Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 July 6

Help desk
< July 5	<< Jun | July | Aug >>	July 7 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

July 6

Moving the toolbox

Is it possible to move the toolbox above the navigation and interaction boxes? –xenocidic (talk) 00:10, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Possible, yes. Practical, no. The navigation and interaction links provide new users and the millions of visitors with the necessary links. Theoretically, the toolbox is only needed by regulars, who know what to do with it. The site should be aimed at non-regulars before regulars, and that's what those links do. What did you have in mind? Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 00:16, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

I was more looking for a user script that would allow just me to move it, sorry for being unclear. –xenocidic (talk) 00:17, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Oh I see. :) I'll look into it. Sorry about that. PeterSymonds (talk) 00:19, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

No problem, thanks in advance. I didn't find anything at WP:User scripts, but I thought I heard this being talked about a while back. –xenocidic (talk) 00:20, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

 addOnloadHook(function() {
    toolbox = document.getElementById("p-tb");
    if (!toolbox) return;
    parent = toolbox.parentNode;
    parent.insertBefore( parent.removeChild(toolbox), parent.firstChild );
 });

to Special:MyPage/monobook.js --h2g2bob (talk) 01:33, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Excellent! Can the same be done for the search box? (Place it right under the toolbox) –xenocidic (talk) 01:45, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Added a script to Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/Re-order menus --h2g2bob (talk) 13:52, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

You are a god among men! Superb. –xenocidic (talk) 14:10, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Barnstars, awards

Hello all. How does one earn Barnstars or other awards? Is there a list of all barnstars that can potentially be awarded? OlEnglish (talk) 00:20, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

See WP:BARNSTAR for all the info needed. Theoretically, barnstars can be awarded for anything; generally for article improvement, helpfulness etc. The full list will be available at that link. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 00:22, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Need to "market" my template

I created a template called "Navbar" (see it at Template:Navbar) ad I want to know how to get other users to use it. All it requires is the Username, and it creates a link to:

• The user's home
• The user's talk
• The user's talk/Emergency
• A quick edit link
• A purge link
• Navbar/Change to suggest changes.

These links "float" at a fixed position at the bottom of the page, regardless of the scrollbars position. I am hoping users to come will add a background, create more links, etc. How would I tell others of this template? Also, how do I apply this template to every page on my user? Graham (talk, contrib) 04:24, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps include it somewhere at WP:UPDC ? ... By the way, I don't see how the "emergency talk" page would be better than leaving a message on the normal talk page - especially because leaving message at user talk subpages doesn't queue the "ZOMG NEW MSGS" bar. To put it on all your user pages, you'll need to {{transclude}} it on all your user pages. –xenocidic (talk) 04:26, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

I'll remove the emergency link. By the way, I can't find a transclude template, and I know I can just put the template on all of my pages, but I have a LOT of pages, and I don't want to do all of the typing. By the way, I might want to add a "subpages to this page" list of links, and I want to know how. Graham (talk, contrib) 04:45, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

My Navbar seems out-of-place in navigation aids. Should I really put it there? Graham (talk, contrib) 05:00, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

You could always mention it at WT:UPDC. Also, it may be a good idea to have a parameter whereby you can set it to float at the top of the page. If you want I can implement this. RichardΩ612 Ɣ ɸ 06:26, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Actually, I don't know how. I got that code off of a talk page for a user (I'll find it on request). It might be one of the div params...I might expirement, but you'll have to excuse the Navbar not working for a second or two... Graham (talk, contrib) 07:02, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

You should probably let the user know that you've templatefied their creation (while not required, it is courteous). –xenocidic (talk) 14:54, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, the template isn't an EXACT copy, it is a copy of the two span tags (that originally held this image ). It was supposed to float at the bottom of wherever the tags were posted, like lifebaka's pages, who recieved the code from WBOSITG (weburiedoursecretsinthegarden). I changed the image to my Navbar, then templatized it once realizing it could help someone with their page. I was only hoping that it didn't need to be manually transcluded to every single user subpage, but, once a template is created, it is a simple copy-and-paste to every single subpage. Graham (talk, contrib) 16:57, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

