Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 January 8

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January 8

How to communicate with another wikipedian

What is the correct way to answer someone who writes on my talk page? Should I answer on my page or on her page? If I answer on her page, she will get a warning, but the discussion will be broken. Is there a guideline on this topic? I looked for it, but have not found any --Pot (talk) 00:16, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

There is really no guideline about it. Some people prefer to reply on their own talk pages, while others prefer to reply on the other's page. If you use your own page, you can use something like {{talkback}} to notify the other editor. Cheers. Chamal ^talk 00:28, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I see. Thank you. I am going to study the {{talkback}} template. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pot (talk • contribs) 00:45, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

And see WP:TP, WP:TPG, and WP:EIW#Talk for lots of details. Someday mw:Extension:LiquidThreads might improve the efficiency of MediaWiki's user-to-user communication. --Teratornis (talk) 01:43, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

The Grannies page has vanished and i can't find it in the delete log

The Grannies page has vanished and i can't find it in the delete log or any hint why it was deleted, did it get moved etc. there is just no trace of it. what do i do? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bicker nag (talk • contribs) 00:22, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Do you mean one of the pages here? Chamal ^talk 00:25, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

As an administrator I can see that Bicker nag created The grannies with lower case g. The deletion log is case sensitive. It was deleted per Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#A7 and Wikipedia:GROUP. See also Wikipedia:Notability (music), Wikipedia:Why was my page deleted?, and Wikipedia:Conflict of interest if you are associated with the band. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:42, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Correct edits being reverted by admins

Resolved

 – Inappropriate username blocked--Unpopular Opinion (talk) 04:59, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

What shall I do if my correct edits are being reverted by a group of admins. Should'nt the admins be charged with sockpuppetry or they are spoiled brats of wikipedia community who are entitled to enforce their will on other users , even when the user is correct. Then perhaps wikipedia must not declare itself to be free encyclopedia. ref. wikipedia page "Lund (disambiguation)". —Preceding unsigned comment added by ChootKaBhoot (talk • contribs) 00:50, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

On the face of it your edit looked like vandalism. If you have a reference, please provide it. – ukexpat (talk) 01:00, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

It's a word in Hindi, not in English; and thus didn't belong there. --Orange Mike | Talk 01:07, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Bibliography question

i need to write a bibliography for this site and i need the site editors name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.18.136.232 (talk) 01:12, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

There is no "site editor" - we are all editors. Is there a particular article to which you are referring? – ukexpat (talk) 01:17, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

For information on how to cite an article, go to the article and click the 'cite this page' link in the left sidebar. Algebraist 01:19, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:27, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

getting the help for engineering

please let me know about the all engineering colleges tose are present in the guntur district along with the addresses and the courses offered in them —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.252.224.186 (talk) 01:39, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Hello. I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over two million articles, and thought that we were directly affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is a help desk for asking questions related to using the encyclopedia. Thus, we have no inside track on the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the left hand side of your screen. If that is not fruitful, we have a reference desk, divided into various subjects areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. – ukexpat (talk) 01:44, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

We have the articles: Guntur district and Engineering college rankings in India but they probably don't answer your question. If you are currently a student in a secondary school of some sort, do you have a guidance counselor (the specific job title may differ in your locale) you can ask? I would ask your counselor in addition to the Reference desk. Also note the other language Wikipedias; the Wikipedia in the native language of Guntur district (Telugu Wikipedia?) may have more detailed information than the English Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 01:54, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Help with image tag

I recently uploaded this image to the article Dannii Minogue, I have been requested to add one of these tags to it as seen on my talk page. I gained permission to use the picture not by the original author but by the website it was originally uploaded to, Can somebody please help me out as to which is the appropriate tag that needs to be added.--intraining ^{Jack In} 01:48, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

IMHO the best thing to do is ask the website owner (if they own the copyright) to follow the process set out at WP:IOWN. – ukexpat (talk) 01:53, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I have an email stating that this image can be used should I forward it to that commons email address?.--intraining ^{Jack In} 01:56, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

