Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2016 August 22

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Help desk
< August 21 << Jul | August | Sep >> August 23 >
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.


August 22[edit]

Indenting issues in IPv4[edit]

Can someone have a look at IPv4? There was an edit two weeks ago that introduced indenting issues, but I can't figure it out. Putting the {{aligned table on its own line fixes it, but it aligns the tables to the left instead of keeping the subheading margin. Thanks. Isa (talk) 00:43, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@Isanae: I have reported it at Template talk:Aligned table#Whitespace stripping. I guess the module implementing the template can be modified to avoid the issue. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:26, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@PrimeHunter and Isanae: unfortunately, it's an HTML/server/browser problem, and not so much a problem with any module or template. you can reproduce the same thing using pure html tables.
<nowiki>
;Example
:Item 1
:<table><tr><td>This is a table for Item 3
</td></tr></table>
:Item 3

Now we follow with some text ... [[User:Frietjes|Frietjes]] ([[User talk:Frietjes|talk]]) 13:51, 22 August 2016 (UTC)
</dl><!-- HACK TAG to avoid indenting the rest of the page --></nowiki>

I added a hack fix here, and a hack fix just about this comment to avoid indenting the rest of the page. Frietjes (talk) 13:56, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

That works. Thanks! Isa (talk) 14:35, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Isa, and I added some trailing whitespace remove to aligned table, so this version of IPv4 now renders as expected. but, I have no idea if anyone wants to go back to that version at this point. Frietjes (talk) 12:53, 24 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Writing and article[edit]

I have read all the instructions etc. But I am still at loss as to understand how to enter an article and particularly how to enter a footnote. Again I have read all instructions which do not make sense. I have written the article and have all references. I do not know how to make the web page work. I have registered — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lawden (talkcontribs) 04:44, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Basically, you just visit the URL for the article you'd like to create (that doesn't exist yet) and click "Create". Have you tried the Article Wizard yet?
And take a look at Help:Footnotes for more information on how footnotes work. The basic syntax is this:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref>your reference content goes here.</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
Bruto (talk) 04:59, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, Lawden. I'm sorry you're having some difficulty. It is an unfortunate fact that creating a new article is difficult, and I wish we didn't get so many people that plunge into trying to do so as the first thing they do in Wikipedia.I always recommend that people spend a few weeks improving existing articles first, to get a feel for how Wikipedia works.
I'm not clear exactly what problems you are having. You say that you hav written an article, but the only thing you have done on Wikipedia under this account is to create the user-space draft User:Lawden/Alderman William Ascough JP. This is a good way to proceed, but there's hardly any material in it yet. Have you read Your first article and Referencing for beginners? If you have read these, and you are still having problems, please explain more clearly what the problems are. --ColinFine (talk) 12:52, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

User Access Level for viewing a another user's watchlist?[edit]

Does anyone know what User Access Level allows for a user to view another users watchlist? I presume it would be no lower than Administrator, but I wonder if it requires Bureaucrat, Oversight or WMF employee?Naraht (talk) 05:10, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Naraht see Help:Watchlist#Privacy:

"No users, not even administrators, can tell what is in your watchlist, or who is watching any particular page. Publicly available database dumps do not include this information either. Only developers who have access to the servers that hold the Wikipedia database could obtain this kind of information."

RegistryKey(RegEdit) 05:35, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
RegistryKey. Thank You. And presumably, that also represents the level of access necessary to *change* someone's watchlist.Naraht (talk) 13:02, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@Naraht: See Wikipedia:Syndication#Watchlist feed with token as well. - NQ (talk) 13:06, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

how to request help on my talk page[edit]

hello , how to request help on my talk page so that a volunteer will help me ? thanks .--Programmer99 (talk) 07:52, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The syntax is {{help me}}. I also put a 'Welcome' message on your talk page with some useful links, including one for requesting volunteer help. -- And welcome to Wikipedia!   =)    2606:A000:4C0C:E200:0:0:0:1 (talk) 09:29, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

how to use kimoji[edit]