(undent) I don't quite understand the need to "market" a template on Wikipedia. If the template fills a need, people will eventually find their way to it. One semi-red-flag would be that if there isn't a suitable place to list or categorize the template, it might not really be addressing some widely-felt need on Wikipedia. If the template is useful in some context, I would say just use it yourself in that context, and let other users notice that you are using it. I've created several templates, mostly because I wanted to use them, but one of them ({{Google custom}}) has attracted some interest from other users. More recently, I made a similar template ({{Google scholar cite}}) as a front end for the Universal reference formatter, and I find it handy for generating citation templates and keeping track of the Google Scholar searches I have done. So far, I have managed to interest a grand total of two other users in the template, I think. But that's OK, it works well enough for me to justify the small effort I put in; I'm happy if the template doesn't get deleted. Plus, one of the users who likes the template is in a position to influence a number of students who edit on Wikipedia and need a citation tool to help them cope with Wikipedia's arcane footnote system. If you want to promote your template directly, I suggest searching various parts of Wikipedia with the example searches in the {{Google custom}} documentation (such as the Help desk archives) for questions from users who are asking how to solve the problem your template solves. You might have to get creative in your search keywords, because people are unlikely to ask directly for your template. They might ask instead about how to navigate more efficiently to their user pages and so on. Then you could leave messages on their talk pages. --Teratornis (talk) 19:12, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

A very well put answer, Teratornis. I will do so. But I have one last question for someone before I do so: How do you like my {{Navbar}}? Be honest :) Graham (talk, contrib) 20:09, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Speaking for myself only, I'm having trouble seeing how I would need a way to get to my user page any more quickly than I can already get there from the link at the top of every Wikipedia page. However, I could see other uses for similar templates, such as a tool for Help desk volunteers that would link to all the useful searches in {{Help desk searches}}. It would also be cool to have a template that could display information about the user who posts a question, such as a link to the user's contributions. Often a Help desk volunteer has to look at a user's contributions to figure out a vague question. --Teratornis (talk) 00:16, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

I would be surprised if a template could figure out what Help desk question I'm looking at, and identify the user who posted it, without requiring some sort of manual editing to feed it a username. To be useful, such a template would have to make such lookups easier than the current method of clicking around to get to the user's contributions. Someday we might have a tool for Help desk volunteers with links to every search tool that is relevant to answering questions on the Help desk, and drop-down menus for inserting standard response templates (like {{HD}}) and so on. --Teratornis (talk) 00:24, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

If you would look slightly below, you will see a similar question on how to identify this user. It is also for the purpose of this template.

I don't think anything on Wikipedia allows you to identify which section of the page you are viewing. Sorry. Graham (talk, contrib) 02:28, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

G.Shankar- Creating beauty out of mud in the shape of buildings.

article text removed —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vijay.poet (talk • contribs) 06:32, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

It looks like you are trying to create a new article on Wikipedia. Please read How to create your first article, and our notability guidelines. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 11:17, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

How do I create pages that only i can view?

Hi guys, Do youse know how I can create a page that only i can view —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bwfguy (talk • contribs) 06:39, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

In short, you can't. To do so is rather against the purpose to the creation of an encyclopedia. All activities on this site should be for that goal. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 07:44, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

(e/c)On Wikipedia you cannot. However, you can create a subpage of your user or your user talk page which in the normal course very few people will have any reason to visit.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 07:46, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Another option is to install your own personal wiki. See mw:Manual:Wiki on a stick if you want to run the MediaWiki software as your personal wiki. If you are looking for some sort of ready-made Web hosting service that will let you make pages that you and only you can view from multiple computers, you could try Google Docs which does that and more. --Teratornis (talk) 18:45, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Help, someone is removing my material

Hello,I am new here, and have read, and complied with all of TOS regarding editing. How do I stop someone from deleting, and or rewording my material? Also, who has the authority to tell me "This is my last change", and how can this be revoked?

 Your response is anxiously welcomed

R. B. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ReubenBinyamin (talk • contribs) 09:13, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Hi ReubenBinyamin. The best way to stop your additions from being reverted is to check that they confirm to policy. In this case, the editors who've reverted you have referred to the neutral point of view policy, which you might want to read. Basically, saying that a site "accurately demonstrates [something] with strong merit" is making a value judgment about the site, which is not Wikipedia's place: we're just here to report information as published in reliable sources, not to judge it. Our readers can go to the site and judge for themselves whether it has merit or not.

