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May 22

Writing-level and our target demographic - specifically named?

I was looking through dozens of policies/guidelines/MoS pages, for something that clearly states (something like):

The target audience (or average writing-level) that we aim for in our articles, is highschoolers/collegefreshmen/fluent-adults/etc.

but the only mention I could find was in the "language" point of WP:YOUNG, which is essentially referring to WP:TONE.

Is there a specific mention somewhere, of our "target demographic"? Or is a quietly unstated idea (because it would lead to disputes and frustration if we were to "name" and enforce any particular level, given the whole stages of development diversity)? Thanks. –Quiddity (talk) 02:31, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Make technical articles understandable, which discusses what audience to write for. Wikipedia articles should generally be written for the "general reader", that is someone with no specialized knowledge of the subject before reading the article. In practice, the "Audience" section of that page, makes a good point that Wikipedia articles should generally progress from the general to the technical, in that people without any specialized knowledge should be able to get the gist of any article from the lead, but that the article can also go into technical details in the interest of thoroughness. The paragraph "Most of Wikipedia's articles can be written so that they may be fully understandable by the general reader with average reading ability and motivation. Some articles are themselves technical in nature and some articles have technical sections or aspects. Many of these can also be written to be understandable to the widest audience. Some topics are intrinsically hard or require a great deal of prior knowledge gained through years of further education or training. It is unreasonable to expect a comprehensive article on such subjects to be understandable to all readers. However, effort should still be made to make the article as understandable as possible, with particular emphasis on the lead section." seems to say it all. Too many Wikipedia articles ignore the general reader, however. This is a problem. --Jayron32 02:46, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There has been considerable discussion on Wikipedia:WikiProject Mathematics about the fact that some articles are not written in a way that can be understood by the general populace, but unfortunately the terminology used in the article is particular to high level mathematics and would get very repetitive to explain in every article.Naraht (talk) 13:57, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

WP:TECHNICAL is definitely what I was looking for. Much thanks. I'll link to it, from a few more places. (I was initially wanting to add it to the advice I left in this VPR thread, but have since reconsidered, as it would probably distract from the main points. It does help me for the future though.) –Quiddity (talk) 23:09, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

What is "ktg6us78hf8vdu7"

An editor recently made some changes to some articles and (perhaps) inadvertently added this strange markup: <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="javascript:void(0)"> (Examples: 1, 2, 3.) I Googled the string and found a number of pages with this markup. I also searched Wikipedia and found these articles contain that strange string. Anybody come across this and know what it is so that I can help educate editors to "turn off ____ toolbar before editing" or "run anti-virus software" or whatever the case may be? Thanks! Cyphoidbomb (talk) 02:39, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I think I answered my own question. Might be a malicious browser extension. MediaWiki:Abusefilter-warning-codespill. But any other info would be delightful. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 02:44, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

How do I write an entry?

I want to add a Wikipedia article about a subject that doesn't have a page yet, how do I go about doing this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Katiedavis1989 (talk • contribs) 04:01, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The page Wikipedia:Your first article is a pretty decent guide towards building your first article. The most important advice is to collect your source material first, that is have at your hands the reliable sources you intend to cite so people can verify what you intend to write. But seriously read Wikipedia:Your first article. It'll walk you through the process. --Jayron32 04:16, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Dr Who

When you have searched and found the subject, ie: DR Who, in the list of episodes when you say 3-6, are missing do you mean 3,4,5,6 are missing. Help thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.213.135.193 (talk) 05:02, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. For example in the table at Doctor_Who_missing_episodes, when it says 3-6 are missing, it means 3,4,5,6. If it didn't include all of those it would say for example "1 & 4" meaning only 1 and 4 and not all the ones in between. RudolfRed (talk) 05:26, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Phillip Lee Eyer

I would like to know more about this Singer/Songwriter I know he was born in Mt.Pleasent Michigan November 17, 1962 and he has been recording music in Nashville Tennessee — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.104.144.83 (talk) 07:35, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately we do not have an article on Phillip Lee Eyer. If your research turns up enough information to show that he meets the inclusion requirements, it would be great if you could write one; have a look at Your first article for guidance. Yunshui 雲‍水 08:57, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Amy Childs artcile