How to convert any English alphabet to kimoji text Like 🚝🏯🎠🐔🎍 125.230.17.192 (talk) 09:10, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Those symbols are not kimojl, they're emoji. Neither system is designed to replace English text. They're simply symbols that represent certain ideas or emotions. Rojomoke (talk) 16:59, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Emoji symbols are generally not allowed in any article, and the edit filter will not let users input them into articles. MeowMoon (talk) 04:24, 24 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

How to refresh WikiProject page[edit]

Hello!! I recently put together the Wikipedia:WikiProject WikiChallenge African Schools, a competition that we're running from January 2017. The box style presentation makes things very easy to read - BUT the information takes ages to pull into another page. In French Wikipedia, there is a button for refreshing the page and pulling new info into the boxes. Here is an example at bottom right - "rafraichir la page": https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projet:Wiki_Loves_Women . Is there one for English Wikipedia? if so, which template I can use. Or at least, what it is called! Thanks so much!! Isla Haddow (talk) 10:00, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Isla Haddow: Refreshing the page is another word for purging it. There are a few templates that provide a link to purge the page: {{Purge box}} {{Purge button}} {{Purge page}} {{Purge}} {{User:VarunFEB2003/Template:Purge button 1.0}} {{User:VarunFEB2003/Template:Purge button 2.0}} {{User:VarunFEB2003/Template:Purge button 3.0}} are a few. —  crh 23  (Talk) 13:21, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@Islahaddow: Ha if you go in the URL bar and type ?action=purge in front of the full url your page will get purged/refreshed/updated (all 3 mean the same). VarunFEB2003 I am Offline 12:25, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@VarunFEB2003 and Islahaddow: Note that, due to a recent tecnhical change, which is currently being discussed at the village pump, all purge links require a confirmation step. Pppery (talk) 12:52, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I know and I am part of the discussion at VPT! VarunFEB2003 I am Offline 12:55, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks  crh 23 , Pppery and Varun!! Isla Haddow (talk) 14:34, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You are welcome! @Islahaddow: VarunFEB2003 I am Offline 14:36, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Writing partners[edit]

Dear editors: I recently moved a draft to mainspace, and it's now Mark Swift. However, Swift appears to do almost all of his writing in partnership with another writer, Damian Shannon. If an article were to be made about Shannon, the only difference would be in the "Early life" section and maybe a "Personal" section if one were to be added. Is it sensible to make one article, "Mark Swift and Damian Shannon", with redirects from the individual names? Or, in the case of biographical articles, does this just mess up the wikidata or cause other problems?—Anne Delong (talk) 11:11, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

<Does not know the subject matter disclaimer /> My personal philosophy is to follow the topic as it is framed by the sources. If all sources talk about them as a duo rather than as individuals, I'd probably write the article about the duo. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 11:46, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
If there's no independent info on Shannon, you might consider making Damian Shannon a redirect to the page. Rojomoke (talk) 12:17, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, Jo-Jo Eumerus and Rojomoke. I have done both of those things, so now Mark Swift and Damian Shannon redirect to Mark Swift and Damian Shannon.—Anne Delong (talk) 03:52, 24 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Another thing you might want to do, Anne Delong, is feature your article on the Did you know... section of the main page. Pppery (talk) 13:06, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Pppery, I have never looked into the DYK process, but perhaps it's time I did.—Anne Delong (talk) 03:52, 24 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

CE[edit]

What do CE and RP stand for? I commonly see CE in edit summaries, and occasionally I also see 'RP' (which I'm guessing isn't roleplay). As this is about edit summaries, I believe it belongs here and not the reference desk. Dat GuyTalkContribs 17:07, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@DatGuy: I believe that CE stands for Copy Edit. What RP means is beyond me, though. Pppery (talk) 17:13, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
WP:CE, see WP:G. I've never seen RP, possibly it refers to re-pointing a link, or repairing, or response, depending on the context. -- zzuuzz (talk) 17:15, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) @DatGuy: copyedit, reply/response. See Wikipedia:WikiSpeak and Wikipedia:Glossary. - NQ (talk) 17:16, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Also RegentsPark, but I doubt it's the case here. - NQ (talk) 17:18, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
See also Wikipedia:Edit summary legend. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:20, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Rv is common, as that means "revert". RP not so much in my experience? Reply maybe? Joseph2302 20:54, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I always use RP to mean reply —  crh 23  (Talk) 20:56, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

