Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 June 10

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June 10[edit]

Huh[edit]

Resolved
 – See m:SUL.

When I logged out, this

appeared. But haven't created any accounts (using the name NanohaA'sYuri) at any other wiki. What's that about? NanohaA'sYuriTalk, My master 00:56, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hello! That is defaulted onto everyone's log out screen I believe. Tabor (talk) 01:00, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, this is part of the SUL (single unified login) project, which lets you create an account on every Wikimedia project. For more info about this, see m:SUL on the MetaWiki. macytalk 02:04, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Renaming an Article/Changing Articles Titles[edit]

I'm not exactly new, here, but I'm also not a huge editor beyond minor corrections. What I'd like to know is exactly how to change the title of an article/rename an article? I've been able to glean that it has something to do with redirects, but those confused me. What I'm looking to do is change the title of the Lansing Capital City Airport page to "Capital Regional International Airport" to reflect the airport's official and formal renaming. As opposed to someone simply doing this for me, I'd like to know how to do this, myself, in steps so that I will have learned something. --Criticalthinker (talk) 01:45, 10 June 2008 (UTC) tah downshtrwurwutrwurwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuTEST!TEST!TEST[reply]

At the top of the page click the move tab. In the To new title: field put the article title of your choice. Add a short comment as to why you moved the article and I generally move the talk page as well. (the box should already be checked) The page is now moved. You should fix the double redirects; but if you miss some a bot will get to it. For more information see meta:Help:Moving a page. Hope that helps! §hep¡Talk to me! 02:16, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Sometimes moving a page introduces additional complications. WP:EIW#Moving lists additional links you may want to at least be aware of. Skimming through them would be a good idea before you run into a problem. --Teratornis (talk) 06:13, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Posting articles[edit]

I have been editing many articles on wikipedia but I would like to create my own. How do I do this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 15rthughes (talkcontribs) 01:49, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there. For a simple guide on creating articles, see this page. Cheers, Juliancolton Tropical Cyclone 01:53, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Before creating an article, 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 Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at 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. Paragon12321 (talk) 02:29, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That's all very useful advice, and everyone should follow it. There is a shortcut, if you really want to start from scratch: on your own Talk page, type in the title of the article you want to create inside double square brackets (like this, [ [ title ] ] but without the extra spacing. Save, and click on the connection and you'll go to a blank page ready to start contributing. DOR (HK) (talk) 02:21, 13 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

how to[edit]

up load images and put it in my article —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.124.96.150 (talk) 04:50, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You will need to login or create an account before being able to upload an image or create a new article. Tiggerjay (talk) 04:53, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
(ec) IP addresses cannot upload images. You have to create an account first and then follow the directions at WP:UPLOAD. Hope that helps. --RyRy5 (talk) 04:53, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Template for edit-mode-only in dab pages[edit]

Resolved

I'd like to create a template, that only appears in edit-mode, at the top of any page tagged with a disambig template. Much like the template that appears at the top of this page when adding a comment here. The template would contain 2 or 3 of the MOS:DAB frequent mistakes, like "Each bulleted entry should, in almost every case, have exactly one navigable (blue) link". I'm not sure how to go about building such a template. Thanks for any help. :) -- Quiddity (talk) 05:42, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The key is HTML-style comment tags: <!-- comment comment comment -->. Text placed between these tags will not be displayed while viewing a page, but will be visible while editing it. For example:
''blah blah blah <!-- This is a comment --> kitty cat''

