Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2008 March 26

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March 26

Adoption

I am an experienced editor with over 1,600+ edits. I was looking foward to adopt users so long but then, were blocked. The block was proven unnesesary, and I was proven a good editor. Is there any exception so I can get to adopt a new user? Nothing444 00:43, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

It appears as though the blocking administrator unblocked you both times. Are you worried this will hamper your chances of adopting a new user? Since it was rescinded, I don't believe it should be a problem. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 00:46, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

At Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user it says "Adopters should not have any recent blocks (last 6 months) or caused vandalism (last 3 months)." I looked at your block log and talk page, and the situation appears to me to be that you were blocked for violating policies, and that you were unblocked not because the original blocks were found to be in error, but because you said you were going to change. Therefore, adopting doesn't seem to be a good idea at this time. I suggest waiting six months. --Coppertwig (talk) 03:27, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Dude dont worry about, i have adopted two and its not really all its cracked up to be. БοņёŠɓɤĭĠ₳₯є 04:03, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

globalization

what are the advantages of globalization?

For very general queries such as this, you can just try the search bar on the left, or click on the following link: Globalization#Pro-globalization (globalism). Also, questions that are not about Wikipedia itself should be directed to the reference desk. Someguy1221 (talk) 01:36, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Help! Trying to add bio.

Hello, I am trying to add the President of my company bio to wikipedia and I am having trouble. My President has provided a bio that he also provided to Northwestern, however he would like to have it added to wikipedia. When I added it, wikipedia deleted it stating I was copywriting it. Please help, as we would like to have it on wikipedia.—Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{2}}}|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{2}}}|contribs]]) 02:19, March 26, 2008 69.47.222.146

If you work for the guy, then you have a major conflict of interest and certainly should not be writing about him. --Orange Mike | Talk 02:22, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I am not writing about him, I didn't create the bio. I am just adding the bio to wikepedia.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.47.222.146 (talk • contribs) 02:31, March 26, 2008

Creating an article about your employer is very definitely a violation of our conflict-of-interest rules, regardless of who wrote the words; and since you say you didn't write the words, there is also a copyright violation involved. --Orange Mike | Talk 02:39, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Ok. I am new to this whole thing. What is the best way to have his bio added to wikedpedia? I am not trying to do anything incorrect, this is a learning process for me. What would you suggest? Thanks.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.47.222.146 (talk • contribs) 02:46, March 26, 2008

First, you'll need to create an account. You cannot create a new article unless you are logged in. Second, once you've created an account, you'll want to create the article in a sandbox page. We can explain how to do that here, once you're logged in. Finally, you'll need to make sure the article adheres to our rules. Specifically WP:V, WP:N and WP:BLP. -- Kesh (talk) 02:49, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Another alternative doesn't require an account - submit it to Wikipedia:Articles for creation. You will still have to write it up to Wikipedia standards (see the links Kesh provided, plus Wikipedia:Your first article), and it will be reviewed by a Wikipedia editor and turned into an article if they think it's up to scratch. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 12:37, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

hansborough article

Sorry about the article, I accidently screwed it up...not intended as vandalism.

-HM

All fixed. Don't worry about it. Someguy1221 (talk) 04:16, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Search different from a link

Why does a "search" work differently from a link, when there is a difference in capitalization? A search for "The Immortal Game" finds the article Immortal game, but The Immortal Game is a red link. Bubba73 (talk), 04:15, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Links are partially caps sensitive so if two things have the same name with different capitalizations, you can link to exactly what you want. As an example, you can link to Red Dwarf and red dwarf without having to complicate the titles at all The search bar should just take you to anything that matches if it exists, and we wouldn't expect people to type with correct capitalization all the time or possibly ever (for some people) when entering a search item. Someguy1221 (talk) 04:21, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

There probably aren't that many where a different capitalization makes sense. Just in chess, there are probably dozens of check (chess), etc, and none that I know of that rely on different capitalizations. Several times I've typed in something before making a link, and it works, then I put it in a link, and it is a red link. Bubba73 (talk), 05:29, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I should state that I'm talking about clicking "GO" rather than "Search" above. Bubba73 (talk), 05:33, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Check out Help:Go button. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 12:33, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

toplogy

Resolved

117.193.225.44 (talk) 05:08, 26 March 2008 (UTC)what is topology? uses of topology