You could start with that and see what happens. – ukexpat (talk) 01:58, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Thankyou for your help Ukexpat, Are you an admin?.--intraining ^{Jack In} 02:00, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

No, ukexpat is not. You can check what rights people have by looking up their username at Special:ListUsers. Algebraist 02:11, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Hmm. Here you say you "gained permission", but on the File: page you say "Released under free license". Please make sure that the copyright holder is clear as to what permissions they are granting, and specifically which free license (which will then clarify which template should be added to the page). You should have a quick read of Wikipedia:Requesting copyright permission if you haven't done so already. You also need to be clear on whether the website does indeed hold the copyright to the image (presumably it was part of the conditions of upload to grant them full ownership of the image, or something), because if they were only given permission to use it themselves, then they cannot pass that permission on. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 06:11, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I don't 100% understand all this image uploading terminology or all of the rules and I have not read everything associated with it, I asked the website to where it was uploaded and I was told I do not need permission to use the pictures elsewhere. The website is down at the moment when it goes back online I will sort this out over here. I will also let you know personally aswell.--intraining ^{Jack In} 06:37, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

That sounds a little dubious to me, unfortunately, but I agree that the Media copyright questions page is probably the best place to hack it out. I'm no copyright lawyer, I just play one on Wikipedia. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:59, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Year Articles Format Problem

In the year articles eg 218BC the placement of the edit links seems to be incorrect in that there are four edit links on the same line. Is this a bug? If so are there appropriate people aware of it?

Thanks, davidzuccaro (talk) 03:05, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

It's a known problem. See WP:BUNCH. Algebraist 03:08, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Image filetype reformat

Resolved

Can anyone reformat File:20081121 Manny Harris shoots Free Throws at 2K Sports Classic.jpg to a filetype that I can crop with Microsoft Paint?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 03:25, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

MS Paint cannot crop a .jpg file? – ukexpat (talk) 03:52, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I can crop said photo in MS Paint. All I did was open up MS Photo, copy said photo, and paste it into MS Paint. I then used the cutting tool to crop it. « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 06:50, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

That works. I had been downloading it from flickr and attempting to open it. For some reason it did not work.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 07:45, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Ah that explains it. On some images Flickr uses a form of image protection that prevents right-click-and-save - I think it overlays a transparent image or something like that. – ukexpat (talk) 15:23, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

OMG help me....

Has everything gone weird on Wikipeida i.e. the headings are no longer bold and the font's changed, or have I bugged up my options some how? Ryan4314 (talk) 04:37, 8 January 2009 (UTC) Note: originally posted here; moved by Skomorokh 04:42, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Everything looks normal to me. --Unpopular Opinion (talk) 04:54, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

This happened to me once (and a came crying here, just like you). You probably changed the font size in your browser - try holding control and scrolling up (on your mouse's scroll wheel) to get it back to normal. If your mouse doesn't have a scroll wheel, try CTRL++. flaminglawyer^c 00:04, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

WP:COI

Should this edit be removed per WP:COI? Other thoughts on the matter are welcomed as well! Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 06:36, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

COI is not in itself a reason to revert edits and delete articles. A {{cn}} tag for the assertions made in the first para that he added would be sufficient (but then, if no source is provided for a few days the text should probably go out as unverifiable). imo, second para should be removed as pure WP:OR. --Unpopular Opinion (talk) 06:45, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Photos of Mount Woods Antarctica

I have tried several times to find a picture of a mountai named for me. Mount Woods (84°40′S 64°30′W) is a bare, ridge-like mountain, 1,170 m, standing 4.5 nautical miles (8 km) northeast of O'Connell Nunatak in Anderson Hills in central Patuxent Range, Pensacola Mountains. Mapped by United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1956-66. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Clifford R. Woods, Jr., hospital corpsman at Palmer Station, winter 1967.

