Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 March 28

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March 28[edit]

Grouping reference notes; citing page numbers that aren't printed?[edit]

Resolved
 – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 01:59, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for asking such a noob question, but I suddenly can't find the page that has this info on it. If you go to List_of_works_by_Albert_Bierstadt#Notes, the notes so far have two "p. 324" and almost a dozen "p. 325". Isn't there a way to combine these easily without filling the page up with repeating page numbers? What would be the best way to do this? Also: this part of the book is not an appendix, but they stop publishing page numbers after p. 323 (during this "collected works of the artist" section), and then they resume on p. 353. Is it okay to say I'm citing page, e.g., "340" and that anyone researching the book would have to "count" their way up? – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 00:54, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This, WP:CITEFOOT, section of Wikipedia:Citing sources explains how to use the name parameter to consolidate references. GB fan (talk) 01:01, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you. I was trying too hard to make it some complex format. – Kerαunoςcopiagalaxies 01:59, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

why cant i do a normal search for my article[edit]

A article was created on me called La'Toya Harris-The "CHILD" prodigy, why is it not going up in the search box? and how do i find it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.45.204.85 (talk) 01:11, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The article was deleted because:

No explanation of the subject's significance (real person, animal, organization, or web content): unreferenced negative biography

I understand that's probably Greek to you. Articles about people must demonstrate why the person is notable and deserving of an article here. This is done by citing reliable sources, as you would in a research paper. Generally, in order to be notable, a person must be covered by one or two sources. These can be anything from a webpage to a newspaper article -- as long as the source can be reasonably considered to be reputable. The deletion log indicates that the article had no sources at all. Without anything to back up what you say in the article, there is nothing to prove that you are any more notable than me or any other John Smith.
The deleting administrator also noted that the article was negative in tone. I can't fathom why you would write a negative biography about yourself -- hopefully another administrator (who can see the deleted text) will come by and explain later on.
The largest problem with the article, however, is that it is an autobiography. One of Wikipedia's core policies requires that an article is unbiased. As it is nearly impossible for you to write neutrally about yourself, you have a conflict of interest. You are strongly discouraged, but not prohibited, from writing articles about yourself.
Please take a moment and think about whether you can or want to fix all of those problems. If you have further questions, please reply below this message. Xenon54 (talk) 01:47, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The precise title was La'Toya Harris-The "CHILD" Prodigy (capitalization matters). It was created by User:Lharrisn26. The username is similar to the subject but it was apparently not written directly by herself but by somebody who interviewed her and gave long quotes from her. It was completely unsourced and inappropriate for Wikipedia. It did contain a very negative claim about her in 1999, but also positive things. Wikipedia articles, and especially biographies of living people, should have verifiable content already published in reliable sources. There should be citations to satisfy Wikipedia:Notability (people). Wikipedia is not the place to first make somebody known to the world no matter what they have done. Wikipedia:Alternative outlets#Directory of alternatives mentions two other sites with biographies. I don't know their policies but maybe they are better suited for this life story. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:46, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Missing Items[edit]

In Royal Navy ratings rank insignia article there are items missing. The Royal Marine rank insignia of Colour Sergeant and Sergeant and Corporal and Lance Corporal. The article also states that the Chief Petty Officer has both the shoulder tab insignia the sleeve insignia but only the shoulder tab insignia is present. Thank you, Jay Liebzeit —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.43.98.30 (talk) 03:04, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The best place to discuss this is on the article talk page, Talk:Royal Navy ratings rank insignia. Editors that watch the page will have a better understanding and be able to address your concerns. GB fan (talk) 03:09, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Insert citation[edit]

I notice that above the edit window, there are now two {{ }} symbols representing "Insert citation". Why are there two of them -- wouldn't one be enough? Or are they somehow different from each other? --Metropolitan90 (talk) 05:45, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That is a single icon, see Wikipedia:RefToolbar. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 12:24, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Georgian request for help[edit]

დამეხმარეთ ზებრა ყეფს თუ ჭიხვინებს? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.168.174.130 (talkcontribs) 06:05, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

უკაცრავად, მე არ მესმის ქართული ენა. (Sorry, I don't understand Georgian.) —teb728 t c 06:38, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
გთხოვთ გადახვიდეთ http://ka.wikipedia.org (მე არ მესმის ქართული ენა ან) Xenon54 (talk) 10:11, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Template[edit]

What are templates? I can tell that you can add them by using "{ { } }", but how do I change them?--Ninthabout (talk) 07:12, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See Help:Template. —teb728 t c 07:21, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The {{}} icon opens the Wikipedia:RefToolbar, see that page for documentation. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) talk 12:26, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Retrieve deleted pictures[edit]

Dear Wikipedia HelpDesk

I have been working on an article for a long time and is now finally ready to publicise. BUT I have uploaded some pictures to my article previously, which have been deleted, and I have tried everything to get them back in.

If I try to re-upload them, it says that I have uploaded a file of the same name earlier, so I try the retrieve function but that does not work either.

Can you help me? I have full authority to use all pictures.