Produces: blah blah blah kitty cat

The comment can be long, short, on its own line or mixed in with other text, and so forth. The key is that any such template will need to be substed to be effective. See {{NoMoreLinks}} for a working example, if you like. – Luna Santin (talk) 05:57, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I was hoping to have the template-message at the top of every disambig page by default, without having to make 100,000 odd edits, or add more code-cruft... ;) -- Quiddity (talk) 07:52, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The feature you refer to in adding a comment is not a template, because the text appears above the edit window rather than in it. It is closer to dynamically changing the user interface of MediaWiki, but not by the usual method of editing a page in the MediaWiki: namespace. See: Wikipedia talk:Help desk/Archive 5#Bug 5175 has been fixed; the Help Desk could do with an editintro. I don't know whether you can get that exact effect to appear when a user merely edits a page. For example, when we edit the Help desk by clicking a section-edit link to answer a question, the editintro argument page (Wikipedia:Help_Desk/editintro) does not appear above the edit window. See mw:Extension:Inputbox to see how that works. I don't know if there is a way to trigger the editintro feature from the standard Wikipedia edit links on an existing article, but ten minutes ago I wasn't even aware of the editintro feature, so who knows. --Teratornis (talk) 06:52, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, yes, I should've clarified that I understand the same hack can't be used for my request. ;)
I wasn't sure whether to ask this here, or at WP:VPT. If it's an esoteric plan, I'll take it there!
I guess MediaWiki:Talkpagetext is a better example, too. -- Quiddity (talk) 07:52, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The way that redirects only show their {{r from...}} template in edit mode is another route.
I've asked at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 132#Template for edit-mode-only in dab pages. Thanks again. -- Quiddity (talk) 21:27, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved at WP:VPT. Thanks. -- Quiddity (talk) 02:28, 12 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

blacklisted?[edit]

I have been a contributor before and found a short piece on lox. Just wrote an article about how to home-cure salmon and tried to add it as a reference. Received a "blacklist" smack-down.

Why?

Thanks, Jacqueline Church —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jacquelinec (talkcontribs) 05:49, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The page you tried to cite was on the Mediawiki:Spam-blacklist, I think. On a side-note, you're not supposed to cite stuff you wrote yourself... it's part of WP:Reliable sources. Calvin 1998 (t-c) 05:52, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, Thanks, I didn't know that. I had added something a while back when I wrote some content that was useful and relevant. No one was blacklisting me then. Maybe that's changed? Blacklisting seems a little harsh for a protocol violation. It's not as if I'm spamming.I also cite more content reference material in my work than MANY articles on wiki...just as an aside.

Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jacquelinec (talkcontribs) 01:36, 13 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How can I create a link to a section of another article?[edit]

Basically I wish to create a link in one article to the character profile Tim Nice-But-Dim in the article Harry Enfield's Television Programme. Could somebody please advise me as to how I might do this. Many thanks. Flaming Ferrari (talk) 05:57, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You use Article name#Section title. For example, to link to this discussion, you would use Wikipedia:Help desk#How can I create a link to a section of another article?. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 06:03, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
But what your pointing out is impossible. You can only link to what Conman said is only possible if it is a section, no matter level, and nothing else. In the article you showed us, it is bold faced so it cannot be done. --RyRy5 (talk) 06:06, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Section heading create an HTML anchor, which is what you actually link to. You can create your own anchor using the template named... {{anchor}}. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 07:49, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

cookies are n, you woon't accept tham.[edit]

I am trying to create an account and or trying to log in and it says cookis are needed, yours are turned off. I have checked my settings-cookies are enabled and I have several in it; wh won't your rogram acceppt that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.166.159.204 (talk) 06:24, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

These kinds of problems depend on the specific Web browser you are using. You will need to tell us what browser you are using. Or you can read through the links under WP:EIW#Browser such as Wikipedia:Browser notes and m:Browser issues with MediaWiki. Another possibility is to search the Help desk archive for: cookie - quite a few cookie-related questions have appeared before. --Teratornis (talk) 07:14, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Shredding[edit]

Does wikipedia would "SHRED" data whatever articles, images, discussions, and any other? SHRED and similar mean permanently erases from wikimedia servers and UNABLE to recover or undelete by anyone even through sysops, stewards, and oversighters.