{{usgs-gazetteer}}
{{antarctica-geo-stub}}
[[Category:Mountains of Antarctica|Woods, Mount]]

Clifford R. Woods Jr
HMC USN Retired

<contact information redacted>

It happens that recently I learned how to search Flickr for photos suitably licensed to upload to Commons, and I wrote a handy {{Flickr free}} template to search for such photos, so let's see if it works here:

• Search Flickr for images with the keywords: "Mount Woods" Antarctica under these licenses: cc-by or cc-by-sa
• Search Flickr for images with the keywords: Patuxent Range Antarctica under these licenses: cc-by or cc-by-sa

No luck with those searches, but I will try a few more. --Teratornis (talk) 07:56, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

This mountain seems to be somewhat obscure, most likely due to the remote location. Commons has some photos from Antarctica, but I don't see any of this mountain yet:

• commons:Operation Deep Freeze
• commons:Category:Transantarctic Mountains
• commons:Category:PD US Government

One problem with photos on Flickr is that many are taken by everyday people on vacation. Often they don't know exactly where they are or what they are photographing, so even if someone would have been in a sightseeing flight that went over Mount Woods, and they uploaded a photo of it to Flickr, there's no telling what they would have labeled it. See for example the interesting but not consistently organized photos here:

• Search Flickr for images with the keywords: Antarctica under these licenses: cc-by or cc-by-sa

According to the Patuxent Range article, the U.S. Navy photographed the mountain during Operation Deep Freeze I. On the plus side, that would mean if you can find photos from this mission, they will be {{PD-USGov}} and thus usable on Wikipedia. On the minus side, the date of that mission was long before the World Wide Web, reducing the chances that someone would have uploaded the photos so we can easily find them. You might try asking a reference librarian (as in an actual library) for books that may show photos from this mission. Since the photos would be the work of U.S. government personnel on their official duties, the photos would be public domain and thus usable on Wikipedia. --Teratornis (talk) 08:39, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

A bit of googling finds this site, with the quote:

• "We would like to show pix of all the main mountain ranges but so far have not been able to locate so much as a shot of Mt Kirkpatrick, Mt Fritjof Nansen, Mt Betty, the Patuxent Range etc. - contributions invited!"

The author of that page seems to be an expert on Antarctica, so if he can't find a photo of the Patuxent Range, the odds of finding a photo of Mount Woods are not looking good. You could try asking on Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Antarctica. --Teratornis (talk) 09:00, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Image

Not sure how to add an image to an article, can someone plase add the image that i linked in the article at vertigo (light)? (new article so that it could be linked on disambig) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Addlight (talk • contribs) 08:33, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Its an image from a website and I don't think it qualifies for fair use, as a non-copyrighted equivalent should be easily available. If you have a free image, upload it to commons and then use in the article.--Unpopular Opinion (talk) 09:44, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

admission

how do i get admission into university of edinburgh —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.100.69.11 (talk) 15:48, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

You should ask the University of Edinburgh, or the person in charge of university applications at your school. This page is for questions about Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Algebraist 15:51, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

A-class review

Is there a place to find well-functioning A-Class reviews. Other than WP:MILHIST, I do not know of any projects that have well-functioning A-Class reviews.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 15:54, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Terrible use of general questions or subject criteria.... and use of computer technology...

Let me say that I have an important subject that could have effect on the entire planet but your site is too difficult to use.. Don´t tell me ..a major in computer tech. wrote this!! We have email now gentlman...wake up to the new millenium!! email me if you would like to know more as I have degrees in computer systems and about 30 years in the field but my interests right now lie in astronomy in regards to my findings and a quick search has found no answers to my questions. Thank you. K.Threader... Ont, Canada... Evora, Portugal <redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.154.30.112 (talk) 15:55, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia! Did you have a specific question about using Wikipedia? Also, check out the astronomy wikiproject. Cheers! TN‑X-Man 16:02, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I love Wikipedia and all that... but if someone has "an important subject that could have effect on the entire planet" perhaps CNN is the organization to contact. Cheers, —Noah 17:27, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

The "could have" part sounds like it might conflict with WP:CRYSTAL or WP:NOR. Note that Wikipedia tends to feel like an inhospitable place to cranks of every stripe, so if your information strongly conflicts with mainstream science or some other well-established body of orthodox knowledge, you should first try to publish in a reputable, peer-reviewed journal, and then if your work is notable, someone will eventually write about it on Wikipedia. Also note that if Wikipedia seems "too difficult" to you, then you are probably approaching Wikipedia the wrong way. The apparent difficulty of Wikipedia to a given person is a function of two things:

• What they are trying to do on Wikipedia.
• How rapidly they can learn by reading the friendly manuals (which, informally, is a measure of how smart they are, because IQ correlates with the speed at which a person can make sense of previously unfamiliar situations).

