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March 27

LocalSettings.php

I have just set up my own wiki but can't seem to access the LocalSettings.php file. Could someone tell me how you access this file so I can set some settings.Thanks. Paul 2387 10:47, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Shouldn't you use the computing reference desk? The help desk is only about Wikipedia. Kayau Voting IS evil 14:46, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The file should be in the root of your wiki installation. If the wiki is hosted by a wikifarm, then you might not have access to it. See mw:Manual:LocalSettings.php. Please note, as this question is not related to English Wikipedia, further questions belong on mw:Project:Support desk. Chzz ► 16:28, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You must have shell access to the server that hosts your wiki so you can edit files on the server. You might be able to edit the LocalSettings.php file directly on the server with a text editor program such as vi running on the server, or download the file to your computer and edit it locally in your favorite text editor. (I use rsync to transfer MediaWiki files between my workstations and remote servers.) If you want to learn MediaWiki administration, I strongly recommend that you start by setting up a Personal wiki on your own computer with the instructions in mw:Manual:Wiki on a stick. This eliminates the extra complications of dealing with a remote server and lets you see how everything works. Note that administering your own wiki is quite difficult, and if you are having trouble with what should be a very simple step, your odds of success are probably low unless you learn much more about the general field of system administration, or find someone who does know and can help you. (The problem you are having is like a mountain climber who is gearing up for an attempt on K2 but does not know how to put on crampons.) For example, to get shell access to a remote server, you generally need the system administrator of that server to grant you access and tell you how to log in. You might be able to run the ssh program on your computer to log into the server, for example. What operating system do you use on your personal computer? If you are running Windows, you might like to install Cygwin to get all the standard GNU/Linux tools like ssh and rsync. --Teratornis (talk) 17:53, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Trying to edit (add information but can't)

Hi, I am trying to add information to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Hullinger

I want to show the following sentences under "awards and recogition." I am unable to do so. Can you help?

The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran an online poll the second week of February 2010. Of almost 900 votes cast, 81 per cent wanted Hullinger back on the Atlanta airwaves. The Hullinger article also drew 150 comments. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.126.155.60 (talk) 11:04, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

A ref was not closed correctly with '>' at the end. I have fixed it.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 11:31, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Editing the Intro

Hi, How can I edit the introduction of a particular page? I see that we are given the edit option after the introduction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vyasiv (talk • contribs) 13:56, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Just click the "edit" tab at the very top of the page, next to the one that says "talk". That gives you the editing box for the whole page. (See also Wikipedia:How to edit a page) --Beloved Freak 14:00, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You can also edit just the lede section, in two ways;

Go to Special:preferences, and under 'Gadgets', 'User interface gadgets: editing', you can check-box "Add an [edit] link for the lead section of a page"
Edit the first section in the article, and change the "1" in the URL to a zero; for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&action=edit&section=0

See Wikipedia:Lede#Editing the lead section Chzz ► 16:22, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Notification on changes on categories

Resolved

– – ukexpat (talk) 21:23, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Is there any way to be notified on changes in this category? Category:Wikipedia_semi-protected_edit_requests Meaning, if any new requests are added. --JokerXtreme (talk) 14:31, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Apart from checking the category page, there are a couple of options. One is to put {{User:VeblenBot/SPERtable}} onto your own user page, which will display them, in a table. The page User:VeblenBot/SPERtable is updated by a bot at regular intervals.