What's sistation to being shred.140.128.151.245 (talk) 06:35, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Your question is difficult to read in places (what is "sistation"?), and I don't know the answer, but if the answer to your question is in writing somewhere, it is probably in one of the pages under WP:EIW#AfD-etc. Note that sites outside Wikipedia can mirror or archive Wikipedia's content, so even if someone could utterly obliterate an item from Wikipedia, copies could still exist elsewhere. For example, see the interesting Deletionpedia. Wikipedia handles text and images differently; see Help:Image#Revision history of pages containing images and Help:Page history#Image history. It looks like deleted images are totally gone from Wikipedia (although copies could still exist on mirror sites). --Teratornis (talk) 07:10, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, images are deleted (presumably to save space), but I don't believe text ever is. Even oversighted edits are visible to oversights. The devs could directly delete text from the database, of course, but I don't think they have ever done so. Algebraist 08:08, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I thought that Wikipedia has to maintain text (or at least history records) under the GDFL. Possibly I am thinking of something else? TNX-Man 11:48, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
That is correct, but some types of edits (eg copyvio and libel) are removed completely from the view of users, including in the page history. SpinningSpark 13:03, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
By my reading of the GFDL, deletion of individual revisions and oversight both violate it. If only we were using a licence actually designed for Wikipedia... Algebraist 13:09, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Aren't deleted articles permanently deleted sometimes? I thought I read somewhere that there were. Harland1 (t/c) 13:42, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe you are thinking of Wikipedia:Revision hiding. --Teratornis (talk) 21:40, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

My mean is erasing from wikipedia servers, not just hiding from public view and will not have any possible to restore it, like file shardding softwares on local computer.

If not, wikipedia will be like store-house consciousness, a place to preserve anything permanently.219.68.144.162 (talk) 13:07, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

railway platform[edit]

what do we say for railway platform in hindi and sanskrit? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.224.113.90 (talk) 06:45, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

On the Help desk, we would say you have to ask this question on the Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language. It's unlikely that any Help desk volunteers who happen to be reading just now speak Hindi or Sanskrit, but I suppose someone will prove me wrong now. --Teratornis (talk) 06:56, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Downloading Flickr images[edit]

There is something odd about this and this image because I can not download them. I want to use the former as the main image at Exelon Pavilions and the latter as a supporting image at McDonald's Cycle Center. They are only downloading as a 1x1px gif for me.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 07:25, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The images are actually here and here. However, they're both fully compyrighted, and not fair use, so they shouldn't be on Wikipedia unless you can persuade the owner to release them under a free licence. Algebraist 07:52, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
btw, that's a feature of Flickr. They're trying to make it harder to download images the owner doesn't want downloaded. Algebraist 08:01, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I have been talking to the author about using the Exelon Pavilion one and he has asked me what he needs to do. I told him to change the license on flickr and he did. I don't know why they aren't changed where you are pointing me to, but I am going to copy those to commons and point to the flickr pages above as the source.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 08:13, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The images got deleted from commons I see. I thought I would get seven days to work it out before they got deleted. The guy has flickr mailed me and I think he is going to change the images. The articles are going to be on the main page of WP by the weekend in the DYK process and I wanted the images to be see. I guess if he was yanking my chain maybe I should have waited.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 14:23, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I finally have gotten the images properly licensed with the enticement of a DYK main page appearance.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 23:58, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hindi Translation[edit]

Hindi Translation has been withdrawn. I request you to kindly retore the same

Vikram Malhotra —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.144.62.130 (talk) 11:59, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Was this a translation in an article? Or or a link to the Hindi wikipedia in an article? Sorry not to be of more help. Harland1 (t/c) 12:41, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Possibly he means he is withdrawing his question about railway platforms above. SpinningSpark 13:31, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Possibly but it is a different IP. Harland1 (t/c) 13:37, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Possible Plagerism[edit]

With this article. Call it a hunch. Can someone check this out? I don't have access to the internet (outside of Wikipedia) at the moment. --Endless Dan 12:37, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's a little suspicius it was added all here by an anon. But I've done a google on bits of it and nothing but wikipedia comes up. It could however be from a book. Harland1 (t/c) 12:46, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I'm gonna knock it out as it doesn't sit well with me considering this contributor's previous contributions. --Endless Dan 12:50, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

man made disaster[edit]

what is road-accident? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.145.131.216 (talk) 13:06, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The answer you're looking for may be here. Please note that the Help Desk is for questions about using Wikipedia. Cheers! TNX-Man 13:08, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Next time you have a question like this try the Wikipedia:Reference desk which specialises in knowledge questions and can answer almost anything except how to use Wikipedia which is what this desk is for. SpinningSpark 13:11, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Linking to Wikipedia in a frame[edit]

