Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 May 11

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May 11

How do I get the alert message 'Additional Citations Needed' removed once sufficient references are added?

After adding significant updates and references to the article 'Travis Fimmel' (there are now 40+ verifiable citations compared to the 4 or 5 there originally), the article still has the 'Additional Citations Needed' message at the top of the page. This message is dated January 2009 so it hasn't been reviewed on this basis for two years. I have read a number of other articles on Wiki with as little as 3 or 4 citations for similar length articles. Why the discrepancy? And how can I get this message removed from the article I have updated?? Thanks for the help.Ultimatedit (talk) 00:18, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

You get it removed by removing it yourself once the issue has been addressed. There is not automatic system to remove them. Dismas|^(talk) 00:21, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Removing the alert is a manual process - any editor can review the article, decide the alert is no longer necessary, and edit the article to remove it. I have done so. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 00:24, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict × 2) Good work! I have removed it with this edit. With 3.6 odd million articles there can be a bit of a backlog with out-of-date tags, especially since everyone here is a volunteer. In cases like this where clearly the tag is inappropriate, feel free to remove it if the issues it raises are adressed. If not, best to mention it on the articles talk page and see if anyone disagrees. Cheers, doomgaze (talk) 00:26, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Heh. doomgaze is right. His edit beat mine. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 00:30, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Just looked properly at the article, you're not Mr Fimmel himself or his publicist are you? In places the article unfortunately veers the wrong side of our neutral point of view policy. doomgaze (talk) 00:32, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Glad I'm not the only one that noticed that the article seems to be a bit heavy on the praise of Fimmel. Dismas|^(talk) 00:47, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I've trimmed it rather heavily in places and welcome your input. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 01:10, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Please update your definition regarding Al-Qaeda

Hi there, Noticed that you having multiple pages of written nuisances regarding Al-Qaeda, even given a leader i.e Osama bin Laden activities etc Can you prove to us that Al-Qaeda exists in first place? For example Bush administration and associates denounced publicly that Al-Qaeda exists and that Osama was a leader of the Al-Qaeda Its morally wrong to post that kind of misinformation to the internet world

Thanks in advance

Poly —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.88.183.103 (talk) 05:33, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I am confused? Are you claiming that Al-Qaeda does not exist? The articles about Al-Qaeda are well referenced to reliable sources, so we're going to need more than your insistance that these sources are wrong. If you have evidence that the sources are wrong, such as sources of your own, you could try posting at Talk:Al-Qaeda so others can review them. --Jayron32 05:53, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Using a reference from Wikipedia

Hi,

I wanted to know something. Suppose, I copy something from wikipedia, In my research papers, I clearly include the reference. But one thing, wikipedia articles are usually subjected to change.

Is it possible that one reference which I had previously taken from wikipedia is deleted from the article??

Thanks Regards Noor —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bakenoor (talk • contribs) 05:57, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

• Yes, it is possible that an article you reference in your research paper changes over time. That's why you should use the "cite this page" link in the toolbox on the left of your screen (if you're watching the correct article). Such a link will point to a specific revision of the article (since all revisions are recorded and saved on Wikipedia. This way your professor will see the exact same article as the one you cited. --Mgm|^(talk) 06:46, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

CLOSED LOOP GAIN CALCULATION

AN AMPLIFIER HAS A FORWARD GAIN OF 1000 AND THE PROPORTION OF THE OUTPUT IN THE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP IS 0.05. CALCULATE THE CLOSED LOOP GAIN WITH THE AMPLIFIER OPERATING NORMALLY AND WITH A FORWARD GAIN REDUCTION OF 5% —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.201.51.21 (talk) 05:59, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Please do your own homework.

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here not to do people's homework for them, but merely to aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn how to solve such problems.
Please attempt to solve the problem yourself first. You can search Wikipedia or search the Web.
If you need help with a specific part of your homework, the Reference desk can help you grasp the concept. Do not ask knowledge questions here, just those about using Wikipedia. Goodvac (talk) 06:06, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

My article has been deleted!!