As for telling you "this is your last change", I'm not sure what you're referring to (as I don't see that comment in any edit summaries or talk pages) - could you clarify? Best, Olaf Davis | Talk 10:23, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

I think he is referring to the comments on his talk page. (Possibly). Harland1 (^t/_c) 11:41, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Any sysop can tell you that they might block you. But saying this is your last edit is not a reasonable or entirely valid option. I'm glad you reported this here; you may want to consider reposting this at the Administrator's noticeboard. Graham (talk, contrib) 17:37, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

The strongest thing I can see before he came here was a warning that his actions "may be considered disruptive" and "are going to be reverted". If I've missed something major please point it out, but if that is what you mean then I strongly advise against going to the Admins' noticeboard because they'll likely tell you that the editor in question was perfectly reasonable and polite in warning you against that course of action. Olaf Davis | Talk 21:25, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Abbey Building Society

I wish to know the Sorting Code for Abbey in Bradford. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.11.0.6 (talk) 10:33, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Hi, this is the page for asking questions about Wikipedia, I'm not sure we could tell you what the sorting code is for a building society but why don't you try the reference desk? Harland1 (^t/_c) 11:43, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Did some research and you might find it here. Harland1 (^t/_c) 11:46, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

How?

How do I become an 'Articles for creation' reviewer? --71.225.85.57 (talk) 12:12, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

First, you'd have to create an account. After that, you can just review the requests on WP:AfC and follow the instructions there. — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 12:36, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

See WP:ACCOUNT for information about creating an account. --Teratornis (talk) 18:40, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Menu bars

I saw on a user page a menu bar. It had an 'Adopt-A-User' icon on it. How'd they do this? I looked at all the menu bars on the WP:User Page Design Center, but I couldn't find any that had that icon. Why is this? --71.225.85.57 (talk) 12:31, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Those are userboxes, a list of which is available here as well as a lot of other places like Category:Userboxes. Some of them are hard to find. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 14:24, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

(ec) What you were looking at was probably a userbox. If you are interested in being adopted, type this on your userpage: {{subst:dated adoptme}}, or contact an adopter From this list: Wikipedia:Adopt-a-User/Adoptee's Area/Adopters. –xenocidic (talk) 14:25, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Signature

Hello,

I was wondering do we have to end post with that signature?

boffinboy 15:04, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

On talk pages and discussions (not articles), one should sign your comments with ~~~~. x42bn6 Talk Mess 15:13, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

If you still have a default signature, 3 tildes (~~~) will sign only your name, omitting the time. 5 tildes (~~~~~) will report ONLY the time. All tilde operations are always substituted; that is, when you save the page, they are replaced with your signature text and the tildes are removed. Example: I signed this post with four tildes. When you edit this page, do you see them still?

Graham (talk, contrib) 17:43, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Creating a new article, but another article has the same title.

I want to create a new article. Your help section tells me how to. The trouble is the article I want to create has the same title as a totally unrelated article, so the method you tell me isn't effective. How can I create an article which shares a title with another article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alecsleigh (talk • contribs) 15:14, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, first of all, what is the article about? Look at the word "Twilight". It could either refer to the time of day Twilight, or to many other things, such as the book, Twilight (novel), or to another book, Twilight (Warriors). Take the category/series, then put it in parentheses after the subject itself. IceUnshattered (talk) 15:19, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Because we technically can't have two articles with the same name, we disambiguate by placing, in parenthesis, the general category the subject falls into, using hatnotes or disambiguation pages when necessary. For example, Artemis Fowl (novel) and Artemis Fowl (series). The guideline page, with more information, is at Wikipedia:Disambiguation. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 15:25, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Create the page with a more specific name and add {{About}} to the existing version. For example, if you want to add a page about Trojan horse in computing, add Trojan horse (computing), and add {{About|the Greek myth|the computing term|Trojan horse (computing)}} to the top of Trojan horse. --h2g2bob (talk) 19:16, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

DELETE

How do you delete a page?, because there is this one page where there is no point of it having its own page and i'd like to nominate it for deletion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cilmino.1fan (talk • contribs) 16:38, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Only administrators can delete pages. To nominate a page for deletion, see Wikipedia:Articles for deletion for all the instructions. See also the deletion policy. Thanks, PeterSymonds (talk) 16:44, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

One can also use any db-... template to nominate an article for speedy deletion, but you must be sure the page is within the criteria for speedy deletion. Graham (talk, contrib) 17:59, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Javascript collection

Is there, by any chance, a collection of common scripts for the /monobook.js part of your user? I want to sample some programs, and, being a programmer, potentially create enough of my own. (Java is close to C++, which I use, but this JavaScript is a little lexically different). Graham (talk, contrib) 18:05, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Here. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 18:22, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Span and Div