I am building a web site in which a link to a Wikipedia article will be provided alongside other links on the same topic, and the linked-to page will appear in an IFrame. Yes, I know all the reasons people say not to use frames; this is for a specific atypical use case.

The issue I'm running into is that when a Wikipedia page is viewed in an IFrame, the mouse wheel does not scroll it. What's more, the arrow keys won't scroll it either. Clicking inside the IFrame doesn't help.

I'm not having this problem with any other site. It's just Wikipedia.

Any ideas? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaleb70 (talkcontribs) 13:42, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The best place to ask a question like this would be at the reference desks. Mr. GreenHit Me UpAbout Me 15:39, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I'm a little confused as to how this is a reference desk question. It's a question about using Wikipedia. It's Wikipedia that's not functioning properly when it appears in a frame. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaleb70 (talkcontribs) 16:07, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Please, just don't do it. The Foundation is apt to block your site from doing it anyway: Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks#Remote loading. If you want to serve a Wikipedia article, then make a local copy of it, including appropriate references to the article history and the GFDL. Wikipedia's servers suffer enough delivering content for this site; they're not meant to be used to serve content inside anyone else's site. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:46, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Clarification: I am *not* remote-loading. I am linking. You click a link and it takes you to the page. The link simply has a target attribute directing it to a particular frame. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaleb70 (talkcontribs) 16:04, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The Help desk is for questions about using Wikipedia, and there are lots of ways to use Wikipedia. However, the volunteers who monitor the Help desk can only answer questions about the ways to use Wikipedia they happen to know something about. If none of the Help desk volunteers who are paying attention just now know anything about the way you want to use Wikipedia, then you won't get a useful answer here. Thus the good faith way to interpret Mr. Green's advice would be as his belief about where you might be more likely to get an answer. Asking about IFrames on Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing or possibly Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) would expose your question to more users who focus on technical issues. And please read How To Ask Questions The Smart Way. In particular, you are asking about your step, but not your goal. If you clearly explain why you want to display Wikipedia articles in an IFrame, someone might suggest an alternative method that solves or avoids the problem you are having. --Teratornis (talk) 18:07, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Tag image for speedy delete[edit]

Resolved
 – Image deleted. --TNX-Man 15:57, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. I am wanting to tag an image for speedy delete, but after reading through the procedures on how to do so, I'm extremely confused. I'm supposed to add such-and-such tag to the image page, but only if it's been tagged with some other tag for a minimum of X number of days, and honestly my brain is about to explode. The image is a copyrighted work tagged under fair use. There are four reasons I believe it qualifies for speedy deletion. 1) It is orphaned. 2) It has no fair-use rational. 3) It's tagged with the wrong license template. 4) It's 900px wide. I'm stuck - what do I do? The image in question is here. Thanks for your help! --hamu♥hamu (talk) 15:16, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I've been rouge and deleted it. Non-free images that are unused qualify for speedy deletion. :) Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 15:19, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, Peter. My brain can stop swimming now. :) --hamu♥hamu (talk) 15:24, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

SUL[edit]

When accounts are merged how are they automatically created, exactly? (Since usernames are just reserved... the accounts aren't actually created until at least you logon... but, sometimes it seems accounts are created without even logging in intentionally... so, how exactly?) 212.219.0.19 (talk) 15:55, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