For some reason the entire article is more or less doubled and oddly setup. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.159.80.149 (talk) 08:20, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This has now been corrected, thank you for flagging it up. Yunshui 雲‍水 08:59, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Done--Canoe1967 (talk) 09:02, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

False article

The article about zorko says the town is the capital of the upper east region. I write to report that it is not true. The capital of the upper east region is bolgatanga. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 197.251.169.128 (talk) 08:50, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Please could you clarify which article you are referring to - Wikipedia has a number of pages named Zorko, none of which is about a town. Yunshui 雲‍水 08:54, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Done.Bolgatanga was vandalized. I just fixed it.--Canoe1967 (talk) 09:07, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Mistakenly deleted all references from Cuisenaire Rods page

Dear Help Desk, I have recently created a Wikipedia account and wanted to add a reference to the reference part of the Cuisenaire Rods page, but have unintentionally deleted it all and do not know how do undo this mistake. Please help! Heol23 (talk) 09:05, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Done - I've undone the last 3 edits you made to the article. If you need any help then just ask here again or message me. Good luck though and thanks for letting us know ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 09:12, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to correct similar errors in future, go to the article's history page, select the range of edits which you wish to correct & check the differences, then select "Undo". - David Biddulph (talk) 09:15, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Earls of Sefton

Dear Sir or Madam, On your page about the, Earls of Sefton you state that the DNA of the Earls of Sefton is Haplogroup I2a2a, could you please tell me where this information was sourced as it is not known to most, this would be helpful towards my family research, thank you Antony Molyneux Steele. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.6.192.250 (talk) 10:14, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The citation for that section includes the information. It points to this site. Thanks ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 11:18, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You may also be interested in the article "Molyneux (surname)". Maproom (talk) 11:46, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Sundial dated 1673

I have acquired a sundial dated 1673. I know only that it is a southern hemisphere instrument, 28 degrees South. How do I determine what exact location it was built for?

The inscription in English "SUNNY HOURES" does not suggest a South American location. Would I get information from this site?--Dunsandledogs12 (talk) 10:17, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You could try the Reference Desk. They specialise in stuff like this and i'm sure someone can help you. This help desk is for problems related to Wikipedia and editing Wikipedia. Good luck ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 11:12, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The date is far too early for northern Natal/Zululand in South Africa - that area only acquired an English-speaking population in the first half of the 19th century. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 13:10, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Images and logos

I have seen many readers and subjects (not editors) arrive here to discuss images and logos for articles. I recently made a change to Help:Contents which is the first place they land on when they click help on the sidebar. My change was reverted and we are discussing it at Help_talk:Contents#Images. The way the page is worded now we are asking them to edit their own articles after uploading images. I have seen this cause many problems and abuse of subjects. "Anyone can edit" may be wrong in this case as they try to follow the instructions without every seeing a COI page. I placed my instructions in the "I want to report a problem with an article" section for those that want to provide or update images for any article that they see with an image problem. That is where they were reverted because we already have instructions in the 'how to edit' section. I feel we need it in both. The second for readers, subjects, others connected to articles, and those that may not wish to edit. If they don't like the state of images in articles they may have better ones that they have copyright on, or can contact someone that does. Images are a problem in many articles so this should help to improve images and add more. We may wish to add it to the Wikipedia:Contact us landing page as well in case they click that first. Further discussion should carry on at Help_talk:Contents#Images. We may also wish to link the discussion to BLPN where it shows up the odd time.--Canoe1967 (talk) 11:55, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

"Template:Morris West"? I iz teh FAIL

Hello all,
I'm trying to to start a template for Australian author Morris West along the lines of {{Template:Patrick White}}. At present my effort is completely rubbish: it doesn't work at all.
Heeeeelp! --Shirt58 (talk) 12:08, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed You were stuffing the works into the image field. -- Gadget850^talk 12:16, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Infobox for a mental health helpline service

Please take a look at Breathing Space Scotland, a new article fresh from AfC, the "handmade" table needs to be replaced by a suitable infobox but I'm not having much success finding the right one for the job. Please help. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 12:55, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Category:Organization infobox templates should have one. Company seems to fit.--Canoe1967 (talk) 13:00, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Carspear

Hello,

I have created two accounts to create an article on Carspear.

