Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2013 June 20

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June 20

Vandalism on James Gandolfini's page - please lock

Hi all,

I noticed some vandalism on James Gandolfini's page [redacted] I'm new to Wiki and apologize if I'm filing this through the wrong channels. Just thought his page should be given protection or locked given his recent passing.

Thanks, Alex — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.187.216.140 (talk) 00:11, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Protection can be requested at Wikipedia:Requests for page protection. When celebrities die, their articles are wacthed by many editors and vandalism is quickly reverted, usually within minutes, so there may not be much need for page protection. There is no need to immortalize the vandalism here so I have redacted it from your post. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:26, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Protection has been requested - and it is needed, urgently. AndyTheGrump (talk) 00:28, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

The article has been protected, though the lock icon showing that isn't yet up, to show protection is in place. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 01:08, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Self-written and poorly-sourced article

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

The page for Theodore Paraskevakos is a fine example of a poor article and should probably be heavily edited, sourced, or deleted altogether.

Firstly, the author of the article, 'Sjcramer', has only created a single page (the article in question) and all of his edits have been either to add to that article or reference it in other articles.

Secondly, the article lacks any real sources. Patents are listed, but nothing else. Surely claims such as being the inventor of the caller identification device and the progenitor of 'Smartphones' 'Smart Meters' and the 'Smart Grid' need some sort of verification. The claim that 'It took over 30 years for technology to catch up to him' is a bold one indeed, and it is again not supported by any evidence. A quick Google search did not even reveal any evidence for his existence other than his Wikipedia page.

Thirdly and lastly, something that I cannot prove definitively but is immediately obvious upon reading the page is that it was written by its subject. Again, that is speculation on my part, but the lack of sources and odd behavior of the pages creator (hopefully) lend some credibility to my statement.

In summary, this is a poorly written and sourced article that reeks of self insertion and does not meet the standards expected of a Wikipedia article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.56.255.179 (talk) 00:33, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

I've taken out the more spectacular (ahem) claims and provided a source for another. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 00:53, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Logging in at different wikipedia sites

I have accounts on several Wikipedia sites: French, German, English, Dutch and an account on Wikimedia Commons. All with different names and different passwords. But lately something has changed. Logging in on one site means that I am logged in on all other sites. That means that I lose the overview I had. Some changes to Wikimedia are made with a different account that I was used to. I want to go back to the previous situation. How can this be done? Wereldburger758 (talk) 06:42, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

The short answer is - it can't. You're encountering the first stages of the Wikimedia Foundation's single unified login project, which is due to be completed in the next couple of months. All users will end up with one login across the full board of Wikimedia projects. For more information - and some FAQs - see Wikipedia:Unified login/Finalisation. Yunshui 雲‍水 07:20, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Would it help to change all the different usernames to the same name, then when unification is completed it won't make a meaningful difference? Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 09:51, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Switching sites

I have a different unified login problem. If I click on a wiki link to Meta, it shows that I am NOT logged in, and gives me a button to log in. I have a unified login. If I were to edit the page without noticing that I am not logged in, it would edit from an IP address beginning with 71. How do I stay logged in if I go to Meta in response to a link? Robert McClenon (talk) 11:40, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

I tried the same thing the other way. I logged in to Meta, and then clicked on a link to Wikipedia, and was not logged in. I had thought that a login would survive switching between Wikis, but apparently it does not, at least in my case, and I am using a unified login. Robert McClenon (talk) 00:34, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Praise

Just want to say what a great website this is, and how it serves a great purpose, but what do we say to the governments of China and Belarus that continue to block our websites? --All Ready, Trevor? (talk) 09:16, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

meh. Mdann52 (talk) 10:12, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Shaded Silver Persian

Heading added.--ukexpat (talk) 14:15, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

There is presently much discussion on a breeder/exhibitor Yahoo group list regarding the Shaded Silver Persian cat CFA standard. A reference was made about the negative description of the Persian cat on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_cats). I started to read the article, but quickly ended as the very first paragraph is out of date and I am assuming the rest is old news, too.

The sentence, "Hereditary polycystic kidney disease is prevalent in the breed, affecting almost half the population in some countries." is extremely outdated. PKD was a problem a decade ago, but with selective breeding, the problem of PKD in Persian cats is almost nonexistant. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.104.28.96 (talk) 14:03, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

If you can improve an article, you are welcome to do so - especially if you can cite a reliable source for your changes. The information on polycystic kidney disease is cited to two references, one from 2009, and the other (which says the disease affects one third of persians) undated but which cites references from 2008. It may indeed be that this is now out of date, but you need to find a reliable source to cite that says so if you want to add the information. --ColinFine (talk) 23:28, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

How do you remove unwanted code?