There are some tasks on Wikipedia which are extremely difficult for new users, such as to create completely new articles on questionable topics, and make them "stick". In contrast, other tasks on Wikipedia are trivially simple even for brand-new users, such as correcting typographical errors in existing articles. Someone who is interested primarily in helping Wikipedia will naturally start by making small corrections to existing articles, and gradually learn to do more of the complex tasks. The more you learn about Wikipedia, the easier it becomes to learn the next more difficult thing. On the other hand, a "drive-by user" who has very little interest in Wikipedia itself, but only as a means to promote some particular interest, will often find Wikipedia frustrating because Wikipedia simply is not set up to provide instant gratification to the casual user who approaches Wikipedia with lots of initial assumptions about how Wikipedia should work. (To make a somewhat salacious analogy, Wikipedia is more like a wife than a hooker - Wikipedia demands long-term commitment and respect before she satisfies. Wikipedia demands that you understand her in depth, rather than use her as merely an outlet for one narrow desire.) One can argue that if Wikipedia were set up to please the cranks, Wikipedia would only be as popular as they are, instead of being one of the top five Web properties in the world. The bottom line: if you want your content to be part of a Web site so loved by millions of people that it raises millions of dollars in donations with each fund-raising drive, you have to play by our rules. Ask yourself how many top-five Web sites you have built - do you have any idea what it takes to build a site such as this? Very few people do. Without a solid understanding of what it takes to build a top-five site, one cannot know what is "too difficult" in the context of building a site like this. It is also difficult to break into the top five in any other popular form of global competition (e.g., music, sports, acting, politics, etc.). It is difficult to become world class in anything. If Wikipedia were simple, it probably would not rise above the millions of junk Web sites out there that nobody looks at. --Teratornis (talk) 20:26, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

As usual Teratornis you have hit the nail squarely on the head and with your usual clarity and humour! This one is a keeper and template-worthy. – ukexpat (talk) 20:35, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

• While Wikipedia was relatively easier back in 2004 when I started, it wasn't a walk in the park. Everything you need to know is written down somewhere and there are plenty of helpful people around. You just need the commitment to actually read help files for things to become clear. References could be made easier though. It would stop a lot of unreferenced material being dropped in on a daily basis. - Mgm|^(talk) 05:50, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Types of blocks

Would someone please give one-sentence replies to each of the following questions:

1. What is a softblock?
2. What is a hardblock?
3. What is an autoblock?
4. What is a rangeblock?

Thanks, --Goodmorningworld (talk) 16:11, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

In the order you requested:

A softblock is a block on a user's account, but enables account creation should they wish to create another account. This is generally used for inappropriate usernames.

A hardblock is a block on a user's account blocking account creation, so the underlying IP is blocked from that as well. This is used for vandalism only accounts and blatantly inappropriate user names.

An autoblock is placed automatically on an IP address if it was recently used by a blocked user. See WP:Autoblock.

A rangeblock is a block on an IP range if a user/IP is evading blocks on different IPs belonging to that range. See WP:Range block.

Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 16:18, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

For a lot more sentences, see WP:EIW#Enforce. --Teratornis (talk) 20:58, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Becoming a Moderator

How do I become a moderator? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.88.104.181 (talk) 16:57, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

There are not "moderators" on Wikipedia. Please see WP:ADMIN for more information on administrator responsibilities. Also note that unofficially, the minimum requirements are in the ballpark of 6 months of editing experience with about 5000-6000 edits. And a registered account. Tan | 39 16:59, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

And to see the process at work, see WP:RFA. – ukexpat (talk) 17:02, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Problem with using a Non-free use media on another page

Resolved

 – ukexpat (talk) 15:00, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Can you please explain how to fix the issue of the image?? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:South_tn.png

Do I have to add more Non-free use media rationale description box in that image page for every article I am going to use the photo in???

