Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2014 July 10

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July 10[edit]

User talk page auto-archiving[edit]

I tried to set lowercase sigmabot to archive my talk page with each archive topping out at 150k. However, I waited twenty-four hours, but the archiving did not work, so I just did the archiving myself. Can any of you help identify the problem? Thanks. Dustin (talk) 00:05, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The archiving is done by a bot which was inactive for two days [1]. I don't know why but such things often happen. It's active again but there is nothing to archive with your parameters. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:28, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oh. Well, thanks for telling me that. Now, there isn't really anything to archive. I think it said the bot is supposed to archive at 0000 UTC... Dustin (talk) 01:51, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The portal CSDs are useless![edit]

The portal CSDs are useless!Why we have them?I also want a list of deleted portals.Ssaz 12 (talk) 00:43, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It's not easy to answer the first part of your question unless you explain exactly what your problem is. Is there something you want to delete that doesn't have a CSD criterion? In any case, this would be best discussed at Wikipedia talk:Criteria for speedy deletion. You can find deleted portals by searching the XfD pages, although note that this search includes portals the XfD decided to keep. It does not include portals deleted by CSD, for that you need to manually search the deletion log. Unfortunately, it is not possible to search the logs by namespace so it is quite tedious. There are no portals in the log deleted under P1 or P2 this month (although there are plenty deleted under other CSD criteria). The newest deletion for P2 is Portal:Maharaja Agrasen University on 30 June. SpinningSpark 09:10, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Erica Durance ( Pregnant ).[edit]

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

Hi :-)I am a huge fan of the above actress and yesterday some one posted on her Wikipedia page that she was pregnant with her first child and that site had been modified on July 8th at 10:53am. Now her page isn't saying nothing like that. U need to get on these stupid ass people who don't have nothing better to do but spread false lies. Her twitter fans including me were all excitied for her and her husband David Palffy. What a letdown...Please take action against these people because it's the right thing to do. Yours truly Malie Jean Bingham!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.201.196.22 (talk) 08:24, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for letting us know about the problem. The false information was removed at 23:05 UTC yesterday (about ten hours ago). Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 09:45, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Some other information also added by the same IP who added the pregnancy claim is still in the article, subsequent edits make it difficult to revert without an admin mop. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 09:52, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
 Done. @Dodger67: nothing an admin could do that I couldn't; You need to manually edit the page (or as I did, edit a previous version to revert the changes). --Mdann52talk to me! 10:05, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sorry you have been let down. The problem with being "The encyclopedia that anyone can edit" is that some people will vandalize articles and add false information "for fun".
All information added to Wikipedia should have a reference to a reliable source, these are indicated by the little blue number, and relate to the list at the bottom of the page. It is important that you check the reference does actually say what it is claimed to say, or, if there is no reference, you are circumspect.
With regards to Erica Durance, the same IP address was used a couple of days later to add similar information about Melissa Benoist, and was used today to add fake "notable alumnae" (including a man) to Cheltenham Girls High School. A warning has been given to that IP address, but it is probably some bored Australian schoolgirls with nothing better to do at the end of term. - Arjayay (talk)
I've also made a few tweaks to the page. It all seems back on track now. The info is still there in page history - that can only be removed by a mop holder, but I doubt it will happen as the info is not particularly harmful, just juvenile. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chaheel Riens (talkcontribs)
Indeed. IMO, it does not meet WP:CRD, so is not revdellable. --Mdann52talk to me! 11:38, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dabsolver and disambiguation[edit]

Is there something wrong with Dabsolver? It can't find disambiguation links and wasn't working at all in the past weeks. Is there any other tool to disambiguate pages on Wikipedia?Lbertolotti (talk) 12:42, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Lbertolotti: See WP:VPT#Toolserver for information on this. WP:CLEANER may help you with this. --Mdann52talk to me! 12:58, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Requiring/checking Sort criteria on "List of" articles in "Lists of" category.[edit]

As far as I can tell, in any case where there is a "Lists of" category like Category:Lists of people by city in the United States that all articles in that category should have sort criteria for the entry in that category. So that List_of_people_from_Hillsboro,_Oregon would have [[Category:Lists of people by city in the United States|Hillsboro, Oregon]] rather than [[Category:Lists of people by city in the United States]]. (Rarely would this be done with a default sort) Would there be a tool that would help with making sure that this is true? For example, would this be appropriate for Wikipedia:WikiProject Check Wikipedia?Naraht (talk) 14:40, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ask at WP:VPT and they might know.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 21:42, 11 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

how to contact a contributor[edit]