This is the article in question: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:SBDT/NNE_Pharmaplan#Worldwide_locations — Preceding unsigned comment added by SBDT (talkcontribs) 08:36, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, but if User:SBDT/NNE Pharmaplan were moved to article space, it would be speedily deleted as blatantly promotional. (It says, for example, “NNE Pharmaplan is the world's leading....”). Also, your lead paragraph is almost a direct quote from here. About your images: Am I right in guessing that File:NNE Pharmaplan HQ.jpg is a photo which has not been released under a free license showing the outside of a building. If so, it is not acceptable to Wikipedia because it could be replaced by a free-licensed replacement. Non-free content must conform to Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria. —teb728 t c 09:12, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The phrasing "the world's leading..." is the company's official boilerplate text, but I can change the phrasing if it is the "leading" formulation that constitutes the problem. And yes, it is a direct quote from a lot of places, since that boilerplate text is used everywhere where the company is listed, be it online directories, event websites, etc. Is that really a problem? As for the picture, I will upload it as something other than free content. That must be an error from my part. But I still wouldn't know how, since I can't seem to be able to complete the process of changing the picture documentation without getting some kind of error. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SBDT (talkcontribs) 12:05, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The text of the article should be neutral. It should reflect what reliable sources independant of the company say about the company. What the company says about itself is never neutral. Their description of themselves will be in the best possible light. The text as it stands right now is not neutral and need a lot of work. GB fan (talk) 12:43, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I am sorry to hear that, as I have really tried to neutralise the article as much as possible. I have now made a revision and taken out "leading" and other phrasings, which could be considered promotional. In my opinion, what is left now is neutral, and certainly not less neutral than so many other articles on Wikipedia, e.g. Rambøll's which is one of NNE Pharmaplan's competitors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramboll. Can I do more to make sure Wikipedia won't delete it as advertisement? As for the pictures, I have given up trying to retrieve them myself, which is why I contacted you in the first place. Can you do anything to get them back into my article? SBDT http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramboll — Preceding unsigned comment added by SBDT (talkcontribs) 14:09, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As above, sorry: the draft still reads like an advert (e.g. offers a wide range of engineering and consulting services with focus on five main segments, involved in several international large scale projects, etc - and makes bold claims that are only supported by primary sources, e.g. (CCT), a leading company within cleanroom testing and unreferenced claims, e.g. 1990: Pharmaplan opens it's first office abroad.
As regards the photo - "upload it as something other than free content" - no, please don't do that. There are very few cases where we can use non-free images - such as a company logo, for example - but we can't use nonfree pictures without excellent reasons. A photo of a building used by a company would not fit the requirements.
As regards the article on Ramboll, that isn't directly relevant. There are thousands of really bad articles on Wikipedia - but that isn't a good excuse for adding more; it just means they need fixing. If you helped out with that, by editing other articles, that'd be great - and it would prevent you being labelled as a single-purpose account. See e.g. WP:BACKLOG.
See also WP:BFAQ for general guidance.  Chzz  ►  17:52, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Further to the above I have toned down and despammed Ramboll; more could probably be done. – ukexpat (talk) 18:26, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I may be guessing wrong, SBDT, but some of the things you said above suggest to me that you may have a conflict of interest in writing this article. If you are in any way connected with NNE Pharmaplan, you should read the article I have just linked to carefully. --ColinFine (talk) 23:18, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I have used e.g. Ramboll and other articles on relevant companies on Wikipedia as a major source of inspiration, in good faith that if they were published, they live up to your demands. So I do think it is relevant. And I know for a fact that the Ramboll article is written by a Ramboll marketing employee. I have not tried to hide the fact that I am an employee at NNE Pharmaplan - it says so in my picture uploads, because I reckoned that would prove to you that I have approval to use the pictures, I am using in the article.

Content-wise is there any point in me making a huge effort to rewrite the article, or will it always be considered promotional, due to the simple fact that it is a company profile? I do respect the conflict of interest issue, but my goal is just to have an article on NNE Pharmaplan on Wikipedia - not an advert. I will try to tone it down further and have Wikipedia review before publishing it - but only if there is a point to it. It seems that you have tightened up the rules, since e.g. Ramboll published their article - which is fair enough - I just wanna now if that means that the chance of my article being OK'ed from your part is minimal, even if it is neutralised further.