They're created when you view one wiki when logged onto another, or when you log onto a wiki you've never previously visited with a username that exists on another wiki, as long as that username has been created as a global account. --ais523 16:23, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
So I practically should try to avoid going on other wikis (like wikis with languages I don't know) if I don't want an account on them? Should I delete those already created? (Through stewards?) Or... should I strive to create accounts on all wikis? O_o 212.219.0.19 (talk) 16:37, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
A global account theoretically extends to all wikis anyway; the autocreation is just how it's implemented, and works effectively the same way as if all the accounts were created at the time you merged your accounts. An autocreated account that you never use isn't a problem; exactly the same things will happen whether it was created or not, if you never use it. Deliberately autocreating accounts which you don't plan to use is a little pointless, though. --ais523 16:41, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
I understand. Thanks! 212.219.0.19 (talk) 16:44, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
See m:Help:Unified login and m:Single signon transition. --Teratornis (talk) 17:41, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How do you create branches in the Route Diagram Template for Railways?[edit]

I am currently making a map of a underground line, but it has a branch off. I don't know how to do these in HTML form. Please help me! A1personage (talk) 17:00, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This isn't what i was after!!!!!!! How do you put branches off in railway diagrams? A1personage (talk) 17:09, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

OK first, a little civility is in order. Second, it is not clear what you are referring to. Is this in relation to an image or article already on WP? If so, please provide the name of the page. If it is a general, non-WP related, question, try the reference desk. – ukexpat (talk) 17:20, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
User:Geof Sheppard may be able to help you - I would recommend asking him. DuncanHill (talk) 17:16, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hey calm, down. That was just someone else asking a new question without putting in a heading. The maps in the articles you seem to be editing are in SVG format (scaled vector graphics). You need to get an SVG editor. You can get one FREE from Inkscape here[1]. While it is theoretically possible to edit SVG files with a text editor, don't bother to try unless you are a real expert. SpinningSpark 17:20, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! A1personage (talk) 17:29, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia Traffic stats[edit]

Hi, is it possible to obtain Wikipedia traffic stats on the daily basis for 2001-2003 the way they are presented in the following page: [2]  ? I need it for an estimation of traffic growth rate for my university project. I would really appreciate! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.139.30.160 (talk) 17:06, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! I doubt it's availiable. There is Wikipedia:Traffic, but that's out of date, and there's WP:AWARE, but that doesn't give you as much detail. You might like to try [3] - this might give you a little more info. :-) Stwalkerstertalk ] 17:21, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wait Time After Submitting Article Request[edit]

How long does it take for an article to be created once it has been submitted to the 'Request Article' page?

Loomstate (talk) 17:18, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Whenever a helper gets around to reviewing it. :-) Stwalkerstertalk ] 17:21, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
How long is a piece of string? There is no guarantee that the article will ever be created. It waits until an editor comes along who happens to find that subject interesting. It is only meant to give suggestions to editors, we are all volunteers so there is no compunction on us to write a particular article. SpinningSpark 17:29, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
See the links under WP:EIW#Missing, for example: Wikipedia:Articles requested for more than a year. (One common limiting factor is the lack of reliable sources on which to base a new article.) Writing new articles on Wikipedia is easy, but making them stick can be much harder. A new article must comply with Wikipedia's complex and generally unintuitive policies and guidelines, or else someone will delete it. Put simply, there are a lot more people who might notice the lack of an article than there are people who know enough about Wikipedia to create those articles and make them stick. People who know a lot about Wikipedia usually know that Wikipedia has lots of existing articles that need cleaning up. Given that Wikipedia has 6,818,599 articles already, and the vast majority are below featured quality, editors who care primarily about Wikipedia (as opposed to caring primarily about some particular subject) will tend to focus on improving the enormous backlog of substandard articles, before adding to the backlog by creating yet more articles that need work. --Teratornis (talk) 17:36, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Now that was really disingenuous Loomstate. You failed to tell us that that page has been deleted as spam and you have been warned three times for vandalistically recreating it. I have deleted your request from the Requested Articles list on the grounds that this is further spamming. SpinningSpark 17:43, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I left an extended unBITEy message on the user talk page, pointing them to our relevant policies and guidelines. —teb728 t c 21:38, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The vague wording in the question turns out to be intentional, then. This seems to be an example of forum shopping. --Teratornis (talk) 17:49, 12 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, I find it quite easy to assume good faith for this user: He’s a newbie who has heard that he can create an article on Wikipedia. His attempted articles are deleted, but the uninformative warnings don’t tell him why; they don’t even mention WP:N or WP:COI. Stumbling around, he finds WP:RA and naïvely thinks it’s good for something; so he posts there. His boss wants to know when the article will be up; so he asks here. His question is not vague (but naïve): it’s precisely what he wants to know. —teb728 t c 21:18, 13 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia Contributors[edit]

