Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2011 May 20

Help desk
< May 19	<< Apr | May | Jun >>	May 21 >

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 20

Changes made on a page have been saved but are not showing up when not logged in.

I have made changes to a page and they have been saved.

When I clear the cache or access from another computer the changes are not visible, why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dmnmkt (talk • contribs) 00:49, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

A) Which page, B) Have you tried turning it off and back on again?  Chzz  ►  00:51, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

I can tell you it has something to do with Tobias Karlsson. The one problem I found is you cut and pasted the information from Tobias Karlsson into Tobias Karlsson (Figure skater) rather than using the page move function. I have restored the page Tobias Karlsson as the article on the figure skater and redirected Tobias Karlsson (Figure skater) back to it. You should never cut and paste articles to new names. It removes the attribution to the editor's who wrote the article. GB fan (talk) 01:04, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Have you tired logging back in again, do the changes show up again? It is possible that after you make the changes, and the subsequently logoff, that the changes are reverted, so you are accurately seeing the article, just in a different state then when you left it. Nothing technically wrong, just the affect of multiple editors. Tiggerjay (talk) 07:52, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

This affected me too on this page Talk:Queen_Elizabeth_II's_visit_to_the_Republic_of_Ireland (using internet explorer on winxp professional) I made a comment on May the 20th but couldn't read it when I looked at the talk page on May 21st - I logged in to examine and revert what I presumed had been a possible vandalism style deletion only to find that the comment was now visible. EdwardLane (talk) 05:59, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

Still affecting me today too on the list of volcanoes in iceland - I just checked and it's IE8

the page is not protected - just that if I'm not logged in I can't see my edits (from the last time I was logged in) - so presumably that means people on IE8 are not getting their cache refreshed if they go back to a page when not logged in. Hmm I'm going to log out and see if I can still see this comment. EdwardLane (talk) 15:12, 25 May 2011 (UTC) They were still visible once I'd logged out - and the list of volcanoes in iceland, also showed up fine now, but presumably that's because my cache was refreshed when I logged in. EdwardLane (talk) 15:21, 25 May 2011 (UTC)

why was Ark (webseries) deleted for non-notable? Providing links on articles regarding this series below:

It's not clear why this was considerd a "non-notable":

http://www.scifiscoop.com/news/upcoming-web-series-ark-looks-promising/

http://www.scifiscoop.com/news/trey-stokes-delivers-brilliant-sci-fi-with-ark/

http://gigaom.com/video/ark-could-be-lost-for-the-web-if-it-gets-a-second-season/

http://news.tubefilter.tv/2010/07/26/ark-hits-hulu-sci-fi-gem-rolls-out-all-at-once/

http://www.hulu.com/ark

http://www.webseriesnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/ark-web-series-the-complete —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.11.16.255 (talk) 01:16, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

The links you provided here are not considered reliable sources per WP:RELIABLE. They seem to be self-published sources (see WP:USERG) and therefore lack checking of the facts before they are published. If you want some other opinions apart from mine, you can post your links at the Reliable sources noticeboard. There you can receive other comments on the reliability of the sources you provided, but they will most likely come to the same conclusion. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 06:31, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Feedback on an addition to an extant entry

I want to add several paragraphs to an existing article, but this is my first attempt and I find it unclear whether to begin on my discussion page or Sandbox or where. The problem with the former, for example, is that I don't see that my new material will be linked to the extant entry and I don't know whether others will see and be able to comment on my draft addition. Elevy9 (talk) 01:54, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

The place to discuss the edits are on the talk page of the article you want to add the material to. GB fan (talk) 01:56, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Question about reference flood overkill

Is there a term for this type of edit? It has been reverted. Where can I read more about this in case I need to revert again. Thanks.[1] --Mjpresson (talk) 03:45, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

