Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2016 October 26

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October 26[edit]

Are you aware that transitory ads appear on the pages of Wikipedia?[edit]

I visited this page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_fighting) and saw a single line ad for dog training that appeared to be a link out to another web site. I clicked on the "Edit Page" tab to take a look at the code, but it was not there. I returned to the original page and the ad was gone from there too.

Had I realized it was going to disappear, I would have made a copy of it. (I would never click on such a link as it could very well lead to malware.)

1. Is this a known issue with Wikipedia? 2. Is it some kind of server hack that injects the add into the page dynamically? 3. Is this the correct way to bring it to your attention?

— Preceding unsigned comment added by R39525 (talk • contribs) 00:47, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is funded by donations and does not display advertisements on articles. If you see advertisements, then something at your end must be placing them. Some browser extensions or plugins may do it. A plugin called Codec-C is known to do it although it is marketed as needed to play videos. Your computer may be infected with malware - consider using anti-malware software. You may be using an Internet access point (such as public Wi-Fi networks at some hotels or cafes) which injects ads into all kinds of web pages - try accessing Wikipedia via the encrypted HTTPS connection (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page ). Also, please sign your posts by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box which looks like this: , but do not sign in articles. Pppery 00:56, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, it appears the OP was talking about this, which was swiftly handled. FYI, stuff like that is not uncommon, it is irritating, but it tends to be handled fairly quickly (which is also likely why you couldn't find the link in the source). -- The Voidwalker Whispers 01:02, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@The Voidwalker: Perhaps that possiblity should be template {{subst:HD/Ads}}, which I used as part of my above comment. Pppery 01:04, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The Voidwalker Ha! I was typing the exact same thing to R39525 after having checked the history, but by the time I returned and finished my comment, you had already posted. Funny. That's how fast edits can be rv'd; causing someone to think it suspicious. Ppp with all due respect, and the highest regards for your contributions, I've seen you do this before on help desk comments. In the time it took you to write all that, you could have simply clicked on the link, viewed the history, and saw that it was a simple promotional / rv edit and helped this editor without all the peacock pufferies that really were of no use. This is not a criticism, just curious. Last, sometimes editors, even the best ones, simply forget to tilde. It's not that big of a deal. Peace. Maineartists (talk) 01:18, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
No, Maineartists, I did not type all that. What I actually typed is {{subst:HD/Ads}} Also, {{subst:HD/s|lowercase=y}} ~~~~, which expands into that by template substitution. Pppery 01:21, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
That is quite humorous. I saw this "template" response once before to another editor's query but without real justification. OK. "In the time it took you to template, you could have simply clicked on the link, viewed the history, and saw that it was a simple promotional / rv edit ..." Curious still. But still with respect. Maineartists (talk) 01:34, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
{{HD/Ads}} was copied from an old version of WP:RFAQ#ADS and needs an update. http redirects to https today, and inappropriate user edits [1] is not mentioned. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:56, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

112th Fighter squadron deployments[edit]

the 112th fighter Squadron was not deployed to Al Jaber AB, Iraq from august 2005 to September of 2005; it was deployed to Al Udeid AB, Qatar. The dates range is correct, but the location is not. they were there in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to a formal press release from the units website. The 112th FS is part of the 180th FW. Please research their website article. http://www.180fw.ang.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123371918 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.14.10.20 (talk) 10:52, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, IP user. Thanks for pointing this out. The problem is that Wikipedia hasn't got an editorial team that will look into requests like yours: it is edited by thousands and thousands of volunteers, who work on what interests them. If you find a problem with an article, rather than posting here, where you are talking to thousands of editors nearly all of whom have no knowledge about the article you are referring to, it's better to either fix it yourself by editing the article, or if you're not confident doing that, posting a suggestion on the article's talk page, in this case Talk:112th Fighter Squadron. --ColinFine (talk) 17:41, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Impeachment of Nicolás Maduro?[edit]

The Congress of Venezuela has started legal actions against president Nicolás Maduro seeking his removal from power. See [www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-idUSKCN12P2EF Reuters] and the Telegraph for some details. The natural name for an article about this would be "Impeachment of Nicolás Maduro", but there is a problem: there is no impeachment in the constitution of Venezuela, the consequences of the action of the Congress would be different (I have not found yet articles in English that explain this, but it is not the issue pointed at both sources, it's another one). So, what should I do? "Trial of Nicolás Maduro"? "Impeachment of Nicolás Maduro", and then clarify those issues? Some other name? Cambalachero (talk) 11:09, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

  • Cambalachero hello. My suggestion is that rather than trying to start a new article immediately, add this information as a section in the subject's original page (if it has not already been added), and take up your query on the talk page of the subject's article. That way, editors interested in the subject and more familiar with the circumstances of the issue will comment on your query. That is the appropriate method in my opinion. Ping me or anyone else here if you need more help. Lourdes 16:11, 27 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Census data for a specific person[edit]