Hello,

I was wondering how and where I can find your biggest contributors. I don't see where the author's name is on articles, and would greatly appreciate any help regarding the sites most important authors in the academic and knowledge sharing sphere.

Thanks so much,

Noah Simon —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.205.133.76 (talk) 18:03, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I don't know about "most important" authors, as that is very subjective. I can tell you that this page lists editors by number of edits. Cheers! TNX-Man 18:06, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
By the way, just because a user has so many edits, doesn't mean they are "important". Everyone is equal here at Wikipedia. --RyRy5 (talk) 18:10, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
If you would like help on something this is a great place to ask for it.I can help you if it has anything to do with your userpage or an article.Mr. GreenHit Me UpAbout Me 18:17, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hehe, I kind of doubt that the IP would be having trouble with his/her user page because, well, IPs don't have one. :( But if it's an article, sure, we can all help. --RyRy5 (talk) 18:20, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Good point....Actually I can't help I have to get of in 2 seconds but I will tommarow.That goes for anybody on this Help Page....YEA!!!!Mr. GreenHit Me UpAbout Me 18:24, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
While it has already been said that the top contributor has very little relevace to the knowledge of a particular editor on an article, there are various tools such as: this one which can display the top editors for an wikipedia article. Tiggerjay (talk) 19:49, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Creating a new Wikipedia page[edit]

How do I create a new wikipedia page with new information on a topic? Marlouis1 (talk) 19:31, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This guide is really helpful in terms of getting started. It lists a lot of info to aid with getting an article off the ground. Good luck! TNX-Man 19:33, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You sound like some of my old socks (sorry!). Check WP:FIRST. StewieGriffin! • Talk Sign 20:16, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Before creating an article, 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 Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at 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.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:23, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

watchlist-compatible rollback?[edit]

Hi. Is there a way to make rollback Watchlist-compatible that works with IE? Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 20:33, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you asking for way to list the "rollback" option on your watchlist? TNX-Man 21:58, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
If that is what your asking, rollback does not appears on IE nor Firefox. Tiggerjay (talk) 03:23, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Graphical timelines problem[edit]

Hello,

When I tried to insert this specific graphical timeline, the timeline would not show up under specific text values:

| NAseats = <timeline> ImageSize = width:100 height:25 PlotArea = left:0 bottom:0 top:0 right:0 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:577 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = early Colors = id:gray value:rgb(0.85,0.85,0.85) id:darkgray value:rgb(0.27,0.27,0.27) id:midgray value:rgb(0.57,0.57,0.57) id:blue value:rgb(0.07, 0.44, 0.76) id:green value:rgb(0.38, 0.73, 0.27) id:orange value:rgb(1, 0.55, 0) id:red value:rgb(0.80,0, 0) BarData = bar:Wikipedias PlotData= bar:Wikipedias from:0 till:577 color:gray width:0.2in text:/577 bar:Wikipedias from:0 till:313 color:blue width:0.2in text:312 </timeline>

| NAseats =

If you enter both values to be till:313 and text:313, the timeline doesn't show up. If you enter till:313 and text:312, it will show up. If you put both as 312, it won't work, and neither will till:312 and text:313.