Hi - I want to ask a question of a contributor - he provided an update on a great uncle of mine and I am doing genealogy so want to see if he knows who the person's parents are. I do not want to edit the article just contact him. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Karenstensgaard (talkcontribs) 17:13, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Via the user's user talk page.--ukexpat (talk) 17:29, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
To expand on that, as asking this question was your first edit; Every article has a history tab at the top
If you go to the page about your great-uncle and click that tab it will show you the history of the page - if you click two of the white circles it will show you the differences between the two different versions of a page, which will enable you to find out who made the addition you are talking about. (There are clever ways to do this, like "wikiblame", but let's keep it simple)
Hopefully, the editor will have a name, and not just an IP address (a number). If you then click on "talk", next to the editors name, it will take you to their talk page, where you can ask your question.
If you are lucky, the editor may have "e-mail this user" under tools in the left hand column, which will enable you to e-mail the user, although this will reveal your e-mail address to them. However, they may not choose to reply by e-mail, as that will divulge their e-mail address, so you will need to keep checking your and their talk pages, even if you e-mail them . - Arjayay (talk) 17:33, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong date of birth and age for Joan McCall[edit]

Joan McCall was born in Kentucky on January 31, 1953 (not 1943). Present age is 61. She is an active Hollywood producer as well a screenwriter and minister and former actress. 108.206.138.182 (talk) 19:31, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

If you have a reliable source for her date of birth then you can either change the date in the article but you will need to provide the source, or raise it on the article talk page. Not a reliable source but http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564651/ says 1943. MilborneOne (talk) 20:02, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
According to Joan McCall, she was born in 1943 but is in the category "1957 births". Maproom (talk) 20:54, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Well, this one doesn't agree with 43 or 53. And here's another. —Anne Delong (talk) 21:01, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure the age is right, but what you're claiming is not possible. This is her photo on the cover of a playbill from 1965, and she's not 12 there.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 23:11, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Deletion tag log[edit]

When I propose an article for speedy deletion using the page curation tool, the article appears in my Deletion tag log. But, when I propose article for deletion using Twinkle, it does not appear in the Deletion tag log. Why? How can I change this, so that all articles I propose for deletion appear in the log? Vanjagenije (talk) 20:24, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Vanjagenije: Go to Wikipedia:Twinkle/Preferences to edit you Twinkle settings so that it adds CSD articles to the log. Piguy101 (talk) 21:00, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
You need to change your Twinkle preferences at: Wikipedia:Twinkle/Preferences.--ukexpat (talk) 20:59, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
In the Twinkle preferences, I only see this option: "Keep a log in userspace of all CSD nominations". But, I don't want to keep log in my userspace, I want to keep log in the Deletion tag log. Vanjagenije (talk) 21:04, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Vanjagenije: Oh, I'm not sure if Twinkle can keep a log there. You may want to direct your question to Wikipedia talk:Twinkle. Piguy101 (talk) 21:12, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Looks like the deletion tag log only works for pages tagged via the "page curation deletion wizard" (see top of the page). Note that it is a "special page" that cannot be edited directly. Like one's user contributions, it's just a log of actions stored in the database rather than an editable page.--ukexpat (talk) 21:12, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

request edit[edit]

When you search North York Astros on google what shows up on the right side for wiki is "Astros Vasas FC". It is no longer called that. Can someone please change it to The North York Astros.

Thanks

-- Kristiner Thomas Web Developer & Graphics Specialist North York Astros Soccer Club — Preceding unsigned comment added by Krysmoe (talkcontribs)

Are you by any chance referring to a photo or text shown to the right of a Google search? Google's Knowledge Graph uses a wide variety of sources. There may be a text paragraph ending with "Wikipedia" to indicate that particular text was copied from Wikipedia. An image and other text before or after the Wikipedia excerpt may be from sources completely unrelated to Wikipedia. We have no control over how Google presents our information, but Google's Knowledge Graph has a "Feedback" link where anyone can mark a field as wrong. --ukexpat (talk) 20:57, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for saying you saw the problem on a Google search results page and not in Wikipedia. Very few people do that when they report such Google errors to us, so we made the above stock reply which assumes the poster gave no indication the problem was seen outside Wikipedia. I don't know where Google got the old team name but it wasn't from our article which was moved to the new name in April.[2] PrimeHunter (talk) 22:18, 10 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]
You posted a Request for an edit to the article page. I responded there, and left you a note on your talk page.--S Philbrick(Talk) 18:50, 11 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]