Traveltoogle (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

I have contributed the unique article (something like:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixigo.com) but mine is deleted everytime showing reason that it has been deleted due to "Criteria_for_speedy_deletion#A7". I made some correction and again submitted the same thing happens. Please help me what I have to do now. :( —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thenikhil (talk • contribs) 09:29, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

The article has not provided any reason within the article itself for why it deserves to exist. Wikipedia does not allow articles about simply anything and everything - the subject must be notable. See WP:Criteria for speedy deletion#A7. Roger (talk) 09:46, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Note also that the speedy deletion notice says clearly that it must not be removed by the creator of an article, but you still did so. Coming back to your original question, for you to show the subject's notability you will need to find references which don't come from the company itself or from its own press releases and blogs. - David Biddulph (talk) 10:00, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

If you wish to improve the article, you can request userfication to a user subpage with a request at Wikipedia:Requests for undeletion. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 11:37, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

It hasn't been deleted (yet), it is tagged for speedy deletion. – ukexpat (talk) 18:21, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Half of the four deletions of Traveltoogle have been for unambguous advertising or promotion. Not only must the subjects of articles be notable, the articles must be written in a manner that is neutral and not promotional. —teb728 t c 20:00, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

deleted

Hello,

My edit was not accepted this is not correct I reported what a company Badoo is doing to me intentionally if people accept an email from these people they invade your life and you cannot get rid of them they will not willingly accept deletion. How would one let others know that this could happen to them. This is true and not a vandilium it is true and factual. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aquirky (talk • contribs) 12:03, 11 May 2011

There were a number of things wrong with your edit. There were a number of misformatting errors, spurious images, the edit was in the wrong place in the article, and you didn't quote any source. If you have a reference for the accusation you make, quote it in the article. - David Biddulph (talk) 12:18, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict)It might be true and factual, but this is an encyclopedia not a forum. An encyclopedia summarizes information that appears in reliable sources about a subject. Your personal experiences with a company are not appropriate for an encyclopedia. GB fan (talk) 12:20, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Can you point me to a Wikipedia guideline/advice article

Hello. Could someone please point me to the name of the Wikipedia help/guideline article that explains that if material isn't in an article, it's because someone hasn't added it yet (i.e., it's not a deliberate omission), or something to that effect. I remember coming across it in the past but can't recall its name and a search hasn't revealled it. Many thanks,  • DP •  ^{huh?} 12:15, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

How about Wikipedia:Wikipedia is a work in progress? -- John of Reading (talk) 12:22, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Yes! Thank you very much.  • DP •  ^{huh?} 13:04, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

White space

Is there any general guidance on how to avoid white space? I know the question arises fairly frequently, but seem to have different answers depending upon the specific circumstances.
The specific problem is at Deaths in 2011 which is supposedly undergoing a 30 day trial of adding photo's.
The page has a long contents list down the right-hand side, one entry per day until the previous month is collapsed, so by December 31 the contents list will have 43 entries (31 dates, 11 previous months and a links section). Adding a photo to comparatively recent deaths, puts the photo alongside the contents page, leading to a large white space. Such photos are then removed by other editors on the basis that the white space disrupts the page. Is there a way to have the photos alongside the contents list without generating white space?
Arjayay (talk) 15:04, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

If the article is always in date order, you might want to consider suppressing the table of contents altogether. I believe the 'magic word' is something like __NOTOC__. Astronaut (talk) 16:46, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, but the table of contents is useful, avoiding scrolling down numerous screens, and it also links to the previous months. Arjayay (talk) 17:32, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

You can create a custom TOC; see Help:Section; see List of Eagle Scouts (Boy Scouts of America) for an example; please discuss on the article talk page. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 19:55, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Username

How do I claim a username that is not being used, and has not contributed at all. I believe I may have created the account years ago, but forgotten my password. I'd like to claim it now and use it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.162.124.105 (talk) 15:09, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

