered to be offensive in writing, especially on the Internet. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 19:24, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I have removed some parts of the post per Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons which also covers this page. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:48, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Factual inaccuracies in description of Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois

Please make the following corrections regarding Glenbard East High School in Lombard:

Web site is www.glenbardeasths.org, not www.glenbard.net/Glenbard_East

Delete “surprisingly” from: “The regional Office of Education, the State Board of Education, and the North Central Association of Colleges and the Secondary Schools accredit Glenbard East High School, surprisingly.”

In 2005, Glenbard East had an average ACT composite score of 20.6 and graduated 85.9 percent of its senior class. The listing inaccurately states an ACT composite of 11 and a graduation rate of 46.3. These are wrong.

The staff is comprised of 190 teachers, not 181.

Average class size is 23, not 35.5

Ethnic diversity: White: 64.5 percent, not 11.6 Black: 9 percent, not 27.8 Asian: 10.1 percent, not 24.2 Native American: 0.8 percent, not 0.40 Hispanic: 15.5 percent, not 67.2

This information can be verified at www.glenbardeasths.org or on the state school report card, available at www.glenbard87.org. It's also available by calling (phone number removed for protection). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Peg mannion (talk • contribs) 19:13, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Please make comments like these on the talk page of the article. Thank you. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.}☆ 19:16, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Actually, I guess Peg mannion represents the school and Wikipedia:Contact us/Article problem/Factual error (from enterprise) tells representatives to come to the help desk about factual errors. Orangemike has copied it to the talk page but it can be a long time before somebody reacts to a comment there. I will look at the problems. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:58, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

I want to work for Wikipedia

I want to work for Wikipedia and promote the brand to the planet. How can I do this? Help me help you.

This page is for asking questions about USING Wikipedia, not working for them. And I have no idea, by the way. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.}☆ 19:29, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

If you want to be a volunteer editor, like us (over 6 million and counting registered users), then check out Wikipedia:Introduction and Wikipedia:Community portal, which should give you an idea of how to do things, as well as what things might need doing. If you want to work for the Wikimedia Foundation, I don't think there are any openings at the moment, but you can always check their website. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:27, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

basic error in assigning citations is all through WIkipedia: Policy change needs contemplation.

Reading through the article on General Mathew Ridgeway, I noticed that someone had added "citation needed" to the assertion that the war aim of the UN forces in the Korean war, after the battle of Chipyongi, was to drive the Chinese forces back across the 38th parallel. That this was indeed the case can be ascertained from any number of sources, books and articles on the war. So here's the error that has been committed by the person who put in that "citation needed": academically speaking, anything that is (a) commonly known or (b) citable from multiple sources, does not need a specific citation. So for example, you don't need to cite a source for saying that a certain country has so many millions of population, because such figures are widely available from multiple sources, i.e., easily checkable. And this is just how the citation business is done; and I've noticed this throughout Wikipedia, a desire to provide a citation for literally everything, even when such citations are clearly unnecessary.

It seems to me this is merely a hyper-caution that's a result of some of the criticisms of Wikipedia that arose over the last year or so. But providing a citation is no gaurantee against the propagation of nonsense; I'm sure an anti-Semite could provide "citations" to "prove" his case, but that wouldn't make it sensible. It would greatly streamline – and indeed strengthen – Wikipedia if it simply followed the normal academic guidelines for citation.

thanks for listening, though it was damned hard to find this place to e-mail you.

Jon Paul HenryTheonemacduff (talk) 19:37, 9 January 2008 (UTC).