The accounts are. - carspear - patriotcannon

Both articles in the accounts have been deleted by the help desk.

Please delete both the accounts. Carspear search on google is bringing up closed account and inaccurate text. Kindly help!!

Sincerely,

Sean Dalal

General Manager — Preceding unsigned comment added by Patriotcanon (talk • contribs) 13:07, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There are several things wrong here.

One person should not have two accounts. It's not that important, but it leaves them open to accusations of having created the second account for some improper purpose.

Articles are not "in" accounts. They are in Wikipedia, and are created by editors, who (usually) have accounts.

The help desk does not delete articles. Editors with admin powers sometimes delete articles.

Accounts cannot be deleted (though articles can). Maproom (talk) 13:36, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I now see that you had created a page about the business "Carspear" on the user page of your account "Carspear". The contents of this page were deleted by an admin, as advertising; and the account "Carspear" was blocked from editing. This, in my view, was all as it should be.

Now, a Google search for "Carspear" gives me the blocked editor's user page as its fifth hit. This is unfortunate. You started to edit Wikipedia without reading anything about its guidelines, but you didn't do anything dishonest or malicious, so it is unfortunate if your business suffers as a result. But I doubt it will; a user of Google will have no reason to associate User:Carspear with your business. Maproom (talk) 13:48, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's unfortunate, but Wikipedia is not a yellow pages and not all publicity is good publicity. You took a risk advertising your business in such a way and it backfired. Unfortunate but hopefully a deterrent to others seeking to do the same. Thanks ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 13:56, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The good news is that Google's mysterious algorithms eventually delist deleted Wikipedia pages, so after a week or so the deleted page will no longer show up in searches. So there's that... Yunshui 雲‍水 14:01, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

And User:GorillaWarfare has blocked Patriotcanon for legal threats, which puzzles me; I've placed an inquiry at Gorilla's talk page. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:29, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

She's also been notified of this discussion. --Orange Mike | Talk 18:32, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This user came to #wikipedia-en-help, where s/he repeatedly asked us to remove the results for these pages in the Google and Yahoo searches. S/he also repeatedly asked us to delete the pages at User:Carspear and Carspear, despite us explaining several times that the articles are deleted, and that the pages that remain to tell you that cannot be removed. Eventually the user began talking about how this was trademark infringement, and informed us that s/he would be contacting the legal team about the issue. – GorillaWarfare (talk) 18:36, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Citation Help

When i add this source in article <ref name="attendance">{{cite web |title=eu football|url=http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/attneng.htm|accessdate=june 24 |accessyear= 2006}}</ref>

^[1]

article show this-> (

^ "eu football". Retrieved june 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)) . can anyone know why? --Aftab1995 (talk) 13:52, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

"Accessyear" isn't a recognised parameter in the template - use this instead:

<ref name="attendance">{{cite web |title=eu football|url=http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/attneng.htm|accessdate=June 24 2006}}</ref>

. Yunshui 雲‍水 13:55, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You can see at the documentation for Template:Cite web that "accessyear" is deprecated. Dismas|^(talk) 14:01, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks --Aftab1995 (talk) 14:19, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Iain Glen

His theatre work includes a play named "Small engine repair". That's unusual enough...but then it is wikilinked to our article on Small engine repair, instead of the play. Is that right? Thanks ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 14:28, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have disambiguated the title of the play. The article now has a handy WP:Redlink for Small Engine Repair (play) from which you, or anyone else, may create an apropriate article if you wish. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 14:49, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Roger ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 14:51, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Problem creating page in different language

I'm having serious issues creating a new version of a page in a different language. I'm sure I've done this in the past but I can't seem to do it now even following the help guidelines. I'd really like to set up the spanish version of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Ratti

Can someone help me? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jenniyoung87 (talk • contribs) 15:29, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You can't create articles in different languages here on the English wikipedia, you need to go to the Spanish site. Here is a direct link to where you can create it there. Sarahj2107 (talk) 15:43, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Great. Thanks! I was doing it backwards Jenniyoung87 (talk) 16:10, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hoax talk page