If you've still got access to the e-mail address which you nominated when you created the WP account, see Help:Logging in#What if I forget the password?. - David Biddulph (talk) 15:17, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

WP:USURP. – ukexpat (talk) 15:18, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Remembering passwords when I log in

Recently, I asked why I still needed to type my password when I logged in, even though I had ticked "Remember me". Prime Hunter explained that "Remember me" is not actually about remembering passwords. However, just out of interest, is it possible to have Wikipedia remember your password? That used to be the case on my laptop but it does not seem to be the case at present. Thank you in advance for any help, ACEOREVIVED (talk) 15:37, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I don't think Wikipedia can, but Firefox and Google Chrome do. CTJF83 15:40, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Yes, this is a browser feature. My former reply is at Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 May 5#Technical questions. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:24, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

As a general idea, having the operating system remember the username and password is a bad idea. It is easy to forget your password if you rarely use it. For example, suppose your computer gets malware and needs to be reinstalled from scratch, how will you access your account if you can't remember the password? Astronaut (talk) 16:39, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Template:User committed identity? :) CTJF83 16:42, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I don't know if there's a formal name for this but a practice I personally find useful to remember passwords is to remember a main password and then prefix an abbreviation of the site name that is easy to remmeber, such the first three letters. This way I can never forget. For example say my main chosen password was 1a2b3c4d. For this site my password would be wik1a2b3c4d. For Yahoo it would be yah1a2b3c4d and so on.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 18:38, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Changing my company logo

Resolved

 – New version of logo uploaded and FUR expanded. – ukexpat (talk) 19:42, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

My company recently refreshed our brand and we have a new logo. I have a wikipedia account, and logged in but don't know how to change the logo on the company page. Please can you help? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thecattylife (talk • contribs) 15:51, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

You really shouldn't be editing your company page WP:COI. Provide a link to the company article and the image. CTJF83 16:00, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I don't think User:Thecattylife can upload an image, as their account is not Autoconfirmed. I'm not sure keeping a logo up to date is really a COI, but see WP:Logos and WP:Upload. Arjayay (talk) 16:10, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I meant editing their company. Thecattylife, please provide the links so we may help you. CTJF83 16:12, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

My company's website is http://www.dimensiondata.com/ are you able to pull the logo from there? Thecattylife (talk • contribs) 17:58, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

This is the wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimension_Data_Holdings - how do I share or upload the new logo for you? Thecattylife (talk • contribs) 18:03, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Please do not post your logo without considering that you do so releasing it for use anywhere by anyone, saving only attribution. WP does not accept photos with use restricted to itself. Bielle (talk) 17:07, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

You can't upload it until you pass WP:AUTOCONFIRM, I'll take a look. CTJF83 17:09, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Huh, Bielle? Why would they have to release the photo to have it on here? We have thousands of non-free photos. All we are doing is updating File:Dimensiondatalogo.PNG CTJF83 17:11, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

It's more nuanced than that - see Wikipedia:Logos. The company does not relinquish copyright. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 17:14, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

The non-free media use rationale on this file should be rewritten or expanded. In my opinion, currently it doesn't specify, why this file must be used in the article and how exactly it helps the readers understanding of the article. I think this should be improved. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 18:54, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Ok, because this is highly confusing:

• Bielle and NeilN are both incorrect - licensing is a not a problem and the image will be used under fair use.
• Ctjf83 is incorrect about this being a COI problem - changing a logo could not possibly bias of the article.
• Toshio Yamaguchi - it is a logo, it definitely meets the NFCC, but you are right, the rationale could be written up better.
• Thecattylife you can upload the image by going here and following the instructions.