How can I find census data for relatives in Virginia 1970 census? My aunt and uncle Hilde and Carl Neumann they lived at 915 Lincolnshire street Annandale, Va. I need my Aunts full name and age for genealogy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Neumann1000 (talk • contribs) 15:10, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Neumann1000, this page is for asking questions on how to edit Wikipedia. For general knowledge questions such as yours, please ask again at the Reference desk. The Miscellaneous desk is probably the best fit for your question. †Dismas†|(talk) 15:45, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Short answer: you can't. US censuses are restricted for (I think) 70 years; certainly the 1940 census is the most recently taken census available through sites such as Ancestry. AlexTiefling (talk) 16:03, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
AlexTiefling, it seems Neumann1000 asked for 1970, not 1870. I do not know if it is recent enough, but you might want to amend your answer. TigraanClick here to contact me 16:31, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It's 72 years.[2] Restricted for 72 years means there are restrictions on what you can see about the last 72 years. Restricted to 72 years might have meant you could only see data about the last 72 years, but AlexTiefling correctly said "for". PrimeHunter (talk) 18:05, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Sortable table no longer sortable[edit]

Could someone please tell me why the main table in List of places in Leeds is no longer sortable? Looking at changes made in last 7 years I can't see any change to the table which could have stopped it from sorting: has there been a software change affecting sortable tables in the meantime? Civil parishes in Cumbria has a large table which sorts OK, and the table headers look similar at a quick glance. Any thoughts, please? Please ping me if you reply. Thanks. PamD 15:30, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@PamD:By slavishly copying the format of the headings from the other article I've made the Leeds one sortable. Doesn't look as if it ever was sortable before: Noyster (talk), 16:19, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Tables are sorted by clicking in the header row. The header row starts with '!' instead of '|' so it was only necessary to change one character. The table didn't have a header row before. The sorting software sometimes changes. It's possible a header row wasn't required in the past. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:52, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@Noyster: @PrimeHunter: Thanks, both, and thanks for fixing the article. I'm pretty sure it must have sorted OK when I created it - I wouldn't have put so much work into it without testing that it worked - so there might well have been a software change somewhere along the way. PamD 23:21, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

GIFs in infoboxes[edit]

I can't find any guidelines against having GIFs in infoboxes, but the animated image at Samantha De Reviziis appears promotional, flashing for no obvious reason other than to attract attention, rather than encyclopedic. Are there any guidelines against this? - Arjayay (talk) 15:43, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

  • I did not find any. One could argue that multiple passages from MOS:IMAGES go against this (e.g. an animated image here is an unnecessary distraction, hence has no relevance) but I did not find a clear answer. For the record, I would support an addition to the MOS saying to avoid animated images unless they have an encyclopedic purpose - for instance File:4StrokeEngine_Ortho_3D_Small.gif is much clearer than four separate snapshots. TigraanClick here to contact me 16:29, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I agree, illustration of a specifically relevant movement is imho the only reason to use an animated gif in an article. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 08:11, 27 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It should help illustrate something but I think "movement" is too narrow unless it's interpreted very broadly. Enlargement of the European Union and Sieve of Eratosthenes look OK to me. PrimeHunter (talk) 09:38, 27 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Does "change over time" fit better? Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 21:15, 28 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, that should cover most cases. There are still special cases like Optical illusion. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:43, 28 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

German English Mathematician needed[edit]

Hi, I've got a problem. I have some German text, from Dr Karl Schröter, who is a fairly heavyweight mathematician. I'm trying to find out what he actually did. Both Bing Translate and Google Translate don't quite translate what he does, although Bing seems to it better. I can't suss it at all. This is what Google offers: On the relationship between semantic follow-up relations and syntactic derivability relations. And this is bing: between semantic implication relations and syntactic relations of the conductibility. Does Wikipedia list users capabilities. What I'm looking for is a German English mathematician who can translate it for properly, and then point me to the appropriate articles within WP to link to. Thanks. Scope creep (talk) 16:43, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Template:Campaignbox Syrian Civil War[edit]

Why does this template open so oddly?--Hubon (talk) 17:07, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I have added |border=child to the sub-boxes.[3] PrimeHunter (talk) 17:23, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks!--Hubon (talk) 18:48, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Mansfield[edit]

