Help desk
< May 18	<< Apr \| May \| Jun >>	May 20 >

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.

May 19[edit]

monopolizing the editing of a page[edit]

Resolved

The user who left this question did not sign it. Please sign all talk page messages with a signature (~~~~)

Is there any mechanism to stop the repeated introduction of speculative and irreverent material by a single contributor, despite overwhelming disagreement and objection from readers in the discussion of the page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vcharvieux (talk • contribs) 01:23, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

~~Can you give an example of your topic? Also, can you clarify your question? Thank you.~~--RyRy5 (talk) 01:28, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Beyond attempting to talk to the user via his/her talk page, and directing them to the discussion page for the particular article to get input from other editors, you'll have to start giving them small warnings. If the question is in regards to original research or violations of WP:NPOV and the reliability of sources, you may wish to visit the WP:NPOVN, WP:ORN and WP:RS/N noticeboards or try a request for comment. Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 01:33, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If you think that your problem needs administrator attention, you should ask at the WP:AN/I. But make sure it is serious.--RyRy5 (talk) 01:38, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm familiar with this user's specific problem; he would prefer that the article on Henri Nouwen, the great Christian writer, did not discuss the writer's homosexuality, but every time he blanks the paragraph on the subject, he gets reverted, and so is frustrated. I've tried explaining on his talk page. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 15:27, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Searching for pages sharing several categories[edit]

G'day, I'm trying to find out how I can search for pages that fill more than one category - i.e., is there a way to search for Category:'1999 Films' and Category:'Action Films' which would result in a list of all Action Films released in 1999? 82.15.254.221 (talk) 09:29, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can use the search bar, with the search term 'incategory:"1999 films" incategory:"Action films"', but that will only search the two categories named, and not their subcats such as Category:1990s action films. An alternative capable of scanning subcategories is WP:CATSCAN, though this only works for intersecting two categories, not more. CATSCAN also requires that you get the category names exactly right (for instance, the f is lowercase in the names of the two categories you mentioned). Algebraist 09:42, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Checkuser[edit]

Resolved

1. How do you request to be a Checkuser?

2. Is there a particular age you need to be before you can bceome a bureaucrat or Checkuser? I know that you can become an administrator at any age (I've heard of 12-year old admins), but what about a bureaucrat/Checkuser? Interactive Fiction Expert/Talk to me 09:38, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Per WP:CheckUser, CheckUser rights are granted (very rarely) by the ArbCom. CheckUsers must be at least 18, of legal age, and provide personal identification to the Foundation. Algebraist 09:45, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There does not appear to be a formal age limit for Bureaucrat status. Algebraist 09:51, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There is no formal age for admins either. Wikipedia really cares more about the experience you have on wikipedia, not your age.--RyRy5 (talk) 00:31, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Frowned upon words[edit]

Resolved

IS there a list of words that wikipedia dislikes being used in edits or edit summaries such as a bot might hunt down? Milk Float 10:25, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I know that the Anti-Vandal Tool uses a list of words to flag possible vandalism. ClueBot also works this way when removing profanity. Xenon 54 10:40, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding those antivandals tools, you can see a list of words one of those tools hunts for at User:Lupin/badwords.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:16, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The prior answers are with regards to vandalism keywords -- is this what you are looking for? For example, there are other words which might trigger WP:PEA. Tiggerjay (talk) 15:41, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There's also WP:WEASEL. Jaakobou^{Chalk Talk} 16:57, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Weasel words relates to article content, not edit summaries. bibliomaniac 1 5 04:39, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Redirecting an image?[edit]

While recent changes patrolling, I came across Image:Eoraptor sketch5.png, newly created as a redirect to Image:Eopraptor sketch5.png. Is it possible/advisable to redirect image links? Nyttend (talk) 12:14, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The key question seems to be whether redirects work for displaying images (like template transclusions). They don't:

. Given this, I'm not sure what use an image redirect could be; it's not like you're going to be looking for Image:Eopraptor sketch5.png and mistype one letter. Algebraist 12:25, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

May I speedy delete it then, as a rather implausible redirect? Nyttend (talk) 16:27, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How do you move one page to its redirect page?[edit]

Thanks. Yohan euan o4 (talk) 13:17, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Unless I'm mixing up the process, you'd need an administrator to delete the redirect page, and then move the page to the previous location of the redirect. -- Natalya 13:31, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If the redirect has only one revision and points to the article you want to move then you can move the article over the redirect. Otherwise you should use {{db-move}} or WP:RM to get an admin involved. What you should not do is cut and paste the article to the new location. See Help:Moving a page for more info. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 13:53, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

creating a new article[edit]

Resolved

How do you create a new article? I've looked on the page but it keeps being vandalised and I can't get into it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hello963 (talk • contribs) 14:53, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Are you referring to the page Wikipedia:Your first article? It appears that all the vandalism has been cleaned up, so hopefully it will be of more help to you now. If you have further questions, though, feel free to ask! -- Natalya 15:08, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Are you referring to Trodmore Racecourse? As it appears you have properly created the page. Tiggerjay (talk) 15:39, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please see Your first article.