I noticed a hoax talk page, so I speedied it. The question is, did I put it in the right place? The speedied talk is Talk:New Super Mario Bros. 3. Thanks, Darrman (talk) 15:54, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's not a hoax, it is a legitimate talk page of an article page that has been redirected - there is a notice on the redirect page to the effect that it is under discussion - WP:Redirects for discussion#New Super Mario Bros. 3. I've removed the mistaken speedy. The talk page's "fate" will depend on the outcome of the discussion of the redirect - we cannot have two separate simultaneous processes for a mainspace page and its talk page - they are two sides of the same coin (or page if you will). Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 16:16, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What I'm trying to say is the content is a hoax, not necessarily the article. You know, the stuff saying about release date and items. I get what you mean about the talk page not being able to be deleted, though. As for the original question, though, where do I put it? The same user made some more hoaxes, and I want to delete them: Talk:Super Mario 3D Land 2, Talk:Super Mario Sunshine 2, and Talk:Super Mario Galaxy U. Darrman (talk) 16:36, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Those are already gone - deleted together with their "main" pages. In such cases you speedy the "main" page itself, not the talk page, then the talk page will be deleted with it. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 16:50, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, thanks. Darrman (talk) 16:52, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Abaarso Tech

Note: Moved from Help talk:Contents#Abaarso Tech -- Moxy (talk) 16:54, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Since 2011, the last time that Abaarso Tech page: (Abaarso Tech) was correctly modified many things changed. As of 2013, the school's name is no more Abaarso Tech, rather it is Abaarso School of Science and Technology. Fortunately, I have updated all the information in this page, but now, I would like if we could also change the page name to: Abaarso School of Science and Technology (Abaarso School). I believe that this enhancement will greatly improve this page.

--Abdirahim Mohammad (talk) 15:17, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Done - Abaarso School of Science and Technology.Moxy (talk) 17:01, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Glucuronzuur

I want to fill the article from the Nederlands language 'Glucuronzuur' It is still empty, but the English page exists. There is the Nederlands article 'Glycoside' that refers to the 'Glucuronzuur' but the link is red, not blue. I understand English and Nederlands, but am a bit new with the Wikipedia syntax. I offer unlimited time to help making this page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Edward.dhuyvetter (talk • contribs) 17:34, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Edward,

Yes. It can be a bit confusing when you first start to edit Wikipedia. But keep trying and it will start to make sense. Asking at the help desk was a good move.

It seems that the article you created was not a translation of Glucuronic acid but a direct copy. That is why it was tagged for speedy deletion.

Did you know that the Nederlands Wikipedia is at nl.wikipedia.org? Really the article you want to create should be at nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucuronzuur. It may be a good idea to ask at the helpdesk on the Nederlands Wikipedia how they like their translations to be done. They may say they would prefer you to do the whole translation before you start the article. If that is the case, there is no harm in you working on your translation in your own WP:Userspace. This could be at User:Edward.dhuyvetter/Glucuronzuur or at nl:Gebruiker:Edward.dhuyvetter/Glucuronzuur. When you are happy with your translation, you can then copy it into the Nederlands Wikipedia mainspace.

If, when doing your translating, you have trouble with the wikisyntax, you may find WP:Cheat sheet helpful.

Yaris678 (talk) 18:05, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

How to add "Edit" link to long article section headings?

There is an extremely long biographical article Stephen Harper that I'd like to edit a section of. Why do most entries have "edit" links beside headings, whereas this particular biography is extremely long and lacks this option to edit a section? Is this feature a commonly inserted item, and if not, what is the code to add such an attribute? Secondary question: this same article has a table of contents that's invisible to me in the raw wiki code shown in editing window. How does one see or change this code? --Emperor Zhark (talk) 18:09, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I see edit links for all the sections. RudolfRed (talk) 18:14, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