Hello

I read the WIKI about Mansfield which does not mention Jameson Lake at which is one of washingtons highly regarded trout fishing destinations. There is a Resort and Restaurant on the Lake which helps bring business to the town during fishing and hunting season. How do we get the details about Jameson Lake added to the Mansfield WIKI. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.76.24.23 (talk) 17:29, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Probably you don't. Wikipedia (which is one of thousands of wikis: it is not called Wiki, and its articles are not wikis but pages of a wiki) is an encyclopaedia, not an advertising medium. If there is substantial information about the resort by people who have no connection with the resort and published in reliable places, then it may be added to the article (Mansfield, Washington, I presume). But since you evidently are connected with the resort, you have a Conflict of interest, and should not be editing anything about it in the article. What you can do is to put a suggestion in Talk:Mansfield, Washington that some information be added. If you include {{edit request}} (with the double curly brackets) in your suggestion, that will bring it to more people's notice. But unless you can find some independent published information (articles about it from major newspapers, for example), probably nobody will want to take up your suggestion. --ColinFine (talk) 17:58, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Need additional input on Articles for Deletion regarding various issues[edit]

I'd welcome the opinion of others on this Articles for Deletion discussion regarding notability, possible promotion and independence of sources on what (superficially) appears to be an extensive and significantly-referenced article.

Ubcule (talk) 18:50, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Ubcule, I agree, I've removed all the links to his YouTube videos and supported deletion as promotional and non-notable. I would have at least considered speedying this Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:36, 27 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
@Lourdes: @Jimfbleak:; Thanks for taking the time to contribute there. All the best, Ubcule (talk) 09:14, 27 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism[edit]

I think that Mallur, Salem needs to be reverted to the previous version, but I don't know how. Thanks Leschnei (talk) 20:33, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I've undone a relatively recent vandal edit. See Help:Reverting. -- zzuuzz (talk) 20:39, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the link; I've saved it for next time. Leschnei (talk) 21:50, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Chance to work on page[edit]

How do you get a chance to fix your page, if it is always deleted after 5 mins. BrianRFSU 22:00, 26 October 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by BrianRFSU (talk • contribs)

@BrianRFSU: please see WP:REFUND. You may also contact the deleting administrator and request that it be restored to your userspace, where you can work on it without worrying about deletion. In this case, it appears that you already have a page in your userspace for this (User:BrianRFSU/Domenick Lazzara), and I suggest you work on it there until you believe it is ready to become an article. -- The Voidwalker Whispers 22:05, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) Assuming you refer to Domenick Lazzara, it was deleted for being irredemably promotional, and not indicating the importance of the subject. Thus, to have your page not be instantly deleted, write it in a neutral point of view and about a notable subject. Pppery 22:07, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

He is notable, as he is working on a major ADA/Autism Class Action Lawsuit against Disney. BrianRFSU 22:28, 26 October 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by BrianRFSU (talk • contribs)

Please read about the special Wikipedia meaning of Notability, BrianRFSU: it doesn't mean famous, or important, or popular, or influential, or significant: it just means that people unconnected with him have published enough material about him in reliable places to base an article on. Lazzara might be notable in Wikipedia's sense, but I'm not finding any such references. Google News doesn't have a single hit for him, and all the hits on Google are either unreliable sources such as blogs and wikis, or not independent of him. Please read Your first article; and then find the independent reliable sources. If you can't find them, give up. If you can find them, forget everything you know about him and write the article from what they say, only (though in your own words). --ColinFine (talk) 22:54, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
In answer to BrianRFSU's original question: you create it as a draft, which will generally be safe from deletion. Once you believe it's acceptable as an article, you submit if fo reciew. Maproom (talk) 07:50, 27 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Sylvana Tomaselli[edit]

Please fix my botched attempt to have a quote (please leave it in!) - see reference 3 on this page. Sorry Srbernadette (talk) 22:18, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

 Done You left out the '=' sign. Eagleash (talk) 22:27, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

... and the absence of an equals sign is one of the likely causes given in Help:CS1 errors#text ignored, which is linked from the error message, but (as ever) Srbernadette doesn't want to read the error message. --David Biddulph (talk) 02:06, 27 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

how to add my name to list of recipients of Legion of Merit[edit]

Recipients of the Legion of Merit (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

I was awarded the Legion Of Merit (twice) while in the US Army. I recently found the Wikipedia page which lists recipients and my name is not on it. How can I get my name added? I could not figure out how to do it -- took me hours to find this page! LOL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Category:Recipients_of_the_Legion_of_Merit&action=edit thank-you. Kathleen Heaney — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.30.233.5 (talk) 22:33, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Categories like Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit are only for people with a Wikipedia biography. Articles are added to categories by editing the article and not the category so the article has to exist. Most recipients of the Legion of Merit do probably not satisfy the requirements in Wikipedia:Notability (people) to get a biography. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:05, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Having said that, the page (link now above) is full of red-linked and unlinked recipients. Not that it means more should be added! Eagleash (talk) 23:10, 26 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
You may also want to read up on conflict of interest and be a bit careful about adding content about yourself. --Josy (talk) 15:36, 28 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
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