Even if they are so easily checkable because of the number of sources, you should still add the source anyway. Hyper-cautions are all very well, but common sense tells you to add references for every fact in the wikipedia, like a normal encyclopedia. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.}☆ 19:42, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

The irony, year over year we heard that wikipedia didn't reference its statements properly enough and now that we do, we cite too much. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 20:26, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't match your description well but I guess you are referring to this tagged part of Matthew Ridgway: "Military historians generally credit Ridgway with leadership that helped restore the Eighth Army as an aggressive fighting force, allowing it combat the overwhelming masses of troops from the People's Republic of China to a standstill, and eventually driving them out of South Korea across the 38th parallel". Uncited claims like "generally credit" are against WP:PEACOCK and requesting a citation is appropriate. {{who}} could also have been used. I wouldn't know where to look for a citation in a reasonable time so I could easily have tagged it instead of finding a citation. It sometimes annoys me if somebody tags a thing that could be verified in seconds with an obvious Google search, but that is not the case here. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:44, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

legitimacy

Dear Wikimedia,

I want to use this website for my science fair. My teacher thinks that anyone could have written an article on wind chill i was looking on. I want to get an OK from you guys to make sure not just anyone isn't writing important articles. I would like to stay anonymous.

Thank you!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.15.3.109 (talk) 19:39, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

No such thing as anonymous when SineBot's around... Using this website is OK because of a number of reasons:

1. This is edited by experts on the subjects in question, including scientists and mathematicians.
2. Vandalism is quickly rectified on the website by many thousands of users.
3. Untrue facts are regularly challenged and removed.

Hope this helps. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{play it cool.}☆ 19:46, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia itself aknowledges that while useful for information gathering, it should not be used for serious academic research. See Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia. Your teacher is well within his/her concerns as an academic professional to restrict wikipedia as a research source.--Oni Ookami Alfador^Talk|@ 19:49, 9 January 2008 (UTC) Note: for further explanation consider this quote from the page: "In all academic institutions, Wikipedia, along with most encyclopedias, is unacceptable as a major source for a research paper. Other encyclopedias, such as Britannica, have notable authors working for them and may be cited as a secondary source in most cases. For example, Cornell University has a guide on how to cite encyclopedias" --Oni Ookami Alfador^Talk|@ 19:51, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

The best way to use Wikipedia is to find sources, not as a source itself. E.g. in Wind chill you will find references to many sources where you can find more information. You would read and cite those other sources, not cite Wikipedia. Sbowers3 (talk) 20:00, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

(gmta e/c) All research papers should be written from primary and secondary sources and not tertiary sources such as encyclopedias, regardless of whether Britannica, Wikipedia or others. However, the best of our articles are themselves fully written from primary and secondary sources. For that reason, our articles may be very useful in locating the proper sources someone such as yourself should use. While the article on Wind chill is not (yet!) a fully sourced articles, it does have ten references. I suggest you make use of that that list.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:08, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

copying an article for my own reference

I tried to copy the first page of Amaryllis and got 32 wasted pages of nothing. Each page had one sentence top and bottom and nothing else. Honestly, trying to understand the gibberish language used in "editing" and other places is beyond me. Do you HAVE to make it so complicated? why NOT use an email where I can retrieve my own info; I doubt I'll be able to find the answer on the Help Desk page itself --when? The paragraph that starts with You are not currently logged in.... is also not understandable. What is the sandbox. How do I submit this problem? The spaces below don't tell me much.

P.S. sign your question using ---- what symbols are those? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.136.249.210 (talk) 20:57, 9 January 2008 (UTC) Save a page using internet explorer or firefox. ~~~~ are [tilde]s. On US keyboards, they are found above the tab key. ffm 21:53, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

On the left hand side of every article is a list of links in the toolbox, just below the search field. Click on "printable version" and that should solve your printing problems. These: ~~~~ are tildes and unless you have a very unusual keyboard, the symbol likely appears on it, probably right above the tab key, below esc and next to the 1/! key.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:58, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Wow, quite a few questions there. I'll do what I can to answer some of them ...