Click me. In the future, you can just type words into the search bar on the upper left to find out what they mean. If you have any more questions that aren't about Wikipedia, please ask at the reference desk. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:10, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

And dont forget to click the "go" button = )...--Cameron (t/c) 12:00, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

the electoral 1824

What responsibility did the house have in the election of 1824 and what was the outcome of the election?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.242.78.174 (talk • contribs)

Please sign future edits with four tildes (~~~~). This page is about the use of Wikipedia. For the information you are looking for please see WP:RD. Thanks--Cameron (t/c) 12:51, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here to not do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn how to solve such problems. You are free to read our article, United States presidential election, 1824 and attempt to solve the problem yourself first. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, feel free to tell us where you are stuck and ask for help at the Reference Desk (not here). Thank you.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:57, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Images not appearing

Resolved

In transcluded sections 6-11 at Portal:Chicago/Did you know why aren't the pictures all showing?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 14:08, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Some of the images needed a purge for some reason. Not sure why exactly. Issue seems to be gone now. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 14:47, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the help.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 18:27, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Creating a new page related to an exisiting one

I am an intern at Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. On the Boston University Wikipedia page there are links to Wikipedia articles for the other colleges within the University, but not for Sargent. We would like to add a page for Sargent accessible through a link on BU's Wikipedia page, but when I tried to create an article for Sargent it was speedily deleted. How do I create an article for Sargent, accessible through a link on BU's article, without it getting deleted? Thanks so much for your help! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Npavlas (talk • contribs) 08:11, March 26, 2008

The reason for the speedy deletion was noted here. Basically, the reason was that the article sounded more like a promotional brochure than an encyclopedia article. If you disagree, you can ask NawlinWiki, who was responsible for the speedy deletion. You might also want to read Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, What Wikipedia is not, and Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. —P^urpleRA^IN 14:52, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

learn to fly planes

up to what age can you learn to fly I know you can start at age 17yrs but what if I am 55yrs and want to learn to fly.

Please sign future edits with four tildes (Cameron (t/c) 14:20, 26 March 2008 (UTC)). This page is about the use of Wikipedia. For the information you are looking for please see WP:RD. Thanks --Cameron (t/c) 14:20, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

In the news only this last weekend, a pensioner (over 65?) got her pilot's license. Astronaut (talk) 14:40, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Depending on how long you wish to continue flying, and on your budget, you might want to read about Peak oil and sailplanes. Powered flight depends, at the moment, almost entirely on liquid fuels from petroleum, and these fuels have been increasing rapidly in price. A pretty good argument can be made from Hubbert peak theory that oil prices will continue to rise, perhaps substantially, and outright shortages may occur. This would tend to put pressure on activities such as flying which use large amounts of liquid fuels and could be viewed as expendable. If your interest in flying is purely sporting, you might want to look into unpowered flight, as that should continue to be an option even if liquid fuel shortages become serious (assuming the resulting economic disruption doesn't put too great a crimp on fun generally). Many sailplanes rely on powered aircraft to launch them, but other launch options could include electrically-powered winch towing, or perhaps even battery-powered propellers for self-launching. The peak oil problem affects liquid fuels primarily, so electricity from other sources (e.g., coal and renewable energy) does not appear to be immediately threatened. --Teratornis (talk) 18:42, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

my talkpage

I have a Vandal-Box on my talk page. When an edit is made it goes to the vandal-box, and not in main content box, where it should be. If somebody could help and solve the problem, that would be nice. ThanksAjjay (talk) 14:30, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

As far as I understand it, the "+" button at the top of the screen just adds to the end of the current page. Your "vandal box" is at the end of the page, so anything that's added shows up in the vandal box. My only suggestion would be to move the box to the beginning of the page or onto a separate page (with a link from your talk page). Perhaps the author of the "vandal box" code would be able to offer more help? —P^urpleRA^IN 14:43, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

password problems

I have repeatedly asked for you to send me the proper password from my account "teacherwriter" (even though I repeatedly entered what it should be) when will this info arrive? thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.192.222.2 (talk • contribs) 15:36, March 26, 2008