Can somebody supply me with an extensive yet easy to understand article on how to use all the aspects of the Div and Span tags? Melab-1 (talk) 18:19, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Start with WP:EIW#Naviga, Help:HTML in wikitext#Span, and Wikipedia:Span tags. --Teratornis (talk) 18:31, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

"Easy to understand" is different for everybody, depending primarily on their prior knowledge of related material, and to a lesser extent on their IQ. However, on Wikipedia, anyone can edit the internal documents, or write additional tutorial documents. If you find something in the internal documents hard to understand, odds are someone else does or will too, so if you can rewrite it to be clearer, or at least mention the unclarity on the document's talk page, you may help the next victim editor who tries to learn it. In other words, don't just experience problems on Wikipedia, but think about how to fix the problems for the next person. To the extent that Wikipedia is usable right now, it's because of all the little refinements and improvements people have accumulated thus far. --Teratornis (talk) 18:38, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm smart but still I haven't learned much about it but it's confusing so anything like my request would be fine. And when I "Easy to understand" I mean for someone who has basic knowledge of html tags and attributes like href for the <a> tag and basic knowledge of wiki syntax. Melab-1 (talk) 19:46, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Also see Span and div. There might not be one single article on Wikipedia that tells how to use "all aspects" of div and span, since each one allows for CSS styles, so really you are asking about all aspects of CSS too. CSS is not something I'd expect many people to find "easy to understand" in its totality, but if you have some specific application in mind, someone might be able to explain how to do it in a way that is easy to understand. The Editor's index uses span tags to create name anchors for link targets on lines that are not section headings - that's one useful application that comes to mind. --Teratornis (talk) 00:08, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

I mean like how to use some of those CSS style inside those tags. Melab-1 (talk) 15:38, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Alignment

How do you align text oran image image in the vertical cnter of a section or page? Melab-1 (talk) 18:26, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

For images you just add [[Image:<filename>|center]] to align it to the center. I will have to check what to do for text. Anonymous101 (talk) 18:54, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

For text you add <P align="center">text</p>Anonymous101 (talk) 18:55, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

What do you mean by "vertical center"? Normally when we center something, we center it horizonally, that is, we make it equally far from the right and left extents of the page. What you might mean by vertical centering is less clear, as many pages are taller than most user's displays, so the "vertical center" might refer to the vertical center of the entire page, or the vertical center of the portion the user is viewing. --Teratornis (talk) 19:18, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Vertical center of entire page. Melab-1 (talk) 19:36, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Frankly, I'd also like to know to get the vertical center of the view, fixed or not. (Sorry for schmoozing on your question, Melab-1.) Graham (talk, contrib) 19:54, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

One method that comes to mind to center things vertically would be to put the whole page into a table, although that might be an undesirable solution. I doubt it would be suitable for a Wikipedia article. There might be other ways. I'm not an expert on changing the page layout. Someone else could chime in here. --Teratornis (talk) 00:01, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Its okay. Melab-1 (talk) 17:19, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Formatting question

Hi, in The Aquabats article, there is a table listing the band members by album. One of the albums is called "Charge!!", and in order to make it work in the table correctly it is formatted thus: <nowiki>Charge!!</nowiki>. It is supposed to be a wiki-link, but I can't figure out how to make the exclamation points show up in the table if you add the [[ and ]] tags. Does anyone know how? DaRkAgE7 (talk) 19:38, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Just type [[Charge!!]] Melab-1 (talk) 19:41, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Tried that, it just messes up the table. Something with the two exclamation marks. See User:Darkage7/Sandbox2 for a graphic depiction, and feel free to make test edits there if you need to. :) DaRkAgE7 (talk) 19:51, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Ok, I figured it out. (I'm surprised my html skills didn't come up with it before) You use html markup for the "!"'s, thus: [[Charge%21%21]], that makes it work perfectly with the table. Issue resolved! DaRkAgE7 (talk) 21:49, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

That's a better solution than my ugly workaround [1] to avoid consecutive !! by using a redirect. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:07, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia a host for fan fiction?