Make sure the subject is notable enough to have their own article.
Find references
Make sure no article on the subject exists under a different title by typing the subject into the search box to the left (←) and clicking 'Search'
Type the page name in the search box to the left (←) and click 'Go'
Click 'Create this page'
Create the article, including all your references, making sure you adhere to the Manual of Style and our article layout guidelines
Be aware that Wikipedia deletes thousands of new articles for failing to adhere to our policies and guidelines. New articles by new users are at extra risk of deletion, due to new users' unfamiliarity with our rules. Consider gaining experience by editing existing articles before attempting to create new ones....... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 17:23, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Title for My Organization's Wiki Page[edit]

Someone created a Wiki page for our organization, Recovery International, Inc., but the page title only reads Recovery, Inc. It should read Recovery International. I tried to make this change in the edit view but could not. Can someone on the Wiki staff resolve this issue for me?

Also, I am interested in learning whom created this Wiki page in the first place. It looks like it was usernam Scarpy according to the history, but the page doesn't indicate whether that person was the original author.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. Please let me know when the page title has been resolved.

Kind regards,

Chris

Chris Jorgensen Director of External Relations Recovery International, Inc. 802 N. Dearborn St. Chicago, IL 60610 (p) <blanked> www.recovery-inc.org —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chrisman926 (talk • contribs) 14:58, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The web site listed above and in the article is titled “Recovery, Inc.” Do you have a source that shows the name you specify? —Travis ^talk 15:04, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Upon reviewing the website itself, it shows "Recovery Inc" only on the logo and copyright section on the bottom - so this would indicate that this is the official way -- however if you do have something to document otherwise (such as a specific link on the website, etc) then we can change it. Or better yet, show you how to. Tiggerjay (talk) 15:37, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If you first click "history" and then "earliest" at Recovery, Inc. then you can see that the first version [1] was created by Shoaler in June 2005. Scarpy has the largest number of edits but I have not examined whether it also means contributing the most of the current content. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:47, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. In the future, if you wish to rename a page that needs renaming and will not violate consensus (which is often discussed upon on the associated talkpage), click on the "move" tab on the top-right. However, your account currently needs to be at least 4 days old to do this. Hope this helps. Thanks. ~A H 1^(TCU) 23:14, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

blue dotted line in my article[edit]

Resolved

On my article on the "social circus" there is a blue-dotted line surrounding the information on the "Circle"– also the information extends far horizontally. How do I fix this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lotus212 (talk • contribs) 15:08, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That happens when you have extra spaces before the text in a paragraph. I removed the spaces, and it looks normal now! -- Natalya 15:10, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV[edit]

Resolved

The articles (a) "Abraham Shemtov", (b) "Yehuda Krinsky" and (c) "Chabad-Lubavitch related controversies", might be well described as "point of view", and especially so as regards the first two articles.

For example, the articles omit the fact that in the dispute over the Weinstock Estate, as well as in other matters, the two persons acted in contempt of the local Rabbinic Court, and that one had previously been dismissed for a time from his position.

Rather than descend into an unpleasant debate on these matters, it might be better to simply remove the articles, or at least remove the first two, and get some independent fact checking on the third.

Thank you for your attention —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.196.121.71 (talk) 15:57, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

When editors feel there is a breach of WP:NPOV on certain articles, the usual process is to bring it up on the talk page of the article, state why you feel there is a POV concern, determine if anyone else agree with you. If so, you may place a template tag at the top of the page to alert readers and editors that there is an ongoing discussion taking place. We do not simply delete articles for such things, we improve them. Cheers! Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 16:54, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Use of the word "location"[edit]

I've looked all over the Special Pages (including checking the Manual of Style) and can't find the answer to this question. In the sentence "Somewheresville is a village located 3 miles east of Somewhereelse" or the sentence "The Post office is located near the village church" is the word located required or not, and does anyone know where the preference is stated? In my opinion "located" adds nothing and is ugly, but I see it a lot on Wikipedia and I don't know whether to remove it when I edit. Apologies if this question should have been posted (located!) elsewhere. Thanks - Adrian Pingstone (talk) 17:22, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I think it makes it sound more formal, but I presume personal preference is the key. Use whatever you want but don't change others' without consensus as it would be an unnecessary change...... Dendodge .. Talk^Help 17:26, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I would use the word located, but then I generally have a more formal writing style. There's certainly nothing wrong with it. :) PeterSymonds (talk) 17:39, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The word is a "dead word." John Brogan (Clear Technical Writing, McGraw-Hill, 1973, ISBN 978-0070079748) defines a dead word as a word one can remove from a sentence with no loss of meaning. The only function of a dead word is to make a sentence harder to read than necessary. --Teratornis (talk) 19:34, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps the single most common "dead word" in Wikipedia is "also," a particular specialty of the biographical run-on article. "Fred Farquhar was a lutanist and goldminer; also a throatwarbler; he also tanned Nauga hides, and was also known as the prettiest transvestite in the Eastern Yukon (also in the Northwest Territories)..." etc.