Hi, I just had a quick question. How do you remove unwanted code at the top of the page (above the logo) like on this page: White Oak Conservation

The coding is [[file: |250px|alt=]] even though that doesn't appear once you click edit. I appreciate your help ahead of time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Michaelstone428 (talk • contribs) 14:16, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for pointing that out. I agree those can be puzzlers, and unless there is a Wikiproject devoted to these sort of wierdities, this is the place to ask. Normally it is some sort of bad change or vandalism to the infobox template code, but the Infobox Zoo template hasn't had a substitative change in over a month. I'll keep looking and report here if I figure it out.Naraht (talk) 14:47, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Ah, it looks like that template wraps the file name for use and thus it doesn't need it done in the article.Naraht (talk) 15:00, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Indeed so, there is little consistency between ibox templates as to image link formatting - the template documentation usually demonstrates the formatting required.--ukexpat (talk) 15:22, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

The image fields can be updated to fix this so that it works with or without the image markup by using Module:InfoboxImage. I just don't have time to work this, but you can discuss it on the infobox talk page. --  Gadget850 ^talk 20:32, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

ASL Wikipedia?

I know that there are number of methods of writing down an ASL sign and I'm not sure if any of them are standard enough, if one did reach a standard (Say Gallaudet decided to use it exclusively and it went from there), would it be appropriate to have an ASL Wikipedia? Naraht (talk) 14:40, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

There is the ASL Wikipedia Project on Wikimedia Labs and the ASL Wikipedia test on Incubator. See also Extension:SignWriting MediaWiki Plugin. jonkerz ♠talk 15:12, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure what standard they use, but it looks really beautiful! jonkerz ♠talk 15:21, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Interesting!, I don't understand much ASL, but I am learning.Naraht (talk) 16:10, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Muntajat Approval

To Whom it may concern,

I made an article for my client, a organization named Muntajat, i wanted to ask when will it be approved to go live?

Regards,

Marwan ElGhamrawy — Preceding unsigned comment added by Muntajat (talk • contribs) 14:47, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

User:Muntajat has been indeffed. --76.189.109.155 (talk) 18:21, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Excessively long lead

Resolved

About one week ago, an editor correctly objected to the lead at Rafael Nadal, saying (correctly) that it was not only too long, but that the massive amount of content was all crammed into just two paragraphs, making it difficult to read. I fully agreed, recommended that he temporarily split it into three or four paragaphs, and then hopefully - if he was not willing to do it - someone else would then trim the overall content by removing anything that is not lead-worthy. The other editor did split the lead, but into five paragraphs instead of the three or four as I suggested. I told him that five paragraphs was too many, cited WP:LEADLENGTH to show why, and asked that he please reduce the number of paragraphs. But he never returned. Therefore, I made this edit request in the same thread, but it has yet to be responded to. So I was hoping someone could please at least reduce the number of paragraphs. And if someone is knowledgeable about Nadal or men's professional tennis, it would be great if they could also do the trimming - relocate any non-lead-worthy content to the body of the article. The lead is just way too long and has a bunch of content that simply isn't important enough to be included. Thanks! --76.189.109.155 (talk) 17:32, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi, as this is a content discussion, to get more awareness of your suggestions I've cross-posted your message here to the talk page of WikiProject Tennis [1]. CaptRik (talk) 20:48, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, Capt! Well, it's partly a content issue (some non-lead-worthy content) but also a policy issue (the excessive number of paragraphs). --76.189.109.155 (talk) 21:00, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

After lengthy discussion, the lead has been revised to comply with WP:LEAD. --76.189.109.155 (talk) 06:56, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

I'm sorry about this. I believe I am the editor referred to above. Soon after making my comment, I went away for ten days' holiday. Anyway, I am pleased to see it has been dealt with competently. Maproom (talk) 20:10, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

Correct the Info: Paekakariki, June 20 1943

You should correct the misinformation about the June 20th 1943 drownings at Paekakariki during WWII: US Navy/sailors, not marines. Refer to the NZ History website: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/united-states-navy-tragedy-paekakariki

Thanks.

jms 18:46, 20 June 2013 (UTC)18:46, 20 June 2013 (UTC)18:46, 20 June 2013 (UTC)~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.119.230.42 (talk)

I don't read the sources as saying that the drownings involved Navy sailors. Moreover, the incident involved a landing (on a beach), which is the sort of thing that Marines do, not something that Navy sailors do.

If you still want to change the article, you can, but I suggest you post at Talk:Paekakariki and let another editor take a look. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 23:48, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Article Feedback Widget isn't Showing Up

The Article Feedback Widget (the box which lets you give star ratings to articles) isn't appearing in any article I see, even though I haven't turned it off on my appearance preferences page. How can I get it back up? -Giematt (talk) 19:11, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Never mind, I wasn't aware that it was removed. Wikipedia:Article Feedback Tool seem to imply it is still there.-Giematt (talk) 19:32, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

"Due to high database server lag, changes newer than 1,044 seconds may not appear in this list. "

When I try to look at my contributions, after an extremely long delay, I get "Due to high database server lag, changes newer than 1,044 seconds may not appear in this list." System response is generally very slow. Is the server farm broken, or is there some bug or virus at work, some special maintenance which impairs performance, or is Wikipedia running out of hard drive space? Edison (talk) 19:26, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

It could be any of the above or something else as well. You may find the answer at WP:VPT but it might also have been a small enough disturbance that no one documented it anywhere. These lags happen every so often but they generally don't last very long. Dismas|^(talk) 23:30, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

How to change username?