I have some concerns about the "articles" being created at User:SurvivorFANFIC. Most are identical to the Survivor articles on Wikipedia. Others are a mixture of recaps of Survivor seasons copied from the Wikipedia articles and the results of an "internet reality show". I'm not convinced that there is a need for copying and pasting entire articles into user space. I'm also not convinced that the "internet reality show" is notable, although this might not be a concern if it is in user space. I do think that terming it "fanfic" indicates that it is probably a violation of Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought or, as seen in an MfD, or WP:NOTWEBHOST. On of the comments in the MfD also pointed out that Wikipedia hosting fan fiction could be problematic per Legal issues with fan fiction. Is this something that should go to an MfD? GaryColemanFan (talk) 19:38, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried discussing it with the user? If so, and (s)he persists to do so, perhaps you should take this up at WP:RFC or WP:ANI. Cheers, --Mizu onna sango15/^Discuss 21:23, 6 July 2008 (UTC).

Discuss what? I'm not sure how to approach it, as I'm unsure if the pages violate Wikipedia policy. That was why I was asking here. GaryColemanFan (talk) 04:02, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

A user's user space is not a free-for-all to post anything a person likes. As you mention, Wikipedia is not a webhost. If the pages are not for the benefit of Wikipedia, then they are against policy. In what way do those pages assist any article or project on Wikipedia? Simply explain this to the user and, if he refuses to listen, submit it to WP:ANI. -- kainaw™ 04:06, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, those pages do violate policy and have already been put up for deletion here. Cheers. L0b0t (talk) 04:09, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

How to determine who "this user" is

I am designing a User subpage that I would like to be content sensitive based on the current visiting user (for example, for me it would display an extra link, for a friend of mine it would display another special link, etc...). I was wondering if there is a {{USERNAME}} magic word or something to use in an #ifeq: parser expression. Graham (talk, contrib) 20:03, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Nope, and believe me, I've looked. There is no magic word, or any code you can add (short of being a developer and re-working some of the Mediawiki code) to see who's looking at a page, who's edited it last, etc. Hersfold non-admin^(t/a/c) 03:12, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

However, feel free to submit an enhancement request on MediaWiki's bugzilla server. It seems like this would be a popular feature. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 03:53, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, I will submit a request. My only worry is that vandals might take use of this feature; then again, what harm will it cause that hasn't already been done? Graham (talk, contrib) 16:21, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Actually, as the page you linked to says, the Bugzilla server is for reporting bugs. I've reported it to the Village Pump (technical). Graham (talk, contrib) 16:25, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

My request failed, as this feature was previously suggested and denied for technical reasons. Graham (talk, contrib) 21:58, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

How do I report admin abuse?

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

I posted an image and it got it tagged by an admin who asked me to cite the ownership. I corrected my addition and instead of trying to find out what I am trying to do and helping me, he deleted the image. My request for him to explain the reason for the deletion only resulted in him threatening to ban me. He stalks my posts for information on how to report him and recruits other administrators to berate me without due examination. It is my belief that his actions are not from a neutral point of view, that he is not open to assisting newcomers, and that he does not treat editors with respect. How do I bring his actions to the attention of other administrators? Jeffrey Pierce Henderson (talk) 20:06, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Report it at the Administrator's noticeboard. Graham (talk, contrib) 20:24, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Hmmm...Check out this user's talk page...there may be more to the story than you think. User protected identity to avoid edit war

Yep Jeffrey Pierce Henderson started off being extremely rude, and then flippant and then a bit more rude. I wouldn't have helped him I would have blocked him as well as deleting his blatant copyvio. Theresa Knott | The otter sank 20:41, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Wow. It would be very interesting to see the identity of the mystery poster. I would bet dollars to donuts they are involved in this matter. By saying “Check out this user's talk page” this person is assuming that people will judge before investigating the matter thoroughly. What an insult to everyone! There has never been an edit war. There is no basis for your secret post. Doesn’t it look as though some are trying to taint the jury pool? Why is this person following me around and hindering my requests for help? If my concern is invalid, then won’t it fail? Theresa Knott, what blatant copyvio? Can you elaborate on your accusation? It is my opinion that you don’t have the facts. Can you talk to me instead of person in hiding? I am the one asking for help here, not them. Why are you responding like I am not here? I have made many mistakes, but I don’t deserve the disparaging comments. Please tell me you are not one of those few Wikipedia administrators who have contempt for newcomers. Jeffrey Pierce Henderson (talk) 23:41, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Check my talk page. As I did yours. My remarks were based entirely on your behavior there which was bad hence the disparaging comments. Theresa Knott | The otter sank 00:15, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Point taken. I was very rude and that was wrong. Instead of trying to come up with why I was so infantile in my defense, I will focus on how to make sure I maintain a more positive perspective on others intentions. But your statement “blatant copyvio” is still confusing to me. What did I do that was a “blatant copyvio”?Jeffrey Pierce Henderson (talk) 02:42, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