Events in England during the year 1978.[edit]

I want to get to know all the main events that have taken place in England since 1978 up to 2008.

Is there a better way to get this knowledge from you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.252.67.25 (talk) 19:55, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See History of the United Kingdom, specifically History of the United Kingdom (1945–present). ----— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 19:58, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. As for factual questions in the future, please use the reference desk, and this desk may help with questions like this in particular. Thanks. ~A H 1^(TCU) 23:10, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Aight - Referencing In Wiki[edit]

You know those ref tags that let you reference a book or mag etc as a source for a sentence? Is there a program, script that will bring up a dialogue, rather than me typing in the monotonous tag code by hand? If someone invents/tells me about a nice pop up box I can use I'll start editing wiki again. --Manboobies (talk) 20:08, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You could use User:Mr.Z-man/refbuttons, a user script that adds the template. Add it to your monobook. Alternatively, there's Wikipedia:Wikicite which is even easier, but an external program. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 20:11, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can noww invoke refbuttons as RefTools through Special:Gadgets. ----— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The Gadgets link is wonky. Use Special:Preferences and select Gadgets. ----— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:20, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Also see WP:EIW#Citetools for other options. --Teratornis (talk) 22:51, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

posting an article[edit]

This may be a stupid question, but is there a way to post an article without making it public, so that I may show others what it will look like, be able to get their feedback and make changes, before the whole world can see it?

Thanks for your help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Igcc-web-asst (talk • contribs) 20:27, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The only option to keep it semi-private is to puting it you userspace. A page like User:Igcc-web-asst/draft. That red link will take you to a page you can edit drafts in. Hope that helps!§hep • ¡Talk to me! 20:31, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See Help:User page and Help:Subpage. "Your" userspace is actually visible to everyone and editable by them, but by convention, on Wikipedia we generally do not edit each other's user pages without asking them first. Even though WP:OWN says nobody really owns any page on Wikipedia. On Wikipedia, we have lots of rules that always apply, except when they don't. Basically, there is considerable latitude for editing pages in your userspace that should eventually end up as articles or project pages, but the criteria for deleting user pages is not as harsh as for articles. However, you are not allowed to game the system by creating user subpages which violate policies and guidelines. A user subpage should be a good faith attempt to eventually get to a page that would benefit the encyclopedia somewhere else, or which legitimately serves your own editing needs (such as creating a list of links to pages or sources you use while editing). If you really want to edit a private page using wiki-style editing, see: personal wiki and mw:Manual:Wiki on a stick. --Teratornis (talk) 23:02, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict)Hi. As for getting others' feedback, you may want to bring it up on RfF, the associated Wikiproject, or maybe the helpdesk. However, in some cases, you might have to wait a few days before someone responds with feedback if the page is backlogged. Hope this helps. Thanks. ~A H 1^(TCU) 23:07, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Blocking Wikipedia in search engines[edit]

How do I block your website so it doesn't get in the way when I want to search the Web? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.64.191.241 (talk) 20:35, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! Just place the following in your search term (without the quotes) "-wikipedia" :) Stwalkerster [ talk ] 20:38, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer just about any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. I hope this helps. SimsFan^{Talk • Centre of Ops • Sign and Get Award} 20:42, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If you're using Google to search, add -site:wikipedia.org to the end of your search. -- Kesh (talk) 21:00, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to avoid Wikipedia results because of some concern over their accuracy, or the type of content included in them, be careful - there are many mirror sites that copy Wikipedia content, sometimes without attribution. About.com is probably the biggest one, but there are plenty of others, and if you've just excluded Wikipedia itself you may not recognise these mirrors when they show up in your search. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:12, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

We really do have an article on everything: meta:Mirror filter explains how to modify a search so as to exclude all known Wikipedia mirrors. Algebraist 00:03, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ads[edit]

Resolved

I have a guestbook at User:SimsFan/SignBook, that has been running for a few days (even Jimbo has signed it!!!).