The problem with that edit is not the referencing, its that it isn't appropriate to the article. I spot checked several of the references, and none mention anything about Hash oil specifically; they seem to deal generally with the class of compounds known as cannabinoids or specific cannabinoids, like THC. The information the user is trying to add may be appropriate somewhere on Wikipedia, but not in that article. It's like including highly detailed information on the Mammal class of animals in an article about chihuahuas. Yeah, hash oil is a cannabis product, but information on the health benefits of cannabinoid compounds doesn't really belong in that article. Other than that, however, I don't see much of a problem with the referencing per se, just the misplacement of the information in the wrong article. It would be better to parse out each individual reference and apply the information to the specific subject of each study. --Jayron32 04:13, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. Actually that was the reason I used to revert ("belongs in another article"), so I feel a little more solid on that. Mjpresson (talk) 04:22, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Citation overkill. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:54, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Addition to New Mexico Governor list

I tried to correct the list of New Mexico Governors by adding Donaciano Vigil, 1847-1851. Vigil was appointed Governor after the 1847 assassination of Governor Bent in Taos, NM. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nmjackalope (talk • contribs) 04:37, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

It appears Vigil was never official governor, but only "acting" governor. Donaciano Vigil does not have an article at Wikipedia, but he's mentioned in a few places, notably Joab Houghton, where Mr Vigil is called the "acting governor" in a footnote. If you believe that Donaciano Vigil should be added to the list, the best place to discuss this is at Talk:List of Governors of New Mexico. Be prepared to provide sources (book sources are great, so are journals and websites) to back up your desired addition. --Jayron32 04:46, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Anderson Cooper edit request

Can someone capitalize the t in "truth" to correctly link to the page "To Tell the Truth" in the first paragraph of Early life. The talk page and article is protected so I could not do it. Morganmann (talk) 05:46, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

 Done I also put the title in italics per the MOS. Dismas|^(talk) 05:49, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

First Wikipedia users

Where would I be able to see the list of vey first Wikipedia users that joined back when Wikipedia started, from earliest to latest? Thanks in advance for any helpful comments, SwisterTwister (talk) 06:22, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

You can see a list of users in the same style as page histories here.  ajmint  (talk•edits) 06:27, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

SHIM CARD ACTIVATION

Shim card activation Respected sir I am Sahudhaneshwar my labour card no (Redacted) .I have purchase one shim card SHOHAR Falaz shop name (Redacted) fax no (Redacted). i purchase 16 may but till now not active. I go to shop every day .She take my labour card and fax and said to me you go after one hour your sdhim active but till now not active.So please look this matter.

YOURS FAITHFULLY

SAHU DHANESHWAR —Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.140.128.35 (talk) 06:32, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Wikipedia:Reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer 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. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 06:40, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Has Wikipedia ever been hacked into or crashed?

Thanks for any comments in advance, SwisterTwister (talk) 06:39, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

WP:STOCKS might be an entertaining read. CaptRik (talk) 07:35, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Wikipedia:Reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer 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. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps.Tiggerjay (talk) 07:44, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Document Uploading

Hi,

I am trying to upload a document in .doc format. This has been created by me. Kindly help me to do the same. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.200.120.155 (talk) 06:44, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

• Unfortunately, .doc is not one of the accepted file formats. What do you want to use the .doc document for? Perhaps I can offer a workable alternative. - Mgm|^(talk) 06:47, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but Wikipedia doesn't support uploading anything other than images, videos and sounds. You could convert it to an image if you think it would be helpful to us. If, however, you want to contribute the text in it to an article, you can copy and paste it in to where you think it would be helpful, as long as you wrote it yourself, or you have explicit permission from the writer. You can read this page for more information.  ajmint  (talk•edits) 06:51, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Can you tell us what kind of information the document contains? What do you want to do with the information in the document? If you give us a bit more information, perhaps we are able to better help you. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 06:55, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Publication of a new web site

A few days ago I built and submitted a new site to be published on Wikipedia. The page is about Fidelis International Institute. It has not been published so far, though. What can I do about it? How can I move from my sandbox to the mainstream? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Senior Consultant (talk • contribs) 09:26, 20 May 2011(UTC)

I suspect you are talking about [2]. It lacks third party independant reliable sources. Kittybrewster ☎ 09:39, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Have a look at Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies) and So you made a userspace draft. I've also left you some introductory links on your talk page. -- John of Reading (talk) 09:46, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Part of it copies http://www.fidelisinstitute.org/article.php?se=9 verbatim. There is a way that the copyright owner could license Wikipedia to use the text, but that wouldn't solve the fact that it is promotional. —teb728 t c 09:53, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