1. By copy, do you mean you just selected the text, copied it (by pressing Ctrl+C or similar) and then pasted it into a word processor? It seems strange that it would have that result, so the only thing I can suggest that might make a difference is to try clicking on the link "Printable version" in the toolbar on the left.
2. Do you HAVE to make it so complicated? If you're talking about some of the technical and Wikipedia-specific terms used in places, then certainly it's not meant to be like that, but it can be hard to write succinctly and simply all the time. A handy guide to a lot of the "back end" of Wikipedia can be found at Wikipedia:Editor's index to Wikipedia.
3. Why not use email? Because this is a high-profile web page, and there are computer programs that scan such pages for email addresses, and use them to build spam mailing lists..
4. When will you find the answer on Help desk? The Help desk is run by volunteer effort, so whenever one of these volunteers comes along - like now.
5. The line that says something like "You are not logged in. Your IP address will be recorded in this page's edit history." Means this: You have not logged in to a Wikipedia account, and so instead of being identified with a username, you are identified with an IP address, which can be used to find out some things about you, such as your Internet Service Provider and general location. I believe there is some discussion about making that line more accessible to people who don't know what an IP address is.
6. The sandbox is a Wikipedia page (located at Wikipedia:Sandbox), which is designed for anyone to muck around in, to practice editing. This way, you can learn how to use "wiki-markup" without damaging a real article (not that such damage would be permanent, but it creates work for someone else and may get you into a little trouble).
7. How do you submit the problem? Looks like you worked that one out yourself.
8. Finally, the "Sign your posts" note - those symbols, ~~~~, are "tildes", which on most of the keyboards I've seen (which is indeed a biased sample) can be found in the top-left corner of the keyboard, below the Escape key, through the combination Shift+`. Typing these in on a page like the Help desk or a discussion page will add a signature to your post, so that people can see who wrote it and when. On this page, it's less critical, as SineBot will add an automatic signature if you forget, but it's still good practice.
9. And, just as a little extra, as this can confuse people sometimes, you can write a response in this section by going to the section header (titled "copying an article for my own reference") and clicking the link there that says "[edit]". Or, you can post a new question in the same way you posted this one. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:12, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Oh, and if you can't find the tilde key (it may not be immediately obvious on some keyboards), there are two links on the editing page that will produce a signature for you - the first is in the row of icons above the editing box, between the W in a crossed-circle and the thick horizontal line (it's meant to look like a signature). The second is further down, below the line that says "Do not copy text from other websites ...", where there is a large box of links that will add various helpful characters and wikimarkup (although admittedly without explaining what most of them do). Just look for the one labelled "Sign your username: ~~~~". Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:17, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Sites similar to Wikipedia

Hi i have noticed other sites such as lostpedia.org, ipodlinux.org and fallingsandgame.org all appear simular to wikipedia. I was wondering how you can create (at what cost) a site like one of these on the same system. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.196.34.200 (talk) 21:07, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia uses MediaWiki. This is free software that you can download and install on a server. There are probably thousands of MediaWiki based sites on the Web and just as many running within private networks. κaτaʟaveno^T_C 21:22, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

All you need is a webserver (such as Apache), PHP5, and MySQL (there is some support for PostgreSQL), all of which can be obtained for free. It is designed to run on Linux or Unix, but can be run on most OS's including Windows and Mac OS X. See mw:Manual:Installation guide for full details. Mr.Z-man 21:34, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Here is a partial list of public wikis that run MediaWiki: wikiindex:Category:MediaWiki (current size: 2396 entries). If you want to learn about how to install and run MediaWiki, perhaps the easiest way to start is by setting up your own personal wiki; see: mw:Manual:Wiki on a stick. If you want a wiki that other people can use, the software is free, and the initial setup is not too terribly difficult for a competent system administrator, but learning how to administer a successful wiki will probably consume months if not years of your time. You can avoid some headaches by using a wiki hosting service that will handle many of the technical details for you, if your goal is to set up a wiki rather than to learn about wiki software. See: b:Wiki Science/How to start a wiki. --Teratornis (talk) 21:48, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

drug list

can I provide a link on my web page to this Wikipedia page(s)122.57.215.156 (talk) 21:31, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Of course you can. Wikipedia is free content, and can be linked to and copied from (assuming the GFDL is followed) freely. ffm 21:49, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