Where can I advertise this. I have already advertised on my userpage and in my sig. SimsFan^{Talk • Centre of Ops • Sign and Get Award} 20:37, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. All you have to do is add it to User:Jack/ABs. Good luck, Juliancolton ^Tropical ^Cyclone 20:38, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

hi[edit]

i just created my person and when i log in it gave me a page with rules on it. i read them but i still have a few questions. one. how do actually cite sources? what nobility? and why can a page be deleted for having numbers on it? Electrical Experiment (talk) 21:34, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hey there, citing sources, footnotes and reliable sources should help you with your first question. The second is notability guidelines. As for your last. A page may be deleted for a variety of reasons. See our deletion policies for more information. Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 21:36, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I read wp;cite but i dont get what there saying. Electrical Experiment (talk) 21:42, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In general it's not necessary to worry much about making mistakes. If you screw something up, someone will fix it. Now, if people start leaving you messages saying "Please don't do this again", yes, you should listen to them and slow down until you understand the problem. Friday (talk) 21:49, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

also i keep going through my google web search bar on the top right of my browser. can i change that to wikipedia. Electrical Experiment (talk) 21:54, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If you are using the new firefox, there should be a drop down arrow next to the search bar where you can select wikipedia. Wisdom89 _{(_T / ^C)} 21:56, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Very little on Wikipedia makes sense when you are new. Just keep reading WP:CITE every day for a while, and it will sink in. You might find WP:FOOT easier to start with, since that one is more of a how-to page. What article do you want to edit, and what sources do you want to add to it? If you tell us exactly what you want to do, we can show you exactly how to do it. You might also want to start by editing a User:Electrical Experiment/Sandbox page. That's what we call a user subpage. You can practice on your user subpage and make mistakes and learn without much worry about other people "yelling" at you. --Teratornis (talk) 22:49, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

One thing I have found, and I'm a recently new arrival myself, is to check out Featured Articles in the field your interested in. They will show you what great articles should consist of, rather than just tell you, and you can see the types of sources that are cited and why. Good luck! Fribbler (talk) 23:37, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

To wisdom 89 Im on Safari? do you now how to change it. Electrical Experiment (talk) 00:11, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, Safari cannot change it by default. You would have to install third-party software to alter Safari's behavior, which can be a bit buggy. -- The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 16:37, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Journal of Forensic Accounting[edit]

Admin Hu12 insists on repeatedly deleting the article. The journal has numerous web citations and has been independently reviewed by at least two accounting departments of international universities. Can someone please stop the malicious deletions and block him from these edits? Jheiv (talk) 22:54, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If you feel that the page has been erroneously deleted, you can bring it up at Deletion Review. Please be sure to consider if the guidelines that Hu12 has cited mean that the page really should not exist. -- Natalya 22:58, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. Make sure it matches Wikipedia's notability policy. Also, admins usually don't get blocked for deletions like this. Perhaps it matches the speedy deletion criteria, so make sure you write it so that it looks noteworthy, and you might also want to bring it up on the admin's talkpage. Thanks. ~A H 1^(TCU) 23:02, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See related

I'm trying to help this user develop the article first in the userspace so it meets notability for inclusion. However Jheiv (Production Manager) is attempting to use brute force, rather than discussion. as noted this user has a Conflict of interest with R.T. Edwards publications topic.--Hu12 (talk) 23:05, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Blatent WP:CANVASS Violation
Wikipedia:Deletion_review/Active#Journal_of_Forensic_Accounting

--Hu12 (talk) 23:12, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Also see: Wikipedia:Why was my article deleted? If you (Jheiv) are part of a business, see: WP:BFAQ. --Teratornis (talk) 23:13, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The User is Forum shopping, repeatedly asking for additional outside opinions until he gets an opinion he likes. Based on his edit history, he exist for the sole and primary purpose of promoting R.T. Edwards publications in apparent violation of Conflict of interest or anti-spam guidelines.--Hu12 (talk) 00:26, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Log in / create account page[edit]

I would like the webmaster to change the layout of the "Log in / create account" page. The "Log in" button and the "Email new password" button are to close together. And when you get in a hurry, a user accidentally hits the second button. This is not user friendly and most all websites do not put there two items so close together. Please make this page more user friendly. WikiDon (talk) 23:29, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You may want to leave a note at Bugzilla for the developers. We can change some of the layout of the page locally, but not how the buttons are placed. Sorry. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 23:30, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, it might be possible to CSS the buttons a bit further apart. Asking at Bugzilla's likely to give a better result in the long-term, though. ais523 (talk) 12:00, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You mean someone doesn't just hit enter when they log in? Anyway, as the message you get with your new password says, if you pressed the button accidentally you can just delete the message and ignore it; you old password will continue to work just fine. Of course, this doesn't mean we couldn't improve the layout of Special:UserLogin, but it does make the issue somewhat less critical. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 13:01, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]