That article is currently semi-protected; logged in auto-confirmed users will have edit tabs available to them, but unregistered and users not logged in will not. Dru of Id (talk) 18:17, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The Table of contents is created automatically, although it can be done specifically through coding; see Help:Section. Dru of Id (talk) 18:23, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks very much for the prompt replies. Mysteriously the <edit> tags are now apparent beside this article's section headings, so as an auto-confirmed and registered user navigation by section will now be easier.--Emperor Zhark (talk) 19:23, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

See Village pump (technical)#Section edit links are migrating westwards . Dru of Id (talk) 20:08, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

re-submitting an article

Hi - I submitted an article, was told it was not ready for prime time, and have now edited it. How do I resubmit it? Thanks!Karen9093 (talk) 19:59, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You removed the box at the top of the article that had the resubmit link. [1]. If you put that line back at the top of the article, you'll have a link to click to resubmit. RudolfRed (talk) 20:03, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Karen9093 (talk • contribs) 20:17, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

complaint!!!!!!!!

You have a photograph of my daughter on this website that u did not i repeat did not ask permission to show/use. my daughter is at one year of age and I her mother do not want her identity plastered all over the internet for any sick minded person to see and do only god knows what with it!!! This is disgusting that any person can see this picture and do what they want with it. and to not get parental permission is absolutely unthinkable. I am sure many mothers, fathers and any other child carers would agree with this. Take the pictures down at once and appologise as appropriate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.15.206.188 (talk) 21:15, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You didn't say which page or image you refer to. Wikipedia has more than 4 million articles but I suspect you actually have a page made by Facebook and not Wikipedia in mind. Facebook pages may get some of their content from Wikipedia but that doesn't mean Wikipedia made the whole page. See Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2013 May 10#Re: pictures of my child without my permission for one of several previous discussions about this. If your post is indeed about a Facebook page then it's possible that only you and your Facebook friends see that image on that page. I cannot say more without knowing which page and image you refer to. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:29, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. Could you clarify where the image can be seen? Is it On a Wikipedia page, or perhaps on FaceBook? If it is the latter, it is nothing to do with us, and probably isn't being seen by anyone but your 'friends' at most: see here [2]. Note that Wikepedia has no connection with FaceBook, and has no control over their content whatsoever. In the unlikely chance that this image actually appears on Wikipedia itself, you will need to tell us where to find it before we can do anything. AndyTheGrump (talk) 21:31, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect it's this again. No-one is stealing your daughter's image - Facebook displays images which you yourself have uploaded (and which are only available to your Facebook friends), however because the default image for their page is taken from Wikipedia, clicking the picture (erroneously) shows Wikipedia as the source. Unless you've uploaded one yourself, Wikipedia does not have any pictures of your daughter. Yunshui 雲‍水 21:48, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Lockheed Model 10 Electra

Wikipedia's entra for Lockheed Model 10 Electra has inaccurate material on the design and creation of this airplane. The Electra was primarily designed by my father Lloyd C. Stearman who was the first president of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. In fact this company was formed for the express purpose of building the all metal transport aircraft which became the Model 10 Electra which he began designing in our our living room. I personally watched him design this plane. When Lockheed was formed the design was modified, under my father's direction by Chief Engineer Hall Hibbard and then U.of Michgan student Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. (See Stearman Aircraft a Detalied Study by Edward H. Phillips p 111)

WilliamLloyd Stearman, PhD 10416 Rockville Pike 301 North Bethesda, MD 20852 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 38.127.148.219 (talk) 22:34, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I think that it might be best to raise this matter at Talk:Lockheed Model 10 Electra - it might get more attention there. As Wikipedia articles are based on published sources, I'm not sure that your personal recollection will help regarding what the article should say concerning the matter, unfortunately, though via Google books, I can see that the book you cite certainly states that your father was at least "deeply involved" in the Electra design - it won't let me see P.111. A quick search however shows that the National Aviation Hall of Fame also credits Stearman as having "designed the famous Electra airplane", and on that basis, I think it is safe to at least edit the article to indicate that he played a major role. I'll edit the article accordingly, and leave a note on the talk page suggesting that this needs further research. AndyTheGrump (talk) 23:10, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have notified WP:WikiProject Aircraft about this discussion, I trust the subject specialists there would respond soon. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 07:27, 23 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

[attendance-1] "eu football". Retrieved june 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[1]