Hello Wikipedia Support,

I decided to create a page for myself, but in haste, I used Danieldayan instead of something that has more aesthetic merit (e.g. danieldayan, DanielDayan, Daniel Dayan, etc.)

Is there a way to change it?

Please advise

Sincerely, Daniel Dayan

P.S. While I await your response, I will continue to add content to my page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Danieldayan (talk • contribs) 19:51, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:USERNAME#Changing_your_username. Since you don't seem to have many edits, you should just create a new account with the name you want. RudolfRed (talk) 21:35, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

This is the draft article Daniel Dayan created. --76.189.109.155 (talk) 22:50, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Oof. Shall we take a group photo before the article gets buhleted? Cyphoidbomb (talk) 03:09, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Just a helpful hint: If you type "Wikipedia:" followed by the keyword of what you're looking for into the Wikipedia search box, there's a good chance that the predictive text will give you an option that will get you started in the right direction. In this case, if you were to type in Wikipedia:Username then you would arrive at the above suggested page without needing to wait for us to help you. Not that we don't want to but doing this often gets you what you're looking for more quickly. Dismas|^(talk) 23:25, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

I have removed the maintenance templates as they are unnecessary while the draft is in user space and I have added {{User draft}}.--ukexpat (talk) 13:05, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Excessively long "See also list"

The Accuracy and precision#See also list is very long and IMHO should be trimmed back to the essentials. However, I don't know enough about the subject to judge which links should be kept and which could be removed. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 20:48, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

I've taken an axe to it. Some of those were only very tangentially related to the main concept. --Jayron32 21:09, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Need some advice about submitting a new article to be reviewed

Hello Its my first time at writing a new article under the most recent changes. The article in question can be found at Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Ollie Freckingham

I believed I followed the instructions to have the article submitted for review, but I do not think this has worked and cannot for the life of me work out where I have gone wrong. I believe this is a very valid entry which fits in with other first class county cricketers in England.

Are you able to give me some advice as to what I need to do to submit this article?

Many thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Prof bed (talk • contribs) 22:35, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

I submitted the article for review for you. Unfortunately, there is a very large backlog of articles waiting for review, so the process may take a while. Right now there are over 900 articles in the backlog.--Slon02 (talk) 00:19, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

On a side note, can someone please explain how zappa.jake added a welcome template to Prof bed's talk page without it appearing on the talk page history log?? I didn't know stealth editing like that was possible. (You can ignore the fact that Prof bed has been editing for seven years and so certainly didn't need the "welcome new user" template. :p) --76.189.109.155 (talk) 00:52, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

I don't know when the smiley was added, but the first note from Zappa was added in August 17, 2006. The {{CURRENTDATE}} always shows today's date, so that's why it shows today's date and not the date it was added. RudolfRed (talk) 01:06, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Oh! Thanks for solving the mystery, RR! I couldn't figure out why the heck that edit wasn't showing on the history log for today. But why is the CURRENTDATE template being used for the welcome message?? Anyway, maybe you can also solve this mystery comment on my talk page. Am I being punk'd? Haha. My reply to the editor will explain my confusion. --76.189.109.155 (talk) 01:15, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

It could be for a different reason, but registered users sometimes post messages without realizing they've been logged out. I personally use a script that turns the save page button lime green when I'm logged in just to keep that from happening.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:24, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Sounds like a good theory to me, Fugh. If you're right, that editor should use your lime green button. That's a great idea. But you could see why I laughed so hard when I read that comment, right? --76.189.109.155 (talk) 01:29, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Sure. Perfect irony if you're assuming they are really a dedicated IP. By the way, I looked at your reasons for not signing up (and there's nothing wrong with never doing so) but I'm sure you've experienced (you even mentioned some of) the bad parts of editing as an IP. There are a lot of advantages in signing up (such as being able to tailor the interface to give yourself lime green save page buttons:-) Most of the drama and problems that have kept you from signing up come from people either being a problem themselves, or going into areas that they know are fraught. Obviously, as an admin I sometimes get into hostile encounters but I am choosing to do those things. For example, if you close contentious debates people may protest. If you spend time deleting articles, no matter how deserved, you know you will get flack from creators, and if you choose to spend time at WP:ANI you are a masochist. If you stay away from drama-magnet areas, though, in my experience, it's rare that you encounter any.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:46, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Yes, exactly... the irony! ;) I hadn't checked, so I didn't even realize that you're an admin. Thanks for the great advice, Mr. Aboutit. (I assume Mr.) --76.189.109.155 (talk) 02:02, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Thanks to Slon02 for their fuss free assistance. Much obliged.Prof bed (talk) 14:12, 21 June 2013 (UTC)