The other method is to join the IRC help channel, where an automated system alerts helpers of the requests, pretty much as they happen. The easiest way to enter that chatroom is with this link. Chzz ► 14:38, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'll try the first option, thanks! --JokerXtreme (talk) 14:45, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Review unreviewed article

How long does it typically take for the "This page is a new unreviewed article" template to go away? I know there's a large backlog, but this article has been up there about four months. Can I call it to the attention of someone? (It's about Aage Giodesen, a fairly respectable 19th-century painter.) --WH Bonneywhb123 (talk) 15:29, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I've had a look at Aage Giødesen, and it looks fine to me, so I've removed the template. DuncanHill (talk) 15:35, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Inserting an image from another wikipedia

I would like to insert this picture from the Tamil wiki into the Mohammad Hamid Ansari article, but I'm not sure of the format. How is this done - or if its even possible to do it directly? Thanks, Wormcast (talk) 16:37, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The short answer is that you need to upload the image either to en.wikipedia or to Commons before it can be used here. I can't read the license on the Tamil page: If it's a free image, you should upload it to Commons; if it's a fair-use nonfree one, you'll need to upload it here. Deor (talk) 16:55, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I was afraid that was the case - I can't read the license either... Wormcast (talk) 17:11, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The edit window contains {{PD-self}}, the license box has a line striken through a c (symbolising no copyright), and the English Wikipedia also has a {{PD-self}}. Seems clear to me. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:17, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) See WP:MITC, and:

Push-for-commons – tool to show a set of images from a wikipedia, helping to find license problems, {{NowCommons}} candidates, and images that should be copied/moved to the commons.

Push-for-Commons finds images with apparently valid licenses for Commons at least on the English Wikipedia. I don't know whether it can understand the licenses in Tamil. I also don't know how to tell Push-for-commons to look up that particular image from the Tamil Wikipedia. However, I clicked the edit link for the image there and saw that the license template code is {{PD-self}}. That is, the template text displays in Tamil but the template seems analogous to {{PD-self}} on the English Wikipedia. If the license is legitimate (that is, if the uploader was the copyright holder of the original image and had the legal right to place the image into the public domain) then you could safely move the image to Commons with tools:~magnus/commonshelper.php. I have some notes about my adventures of moving images to Commons in User:Teratornis/Notes#Move some images to Commons. I have only moved images from the English Wikipedia because it is too scary to edit on other Wikipedias in languages where I lack fluency. Incidentally, some of the images I moved to Commons from the English Wikipedia ended up getting deleted on Commons (and thus from the English Wikipedia) because even though their licenses looked legitimate, they weren't actually, and it seems Commons users were more vigilant and found the errors that went undetected on the English Wikipedia. So you'd like to be really sure about the license before you move the image to Commons. Perhaps only a small fraction of image uploaders really understand copyright law. To gain an amateur's understanding, read all the pages linked under Commons:COM:EIC#Copyright. --Teratornis (talk) 17:22, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps you could ask for help from a Tamil-speaking user? We have over 300 people in Category:User ta, and some of them are surely active. One of them is User:Rsrikanth05; he's edited in the last few days. Nyttend (talk) 21:41, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Children's Hospital

Would it be ok to create an article on the new ITV Documentary Children's Hospital that started last Tuesday, heres a reliable source [2]. Paul 2387 19:35, 27 March 2010 (UTC

That source can't be used to demonstrate notability as it is a selfreference. You need multiple, independent reliable sources. – ukexpat (talk) 21:20, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Some more independent source's are [3], [4] and [5]. Paul 2387 21:43, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The first, being two sentences, runs into issues with the "significant coverage" bit of WP:N; the second has the same text as the first; and the third is subscription only. Sorry, but I don't see how any of the sources provided even come close to establishing notability. Remember that every fact in an article must cite a reliable source, so even if the sources did establish notability they are much too short to be useful. Xenon54 / talk / 21:50, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Continued Harrassment on Wikipedia

This is an article I wrote on my Blog last year about some online harrassment I've been experiencing both here on Wikipedia, and seperately over at Twitter since July 2009: http://blog.john-duck.co.uk/2009/07/27/some-people-should-be-euthanised-at-birth/

After a quiet spell, the person concerned has been busy vandalising my user profile again (Which I've had fix yet again): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jduck1979