I assume that you have clicked the E-mail new password link on the page Special:UserLogin. As long as you "teacherwriter" is typed in the username field, a new password should be emailed to you almost instantaneously. This only works, however, if you specified an email address when you registered the account. Otherwise, I'm afraid that your password is impossible to recover. Canderson7 ^(talk) 15:42, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

and since you have never made any edits under the name User:Teacherwriter just create a new account. Gtstricky^{Talk or C} 15:45, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

creating page, same name

I am trying to create a page about an Artist I am Researching, but someone has already created a page under that name. what can I do?

The page I am trying to create is Ruth Howard (full name of artist) and the page already there is for Ruth Winifred Howard who was a phsycologist. In the ideal world I would change the other entry to Ruth_W_Howard is this possible? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Moonsprt78 (talk • contribs)

Yes. See: WP:MOVE and WP:DISAMBIG. If you are new to Wikipedia, those pages may be hard to understand at first. Let us know if you need help. Special:Contributions/Moonsprt78 shows that you started the Ruth Howard (artist) article. Please see:

• WP:LAYOUT for information about our article layout guidelines.
• WP:BIO for our biography guidelines.
• WP:WWMPD for information about an all-too-common fate for new articles by new users: deletion! You should save a copy of your article on your own computer in case someone nominates the article for deletion. (Wikipedia deletes thousands of new articles, and this fact is often not apparent to new users.) To be on the safe side, you might see Wikipedia:Userfication as a way to give yourself time to work on the article before throwing it to the wolves, so to speak.

Welcome to Wikipedia! --Teratornis (talk) 19:50, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I could also mention:

• Help:Link for making links.
• WP:CITE, WP:FOOT, and WP:CITET for making footnotes.
• Help:Category for categorizing your article.
• Some WikiProjects your article could be in:
  • Wikipedia:WikiProject Arts
  • Wikipedia:WikiProject Biography

This is a lot of material to absorb. If it seems overwhelming at first, it should. But having all these rules and guidelines and tools and stuff is what makes Wikipedia one of the world's top ten Web sites. Learning to edit on Wikipedia is well worth the trouble. --Teratornis (talk) 20:03, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Article Naming Conflict

Resolved

By coincidence, I have question similar to the unsigned one above. I want to create a new article -- a mere stub, probably -- about one of the celebrated heros of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Unfortunately, this "famous" man's name presents problems. The middle name is not easily found, and there is already an Wikipedia article and an entry in the 1909 Dictionary of National Biography about another Samuel Robinson.

1. Samuel Robinson (1794-1833): UK industrialist, philanthoprist in 1909 DNB

2. Samuel Robinson (CP ships captain) (1870-1958): Candian Pacific Steamships Ocean Services Ltd. captain -- KBE (1928), Order of the Chrysanthemum (1927),

3. Samuel Murray Robinson (1882-1972): US Navy, Admiral -- KBE (1948)

There is also another naval officer in Wikipedia, and both the US Navy Admiral and this celebrated captain of Canadian Pacific trans-Pacific service are Knights Commander of the British Empire, so I can't use "KBE" as a distinguishing element in the new article's title. The Capt. Robinson I want to write about used the initials, "RNR", after his name -- but up through 1910, the Royal Canadian Navy was in integrated element of the Royal Navy ... which means that my subject could easily have been either a British citizen (his portrait hangs at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, London) or a Canadian one (a silver commemorative plaque is on display at the Vancouver Maritime Museum). It may be that Capt. Robinson served as a ships captain in 1914 in the Empire Indian Ocean fleet during WWI, when Canadian Pacific ships like the "Empress of Asia" would have been brought into war service ... but perhaps this begins to be more than needs to be explained in this context.