There's nothing on Wikipedia to restrict your ability to link to articles here. As to whether you can create such a link on your Web page, that depends on whether you are able to edit the page yourself, or get someone to edit it for you, and you or they know enough HTML or whatever coding method your Web page uses to create the link. (Many people have Web pages that they themselves cannot necessarily edit, so we aren't sure if you are asking a question about Wikipedia, or about how to edit your own site, whatever it may be.) But before you link to a Wikipedia article, be aware that articles here can constantly change, or even get deleted. Occasionally someone vandalizes an article with highly objectionable content. If you want to control what your Web page visitors see, you may want to consider forking a copy of the article to your own page. --Teratornis (talk) 22:00, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

If you mean whether you can edit a Wikipedia article to add a link going to your website then it is against Wikipedia:External links because you have a conflict of interest. A link to your website can be suggested on the article talk page instead. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:22, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Personal information is history

Someone vandalized Jared and placed a phone number in the article. I removed said edit, but it remains in the history, and I'm not sure how to remove it. For safety, I think it would be best if administration would remove said history. [2]

Any help on this would be appreciated. Dengarde ► Complaints 21:36, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

In cases such as this, you should request oversight at Wikipedia:Requests for oversight using the email link at the bottom of that page. In this case I've sent the email. Just a quick message with the diff link and the reason for it to be removed is enough for a request. Mr.Z-man 21:48, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Ah. I was unaware of WP:OVER. I'll use that from now-on. Thank you :) Dengarde ► Complaints 21:50, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

And the edit has been removed. Mr.Z-man 21:59, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Where do I report single-purpose accounts?

User sk8rboyyy's contribution page suggests that he has an account for the single purpose of promoting an individual. Where do I report this? Jonwatson69 (talk) 21:54, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't believe there is any dedicated noticeboard. The sheer fact that an account appears to be single purpose invites scrutiny (COI, POV warmongering etc,) but there is no inherent violation of any policy simply because of that nature. You can tag his name at the deletion discussion with {{subst:spa|username|UTC timestamp [optional]}}. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:47, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

If an account appears to be single purpose with regard to either vandalism or linkspam, you can try to report it at WP:AIV. Generally it helps however to give the benefit of the doubt and use the proper warning stages.--Oni Ookami Alfador^Talk|@ 03:46, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

There is no noticeboard for single purpose accounts, but I see no ill in the comments and contributions thus far from Sk8rboyyy (talk · contribs). If it escalates into heated arguments, you can take the notice to dispute resolution; vandalism, to WP:AIV. Seicer (talk) (contribs) 06:05, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

How do you start a new page on a music artist??

Yes, how do you start a new page on a music artist, I want to know how, I'm his producer, and I want to make one for him, with his permission, I CAN,can you help me —Preceding unsigned comment added by Prolilmeek (talk • contribs) 23:11, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi! See Help:Starting a new page. Stwalkerster [ talk ] 23:14, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Please also read Wikipedia:Notability (music) and Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. The first will tell you the bare minimum for the article to not get deleted, and the second will tell you why it may not be the best idea for you to write it in the first place. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:43, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

patrick henry

please i want to know names of people and why there
supported patrick henry  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.237.200.35 (talk) 23:19, 9 January 2008 (UTC) 

We have an article about Patrick Henry. Have you tried the Humanities section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps.. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:15, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia Policy: Schedule/Timetable

Wonder whether anyone could point me towards some WP policy or guideline that talks about what to do with things like bus or train schedules in articles. I couldn't see anything in WP:NOT that was really specific, apart from this (3). Many thanks — alex.muller (talkpage • contribs) 23:59, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

In addition to WP:NOT#DIRECTORY which you linked, all of WP:NOT#GUIDE, WP:NOT#INFO and WP:NOT#STUPID arguably apply. We don't and can't make WP:NOT specifically mention every bad idea but you can certainly argue by analogy. You might find Wikipedia talk:WikiProject buses/Bus route list guide also of interest.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:12, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply – I decided it would be best to remove it and leave a comment on the talk page to discuss any problems that may arise. — alex.muller (talkpage • contribs) 00:45, 10 January 2008 (UTC)