Like this:

| NAseats = <timeline> ImageSize = width:100 height:25 PlotArea = left:0 bottom:0 top:0 right:0 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:577 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = early Colors = id:gray value:rgb(0.85,0.85,0.85) id:darkgray value:rgb(0.27,0.27,0.27) id:midgray value:rgb(0.57,0.57,0.57) id:blue value:rgb(0.07, 0.44, 0.76) id:green value:rgb(0.38, 0.73, 0.27) id:orange value:rgb(1, 0.55, 0) id:red value:rgb(0.80,0, 0) BarData = bar:Wikipedias PlotData= bar:Wikipedias from:0 till:577 color:gray width:0.2in text:/577 bar:Wikipedias from:0 till:313 color:blue width:0.2in text:313 </timeline>


The template is used on this page Union for a Popular Movement, and the same problem doesn't come up on the two other timelines (SEN and EP) used there.

I desperately need help on this. could someone answer me or direct me somewhere to fix it? i really need help and want to fix it fast. thanks and i hope i get a speedy answer :)

--Petrovic-Njegos (talk) 21:52, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Contributions/Edits[edit]

Resolved
 – Number of edits found. --TNX-Man 22:17, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I was wondering if there was a way to know exactly how many edits one has made on wikipedia. I se them mentioned in RFA pages, but I wondered if I could find how many I had made, or if it was a special Admin tool for special occasions. Many thanks, Skinny87 (talk) 22:00, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can use this tool or just click on "my preferences". The difference between the two is that you preferences also includes deleted edits. Pedro :  Chat  22:02, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Oh hey, thanks for that. Gosh, 1277. Seems so low when I feel like I've been so busy :) Skinny87 (talk) 22:15, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

block[edit]

How can I block a site like this [[4]]? Thnx. Kawe2620 (talk) 22:01, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What do you mean by "block" exactly? Did you want the article removed, for example? Pedro :  Chat  22:03, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
(Edit conflict) I'm not sure what you mean by "block" the site. If you mean block it on Wikipedia, you could nominate the article for deletion, but I don't think it would pass. If you mean block it on your computer, you may want check at the reference desk, as they help with computer/ browser questions. TNX-Man 22:05, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I think he meant page protection. Please request it through Wikipedia:Requests for page protection. Thanks, PeterSymonds (talk) 22:07, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I mean that nobody can edit the page. Kawe2620 (talk) 22:16, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Then PeterSymonds has the right idea: WP:Requests for page protection. Cheers! TNX-Man 22:18, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hehe, I'm just good. ;) But seriously, Kawe, you have to understand a few things about page locking (called protection) first. Wikipedia:Protection policy is a good place to start. There are two types of protection: "full" protection, which locks the page for everyone who isn't an administrator. Then there's semi-protection, which locks the page for everyone who is either not logged in, or who has not had an account for four days and made 10 edits (autoconfirmed). The page is locked in few circumstances, the most common one being semi-protection against IP-vandalism. Please read the protection policy link above for all the reasons. Only administrators can protect pages, and therefore the request must be made at the requests page. Feel free to ask here or on my talk page if you need any assistance. Thanks! PeterSymonds (talk) 22:38, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Changing Signature[edit]

How do I add colours to my signature? Tabor (talk) 23:55, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Taborlechner. This page might be of some help. JamieS93 23:58, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you! Tabor (talk) 00:01, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Do I just use HTML to change the colours? Tabor 00:06, 11 June 2008 (UTC)
(edit conflict) Well first go to "my preferences" the add something like <font face="" color="pink">this</font> which will produce this. Regarding the colour, you can use basic colour asignments like "black" "blue" or more varied colour assignments like hex "FFFFFF" "FF33FF". here is a link to a hex colour chart [5]. So this is another example, this time using hex code:Tabor. The required code.<font face="" color="33EE77">Tabor</font> --Kerotan-Have a nice day :) 00:10, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
As a web developer in the making, I would recommend avoiding the deprecated <font> tag. A preferable alternative would be using span tags (<span style="color:#FF33FF">using span tags</span>), where you would replace the hex code "FF33FF" with the color of your choice. Kal (talk) 00:59, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Normally, I would agree with using CSS, but you only get 255 characters for the signature- HTML can be more compact. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) talk - 01:43, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
<font> is deprecated Antonio Lopez (talk) 01:46, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]