I should think that this is enough background information? What shall I entitle the new article? If the answer isn't obvious -- fine. Just let me know what kind of things I should likely look for to resolve my trivial dilemma? --Tenmei (talk) 17:46, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

For the first one, I would put the page at Ruth Howard (artist), as for the second maybe Samuel Robinson (Great Kanto Earthquake)? That might not be normal, but its the best I can come up with. Paragon12321 (talk) 17:50, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't know that this helps, but you could look at disambiguation pages for some extremely common names such as James Smith, Robert Smith, Robert Jones, etc., to see how other editors have resolved some thorny disambiguation problems. Maybe you will get some ideas. For example, we have Rob Jones (footballer born 1971) and Rob Jones (footballer born 1979), so birth year is one possible disambiguator. Since no two people are exactly alike (not even identical twins) there must always be some way to distinguish two individuals. --Teratornis (talk) 18:04, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Is there anything unacceptable in using Samuel Robinson (CP ships captain)?

• Samuel Robinson (steamship captain)?
• Samuel Robinson (ship captain)?
• Samuel Robinson (captain)?
• Samuel Robinson (KBE, RNR)?

At first blush, something feels a bit awkward about Samuel Robinson (Great Kanto Earthquake). I don't mean to be difficult, but there you have it. I suppose this might be good enough to start -- maybe even a little better than the alternatives I've come up with:

• Samuel Robinson (naval captain, born 1870) ...?

Then I can easily copy this exchange to the Talk page of the new article; and any other interested editors suggest plausible alternatives later when the article develops beyond this initial stub stage? Why don't I postpone creating this article until tomorrow so that there's plenty of time for feedback. --Tenmei (talk) 18:28, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

A question such as "is there anything unacceptable" may not fully capture the real question, which is whether a particular edit on Wikipedia will survive scrutiny by all future editors. Just now only a few editors might weigh in, and we can't predict what future editors will think. From my limited personal viewpoint, I don't see that the precise method of disambiguation is all that important. Lots of articles use lots of methods to disambiguate their titles, and it's easy to move an article if someone later decides a "better" disambiguation is necessary. Without knowing much about the details of the case you mention above, I'd go with Samuel Robinson (CP ships captain) because it seems the most specific, i.e., the least likely to create a future problem if someone wants to write about another Samuel Robinson. For example, there might be other Samuel Robinsons who held the rank of captain, but probably fewer who might have been a CP ships captain. The more specifically you disambiguate a page now, the less likely it will need reworking later. At least, that's the way I would bet. --Teratornis (talk) 19:37, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

The new article has been entitled Samuel Robinson, RNR because (1) this is the way the mariner seems to have identified himself in the 1924 report to Canadian Pacific which details what happened to RMS Empress of Australia during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923-- see here; and (2) I found a book which explained that all Canadian Pacific steamships in this period were captained by men from the Royal Naval Reserve, having an implied cachet in the early years of the 20th century which passes unrecognized (or under-appreciated) today -- see Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986). Transpacific Steam: The Story of Steam Navigation from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Far East and the Antipodes, 1867-1941, p. 238.. There may be a better way to name this article, but this choice is at least plausible and informed. --Tenmei (talk) 14:23, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

second image at top

Is it possible to get a second image in the upper right at Portal:Chicago/Categories. My attempt is not working.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 18:25, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure if this is what you wanted, but i have 2 images in the upper right corner. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 19:36, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Is it possible to go back to two columns of categories with one image to the right of each column at the top?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 21:44, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I have just reverted to a single image. Unless someone can get the two columns and two images working, I will go with that.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 14:39, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Opening IRC

Resolved

I see links to IRCs all over wikipedia but clicking them just opens a page with the following message:
Firefox doesn't know how to open this address because the protocol (irc) isn't associated with any program.
How do I open them? George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 18:56, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

You need an IRC client to open them. Someguy1221 (talk) 18:58, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Does Wikipedia use any client in particular? Does it matter which client I use? Can anyone suggest one for Wikipedia use? Am I asking too many questions? George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 19:56, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

No, no, Chatzilla if you use Firefox, no. Mr.Z-man 20:06, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 21:09, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

adobe reader

how can i save any document in pdf format

In microsoft Word just go to print and click print as PDF and save the document. Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 19:17, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Also, in the future, this page is for asking questions about using Wikipedia. This would have been more appropriate at the reference desk. Cheers! Wisdom89 _{(T / ^C)} 19:18, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