Thank you --Zaher1988 · ^Talk|_{Contributions} 17:33, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Yes. Add another rationale for Mohammad Zgheib military base and remove the warning notice. --Unpopular Opinion (talk) 18:14, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I have modified the file, is it like this?? can you check please??

In addition, how put a rational for a template, in case i want to use the image inside a template, is it the same way as an article??

thank you --Zaher1988 · ^Talk|_{Contributions} 18:48, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

That looks good. Fair use images aren't allowed in templates. --Unpopular Opinion (talk) 19:42, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Great Thank you. --Zaher1988 · ^Talk|_{Contributions} 07:01, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

New Pages

Is there any way to extent the limit of the NewPages shown here to more than 30 days. It will be very useful for small wikis. Thanks--Abhishek Jacob (talk) 17:45, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

If no-one here knows, you could ask this at the Mediawiki support desk, which is a more appropriate place for questions about other wikis. Algebraist 18:24, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Here is a link to get you started [1]. —Noah 20:40, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

putting up an article

How the heck do I put my article on to Wikipedia? There are so many instructions I can't figure it out. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cgib55 (talk • contribs) 21:04, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

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. Algebraist 21:05, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Inappropriate deletion

Resolved

 – Article userfied. ukexpat (talk) 14:59, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

A notable article, Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, was recently created by a new editor Fbarw. An automatic bot tagged the article for deletion on the grounds of a copy violation. Fbarw then copy edited the text, put a {{hangon}} tag on the article as instructed, and opened a discussion section on the talk page. Immediately afterwards the article was deleted anyway. How do I get this reversed? --Geronimo20 (talk) 21:53, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I would suggest leaving a message for Orangemike, as he is the admin who deleted the article. He should be able to restore the article for you or move it to userspace where you can work to improve it. Cheers! TN‑X-Man 21:56, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Also, you might want to check out Wikipedia:Deletion review. haz (talk) 22:35, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I've userfied it for Geronimo. --Orange Mike | Talk 00:53, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

How to obtain real help.

When I prepared my first article a couple of days ago, I was expecting to find one or more "templates" that suite my article to choose from and prepare it before posting it. I found none, and so, I posted it they way I wrote it using MS Word. The article, is not as well presented as I want it to be and I would like to add some photo's soon, but I am afraid it will make things worse. Off course, "Cleanup" and "wikitize" appeared straight away.

The process to post an article may look simple (and I am sure it is) but for the first timer is like conquering Everest. I have noticed that some individuals are volunteering help, and I approached a number of them by e-mail but received no reply.

I can see what is wrong with my posting, how can I improve it.

Also, words like "Cleanup" and "Wikitize" are too general and in my case confusing as it covers everything from language to presentation.

How can I get some real help.

Akrogiali —Preceding unsigned comment added by Akrogiali (talk • contribs) 22:11, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I would recommend that you check out Wikipedia:Tutorial, which is a good guide on Wikipedia markup and how to format pages, and Wikipedia:Your first article, which gives more general advice. haz (talk) 22:32, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

The best way to contact a Wikipedia user is through their talk page - if the user name is, for example, ConMan, then their talk page is at User talk:ConMan and is usually linked in their signature. Edit the page and leave a message (and sign with ~~~~) and they will be notified the next time they log on. I agree that the "cleanup" tag isn't particularly specific, which is why it's generally asked that people who leave it specify their concerns on the article's talk page. The "wikify" tag, on the other hand, refers specifically to using wiki markup, and particularly to linking relevant words in the article to other articles. Taking a quick look at the article Vlastos suggests that the main things you will want to attempt as part of the cleanup are to add links, give the article some structure with sections, and find some categories to put the article in. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:36, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I quickly added a couple of categories to the article. Have a look at some of the other articles in the categories to see how we use wikimarkup to format the articles, create links to other articles, add inline citations, etc. Gentgeen (talk) 23:10, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Tags such as Wikify and Cleanup don't have to be seen as inherently negative. It can also be seen as a call for others to come help out: "hey, there is some good stuff here, please help make it better!" There are people who review the lists of articles with those tags, they go fix stuff, and then the article gets improved. If the article never got the tag it might sit for ever as an orphan in the dark corners of the database. —Noah 23:11, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