After receiving a fat lot of help when the idiot first started doing this last summer, I would much appreciate it THIS TIME for IP Addresses, or any other information that may help track this idiot down finally. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jduck1979 (talk • contribs) 20:45, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I just protected your userpage. If you need additional help with harassment, may I suggest that you contact ArbCom. Arbitration Committee members are equipped with the CheckUser tool, and may be able to help you out. Information on contacting ArbCom is located at WP:ARBCOM. Normal users and administrators do not have access to the CheckUser tool, and so are unable to help you with your problem. Only ArbCom and a select few functionaries are equipped to help you out. Contacting ArbCom is your best option. --Jayron32 20:59, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Becoming More Anonymous on Wikipedia

Hello, I'm Tolerant666 aka Rourke and I have very little idea how to use Wikipedia. I've been a member since 2006, but mainly to stave off accusations of vandalism because my original account was on a public computer, so other people vandalized articles pretending to be me. I'd still like to be a member of Wikipedia, but I edit very rarely.

Should I delete or destroy "Tolerant666," then create a new username? Should I assume that "Tolerant666" is defunct and ignore it? I want to get rid of Tolerant666 without leaving Wikipedia entirely? Is there a userbox to tell people that I'm not a regular user?

Rourke 20:56, 27 March 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tolerant666 (talk • contribs)

You can abandon your old account and just start a new one. There is nothing wrong with that, but the old account will still exist. For techincal reasons, accounts cannot be deleted. You can just abandon it. The other option is to request a username change. See Wikipedia:Changing username. When your username is changed, all of the edits made by the old account are migrated to the new account, and the old account is effectively dead. So, you can abandon the old account and start a new one, or you can change your user name. If you never want to edit Wikipedia again, you can just stop editing altogether. --Jayron32 21:02, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Redirect transclusion error

Resolved

I am having problems with {{Princeton Tigers basketball}} in places where it is transcluding from the redirect. E.g., Bill Carmody--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 21:48, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Malplaced brackets solved.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 21:55, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Article Tisangi

The article Tisangi does not appear to be a encyclopedic article. For example, sentences like ' among the muslims there is the dalvi family' and 'our village proud of mr Anant Geete' are included in the text. What would be the appropriate way to deal with this text? Should this content be removed? --82.32.50.5 (talk) 23:15, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. It is barely coherent, completely original research and obviously unsourced. Xenon54 / talk / 23:49, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have taken it back to a one-line stub. Clearly someone just bunged new, garbled text at the end. – ukexpat (talk) 00:22, 28 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Question re creating Subpages

Hi, new user here. The links for instructions on how to create a user subpage seem to be taking me around in circles. Wikipedia:User page says to see Wiki:Subpages, which says, "To create a user subpage, see Wikipedia:User page#Creating user subpages." But the link User page#Creating user subpages just takes me back to Wiki:Userpages, and the only reference there is the link to "Wiki:Subpages." (There isn't a section specifically titled "Creating user subpages.")

I searched the Help Desk FAQ and found two relevant links: the 1st 1 is back to Wiki:Subpages, so we know that doesn't help. The 2nd link is to the Article Wizard and says it contains a link for creating a Subpage, but I wasn't able to find anything besides a brief, general description of what Subpages are for. (The link may well be there, but there are a lot of pages in the Wizard, so I may have missed it.)

BTW, I accidentally put this question on the Talk page first, not realizing I wasn't on the main project page. I tried to delete that entry entirely but couldn't figure out how to do it, so I just cut the text from there and pasted it here. Sorry for the rookie error.

I'd appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks. --Jackftwist (talk) 23:58, 27 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Subpages are created in the same way as other pages. If you want a page called User:Jackftwist/Sandbox then you can for example enter that name in the search box and click the link saying You may create the page "User:Jackftwist/Sandbox". Or you can make a wikilink to the page somewhere and then click the link: User:Jackftwist/Sandbox. Save anything there and the page is created. There are other ways but they basically all boil down to somehow getting a url like http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Jackftwist/Sandbox&action=edit. Simply typing or editing the url in the address bar is another method. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:08, 28 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]