See PDF#Implementations if you aren't running a recent version of Microsoft Word, or you can't open your document in it. --Teratornis (talk) 19:55, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

CutePDF is a good tool. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 20:05, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

watch page

can i be automatically emailed when there are edits to an article i am watching?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Majorz8 (talk • contribs)

Never seen a way, maybe you could make a script for it though. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 20:56, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

My suggestion would be to use an RSS reader that has alerts. See Wikipedia:Syndication. —Noah 21:37, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Pattern identification

Can anyone tell me what the light blue and white patterned background is on the Arabic Wikipedia mainpage, and if so, what code I would use to add it as the background on my userpage?--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 20:54, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Is it the arabic wiki's default skin, like ours is monobook? Just a guess. George D. Watson (Dendodge).Talk^Help 20:55, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

It's at ar:Image:Arabisc1.png. I can't read arabic, but there's a {{PD-old}} template there, which suggests you can upload it freely to en.wikipedia and use it here (you can't access other 'pedias' images directly, I believe). It's possible it's lurking somewhere on en already, of course. Algebraist 22:00, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for finding it! Now to the coding. If I upload it locally, how would I tile the background of my page with it? I'm okay with playing around with existing code to achieve a result, but this is beyond me.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:46, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

No problem. The right mouse button is your friend :) Algebraist 03:38, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Edit your MediaWiki:Monobook.css to have the following code. You can use the url of any publicly accessible image, rather than http://...../Arabisc1.png.

body {
   background: url(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ar/2/26/Arabisc1.png) top left repeat ;
}

Arabic Wikipedia has the code in , which applies it to all skins (this probably isn't as good). See mw:Help:Linked images for more info. --h2g2bob (talk) 23:55, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Ahhh, thank you very much!--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:12, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Hmmm thanks again, but I'm quite confused and I think this is not what I'm looking for. Well, maybe it is and I am misunderstanding. When you said edit my MediaWiki:Monobook.css, do you really mean that or do you mean User:Fuhghettaboutit/monobook.css‎? I just added the code you gave to that, and that changes the display for me on all pages, but there's a few problems with that: I want this to display for others who visit my page, and I want it to display only on my userpage, and I want it on the main part of the page, rather than on the "skin" parts. I also created the page User:Fuhghettaboutit/MediaWiki:monobook.css‎ and added the code, which doesn't seem to have done anything (is this now a nonsense page, that the software wouldn/t recognize). I'm flailing around in my ignorance.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 00:45, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Another Fair Use question

When providing a fair use rationale for an image, such as this one Image:VivioTakamachi.jpg, you do/do not have to provide both a templated and nontemplated rationale. NanohaA'sYuri^{Talk, My master} 22:04, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I'll take B, thanks. A fair-use rationale just has to meet the requirements at WP:FURG to be fully compliant - it just has to contain a link to each article it's used in to avoid the wrath of BetacommandBot. The template is just a way of standardising the rationales, and helps you to make sure that you have included all the necessary components. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:05, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

The use of your image, however, is not a valid use of a non-free image. By WP:NFCC#8 a non-free image may be used only if its presence significantly increases readers’ understanding of the topic, and its omission would be detrimental to that understanding. Your image is hardly more than a decorative illustration of the character. —teb728 t c 23:12, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Infobox Image

Resolved

The infobox image in this article, Chapare River, is too big, and I can't seem to get it any smaller. Can someone fix this. I'm not sure if this appears as large on someone else's browser, but on mine, it stretches way across the top. Spencer^T♦C 22:07, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I have fixed it. There seems to be a problem with images lately. See WP:ClickFix. Nothing444 22:11, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

"Deleted contributions"

What's a deleted contribution? (like at Special:DeletedContributions) Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 23:18, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I think it's contributions to pages which have been deleted. --h2g2bob (talk) 23:28, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

And to individual revisions that have been deleted, but not oversighted. Only admins can see them. Someguy1221 (talk) 23:30, 26 March 2008 (UTC)