See also WP:COI. Since you are a senior analyst and consultant on the Fidelis team, you have a conflict of interest which would make it difficult for you to write with the neutral point of view required in Wikipedia articles. —teb728 t c 11:40, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

How to create math formula images

I am currently working on the Salter's duck article and I would like to put the energy efficiency equations from this reference into the article. I have noticed on math related articles, such as Quadratic equation, that it is some sort of template to make those formula images, but I don't know the proper code methods I need to enter in order to come up with the equations from that reference. Could I get some help? I would need all three of the equations from page 142. Silverseren^C 10:18, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

I think Help:Displaying a formula may be what you are looking for. —teb728 t c 10:27, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

For your first formula you could use <math>0.16 < \frac{r}{\lambda} < 0.2</math> , which displays as $0.16<{\frac {r}{\lambda }}<0.2$. If you need help with the other formulas, please let us know. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 10:35, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Could you help with the other two as well, please? I was just looking at the Help page that TEB linked to and was freaking out a bit. I don't think i'm good enough with that sort of code to figure it out myself. I'm a biology major, not a computer science major. ^_^; Silverseren^C 10:37, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

The first of the two:

${\text{R}}\,\!$$=$$\int \limits _{}^{}$${\big (}\upsilon _{n}-{\mathit {u_{n}}}{\big )}^{2}$${\text{ds}}\,\!$$\int \limits _{}^{}$${\mathit {u_{n}}}^{2}$${\text{ds}}\,\!$

the markup is

<math>\text {R}\,\!</math><math>=</math><math>\int\limits_{}^{}</math><math>\big(\upsilon_n - \mathit{u_n} \big)^2</math><math>\text {ds}\,\!</math><math>\int\limits_{}^{}</math><math>\mathit{u_n} ^2</math><math>\text {ds}\,\!</math> Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:11, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Geez, that's a lot. Thanks for doing this. Silverseren^C 11:20, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

The second:

$\eta$$=$${\big (}1-$${\mathit {R}}_{min}{\big )}\times 1{\big (}{\frac {-4\pi d}{\lambda }}{\big )}$

the markup is

<math>\eta</math><math>=</math><math>\big( 1-</math><math>\mathit{R}_{min} \big) \times 1 \big(\frac{- 4 \pi d}{\lambda} \big)</math>

Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:33, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

 Done I think at some places the code I used is not the most elegant way to do it, but it should work. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:40, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

(e/c with the above comment) As far as I'm aware, you don't need all the starting and stopping of maths tags:<math>\eta=\big( 1-\mathit{R}_{min} \big) \times 1 \big(\frac{- 4 \pi d}{\lambda} \big)</math> produces

$\eta ={\big (}1-{\mathit {R}}_{min}{\big )}\times 1{\big (}{\frac {-4\pi d}{\lambda }}{\big )}$

Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 11:42, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Yes, that is what I was referring to above. I did it that way, because when creating formulas and omitting some of the math tags, I sometimes ran into problems in the past. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:47, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Yes, correct, using <math>\text {R}\,\! = \int\limits_{}^{} \big(\upsilon_n - \mathit{u_n} \big)^2 \text {ds}\,\! \int\limits_{}^{} \mathit{u_n} ^2 \text {ds}\,\!</math> actually produces

${\text{R}}\,\!=\int \limits _{}^{}{\big (}\upsilon _{n}-{\mathit {u_{n}}}{\big )}^{2}{\text{ds}}\,\!\int \limits _{}^{}{\mathit {u_{n}}}^{2}{\text{ds}}\,\!$

Thanks Grandiose. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:51, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

The 2nd formula with the slim code is

<math>\eta = \big( 1- \mathit{R}_{min} \big) \times 1 \big(\frac{- 4 \pi d}{\lambda} \big)</math>

producing $\eta ={\big (}1-{\mathit {R}}_{min}{\big )}\times 1{\big (}{\frac {-4\pi d}{\lambda }}{\big )}$

Thanks again, Grandiose. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 11:55, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

• Thanks, both of you. I have to get to bed for now, but i'll be sure to add in those codes when I get up. Silverseren^C 12:02, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

I'm very impressed! -- John of Reading (talk) 12:37, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

is a wiki page the best for my aims?