What does "Can you talk to me instead of person in hiding" mean? Please calm down. This page is for help. Mike P ^(WHAT???) 23:49, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Is he threatening Theresa? 76.14.110.81 (talk) 23:56, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

No one is threatening me. Theresa Knott | The otter sank 00:15, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

I am really level headed on this one. Finally, I have learned a little about staying calm. Wikipedia has been great for me personally because I have never needed to exercise restraint in my communication. Wikipedia has made me a better man! The person in hiding will be revealed. Sock puppet masters ALWAYS slip up. There are a small few admins who have latched on to me for reasons I totally understand. I am confident in my ideas, take my edits personal to my demise, and my attitude towards authority needs great improvement. I suspect it was one of these stalker admins who posted a comment in this thread and signed it User protected identity to avoid edit war. I assume only admins can do this. I would like an admin to look into the comment of the words “edit war” as just another way to hide in the shadows and toss malicious ideas at my posts. Simply put, the tactic by this admin in my opinion is a minor form of sock puppetry. There is no evidence of me ever being in an edit war with anyone. Instead of addressing me, the one praying for aid, Theresa ignores me and accuses me of plagiarism. “Can you talk to me instead of person in hiding” means please communicate with me, not the aforementioned mystery (admin?) poster. Jeffrey Pierce Henderson (talk) 02:34, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Would you shut up? OK, I DID THE SECRET POST so I didn't look like a spaz because I found out more details. IT WAS ME. I admitted so at Theresa's talk page. Geez, don't get so paranoid about someone doing that. Graham (talk, contrib) 02:37, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

"take my edits personal to my demise" Reading this disturbed editor's talk page indicate a universal offensive stance against all that wp is all about.76.14.110.81 (talk) 02:45, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

This is on his talk page: "There you go, JennySuck. Now after I squeeze the last load on your puss, I back hand you towards the door". 76.14.110.81 (talk) 02:49, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm closing this discussion. This is the Wikipedia Help Desk. Please take disputes to the appropriate places. Thank you. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 03:20, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

User Page Errors

Should you edit someone's User Page and correct an error (such as a spelling mistake) if there is one? --71.225.85.57 (talk) 20:29, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Not sure of wikipedia's official position, but why take the time? A user page isn't encyclopedic content, and there's not really much reason to worry what someone else's user page says. DaRkAgE7 (talk) 20:34, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Go ahead. you may want to leave a notice on the user's talk page, though. A simple correction is sincere, but an overhaul of layout is vandalism. Try not to cross the fine line. Graham (talk, contrib) 20:36, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

I personally don't feel that anyone should tell new editors that they can edit other people's userpages. Not being snarky, I promise. Mike P ^(WHAT???) 21:17, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

I qoute, by copy-and-paste, "A simple correction is sincere, but an overhaul of layout is vandalism." I think it should be OK by some policy to proofread someone's userpage. If they don't like it, reverting is always an option. Staying cool but assertive, Graham (talk, contrib) 21:22, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Userpage says "In general it is considered polite to avoid substantially editing another's user page without their permission." OK, fixing a typo is not substantial, and some users may be grateful for the help, but you can't guarantee they won't just feel like you were having a go at their command of the language. There are plenty of typos out in articlespace crying out for your copyediting skills. --Karenjc 22:25, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

In short, you probably shouldn't. Some editors may feel offended by this, and/or take it to be vandalism (epecially for IP's). If you must correct an error, please be sure to leave a message on the appropriate user talk page to let them know of the changes you've made. Cheers, --Mizu onna sango15/^Discuss 22:30, 6 July 2008 (UTC).

• I agree with this advice. I remember when I was a newbie a drive-by IP changed the manual numbering of paragraphs on my User page to #s. I'm sure he or she was being helpful, but to me it felt like a bit of unnecessary interference. AndyJones (talk) 07:48, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Menus

How do you make an icon on menu link to a certain page? The icons on my menu still link to those example user pages. How do I change this? --Raddude50 (talk) 22:47, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Copy the text at Wikipedia:User page design center/Menus and subpages/Menu16 and change the links. –thedemonhog talk • edits 22:51, 6 July 2008 (UTC)