As discussed above[edit]

"As discussed above. . ." -- as it is written here (second line) -- can we write like this on Wikipedia? --Tito Dutta (talk) 18:09, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Bad idea. For one thing, what guarantees that the "above" won't be changed or removed in the future? Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 18:12, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

how to use a map within a wikipedia article[edit]

hello there, i m new to wikipedia and writing on my first article about a papuan language. i want to add a map of papua new guinea and highlight the area where the language is spoken. i found this free to use map on wikipedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Papua_New_Guinea_location_map.svg. and i saw that lots of other people used this map in their article,eg. for an airport and they added where is it, in the map. my question now is, how do i do this? i tried downloading the map, which worked and editing it in paint. but i couldnt save the edits. from what i read about this map it is okay to do this, am i righ here? so basically i want to know how i can add something to this mentioned papua new guinea map. thank you very much already, best wishes, johanna — Preceding unsigned comment added by JohaAu (talkcontribs) 19:53, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

sorry if this question was wrong here, i asked it again in the teahouse! — Preceding unsigned comment added by JohaAu (talkcontribs) 20:03, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The map is in svg format. You should not use paint to edit. Try Inkscape. Ruslik_Zero 20:03, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
JohaAu If you want to mark an area of a specific size and shape, follow the instructions of the user above. If you want to display one or many dots (or some other kind of symbol, cf. the aircraft icon in the airport articles), that mark the locations where the language is spoken, use Template:Location map. Granted, both of these are very technical tasks. Perhaps you should first write your article without the map and then post a request for one here. – Finnusertop (talkcontribs) 20:13, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Help offered on user talk. VarunFEB2003 I am Offline 11:32, 24 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Libraian Credentials[edit]

I am a librarian for a special collections library and I have access to many primary sources in my field. Any way I can get a credential or something like that on my user page? Stayhomegal (talk) 20:50, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Stayhomegal. You are free to add anything you like to your user page, as long as it is within the guidelines of WP:Userpage. You might find something appropriate in Category:Userboxes. But "credentials" are not relevant to Wikipedia in any way. --ColinFine (talk) 21:38, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@Stayhomegal: You might check out Wikipedia:WikiProject_Resource_Exchange/Resource_Request. The editors that help out there typically have decent access, but you might have better access than some of the regulars.--S Philbrick(Talk) 23:47, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@Stayhomegal: you might also be interested in WP:GLAM our project about Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 14:13, 23 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Getting a template edit to show up[edit]

I made a small edit to this template, but I can't seem to get it to show up on the pages the template appears on. I've seen something about purging, and needing to do it on a page in a transclusion, or something like that; I don't really know what I'm doing (as the more clued up among you may be able to tell) and I don't want to press buttons, especially on a template like this, for fear of buggering up a whole bunch of stuff. Could someone help me out? Thanks. —Calisthenis(Talk) 22:52, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

What you've heard about is WP:Purge, and it's not something you do to the template itself. What it basically does is instructs the server to recreate the page from its source code. There is a gadget which adds a purge link to the tops of pages, or you could add ?action=purge to the page's URL. -- The Voidwalker Discuss 22:57, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
However, I think I just handled it myself using the forcerecursivelinkupdate method on the template, but you should check to see if the display is working properly everywhere. -- The Voidwalker Discuss 23:01, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I think it's worked; I can see the change on the pages I looked at with this template. Thanks! —Calisthenis(Talk) 00:08, 23 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Writing and article[edit]

I have read all the instructions etc. But I am still at loss as to understand how to enter an article and particularly how to enter a footnote. Again I have read all instructions which do not make sense. I have written the article and have all references. I do not know how to make the web page work. I have registered

I have had some responses but they were in a form not easily understood ans seem to involve chat rooms - I don't do chat rooms - except I suppose this is one. Is there an instruction manual, particularly about how to set up connecting footnotes in English, and not just hieroglyphics? I am a bit older than a 14 year old pimply male in a darkened room! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lawden (talkcontribs) 23:03, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Try Help:Referencing_for_beginners --S Philbrick(Talk) 23:40, 22 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]