Hello!

I would very much appreciate your expert and trusted advice on the following idea:

I would like to create some kind of internet accessible page which could be used to give a voice to the victims of the UK spending cuts. It would aim to compile details of cuts made to services around the UK and the impact on individual lives by inviting victims to record their experiences on the web page. It would be like the 'mass observation' of WW2 but with accounts being held online like the BBC's People's History. I would like readers to be able to add their own stories themselves and be able to 'google' it .

What type of web page/group set up would best serve my aims? If it was straightforward, wouldn't someone else have already thought of it? I've tried searching facebook groups and the web to see if such a page/group exists already but haven't found one.

Many thanks for your support- please forgive my ignorance!

Elaine O'Hanrahan (talk) 12:56, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

An article in Wikipedia would be totally the wrong way to go, since Wikipedia is not here to promote your cause, however worthy; and we are not a webhost or internet service provider. The kind of software which empowers you to create your own wiki might be a useful tool for your purposes; but of course, that's outside the purview of this page, which is actually here for assistance in using and editing Wikipedia itself. --Orange Mike | Talk 13:03, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

I think the people at the Computing Reference desk can actually better help you with that. Just click here and bring up this idea there. They specialize in questions related to Computing, information technology, electronics, software and hardware and you might have better chances of receiving the advice you seek there. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 13:14, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you so much for your really helpful responses! Elaine O'Hanrahan (talk) 15:31, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

References in disambiguation pages

Is there a policy or guideline specifying whether disambiguation pages are supposed to contain references or not? For example, on the page Borg in the section titled Places, there is an entry called Borg (Iceland) which is a redlink and has no reference. So how is a reader supposed to find out if this isn't just a hoax? Also MOS:DABRL says redlinks should only be used, if an article links to it. In this case, only two articles link to it, both of which are stubs with no apparent established notability. It seems to me that justification for inclusion of this redlink solely on the ground that two articles with questionable notability include it is a rather bad justification. In that way, I could create totally nonsensical redlinks in some disambiguation pages and that way have this redlink staying in Wikipedia without any sources or proof for correctness. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 15:59, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Places are almost always notable and Borg (Iceland) does appear to exist, so I think the DAB page is OK as it is. DAB pages do not usually contain references. – ukexpat (talk) 18:00, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Ok thanks. Most DAB pages I have seen do in fact (as you say) not contain references. I simply think a reader should not be forced to have to rely solely on external evidence (like a Google search) that a redlink in a DAB page actually belongs there. But that's just my opinion and doesn't seem to be supported by policies or guidelines. Toshio Yamaguchi (talk) 18:21, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

By the way, the world-famous place in question already had an article; see Borg á Mýrum. As to the underlying issue: I think that unless there's a really strong reason to suspect some kind of spammy intent or hoaxing, a redlink on a dab page should be treated as an incentive to create an article. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:48, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

• • Are you sure the linked place is the same as the article? One appears to be a building rather than a city... - 87.211.75.45 (talk) 16:44, 21 May 2011 (UTC)
    • It's a farmstead/hamlet and the buildings thereof, old enough to be mentioned in a saga. --Orange Mike | Talk 22:58, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

Per this, dab pages should not contain references. --Auntof6 (talk) 20:14, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Need someone to fix an image

Resolved

I'm terrible at fixing images (cropping and stuff like that). I just uploaded and used File:Scotty McCreery May 14 2011.jpg, but just realized that it could benefit from some cropping work. Could someone whose good at that stuff take a crack at it? Thanks! --Jayron32 16:49, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

:I'll take a shot at it - will report back with progress. – ukexpat (talk) 17:37, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

I am guessing that McCreery is the guy in the plaid/check shirt? – ukexpat (talk) 17:38, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

 Done: File:Scotty McCreery May 14 2011 CROPPED.jpeg. Let me know if you need any more help!  ajmint  (talk•edits) 17:39, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Should have uploaded it to Commons where the original is located... – ukexpat (talk) 17:41, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Sorry about that.  ajmint  (talk•edits) 17:45, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Moved to Commons.  ajmint  (talk•edits) 18:05, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Merci beaucoup. You are an officer AND a gentleman sir... --Jayron32 02:13, 21 May 2011 (UTC)