As for the photo issue, it's just an expression of the fact that I cannot figure out how to upload them in the correct way:-/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by SBDT (talkcontribs) 07:32, 29 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The rules haven't been tightened. Blatantly promotional material has always been deleted and articles that contain promotional language are tagged as such when someone sees them and eventually (as I just did to Ramboll) toned down if they otherwise meet the inclusion criteria. Someone from Ramboll may have indeed created that article, but creating articles when one has a COI is strongly discouraged and such articles will always receive a high level of scrutiny. So, please take a look at and heed the advice in WP:COI and at the FAQ at WP:BFAQ and let us know if you have any further questions. – ukexpat (talk) 13:05, 29 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'll take my chances then and rewrite the article, hoping that Wikipedia will help me get it right rather than just deleting it. Going back to my original question - can you help me retrieve pictures that I have uploaded once? I am not sure if they were deleted, because they were in an inactive article or if it is copyright related - either way, I'd like some guidelines on how to get them back in, as they were all there earlier. I tried everything, but never succeeded - for various reasons. They must still in the system somewhere, because if I try to upload from scratch I am stopped midway because I "have already uploaded a file of a similar name"... — Preceding unsigned comment added by SBDT (talkcontribs) 06:39, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What license do your files have? File:Offering map.jpg and File:Inno Biologics.jpg were deleted under F3, which probably means that they were licened for use only on Wikipedia or only for non-commercial use. Wikipedia accepts only free licenses (which allow reuse by anyone for anything). File:NNE Pharmaplan HQ.jpg and File:Pronova Kalomega plant.jpg were deleted under F7, which probably means that they were not licensed under a free license but were of subjects of which a free equivalent could be made. Use of non-free content must fulfil the non-free content criteria, including the requirement that non-free content is used only where no free equivalent is available, or could be created, that would serve the same encyclopedic purpose. —teb728 t c 09:31, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

AUDI A4 TDI B5[edit]

SIR I HAVE TRIED MANY TIMES TO START MY ENGINE ,IT TURNS BUT CANNOT START. I HAVE ALSO CONDEMED THE TURBOCHARGER, ALSO I HAVE MOVE THE HEAD WORK ON IT, ALSO THE PUMP PLEASE HELP ME OUT ON WHAT TO DO. THANKS —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.201.51.18 (talk) 11:15, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 3.5 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. - and please stop SHOUTING. - David Biddulph (talk) 11:42, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

help creating a new page[edit]

Dear colleagues We are trying to create a page for Professor Farzad Sharifian, an eminent linguist, but we don't seem to have any luck. The page that we created for him has been deleted. Could you please help? You can see his university homepage at http://arts.monash.edu.au/eil/staff/fsharifian.php best Sandra Kelly — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.144.135.219 (talkcontribs) 14:16, 28 March 2011

A Wizard is available to walk you through these steps. See the Article Wizard.

Thank you.

You will need to first register an account, which has many benefits, including the ability to create articles. Once you have registered, 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 Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. An Article Wizard is available to walk you through creating an article, but you will need to create an account to use it. if you don't wish to do so, you can submit a proposal for an article at Articles for Creation. TNXMan 14:26, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The article that was created may still be accessible in Google's cache. The deletion log, giving the reasons for the 2 deletions, is here. - David Biddulph (talk)14:42, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Text Format[edit]

What is the wiki code for Centering text.

I also would like to put that in a messeage box on my talk page what extra code do I need.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Iamiyouareyou (talkcontribs)

<center>This text is centered.</center> gives you
This text is centered.
There are many kinds of message box, but {{Mbox}} is a start. – ukexpat (talk) 15:05, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

images wont upload[edit]

Hello, I can't place an image on the page I am editing. I have followed your directions. Am I allowed to add images with my user account? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Soolbeat (talkcontribs) 16:17, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

In order to upload images, you need to have an autoconfirmed sccount, i.e. have 10 edits and 4 days of age on your account. The edit count I see from your account is 8 right now. You can request to be confirmed manually, but for what's worth, just go ahead and make 2 more edits, then you should be able to upload.--Unionhawk Talk E-mail 16:24, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
It looks like you've figured that out, with the picture now added on Bobby Beaton.
However, please note the message on the image, File:BEATON.jpg - the copyright status of the picture is unclear, and if not resolved, it may be deleted; please refer to Wikipedia:Finding_images_tutorial#Do I need to know the copyright and licensing status of the image?.
Also, the article lacks inline references - see WP:REFB for help with that. (Plus, I'll add help on your own user talk page)  Chzz  ►  17:21, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

selltimeshare.co.uk[edit]

Is wikipedia use by selltimeshare.co.uk legal? Check below.

http://www.selltimeshare.co.uk/wiki.asp?k=timeshare

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.132.136.214 (talk) 19:12, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for raising this. These requests are being sent straight back to Wikipedia's servers, as you can see by querying
http://www.selltimeshare.co.uk/wiki.asp?k=wikipedia:help%20desk
I don't know about legal, but according to meta:Live mirrors it is against Wikipedia's terms of use. -- John of Reading (talk) 20:08, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict)

Definitely not appropriate. Whilst it is of course fine to copy Wikipedia - you do have to say where it comes from. What that site is doing is... well, it isn't presenting it in the appropriate way, giving credit, etc. It looks like it is taken from live Wikipedia - but presented with their lovely "timeshare" modifications. Also, their use of the Wikipedia logo is a breach of copyright; the globe logo is copyrighted. And...various other issues. I will alert people at WMF, to see if anything can be done. Thanks!  Chzz  ►  20:10, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Per meta:Live mirrors, I've added it to the list of live mirrors. There are many such sites.--ragesoss (WMF) (talk) 20:32, 28 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]