The process to create a new article on Wikipedia that "sticks" is far from simple. Most people need to accumulate around 1000 edits to existing articles before they will have absorbed enough understanding of Wikipedia to create entirely new articles (with confidence that their work won't get deleted). There are a number of things you need to know that I guarantee are nothing like anything you have experienced before. If something you saw on Wikipedia seems to suggest that what you are trying to do is in any sense easy for anyone who recently arrived, then I think we are sending the wrong message somewhere. Wikipedia is not simple and we should not try to pretend it is or can be simple. Like many people, part of my motivation to start editing on Wikipedia was to create a new article, which I did, and by pure blind luck I happened to pick a topic that was notable enough to stick - that was before I had any inkling of how many new articles by new users Wikipedia mercilessly deletes. By now I have enough experience and I've read enough manuals to feel fairly confident when I create new articles, but the process really is stupefying for a newbie. I wonder why we let anyone even attempt it with less than 500 edits. I guess we have a lot of people on Wikipedia who enjoy deleting articles. --Teratornis (talk) 08:26, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Need rollback

Here. All these edits are unsourced changes in birthdates and personal information many articles as well as unconstructive linking to DABs. Too many for manual reverts. Mjpresson (talk) 23:10, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

As well, never an edit summary. Mjpresson (talk) 23:11, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Rollback feature#How to apply for rollback (I'm an admin but not familiar with the procedure). PrimeHunter (talk) 23:39, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Alternatively, you can use something like Twinkle. Chamal ^talk 00:13, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, but right now I don't have rollback privileges and this user has altered many articles across the board which all need revision until user learns to provide sources and summaries for these types of changes. Mjpresson (talk) 00:44, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Not providing summaries or references is not a valid reason for using rollback - this is a tool to revert instances of vandalism only, if you don't like the way an editor has done something then you can undo their changes but don't use rollback. Jdrewitt (talk) 11:05, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

FWIW, there were only 27 edits made by this IP over 16 different articles; and most of the edits have been reverted anyway. I doubt a rollback is actually necessary. Astronaut (talk) 05:38, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

need information

• <moved from WP:VPM> flaminglawyer^c 23:59, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Dear Sir/madam

i am student of master of library and information science, & i wish to complete my research work on wikipedia. title of my research is " www.wikipedia .org : A Knowledge source" actually i want to introduce wiki as a collaborative platform of knowledge. Sir/madam i need permission for the same from u. if u permitted i need some more information like few email ids of the contributors of wiki, that i can sent them my Questionnaires i want to know there experience of editing wiki, taking info from wiki.

i will be thankful to u if u give a permission and information for my research.

thanx

warm regards <named removed - better safe than sorry :) > —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.163.79.66 (talk) 14:55, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't have e-mail in the database. and they would not give them to a anon. Empire3131 (talk) 00:39, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

This appears to be a legitimate request from a graduate student who is studying to become a research librarian and is unfamiliar with our site processes. I'm going to answer at the IP's talk page, since I doubt this individual will find the discussion here, and include information about registering an account and requesting volunteer survey participants. Durova^Charge! 00:50, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

The questioner should read the (voluminous) existing research before reinventing any wheels. The questioner should read everything I linked from User:Teratornis/Theory of Wikipedia, and also see WP:EIW#Research. If the questioner isn't able to figure out how to get back here to read the replies, I don't see the questioner making much headway with "www.wikipedia .org : A Knowledge source". --Teratornis (talk) 08:10, 9 January 2009 (UTC)