Prodego ^talk 19:16, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I meant in general, someone editing their own companies article, not specifically them adding a logo. CTJF83 19:30, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Actually I think the rationale not only should be rewritten, it must be rewritten, because in its current form, it provides insufficient reason for this images inclusion in this article. And I think no file meets NFCC without a detailed rationale. Non-free content has no routine permission on Wikipedia. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 19:25, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

It so clearly meets the criteria that a rationale isn't really needed. What is present is sufficient. Prodego ^talk 19:27, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

A rationale is always needed for NFC. And your argument "It so clearly meets the criteria that a rationale isn't really needed" doesn't make sense. Also, please see WP:NFCC#Policy. 10c clearly says a rationale is needed. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 19:33, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

 Done - new version uploaded and FUR expanded. – ukexpat (talk) 19:36, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks ukexpat. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 19:40, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

If everyone knows it meets the NFCC, we really don't need a rationale to tell everyone that, do we? Follow the spirit of the policy, not every letter. Prodego ^talk 19:55, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Please see the wikilink I provided. A rationale is always needed for non free content. Non-free media does not automatically meet NFCC. Also this is a more serious issue than some people realize, because our content must be allowed to be used commercially. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 20:03, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

You are a new editor yet, you will see in time. Prodego ^talk 20:17, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I agree that a rationale is always needed for non free content, but IMO the original rationale was adequate. (It would have been better changing illustrate -> identify in the purpose. And ukexpat’s is better still.) —teb728 t c 20:24, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

@Prodego It is not clear to me what you mean with this comment and what the fact that I am a fairly new editor has to do with this. Also please see Resolution:Licensing policy#Resolution which says "All projects are expected to host only content which is under a Free Content License, or which is otherwise free as recognized by the 'Definition of Free Cultural Works' as referenced above". NFC does not fit into this and is therefore only used in cases, where free content is not available and then is used as sparingly as possible. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 20:29, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for your help - very much appreciated! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thecattylife (talk • contribs) 08:24, 12 May 2011 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.68.151.251 (talk)

Witness naming policy?

Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border posts#Investigation and trials

"After the trial Nikulin became a key witness an unrelated murder and changed his surname to Mikhailov as part of witness protection program." Can we have an official Wikipedia policy on not naming people who are under official governmental witness protection programs? Or is there one already? How do I flag this article for policy review? Pär Larsson (talk) 17:01, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

The relevant policy is WP:BLP, particularly the "do no harm" principle. – ukexpat (talk) 18:18, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

In general I agree with your point and the policy - we shouldn't be revealing the new names of those in witness protection programs. I was going to seek WP:OVERSIGHT to suppress this, both in the article and here; however I noticed in this case it is not Wikipedia but the Novaya Gazeta report (used as a reference to the sentence you quoted above) which already outed Nikulin three years ago. Astronaut (talk) 05:19, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Assessment/rating of articles feature

As I was viewing an article, suddenly a lower window opened and asked me to rate article's trustworthiness, objectivity etc. The feature seems to be called "Rate the article". Is there a write up somewhere on this feature? Thanks. History2007 (talk) 20:44, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

We have an Article Feedback Tool that is in a pilot deployment as of September 22, 2010. Only a few articles have the feedback tool— they are in the hidden Category:Article Feedback Pilot. You can ask more questions at the discussion page for the Article Feedback Tool workgroup. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 20:53, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. Looks interesting. History2007 (talk) 21:19, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

This has been rolled out across a much larger number of articles; see Wikipedia:Vpt#Expanded_Use_of_Article_Feedback_Tool. -- John of Reading (talk) 21:23, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Washington Times using text from Wikipedia without attribution?

I came across this page from The Washington Times that used text straight from John Pappas but with no attribution to Wikipedia, thereby violating Wikipedia:Text of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Is this allowed? Eagles 24/7 (C) 21:43, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

The Wikipedia paragraph was added today; it may be the copyvio. —teb728 t c 22:49, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

This is the first version of the article (with the same exact lead). Eagles 24/7 (C) 22:52, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

You're right; I misread the history. —teb728 t c 22:55, 11 May 2011 (UTC)